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

I rise tonight to unequivocally state my support for the Australians for Mental Health campaign led by 2010 Australian of the Year, Professor Pat McGorry. Mental ill-health will affect approximately 50 per cent of all Australians at some stage in their life. Too often, they suffer in silence because of the fear of judgement from friends, family and peers. Too often, people are afraid to identify themselves as experiencing a mental illness in case it is perceived that they are mentally weak or incapable of dealing with life's challenges. These misconceptions and a lack of understanding of the significance of mental illness are negatively impacting some four million Australians who are diagnosed as experiencing mental ill-health and who display courage by acknowledging their illness—and, in many cases, to be failed by the system which is meant to be supporting them.

Advocates for additional resourcing for mental health advise that mental ill-health costs the Australian economy about $40 billion every year. They say an investment in mental health will not only see a financial return to the economy but, most importantly, improve the lives of the four million Australians who need assistance and treatment when dealing with their mental illness. The Australians for Mental Health campaign is lobbying for more prevention and early intervention services, which currently are not readily available or accessible. Independent reports from those in the mental health sector—and I worked in that sector many years ago—tell us that our mental health services remain fragmented and remain underfunded. As an example, similar OECD countries spend up to 12 per cent to 16 per cent of their health budget on mental health services. Australia's spending has fallen to a mere five per cent. That's almost Third World levels of expenditure on mental health.

Tonight, as I did earlier today on the issue of national security, I'm calling for a bipartisan approach from all political parties to work together to create an improved mental health system that delivers high-quality care for Australians with mental ill-health. The Australians for Mental Health campaign has a plan for a future in which every Australian can expect the same level of care for their mental health as they do for their physical health. It's vital that prevention and early intervention services are scaled up to engage and treat people with mental ill-health at the earliest possible time and prevent the progression of illness and the development of high-risk crisis situations. This month we have witnessed the tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain from suicide, reminding us that mental health challenges do not discriminate. They touch every layer and every level of the community.

One of the main goals for Australians for Mental Health is to ensure that every Australian has access to a mental health hub. These centres would be multidisciplinary and fully integrated without outreach capability. They would have a range of mental health specialists on hand to provide integrated services for mental and physical health—GPs, allied health staff, addiction specialists, psychiatrists and vocational experts. Experts tell me that we should be prioritising investment in mental health hubs or localised services in Australia. Many vulnerable people are missing out on accessing services because they are just too hard to access. Australians for Mental Health also point out that investing in mental health hubs actually saves money and benefits the economy.

Targeted spending on mental health care keeps people in the prime of their lives in the workforce. Illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease generally strike later in life, whilst 75 per cent of mental health disorders emerge in young people who are just starting out in the workforce. Governments of all persuasions invest in young people so that they can reach their full potential, but at least half of them are going to experience a period of mental ill-health during their transition to adulthood.

In the immediate vicinity of my electorate of Holt, for example, we have two headspaces, one at Narre Warren and one at Dandenong. However, both services are in high demand and under immense strain to keep up with the growing population. Headspace Narre Warren saw over 1,200 young people in 2017. The national average is 650 young people. It's clear to me, in reflecting on this need for support from the Australians for Mental Health campaign, that we could also do with some additional spending in the area of Cranbourne, near Cranbourne East, the fastest-growing area in Australia. In that spirit, I ask for additional bipartisan government support on this particular issue.