Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on an insidious issue that has affected many throughout my community, and right around Australia. I am talking about the heartbreaking number of Indigenous Australians who take their own lives each year. Sadly, my electorate of Durack is at the forefront of this issue, with the Kimberley having a suicide rate seven times the Australian average.

I am glad to say that I am part of a government that is taking this issue seriously, and to report that there was a suicide prevention roundtable convened in the Kimberley, in Broome, last Friday. Present were the very capable health minister, Sussan Ley; the Assistant Minister for Health, Ken Wyatt; the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, together with a number of health professionals and stakeholders. This roundtable was the first step towards the government creating a suicide prevention hub in the Kimberley. We learnt that we must look closely at what is working on the ground and focus on the factors which lead to someone taking their own life, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, and drug and alcohol abuse.

This incredibly complex and difficult issue has been a challenge for successive governments since Indigenous suicide became a significant problem in the 1960s. I am proud to be part of a government that is listening to the Indigenous community, and is committed to providing robust, appropriate programs that will help to curb the current rates of Indigenous suicide.