Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House notes that:

(1) to meet growing need, the Government is putting mental health at the heart of Medicare and services at the centre of communities;

(2) the Government is rolling out a national network of 91 Medicare Mental Health Centres, which offer free walk-in mental health support and care from clinical and non-clinical staff, without the need for an appointment, referral, or mental health treatment plan; and

(3) the Government is delivering services, closer to home, across the whole of the lifespan by opening new Perinatal Mental Health Centres, Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs, headspace centres, and Medicare Mental Health Centres.

As a proud former CEO of a national youth mental health charity, I know that when we talk about mental health we are talking about an issue that touches every family in Australia. None of us are immune. Whether it's our children, our parents, our friends or ourselves, we all know how it feels when the right care isn't there, and we all know how much it matters when it is. That's why this motion is so important, because the Albanese Labor government is putting mental health at the heart of Medicare and making sure services are close to home, easy to find and simple to access.

At the last election we made a $1.1 billion commitment to strengthen mental health care right across this country. This includes 31 new and upgraded Medicare mental health centres, taking the total number of them to 91; 58 new, upgraded or expanded headspace services; 20 youth specialist care centres for young people with complex needs; and eight new perinatal mental health centres. We will support more than 1,200 training places for mental health professionals and peer workers. Recognising that too many Australians have had too long to wait or have had to travel too far or pay too much to get help led to the promise of these bold reforms for a better future. Every single one of those services is more than just a building; it's an open door when someone needs it most.

In my own community, I recently heard from a local mum who told me about her son's journey with ADHD and its impacts on his mental health. She said that, with so many confusing and costly options out there, our local headspace at Woolloongabba was by far the best support that her family found. Her son was matched with a fantastic psychologist who, for the past four years, has walked alongside her son and their family through the challenges of early high school, helping him manage his outbursts, frustrations and self-doubt. At best, this mum had hoped her son would complete year 10, but, with the right care and the incredible support from his psychologist and the Woolloongabba headspace centre, her son now not only is confident to finish school but dreams of becoming a sports broadcaster. She told me her son no longer feels trapped by his mental health and he feels supported to thrive in life, all thanks to the incredible services and team at our local headspace. That's what these services mean; they mean young people can have hopes for the future and families feel supported, included and understood.

That story is not unique. Across the country, families have said they need better access to mental health support services that are affordable, reliable and empathetic. That's why we're delivering youth specialist care centres for the so-called missing middle—those young people who are too unwell for primary care but not sick enough for acute care. For too long they've been left without support. And the best part is that these services are free. That's the kind of practical real-world change that families tell me makes all the difference.

Since coming into government, we've already established 42 Medicare mental health centres that offer walk-in mental health care and free access to a psychiatrist and psychologist, either on site or on call; we've established 12 perinatal mental health centres to provide support to new patients; we've expanded the headspace network to more than 170 centres; we've restored the bulk-billing telehealth psychiatry Medicare rebate so Australians living outside metropolitan areas get equal access to clinical mental health support; and we've expanded the mental health workforce, with more than 4,000 psychology scholarships, internships and training places. These changes are about removing the financial burden on families, on parents and on young people which often stands in the way of treatment and recovery. It's about giving people back their dignity, their access to quality and timely care and, in many cases, their future. We are building a mental health system that puts people first, one that meets Australians where they are at every stage of life. That's what this motion is about, and that's why I have moved it in this chamber.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition is deeply concerned about the Albanese Labor government's disingenuous rhetoric on Medicare and the state of bulk-billing in Australia today. Before the last election the Prime Minister promised Australians that all they would need to see a doctor was their Medicare card, not a credit card. His words were emphatic: 'One card covers it all—not your credit card but your Medicare card.' He repeated that promise at least 71 times. But the reality Australians now face is very different. Under Labor, bulk-billing has collapsed. GP bulk-billing has fallen from 88 per cent under the coalition to 77 per cent today. That means 40 million fewer bulk-billed GP visits in the past year alone. Those who can still find a GP are paying record amounts out of their pockets—75 per cent more in out-of-pocket costs than before Labor came to office. The government's own national accounts show that more Australians than ever are having to use their credit card alongside their Medicare card. They are being charged the highest out-of-pocket costs on record. The result is heartbreaking. More than 1.5 million Australians last year avoided going to the doctor because they simply could not afford it. That is the sad reality of our healthcare system under Labor, a reality that no photo opportunity or stunt with a Medicare card can hide.

It is worth reflecting on how we got here. For years general practice has been under pressure. Doctors tell me the traditional model, where shorter consultations helped subsidise longer, more complex ones, has broken down. At the same time rebates have fallen far behind the actual cost of providing care. In fact, GPs receive just $42 from Medicare for an extended consultation. Compare that to the $246 the government pays for an urgent care clinic visit, $200 for a nurse led clinic visit and $692 for a patient presenting to an emergency department without admission. The incentives are skewed away from general practice, the very front line of our healthcare system. This has devastating consequences in our regions.

Only recently, in my electorate, the Goyder's Line Medical clinic in Peterborough closed its doors. This is a community of 1,200 people. It is now gone. People in Peterborough, like those in so many regional towns, are left with diminishing access to primary care. The only option in many cases is to wait until a condition worsens and head to an already overstretched regional hospital. That is not strengthening Medicare. That is weakening it. Yet the Prime Minister continues to tell Australians that it is free to see a GP. His health minister now even admits that he never said there would be 100 per cent bulk-billing. That is simply not true. The Prime Minister's own words are on the record. This is not just a broken promise; it's a $2 billion lie. Because, in the past year alone, Australians have paid more than $2 billion in out-of-pocket costs to see their GP. That's $2 billion that the Prime Minister told them they would never have to pay. By contrast, the coalition has a strong record on Medicare. Every year we were in office we increased funding, from $18.6 billion under the former Labor government to more than $30 billion by 2021-22. When we left office, bulk-billing was at a record high of 88 per cent, and in our last year 167 million free GP services were delivered—61 million more than the previous Labor government.

Let's not forget about mental health. Labor has cut Medicare subsidised sessions in half, stripping vital support from 372,000 vulnerable Australians, ignoring the advice of experts and even their own review. The result is that access to Medicare mental health services has fallen to the lowest levels in more than a decade, precisely when demand is at record highs. In fact, the situation in my electorate is so dire that you would find better access to mental health support in Mongolia than you would in regional South Australia. That is the reality under this Labor government. Australians deserve better: they deserve honesty, they deserve a government that understands the struggles to afford basic health care, and they deserve access to a GP, whether they live in Sydney or in Peterborough. While Labor is misleading Australians, the coalition will continue to fight to make sure families, especially in the regions, have affordable, timely access to doctors, medicines and mental health support, because that is what Medicare should mean.

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would be happy to take the member for Grey to my electorate to see the difference an Albanese government is already making after a decade of neglect from those opposite. I'm pleased to be able to rise today to lend my support to this important piece of private member's business. I commend the member for Griffith for bringing this matter forward, and I'd also like to congratulate her on her election to this place and her powerful first speech in the first sitting period.

This motion goes to the heart of the agenda of the Albanese government in terms of access to and outcomes in health care. We recognise the essential importance of mental health in the overall context of public health. We also recognise that mental health services and supports can be inaccessible in terms of cost, availability and proximity. On this side of the House, we believe firmly that the only thing you should need to access important care is a small piece of green plastic—your Medicare card, a card those opposite have never been particularly committed to or interested in.

Recognising all this, our government is acting to put mental health at the heart of Medicare in ensuring that mental health services are located appropriately and accessible to all. At the recent election, we made a $1.1 billion commitment towards mental health. What this looks like on the ground is 91 Medicare mental health centres across Australia. These centres are staffed by clinical and non-clinical staff who offer mental health support and care without the need for an appointment, referral or treatment plan. Best of all, it's free. All you need is your Medicare card.

I know how good these centres are, as I have one such centre in my electorate of Bean. Last month I visited the new Tuggeranong Medicare Mental Health Centre with the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, the member for Dobell, for its official opening. It was wonderful to meet the staff and partners who worked to make the centre possible. The centre is a welcoming and calm environment with a dedicated and able staff ready to offer assistance. The location of the centre could not be better, being close to the Tuggeranong bus interchange as well as parking and other public health facilities and shopfronts. The centre is located on Eileen Good Street in Greenway and is open from 9 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday. I am pleased that my constituents are now able to access critical mental health supports and services for free and that these services are close to other critical community amenities and transport links. I'm proud to deliver this centre for the people of Bean.

Our new Medicare mental health centre will be complemented very soon by a number of other critical services in Bean, including a perinatal wellbeing centre, also accessible to anyone with a Medicare card. This follows the establishment of an eating disorders clinic, also in the electorate of Bean, late last year. I'm looking forward to that perinatal wellbeing centre coming online soon, and I'm also looking forward to the establishment of a Medicare urgent care clinic in Woden, just down the road from Tuggeranong.

I remain firmly committed to working to ensure that the people of Bean continue to get access to real on-the-ground services which bring a meaningful and positive change to their lives and health care. I'm proud to be part of a government that is delivering meaningful health care, including meaningful mental health care, not just for residents of Bean but right across Australia. Labor governments have always made accessible and affordable health care a priority, from the beginnings of Medibank to Medicare, and now to an Albanese government.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this very important motion. Mental health is one of the defining challenges of our time. It reaches into every home, every workplace and every community, and it's something the government cannot afford to get wrong. It's the child who can't get the right support at school, the parent who's quietly carrying a heavy burden, the colleague who struggles in silence—we all know someone.

Just this year I stood at the funeral of a young man in his 20s who, tragically, took his own life after a long struggle with mental ill health. This heartbreaking story is not unique. It's echoed in towns, suburbs and communities across our nation. Suicide leaves a devastating impact, not only on those we lose but on the families, friends and wider community who must carry the grief. That is why timely, accessible and compassionate support is not optional; it's essential.

Australians want a system that is there when they need it. They want care that's local, that's affordable and that's delivered with dignity. Every government talks about this. Every government promises to strengthen services and bring them closer to home. But too often the reality is very different. People are left waiting, travelling further and struggling to find the help they deserve. That's why it's astonishing—almost insulting—that this Labor government holds up mental health as one of its centrepieces, when the same government that cut Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions in half is the one that's speaking. It is the same government that took away a program that was working for families. If the government could not protect something so basic, how could Australians possibly trust them to deliver something bigger?

In my electorate of McPherson, the need is undeniable. The census tells us that nearly eight per cent of locals report a long-term mental health condition, and more than one in five live with a mental or behavioural condition. These are not numbers on a page. They're families who are hurting, and they're right to ask: how can Labor talk about strengthening mental health while ripping away the very supports that people relied on? Healthcare access is one of the biggest concerns in McPherson. More than 40 per cent of residents identify it as a pressing issue. That means people are struggling—really struggling—to find consistent and affordable care.

In mental health, the gaps are even starker. People are experiencing distress but facing long waits, higher costs and, in some cases, no local services at all. I think of a single mother I spoke to recently from Currumbin Waters. Her daughter has been dealing with mental health challenges for some time. When Labor halved the psychology sessions it left her in an impossible situation. She simply cannot afford the extra cost, so her daughter now goes without. That is the reality.

While Labor congratulates itself on new announcements, families are left to pick up the pieces. Families do not measure success by how many clinics are promised or how many clinics are opened; they measure it by whether, in a moment of crisis, they can pick up the phone and get help. Right now, too many people are left waiting, and when care is delayed the cost is not just borne by the individual; it is felt by families, schools, workplaces and the whole community.

Even if clinics open tomorrow, who will staff them? Australia is already short of GPs and nurses. The mental health workforce is stretching to breaking point. Psychologists, psychiatrists and counsellors cannot keep up with the demand. Unless we train and support more professionals, all the press releases in the world won't deliver the care that Australians need. Our country deserves better. Australians deserve care that is faster, fairer and closer to home. But, under Labor, what they see is patchy access, longer waits and a workforce that is pushed to its limit. That is the truth. Behind all the government's self-praise, Australians are being let down. So the question is simple: what will be different this time? Sadly, if Labor's history is any guide, the answer is: nothing.

Ali France (Dickson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We all know that looking after your mental health is so incredibly important. I've spoken before in the House about my own struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety after I lost my leg in 2011 and about how I struggled to get out of the house, didn't drive for nearly three years and struggled to get back to work. Mental health is a key component to our health, our wellbeing and our prosperity. I did get back to work as a result of constant psychological support, but that is not everyone's reality. Many people go without the support they need. Socioeconomic status, living conditions and employment status can often impact the likelihood of a person experiencing a mental disorder and whether they are able to get access to services and help. Our government, the Albanese Labor government, understands this.

Over seven years of doorknocking, I heard time and again that my community wanted more access to bulk-billed, immediate mental health services, which is why our government is putting bulk-billed mental health care into Medicare and walk-in services in the heart of our communities. At the election, we made a historic commitment to invest $1.1 billion to deliver new and expanded mental health services across the country. This includes the new Medicare mental health centre at Strathpine, which I was lucky enough to visit on Friday with the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. It is walk-in and bulk-billed, with no appointment or cash needed, and, with access to psychologists and psychiatrists, the new Medicare mental health centre at Strathpine will help thousands of locals in Dickson. Strathpine is one of three newly launched Medicare mental health centres in the Moreton Bay region, along with Redcliffe and Caboolture, and I've got news for the member for McPherson: they are all fully staffed and ready to take patients.

There are currently 43 Medicare mental health centres open nationally, including 11 across Queensland, and we're also getting a brand new centre in Everton Hills in Dickson, which will be open later in the year. In this term, the Albanese government is establishing 31 new and upgraded Medicare mental health centres, taking the total number of Medicare mental health centres to 91. That's 91 investments in better mental health supports for Australians who need it. Whether you've experienced mental health challenges in the past or this is your first time reaching out for support, everyone is welcome. The centres provide a safe and welcoming place where everyone can access free and confidential services and support. They're open for extended hours, there is no appointment or referral needed and they are co-designed with a range of stakeholders, ensuring services meet the needs of local communities like mine in Dickson.

Our investment in the Medicare mental health system is just one part of the Albanese Labor government's commitment to strengthening Medicare. We're making medicines cheaper, bringing the cost of PBS scripts down to just $25 or $7.70 for concession card holders—the same price as 2004. We're opening more Medicare urgent care clinics, bringing the total to 90 across Australia. We are also enhancing the clinical capacity of services to better support Australians with complex mental health needs. This includes boosting the availability of free consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists. Anyone living in Australia can also call Medicare Mental Health to speak to a trained professional for advice, support and connection to services that best suit their needs.

On this side of the House, we know just how important Medicare is, and we will always work to strengthen it. The same can't be said for those opposite. Who could forget the proposed $7 co-payment for GP visits, pathology and imaging services the coalition tried to implement when they were in government? They also terminated payments to the states for preventive health. They reversed public hospital funding and reduced payments to doctors to discourage bulk-billing. The member for Grey conveniently left out of his speech that under the coalition they froze the Medicare rebates for GPs for over five years. They sat on their hands and watched as the cost of going to the GP went through the roof. The Albanese government will never stop strengthening Medicare, because Medicare is Labor's heart.

Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Griffith for raising this very important issue. Almost one in two Australians experience mental illness in their lifetimes. While young people are disproportionately affected by poor mental health, people from all ages can have it, and all of them deserve and should receive support and treatment. But Australia's mental health system is marked by fragmentation and inequity, and we have a government which last week neglected health entirely at its economic roundtable.

Mental Health Australia and the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling have found that communities with the highest mental health needs in this country—those in regional and remote areas, low-income households and single-parent families—are often the most underserved by services. Public mental health services typically respond only to high-risk cases. There are only 58 acute adolescent mental health inpatient beds in Victoria; only four of those are in regional settings. Headspace is a trusted entry point for young Australians, but analyses of its model are unfortunately quite underwhelming, and it doesn't cover the missing middle—those young people who are too sick for headspace but not sick enough for hospital care. The Albanese government has halved the number of psychology sessions funded under the Better Access scheme. It has not yet replaced those services.

In 2023, an analysis of psychosocial supports outside the NDIS found that more than 490,000 Australians with moderate and severe mental health needs weren't getting the support that they needed. That's more than the population of the ACT. Last year, the National Mental Health Commission found that one in five Australians had delayed or avoided seeking mental health care because of its cost. Australians living with mental health challenges experience social disadvantage, unstable housing, isolation and poor physical health, which impacts their ability to function, to care for themselves and to participate in society. Those individuals deserve support, dignity and understanding, but the last NDIS report found that applicants with a psychosocial disability were accepted to the NDIS only 23 per cent of the time, compared to 79 per cent across all disability types.

The Productivity Commission has found that mental ill-health costs our economy $220 billion a year. This is a false economy. If we can support someone with mild or moderate mental illness early, we will prevent their progression to a psychosocial disability. If we support those with a disability adequately, we can keep them in the community, not in an emergency department or in a psychiatric facility. We need more than investment; we need integration. We need reform that connects our health, mental health and disability systems. We need to respond to that unmet need report. We need to deliver foundational supports and community mental health services, and we have to land meaningful, effective NDIS reform.

I speak in support of the many mental health advocates who are urging the federal government to coordinate a whole-of-government response to the mental health crisis. This has to include investment in early intervention, especially in schools and in primary care settings. It should guarantee timely and affordable access to mental health care by boosting funding and training for community based services, and it should include better integration across public and private sectors. We should establish targets, conduct robust evaluations and adapt our programs based on that evidence. We should ensure culturally safe care, particularly for Indigenous communities, and we have to bolster education and training of our mental health workforce. We have too few psychologists and psychiatrists, but we're not yet addressing those workforce shortages with clear and substantial policy commitments.

Since the creation of the NDIS, many state based mental health and early intervention services have disappeared. Too many people—far too many people—are falling through the cracks. We have an urgent need for a more equitable and integrated mental health care system which addresses both financial and geographic barriers to mental health care for Australians of all ages. Only through systemic reform and sustained investment can Australia build a mental health care system that truly meets the needs of its people.

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I speak about an issue that is as personal as it is national, an issue that affects families, friends, neighbours and communities right across Australia. That issue is mental health. For too long, too many Australians have struggled in silence, navigating a system that is hard to access, hard to understand and often out of reach. This is not a challenge we can leave out of sight and out of mind. That is why the Albanese Labor government is putting mental health at the very heart of Medicare and services at the centre of communities. We are building a national network of 91 Medicare mental health centres across the country so that, no matter where you live, help is never far away.

In the northern suburbs of Adelaide, we have our own mental health centre in Elizabeth. It's open Monday to Sunday, including public holidays, because we know a crisis does not hit the pause button depending on what time of the year it is. All of these centres are free and open for walk-ins, ready to provide short- or medium-term care with a safe space to sit and talk, or even just sit quietly, when you need it the most. You do not need an appointment, you do not need a referral and you do not need a mental health treatment plan, because, when you are in crisis or when you are just starting to realise you need help, you should not have to navigate red tape before you can speak to someone. You should be able to walk through the door and find care from qualified clinical staff who can provide treatment and non-clinical staff who can listen, guide and connect you to the support you need.

This is about more than one-off interventions. That is why the government is opening new perinatal mental health centres to make sure new parents have the help they need during one of the most challenging transitions in life. We are delivering Medicare mental health kids hubs so that children and their families can get early support when signs first emerge, before problems become entrenched. We are expanding headspace centres for young people because adolescence and early adulthood can be some of the most turbulent years for mental health. We are embedding Medicare mental health centres for adults, ensuring that care is available for anyone at any age.

This approach matters for the north, because we know the barriers our community has faced. Too often services were concentrated in the city, meaning people had to travel for hours or wait for months, too often mental health was treated as an add-on, not a core part of the health system, and too often the stigma around mental health illness kept people from asking for help at all. These reforms change that. They put services closer to home, in the heart of communities like ours. They send a clear message that mental health care is health care and it belongs in Medicare. It also means that, when someone is in crisis, they are met with compassion, not complexity.

I want to acknowledge the many organisations, advocates and health workers in our community who have been calling for change for years and the nurses, the counsellors, the peer support workers and the GPs who have been doing their best to help people within a stretched and underresourced system. Their work has been nothing short of extraordinary, but they have been asking—no, demanding—that governments step up. The Albanese government has listened, and we are delivering. While this is national reform, it is also deeply local because every one of these 91 Medicare mental health centres will serve a community with its own needs, its own challenges and its own strengths.

This is also about prevention because, the earlier we can reach someone, the better their chances are of recovery and the less strain there is on families, on workplaces and on the health system as a whole. This is not just good policy; it is the right thing to do. I will keep working to ensure that the north and communities like ours across the country continue to be front and centre of this work because mental health care should never depend on your postcode, your income or your ability to navigate a complicated system; it should depend only on your need and our shared responsibility to meet it.

The Albanese Labor government is proud to be making this investment, proud to be standing up for better mental health services and proud to be delivering for the people of the northern suburbs of Adelaide.

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is an important motion to rise on, because young people in regions like mine are being left behind by mental health services and support. I'm pleased to see the reference to Headspace in this motion, because it has been a transformational initiative first brought to fruition by a coalition government. Headspace is, of course, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, and it provides early intervention mental health services for 12- to 25-year-olds. The organisation supports young people with mental health, physical health, alcohol and other drug services, and work and study support. In 2024-25 alone, they supported more than 101,000 young people with over 612,000 occasions of service in headspace centres, and provided more than 24,000 young people and families with over 100,000 digital occasions of service.

This is very much needed. National data shows that young people in Australia experience the highest prevalence of mental health disorders, with nearly 40 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds having experienced one in the past 12 months, including high rates of anxiety disorders. Young people in regional areas do not have the same access to mental health support services. I'm passionate about using my time in this place to close this gap.

As Australia's best-known demographer, Bernard Salt, wrote recently: 'Over the last 10 years, Warragul's population has increased by 41 per cent. It outpaces places like Busselton and the Gold Coast.' According to Bernard Salt, Warragul and Drouin, in my electorate, are the fastest-growing towns in Australia, but many of our services haven't kept pace with that growth. One of those areas—for young people in particular—is mental health.

I recently met with a number of dedicated staff from Latrobe Community Health Service in West Gippsland about this challenge. Despite its population growth, the Baw Baw shire area does not have a headspace of its own. You need to travel to the Bass Coast or the Latrobe Valley for the nearest service. These are significant distances to travel, particularly for those from smaller and more remote areas of the Baw Baw shire like Erica, Rawson, Neerim South, Noojee and other towns.

I want to thank Tenille Thornburn and Mona Wei from my local community, who wrote to me about why this is important. I met with them recently, and the need is clear. In the 2024-25 financial year, headspace Morwell supported 726 young people with their mental health. Of those, 147—or around 20 per cent—were from the Baw Baw shire, many of whom would have travelled for an hour or more to get there.

A 2024 survey of 370 year 8 students in Baw Baw shire paints a clear picture. Thirty-six per cent showed moderate to severe symptoms of depression. That's equivalent to almost three full-time clinicians' caseloads, yet there were no headspace funded positions in the Baw Baw shire area. Twenty-six per cent had moderate to severe anxiety, and twenty-six per cent experienced problematic levels of loneliness. Forty-six per cent said they'd experienced discrimination. Young people in our community deserve safe, inclusive mental health care that actually meets them where they're at, and their need is urgent.

We know that young people's mental health needs are evolving. They are more complex. Adolescence and early adulthood have always been challenging times for young people. I want to pay tribute to some of the excellent organisations in my electorate of Monash for their outstanding work in this space. As a former board member of Lifeline Gippsland, I've seen how hard many of these dedicated volunteers work.

In particular, Barry Rogers and the team at Gippsland Youth Spaces continue to put in extraordinary efforts to support young people at risk with very limited resources. I was so pleased to have been able to secure a coalition commitment of $850,000 during the recent election to support their work. I will continue to support their efforts, which include mentorship, safe spaces for young people after school if home is not safe, pathways to vocational and trades training, and much more.

When last in government, the coalition doubled the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions Australians could access from 10 to 20. Labor has cut Medicare subsidised mental health support in half—back to 10 sessions. This leaves 372,000 Australians, many of them young people, without the support they need.

We urgently need to address this. Doubling these sessions is urgent. Securing a new headspace for West Gippsland is a major priority for our community and I make that commitment to our electorate.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.