Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

  (a)   notes a recent report put out by the Climate Institute, A climate of suffering: the real costs of living with inaction on climate change, which concludes that the mental health of Australians, particularly rural Australians, is being adversely affected by climate change;

  (b)   recognises that:

     (i)   rural Australia is already experiencing increased levels of suicide and mental health issues compared to the rest of Australia, and climate change will increase stress and trigger more suicide in some of our most vulnerable communities,

     (ii)   reported figures of a suicide-per-week in rural Australia are of great concern and likely to be under reported,

     (iii)   suicide in a rural community affects everyone in the community, and

     (iv)   rural Australians are very resourceful and taking positive action can counteract mental health problems; and

  (c)   calls on the Government to:

     (i)   ensure adequate funding for rural mental health services, and

     (ii)   investigate ways to assist rural Australia in adapting to climate change.