Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I'm using my time today to read out a speech written by Rachael, a young person from a WA. Rachel submitted this speech to the Raise Our Voice campaign. They said:

The past 8 years of my life have been plagued by various mental health conditions. Whilst I am new on the road to recovery, there have been periods filled with revolving door psychiatric admissions and medical admissions for my anorexia.

Throughout my experience, I have been subject to countless instances of medical malpractice, neglect, verbal abuse and other horrors, the extent of which cannot be conveyed through words.

I have been repeatedly let down by a system that is not equipped to support me as someone for whom cookie-cutter approaches have not worked and have consequently been labelled as a 'failure', and 'too complex'.

My plea to you is to prioritise mental health and address the appalling lack of funding, education and resources we dedicate to this issue—with a particular focus on eating disorders. Instead of following an outdated medical model, platform the voices of those with lived experience—such as myself.

We need to incorporate those who have knowledge beyond the textbook and take action to avoid not only the financial burden caused by repeated admissions that achieve more harm than good, but also to maintain human decency and dignity.

Thank you, Rachael, for sharing your lived experience with us today.