Peter Andren (Calare, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Minister, at the start of Mental Health Week, can you answer concerns from the New South Wales Central West Division of General Practice that its psychology service has not been refunded and that, despite very welcome promises of Medicare mental health cover, there are no private child and family psychiatrists in the central west and only four full-time community health psychologists? Minister, how do you respond to concerns that the new COAG national mental health initiative cannot significantly assist rural Australia unless there are coordinated psychiatry, clinical psychology and GP services in every region across Australia?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calare for his question. I acknowledge his concerns about mental health services in the central west as well as the concerns of people like Senator Bill Heffernan, who is regularly lobbying me on this subject. I can tell the honourable member that I have discussed these matters on a number of occasions with the New South Wales Central West Division of General Practice and particularly with Dr Ross Wilson, who I speak with regularly. My understanding is that the psychology service run by the division has, in fact, been re-funded. That is my understanding, but I will certainly double-check that and confirm the facts to the member.

Let me point out that as well as the new Medicare items announced today—again, thanks to the good offices of the parliamentary secretary, the member for Sturt—there is $52 million more to work with appropriate organisations such as divisions of general practice to provide mental health services in areas where there are few private doctors or private psychologists. I do believe that the new measures will help to develop a better private psychology market in areas such as the central west, but, as I said, there is $52 million more to help if that is not the case.