House debates

Monday, 31 August 2020

Private Members' Business

Headspace

6:47 pm

Photo of Rebekha SharkieRebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | | Hansard source

The pandemic has changed the way we live, work, study and connect with others. Whether it be weddings or anniversaries or 50th birthday celebrations, they are all decidedly smaller. While it's disappointing that we can't share these milestones with friends, we know that this will pass and the opportunity to do so again will return. But for the younger generation, the opportunity, once lost, is difficult to regain. Football finals and schoolies, end-of-year celebrations, may be a cause for concern for parents, but they are also a rite of passage for young people. The necessary restrictions have negatively impacted every aspect of what we would consider to be the normal day-to-day activities of our young people.

Cognisant of the facts, the South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Connolly, embarked upon a consultation process to better understand the experiences of young people during the time of COVID. The reflections are best encapsulated in a quote from 16-year-old Brayden: 'I never expected a health crisis to affect every aspect of my life other than my health.' But while our young people may be physically healthy, the commissioner's report highlights that the pandemic has a profound impact on their mental health. In part due to a lack of connection, social ties forged through schools, part-time work, sport, and other activities have all been suspended during the pandemic. For others, their family's financial uncertainty weighs heavily on their minds, as does their own future employment prospects as they leave secondary school or university and prepare to enter a very competitive job market.

The concern is not unfounded. Analysis by the Foundation for Young Australians estimated that the real youth unemployment rate in Mayo, as of May 2020, was likely closer to 27 per cent. Our young people are reporting negative impacts on their level of stress and anxiety and feelings of isolation, and they are unsure about where to turn for support.

One of the best places to turn for support is headspace. With more than 75 per cent of mental health issues developing before a person turns 25, I've always viewed their service as an incredibly needed investment in our young people. And, since 2016, I've campaigned for a headspace presence in my community of Mayo, working with our consultative group to ensure that we not only secured a shopfront in Mount Barker but we also now have a satellite service in Victor Harbor, outreach down to Strathalbyn and all the way up to the other end of the electorate at Birdwood and of course Kangaroo Island. But, frustratingly, these services continue to be administered through the Murray Bridge headspace. We really need our own fully fledged headspace in Mount Barker.

We know that the challenges for young people are going to grow. We know that COVID has exacerbated mental health. We know that it has sent anxiety rates soaring, especially for young people, and so the demand for support, particularly in a growing region like my region, is not going to abate. And it should not be forgotten that the young people living in Kangaroo Island and Adelaide Hills have gone through bushfires as well this year, with many losing their homes.

With the official commencement of the bushfire season in just a couple of weeks, that anxiety is already creeping back into many parts of our community. I've talked at many of our high schools about this challenge. This has not been an easy year for my community, but with access to the right supports our young people will have the tools that they need to navigate these uncertain times and to identify the opportunities that lay ahead. So I will continue to advocate for more resources for headspace in Mayo so that our community can access the same kinds of services as if we were living in a metropolitan area.

I must commend this government. Actually, it was the previous member for Sturt who started headspace back in 2006, a long, long time ago, and I think it's something that former Minister Pyne is very proud of. It's a matter that perhaps we sometimes forget who were the great architects of these services. I know headspace has saved many lives in my community and I'm sure many lives of young people right across Australia. Whether it be bushfires, pandemics or recessions, our issues don't stop at the toll gate or the ferry terminal. I'm looking forward to advocating for more health services for my young people in Mayo.

6:52 pm

Photo of Tim WilsonTim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

It's a privilege to be able to speak on this motion. I want to acknowledge the kind words that were made by the member for Mayo and the contribution acknowledging the legacy of the former member for Sturt Christopher Pyne in establishing headspace centres across Australia, because we all know how important mental health is for the success of young people's lives. We know that almost one in five, or 3.8 million, Australians face a mental health challenge every single year and that more than 25 per cent of mental health issues develop before an Australian turns the age of 25. So providing important, essential and readily available mental health support services is critical not just for the individuals who are impacted but, truthfully, for the success of our country, because ultimately it's the human capital that's lost when mental health becomes a burden that cannot be overcome.

That's why it's so central to what this government is focused on. In fact, one of the first initiatives that was announced during COVID-19 pandemic was from the federal government about the significant top-up in resources for mental health services, because we knew that when you had a health crisis and an economic crisis that'll follow the strain isn't just in people's physical bodies, it isn't just in their hip pockets but it's the strain that comes from losing jobs and the isolation and the challenges that people will face as a consequence of dealing with quarantine and making sure they're able to get back on their feet. It won't end tomorrow; it's not going to end at the end of the lockdown period in Victoria or in other parts of the country where they've had restrictive measures. This is going to go on, and we need resilient Australians to help build the future of our great country.

There was $509 million allocated for the Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan in the federal budget, including $375 million for headspace specifically. And I know—and I'm sure I'm speaking on behalf of many members here, but I will stress particularly Victorian members—we have had so many examples of people coming into our offices needing help and assistance, particularly younger Australians. Let's not underestimate what's happening. We're seeing young Australians who otherwise are happy in their lives suddenly finding themselves essentially trapped in their own homes, missing rites of passage, and simple activities that we know are so critical to people's total wellbeing—physical activity, being able to go and kick a footy or play netball or whatever sport—are suddenly gone in Victoria. That's why the sooner we get out of this period, the better.

I talk regularly to young people who have had to adjust to education online, but they're missing school formals and valedictory addresses. That's why, in the Goldstein office, we recognised this challenge early and actually set up and recorded a video conference with our local headspace centre in Bentleigh. We got experts along and we had a good old chat on Facebook Live, and recorded it so that it was available in an ongoing way so that, if young Australians and young people, particularly in Goldstein, are facing problems, there is a nonconfrontational way where, in their own time and space, they can find out how to get access to the support services that they need. I particularly want to thank headspace Bentleigh for taking the time and being involved with us in that initiative. It has had a very large number of views and we've had a lot of feedback from local residents, particularly younger residents, that it's helped them access the services that they need right now.

I particularly want to thank Peter Pamouktsis, the headspace Bentleigh youth facilitator, a really impressive young man who was able to articulate, from a young person's perspective, the issues that he is facing and how he is going to address them, as well as, of course, helping others in providing an accessible pathway and a relatable contact point about the challenges that he faced. I also want to thank Emma Halpin, who is the clinical psychologist, who also came on and talked about management and resilient strategies that people can practise at home in this difficult time, making sure that, if they can't cope, they know that there's an entirely open pathway for them to get support and assistance. I also want to thank the headspace centre manager Jane Laidlaw. She, along with others at the headspace Bentley clinic bring together these services so that, when people walk in the front door and just need somebody to talk to and a pathway, that is available to them. They make us so proud. They are essential to meeting this challenge head on.

6:57 pm

Photo of Zali SteggallZali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | | Hansard source

This is an important motion. We are all concerned about the mental health of our young people especially. There are four areas that I feel are important when we talk about headspace. It is important that we make headspace exempt from the telehealth requirement to have an initial face-to-face consultation. We need a national scheme for real-time data collection on suicide in general, and youth suicide in particular. We need a coordinated sector approach, bringing together health, departments of community and justice, education and local service providers. Finally, we need support programs that provide prevention and resilience.

I thank the member for Bass for providing us with the opportunity to speak on this important issue of youth mental health and suicide prevention. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all the healthcare professionals who are working in this space. I acknowledge the work of larger groups like headspace, Lifeline, ReachOut, SANE Australia and Beyond Blue but also the smaller local groups in my electorate of Warringah like Heart On My Sleeve, Gotcha4Life, The Raze Foundation, CatholicCare and Community Northern Beaches. These professionals are on the front lines. They're saving lives, but they need our support.

There's no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit our youth extremely hard, and they are feeling the stress and anxiety of that burden. The figures are sobering. The latest study to come out of the Brain and Mind Centre at University of Sydney predicts that, over the next five years, the prolonged economic impact of COVID-19 will result in a 30 per cent increase in the number of suicides by 15- to 24-year-olds. As a mother of teenagers, these statistics terrify me; as a lawmaker, they challenge me. What can we be doing better in this place to catch those kids before they fall through the cracks?

In the short time I have this evening, there are a couple of things I think we should focus on. The first is to make headspace exempt from the telehealth requirement to have that initial face-to-face consultation. At our local headspace provider in Brookvale, workers have reported a dramatic increase in demand. But it's not just the numbers that have increased, it's the severity of the cases that are presenting. Dr Gilda Brunello, who works there, says there has been a shift from cases being mild or moderate to now being severe.

While talking with Dr Brunello, she also raised with me a significant problem created by the recent changes to telehealth, whereby doctors were now required to have had a physical consultation with their patient in the past 12 months. Prior to this change, they were able to access a patient remotely and develop a mental healthcare plan via telehealth. So the requirement of the face-to-face not only creates a very real health risk for the patient, the doctor and the support staff, but it may lead to delays in desperate kids getting the initial assessment they require. I also call on the minister to consider making headspace services exempt from the requirement of that physical face-to-face consultation.

We need a national scheme for real-time data collection on suicide in general and youth suicide in particular. There's a lag—sometimes 12 to 24 months—in the reporting of suicides in Australia. It makes it incredibly hard for healthcare workers to identify and react in real time to local issues that may be contributing to suicide rates. I was pleased to see last week that the New South Wales mental health minister, Bronnie Taylor, announced the state government will fast-track their suicide register and have it up and running by October in New South Wales. This will allow police, health and justice agencies to access virtual real-time data on suicides to better target support services. We also need that coordinated sector approach, bringing together departments of health, education, justice and community with local service providers.

It's vitally important to support programs that provide prevention and resilience, not just focus on crisis care. Gotcha4Life, which operates in Warringah, is one such organisation. They say it is so vital to be able to engage with youth in the schools. We also have a program—Mitch Wallis from Heart On My Sleeve says, 'Connection to supportive relationships is the No.1 resilience factor associated with cultivating and protecting positive emotional wellbeing.' With that in mind, I want to end tonight by reminding all of us, but particularly our kids, that it's okay to not be okay. It's okay to be broken and to ask for help. And please, if you're struggling, ask for help.

7:02 pm

Photo of Nicolle FlintNicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Improving the mental health of Australians is one of the Morrison government's key priorities. We know that 3.8 million, or almost one in five, Australians face challenges to their mental health every year. We also know that more than three-quarters of ongoing mental health conditions begin before the age of 25. That's why the Morrison government understands that the mental health of our young people is especially important.

These facts have never been more evident or more important than during the current coronavirus pandemic. The additional stresses the pandemic has placed on our young people can impact their lives through to adulthood. Students have faced, and continue to face, uncertainty in their studies, particularly those in year 12, and we are thinking of them all. Many young people have also witnessed the stress that the coronavirus has placed on their parents and their jobs and their family situations. Challenging times such as these can have long-lasting impacts on young people, affecting them at a vital time in their development. Now more than ever it's crucial that our young people receive the support and care they need to help them stay on track or to help them get back on track.

Early intervention is essential to minimise longer term impacts. Headspace was created to serve this purpose. Established in 2006 by the Howard government, headspace currently operates 123 services around the nation. This is an increase on the 113 services mentioned in this motion when it was originally moved, highlighting our ongoing commitment to the headspace service. With a focus on early intervention, these services provide tailored mental health support for 12- to 25-year-olds. Critically, of the 123 services, 62 of these are located in rural and regional areas—another increase for communities which are not just dealing with the global pandemic, but have recently also suffered through terrible drought and catastrophic bushfires. The headspace network is clearly at the heart of the Morrison government's vision for young people's primary mental health services, and we are continuing to expand these services.

In October 2018, I was delighted to have Prime Minister Morrison visit Boothby to announce a further $51.8 million for headspace sustainability funding. Down at the Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club we gathered together a wonderful group of young people who had been helped by headspace and who had gone on to work for headspace, as well as a range of amazing counsellors and headspace supporters, to talk about what that funding would mean for them. Additionally, under this measure, each existing headspace site nationally will receive an increase in funding of approximately eight per cent.

Following this announcement, we continued to support the headspace initiative and efforts within the youth mental health and suicide prevention space. In December 2018, we announced $6.4 million for new headspace satellite services. Then, in January 2019, we committed a further $47 million for the young ambassadors for headspace program. The 2019-20 federal budget reinforced the notion that mental health was a key priority for our government. We further outlined and expanded our youth mental health and suicide prevention plan. A $509 million strategy, the plan allocated $375 million for headspace, which included the expansion of the network by 30 new sites—and the results of this are already coming to fruition. The plan will also deliver reduced wait times and improved quality within headspace, along with early psychosis youth services throughout their centres.

As part of our continued funding, my electorate of Boothby will also see the benefits of our desire to address the issue of youth mental health. Through the 2019 election, we committed $3.9 million to establish a new headspace centre at Marion, which will serve my local community. Once complete, the new centre will provide vital services and deliver innovative support for young Australians in my local community. I'm pleased to see that these guaranteed and frontline services will help deliver support by providing information, advice, counselling and treatment to our youth in need. The federal government is providing $750,000 to the Adelaide Primary Health Network this year for the headspace Marion fit-out and recurrent funding of $912,000 each year for service delivery.

I wish to commend the Minister for Health for his ongoing commitment to headspace and his dedication to assisting Australians in addressing the issue of mental health. Through the difficult times we are currently facing, he has shown a clear understanding of the need to assist Australians in dealing with the increased pressures on their mental health with $1.1 billion announced in response to the coronavirus pandemic to boost mental health services, increase domestic violence support and increase Medicare assistance for people at home.

7:07 pm

Photo of Mike FreelanderMike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Bass, and I thank her for bringing the matter before the House. Headspace is a fantastic service, and I've worked with headspace in Campbelltown in my electorate since it started in 2006. Headspace, of course, provides services for young people. In my outer metropolitan electorate it was very difficult for young people to access mental health support services until the advent of headspace, and headspace has been a wonderful addition to our health services. This, I'm sure, is true throughout the country. The work undertaken by headspace supports all clinicians and has been an excellent development. I thank Minister Pyne for his work in starting it, and I have spoken to him about this previously.

The present pandemic, of course, has impacted us all. I don't think there is anyone in this place that hasn't been impacted in some way by the pandemic. I worry a lot about the impact of this pandemic on young people, whose brains are still developing and who are suffering a lot of very difficult issues due to the uncertainty of the future, in terms of not only education but also jobs and services—indeed, the uncertainty of their futures. Those of us who have been around for a while know that we will get through this crisis and that there will be a functioning society at the end of it, but services such as headspace are vitally important in providing those supports for young people. Headspace in Campbelltown in my electorate are a wonderful service, and I have visited there often. They have always made me feel welcome, and I have listened to their concerns. It's paramount in these uncertain times that we stay connected. Telehealth was a good way people could stay connected with their physicians, with their services and with their clinicians.

Photo of Llew O'BrienLlew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

We no longer have a quorum. The proceedings will be suspended and resumed when the chair is taken.

Sitting suspended from 19:10 to 19:15

Photo of Mike FreelanderMike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I'm a proud supporter of headspace and, as I say, I was very grateful that the director of services, Charishma Kaliyanda, an old friend of mine, invited me along just before we came to this sitting. Charishma and her team—the wonderful team that it is—raised some concerns with me about the services provided. They're very concerned about the reductions in telehealth services and, in particular, the requirement for a physical consultation with a doctor before a mental health plan can be organised. They're concerned about young people in rural and regional areas and they're concerned about the overwhelming nature of the increases in referrals they've had in the last few months. I understand this. It is very important that we make sure that our funding and our services are able to keep up with demand.

I would like to thank the team at headspace Campbelltown for all the support that they've given me over the years, and I will do my best to support them. In particular, I want to thank them for the help they've given us in reaching out to young people, particularly the year 12 school leavers, and trying to provide them with information on how they can access services if they are feeling stressed. I've reiterated my concerns about the effect of the pandemic on young people and we are doing our best in our office, with the help of our local headspace, to provide the services we can to young people. There are many other organisations that are providing support: the Black Dog Institute, Beyond Blue, the local hospital mental health services, the local councils and other local health support services, such as the general practitioner network et cetera. We need to get equitable headspace services throughout the country. I think that's very important and I have written to the minister about this. A scourge on our society are the mental health issues that are really coming to the fore during the pandemic. I know that everyone in this House wishes the best for all who are suffering at the present difficult time.

7:17 pm

Photo of Katie AllenKatie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bass for this motion. Her first speech included the topic of mental health, which she is very passionate about. I too care deeply about mental health and I know that I'm not alone, with millions of Australian families affected every year by issues around mental health. My family is by no means unique, but in my first speech I spoke about my beautiful cousin Matthew. I was very close to Matthew. He loved music and made musical instruments. He travelled to Ireland to learn the specialist skills to make guitars. We loved making music together. He had a beautiful but troubled soul. As a family, we knew something wasn't right, but, in rural Victoria, where he lived, there were very few mental health services in the 1990s—certainly none that were youth orientated. Matthew died by suicide at the age of 25. I often wonder whether things would have been different if he had been born 20 years later and he could have accessed the supportive services that are available now.

It is important that people experiencing mental health challenges receive support as early as possible to help them stay on track. Like most diseases, early intervention is key for prevention, but also to minimise long-term effects. That is why support services like headspace are so vital. Headspaces across Australia work to assist young people between the ages of 12 and 25. This is a great legacy from the Howard government, as has been mentioned already in this place and by the previous member for Sturt, Christopher Pyne. There are now 123 headspace centres right across Australia and these provide low-cost or free services via Medicare. Each one is tailored to the needs of the community it is located in. I'm so delighted the Morrison government has committed $3½ million to having a headspace in Higgins. Headspace offers holistic support for young people that includes clinical mental health professionals, judgment-free physical and sexual health advice from onsite GPs, alcohol and drug counsellors who can provide advice on available treatments, and work and study assistance with vocational workers and counsellors who can assist with managing the workloads of studying and jobseeking.

As a paediatrician and former chair of a local school board in Melbourne, headspace services in schools is of particular interest to me. Our school years can be some of the best years, friends and teachers shaping us, and we begin to develop a concept of who we are as a person, but they can be a pressure cooker. Friendships change. Schoolwork, exams, teachers and home life can all add to a feeling of being very overwhelmed, and this can lead not just to anxiety but to depression.

In these formative years, support is needed more than ever and even more during this COVID-19 pandemic. Government investment will mean that schools right around Australia will have a national workforce that supports, engages and partners with schools to build good mental health literacy. It will help deal with the stigma of mental health before it has had a chance to take root. The educational mental health initiative Bee You is delivered by headspace and is aimed at promoting good mental health in primary and secondly school students. Headspace offers sessions for teachers, students and parents, all aimed at enhancing mental health understanding, and supports a holistic implementation in schools. This initiative also provides crisis support when the unthinkable happens and there is a suicide within a school community. As a previous chair of a school council, I know how that keeps the people who look after schools up at night.

Over 3.8 million Australians will experience a mental health challenge every year. In the times we are currently living in, these numbers are set to grow, as effects of social restrictions and uncertainty become apparent. It is a key priority of this government to ensure that every Australian has access to mental health services if needed. A strong and resilient population makes for a strong and resilient nation, and it is a key priority of the Morrison government that people can get quality care and support when they need it. A $509 million Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, in 2019-20 federal government funding, which includes $370 million for headspace, is something that all Australians can be proud of.

Protecting our children is so vitally important. They are our future. I'm proud to stand in this House to highlight the dedication of this government in building this country's mental wealth. I commend the member for Bass for her motion.

7:22 pm

Photo of Pat ConaghanPat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I look back at my teenage years and my early 20s and things seemed so much simpler, and I'm sure they were. There was no internet, no Facebook, no mobile telephones and things just seemed slower. So it's little wonder, these days, that so many teenagers and young people are struggling with life. If it's not cyberbullying it's the pressure of showing how good you look on Facebook or what you have, whether you've got the latest thing. The reality is, half the people who are posting are just as miserable as the rest of us—in the nicest way possible. Five minutes on Facebook would make anyone depressed.

To compound the problem, adding coronavirus and all its uncertainty, losing jobs, the lack of jobs, not being able to travel, not being able to have your school formal—I think it's tough on our youth these days and the older generation are much too harsh, much too quick to criticise. I say to my boy, 'When I was your age, when I was 13, I had a job.' Apparently, industrial relations laws don't allow that now. But this is why it's so important to have headspace, a youth-friendly mental health service and an investment into our youth, and an investment in the last year of $111.3 million to increase the number of headspaces—and I'm very happy that one was given to Kempsey, my home town.

Just two weeks ago we had a groundbreaking ceremony held by Uncle Fred of the Dhanggati and Thangatti nations. I spoke to 23-year-old Corey Stocks, who said, 'This is one of the best things that happen to Kempsey in years.' He said it will provide a place for the Macleay Valley young people to go and give themselves a better shot at life. Before this, they had to travel to Port Macquarie or they had to travel to Coffs Harbour for the services that they needed, or they had to see a school counsellor—that presented its own problems, where you see a young person walk into an office. The new Kempsey headspace is being delivered through a $3.4 million investment, creating 10 new jobs in Kempsey, half of which will be filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But headspace is only part of the solution. It has to start at home, in schools and in our communities, because invariably the young people who attend have faced trauma, and not of their doing. They 're victims of domestic violence, they 've witnessed drug and alcohol abuse, and they 're victims of sexual abuse. We have to change our way of thinking and acting. Only then will we change the system.

I offer my congratulations on the Kempsey Community Suicide Prevention Action Plan, being delivered by the Macleay Valley Workplace Learning Centre. They 've trained over 200 people within our community in suicide prevention, intervention, crisis response and bereavement training. They 've formed a successful collaboration with the Kempsey TAFE campus and have engaged well with the Macleay Valley Workplace Learning Centre staff.

The policies of the coalition government, indeed since the former Prime Minister John Howard's era, are making a difference. They 're certainly making a difference to people in my community. It's just a shame that these gains have been stymied by the incredible challenges we're facing right now. I'd like to thank this government and previous governments for their contribution to mental health. It's something that will continue. It won't change. It's not the silver bullet, but it is a support network until we can make those changes in our families, in our homes and in our schools and support our kids, who are our future.

Debate adjourned.