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

Today I speak on the urgent need to get more people the mental health care that they need—more community based peer led programs and more appointments under Medicare. I hear from my community regularly about the challenges they face accessing mental health support: difficulty accessing appointments, relevant practitioners and affirmative treatment plans. The reality is that over 44 per cent of Australians aged between 18 and 85 have experienced diagnosed mental health conditions in their lifetimes. That is almost half of our country. Considering the significant barriers to diagnosis that exist, we can only assume that the number of people experiencing mental health distress is actually far higher. Getting access to affordable, timely health care would make an incredible difference to their lives. The availability of mental health care in this country has become so scarce that even those with money and privilege are struggling to access care. Where on earth does that leave everyone else?

We know the devastating, preventable reality of this system. The latest numbers tell us that at least nine people have unalived themselves every day in Australia. Mental health is time sensitive. These are preventable deaths. People need culturally safe, appropriate and affirmative mental health care urgently. The way to do mental health in Australia needs an urgent change. The way we do it needs to be remade, and it needs to be done now. I do not want to see a single person suffer or die unnecessarily. The brain and mind are part of the body and should be covered under Medicare. (Time expired)