Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Throughout the federal election campaign, the Prime Minister was a regular visitor to my region of Braddon. He showed genuine interest in the good people of Braddon and the issues that were facing them. His interest in Braddon hasn't stopped now that the election has been run and won. Only recently, the Prime Minister visited Tasmania again. He attended an NDIS consultation session in the northern part of the state.

The NDIS is one of the largest and most important social institutional reforms that the government has undertaken in a generation. Like all reforms, it's an enormous task, but we're up for the job, and the progress to date has been significant. We have made sure that the NDIS is fully funded and the systems that are driving the program forward are in place. But, most importantly, right across Australia we're moving towards the target of having half a million participants in the scheme in the next five years. But what the government has recognised is that it's not just being on the scheme that's important; it's making sure that the scheme works for every one of those half a million participants, including those living in the more remote and regional areas like my electorate of Braddon.

So, true to their word, the Prime Minister and the NDIS minister, Stuart Robert, made it their priority to visit and conducted a consultation process. It was a great day. We gathered approximately 20 locals who were on the NDIS system. The Prime Minister, the minister and I listened to how the program was working for each of those participants, and they were free to tell us about what was good, what was concerning them and where the system was falling short. They also told stories about how the scheme was transforming their lives and those of their families. It was a candid, open, honest discussion.

Personally, I raised issues about the access to services in our more remote areas like Circular Head, the west coast and King Island. In these places, it's not always easy to access allied health professionals like occupational therapists and carers. At the moment, it seems that many of our participants are working around the availability in the system rather than the system working around them. But I'm confident that our Prime Minister and Minister Robert took all the points on board, and they have promised to provide feedback. That will be collated towards making the NDIS better for all participants, irrespective of where they live. It is my commitment to the participants within Braddon and their families that I'll be keeping in close contact with Minister Robert in order to make sure that this is the case.

After speaking with the NDIS participants, the Prime Minister and I travelled to Latrobe and visited the Psychology Caffe, a group practice specialising in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents. The organisation employs a range of experienced psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists who work in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders; assessments for developmental, intellectual and learning disorders; and cognitive behaviour therapy, acceptance commitment therapy and play therapy, just to name a few. At the Psychology Caffe, the Prime Minister again spoke with the psychologists, social workers and support staff about how our government can best support their efforts to improve mental health outcomes. He listened to the parents and the carers as they spoke about their experiences with the mental health system in our region. Our government's $503 million commitment to youth mental health and suicide prevention is the largest suicide prevention strategy in Australia's history. It will ensure that government activities are coordinated, services are delivered to young Australians at risk and support is available to their friends and families. This includes specific measures for rural and regional areas like in my electorate of Braddon, with the establishment of new headspace sites, and providing new mental health and telehealth services. Thank you to Tracey Martin-Cole, a psychologist and founder of Psychology Caffe; all of her team; and the families who allowed us into their lives.

My aim is to help the people of Braddon to be the very best that they can be, and that means doing my part to get rid of the barriers that might be stopping that from happening. That's why I'm committed to ensuring that our government plays its part to ensure that the NDIS and our mental health services function as well as they possibly can for all people in Braddon.

House adjourned at 20:00