Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this year, I put the call out to young people in my electorate to submit a speech via my website about issues that were important to them. I have been inundated with speeches, and this one is from Ryan Loduwick of Frenchs Forest. These are his words:

I'm 22 years old and work as a carer for cerebral palsy Alliance. For the last 8 years, I have seen over 6 people I know commit suicide, and personally know many close friends who now battle with depression. What is the Government and the opposition doing to address the growing number of cases?

Thank you, Ryan, for sharing some of your personal experiences of mental health. It is never easy to talk about people who take their own lives, but it is an issue we as a government must address. In this budget, the government provided an increase of $338 million in mental health funding, with a focus on suicide prevention. It is important that all of us, no matter where we are in the community, continue to focus on the prevention of suicide, in particular among people who are dislocated from our community. I thank Ryan for writing to me and submitting his speech. Hopefully, over the coming weeks, I will be able to present more speeches to the House.