Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for this motion. Her first speech included the topic of mental health, which she is very passionate about. I too care deeply about mental health and I know that I'm not alone, with millions of Australian families affected every year by issues around mental health. My family is by no means unique, but in my first speech I spoke about my beautiful cousin Matthew. I was very close to Matthew. He loved music and made musical instruments. He travelled to Ireland to learn the specialist skills to make guitars. We loved making music together. He had a beautiful but troubled soul. As a family, we knew something wasn't right, but, in rural Victoria, where he lived, there were very few mental health services in the 1990s—certainly none that were youth orientated. Matthew died by suicide at the age of 25. I often wonder whether things would have been different if he had been born 20 years later and he could have accessed the supportive services that are available now.

It is important that people experiencing mental health challenges receive support as early as possible to help them stay on track. Like most diseases, early intervention is key for prevention, but also to minimise long-term effects. That is why support services like headspace are so vital. Headspaces across Australia work to assist young people between the ages of 12 and 25. This is a great legacy from the Howard government, as has been mentioned already in this place and by the previous member for Sturt, Christopher Pyne. There are now 123 headspace centres right across Australia and these provide low-cost or free services via Medicare. Each one is tailored to the needs of the community it is located in. I'm so delighted the Morrison government has committed $3½ million to having a headspace in Higgins. Headspace offers holistic support for young people that includes clinical mental health professionals, judgment-free physical and sexual health advice from onsite GPs, alcohol and drug counsellors who can provide advice on available treatments, and work and study assistance with vocational workers and counsellors who can assist with managing the workloads of studying and jobseeking.

As a paediatrician and former chair of a local school board in Melbourne, headspace services in schools is of particular interest to me. Our school years can be some of the best years, friends and teachers shaping us, and we begin to develop a concept of who we are as a person, but they can be a pressure cooker. Friendships change. Schoolwork, exams, teachers and home life can all add to a feeling of being very overwhelmed, and this can lead not just to anxiety but to depression.

In these formative years, support is needed more than ever and even more during this COVID-19 pandemic. Government investment will mean that schools right around Australia will have a national workforce that supports, engages and partners with schools to build good mental health literacy. It will help deal with the stigma of mental health before it has had a chance to take root. The educational mental health initiative Bee You is delivered by headspace and is aimed at promoting good mental health in primary and secondly school students. Headspace offers sessions for teachers, students and parents, all aimed at enhancing mental health understanding, and supports a holistic implementation in schools. This initiative also provides crisis support when the unthinkable happens and there is a suicide within a school community. As a previous chair of a school council, I know how that keeps the people who look after schools up at night.

Over 3.8 million Australians will experience a mental health challenge every year. In the times we are currently living in, these numbers are set to grow, as effects of social restrictions and uncertainty become apparent. It is a key priority of this government to ensure that every Australian has access to mental health services if needed. A strong and resilient population makes for a strong and resilient nation, and it is a key priority of the Morrison government that people can get quality care and support when they need it. A $509 million Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, in 2019-20 federal government funding, which includes $370 million for headspace, is something that all Australians can be proud of.

Protecting our children is so vitally important. They are our future. I'm proud to stand in this House to highlight the dedication of this government in building this country's mental wealth. I commend the member for Bass for her motion.

See this speech in context