Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thought my valedictory yesterday might be my last speech to the House but, in fact, the good news keeps coming from my electorate and so I could not resist getting up today and telling members about the announcement that the Medicare Local in my electorate, CQ Medicare Local, has been announced as the successful bidder to be the lead agency to run the headspace service in Rockhampton. It was last year that Mark Butler, the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, announced that Rockhampton would be one of the sites for a headspace facility. Yesterday was the icing on the cake with the announcement that we will be moving forward with the CQ Medicare Local taking charge of the development of that centre and delivering those services.

This was a terrific project to be involved in right from the outset. I remember when I was writing to the minister and lobbying for this facility in Rockhampton, not wanting to be outdone by my colleague the member for Dawson who was successfully able to get a similar facility up in Mackay. I made mention of and emphasised the very collaborative nature of the effort. This brought in agencies and stakeholders from across Rockhampton and across Central Queensland, all identifying this as a serious issue in our community and identifying the great need that exists for a dedicated service dealing with mental health issues in young people. That is what headspace is all about. It is a very innovative model. It is a very holistic model. Young people come into a headspace facility and they might need assistance with drug and alcohol or other substance abuse issues, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, problems to do with youth suicide or vocational issues. Right across the board, headspace is there to deal with all of those many facets of youth mental health.

As I said, it has been a very collaborative effort right across the youth and health sector in Rockhampton. The Medicare Local, as I said, is now the lead agency that will take this forward. But it has been assisted along the way by organisations such as Centacare, community solutions, the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, CQ Mental Health Service, Central Queensland University, Capricornia Training Company, Fitzroy Basin Elders Committee, Relationships Australia and Roseberry down in Gladstone. I am really looking forward to taking the next step with these organisations as we bring headspace services to Rockhampton.