Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also praise the member for Dunkley for the excellent motion that he moved. The member for Dunkley is a very good man—and a Richmond supporter, to boot. It was a very, very good motion and I commend all members on the way they spoke to it. They did so extremely well.

I rise tonight to talk about an event which is going to occur on Thursday, R U OK?Day. It is a significant day that is growing in importance year in, year out. R U OK?Day was started by Gavin Larkin in 2009. He started it because in 1995 his father, Barry, took his own life. I commend Gavin on having the courage to start R U OK?Day in 2009. I call on all members to get behind this day because it addresses an issue that is a scourge upon this nation and one that, sadly, seems to be growing rather than diminishing. I hope that as part of R U OK?Day we can again start the debate around the issue of whether we should take a different approach to how, as a community, we discuss suicide.

I commend to the House an article on this matter, 'A deadly silence that has to end', by Patrick McGorry, which appeared in today's Age. Patrick McGorry is probably the pre-eminent Australian expert on the issue of youth mental health and youth suicide. He is calling for us as a community to reconsider the way we discuss these issues. I think it is of vital importance that we do that. At the moment the issue seems to be getting worse in the Australian community, not better. We need to start asking ourselves: what is the conversation we as a community should be having about suicide?

As I grew up, the idea that seemed to override whether we should discuss suicide or not was that one suicide can potentially lead to two and possibly a third. In the country town where I grew up, there seemed to be the urban myth that it is better that it not be discussed. Maybe the facts do reinforce that we have to be very careful about how we discuss this issue as a community, but surely we need to have the discussion. We need to see whether there is a way we as a community can raise this issue and deal with it in a much more transparent way. R U OK?Day in a way is starting that process. On this coming Thursday, 13 September, it asks all of us to stop and ask people close to us, 'Are you okay?' They might be family members, relatives, work colleagues or someone we might not know as well. Asking that question might just lead to them saying, 'No, I'm not. I've been feeling a bit down lately. I'd love to go and talk to someone about how I'm feeling.' It might just be the trigger which causes someone to get help when it comes to this very sensitive and difficult issue.

What we have to remember behind all this is that suicide is a major health concern for Australia. It ranks 15th at the moment in overall causes of death in Australia. For young people it is now the No. 1 cause of death. This is a staggering statistic. On average, six people take their lives every day in Australia. That is far too high. So what we need to do is start raising awareness and start looking at the best ways to address it. Obviously, tackling mental health issues in the youth area is vital, and this is why the progress we have made on both sides of the House in addressing mental health has been significant—but we must continue. It is why, especially when it comes to young Australians, we must continue to support headspace. I have a headspace in my electorate in Warrnambool, and I encourage all those involved with headspace in Warrnambool that they continue to make sure that it develops. I also hope that we can develop some sort of hub-and-spoke model, where it is not only Warrnambool but also the south-west region—Camperdown, Hamilton and Portland—which can benefit from that headspace.

We need to address the issue with young people, but we also have to make sure that older members of our community know that there is someone to turn to if they are feeling down or feeling depressed. That is why, on Thursday, we can play a small part in helping that by stopping and saying to people, 'Are you okay?' If we do that we will be, as members of this place, starting to inform the national debate that we need to have. I refer to Patrick McGorry's article. In that he states that there is a way we can have the conversation without potentially triggering those mirror events which we have seen in communities where there has been one suicide which has potentially led to others taking their lives as well. This is a way we can start doing that which, hopefully, will not lead to those types of copycat events.

In conclusion, I encourage everyone to get behind R U OK? Day. I encourage everyone to take on board the idea that Gavin Larkin had in starting R U OK? Day in 2009. Pause, and stop to reflect on why he did that: it was because of the unfortunate passing of his father. We should also realise that this is a way we can start to have the conversation we need on this issue. I have put out a press release today asking everyone in my electorate of Wannon to sit down with someone, have a coffee and ask, 'Are you okay?' on Thursday. I would hope that as many people in this place could do the same. This is an issue that we have to get on top of as a community. It is an issue towards which we need to put as many resources as we can. These are not necessarily financial resources—we obviously need those in place—but if we utilise, in this instance, our human resources there is not the significant cost. This means stopping, pausing and saying to someone: 'Are you all right? Are you okay? Do you need to talk to someone about something? That can be equally as important when it comes to this area as addressing through financial means the other causes and consequences.

I appreciate having the time tonight to talk on this issue.