Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On this day, 23 March, in 1775, a man named Patrick Henry proclaimed, 'Give me liberty or give me death,' in a speech to Virginian troops joining the US Revolutionary War. Death for some in our community is seen as liberty from tough times and depression. Last weekend was the annual Black Dog Ride in the Shoalhaven, or it would have been if it had not been such a lousy weather. Paul Gaffney, I know it will be brilliant next year and headspace will again be helped by your fundraising. Depression can be helped and we need to do more. Many people move from depression to suicide, especially men. Australia has had a National Suicide Prevention Program for 20 years. In that time, more than 40,000 Australian men have taken their own lives.

Andrew Humphreys, an advocate and social worker, says that 20 years of awareness-raising, psychotherapy and pills have had no appreciable benefit and that these strategies have proven to be as harmful as throwing a drowning man a brick. The majority of Australia's suicide deaths are adult men who are not mentally ill and who make one attempt and die. Our current prevention strategies target the young, hospital presentations, mostly females, and mental health. Andrew believes that our current system demonstrates little knowledge of how to recognise and assist distressed men. We cannot reduce suicide rates in this country unless we recognise and sympathetically assist the men, who make up the majority of those dying. I believe that men truly are from Mars and women from Venus. We are different in the way that we deal with tough times and depression.

In 2015 we had an average of 8.3 deaths by suicide per day in Australia—a total of more than 3,000, including 2,292 males and 735 females. That is about three to one. The highest suicide bracket for males is aged over 85, almost 40 per cent—considerably higher than all other age groups—with the next highest groups being those aged 45 to 49, 40 to 44 and 50 to 54, each about 30 per cent of the overall numbers. The highest age bracket for females is 45 to 49 years, just above 10 per cent, followed by 50 to 54, 35 to 39 and 55 to 59—each less than 10 per cent. Consistently over the last 10 years, the number of suicide deaths was approximately three times higher in males than females.

So just what are our solution options? Can we encourage more young men to become social workers or counsellors, psychiatrists or psychologists? Can we talk to both male and female suicide survivors and determine which factors convinced them to live? It is probably all of the above and much more. Let's hope our new MIND the GaP facility on the Shoalhaven campus of the University of Wollongong is a step in the right direction on the pathway of mental health assistance, especially for those who need liberty from depression—sometimes called 'the black dog'—and Winston can continue as a strong symbol of hope. Suicide leaves a legacy of doubt amongst family and friends asking themselves, 'Could I have done more? Why didn't I see it coming?' On this day in 1066, most people did not see—(Time expired)