David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mental Health Month has been an opportunity for us to reflect on an important issue that deeply affects our community. I thank the member for Macquarie for her fine, fine words. I think the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention put it best when she made her statement on significant matters in the House—she said, 'mental health is health, it's central to how we live, work, and connect.'

I want to thank the assistant minister, the member for Dobell, for her extraordinary work in such an important area of public health and policy. Mental health considerations are front and centre across the work of this government, and that is, in large part, thanks to her work and advocacy, supported by caucus.

Mental Health Month presented us with a moment not only to take stock of the challenge we face with regard to mental health but also to review what our government is doing about it while being cognisant that this is an issue which is with us year-round. We all have a sense of the scale of the challenge that faces Australia. No-one in this place or outside it has avoided being impacted by poor mental health. Millions of Australians experience poor mental health every year. If anyone has not needed mental health care themselves, then they have undoubtedly known and cared about someone who has. Some will experience poor mental health once or twice. For many, it's an ongoing health challenge which requires treatment and care. For too long too many suffered without appropriate, timely or quality health care.

The sheer scale, diversity and complexity of the mental health challenge is staggering. As the assistant minister outlined and reminded us in her statement to the House, mental health is the number one reason that Australians visit their general practitioner today. For eight years in a row, mental health issues have topped the list of concerns that are raised with GPs. More than 70 per cent of general practitioners have reported this trend. The Labor government has been listening to the community and to health practitioners, and we are acting to provide the necessary support and resources for this important challenge.

The theme of Mental Health Month this year was 'Taking Steps on Your Wellbeing Journey'. That is a very good summation of what our government is seeking to facilitate and make easier for all Australians. We're doing this to the tune of $1.1 billion. This is the largest mental health package, the single biggest investment in mental health services, backed by Medicare. What this looks like in practice is impressive. We are establishing 91 new Medicare Mental Health Centres; we are establishing 20 new Perinatal Mental Health Centres; we are establishing 17 Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs, which will provide children and families with behavioural, social, emotional and wellbeing support; and we will establish and support 203 headspace services, which will support the mental health and wellbeing of our young people.

I was happy to host the assistant minister in my electorate of Bean not long ago to see what this $1.1 billion package means on the ground in my community. In July, I opened a new Medicare mental health centre in Tuggeranong with the assistant minister. It is operated by Think Mental Health and funded through $3.5 million to the ACT Primary Health Network. The centre on Eileen Good Street—just down the street from my electorate office—is a welcoming, calm environment staffed by a multidisciplinary care team which includes mental health clinicians and peer workers. The care that they offer is tailored to each person who visits the centre, and, crucially, you don't need an appointment, referral or mental health treatment plan to access support at the centre. All you need is a little piece of green plastic—your Medicare card.

I couldn't be happier that my constituents now have a local, accessible walk-in centre providing mental health support. I've had many conversations with staff over the first few months of its operation, and already they've become a well-understood, -respected and -regarded part of our health ecosystem. Having free, ready, walk-in access to mental health support is a real win for people right across Bean, and it's already making a real and tangible difference on the ground.

But this wonderful Medicare mental health clinic is not the only new piece of mental health infrastructure that will help so many in Bean. Next year, we will deliver a new perinatal mental health centre in Tuggeranong at the same location as the Medicare mental health clinic, in the heart of my electorate.

We know how stressful pregnancy and new parenthood can be and that it's a period when poor mental health can become more common. New and expectant parents in Bean will be able to get free and personalised mental health support through this new centre. This support for families will run from the perinatal period to the first birthday of the baby. We know that the demand is there for these services, and through this centre families will be able to get services without cost. The centre will be operated by the Gidget Foundation, and I can't wait for it to open next year. I would like to applaud the Gidget Foundation for the extraordinary work they've done right across the country in promoting the need for this perinatal support.

Beyond this, and coming up very quickly—in early December—our social media ban for young people under the age of 16 will make a real difference for their mental health. We have been listening to parents, experts and schools. In particular, I've been engaging with local schools on this topic, including today. Today there are two schools from my electorate in here grilling the Prime Minister and the Minister for Communications for Behind the News, that iconic ABC program. And their questions were pretty tough! But both the minister and the Prime Minister were able to provide pretty good responses about why the ban will make such a difference to mental wellbeing for young people right across Australia. The feedback from young people across our schools is clear: social media is a vector for poor mental health that many of them have experienced, and our action on this front will make a real difference to their lives.

The government is taking steps to improve and support the mental health of all Australians. We know there's always more to do, but we're very much moving in the right direction and we are working with our communities of health practice right around the country to do what we can to support Australian families and communities. Thank you.

See this speech in context