Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the COVID-19 health emergency will have significant and ongoing mental health impacts for Australians;

(2) recognises:

(a) that financial hardship should be no barrier to getting the health treatment people need; and

(b) the important role that mental health practitioners have played during this crisis and will continue to play in Australia's health system;

(3) acknowledges that the Productivity Commission is due to hand its report on mental health to the Government in June 2020; and

(4) calls on the Government to respond to the Productivity Commission's report into mental health as a matter of urgency, incorporating the anticipated impacts of COVID-19 in their response.

The Black Dog Institute's report Mental health ramifications of COVID-19 highlighted four groups that have increased risk during a disease outbreak: people with pre-existing anxiety disorders and mental health problems, healthcare workers, people being placed in quarantine, and people who were unemployed, underemployed or in casual work. As the COVID-19 pandemic reached Australian shores, we saw an immediate spike in demand for mental health support. In March Lifeline answered almost 90,000 calls for help, an increase of 25 per cent compared with the same period last year, or one call every 30 seconds. It was the highest call frequency in Lifeline's 57-year history. Beyond Blue saw a 30 per cent spike in contacts to their support services in the last two weeks of March. On some days a third of contacts were COVID-19 related. A survey from Black Dog, released in May, found 78 per cent of respondents reported their mental health had been worse since COVID-19 and over 50 per cent of respondents were moderately to extremely worried about their financial situation.

Suicide Prevention Australia's report Turning the tide, released in March, showed, sadly, the well-established link between unemployment, financial distress and mental health crisis, which means people who are unemployed are nine times as likely to take their own life as are working people. Many people have found themselves out of work—some for the first time—as retail, hospitality, tourism and the service sectors collapsed when restrictions were introduced. This impact was felt harder in regional and remote communities built on these economies, like my electorate of Dobell. As hundreds of thousands of Australians lost their jobs and businesses folded, lives were broken.

In my former role as chief pharmacist and mental health pharmacist at Wyong Hospital, I saw what happens to at-risk people in crisis, brought in by ambulance or police and all too often after an overdose. I saw otherwise healthy individuals deteriorate rapidly as a direct result of unemployment, housing stress and debt. I felt firsthand the sense of impending failure that happens when you discharge a patient who is finally well back into the very same set of circumstances that made them sick, because experience tells you the health effects of unemployment are linked to the psychological consequences and the financial problems it brings, particularly debt, which means it won't be long before you see that person back in hospital again fighting for their life.

The people of my community have deeply felt the mental health impact of COVID-19. Kath and her husband Ken were on holiday in Europe when Australia closed its borders. Ken was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was for two months quarantined, receiving treatment and then rehabilitation in Perth, on the other side of the country, far from home. Their son, Trevor, drove for five days across two state borders to see his dad and comfort his mum. Kath and Ken are now safely home in Toukley but for months felt the strain of quarantine, isolation and a longing to be back home on the coast.

I have spoken previously of Emma Moulder and her struggles to visit her father, Graeme, in aged care through COVID-19. Emma has since been able to see her dad again but is now facing an uphill battle with the NDIS to get the support he desperately needs as he faces his terminal brain tumour. This is difficult in normal circumstances but during COVID-19 has at times felt impossible, especially as Graeme cannot understand why his family are not visiting. He only knows they are not around, and Emma's mum is working just to get by.

The Productivity Commission report into mental health is due to be released to the government later this month. The interim report noted that mental ill health costs the Australian economy between $43 billion and $51 billion each year, and that was before the outbreak of COVID-19. COVID-19 will increase the burden on individuals and the cost to the economy without further government action. Targeted prevention and treatment programs, especially for at-risk groups, particularly people looking for work and those whose businesses have folded, will help reduce the mental health and subsequent economic burden Australia faces. In the government's response to date we've seen some expansion of existing mental health services in response to the pandemic and a mental health plan along the way. We need to do more and we need to act now.

I would like to finish by recognising and thanking mental health workers across Australia for their efforts during this health emergency. To the social workers, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, OTs, nurses, pharmacists, police, paramedics and cleaners: I understand this has been an extremely difficult time. Your work is helping Australians through this time and will be even more critical in the weeks and months ahead. A special shout-out to all the workers at Wyong Hospital, my former colleagues and friends: you are doing an amazing job.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder to the motion?

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to the motion moved by the member for Dobell regarding the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus emergency on the mental health of Australians. As a psychologist, I understand mental health policy. I've worked on the front line. I've worked with many people across the life span in both outpatient clinics and inpatient settings. Mental health is an issue that I am particularly passionate about, and I am very proud to be part of a government that consistently makes mental health our nation's priority. The Australian people were confronted by the coronavirus pandemic when we were already vulnerable from bushfire and drought. The pandemic's isolating and anxiety-inducing effects have added to this collective stress and trauma.

The Morrison government moved swiftly to ensure that the wellbeing of all Australians was protected during the pandemic, with a focus on mental health. Since January this year, we have committed $500 million to mental health and suicide prevention, while extending a whole-of-population telehealth model of care that included mental health consultations. This has allowed mental health professionals to continue to work during the pandemic, using phone and video technology, where clinically appropriate, to ensure access and continuity of treatment. As a result, we have seen 50 per cent of mental health consultations being conducted through telehealth, with over one million telehealth mental health consultations undertaken since mid-March.

For those with chronic or pre-existing mental health conditions, the coronavirus climate meant their mental health was at greater risk. But even those without pre-existing mental health conditions were at risk too. For many, their wellbeing deteriorated because of isolation and disruption to routine, including the challenge for many working parents of working from home while juggling homeschooling. As we move through the aftermath of the financial and health crises, Australians are being encouraged to utilise their social support networks to ensure they stay socially connected and take initiative with help-seeking behaviours in order to get to the other side.

The government's digital mental health portal, Head to Health, was introduced to be a single source of information and guidance on how to maintain good mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. Simple self-care—such as eating well and exercising, maintaining good sleep hygiene behaviours, limiting access to the 24-hour news cycles and making time for recreational activities—has helped many Australians get through the strain and burn of this period.

The government should be commended for supporting the excellent work of Beyond Blue by providing $10 million of federal funding for a dedicated coronavirus wellbeing support line. This is helping people experiencing a coronavirus diagnosis or experiencing anxiety due to employment changes, financial difficulties, family pressures or other challenges. A further $14 million of federal funding has bolstered the capacity of mental health providers such as Beyond Blue and Kids Helpline, and the Black Dog Institute is now providing digital access to mental health support for our frontline health workers. Many of our health workers have worked heroically throughout this period but have also had to push themselves to their limits, and it is our priority that they have the resources they need to take care of their mental health in what has been an incredibly stressful and, at times, traumatising public health crisis.

I also want to commend the Morrison government on its choice to appoint the country's first deputy chief medical officer for mental health, and I congratulate Dr Ruth Vine on this new role. I welcome the Productivity Commission's report on mental health, which is due to be handed down in the coming weeks, and I am confident that the Morrison government will continue to put evidence based mental health policy as a priority, particularly as we move out of the coronavirus pandemic on our road to recovery.

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we move through the health crisis caused by coronavirus and we turn our attention to the recession that we are now living through, many people are talking about the economy, and that's right; we must address the economy. But we have more than an opportunity here to rebuild Australia's economy. We have an opportunity to think about the sort of community we want to be. Do we want to be a community where people are connected to each other? Do we want to be a community where, regardless of how much you earn or where you live or what your circumstances are, there are supports there for you to get through the difficult times? Do we want a community where loneliness is hardly experienced, or do we want a community that is measured in terms of how much you earn, how well the economy tracks and what your social status is?

In my community, we understand and we're working very hard to build connectedness. One thing that the social isolation of coronavirus has taught all of us is that social isolation and mental health problems go hand in hand. We've heard research by places like the Black Dog Institute talk about those people who are more vulnerable to mental health crises during coronavirus isolation being those who already had pre-existing anxiety, people who are healthcare workers on the front line of the crisis, people who are experiencing quarantine and so are more isolated, and unemployed, underemployed and casual workers—people who already have insecurity in their lives.

I would add to that that the experience in Dunkley is that young people are feeling the strain of coronavirus. For many young people—and when I say 'young people' I mean anyone from a toddler up to someone in their mid-20s—their social connectedness has been disturbed over these last few months. School-age children haven't been able to go to school. People whose world revolves around sport, and who thought it was because of the competition and the game, haven't been able to go to their club. They've learnt that their world revolves around sport in great part because of the people who are at the club when they go there.

Last week, I was at the Langwarrin Football Netball Club for their first training session and I spoke to the committee members and the players. To a person, man and woman, they talked about how amazing it was to be back with their fellow club members. They really wanted the season to start but, predominantly, they were just so happy to be back in a place where they felt secure, where they have friends, where they aren't isolated and where they aren't lonely. In Frankston North we have Project O, which works with young women who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are vulnerable to mental health issues and domestic violence. It is all about empowering those young women and keeping them together. They've been working to have digital connectedness. But it's hard, because not everyone can afford or has access to the sort of internet that we need to have digital connectedness, or can access the sorts of services online that we've heard about—and the government has supported—such as telehealth and Beyond Blue. They're terrific, but if you don't have a computer or an iPad or the wherewithal or the means to be able to afford the data for the internet then you can't access those services. So we need to think about what sort of community we want to be as we move forward.

Headspace in Frankston currently has a waiting list of 150 young people for counselling, and the wait time is four to six months. Last week I met with headspace in Frankston because a constituent had contacted me about his young son, who he's very worried about because he has lost his social connectedness. He was told there is a six-month wait. He thought that couldn't be right. Unfortunately, it is right. We can address this in two ways, and we must. One is the funding for our services and the other is to ask ourselves: What sort of community do we want to be? Why is it that 150 young people are on a waiting list for counselling? There are many things we have to address. But, as we look at how we're going to build back better—not just snap back, not just recover, but build back better—we must ask ourselves: what sort of community do we want to be? I know that I want—and my community wants—to be more connected, to be stronger and to get through it genuinely together with community groups, not just words.

Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the world watches the carnage from the COVID pandemic unfold around the world, my constituents in Higgins have told me they are pleased and glad to be in Australia. They're pleased and glad because they have felt that as Australians we have worked together to carve our own curve and to ensure we have dodged the bullet that is the coronavirus pandemic. There have been so many important things that have been done to make sure that the health of all Australians is kept front and centre as our government deliberates, in a bipartisan way by working with the national cabinet, to close our borders, to enforce strict quarantine for people visiting from overseas or arriving home from overseas and to insist that people practise social distancing. It has had a profound effect on so many Australians, whether it has been Australians who have not been able to have the wedding that they wish they could have had, whether it has been Australians who have not been able to mark the occasion of the passing of a relative or a friend, whether it has been an Australian who has lost a job or lost their business.

There are so many impacts that are broad and general and sweeping from COVID that Australia has managed to deal with quietly, but there is one impact that Australians know is having a deep and long-term impact, and that is the indirect effect of COVID on the mental health of all Australians. Many have suffered in silence. Many have dealt with tragedies that they have not been able to share, because it's not just them that is hurting but their families that are hurting, their communities that are hurting, their country that is hurting, the whole world that is hurting. But Australians can feel that there is support coming from their community and from their government because the Morrison government has committed to not only understanding and acknowledging but delivering on the two aspects of COVID: firstly, the health aspect, which we've all heard about; secondly, the mental health aspect. I'm proud to be part of a government that is putting this at the front and centre of its response to the pandemic crisis that is causing carnage around the world.

On Sunday, the Morrison government announced a further investment in mental health services across Australia: $24.5 million will reduce wait times and fast-track access to mental health services at headspace. We know that one in four young Australians are affected by mental health issues. In my electorate of Higgins, the government is delivering on its election commitment to deliver a headspace in Glen Iris to support the young people of Higgins and surrounding areas. It aims to improve access for young people aged 12 to 25 who are at risk of mental health issues. It offers early intervention services in four key areas: mental health, related physical health, social and vocational support, and alcohol and other drug use.

But headspace is just part of a large suite of commitments for mental health services and support, which is estimated this year to be $5.2 billion. This includes an additional $500 million for mental health services and support, $64 million for suicide prevention, $74 million for preventative mental health services in response to COVID and $48 million to support the pandemic response plan. The Morrison government is also investing $4 million into a range of projects to improve health outcomes for some of Australia's culturally diverse Australians. The funding, to be provided through the National Women's Health Strategy, the National Men's Health Strategy and the Child and Youth Health grants, will particularly assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

As Australians, we know that the carnage is global, but we also know that by working together and by supporting each other we will come through this. It is imperative that in our economic response we put jobs at the centre of what we do, because having a job and having the dignity of a job provides the opportunity for young Australians to have the hope of a prosperous future that hopefully is both healthy and safe. As we begin to unlock Australia, the government's national mental health plan will be the key to ensuring the economic prosperity of getting us back on track.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Dobell for this important motion. There is absolutely no question that COVID-19 has had a profound and lasting impact on the mental health of all Australians. In bushfire-hit communities like mine on the New South Wales South Coast, that impact has been devastating. Local people along the South Coast have been struggling with hit after hit. First, the drought had far-reaching impacts for so many local people, both directly and indirectly. Then came the bushfires. So many local people stayed to fight—a battle many have told me since that they would not fight again. It had simply been too traumatic. Some have been unable to return since. There were 600-odd homes lost in my electorate. Families were left with nothing, having to pick up the pieces and start again.

Our recovery had barely begun when COVID-19 hit. When your home has been burned to the ground and you don't know how you can pay to rebuild, and then you lose your job in a regional economy based on tourism, things can feel hopeless. When home has been where you need to stay but yours was lost in a fire, it can be hard to accept. Even those who did not lose everything have struggled. They struggled with the destruction of their towns and the loss of family and friends, and they struggled with the trauma of not knowing where the fire would hit next, with months of uncertainty and fear. That doesn't easily go away. When you have suffered from unprecedented crisis after unprecedented crisis, all in the space of a few months, you don't want to have to worry about how you will pay to get the help you need.

I welcomed the government's announcement of mental health assistance following the bushfires, even if it fell short in many ways. In particular, I was delighted to see funding being brought forward for a full headspace for Batemans Bay. It was a little cheeky of the government to include this $4.4 million as part of its $2 billion Bushfire Recovery Fund. This was money they had already committed to, but they masqueraded it as new funding. During the 2019 election, Labor was first to commit to the full headspace. Young people in the Batemans Bay area deserve to have improved local mental health services, and I fought hard for that commitment. I was pleased when the government matched that funding. In those early days after the bushfires, I called loudly for that to be brought forward and for interim services to be urgently made available. Thankfully, as of last week, young people in Batemans Bay are able to access the interim headspace service while plans for the full service progress. This is great news for our local community, and I have been right there with them, holding the government to account over this promise. I will keep following the progress of the full centre to make sure it is delivered on time and as promised.

What our community doesn't need is false promises—flashy announcements with no real substance, like so many tend to be. I have heard from far too many people who can't access mental health support. Jamie, a psychologist from Kiama, wants to see immediate changes to annual psychology session limits, much like what was done after the bushfires. This will be critical to ensuring local people can get the services they need when they need them. Jamie is concerned that those with pre-existing mental health conditions, frontline health workers and those who were quarantined will be the most at risk. Jamie said that many of her clients are spacing out their therapy sessions, as they know they cannot afford to pay for sessions privately after they have reached the annual 10-session limit. This is very troubling. Jamie said that, for clients who had already used up many of those rebated sessions before the impact of COVID-19 hit, the situation is even more problematic. Many of these clients have now used their annual quota of 10 sessions. Some of these people have lost their jobs or their small businesses and are under enormous stress as they adjust to the extraordinary circumstances we are all living in.

We simply have not seen a response from the government that is proportionate to the risk here, particularly in regions like ours, on the New South Wales South Coast. I don't want to see anyone falling through the cracks because they could not afford the help they needed. We need to make sure everyone who has been impacted is getting help, without fear of the cost. The government simply must do better before it is too late.

Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on many Australians, and many people are struggling, whether it be due to unemployment, social isolation or a range of other difficulties that people are currently facing because of it. Regardless of the cause, the Australian community, as always, has come together to help others through these difficult times. Mental health and suicide prevention are the government's highest health priorities, and I'm proud that it is a central feature of the Commonwealth's Long Term National Health Plan. Unfortunately, mental health is the leading cause of both disability and premature death in Australia. It is sad to know that nearly half of people aged 18 to 85 will experience a mental disorder at some point in their life.

The coalition government is doing more than any previous government to safeguard the mental health of Australians. We expect funding to reach $5.2 billion this year alone, and $736 million in additional funding was provided in the last budget. I am especially pleased to see the inclusion of more than $500 million for the largest youth mental health and suicide prevention plan in the country's history. This is an important issue and I'm glad to see it receive the funding it deserves. We are delivering more frontline services that meet the specific needs of local communities through a record $1.54 billion investment in our Primary Health Networks. We are providing secure long-term support for local psychologists, mental health nurses and social workers, ensuring that the right services are available.

Back in March this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the coalition government announced $74 million to go towards the provision of mental health services for Australians who are understandably anxious and stressed about the impacts of COVID-19. This included setting up a dedicated COVID-19 wellbeing support line in partnership with Beyond Blue. Together we will get through this crisis and emerge on the other side safe and sound. In May, the Prime Minister again delivered in this area, announcing an additional $48.1 million for the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan. This government is ensuring people who need help can get the support they need, where and when they need it.

The coalition government is doing its bit in this space, but I cannot let go by an opportunity to speak about the excellent work of some organisations in my electorate of Chisholm who are doing the hard work to assist those in need. Organisations such as St Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, Crossway Baptist Church, NewHope Baptist Church and UnitingCare East Burwood Centre provide numerous services to people struggling through these times, and I'm proud to work with these great organisations to ensure that everyone in Chisholm is able to get the help they need. My office has been contacted by many people in these difficult times, and it pains my heart to know so many people are struggling with the consequences of COVID-19. But I'm glad to say that help is there. These organisations have helped with food parcels, food delivery services, financial assistance for those doing it tough or counselling for people dealing with the restrictions over the last few months. The people of Chisholm can rest assured that these organisations are here for them in times of need. I will endeavour to work with these organisations to serve the people of Chisholm.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this important motion. Mental health is incredibly important to one's physical health, to our quality of life, to relationships and to longevity. Of course, we knew all of this before. Much progress has been made in Australia in recent decades in raising awareness of this vital issue, thanks to medical professionals like my good friend the member for Macarthur, but also so many other advocates, researchers and organisations, like the Black Dog Institute, Lifeline, Beyond Blue and so many others.

Despite our gains in destigmatising mental health, we could do a lot better in suicide prevention in particular, both in society at large and among first responders, like veterans. This is an area of policy on which we on all sides of the chamber can and should always stand together and do whatever it takes to get the right thing done. The black dog doesn't care how you vote; anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder don't come in red, blue, green or orange, or green and gold; they don't discriminate along any lines. Just like those fighting physical diseases—which, of course, mental illnesses also are—those struggling with invisible symptoms didn't have a vote on the matter.

The important thing to remember is that social isolation, which can make many of us a bit blue and has done so during these past months, is just another day in the life of those with these conditions. So the effect of the pandemic related isolation has most likely taken a great toll on many at risk—and that means those who are currently experiencing mental ill health and anyone with financial or employment fears and anxieties during this crisis. And we should also remember people in abusive relationships, those who are unemployed, the homeless, casual workers who have gone without support, and exhausted health and essential workers. That's a lot of Australians who are still doing it tough today with an uncertain future ahead. So let's all remember that, as these restrictions hopefully ease, the mental health impacts are still incalculable and largely unknown at this stage. What we do know is that a lot of the economic pain, dislocation, suffering and anxiety is likely yet to come. So it's incredibly important that we raise awareness now. Let's hope for the best and plan for the worst.

I want to acknowledge the important work that mental health practitioners have played during this crisis and will continue to play in Australia's health system. We should also celebrate, acknowledge and honour the work of our doctors, nurses, pharmacists, allied health workers, aged-care workers, disability workers and all of our frontline workers. Like our fireys only months ago, these were the heroes of 2020 who exposed themselves to danger to help others.

The Northern Territory had done its part before COVID-19 by delivering a strategic plan to the sector in August last year and with a new suicide prevention grant scheme opened last month. I would also like to acknowledge the $30 million for a new mental health inpatient facility, to be located in Darwin, that the federal government announced last Friday.

The National Health Reform Agreement will boost funding by $707 million by 2024-25. This is important. But in my electorate something else is important, and that is that the Department of Veterans' Affairs office in Darwin is currently closed. Veterans need all the support possible right now, so I ask the Minister for Veterans' Affairs: why is the Darwin DVA office still closed when the Territory is open?

I'd like to finish with some broader points on the nexus between mental health and social media, which has become even more evident during COVID-19 and isolation. We need to be very aware that social media today is magnifying social divisions, and we must do all that we can to ensure that this is mitigated.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the motion moved by my friend and colleague the member for Dobell, and I thank her for bringing it before the House today. I'd also like to commend her for her many years working as a pharmacist supporting people with mental illness. I have remarked before that the COVID-19 crisis is the greatest health challenge for many medical generations. It is the greatest health crisis that I've witnessed, and for many health practitioners long before my time.

It's true that Australia has fared fairly well, and, relative to some of our friends in other countries, we've done remarkably well, but we must remain vigilant. Our response has been well coordinated by respective health departments, frontline medical staff, politicians, bureaucrats et cetera, and I wish to place on record my gratitude to the many individuals who have contributed so much to our response. However, the real heroes of our COVID-19 response have been the ordinary Australians, the people who have done the right thing, the people who have isolated themselves where necessary, the people who have kept their kids home from school, the people who have responded to the health recommendations about hygiene and hand hygiene, the people who have worked from home, the people who have put up with the stress of this incredibly difficult situation. The everyday Australians are the real heroes of this crisis.

Our successes of course ought to be celebrated and learned from, but we must not get complacent in our resolve. I fear that society will fail to comprehend the significance of the health crisis that we are still facing, and one of the areas that need ongoing attention is mental health. JK Galbraith, the famous North American economist, called the late 20th century the age of uncertainty. I think that if he were alive today he'd be calling our time the age of even greater uncertainty. We have before us a health crisis that has caused, in many ways, an economic crisis all around the world, and none of us can predict the future. This anxiety and uncertainty are contributing to some of the quite severe mental health issues we're seeing around the country and around the world. The member for Dobell is right to note that the COVID-19 pandemic will have significant effects upon the mental health of all Australians. All of us feel some degree of anxiety—that's true—and we face times of great uncertainty. The added pressures that individuals and households face can significantly impact upon a person's mental health and wellbeing.

I'm very worried not only about the effects of the health crisis but about the economic effects on young people and children—young people who may be starting out in married life and raising families. This anxiety is contributing to the difficulties they face. We must be mindful also of the added financial strains that are facing many Australians as we navigate through such difficult health and economic conditions. These pressures and this uncertainty are being felt in households right across the nation and across the world, and their impact cannot be underestimated. We also cannot underestimate the effects on mental health of issues related to this crisis such as the effects on housing and education. I know many university students are finding it incredibly difficult to continue their courses working from home. I know that many families who were already under housing stress, either because of rents or because of mortgages, are under added stress as they have reduced incomes because of this crisis.

My community of Macarthur has unemployment and underemployment rates well above the national average and has the highest number of mortgage defaults per electorate in the country. We know all too well the negative effects that such financial insecurity and housing insecurity can have upon individuals, families and the greater community. Also, a person's financial position should not affect the quality of care that they can access, and we know that many people who are financially disadvantaged are finding it very difficult to access mental health care. There is a direct correlation between the state of people's mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic, and we need a comprehensive approach to managing this.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.