Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

October is mental health month, and I want to take this opportunity to highlight our important investment in mental health support for our communities. Our government is investing $1 billion to deliver more mental health services right across the country, including free mental health services that are backed by Medicare. I'm pleased to say that Labor will be opening a new free Medicare mental health centre in Glen Iris in my own electorate of Chisholm. This service will play an important role in supporting other local services, including our headspace on Blackburn Road in Mount Waverley, which the health minister has previously visited.

Addressing mental health conditions in this country, particularly for young people with complex needs, is one of my biggest priorities. I'm proud that we're delivering more youth specialist care centres and training more mental health professionals. It was terrific to have the health minister in Chisholm last week to visit a clinic which will be becoming 100 per cent bulk-billing from 1 November this year—the Burwood Healthcare general practice—and to visit our urgent care clinic in Mount Waverley. I spoke with, literally, thousands of locals about the Mount Waverley Urgent Care Clinic, and I can confirm to the House that it has been warmly received by the community. We're making sure that we invest in health to support everyone in our community so no-one is left behind.