Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against the motion moved in the name of the member for Lindsay. I do not speak against a motion like this lightly. On such serious subject matters, mainly that of mental health, I am sure this motion was not moved with any animus or craven intentions. I am sure that this was not an exercise in political pointscoring. I am sure that we are all better than that. This is why I am not making such an argument here today. I note that the member for Lindsay went before the House last week and asked a question of the Prime Minister, which was subsequently answered by the Minister for Health and Aged Care. It was resoundingly similar to the tone of her motion, yet we hear we are.

The member for Lindsay would now know that the previous government put in place a number of measures that would expire after the election. One notable example is the fuel excise. Another example is the extension of additional Medicare subsidised sessions through the Better Access initiative, which is the basis of this motion. The member for Lindsay states in her motion:

… serious mental health issues are often at their highest two to three years after a crisis, pandemic or natural disaster …

Yet, still, the motion remains entirely silent on the fact that the Morrison government, in the previous parliament, a parliament that the member for Lindsay was part of, opted to make these additional Medicare subsidised sessions under the Better Access scheme merely temporary measures. You would not have seen that mentioned in the headlines of the media releases or press conferences from the now former member for Flinders, but these measures, like his political career, were not intended to see out 2022.

I'm not sure whether the former member's political career was cut short by circumstance or by design, but the temporary measures that increased subsidised visits through the Better Access scheme were most definitely by design. I'm sure that if the Morrison government had been re-elected at the last election the member for Lindsay would have been the first one into this place, into her party room, using lines like those she has used in her motion, such as 'prioritising their budget over the health and wellbeing of Australians' or 'using an independent evaluation to defend ripping away mental health support'. To be fair, I was paraphrasing slightly, but in essence that is what the member for Lindsay has put to this place. I would like to hope that, upon learning that the previous government put a clock on these extra sessions, the member was as strong and full throated in her defence of those extra sessions to the decision-makers at its inception and not completely silent.

It is worth mentioning that the member for Lindsay has used the word 'disingenuous' in her motion, levelling it against the government. Language is very important. I do recognise that the member for Lindsay is the shadow assistant minister for mental health and suicide prevention, and I hope that, through her advocacy, she can help make a positive contribution in this space. But, at present, this contribution appears somewhat disjointed. The member for Lindsay appears to applaud the legacy of the previous Morrison Liberal government whilst, at the same time, lambasting the Albanese Labor government for decisions that were made by the very same government that she was quick to praise.

The Albanese Labor government sought expert medical advice to evaluate the Better Access initiative. The evaluations sung the praises of the initiative itself for those who are able to access it and benefit from it. What the member for Lindsay does not emphasise is the inequality in this scheme for young people, First Nations people, people from rural and regional areas and people from low-income households, many from my electorate of Spence, who fit these categories quite prominently.

When it comes to mental health, we as a nation cannot afford to leave tens of thousands of vulnerable people out in the cold, when we should be striving for equality. We cannot say that leaving people behind in a system that is working well for some qualifies as a success story. I'm glad the Minister for Health, along with the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, has as recently as 30 January held a forum with clinicians and with people who have lived experience of mental ill health, with the remit of working out how to bring equity and fairness back into treatment and access to treatment, as it should be. Thank you.

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