Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak about the work being done by Youth Insearch, a youth intervention organisation based in north-west Sydney. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young Australians. Rates of suicide amongst young people are the highest that they've been for more than a decade. In the last fortnight, we've seen the coroner's report from the Kimberley highlighting what a major issue this is for young Indigenous Australians, and this should be deeply concerning to each and every one of us. Today Youth Insearch is launching a campaign called Blue Heart to raise awareness of youth suicide and to help prevent it.

Founded in 1985, Youth Insearch has helped over 31,000 at-risk youths across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland to turn their lives around. Using peer networks to build communities of support, Youth Insearch is giving young Australians ways to get the help they need, and it's equipping them to lead full lives of hope. I commend the staff, led by Heath Ducker, the board and the leaders of Youth Insearch for the life-changing work that they're doing. During 2018, 60 per cent of the people who attended their workshops and support groups had contemplated suicide and 40 per cent had attempted suicide. Three-quarters of these young people no longer felt suicidal after attending a Youth Insearch program.

Today I am wearing this Blue Heart pin to encourage all Australians to do a little bit more to notice the people around us and ask the hard questions about whether someone is contemplating suicide, so that we can turn these terrible statistics around. I commend Youth Insearch for their work and I encourage all other Australians to wear a blue heart on Blue Heart Day.

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