Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to take this opportunity this evening to say, 'How good is Townsville?' I am so proud of our community. Last Thursday, 10 October, was a very special day. Of course I'm talking about World Mental Health Day. Most people might like to mark these sorts of occasions by wearing a badge, making a donation or of course putting a social media video up on your Facebook or Instagram. Those are all great things. But that's not how Townsville celebrated World Mental Health Day. Instead, hundreds of locals put on high-vis fluoro reflective vests at Bunnings in Fairfield Waters to stand in solidarity over mental illness, which can be hard to live with. We need to be supporting others with it. It can so often be completely invisible. Sufferers can suffer in silence and look like they have normal lives, but beneath the surface it's a horrible battle that's raging, and they don't want to speak up or do anything about it because of stigma. So high-vis was chosen for the people of Townsville so that they could say loudly and proudly that it's okay not to be okay. It's good to say something to someone. It's important to have the conversation about how you're going. So these hundreds of people together at Bunnings were able to have an invaluable conversation about mental health.

I will admit that there was a bit of ulterior motive to the gathering at the Fairfield Waters wearing high-vis. That was because there was an attempt to break a Guinness world record. Thanks to the initiative of Mental Health Australia and the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health I, with other civic leaders, launched a massive campaign in September to get as many people as possible to take part. Last Thursday from 4 pm the car park began to fill up as locals and national celebrities provided entertainment and important interviews regarding their own journeys with the ups and downs of mental illness. But as 6 pm drew nearer the crowd swelled, and it certainly looked like the potential was there to get close to the current world record of 2,136 people, which was set by a city in Japan a few years ago. Soon enough the crowds were herded into official lines of 50 people, the adjudicators were checking and verifying counts, and the final figure was in: 2,499 Townsville locals broke the world record for the most people wearing high-vis in the same place. It was a huge win, with a total of 363 people above and beyond the world record. The excitement was obvious as the massive crowd screamed out in joy, knowing that together they'd achieved something amazing.

It was such a great event, showing that this is the exact sort of thing that we, as a community, need to be doing to reduce stigma and open up the conversation about mental illness and mental health and wellbeing. In this event over 2,500 people gave even a little bit of thought to mental illness, thought about suicide prevention, and were encouraged and empowered to do more to check on their mates and ensure they're okay. I was so proud of Townsville, the community that I live in. I've said before and I'll say it again: mental illness and suicide prevention are not dirty words. It's not a Defence issue. It's not a veteran issue. It's a societal issue. We need to do more to encourage people to speak up and get help if they need it, before it's too late. That's why I'm proud of a government which is investing in primary health care. This government recognises that suicide is one of the leading causes of premature death in Australia, which is a national tragedy. But actions speak louder than words and promises, and that is why I want to encourage anyone listening today to speak up if you're not feeling okay, to reach out for help, to know that there are options available and people to speak to before anyone contemplates ending their own life. And if you're going pretty well yourself, use your own mental health and wellbeing to ask others if they're doing all right, and put them in touch with the right agencies and help if need be. I'm not a counsellor, and unless you're a counsellor we shouldn't be giving advice; we should be giving information on where people can get the help that they need.

It was an amazing event, and having my daughter, who's 16 months old, run around with a high-vis vest on, singing and dancing and being involved, really brought the whole community together. As someone who spoke about my own challenges with mental ill health, I think it's extremely important to speak about it, because if you don't speak about it, it just builds up inside. I think that everyone in this place would agree with me that mental illness and suicide prevention aren't dirty words. We will be, and should be, working together to lower the stigma and lower the high rate of suicide.

I want to mention another community group, which isn't completely related to mental health, although we all know that physical fitness can go a long way to fighting off mental health issues. This is a group that I met a few weeks ago, who were absolutely devastated by the monsoon which hit Townsville in February. A lot of sporting clubs were affected, and one that was hit hard was the Rockwheelers Mountain Bike Club. It was eye-opening to hear from Travis Bailey, the land access manager for the Mount Stuart track, about just how much the weather event had affected the club. Travis told me that he had literally hundreds of photos of damaged parts of the tracks in his phone, because they all need some sort of repair work. Eight months on from the monsoon weather, the club's members still haven't been able to have a proper day on the tracks due to the damage. It hasn't been just the members of the club who have been affected. I am told that up to 400 people, both mountain bikers and walkers, would use the track every single day. So, despite the countless of hours of volunteer labour and amazing community spirit to try and get things up and running, many people were still not able to enjoy getting out and about in our beautiful bush.

Fortunately, the Minister for natural disaster and emergency management was able to find a $200,000 grant out of the $20 million community and recreational assets program under the disaster recovery funding arrangements. This is the kind of project that really gives a community a boost. It will restore the mountain bike trails and repair facilities damaged by the floods so mountain bikers in Townsville can get back to what they love doing. We live in a very active community, so it will be great to see mountain bikers whizzing down Mount Stuart again soon and this great community sporting group bringing people together, once again.

While I'm on the subject of the fantastic Townsville community, I want to highlight the amazing contributions of some of the members of that community—because a community is only as good as the people who make it up. At the Australian honours and awards ceremony I had the privilege to attend a few weeks ago, I was able to meet some of the people and recognise their achievements in special way. Of course, the headline award of the afternoon was the appointment, as a Member of the Order of Australia in the General Division, of Johnathan Thurston. Jonno—a former Cowboys captain, Maroons legend, and of the course representative player for the Australian Kangaroos—was recognised as a role model and ambassador for support programs for Indigenous communities.

Also among the award winners was my own former company sergeant major, Warrant Officer Mark Retallick, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Military Division. Warrant Officer Retallick was recognised for his performance of duty to the Australian Army in regimental leadership roles, demonstrating exceptional professionalism in his contribution to remote Australian units and the Defence Indigenous Development Program. 'Rats'—as I call him, as a mate, was someone who looked after me when I was injured in Afghanistan. It was an honour for me to be able to be there when he was presented with a Medal of the Order of Australia.

There were, of course, other people who were awarded medals of the Order of Australia in the General Division. I want to recognise Mr Greg Jones, Mr Robert Pack and Mr Kevin Pattel for their various contributions to our community.

There is one Medal of the Order of Australia awardee I would like to highlight, and that is Mr George White. The first thing I noticed about Mr White is his big white beard—you can't miss it—and soon it was very obvious how important his beard was. Mr White has been spending hours and hours every Christmas volunteering his time with children with illnesses and disabilities, and their families, to serve as Santa Claus. Mr White has served in that role at Townsville's Special Children's Christmas party for the past 23 years. It was a pleasure and a privilege to meet Mr White after the ceremony; it's not often that you meet people who are more warm and friendly. It didn't take me long to realise how deserving Mr White was of this particular recognition, and we finished our conversation with him giving me a hug. He's just a lovely, friendly person who wants to be involved and help everyone he speaks with.

Well done to all the award winners. Like I said, it was a really great honour and a privilege to be there for the ceremony.

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