Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

We know that poor mental health does not discriminate. The past couple of years have been made all the more difficult with drought, fires, floods and a pandemic that has seen society's fabric change and has created a great deal of uncertainty for many Australians. But one fact has remained, and that is that men are the least likely to reach out for help. According to a recent report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, despite men making up more than 75 per cent of deaths by suicide, a quarter of men said that they would not reach out for mental health. This figure of 75 per cent represents over 2,000 deaths of men a year in Australia. That is double our nation's road toll.

So I say to the blokes out there: it's okay to say you're doing it tough. And I urge men out there to pick up the phone or go and see your mate and say, 'Are you okay?' because there is help out there. Beyond Blue, Lifeline, the Butterfly Foundation and the Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions under the Better Access Initiative have been doubled this year. So don't go it alone, men. We owe it to our families and to our friends. But, most of all, we owe it to ourselves.

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