Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that Tuesday, 10 September 2019 was World Suicide Prevention Day;

(2) confirms the Government's commitment to work with local communities to reduce the number of deaths by suicide in Australia;

(3) further notes the record level of funding of $736 million provided in the 2019-20 budget for mental health including $503.1 million for the Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to support coordination of Government activities and services including:

(a) the largest single expansion of the national Headspace network through the establishment of 36 new sites; and

  (b) provision of support to farmers and communities that have been affected by drought to deal with the anxiety, stress and uncertainty of drought conditions; and

(4) welcomes the establishment of the Office of the National Suicide Prevention Adviser in 2019 to support a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention, to ensure coordination of delivery of suicide prevention activities that reach Australians in the right way at the right time.

I have spoken in this place about the significance of holistic mental health care, an area of specific interest to me due to my experience as a clinician, as a psychologist and also as a researcher in the mental health sphere. It is a tragedy that so many people lose their lives to suicide in this country. World Suicide Prevention Day, which recently took place on 10 September, shone a global spotlight on this issue and has renewed our sense of commitment as a government to take real and effective action. We, the Morrison government, are doing more than any other previous government to safeguard the mental health of Australians, with funding expected to reach $5.3 billion this year alone.

Mental illness is the leading cause of both disability and premature death in Australia, costing the Australian economy an estimated four per cent of our GDP or approximately $68 billion per year. It is not the economic cost that is of greatest concern but the cost to our communities and to our families. Investing in mental health and suicide prevention is not a choice; it is a must. The $736 million provided in the 2019-20 budget for mental health will fund the development of an accessible, equitable and integrated mental health system through various targeted strategies. Through an integrated approach, the government plans to expand the capacity to provide targeted assistance to priority populations, directing focused care towards those most vulnerable to poor mental health or suicide due to complex cultural, social and environmental factors.

The positive impact of the Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan is already being felt across Australia. While suicide remains the leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24, this is why $503.1 million has been dedicated to practical steps to expand resources and prevention strategies to young people of vulnerable mental health. This is apparent through the strengthening of the headspace network and by dedicating $11.8 million to a range of initiatives to help parents recognise when their children are struggling, to improve mental health skills training in schools, to enhance peer support networks and to boost counselling services for young people. Often times, young people feel most comfortable initially speaking to and seeking out help from their peers. Providing the resources to enable resilience through peer support is an important part of empowering young Australians in the mental health space. We are providing $2.9 million to batyr to boost the role of peers to encourage others to seek help, $400,000 for the Banksia Project to expand the innovative community program and $600,000 for a trial of peer workers in Beyond Blue's Way Back suicide aftercare service. Earlier this year, I joined the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and Minister Hunt in my electorate of Reid at Burwood Girls High School, where we saw batyr conduct a workshop and watched students respond to their stories of recovery from peers their age. That was incredibly powerful.

It is important that we acknowledge that certain communities are at greater risk of serious mental illness or suicide. For this reason, the Morrison government is providing further funding to improve mental health support for our farmers and communities in rural and regional areas that have been impacted by drought: we recognise that drought conditions can cause anxiety, stress and uncertainty for those directly affected. This is also why $15 million is being set aside for Indigenous suicide prevention. We are empowering young Indigenous leaders to create a national plan for culturally appropriate care, services and programs.

Within all of these initiatives, the government is working to close the evidence policy gap in this area of mental health by drawing on innovative research and expert knowledge. I commend the establishment of the office of, which will guide and uphold a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention. The National Suicide Prevention Adviser, Ms Morgan, is working across federal departments and states and territories to ensure that all services are coordinated and reach Australians who need them. This is the first step in bringing a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention and to addressing the psychosocial factors involved.

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