Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I feel for young people growing up in today's world. It's really tough. According to the Productivity Commission, young people are much worse off than their parents were before them. They are struggling to pay their HECS debts. They are struggling to pay rent. Young Australians with cashed-up parents are living with mum and dad, and young Australians who don't have this backup are couch-surfing and dumpster-diving to keep body and soul together. And then there is social media. It tells them what they should be, how they should look, how they should behave and how they should think.

I'm not surprised by the increasing rise in mental health issues among our young people. Governments can't claim that this is shock-horror and that they never saw this coming. This is an issue that has been brewing like a storm on the horizon. Despite living in the social media world where we are told we have never been more connected, headspace is reporting that more young people are feeling more disconnected and lonely than ever before. Nearly 40 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds are experiencing a mental health disorder, and suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged between 15 and 24. This is our next generation. We must step up and make sure our young Australians can thrive and build resilience. I've called for the boot camps, like the Veteran Mentors program, which I'll continue to call for, but maintaining and expanding existing services so our kids can get the help they need is more important than ever.

In the past couple of days, the peak body of Tasmania's autistic community, Autism Tasmania, announced that it will close due to a lack of federal funding. This leaves young Tasmanians with autism without the trained professionals, which includes mental health services, they need to achieve their best outcomes. Boy, oh boy, does this affect Tasmania! In 2023, autism was found to be the second-most prevalent disability in Tasmania, with one in four families impacted.

Our young Tasmanians already have enough to deal with. According to the Tasmanian government, the proportion of Tasmanians who meet the requirements for a year 12 certificate was just over 50 per cent in 2012. When we take away important services, we make it harder for younger Tasmanians to achieve their best and build resilience to cope with mental health issues. Anything that we can do for our younger generation would be appreciated.