Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

GARLAND () (): I'm really glad that this motion has been put to this chamber because it allows me the opportunity to talk about the things that the Labor government are doing to prioritise the mental health of first responders. And prioritising it is exactly what we're doing. That's why we've committed to funding Fortem with the full $10 million that, I must note, was promised but never delivered by the previous government. This is really a case in point in terms of what I found in my own community of Chisholm: lots of promises were made, lots of announcements were made, but, unfortunately, nothing was ever delivered. Unlike those opposite, we're actually delivering on our promises.

Labor will always stand up for health, including mental health, and will always work to serve those who serve our community: first responders. I know that, in my own community of Chisholm, we have some wonderful volunteers, as well as paid personnel, who work as emergency service workers and first responders. I think it's really appropriate to reflect on the namesake of my seat, Caroline Chisholm, who always gave so much of herself to the community, and I'm really delighted that that spirit continues in my electorate. I've met with workers from the SES and other emergency services that are based in my community, and I've committed to supporting them in all that they do. We're doing what those opposite didn't. They had the chance; they didn't do it. We're delivering funding. We're not stringing a mental health charity along and never delivering. We're doing it.

This point is particularly close to my heart because, for the last couple of years, funding was promised in my electorate—by the previous member, who was a member of the previous government—for a headspace in Box Hill. Over the last two years, the demand for mental health services for young people in my electorate has increased, and it breaks my heart and makes me so angry to think that that service could have been delivered but wasn't. What happened is that the previous government wanted to wait until an election campaign so that they could get photos taken, instead of delivering the service that our community desperately needed. This is another example of us stepping up where those before us had failed to.

We believe absolutely in the work that Fortem do. We know, as do Fortem, that first responder work demands courage. People who demonstrate that courage to serve others are inspiring. One of my favourite maxims from the suffragettes was: 'Courage calls to courage everywhere.' Indeed it does. It inspires us all to do better when we see those who serve our community in ways that put themselves in harm's way and those who deal with some of the most traumatic experiences that our neighbours will ever experience in their lives. But there's also courage in reaching out and seeking help, and that's what we want to back Fortem to help people to do: to acknowledge that, as our first responders, they are experiencing trauma and to encourage them to seek help when there is suicidal ideation, when people prioritise their wellbeing, and when people think about the impacts that their work may have on their relationships with their family and friends and other community groups. I love that Fortem say that 'brave is a choice, not an obligation'. We know that people are actually trying to choose wellbeing. They're making that choice, and they're empowered through that choice. It is a really wonderful empowering way to think about the services for mental health that are provided.

Funding Fortem isn't the end of the work that the Albanese Labor government is doing to support first responders in terms of their mental health. We're working on long-term, sustainable funding solutions. There are a number of other services to deliver this critical work. The national mental health service, for instance, provides an online mental health assessment and triage service to a variety of mental health supports to emergency service workers and volunteers. That includes direct referrals to the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic and the Black Dog Institute, which provide up to 12 free psychological sessions that don't require a GP referral or Medicare, either face to face or via telehealth, which means there's much more reach there for people who need that service. We are committed to the mental health of first responders. I am proud to be a part of a government—

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