Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Can I say what a leisure it is to be able to get up in this place and talk about mental health in our community, given that October is mental health month across the globe. It's really a time to raise awareness and promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing across the community. This month encourages open conversation and self-care and is a reminder to all of us to seek help when we need it.

This is something we know touches so many families, workplaces and communities right across the country, including the ones I represent in the electorate of Franklin. I hear from parents in our local community all the time about their children; their anxieties about their elderly parents, who might feel isolated or alone; and of just how hard it has been for people to be able to access services for mental illness support in Tasmania. It is becoming more and more difficult and has certainly been difficult for well over a decade now. We just do not have the health professionals required to support the number of Tasmanians living with mental ill health.

Around 11 per cent of Tasmanians are living with long-term mental health conditions, which is much higher than the national average. According to some of those statistics, around 43 per cent of Australians have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life. Among young people from 16 to 24 that has jumped to around 39 per cent just in the past year alone, so this is a significant issue in our local communities right across the country. That's why, of course, our Albanese Labor government is taking some real action to make sure that mental health care is available when people need and that it's closer to home.

We're strengthening Medicare by putting some mental health services into communities. Already 50 Medicare mental health centres have opened across this Australia, and by 2029 there will be 91 of them. I'm pleased to say there will be one in my Franklin electorate, which will be in addition to the ones that are already open in Launceston and Devonport and a new one that will be opening in Bernie as well. That will take it from two to four in my home state of Tasmania.

We are also making the biggest investment in youth mental health in Australia's history, investing $920 million alone this year in headspace, the national youth mental health network. That includes more funding for headspace in Hobart, which supports young people from across southern Tasmania, as well as centres in other parts of the state. I have spoken previously in this place how pleased and proud I was to be able to deliver on a commitment to have a new headspace on Hobart's eastern shore. That will be located in 120 Cambridge Road in Bellerive. I know many young people in our local community are looking forward to that facility opening up in the coming weeks and months.

We know headspace provides support in key areas such as mental health, physical health, sexual health and alcohol and drug support. It's more broad than just mental health support for our young people; it's really a place where they can reach out and seek early intervention and support before their issues become more severe. This will play a really critical role in our local community.

Our government has also opened three Medicare mental health hubs across Tasmania, which are there to provide a service to children under the age of 12, and we've created 20 new youth mental health and wellbeing services across Australia. Again, there's going to be one in Tasmania, which I'm pleased to mention and will be really pleased to see. This is about young people with complex health needs, such as early psychosis or personality disorders, to make sure that they can get specialised care.

More Medicare mental health clinics, more headspace support in Tasmania and the early psychosis support are quite an addition to what is available in Tasmania. As I said, Tasmanians have been finding it particularly difficult to get the support they need. Your access to mental health support shouldn't depend on your postcode, but the reality is unfortunately that in Tasmania that has been the case. So I'm really pleased that our government is stepping up and supporting mental health services in our local community.

During World Mental Health Month, I want to thank all those people involved, whether it's your local Men's Shed, your community centres or the experts and the clinical people providing that care, which is so critical in my home state of Tasmania.

I want to take my last few minutes to acknowledge a special Australian woman Carol Mudford, who won the AgriFutures Rural Women's Award here in Parliament House on Tuesday night. She is doing some extraordinary work in the world of shearing, in shearing sheds, supporting people with their mental health and wellbeing. It was terrific to see that on the national stage on Tuesday night, here in Canberra. I want to say a big thankyou to all of those people who are raising mental health and its importance in our local community, and thank them for providing the supports that are available to so many across the community.

Question agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 13:29

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