Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

First of all, I would like to thank Senator Nash for the question and recognise the close affiliation that Senator Nash has with rural Australians and the good work that Senator Nash continues to do on their behalf in this place specifically in relation to drought matters. I thank Senator Nash for her continuing interest in these vital issues. In this time of severe drought across much of rural Australia, a real concern of the Howard government is the disadvantages experienced by rural and remote communities. We hold particular concern for the mental wellbeing of those rural Australians whose livelihoods and incomes have been affected by this drought.

A key initiative of the Howard government’s $1.9 billion mental health reform package is the $51.7 million rural mental health services measure launched by the Prime Minister recently. This initiative will provide more allied mental health services in rural and remote communities throughout Australia. This will include services provided by social workers, psychologists, mental health nurses, occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. Commencing on 1 November 2006, the first phase of this measure will target areas of need where there are suitable organisations with existing infrastructure and capacity able to deliver the services and where average per capita payment made for Medicare Australia mental health services were in the bottom 30 per cent of all areas for 2005-06. These suitable organisations may include organisations such as divisions of general practice, Aboriginal medical services and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

A number of other measures in the mental health package will have positive impacts on rural and regional communities. For example, under the telephone counselling, self-help and web based support programs measures, the Howard government will provide $18 million to Lifeline Australia over five years to expand its support services. In addition to these measures, the 2005-06 federal budget committed an additional $39.6 million in funding to beyondblue, who are raising awareness of depression across Australia’s rural press. In June this year beyondblue launched a rural advertising campaign to tackle depression in men in conjunction with a new information line: 1300224636. I would urge any of our fellow Australians who are experiencing tough times in the bush and want to have a yarn with someone about it to give beyondblue a call. The government will also spend more than $8 million over the next three years on 17 projects that will target suicide prevention in rural and remote communities.

In the time that I have been in my current role, I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of rural communities across Australia, such as the drought affected town of Charleville in south Queensland, and I am always amazed by the resilient and good-spirited nature of the people I meet in such places—people who often are personally touched by the severity of this drought. The Howard government understands the enormous strain that this drought is putting on rural communities. I would like to tell these communities that there are government programs available to help them in their time of need and that they should not shy away from taking advantage of them.