Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

To my fellow colleague Dan Repacholi, the member for Hunter and the Special Envoy for Men's Health—November marks Mental Health Month, a time where we pause, reflect and confront one of the most pervasive and often unseen challenges affecting Australians today. We know that 42.9 per cent of Australians aged 16 to 85 have experienced a mental health issue. That's nearly half of us, half of our families, our workplaces and our communities. This is not an issue that sits at the fringes of society. It touches almost everyone's home in the country.

In 2024 alone 3,307 Australians died by suicide. That is nine people, a sporting team worth of lives, lost every single day. Behind every one of those numbers is a family with an empty seat at the dinner table, a school with a chair that will never be filled and a workplace hoping for a colleague who will not walk back through those doors. More than seven million Australians are close to someone who has died by suicide or attempted to take their own life. By the age of 25, one in two young people will have been personally affected.

These are not statistics. These are stories. These are families. These are lives. Mental health shapes every aspect of a person's life. It determines whether they can finish school, maintain relationships, secure stable housing, keep a job or imagine a future they feel hopeful about. Australia is in the midst of a suicide crisis, and for too long, for too many years, the responsibility for navigating a fragmented system has fallen on those already struggling.

My commitment to mental health does not come from theory or politics. It comes from lived experience and from more than 20 years working alongside young people, families and frontline workers in the community sector—at Anglicare, at Family Life and with the Women's Spirit Project. I saw both the extraordinary strength people possess and the pain that arises when they reach for help and find long waiting lists, confusion or even silence. I have sat with young people exhausted from carrying burdens they didn't have the words for or felt too ashamed to mention. I've spoken with parents about their desperate need to help their children but not knowing how to navigate the system. I have worked shoulder to shoulder with frontline workers, youth workers, counsellors, case managers—people who show up every day and give everything, despite feeling overwhelmed. And I grew up in a family that faced its own challenges. I know what trauma feels like, what recovery requires and what it means when someone steps in early and believes in you before you slip too far through the cracks.

These experiences shaped who I am and my being here now. They shaped the way I listen, advocate and fight for reform, and they taught me two truths that guide every decision I make: early intervention saves lives, and community support changes them. When a young person gets help at 14 instead of 24, their life changes. When a family is supported, not judged, their hope grows. When a community wraps around someone, their chance of surviving and thriving increases. This is why mental health is deeply personal to me and why I will always use my voice to push for the change our communities need.

I am proud to stand as part of the Albanese Labor government, with my colleague the member for Hunter—a government acting with urgency, compassion and a focus on early intervention. Since coming to office, we have invested $2.4 billion in mental health and suicide prevention. This includes $225 million for 31 new or upgraded Medicare mental health hubs, $500 million for 20 youth specialist care centres, $90 million to train more than 1,200 mental health professionals and $200 million to upgrade or expand 58 headspace centres, including $1.2 million for a headspace in Dunkley. This investment means young people in Dunkley will no longer face months-long waiting lists. It means more early intervention, more crisis support and more services delivered close to home. While these investments are significant, they are the beginning, not the end, of building a stronger, fairer, more accessible mental health system.

One of the most meaningful moments for me this year was hosting the Dunkley Men's Health and Wellbeing Forum with the Special Envoy for Men's Health, the member for Hunter, on 12 November. Around 70 men, boys and organisations joined us, supported by the Man Cave, Movember and the Frankston Dolphins football club. It was a room filled with honesty and hope. It was also special for my family. My husband, Dave, and our son, Flynn, emceed the event. Flynn spoke with courage about growing up as a young man today—the pressure to be perfect, the weight of expectation and comparison, the pull of social media. His openness reminded us that young men want to talk; they just need safe places to do so. The member for Hunter shared important insights about prostate health, body image, mental health and the courage required to ask for help in a society that tells men to tough it out.

What stayed with me most was the willingness of men—teenagers and retirees—to speak with honesty and vulnerability. There was no bravado or judgement—just connection. From that night, that event, came something powerful—a commitment to form a Dunkley men's health network, a community led initiative dedicated to connection and prevention, and to ensuring no man or boy feels they must face hardship alone. I will continue supporting this work wholeheartedly.

A week later I attended the Governor-General's residence for an International Men's Day event recognising the Man Cave, an organisation with deep roots in Dunkley. Their first program was delivered at Frankston High School in 2014. Ten years on, they have supported more than 100,000 boys and young men across Australia. Their work builds emotional literacy, resilience, respect and healthy masculinity. It challenges outdated ideas that tell boys to stay silent or suppress emotions.

Mental health cannot be solved by government alone. Leadership matters and investment matters, but mental health is ultimately a shared responsibility. We need to keep listening to young people, families, frontline workers and people with lived experience. We need systems built on early intervention, not shame, and genuine accessibility for all.

I'm proud of the steps we are taking nationally and locally, but the work is far from finished. Every life touched by mental ill-health matters. Every family grieving a suicide matters. Every young person searching for hope matters. I will continue to work every day to ensure our community is seen, heard and supported and to ensure that our mental health system reflects the dignity every person deserves.

Sitting suspended from 13:31 to 16:01

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