Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Polley, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that:

  (i) World Mental Health Day takes place on 10 October,

  (ii) Mental Health Week will take place in Australia from 9 to 15 October, and

  (iii) both World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Week seek to encourage help-seeking behaviour, reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues and foster connections through communities;

(b) acknowledges the importance of World Mental Health Day and other campaigns, including R U OK? Day in Australia and World Suicide Prevention Day, that:

  (i) help build community awareness about mental health issues, and

  (ii) help build community awareness around suicide prevention and encourage people to have regular and meaningful conversations with family, friends and colleagues;

(c) recognises the efforts of dedicated individuals and organisations working to address mental health issues and suicide prevention;

(d) notes with concern that suicide rates remain unacceptably high, and that in Australia:

  (i) suicide is the leading cause of death for men and women between the ages of 15 and 44,

  (ii) each day seven people die by suicide and 30 attempt suicide,

  (iii) higher rates of suicide exist among vulnerable groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, young people and people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities,

  (iv) the annual number of deaths by suicide is around 2,500,

  (v) each year it is estimated that 65,000 people attempt suicide, and

  (vi) the annual suicide toll is now twice the annual road toll; and

(e) calls on the Government to show leadership around suicide prevention, including working in a bipartisan approach to adopt the National Mental Health Commission's target to reduce suicide by 50 per cent over the next 10 years.

Question agreed to.