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

I rise in this Chamber to speak on the member for Macquarie's motion on youth suicide. Mental health is as important as physical health. That's why the Morrison government has committed a record $2.3 billion to mental health and suicide prevention as part of the 2021 budget, the largest Australian government mental health investment in our history. I'm proud to be part of a government that has made a significant commitment to mental health, and in particular to youth mental health.

There is no denying that there's been a very rapid increase in mental illness right across the spectrum, but it does unfairly target our young. That is partly because of the unique stresses that we are facing in a modern-day world. In my first speech I spoke of how I lost my cousin to suicide. He was a young man, only 25, who lived in the regions—in fact, he lived in the member for Indi's electorate, though many years ago—and had difficulty accessing services. I was pleased to hear in the speech from the member for Indi that that has now changed, and that is because of federal government investment. My cousin came from an extended family of doctors, but unfortunately there were no age-appropriate services available where he lived. As I said in my first speech, words like 'widow' and 'orphan' describe our losses, but no word in the English language describes the loss of a child. We should never give up hope of preventing these tragedies.

Headspace is the government's flagship program for the provision of services to young people aged 12 to 25 experiencing or at risk of mental illness. Headspace is a safe and trusted entry point for young people seeking help. In 2019-20, headspace reported that 90 per cent of young people indicated being satisfied with the headspace services in their communities. This is particularly important because we know that young people's decision to access mental health care can be fragile. If they don't have a positive experience, they may not make another attempt to seek help.

Just recently I was fortunate to have the Prime Minister visit the electorate of Higgins and our neighbouring electorate to visit headspace Elsternwick, which in 2007 was the very first headspace centre to open in Australia. In meeting with counsellors and the great former Australian of the Year Professor Pat McGorry, it was wonderful to be reminded of the brilliant services that these facilities and the workers in them are providing. I congratulate Pat for all the work that he has done to get these services off the ground. He's been a tireless advocate for headspace and youth mental health.

Recognising the excellent work of headspace, we're also enhancing and expanding the network, with 10 new headspace services and five satellite services at a cost of $578 million, bringing the total number of headspace services throughout Australia to 164. This will include a headspace in Higgins, and we're looking forward to opening a temporary residence for the headspace in Higgins later this year. I'm delighted, because I know we really need one. When I spoke to headspace in Elsternwick, they told me they receive many referrals from my electorate of Higgins.

Tragically, over 65,000 of our fellow Australians attempt to take their own lives each year. Around Australia, nine people die by suicide each and every day. Every year, more than 3,000 people lose their lives to suicide. It is, in fact, the leading cause of death among those aged 18 to 44. That's why we are funding two youth focused initiatives to the tune of $1.8 million to provide resources, roll out targeted campaigns and develop training material. It's also why our budget includes a National Suicide Prevention Office. Currently, the government's also funding 12 suicide prevention trials right across Australia, bringing together the best strategies and models to target people at risk of suicide. We're also investing a record amount of funding into suicide prevention services. Most importantly, we're providing funding to universal aftercare. No-one is more fragile than when they've attempted suicide and been to hospital. We need to wrap services around these people on their discharge to make sure that it doesn't happen in the vulnerable, fragile time after that period.

I'm very proud to be a member of a government that recognises the need for youth mental health services and supports this as a priority. As a paediatrician and a mother, I appreciate just how important these services are to so many young Australians, and I'm passionate about being an advocate for better health outcomes four our young.

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