Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

AS () (): I'm so grateful for the opportunity to speak about our nation's mental health. This is an issue that's way too important to be political. An Australian Bureau of Statistics report found that eight Australians, the majority of whom are men, die every day by suicide. Over 65,000 Australians attempt suicide each year. This is a devastating impact on a personal, social and economic scale. That report came out before COVID, and we know that COVID has exacerbated the already existing mental health crisis, so there's no doubt that this is a national emergency. As such, we must ensure that the services we provide are targeted, achieve the desired results and are evidence-based and—very important—independent. I would like to stress the word 'independent'.

Evaluation by the University of Melbourne of the Better Access initiative showed that the current scheme is not delivering for all Australians equally. It found that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; those living in regional, rural, and remote areas; and aged-care residents are missing out. The evaluation also found that the additional sessions were generally not targeted to people with complex mental health issues. Research consistently shows that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted disadvantaged Australians, but evidence from the evaluation indicated these people, who are already doing it tough, are often unable to receive mental health support under Better Access.

In 2021, Australians used five sessions on average, and 83 per cent of people used 10 or fewer sessions. In addition, wait times to see a professional blew out. The evaluation found that all the additional services went to existing patients, and the number of new patients who were able to get into the system and get access to psychology services declined by seven per cent. This independent assessment has been supported by other experts in the field. For example, Professor Patrick McGorry agreed with the independent assessment in the Sydney Morning Herald in December last year:

He said while there was a "small group of people that for which an extra 10 sessions would be helpful", the extra sessions amounted to a "really weak and inadequate" second-tier solution.

In the Guardian, Professor Sam Harvey, executive director and chief scientist at the Black Dog Institute, said that the changes being proposed 'could see shorter waiting times and more people able to make appointments'.

I'll say it again: our nation's mental health is too important to play politics with. I get many calls from people in my electorate, as many do in this place, who are desperate because they can't access services. We all want to do all we can to ensure that our investment in mental health gets to the people who need it. That's why we're tackling this problem in a number of ways. Gap fees are at an all-time high. People are paying more for their care, and when they can't afford those fees they go without. This is why we're undertaking a reform of Medicare—to ensure that people are not shut out of getting help because they can't afford it. This is also why we invested an additional $114 million for mental health services in the October budget. It's an extra $114 million for mental health, which included $48 million to reinstate a loading to make telehealth psychiatry more affordable for people in rural and regional areas.

This is also why we have convened a forum of key experts and people with lived experience of mental illness. The aim is to assess the recommendations of the independent evaluation and provide reform advice on how to improve Better Access so that all Australians have access to the same level of evidence based care. Discussions at the forum focused on how to make services more affordable and accessible to those who need them most as part of a broader system of care.

Too many people are struggling with mental health issues. We see it every day. It is our duty to ensure that the services we provide are appropriate, accessible to everyone who needs them and targeted. We must ensure that we grow the services that exist, but in a targeted way for those people that need them most.

See this speech in context