Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 6 October I joined GP down south and other local stakeholders to celebrate a milestone event in my electorate—the turning of the sod for the Peel Youth Medical Service health hub. This event would not have been possible without a federal contribution of $2 million from the coalition government towards capital works. The PYMS health hub is a project that GP down south has fought hard for over the years. In fact, I first discussed the project with Eleanor Britton from GP down south two years ago during the Canning by-election. Eleanor's vision for a one-stop-shop medical facility for 12- to 25-year-olds is unlike any in the Peel region at present. The hub was born out of a need to better coordinate medical and physical treatment for young people struggling with a range of issues, with a particular focus on prevention and early intervention. By co-locating service providers under the one roof, the PYMS health hub model will ensure young people can easily access different services at the right stage of their treatment. The agencies that will soon call the PYMS health hub home are the Peel Youth Medical Service, a youth counselling and GP service; Allambee Counselling, a service for domestic and family violence victims; Palmerston Association, a drug and alcohol service; and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

Last year, after lobbying for community and federal government support, GP down south received the good news that headspace will also be joining the PYMSA health hub. For those not familiar with the work of headspace, it provides early intervention mental health services for 12- to 25-year-olds, with a focus on four areas: mental health, physical health, work and study support, and alcohol and other drug services. This project has received widespread support from the community and all levels of government.

It's no secret that my region, the Peel region, and Mandurah in particular, is affected by social dysfunction. Unemployment, crime and substance abuse are common themes in the local media, and the community feedback I've gotten, particularly during my town hall meetings over the last five months, is that these issues are symptomatic of a breakdown in the family unit and the wider community. In a world where youth particularly have greater connectivity through social media platforms, it can seem like the world is at their fingertips, but young people in regional areas like the Peel region are, ironically, increasingly isolated, and the virtual world can never replicate a healthy community.

I saw what a healthy community looked like recently at the Waroona Football Club presos. One of the Best and Fairest players stood up and shared how it was the footy club that had helped him through one of the toughest years of his life, and it was the guys who stood around him and helped him through that that made all the difference. But, sadly, not everyone has that, and that's why the PYMS health hub, which seeks to replicate that kind of community and seeks to protect young people who are isolated and in need of those networks, will make all the difference in the years ahead.