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

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 10 October 2020 was World Mental Health Day;

(b) World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness of mental health issues worldwide and to encourage action to promote better mental health; and

(c) this year's theme for World Mental Health Day is 'Mental health for all: Greater investment–Greater access. Everyone, everywhere';

(2) further notes that:

(a) 45 per cent of Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime;

(b) 3.8 million Australians live with a mental illness while 65 per cent of all GP presentations are for mental health issues;

(c) 54 per cent of people with mental illness do not access any treatment; and

(d) levels of anxiety, social isolation, and emotional distress have increased significantly worldwide during this year's global health emergency;

(3) welcomes the Government's additional investment of more than $500 million in mental health services during the COVID -19 pandemic; and

(4) commends Mental Illness Fellowship Australia for their work supporting the mental health of more than 20,000 Australians each year.

Saturday 10 October was World Mental Health Day. In part due to the local promotion of the event by Mental Illness Fellowship Australia, many thousands of Australians took the opportunity to wear a green ribbon and mark the day with activities all over the country. This has been an incredibly difficult year for a great many of us. However, improving Australia's mental health and wellbeing has in truth been an important challenge now for many, many years. It's estimated that 3.8 million Australians now live with a mental illness and 690,000 live with a severe condition. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, as many as 45 per cent of Australians will develop a mental disorder at some time during their lives. However, though the latest data reveal that 65 per cent of all GP presentations are for mental health issues, only around half of those who experience mental illness will ever seek help. Depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents and adults, while suicide claims the lives of eight Australians every single day—and I want to recognise my close friend and colleague the member for Berowra, who is also the chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Suicide Prevention, who is going to second this motion here today.

In these tough times of stress, anxiety and isolation for many, the statistics will no doubt have only become more serious. The theme for World Mental Health Day this year is 'Greater investment–Greater access. Everyone, everywhere'. Its aim is to see increased investment in mental health worldwide. I'm proud to be part of a government that is delivering just that in Australia. In the recent federal budget, we saw the Australian government again commit to broadening access to mental health support as one of its most important policies. The government committed $5.7 billion for mental health this year, including $100.8 million to double the support available under the Better Access program. Thanks to this government, Australians can now receive 20 Medicare-funded psychological services each year. Already around seven million of these services have been delivered, just since March. The government's recent $115 million extension to the Rural Health Outreach Fund will also see more mental health practitioners able to travel to rural and regional areas to provide access to services where we know they can often be difficult to find. In addition, the government's September announcement of a $2 billion extension of the COVID-19 health response will ensure that telehealth services, particularly in relation to mental health consultations, will be available to people in regional, rural and remote areas until at least the end of March 2021.

We need to see more mental health practitioners to provide comprehensive access for all. So, as part of the government's Job-ready Graduates legislation, it has created the disciplines of professional pathway psychology and professional pathway social work, to reduce the student contribution for studying units as part of a pathway to professional qualifications. This will make it cheaper to study psychology and help more people into a career in this field. These are only the most recent measures in a long track record of commitment to mental health for all Australians, which in my electorate of Fisher has seen the government invest $7½ million into the University of the Sunshine Coast's Mind and Neuroscience—Thompson Institute, $3.2 million in a pilot for a new approach to treating eating disorders and more than $6 million for the construction of Australia's first ever residential facility for those needing help with eating disorders. I congratulate the Minister for Health and the Prime Minister for their personal commitment and their energy in dealing with these important issues.

On the eve of World Mental Health Day this year, with the support of Mental Illness Fellowship Australia, I organised a media conference with my friend Senator Deborah O'Neill of the Labor Party. I want to thank Deb and those opposite for what is a truly bipartisan approach. Australians expect and demand nothing less. That's exactly what we are doing: working together for their benefit on this important issue.

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, it is seconded, and I reserve my right to speak.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm glad to contribute to this debate and I thank the member for Fisher for bringing it forward. It's absolutely right that we recognise World Mental Health Day. There's no doubt the year 2020 has emphasised the need to put a renewed focus on our mental wellbeing. I note that, as part of Labor's constructive approach to the COVID-19 response, we supported the extension of telehealth services and the expansion of the number of Medicare supported mental health sessions. I welcome the fact that the government has implemented those measures.

Before I go further I think it's worth saying that if anyone is listening to us have this discussion on the radio or the web and it raises issues for you, then definitely consider the services that are available through Lifeline or other providers. That's a reference or a piece of encouragement that we hear a lot these days, and that's good; it's at the end of news reports and other things like that. We can't allow it to be a cursory observance. We can't allow it to be something that loses its impact through repetition. Too many of us, maybe all of us fall into the bad habit of not asking for help. Too many of us think, 'I'm not doing that badly,' or, 'I don't want to bother someone,' or even, 'I'm not the kind of person who experiences mental ill-health,' and that is a big part of the problem. The truth is we are all that person.

Half of all Australians experience mental ill health at some point in their lives and one in five Australians will experience mental ill health in any given year. The truth is you don't lose anything by having a conversation with someone. Just taking the step to vocalise what you're experiencing will lift some of the weight.

If you've had some experiences that leave you feeling bleak or down on a regular basis, if perhaps you start feeling that things are a little bit pointless, hopeless or overwhelming, or you are on edge or not taking any real joy in the things you normally relish, then talk to someone. Talk to your GP. It's what you would do, it's what I would do, it's what we would all do, if we felt persistent pain or if we experienced persistent nausea or some other physical symptom. Half the population will experience mental ill health at some point. It's normal, so don't hesitate to talk to someone. There is literally nothing to lose.

There was a really important debate in the House last week about the mental health and wellbeing of Australian Defence Force personnel and I acknowledge the contribution to that debate by members in the chamber today—the member for Fisher, the member for Herbert, the member for Berowra and many others. Labor welcomes the government's creation of a national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention. We continue to believe that a royal commission is justified. It is vital we recognise all those parts of our community where acute mental ill health and suicide are prevalent and concentrated. Clearly and tragically that's the case with our service personnel.

At the same time let's not forget that the sharpest and most heartbreaking incidents of acute mental ill health are experienced by Indigenous Australians. For Indigenous men aged 25 to 29, the rate of suicide is four times the rate of non-Indigenous men. For Indigenous women aged 20 to 24, the rate of suicide is five times the rate of non-Indigenous women. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children between the ages of five and 17. That is completely unacceptable. It should galvanise all of us in this place to do more to advance practical, social, cultural and historical reconciliation all the time in every way possible.

We've made some long-overdue progress in the way mental ill health is understood and accepted as a common feature of the human experience but we've got a lot further to go. The stigma associated with mental ill health still exists. It exists in this place, especially with respect to serious illnesses like schizoaffective disorders. Across the board this stigma and a lack of understanding creates an obstacle for people to benefit from help, and we know that the response capacity services and facilities are still a long way short of what we need.

Like most people, I have some personal understanding and experience from within my family and close friends around mental illness and the toll it can take. There have been times when I wish my capacity to respond to those circumstances had been better—more receptive, more supportive, more emotionally resilient. I accept that I've been conditioned to keep myself to myself, and I tend to assume other people would rather be left alone. That's something I try to challenge and I'm trying to change. I accept that part of my conditioning has been to believe that strong people battle on by themselves, when I know that's silly and it's wrong. The real strength and the real courage is to be open with other people, to be honest with ourselves, to make connections, to give support and to receive support from those around us.

Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fisher for moving this motion and I also recognise the words of the member for Fremantle. More than a million Australians have sought mental health treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last month alone, there's been a 14 per cent increase in MBS items for mental health. These figures are both shocking and reassuring. They're reassuring because they show that perhaps more Australians are aware of their mental health and are seeking the support that they need. And this is important because our mental wellbeing is just as important as our physical wellbeing and early intervention and pre-emptive actions can be important in preventing an individual developing a mental health crisis. But these figures are also shocking because they're another indicator that the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 are having a profound impact on the mental wellbeing of Australians.

While Australia has been doing a fantastic job in flattening the COVID-19 curve, we must also continue to flatten the mental health curve. Individuals, including Professor Anthony Jorm, from the University of Melbourne, and Professor Patrick McGorry, executive director of Orygen, have written about the way in which the threat posed by mental ill health follows a very similar pattern to that posed by the COVID-19 virus itself. Professor McGorry wrote in an Australian article earlier this year:

In the case of mental health, the whole population has been exposed to the harmful mental impacts of the pandemic to some degree and this will result for the majority in a relatively mild to moderate level of anxiety and stress for which support, self-help and the passage of time are all that is necessary. However, a substantial minority of Australians will develop a new episode of mental ill-health to a degree that justifies and requires professional help.

In order to flatten the mental health curve for all of Australia, we need primary prevention strategies that ensure we focus on mental health conditions being developed and secondary preventions focused on stopping an existing condition from progressing or deteriorating. This is something that is understood and recognised by the government, as the member for Fisher has pointed out.

The estimated health portfolio expenditure for mental health services and suicide prevention in 2021 will be a record $5.7 billion. This includes vital support in primary prevention strategies, like $19 million to extend the national suicide prevention and support program, which funds key organisations such as R U OK? and Suicide Prevention Australia. There's another $6.9 million for a targeted awareness campaign, promoting digital mental health services with a key focus on the government's mental health gateway Head to Health, and there's $5 million over 2021 to develop and deliver a letter and fact sheet about mental health information to be sent to parents, carers and guardians of school aged children because it is vital that parents know—it is vital that everybody knows—you shouldn't just be stoic. Sometimes you do need to get help.

Of course, the government is also prioritising the mental health of young Australians with a record $630 million investment to expand the headspace network and reduce waiting times. Headspace plays a fundamental role in primary prevention through its risk awareness strategies, community engagement and targeted strategies to at-risk minority groups, and it does vital work in secondary prevention through its counselling services. One further initiative announced by the government in this budget was an additional $100 million to provide an additional ten Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions each year, which is incredibly important in supporting individuals with mental health conditions who require longer-term treatments to effectively assist them.

The government is going to continue its vital work to reduce the lives lost to suicide. Mental health and suicide are one of the government's highest health priorities, and the government's budget in 2021 emphasises this. Whether it's World Mental Health Day, which we're recognising today, or R U OK? Day or headspace Day, what matters most, as the member for Fremantle said, is that we are having conversations and looking out for our own mental health wellbeing and the mental wellbeing of loved ones every day. Governments and healthcare providers have a role to play in this space, but so do all of us. When it comes to primary prevention, we can all be doing something. What COVID has shown us this year is that our mental wellbeing is incredibly important and that compassion can be incredibly effective.

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

I thank the member for Fisher for putting forward this motion. And I also thank my friend the member for Fremantle—that's with just one 'e'; sometimes that escapes people's attention—for the important points that he made about First Nations mental health and suicide rates. They are incredibly important points for us to realise. As COVID and a succession of calamities and natural disasters have hit our nation this year, with the isolation and the feeling of being alone within a lot of First Nations communities and certainly, many in the Northern Territory, hopefully we all realise that the rates of young Indigenous people dying by their own hand are shocking. I was talking to someone in the Northern Territory just last week trying to help their community, and it related to a 13-year-old boy who had died by his own hand. It is shocking, but we need to be shocked into realising that there's so much more for us to do.

I want to acknowledge the first responders, who have been doing so much during this time, and their mental health. They have been serving us as a community, but we need to remember them and serve them. In recent months, of course, coronavirus has wrought havoc on our communities and it is important that we don't see ourselves as too strong or needing to be stoic. We need to actually do the strong thing and take control and reach out for that help ourselves when we need it. I commend that to everyone. In my life, when I've had times of difficulty, I always thought that I needed to maintain control. I had responsibilities, so I had to keep my act together for others. Someone very wisely pointed out to me, that taking control is seeking help, because you're then able to discharge your duties and responsibilities in a better way. So, based on my personal experience, I say to everyone: seek some support when you need it, because that's what everyone around you who loves you is hoping that you do, because they want you to be well.

I commend many things that the government has done during the COVID period. As was mentioned earlier, the extension of telehealth services is very important, as is the investment of $100 million in COVID-related mental health support, but I would like to see more funding specifically for people who have lost their jobs. I think we can do a lot more there. Back in March, the suicide prevention Turning the Tide report found that the rate of suicide for people who were unemployed was nine times that of the general population, and it could, sadly, be a lot higher than that now, so there is a bit more work for us to do there.

As the member for Fremantle said last week, we had a very important debate in the chamber, and members opposite spoke about the issue of a permanent commissioner for veteran suicide, and those on this side were debating in favour of a full royal commission with a fixed end and start date to look at the whole continuum of supports for veterans. I'll take the opportunity whilst those members are there to say that a permanent commissioner may very well be a recommendation of a full royal commission. Obviously, we want to do a deep dive on any veteran suicide, but I ask you to not close off your mind to the idea of a full royal commission that would have a suite of recommendations that would improve the services for those who serve our country, and I appreciate your wanting to keep an open mind on these things.

It being Veterans' Health Week, I want to acknowledge the ex-service organisations. They're doing great work in my electorate. In particular I acknowledge Mates4Mates, who will be setting up the wellbeing centre. They have a range of activities on for veterans and Defence Force personnel and their families, and I commend them for the great work that they are doing. I hope that we can do more and that there is a bipartisan effort to make sure that we support Australians as best we can. (Time expired)

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

On 10 October we marked World Mental Health Day—a day that aims to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing and to encourage help-seeking behaviour. Just as it is important to look after your physical health, we must also prioritise our mental health and wellbeing. As a psychologist, mental health is an area of policy that I'm particularly passionate about, and I'm grateful that I am able to contribute in this place and pass on my expertise in this area.

Forty-five per cent of Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. For those who live with a mental health condition, the additional factors caused by coronavirus have no doubt made this year a very, very challenging time. Levels of anxiety, social isolation and emotional distress have increased significantly worldwide during this year's during this year's global health emergency. Australia was one of the first countries in the world to recognise the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that the coronavirus pandemic would have on Australians' mental health, and we responded early and substantially in terms of our financial support and practical support.

This year's theme for World Mental Health Day is 'Mental Health for all: Greater Investment—Greater Access. Everyone, everywhere'. This theme is in line with the Morrison government's commitment to mental health funding. We have spent more on mental health than any other government before us. The most recent budget also delivers more good news for mental health services in Australia. This year alone, our government has dedicated $5.7 billion to mental health services. Medicare funded psychological services through the Better Access have doubled from 10 to 20 sessions, which has had a big impact for those with mental health conditions on the front line. For those with complex conditions, it means additional services to treat complicated conditions using evidence based techniques—and that makes all the difference.

Just as the theme for World Mental Health Day suggests, mental health services are most effective when they are invested in and easily accessible to all. This is why the MBS items relating to mental health will cover face-to-face, telehealth, video and phone sessions. These have been particularly important for those in Victoria who have sustained an incredibly difficult time during lockdown and also for those in regional and rural areas. These services have been an integral part in maintaining good mental health that is easy to access. This budget will also deliver additional funding for services like Lifeline, headspace, Beyond Blue and Kids Helpline, who do incredible work around the clock supporting Australians wherever they are located.

On 10 October, the date on which World Mental Health Day fell, I was fortunate enough to have the Treasurer in my electorate in Reid visiting my local headspace, located in Ashfield. Headspace is a one-stop shop for young people. It includes clinical services, outreach support, help with employment and study support, and there's a range of mental health workers in the headspace clinics, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and various other support staff. I want to thank all the mental health workforce who have been working incredibly hard during this period, helping Australians across the nation and supporting us all. The Morrison government is driving the largest expansion of the headspace network, investing $630.4 million over the next four years, to ensure that headspace is able to provide clinical services and outreach. By supporting the mental health of all Australians, we are better supporting the nation in the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, and I commend the work of headspace and mental health professionals across our nation.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thankyou to the member for Fisher for moving this timely motion. Recognition of mental health issues in 2020 is particularly important. All too often, when we talk about health, we automatically think of physical health, nutrition, exercise, cholesterol levels and cancer screening, but all of us legislators and the general community, as a whole, need to make sure that a whole-of-body approach is taken in conversations about health and that we recognise that health is about mental, social and physical health. As we all know, it's much easier to respond to an individual's physical health or injury as it's clearly visible. It can be much harder to address an illness or weakness, as in mental health. It's unseen and often hidden by the person experiencing it.

Statistics show the prevalence of mental health is real. According to the federal government's report Mental health services: in brief 2019, 45 per cent of Australian adults aged 16 to 85 will have a common mental disorder in their lifetime. One can only assume that, in the last 12 months since that report was published, the figure has escalated. To address this growing need for mental health support, it's essential that we, from this place, provide quality health care for all Australians. For that, we need a focus on prevention. We need the support of both the public and the private systems, we need excellent health facilities and services, we need a skilled health workforce and we need a strong medical research system. Of course, in 2020, now more than ever, it's important to reach out for help, particularly during Mental Health Month.

We have a number of fantastic national and local organisations that are available to help, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the organisations working hard in the electorate of Warringah. They include: Community Northern Beaches, Gotcha4Life, Raise Foundation, Waves of Wellness, Heart On My Sleeve, and CatholicCare Broken Bay Diocese. I'd also like to thank the larger national bodies, including Mental Illness Fellowship Australia, as referenced in the motion before us, but also ReachOut, SANE Australia, Beyond Blue, headspace and Lifeline. These organisations have seen a massive uptake in demand as the impacts of the bushfires and COVID-19 have hit communities hard. The stress of these events has impacted on our communities.

In a recent survey conducted by the Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils, 27 per cent of people are worrying about the security of their job and 25 per cent have experienced loss of income and/or employment. Many have struggled with the isolation of working from home, the isolation from colleagues and the lack of regular social interaction that the office environment provides. I was worried to read a recent University of Canberra study that found that people in my electorate of Warringah were twice as likely to put off visits to their GP than those elsewhere in Sydney. Given GPs now see more patients for mental health issues than any other illness, that's a worrying trend. Our youth statistics are also worrying. The latest study to come out of the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney predicts that, over the next five years, the prolonged economic impact of COVID-19 will result in a 30 per cent increase in the number of suicides of 15 to 24-year-olds. That is a very worrying statistic.

Locally, this year, I attended the launch of a pilot program run by SANE Australia called Better Off With You, a campaign specifically targeting those who have attempted suicide, to support them and empower them through telling their stories. The Northern Beaches area was chosen as one of two pilot areas, sadly, due to our high rate of suicide. The pilot program officially ended in May and I look forward to seeing the outcomes. I'm pleased to see that the resources and powerful message of Better Off With You are still available online. That's only one example of many programs taking place across Warringah and nationally to provide much needed support for those experiencing mental health challenges. I'm looking forward to marking the end of Mental Health Month by joining the team of Waves of Wellness Foundation on October 31 on the iconic Manly Beach, surfing in our suits to raise the focus on mental health. Maintaining mental health is so crucial. Now, more than ever, it's important to reach out for help. To all those watching and listening, please remember to talk to your friends and family or contact those organisations that can help. We are always better off with you, so, please, do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to begin by acknowledging my friend the member for Fisher, not just for moving this motion but for his friendship and his leadership of the Parliamentary Friends of Mental Health in this place. I want to acknowledge the broader Wallace family for sharing the story of the member for Fisher's beautiful daughter Caroline and her struggles with mental illness over the years. The member for Fisher has not just been an advocate; he has been a person who has got results in this space. I particularly think of the wonderful research work that the Thompson Institute is doing into eating disorders as a great example of one of the many things that he has done and achieved in this space while he has served in this place.

COVID-19 has brought the focus of mental health and suicide prevention to the fore like never before. We've seen in Victoria in recent days the reports of the 31 per cent increase in presentations to mental health services as a result of the continuation of the stage 4 lockdowns. We have seen the renewed focus of mental health activities in Indigenous communities, particularly after that spate of suicides in the Kimberley. With the member for Herbert present in the chamber I also want to acknowledge the renewed focus on veterans' mental health and suicide that he has spearheaded. The situation caused by COVID-19 has reminded people that mental health isn't an issue for someone else; it's an issue for almost all of us as parliamentarians, but certainly an issue for almost all of us in our own families.

I want to acknowledge what the government has done in the present budget with the addition of $5.7 billion, record funding, for mental health and suicide prevention. One of the most important aspects of this funding has been the doubling of the number of Medicare funded consultations for people who need psychological or psychosocial supports. This is so important, because only 10 consultations a year, less than one a month, was never enough for somebody who had, certainly acute mental health issues, but even more mild mental health issues. Having access to 20 really provides people with major support. I think we will see that as a game changer.

I want to acknowledge that the government is due at some point to release the Productivity Commission's final report into mental health and suicide prevention and to put forward its response to that. The government also has a zero suicides target. This is a very ambitious target, I don't think we have a more ambitious social policy target than the target for zero suicides. But as the Prime Minister said to me when I asked him about this, 'Life is valuable. How could we have any other target than zero?' He is quite correct on that.

In my remaining time today I want to speak about something that was raised in the draft report of the Productivity Commission. That is the issue of aftercare. We know that if you have attempted to take your own life, you are more likely than any other person in our community to attempt again. The sad fact is that people who have made an attempt—we know very often who these people are, where they live and how they've come, particularly if they've come into contact with hospital services and medical services. Yet in most states there is inadequate aftercare provided. The government two years ago expanded Beyond Blue's Way Back program and gave $10½ million to that program to ensure that people who had been admitted to a mental health facility did actually have in some places that extra support and aftercare. If you break your leg or your hip and you go in for surgery, you go to rehabilitation afterwards. It should be no different for mental health.

My quibble with the Productivity Commission's draft report is that they say that adequate after-care along the lines of a further expansion of the Way Back program will only reduce the attempt rate by about 19.8 per cent and will only reduce the death rate by about 1.1 per cent. I just cannot believe that those figures can be correct, given that we know the group of people and we know that if we put in place adequate support we are more likely to be able to help them on. As mentioned by the member for Warringah, if the social and psychological and health supports are supported by campaigns like Better Off With You that destigmatise and ask people who have contemplated suicide and attempted suicide to reconsider that the world is better off with you, I think that suite of measures together can help us reduce the suicide rate in this country.

So again I want to commend the member for Fisher and all members who spoke on this very important motion today and to acknowledge the very important day that is World Mental Health Day.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Fisher for moving this motion. 2020 has tested our resilience in ways that many of us have not experienced before. On the back of prolonged drought and before we even ticked over to 2020, thousands of people across Eden-Monaro were woken on New Year's Eve by a firestorm that came and took so much from us all. Not only did the New Year's Eve bushfires and those that followed decimate more than 750 homes across Eden-Monaro; people were killed, livestock was lost, fences were trashed and communities were displaced. As the 'black summer' bushfires unleashed their fury on Eden-Monaro over the following months, people lived through a deep sense of fear and heartbreak—which in many cases has changed us forever.

For the thousands of family members whose homes and belongings were destroyed, this year has seen them relive their trauma by trying to navigate the complex web of support that is available. Bushfire affected people often describe to me the challenges of trying to understand their bushfire attack level or dealing with neighbouring government owned land agencies, all while living with what they call 'brain fog'. For those who weren't directly affected, many were forced to evacuate their homes three or four times, shut down their business in the height of the busy summer period or support family members or friends who had lost everything. The stress on our communities and our systems was unfathomable.

For many, the stress has continued while 2020 has continued to throw us curveballs. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that bushfire affected communities, just as they started coming together to process the shock and pain, were separated again. The pandemic pressed pause on cups of tea or a friendly schooner in the pub with those closest to us. Most devastatingly, it meant that many support services like counselling couldn't happen on the ground where they were needed most. It's only been in the last few months that people have been able to gather, socially distanced, to support one another. The toll the delay has taken on people's mental health cannot be understated.

We know that our services across Eden-Monaro are stretched to their limits, and in many cases were stretched well before the incidents of 2020. Headspace has been overwhelmed. Domestic violence and housing support services can't keep up. More funding for these services, especially after cumulative natural disasters, is an absolute must. I was pleased to see the government announce in this year's budget a plan to provide an additional 10 Medicare rebate sessions for people with a mental health plan. It means Australians will get access to 20 subsidised psychological therapy sessions each year—a doubling of the current arrangements. This is sensible, and I entirely support it. However, those of us living in regional communities know that getting access to psychological services, counselling services or psychiatrist services is near impossible. We need more of these professionals in our regional communities and more trained professionals to reduce waiting lists.

It's been disappointing that federal money has slowly trickled out to bushfire affected communities when it should have flowed more quickly. According to the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, only 39 per cent of the more than $53 million announced to support the mental health of Australians affected by bushfires has been spent—only 39 per cent. Another bucket of money includes $13.5 million to boost emotional and mental wellbeing support for people affected by bushfires. Again, according to the National Bushfire Recovery Agency only 38 per cent has been spent. I appreciate that recovery takes time, but less than half of that money has been spent nearly a year on. It's something that I hear all the time from our communities; whether I'm in Batlow or Cobargo, people constantly tell me that more mental health support is needed. Teachers constantly tell me that mental health support is needed in schools. We know that those on the front line, the heroes who risk their lives for us, deserve proactive and ongoing support. I urge the government to fast-track this spending, because it is vital and desperately needed by so many.

While many of us joked about turning our clocks forward to 2021 when daylight saving time came into effect recently, perhaps there are some positives we can gain from this year. For a long time, we've been urged to put our mental health first. About 45 per cent of Australians will experience mental health. About 54 per cent of people with mental health illnesses do not access treatment. After this year I think the message has sunk in: it is okay to say you are not okay. I hope this community empathy and understanding continues and grows into the future. At the start of my first remarks in 2020, I said, 'It has tested our resilience, but it's also a timely reminder of what's important.' (Time expired)

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.