Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last month was National Mental Health Month. The theme of the month was 'Building Resilience: Communities and Connections'. I've got a fair bit to reflect on in this area for my own electorate, which includes Darwin and Palmerston. I have the privilege to serve Territorians along with, across the Territory, my colleagues the member for Lingiari, Marion Scrymgour, and the minister, Malarndirri McCarthy. They are doing important work in this area as well. I want to acknowledge their work upfront. We have the aim in the Territory, working federally with all stakeholders, of improving mental health for all Territorians.

I particularly want to thank some of my colleagues, including the member for Hunter, Dan Repacholi, the Special Envoy for Men's Health, who made the trek up to Solomon. We had great meetings with a range of stakeholders that are focused on men's health and male health, including, of course, young men and boys. Dan's appointment as the Special Envoy for Men's Health underlines how our government is giving this the attention that it needs, and he is doing a sterling job. Many would have seen him shave off his voluptuous beard to raise money for charity for men's health related works. I congratulate him for everything that he's doing in that special envoy role. His message is the message of all of us, including the fantastic member for Spence, who also does great work in Adelaide, in the north of Adelaide and in South Australia generally in men's health.

We do need to break down unhealthy masculine stereotypes of stoicism and bravado to encourage young men to access services and seek help when required. This is particular important for mental health. Often we see great examples of men reaching out for mental health support, showing that getting that assistance is actually strength. In Darwin, we joined a men's health roundtable, which really highlighted all the fantastic things that a whole range of stakeholders are doing in the Territory. We talked about healthy masculinity, the progress of concepts of manhood and the engagement of young man in particular. But we're also putting our money where our mouth is, in terms of programs in my electorate that are working with teenage boys in particular, and I'll touch on those briefly.

At the other end of the spectrum, it's not that men's sheds are only for senior men; they're there for a whole age range of men. The men's shedders were at ShedFEST NT, which was hosted by the Australian Men's Sheds Association. It got all the men's sheds from around the Territory together up in Darwin. It was great to go along to that with Special Envoy Repacholi. It's a great way of getting men in a place where they can connect and chat. It's a safe space. They get to work on projects, share skills and connect.

I mentioned our programs with young men and boys aged 12 to 18. Grassroots Action Palmerston has a program called Turtle Back. We have funded them to come up with a learning and leadership centre that they are putting into action. I've visited them and the physical infrastructure is going in. They're going to be working with young boys—in particular, those who have been exposed to family violence when growing up—and giving them the skills, support and encouragement to break those cycles. It's a very important program. It will work with boys from all backgrounds, but, particularly with the First Nations young men and boys, it is done in the culturally safe and appropriate way.

When we talk about mental health, we know that a lot of damage is caused through eating disorders. In September, with my friend and colleague, the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride, I hosted the Northern Territory Eating Disorder Roundtable with Eating Disorders Families Australia, led by Jane Rowan. I want to thank all the frontline practitioners, the NT Health people and the system leaders who came together to identify solutions that are going to strengthen our support in the Northern Territory for Territorians with eating disorders or difficulties managing their relationship with food. It was really positive. That was highlighted by everyone.

While the assistant minister was there, we also visited headspace. We've given them increased funding, so the Darwin headspace will become a headspace Plus. We also visited the Medicare mental health centre, which has also got extended hours now. Thank you to all those mental health professionals that are doing such fantastic work.

Just finally, I want to touch on a couple of important things. One is the leadership role that our government is taking to protect young children and teenagers under the age of 16 from the harms that social media incurs, giving them time to develop the tools to be able to manage that space more effectively and more safely. From 10 December, certain social media platforms will need to take steps to make sure that under-16-year-olds aren't able to have an account.

One of the things I'm very proud to be working on with the member for Spence and others is veteran and ADF mental health. We pushed hard for a royal commission when we were not government. The royal commission is done. The recommendations have been laid down. We're getting after implementing those recommendations. We're engaging with stakeholders to make sure that everyone who puts their hand up to wear our flag proudly is provided with the best possible support and care. That is important for our mental health responsibilities as the responsible 'mental health and men's health and all sorts of health' government that we are.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The sad reality is that one in five Australians have delayed or avoided seeing a mental health professional due to cost. The national mental health report card released in July paints a bleak picture of mental health in this country. The latest National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing shows that in 2020-22, an estimated 4.3 million people aged 16 to 85 had experienced a mental health disorder in the previous 12 months. The prevalence of mental health conditions increased in young people aged 16 to 24 from 25.8 per cent in 2006 to 38.8 per cent in 2022. Signs of financial distress are elevated, rising from 17.1 per cent in 2020 to 34.6 per cent in 2024. While more people are seeking treatment than they used to, treatment rates are still well below current targets. Clinical outcomes from public mental health services are not improving, nor are outcomes for those discharged from psychiatric care.

Mental ill health has a real impact on individuals, families and communities but also on our nation. The Productivity Commission showed that the direct economic cost of mental ill health and suicide in Australia is estimated at $43 billion to $70 billion a year in expenditure and lower economic productivity. Mental health reform is critically important to our nation's social and economic success, but unfortunately it seems to have been forgotten by this government.

In my community, the government has completely abandoned mental health supports, particularly for our youth. The former Liberal government funded the Lilydale Youth Hub, a local service that provided mental health and social support for young people right across Casey. Upon coming to government Labor has failed to fund the hub, causing it to close down. This is a gap in service that has not been filled in my community. While local headspace offices in Lilydale and Knox provide amazing support to young people, they are at capacity.

On top of this, the government cut the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions Australians can access from 20 sessions to just 10. They halved supports when Australians needed them the most. You will hear this government talk a lot about Medicare, but they don't talk about the mental health supports that were cut under their watch. They cut this funding for mental health support despite a report by the University of Melbourne that found that 20 sessions should stay. Page 328 of the University of Melbourne's main report of the evaluation of the Better Access initiative says:

On balance, the evidence from the evaluation suggests that the additional 10 sessions should continue to be made available …

Ten to 20 is significant. Ten sessions gives you roughly an appointment every five to six weeks. Twenty sessions gives you that every two to three weeks as you need that support. What this government is saying is that your credit card and your bank balance will determine the mental health support you get in Australia.

Every time the Prime Minister stands up with his little stunt of holding a Medicare card, it is a slap in the face to every Australian that needs mental health support. It is a slap in the face, because they halved those sessions. If you were going to stand up as the Prime Minister and claim credit with your card—which isn't even true. Everyone knows you need more than your Medicare card; you need your credit card as well. He'll claim credit for that while he cuts sessions for mental health support. What hypocrisy! At a time as I have gone through and when so many Australians are struggling—coming out of COVID, coming out of lockdowns and experiencing financial stress.

The Prime Minister says 'no-one left behind', but he has left behind every Australian that doesn't have the bank balance to afford the mental health support that they need. It is rank hypocrisy from this prime minister, who is happy to stand up and take credit, but won't take responsibility when he cuts such a needed service for the Australian people. Those opposite don't like to talk about that, but they are the facts. This prime minister cut it when the Australian people needed it.

I recently had a young man walk into my electorate office. He wanted advice on where he could find support. He was in his mid-20s. He was too old to be seen by the local Headspace services, but was unable to access support elsewhere. Local services are at capacity and waitlists to see a psychologist are lengthy. Unfortunately mental ill-health is often exacerbated because locals can't find support. This would be a similar story across the nation. Last week I received an email from Emily from Healesville. She said:

Waiting times to see psychologists are too long and people need to be able to see a professional whenever it is needed to support their journey.

Many people can't afford to pay their bills and meet their mortgage repayments let alone find $200 for a psychology appointment. Mental health appointments are the first cost saving in many budgets. But, ironically, good mental health is what people need in order to deal with these difficult times. The Labor government, as I have said, have cut the number of Medicare funded mental health sessions Australians can access from 20 to 10, and it's no wonder Australians are doing it tough and mental illnesses are soaring. We're seeing statistics increase but nothing changes.

Enough is enough. It's time for the government to take mental health reform seriously and ensure Australians have the ability to improve their wellbeing and their work, study and contribution to society to the full extent of their passion and potential. When the individual is strong, the family is strong and then the community is strong, and, when we have strong communities all across the nation, we have a strong country. But, when it comes to mental health support in this country, the facts are the facts and they can't be denied. This prime minister has let down the Australian people.