Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Despite all this information, despite all these reviews, despite all these recommendations that have been put forward, despite the work that has been done by Professor McGorry, despite the work that has been done by Professor Mendoza, and despite the raft of information that is out there in the public arena calling on this government to act on this vitally important issue for Australians, Minister Butler is going out on his own tour. He is off to capital and regional centres to talk again. For goodness sake, Minister, stop and listen to what has already been said to you. This is just another way that this government fobs things off, just like it fobbed off aged care to the Productivity Commission and has not done anything for three or four years. Now we are seeing another instance of just fobbing things off. The minister is going off to consult again—just for the photo opportunities—and I am sure that we will be seeing the photos on some government website. It is not the lack of information that has paralysed the Rudd-Gillard government; it is the lack of guts to face a major health problem, and this government should be mightily ashamed of this.

What is the extent of this problem? Mental illness affects more Australians than almost all other health disorders; only cancer and heart disease impact more people. Almost half the population will experience a mental health disorder at some point in time. One in five Australians are waiting for this government to get off their backside and do something about mental health. Thirteen per cent of the total burden of disease in Australia is in mental health and only six per cent of the health budget is spent. A staggering 65 per cent of sufferers battle their disorder alone or only with the help of family. There is a prevalence of mental health in our young people. The coalition, with its $1.5 billion policy—which was the subject of a motion passed by this Senate, which hopefully will be passed by the lower house tomorrow—ought to shame this government into doing something about mental health. We all know that delay in accessing appropriate treatment is damaging not only for young people but for people of all ages.

The coalition’s $1.5 billion plan for mental health is a follow-on to the $1.9 billion that was invested in mental health—the biggest ever and the first of its size—when Tony Abbott was minister for health. What did Labor do when they came to power? They have been cutting the budget of some of these programs that were so successful under the coalition. When I speak to mental health experts, whether it is the not-for-profits or the various organisations that operate in this sphere, they are all telling me the same thing. They are constantly complaining that this government is cutting funding to them in this vitally important area.

As I stated, mental health was omitted from the COAG grand plan. One only has to look at the evidence produced at the Senate inquiry that was so scathing about the government’s lack of action on mental health—whether it was the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor McGorry, the Mental Health Council of Australia or the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. As Professor McGorry said, we have a hidden waiting list of Australians needing mental health services, including three-quarters of a million young Australians. They need help and they need it now.