Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think the answer to the second bit is ‘yes’. I am looking for reassurance. There is a particular adviser of Ms Macklin who will be looking for a job if that is not right. I will have committed the government to it, so I hope for her sake she is right. In terms of your main point about carers of adults with mental illness, I think this parliament is very well aware of the increasing need of support for people with mental illness and those who care for them. I know a small number of members of this parliament who have had to care for adults with a mental illness. Its strains are felt by families all around Australia. As I said, I have had personal exposure to it through at least two members of the parliament who have been trying to cope with the stresses and demands that they are placed under and through a number of my colleagues in the Western Australian state parliament as well. This problem is much more common than many people think.

The key point to make to you is that, while I understand why you look to extend this provision to carers of adults with a mental illness, the government is not clear that that is actually the best thing to do—that is, that if you had the money to commit to the needs of carers of adults with a mental illness it would be your first choice. Not only do we not think it should be part of this bill and not only do we think we are a long way from having done the work to do it but we are not actually convinced. My advice is that we are not at the point of saying that it would be how you get the best bang for your buck or that it is the most appropriate policy response. So for a range of reasons we will not be agreeing to that amendment. They include the reasons I gave earlier, but equally I want to make the point that the minister is not clear at this stage whether, if you had the money, the capacity to deliver and all the policy issues sorted out, it would necessarily be the best thing to do. I think there would need to be more work done and more examination of the issues before this government would accept that that was necessarily the first thing you would do.