Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) World Mental Health Day (WMHD) will take place on 10 October; and

(b) Mental Health Week will take place in Australia from 9 to 15 October;

(2) seeks to encourage help-seeking behaviour, reduce the stigma associated with mental issues and foster connections through communities;

(3) acknowledges the importance of WMHD and other campaigns including R U OK? Day in Australia, and World Suicide Prevention Day that help:

(a) build community awareness about mental health issues and around suicide prevention; and

(b) to encourage people to have regular and meaningful conversations with family, friends and colleagues;

(4) recognises the efforts of dedicated individuals and organisations working to address mental health issues and suicide prevention;

(5) notes with concern that suicide rates remain unacceptably too high—in Australia:

(a) suicide is the leading cause of death for men and women between the ages of 15 and 44;

(b) each day seven people die by suicide, and 30 attempt it;

(c) higher rates of suicide exist among vulnerable groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, young people and people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities;

(d) the annual number of deaths by suicide is around 2,500;

(e) each year it is estimated that 65,000 people attempt suicide; and

(f) the annual suicide toll is now twice the annual road toll; and

(6) calls on the Government to show leadership around suicide prevention, including working in a bipartisan approach to adopt the National Mental Health Commission's target to reduce suicide by 50 per cent over the next 10 years.

This motion acknowledges that today is World Mental Health Day, an important day globally for mental health education, for awareness and for advocacy. This year's theme focuses on psychological and mental health first aid. The day is supported by the United Nations and more than a hundred countries around the world and, of course, this is Mental Health Week, and Mental Health Day coincides with that. This week seeks to encourage help-seeking behaviour, to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and to foster connection through communities.

I was pleased to hear the Minister for Health talking about World Mental Health Day in the House today, because we know that here in Australia the rates of mental illness are very concerning. It is estimated that more than 3.6 million Australians aged 16 to 85 are living with or have experienced mental health problems. In addition to this, around 600,000 children and young people between the ages of four and 17 have been affected by a clinically significant mental health problem. There are more than three million Australians with moderate to mild mental health problems—that is, mostly anxiety and depression—over 600,000 Australians who are experiencing severe episodic and severe and persistent ill health and 65,000 Australians with severe and persistent complex mental health issues.

Slowly but surely we are starting to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, and here in Australia, I am told by experts in the field, we are doing quite well in terms of raising awareness and reducing stigma compared with other Western countries. As a community we are talking more about our mental health, and that is a good thing. Dedicated awareness programs and dedicated days are ways of helping that. They make us more aware of those around us, our community, our family and our friends and make sure that we take the time to talk to people that we think may be dealing with and living with a mental illness. This day has encouraged people to have regular and meaningful conversations with their family, friends and colleagues. It is also about reconnecting with people you have lost touch with. World Suicide Prevention Day is also another reminder, and that day was held on 10 September as it is each year.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that around 800,000 people die by suicide each year. I raise that today because just last week the ABS released some new statistics in relation to suicide in Australia that are very concerning indeed. Suicide is again the leading cause of death in Australia for those aged 15 to 44. According to the ABS, over 3,027 Australians died by suicide in 2015. That is an increase of 5.4 per cent on the previous year. It is, of course, 3,027 too many. It is more than double the annual road toll. According to this latest data, it is estimated that more than 65,000 Australians attempt suicide each year. Sadly, suicide continues to disproportionately impact Indigenous communities, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people twice more likely than non-Indigenous people in Australia to die by suicide. This is heartbreaking indeed and should cause all of us concern.

Labor knows that suicide affects far too many Australians and that all levels of government should be working together to focus on a holistic approach to suicide prevention. It is only by working together that we can finally reduce the impact of suicide in our society. A lot of great work has already been done, and I want to thank those working in the sector, community mental health, mental health experts and primary health practitioners, people out there who are supporting people in our community who need that support to get the assistance that they need. We continue to be inspired by some of those individuals and organisations working to address suicide and to improve mental health in our community. But there is still more to do.

I have to say I am still very disappointed that the government has not accepted the National Mental Health Commission's recommendation to adopt a suicide prevention target—something that Labor did. Prior to the election campaign, we accepted the recommendation that there should be a target, and we said that that target should be a reduction of 50 per cent over 10 years and that we should measure the implementation of the programs and the expenditure of funds that we are putting into suicide prevention in our community. It is too important not to, when the figures that come out are so disturbing and so large. We need to work together, and, if we do not have a target and we are not measuring progress when it comes to improving mental health in our community, how do we know we are making a difference? How do we know the investments that governments of all levels are making are actually changing things in our local community? It is too important, on this important day, not to act.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and I reserve my right to speak.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a society, it is important that we acknowledge World Mental Health Day and indeed World Mental Health Week, to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues and to encourage those struggling with mental illness that they are not alone and that they are supported by their community and this federal parliament. Today I hope we can encourage people struggling with mental illness to talk about it and seek professional help—to not give up but rather to hope for brighter days, weeks, months and years ahead.

I rise today, on World Mental Health Day, to talk about something very close to the heart of my electorate of Canning, and that is suicide. Tragically, over the past year there have been eight youth suicides in Canning and the surrounding areas that have left our communities sad and desperate for answers. Two of these students were from the same high school. My electorate of Canning, a beautiful and vibrant part of Western Australia, has the third-highest suicide rate of all the federal electorates in this parliament.

Every human life has innate worth and dignity. Every Australian is special and unique because of that innate worth and dignity, and so every suicide is a tragedy. I am proud of my local community and my government and the way they have sought to bring positive change. The support of the Prime Minister, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Assistant Minister for Rural Health and the rest of my coalition colleagues has been superb and timely.

I am particularly proud of my local mental health leaders in Canning. I have spoken numerous times in parliament about the Peel Youth Medical Service, or PYMS, and the invaluable service it provides to 400 young people a month in the Peel region, under the direction of Amanda Poller and Eleanor Britton. Of these 400 people, 40 per cent have mental health issues. Prior to the recent spate of youth suicides in Canning, Amanda and Eleanor informed me that there was an increasing demand for physical and mental health that PYMS was struggling to meet, despite its best efforts and the wonderful grassroots support of the local Peel community. The recent suicides underscore the need for more support.

In April, the Prime Minister and the health minister met with a delegation of local students, local and state government leaders, youth representatives and PYMS to ask how the government could help the community deal with the suicide problem. As a group, we collectively asked for funding for the PYMS health hub, a project that will see PYMS expand its services and outreach programs to more young people in need. I am proud to say that PYMS has just received confirmation of the coalition's $2 million contribution towards the PYMS health hub. I thank the Prime Minister and the health minister for their commitment.

During the election, the coalition also announced that it would be committing an additional $192 million to support mental health reform, including suicide prevention strategies. These reforms include $26 million for 10 PHN lead sites, with an additional $7 million for four PHN lead sites focused on suicide prevention to be champions of mental health reform. Perth South PHN, which covers Canning, is one of those four lead sites. Further, the reforms also include $24 million for eight suicide prevention trial sites—a total of 12 suicide prevention sites—and guaranteed funding for headspace. In addition to that, they have also committed $20 million for an additional 10 headspace centres, bringing the total to 110, with a focus on additional services in rural and regional areas. There is also a $30 million commitment for 21st century digital technologies to support mental health reforms as well as $2.5 million for Lifeline to trial a crisis text service.

These reforms are clear evidence of the coalition government's leadership on suicide prevention. But it is not just the government that is taking action to prevent suicides in Canning. The Mandurah Mustangs football and netball club has just announced a formal partnership with headspace in response to the youth suicides in the region. One of those suicide victims was a member of the junior football club. This unique partnership is the first of its kind and is designed to bring mental health services into the lives of those who need it by housing Mandurah's first headspace office in the Mustang's new clubrooms. Young sports men and women will have help where they are comfortable to receive it. While this project is still in its very early stages, it has widespread local support and I look forward to the opening of the coalition's Building Better Regions Fund in the hope that we can help to get this project off the ground with additional funding. To that end, I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Canning community to deliver on all these reforms. On this day, I endorse what the government is doing in mental health services and suicide prevention.

Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion by the member for Franklin to recognise World Mental Health Day—today, 10 October 2016. This week is also Mental Health Week. Knowing the number of mental health professionals as I do, it is a very hectic week for them but a very important week to continue to raise the issues of mental health and mental illness, and the cost to the community and the fact that mental illness is, in the main, preventable and treatable. We should do everything we can to remove the stigma surrounding mental health because that stigma, regardless of the benefits and strides we have made, is still costing many lies in our community.

In this Mental Health Week, I would like to pay tribute in particular to Professor Patrick McGorry, the 2010 Australian of the Year. It was his vision that created the first headspace, which was opened 10 years ago tomorrow. I think it may have been opened by then Prime Minister John Howard. That was an initiative that was pioneered by Professor McGorry. I think there are now over 100 sites, notwithstanding some of the difficulties with recent funding commitments. They perform a vital service. They are literally saving people's lives. Over the past decade, over 260,000 young Australians have sought help and advice in person, over the phone and online through headspace. It is making a substantial difference in our community. How does it matter to the community? The member for Canning talked about some issues in his electorate. In 2012, in my electorate we had what is known as a suicide cluster. It was devastating to the community. A substantial number of young people took their own lives and the community was forced to grapple with that and come together and work out what it could do to stop this youth suicide cluster.

I was fortunate enough to be briefed and encouraged to take some action by an astounding group of Casey's young people through the Casey Study Tour Group. Those young people that came to me and spoke about this issue—and there were people who were sitting in my office who were friends of some of those young people that had taken their own lives—their approach and their bravery inspired me to conduct a forum that was led by Professor Patrick McGorry. It was filmed by Four Corners. It was part of a program called 'There is no 3G in heaven'.

It was an important program; it was a confronting program. I certainly commended the Four Corners program for conducting it at the time and I commend the courage of the mums and dads that came along to that forum that had lost young people—enormous courage; courage that we cannot comprehend at this place. Through their commitment and through the commitment, I must say, of the people involved in the Four Corners program and Professor Patrick McGorry, we got funding for two health headspace centres that were overlaid by youth early psychosis centres.

Those centres save lives and continue to save lives. I think—notwithstanding some of the commitments and discussions and figures being put about the federal government on a number of occasions—those two headspaces—through the abolition of the Medicare local healthcare networks and now the devolution to the private health networks create uncertainty—does not lead those staff to continue to be able to provide a guarantee of service to the community.

The other thing that is quite critical in both of those headspaces—particularly the headspace in Narre Warren, which caters to a high youth growth belt—is the fact that the federal government has still not guaranteed the funding for this world-leading service. It is being run by Professor Simon Straface from the Alfred Hospital. So, even though we have heard wonderful words on this Youth Mental Health Day and we are talking about this in a bipartisan spirit, that requires the health minister to adequately fund that. And I know that Professor McGorry is speaking, probably as we speak, with the health minister to get that commitment. I say it is a shame that the health minister is in this position on World Mental Health Day. Regardless of the words that she said in the parliament about her commitment to mental health, our leading Australian psychiatrist in this field is meeting with the health minister to ensure that that funding for early psychosis is going to continue to be provided for the future of our country, our young people. It says a lot.

You have, I think, over 3,000 people who have committed people in this country; 3,000 lives that have been lost. It is an epidemic. We must do something about it; we must make it a priority and we must be bipartisan to save more lives in this country.

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise here today to speak to this motion. Mental Health Week is an opportunity to remind people about the importance of their social and emotional wellbeing, and that of their families, loved ones and communities. Today I would like to mention key initiatives in my region, and highlight the government's mental health reforms which have been welcomed in this sector.

Tomorrow is the first national headspace day and the theme is 'Access all areas'. This day of awareness is about making sure every young person in Australia has access to youth-friendly mental health services, no matter where they live. Over the past decade headspace has transformed services for young people living with mental illness, including disproportionately high numbers of young people from regional and rural areas, those identifying as LGBTI, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders.

At my local headspace in Cairns, there were 5,588 occasions of care during 2015-16. Headspace has been successful in bringing traditionally marginalised groups into support services, and making a measureable difference in reducing suicidal ideation and self-harm. As the only member of parliament who is also the independent chair of a headspace, I would like to thank Marie O'Dea and her team at headspace Cairns for their work to date and the great work I expect they will be doing into the future. I would also like to acknowledge consortium members the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, Cairns Regional Council, Wuchopperen Aboriginal Health Service, Youth Link, Vocational Partnerships Group, and Aftercare.

Another initiative that we have of which I am very proud is The Junction Clubhouse, very capably led by Dorothy Dunne and her team. It is a wonderful facility, which I work very closely with. It helps members who are recovering from mental health challenges to become work-ready, and it provides ongoing support through outreach and social recreation. At The Junction's new premises—generously donated by Mrs Freda Mangano, who provided all of the funds for the purchase of the property—they are now operating a bike bank, with bikes for sale and hire, and promoting healthy lifestyles. During the election campaign I was pleased to secure $60,000 for The Junction to upgrade their kitchen to a commercial facility. Members are able to make and sell lunches and coffees to surrounding businesses, becoming more financially self-sustainable in the long term.

Another fabulous institution in my electorate is the Dr Edward Koch Foundation. I have spoken before about the critical work carried out by Dulcie Bird, CEO of the Dr Edward Koch Foundation. This is the lead agency for suicide prevention activities in my region, and they do it all without a dollar of state or federal funding. It is quite amazing. Later this month, in partnership with the World Federation for Mental Health, they are hosting the 2016 international conference, with 150 speakers on a broad range of mental health related issues. At the conference, the president will launch the theme for the coming year, 'Dignity in mental health: psychological and mental health first aid for all'. The launch is in conjunction with Betty Kitchener, who developed the Mental Health First Aid program here in Australia. In 2015, the one millionth Mental Health First Aider in the world was trained—an absolutely remarkable achievement.

Mental health reform is a top priority for the Turnbull government, and we are tackling it on a range of fronts, particularly in rural and regional areas, through a new 'stepped care' model, which tailors services to people's needs; a digital information gateway; new 'low intensity' support for individuals; innovative approaches to care for people with severe mental illness needs; and local planning and funding of services through the Primary Health Networks.

Feedback on the government's reforms has been very positive. Headspace has welcomed the funding for an additional 10 centres, with a focus on additional services in rural and regional areas. In closing, can I say that our mental health reforms will result in better personalised support and care, and greater opportunities and better lives for Far North Queenslanders. I certainly commend this motion to the House.

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be given this opportunity to speak on World Mental Health Day and to support the motion moved by the member for Franklin. Mental health issues are prevalent in regional Tasmania but, given the stoic nature of country people, and particularly country men, they are not talked about nearly enough. Thankfully, that is changing, in part due to the hard work of organisations like Rural Alive and Well, which employs outreach workers to speak to people in their homes and on their farms, offering a friendly shoulder to lean on.

Indeed, as regional Tasmanians have battled and recovered from drought, fire and flood in recent years, RAW has proved itself to be invaluable. Importantly, RAW is based not in the city but in the regional town of Oatlands in my electorate of Lyons, and its workers are spread throughout the state. I note that my good friend the member for Braddon is here, and her electorate does also benefit from this great service. This direct connectedness to country life is, I think, essential to RAW's mission.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the leadership of RAW Tasmania President Ian McMichael and to welcome new CEO Liz Little, a lifelong community advocate. Founding CEO Danial Rochford left the organisation earlier this year to pursue an arduous life in the South Pacific. His tireless energy was vital to RAW's acceptance and emergence as a vital cog in Tasmania's mental health apparatus, and he deserves our thanks.

While we are all feeling the bonhomie of bipartisanship on World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Week it would be remiss of me not to mention the elephant in the room: the marriage equality plebiscite. I do this not to embarrass members opposite nor to score a political point but to genuinely plead with them to take this day, this World Mental Health Day, to consider the impacts the plebiscite will have on hundreds of thousands of our fellow Australians, particularly on young people, and to ask them to abandon this unnecessary and cruel endeavour. This is not the Labor Party trying to play politics. It is mental health experts who have raised serious concerns about the detrimental impact that a plebiscite will have on the LGBTIQ community and their children. Experts, including Patrick McGorry, a former Australian of the Year, and Mental Health Australia, say the plebiscite will cause significant harm to gay and lesbian Australians. He says that there is definitely a risk involved. Anyone working in mental health would be concerned about it. A plebiscite 'is a dangerous thing to be doing … It will harm peoples' mental health.' Lives are at stake—literally.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics told us this year that suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15 to 44, with 28 people in every 100,000 taking their own lives. In rural Australia the rate is double that of the cities and suburbs. Last year in Tasmania for every 100,000 people in the state 45 young people took their own lives. That is the highest number per population in Australia. Young LGBTIQ people are six times more likely than the population overall to try to kill themselves. The average age of a first suicide attempt by a young LGBTIQ person is 16 years of age, often before they come out publicly. I will say that again: the average ages 16. That is about the same age as my teenage daughter. So kids whose only worries should be exams and pimples are trying to end their lives because they are worried about the way they are perceived in society.

But, of course, it is not only the young LGBTIQ people who are suffering mental ill health. Older same-sex Australians still grapple with the knowledge that as recently as 20 odd years ago sex with their partner was a criminal act, that as recently as 1992 their sexuality was listed as a disease, and that as recently as within a decade they and their partners had fewer legal rights regarding next of kin, division of property and taxation treatment than heterosexual couples. I cannot imagine what it must to the someone's wellbeing to be told in so many ways that you are not really one of us, that you do not quite belong. So I would ask those opposite, as they consider the importance of addressing self-harm and Australia's terrible levels of suicide, whether a plebiscite will help people's mental health or harm it.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the motion. As we know, today is World Mental Health Day and as many speakers have said before I do not think there is anyone who does not have direct family, extended family or friends who have not been touched by mental health issues. It is why we say as a government—and, with all due respect, it being bipartisan—that there has never been more mental health services provided in our community than there are today. This has grown steadily at all levels of government, including local and state. They have seen that we all have to play a part in extending mental health services to our communities, because we are more conscious and more aware of many of the mental health issues in all of our communities.

I was delighted recently that our local North Coast Primary Health Network was selected as just one of four lead sites from across Australia to implement the new $192 million mental health program. Under this new program the North Coast Primary Health Network will receive much extra funding for additional resources to develop localised methods to help address mental health issues. Deputy Speaker, as a regional MP you are very conscious, as I am, that most solutions to our community's issues and problems are within the local community. The expertise we have in a whole array of fields is there, and this includes mental health. So the way that this is going to roll out through our primary health networks is not necessarily a one size fits all—or, in this case, not necessarily one organisation to roll out programs that will deal with mental health issues. I know that just within my community there are different service providers already who do different things that work. They are not necessarily duplicated across the whole country. Sometimes they arise out of nuances within our own individual towns and areas. I am very excited about, obviously, the extra resources being put into mental health, but also I am very happy with the way that this has been designed. Local people, local organisations will choose through their primary health network about how to spend this money.

Work within the primary health network has begun to implement the northern New South Wales Mental Health Integration Plan, with the ability, as I have said, to direct funding back to people who are on the ground. My local primary health network CEO, Vahid Saberi, with the team that he has—we are all very proud of a lot of different places in our communities, but I am very proud of my primary health network. Vahid runs a great team there. A lot of different spaces around our health provision that we do as a federal government is run through him. I know he is going to do a great job with the extra resources that he is going to get for mental health. There will be things such as an outreach of headspace from Coffs operating in the Clarence. They will be providing resources for the acute-care level of mental health, as well. As we know, a lot of work needs to be done in the mental health spectrum at the preventative stage. There are lots of great programs for that. Also, there is a great awareness that we need more resources and assistance in the acute care of this and actual beds in mental health, because, obviously, suicide and the prevention of suicide.

I have organisations like Cranes in Grafton. It is an example of how mental health services should be provided. Many staff on the ground have great experience in running early intervention seminars and training to pick up early warning signs. Also, within the integration plan we will have an implementation of a person-centre approach to service, an increase in co-location of services and development of community education to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

What I find almost still upsetting is: we have had many suicides in our community—often youth—and, in many cases, people have never sought help. So while we have school counselling programs and other service providers in our community, more often than not—or in too many cases—no-one has ever really been aware of the mental health issues that this person has been going through, and they have never actively sought help. So part of it is to reduce the stigma, to make it, as we say, okay to say that you are not okay, to break down the stigma of seeking help in this space and to, therefore, make people aware already of the many services. As I said, there are more services than there has ever been. But, also, as a government it is very important that we increase the services, as we are doing.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order for the next day of sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:28