Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to shine a light on mental health in our regional, rural and remote areas, and particularly the mental health of our young people. Mental health is the single biggest health issue facing young Australians and my region of Dawson is no different. In Australia, half of all adult mental health challenges emerge prior to the age of 14 and more than 40 per cent of children who experience mental health challenges are not receiving professional help. We know that the earlier we intervene in life, in distress and in the onset of illness, the chances of better recovery are so much greater. If we give children the best start they will grow into happier and healthier adults.

Regional Australians, like my constituents in Dawson, don't always have access to face-to-face support. Studies show that children respond much better with face-to-face support, rather than online or via phone. This is because face-to-face communication provides an opportunity for the clinician and the child to make an important connection more quickly and to reach a positive outcome.

In 2020 suicide was the leading cause of death in young Australians between 15 and 24 years. Sadly, the rates of suicide in remote areas are higher than those in the city and they are above the national rates. These statistics are horrifying and show that there is a great need for remote areas to have access to face-to-face mental health support services.

Back in 2013 the previous coalition government opened the first headspace in Mackay. Headspace is a wonderful service, providing support to young people, 12 to 25 years, who are going through a tough time. Headspace also offer a range of support services for young people's mental health. Common topics and issues are alcohol and drug use, work and study, relationships, and physical health issues. It is a great relief to see so many young people and parents in my electorate finally have a support service like headspace in Mackay. Over the past 10 years headspace Mackay has done a magnificent job supporting our local youth and improving mental health outcomes for thousands of young people within the region.

In 2022 headspace Whitsundays opened as a satellite service in Proserpine operating three days a week. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of calling into the satellite site in Proserpine to listen to the wonderful ladies and see what they're doing to give our regional young people a chance. The effectiveness of headspace has been proven around the whole of the country. It is fantastic to see headspace Whitsundays helping to improve mental health outcomes for young people in the region who can't travel to Mackay or to Townsville for a face-to-face service. Headspace Whitsundays are also finding that they are servicing people in need in other towns, like Bowen and Collinsville, who can't travel as far as Townsville and Mackay. And, unfortunately, there is a growing need for mental health support in the Burdekin.

The staff of our local headspace clinics are putting in very long hours and commuting to ensure that they are available to young people who need them. There is a need for more staff and more headspace clinics in our region to stop the very real possibility of fatigue and burnout of their staff.

I stand in this place regularly banging the drum for regions and explaining how much tougher we have it in comparison to those in the cities, but the hard reality is that people living in the regions suffer from, at best, mediocre services to, at worst, no services across a range of issues, including health, education and infrastructure. Young people in our region face different issues and concerns to what the youth in the cities face. It is important to have a solid and stable support and to receive that support from local providers who are across local issues. Adolescence and young adulthood can certainly be a confusing time, so I thank headspace Mackay and headspace Whitsundays for all you do for our young people and families in my electorate. I really appreciate it.