Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to thank the member for Macarthur for moving this motion and providing me with this opportunity to speak on this very important issue. A child's health and cognitive and social development begins at preconception, with the help of parents during pregnancy, which affects the health of the baby at birth, through their early years and well into their adulthood. That's a known fact. The Morrison government recognises this in the National Action Plan for the Health of Children and Young People 2020-2030. This plan aims to ensure that Australian children and young people from all backgrounds and all walks of life have the same opportunities to fulfil their health potential and are healthy, safe and thriving. The road map will guide collaborative approaches to improving health outcomes for all children and young people, particularly those at greatest risk of poor health. This includes programs to empower parents and caregivers to maximise healthy development, from mental health to addressing chronic conditions and particularly preventive health, which is a particular passion of mine. I'm like the member for Macarthur—as paediatricians, we have prevention in our DNA.

We know that there are many factors that need to be considered for a comprehensive, effective system of care for children. The consultation draft of Australia's Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan 2022-2032 highlights the importance of reform through primary care to support pregnant women and young families to improve health in the first 2,000 days of life. I welcome the implementation of the former COAG Health Council's 2019 Woman-centred care: strategic directions for Australian maternity services. From this comes targeted programs and initiatives that provide access to information, guidance and support for women, partners and their families—as well as for healthcare professionals providing care to pregnant women—through providing evidence based and education initiatives.

Importantly, I'm proud the government is also investing in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families through activities that seek to improve health outcomes during pregnancy and the early years. The programs focus on mothers, babies and children of greatest need in rural, remote and very remote communities around Australia. These are difficult issues, however, and, having worked up there 30 years ago, I know that it's very difficult to make strides to close the gap for the health of our Indigenous friends.

Building on this strategic approach, it's very important particularly to look at children's mental health and wellbeing, and I'm very proud that the government has launched the National Children's Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This is recognised as a world first, as this is the first time a national government has developed a strategy that considers mental health and wellbeing outcomes for children from birth to 12 years of age as well as their families and the communities who nurture them. The co-chairs of the strategy, Professor Frank Oberklaid AM and Professor Christel Middeldorp, in the foreword to the report Thenational children's mental health and wellbeing strategy, say:

We were interested in looking broadly at the system as a whole, from parent mental health literacy and reducing stigma through to the management of complex problems in expert settings and everything in between. Given the complexity of the current system, we did not want to simply argue for new services to be added. Rather, we aimed to develop a roadmap to effectively restructure and improve what was already in place and to support the many thousands of committed professionals working in this area.

It's about getting people to work better together, not in silos. They continue:

We are aware that a major restructure is more difficult than adding new services, but are convinced that this is the best way forward.

As a former paediatrician and colleague of Professor Frank Oberklaid, one of the co-chairs, I'm proud this government has a commitment to funding the strategy. The $317 million in funding includes $54 million to work in partnership with states and territories to create a network of Head to Health Kids mental health centres, to be based on the headspace mental health service, which is highly effective and has been rolled out for young adults. These Head to Health Kids mental health and wellbeing hubs are specifically for children aged zero to 12 years, as we recognise the increased anxiety, depression, ADHD and other mental health issues in that age group.

There is $42 million to support access to parenting education and support and $47 million for perinatal mental health initiatives to support the mental health and wellbeing of new and expectant parents, including funding for the Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia group, PANDA,which is a very important group that supports mums and dads in those very difficult and anxiety-provoking early weeks, days and months. The Morrison government understands that the future success of our country depends on the next generation.

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