Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

In my first speech I spoke about my cousin Matthew. I was very close to Matthew. He had a beautiful but troubled soul. Back in the 1990s there were very few mental health services and even fewer that were youth oriented. Sadly, Matthew died by suicide at the age of 25. For my aunty and uncle there are no words to describe their grief.

Those experiences have actually been at the back of my mind as we faced the COVID pandemic. Mums and dads in Higgins have told me about anxiety and depression levels that are through the roof in young children as they've faced the uncertainties COVID has brought. As a paediatrician and now the member for Higgins, I've always been a strong advocate for greater mental health services, especially for our youth.

That's why I'm so proud that, as I come to the end of my first term, we can announce that a new headspace in Higgins has just opened its doors. This means the youth of Higgins will have greater access to clinical mental health professionals, to judgement-free physical and sexual health advice from onsite GPs and to alcohol and drug counsellors. These services will help our youth balance the juggle of studying and jobseeking as they emerge from the lockdowns into a post-COVID world. So please, if you need support, don't hesitate to reach out to headspace, because your mental health is as important as your physical health.

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