Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Shortland for her kind remarks. As I am sure all members are aware, the issue of mental health was a significant one for the government in this budget. There were many initiatives, some in the health portfolio, which I will not touch on today, and some in this portfolio. As the member for Shortland rightly indicates, it is very important that we provide support for people with mental illness living in the community so that they can continue to live in the community and get the sort of support they need.

I was very pleased to be able to go to Bendigo just after the budget with the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing to see the excellent work being done at St Luke's and to talk to people who live in the community with mental illness who depend on the local service provided by St Luke's. We are very pleased to be able to extend that type of service, so there will be an extra $154 million over the next five years for community organisations to employ an extra 425 additional personal helpers and mentors. The job they do is to provide one-on-one support, and that is why I think the words 'personal helpers and mentors' are appropriate, because they indicate that personal support is so critical.

Also included in the budget initiatives is $201.3 million over five years, which will be provided by incentives to the states to increase investment in two areas that we know are very important for people with mental illness who are living in the community. One is to make sure that there is adequate support for those who have housing difficulties—to provide housing and accommodation support—and the other is to make sure that some of that money is used in emergency departments. I think we would all be aware—and I would say this is true right across the parliament—of the pressure on emergency departments and the desire to make sure that people who present with mental illness to emergency departments are properly cared for and that their way through both the hospital system and the out-of-hospital environment is well managed. That is what this money is aimed at doing. We do know how important it will be to make sure that, where possible, people with mental illness are able to get work. So $50 million will be allocated to the Personal Helpers and Mentors Program to help people with mental illness get back to work. I was pleased to see people at St Luke's in Bendigo doing exactly that, with the support of Disability Employment Services. In previous budgets we have extended the availability of support through Disability Employment Services.

We are also providing additional funding—$54.3 million—for extra mental health respite services. I have met some of the older parents of adult offspring with serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, and they certainly need support. The carers need support—they need some respite—so we are very pleased to be able to provide that support.

The other area that is funded in the health portfolio but that is pertinent here is the support we are providing to bring all this together to make sure that care is coordinated, both in the community and across community mental health services and the health sector. I am sure that that too will make a big difference to both the individuals with mental illness and their carers.

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