Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are few issues that are as important as the work currently being undertaken by state and federal governments to reduce our national suicide rate. On average, by the end of just today, eight Australians will have taken their own life and 180 more will have attempted to do so. The Prime Minister has made this a personal mission, and I applaud him for that decision. I know that in this he has the support of members across the parliament.

In early June, I had the opportunity to see the Prime Minister's dedication firsthand when he invited me and the members for Berowra, Reid and Fisher to join him as he met with ministers and senior bureaucrats to discuss the government's approach to suicide. I did not, however, anticipate that, within weeks of that meeting, I would be attending the funeral of a dear friend who lost his own awful battle with mental illness. Dan Webb was one of the most genuine, kind, popular and beautiful souls you could ever meet. Yet at the age of 40, we lost him.

As I was sitting at my desk writing these remarks on Sunday night, I received an email from a young resident of Lane Cove, in my own constituency. She was motivated to email after learning that one of her peers, a girl in her own year at school, had taken her life over the weekend. She was just 16. In her email she wrote:

It scares me that someone I considered a friend did not feel that they had adequate support, or a way of seeking help. I really want to do something about this ... I am hoping that by contacting you, we may be able to have a discussion about how to improve the mental health of young people in North Sydney and how to move forward for a positive future.

I will be having that conversation with her as soon as I return from Canberra.

Challenges with mental health affect us all in different ways. You don't need to be struggling yourself to be impacted by its reach. We all have a family member, a friend or a colleague who is struggling with a mental health issue. Those who struggle too often do so in silence, without help and without hope. Young Australians in particular are facing a crisis of mental health challenges that has never been seen before in our country, with 18- to 24-year-olds experiencing higher levels of mental illness than any other age group. For young Australians in this age bracket, suicide is the leading cause of death. There has also been significant commentary about suicide rates in other sections of our community, particularly among veterans and Indigenous Australians.

I want to pause for a moment to focus on one other suicide rate, which often does not receive the focus it deserves: the tragically high suicide rates amongst the LGBTI community. Our understanding is limited because there is a paucity of national data collection, but what we have points to a suicide rate among young LGBTI Australians that is five times the national average. Incredibly, it is 11 times the average in the trans community. A starting point must be to ensure that we do have the data to track and respond to the challenges facing this part of our community. Beyond that, there is a strong case for improving services specifically for those in the LGBTI community—for example, expanding specific community-led mental health services alongside existing services. For those who are isolated geographically or culturally, as many are, we must look at what models are most effective in reaching young LGBTI people who are otherwise feeling utterly alone.

More broadly, there is such a powerful message about the consequences of bigotry and stigmatisation. It is so much better than it was 40 years ago, but it still rears its head in such damaging manifestations. With $4.9 billion expected to be spent on mental health this year alone, we are able to make new progress and provide new services that have never been seen before, as well as build on the existing infrastructure that we know is working. This includes the $375 million investment that we are making as a government to support headspace, the flagship support service that is providing young people with the help they need to overcome their mental health challenges. I would like to take this opportunity in this place to recognise the exceptional work of the headspace team in Chatswood, in my own electorate. Thank you for everything you are doing.

But the responsibility to help those facing mental health challenges lies not just with the government. As much as we make it a priority, it lies with each and every one of us as individuals. It's why the work of organisations like batyr is so important. The 600 young people it has trained and marshalled to tell their own positive stories have reached over 170,000 young people, and this is helping to reduce the debilitating stigma of mental ill health. I was thrilled to see the government announce additional funding for their work just last month. It is this approach, a partnership between government, community and all of us as individuals, which has to be the pillar of everything we do. As our Prime Minister declared to a crowded stadium of young school students last month, we must make these commitments, because people, especially young people, matter so much.