Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last month, I had the honour of hosting a local year 10 student, Dakota Montgomery, for work experience in my Wollongong electorate office. Dakota was professional, punctual, a hard worker and a problem solver. She is also a passionate advocate when it comes to children's mental health, and she has prepared this speech for me:

Being an adult we are extremely aware of how mental health can affect day-to-day life. Emotional, psychological, and social well-being are all factors that associate with an individual's mental health. It affects how a person acts, feels, and how they think, as it helps a person react to stressful situations and choices made.

As adults, parents, and children we are taught the effects this has on the brain. While adults suffer with mental health a lot, I think sometimes we forget that kids nowadays are also experiencing this just as much but aren't as recognised.

Around 1 in 7 children aged from 4—17 have and are experiencing health disorders in Australia. The three common disorders are ADHD, anxiety, and depression. This can be influenced by family circumstances, life events and school life, being one of the most common as school can involve stress, bullying, anxiety and depression.

There can be many cases that involve a child's mental health getting the better of them, making them believe that life would be better if they took matters into their own hands, which isn't the case. Children can feel as if they are not wanted around others or not loved by those they are to call family, when in reality sometimes that isn't the case.

Please understand that a child's mental health is just as important as an adult's, and help them to know that they are and always will be wanted and loved.

These are beautiful and heartfelt words from an amazing young woman who has a huge future ahead of her. Dakota's mum, Kylie Montgomery, is also a fierce advocate for mental health. I first met Kylie during the marriage equality campaign. Her passion and enthusiasm for social justice resonated with me, and we're now quite good friends. Kylie is a cake maker and decorator by trade and operates her own small business called One Cake Down.

After a personal loss in Kylie's family, in October she dedicated all of her profits from the sale of 'off cut boxes' to a local mental health charity and social movement called #talk2mebro. The offcuts from Kylie's amazing cakes go into fully recyclable packaging for an amazing dessert in many different flavours, and all funds go each month to a different charity. Kylie raised $500 to support #talk2mebro and has been tirelessly advocating for them in the local media and on her own social media.

To the entire Montgomery family, Dakota, Kylie and Talyn, who is a member of the 26 Army Cadets Unit in Wollongong, thank you for all that you do in our community. The world needs more people like you!