Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to echo the comments of the previous speaker in relation to support that is available for people should they need it. I have to thank the member for bringing this motion forward, because it's an issue that is very close to my heart. In saying that, I have a dream in relation to mental health services and support in this country. It's probably a bit of a utopian dream, but it's something that I think we should all strive to achieve in order to support our fellow Australians when they need support for mental ill health. That dream is to ensure that every Australian, regardless of where they are or their background, can access psychological support and counselling support anytime, anywhere and that it is affordable and accessible. Far too many times I hear that people in my community have to wait to get psychological support, and that is not good enough. It is totally not good enough. If you're feeling anxious or depressed and you are reaching out for support, you need that right away; you cannot wait on a waiting list to receive that. That's just not good enough. I want to see this country invest in mental health to ensure that no-one has to wait.

I think we need to look at it as an investment. We look at health in some respects—preventive health in particular—as an investment in the economy of our country. The impact of mental ill health in our workforce has a huge impact on productivity. I welcome the work that the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council have put in place to ensure that mental health for their workforce is supported. They have developed a blueprint for that, and I know there are other people within the mineral and energy sector in the country that are also having a focus on mental ill health in their workforce. TMEC, the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council, acknowledge that mental ill health has a huge impact on workplace productivity through absenteeism and presenteeism, and increases the rate of accidental injury in the workplace—something that we should all strive to ensure never happens. It has a huge impact on families, and I'd like to acknowledge those families that may have someone they love within their family who is suffering mental ill health. It is Carers Week this week, and we should not forget those people at all.

It's great to see the commitment of the minerals and energy sectors in Tasmania to ensuring that their workforce is healthy and safe, but we need to do much more to realise my dream and in particular to reduce the stigma of mental ill health. I note the funding the government has provided in this year's budget, particularly the inclusion of funding for veterans' mental health, which is absolutely welcomed. Veterans are suffering from PTSD and from the trauma of being in a conflict or in peacekeeping times even. We have for far too long forgotten this group of people. We need to be there to support them in every way we can. We need to acknowledge that as those veterans transition into civilian life. Even for everyday Australians' mental health, the support that should be provided is not something that we should shy away from.

It's also pleasing to note the number of Labor policies in this space that the government has adopted. There were election commitments made for additional headspace centres—and I welcome one in my electorate in the city of Devonport in my home town—and 12 suicide prevention sites, which the state of Tasmania very much welcomes as well. But the government has fallen short in relation to its claim during the last election to make mental health a pillar of its national plan and it has failed to deliver in this year's budget. The budget has fallen well short in meeting the needs of our community and certainly in meeting what my dream is.

Unfortunately and sadly, completed suicides are increasing in this country. We need to do far more about it. We need to also ensure that the suicide prevention trial sites are extended well beyond 30 June 2019 because in my state they have only just announced the target group. We're a year into those trials. We need to ensure that those trials are extended for a further duration of time so that we can collect the necessary data from that. I thank the member for bringing this motion forward.

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