Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House notes that:

(1) October was Mental Health Month, and the Government is delivering more mental health services in the heart of communities; and

(2) as part of the Government's plan to strengthen Medicare, the Government is building a national network of mental health support services across the lifespan, with more:

(a) Perinatal Mental Health Centres for new and expectant parents;

(b) Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs for children and families;

(c) headspace services for young people; and

(d) Medicare Mental Health Centres for adults.

To mark Mental Health Month in October, I want to highlight some of the fantastic work being done to improve mental health supports in the Illawarra. The Albanese Labor government has invested $1.1 billion to deliver new and expanded free mental health services. This includes 31 new and upgraded Medicare mental health centres, which now total 91. The Wollongong Medicare Mental Health Hub opened in December 2023. This free walk-in service aims to improve access to and awareness of mental health care, especially for those who have not accessed support before. Provided by Stride Health, the hub has helped 200 people on more than 1,800 occasions of service since it opened, showing just how important these hubs are.

We are also investing over $200 million towards new, upgraded and expanded headspace services. In another win for Wollongong, we're getting a headspace Plus, a new enhanced model of care providing additional staff and capability to support young people who are experiencing more complex and serious mental health issues. Operated by Grand Pacific Health, Wollongong headspace does an incredible job supporting local young people in our community, and I am so pleased that we are enhancing this vital local service. We're also creating the new Medicare Mental Health Check In from January next year, which is expected to support around 150,000 people each year with free digital mental health self-help tools and low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy delivered by trained professionals via phone or video. And we are boosting the mental health workforce, with more than 4,000 psychology scholarships, internships and training places.

Just recently, I was delighted to welcome the Special Envoy for Men's Health to my electorate for the Healthier Illawarra Men's luncheon. This annual event, in partnership with the St George Illawarra Dragons, is going from strength to strength in its support for men's mental health. This year's luncheon had a stellar line up, with former cricketing legend Lord Ian Botham; Gotcha4Life founder, Gus Worland; and TV personality Karl Stefanovic rounding out the panel. All of these men have a proven track record in breaking down barriers for men's mental health, sharing their stories to show that resilience and mateship matter. I congratulate Healthier Illawarra Men on a fantastic sold-out event raising funds for local men's health initiatives. Thank you to everyone who came along and to the wonderful panel, including the member for Hunter, Dan Repacholi, for your honest and inspiring contributions.

I also took the special envoy to meet with the local group The Fathering Project to hear the stories of Corey and Dave. Both of these brave men shared how this program has changed their lives and the lives of their kids, giving them renewed purpose and connection. Healthy, happy, engaged dads are good for kids and good for communities, and I really want to thank case coordinator Tim, CEO Kati and growth manager Emma for their absolutely invaluable work. During his visit, the MCCI's Burmese men's group gave the special envoy and me a lovely welcome to their meeting in Cringila. This group speaks three different languages, and they come together in their beautiful garden, lovingly cultivated by Ple Reh to foster that sense of community and belonging. A big thank you to Chris Lacey and all of the MCCI team for inviting us along.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge a few of the other incredible local organisations that are working to improve the mental health and wellbeing of our community. There is the Raising the Bar Foundation, run by Lachie Stevens, with initiatives like Walk With Us Kokoda and Healthier Hospitality. Lachie also runs the Barstool Brothers at His Boy Elroy, helping local men to create connection and find avenues for help. There's also Talk2MeBro, founded by Jack Brown and Kristy Simpson after the tragic death of Matt Simpson, working to put an end to male suicide. I also recently met with Melissa Abu-Gazaleh, the founder of the Top Blokes Foundation, which is breaking down the stigma around mental health, particularly for young men. I put on a 10-kilogram vest for an interesting walk and talk with Darcy to help Lift the Load. We've also got Women Illawarra, SAHSSI, Better Births Illawarra and the Illawarra Women's Health Centre supporting women and mothers experiencing trauma and domestic violence.

These amazing organisations and so many more are working hard every single day to improve the mental health of local people. Thank you to everyone across government and beyond who is helping to change the lives of so many. We will keep doing everything we can to ensure our community can access the mental health support they need.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion on mental health and to make one simple point: that the government's spin and feel-good fuzz doesn't match the reality Australians are experiencing in our mental health system. I acknowledge that October was Mental Health Month, an opportunity to appropriately focus on this very important area of policy. I welcome genuine effort to support parents, children, young people and adults with their mental health. And, whilst I acknowledge the assistant minister's good intentions, sympathy is no substitute for competence. On 16 October, the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreementreview was handed down by the Productivity Commission.

If you strip away the slogans in this motion today, what Labor is really asking the House to do is applaud a system that the Productivity Commission has just found is 'fragmented and out of reach for many people'. Three years after the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement was signed in 2022, the commission reported:

… services remain uncoordinated, unaffordable and difficult to navigate.

…   …   …

Key commitments in the Agreement have not been delivered and should be completed as a priority.

For example, immediately prioritise the gap impacting about 500,000 people with moderate to severe mental illness who miss out on psychosocial supports outside the NDIS. Around 3,000 Australians die by suicide each year, and that has not shifted in about a decade. The report shows outcomes are worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It found that four in 10 Australians delayed or skipped mental health care in 2023-24. Three in 10 Indigenous adults report a high or very high level of distress. One in seven children experienced mental illness in the last year. So, when Labor members stand up and say they are delivering more mental health services in the heart of their communities, the independent umpire is saying the national framework that they are responsible for delivering is broken and not doing the job.

Before Labor members try to rewrite history, we should set the record straight on the very services they are boasting about in this motion today. The 'Medicare mental health centres' they keep talking about are not Labor's creation at all. They are rebranded Head to Health centres funded and designed by the former coalition government. In the 2021-22 budget, the coalition invested $487.2 million over four years to roll out a national network of Head to Health centres and satellites. We welcome the fact that Labor has acknowledged that our model works. What we do not accept is Labor spending $29.9 million of taxpayers' money simply to rebadge these coalition created centres so that they can take the credit. It's been exposed that a big share of that $29 million has gone into new signage, marketing, branding and websites while the services themselves remain largely unchanged. Mental health support should never be turned into a marketing exercise. Every dollar that goes into new logos or ad campaigns is a dollar that's not going into extra sessions, more staff or new services.

There is another problem that Labor fails to recognise. These centres were called 'Head to Health' for a reason. The name was carefully chosen after consultation, to reduce stigma and make it easier, especially for men, to walk through the door and ask for help. Rebadging them as 'Medicare Mental Health Centres' might suit a political strategy, but it ignores the thinking behind the original name and risks discouraging some Australians who are already hesitant about seeking support. We know that many sector experts were not in favour of the name change, but it was made pretty clear that it wasn't up for negotiation.

While Labor has been busy changing signs, the fundamentals have gone backwards. They cut Medicare subsidised psychology sessions from 20 back to 10, against the advice of their own experts. They abolished the National Mental Health Commission. Instead of just congratulating themselves on the list of hubs, the government should be responding to the commission's very clear set of priorities, and perhaps one of the speakers to this motion will confirm whether or not the government will adopt the report's recommendations.

The coalition is proud of the foundations we laid in government: Head to Health, headspace, universal after care and suicide prevention. Only the coalition will treat this issue as a genuine priority, and we will continue to hold the Labor government to account. (Time expired)

Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia's in the midst of a mental health crisis, and I'm not going to play partisan politics on such a serious issue. The statistics are stark. One in five Australians between the ages of 16 and 85 experiences a mental illness every year. One in two Australians will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, South Australia is no exception. One in five South Australians experiences a mental illness every year, and 43 per cent of South Australians will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives.

Chances are that you know somebody with a mental illness. It may be you. Yet, Australians are more likely to seek professional help for a common cold than we are for a mental illness. That's why Mental Health Month, which we marked in October, and Perinatal Mental Health Week, which we mark this week, are so important in bringing awareness to this health crisis.

It is a crisis that has long been underprioritised, underfunded and underappreciated when it comes to government support. The Albanese Labor government is changing all that, with an unprecedented $1.1 billion in investment in expanding and enhancing Medicare mental health services across the community and across the country, providing tailored and targeted support for all Australians and their mental health needs that is, crucially, accessible and affordable. The Albanese Labor government understands that mental health care is a right, not a privilege.

The numbers speak for themselves: 91 Medicare Mental Health Centres offering a free walk-in service delivered by a multidisciplinary team; 20 perinatal mental health centres for new and expectant parents; 17 Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs providing early intervention support for children under the age of 12 and their families; 203 headspace services for young Australians between the ages of 12 and 25; 20 youth specialist centres for young Australians with complex needs; support for an expected 150,000 people with mild to moderate mental illness each year, with a Medicare mental health check-in, a free non-referral service over the phone and online, led by trained mental health professionals; and funding for more than 4,000 psychology scholarships, internships and training places.

In Marion, in my electorate of Boothby, we have an excellent headspace service that is much used. Next month we will welcome a Medicare Mental Health Kids Hub in the Marion GP Plus Health Care Centre. A Medicare Mental Health Centre will also be established in this area. Work on a perinatal mental health centre is currently underway in Elizabeth in northern Adelaide, and we can expect at least one more perinatal mental health centre in Adelaide as part of Labor's 2025 election commitment.

A new statewide eating disorder service will be built at the Repat Health Precinct in Daw Park, in the very heart of Boothby, providing inpatient and outpatient treatment for people living with an eating disorder. We're rebuilding and expanding the inpatient mental health service at the Margaret Tobin mental health centre at Flinders, which, when completed, will be able to accommodate 48 mental health beds, including 12 brand new beds in the psychiatric intensive care unit.

The metaphor of the black dog is often used to describe the experience of depression. While for many of us a dog is our loyal companion, the black dog of depression refers to a dark shadow that accompanies you morning and night. It interrupts your sleep. It craves your attention during the quieter hours of the day and barks even more loudly when your attention has strayed. It's the shadow on your joy, the shadow on every activity. It undermines your focus, saps your energy. Chances are, we all know somebody who is being stalked by their own black dog. Chances are, there are people in this chamber, in our offices, in our families and in our homes who know the black dog or other forms of mental illness.

The black dog can be kept at bay. Mental illness can be treated. As with all illness, often early intervention leads to a better outcome. That's why the Albanese Labor government's historic investment in the national infrastructure of mental health care is so vital. It will ensure that all Australians, no matter their age, the severity of their condition or their financial circumstances, can get the mental health support they need, wherever they need it and whenever they need it. I commend the motion to the House.

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

I rise to speak on this motion because it's something I deeply care about, and I think every member in this place deeply cares about the mental health and wellbeing of their community and across our nation. This comes from my time as a member on the board of Latrobe Regional Hospital, looking at how stretched and strapped our public health facilities are in dealing with mental health crises in our community, right through to my time as a member on the board of Lifeline Gippsland. Across Gippsland we would take calls on that 131114 number from right around Australia. Since my time on that board the need for Lifeline and their services has not diminished. Last year they had about 1.4 million contacts, from phone calls to text messages, and over a million phone calls to that phone line. They do a tremendous job, and in speaking on this motion I want to acknowledge the tireless efforts of many of those volunteer telephone counsellors, who take very difficult and challenging phone calls from all over Australia every day.

We've got a youth mental health crisis in my community. It's something where we need all hands on deck and all resources available. I want to commend a forum that I attended in Warragul recently, at the Village Mental Health Clinic. There was some really good coverage in the Warragul Gazette by journalist Bonnie Collings, who has taken this issue very seriously. I want to commend the Village Health practitioners and the parents and caregivers who turned up and talked really candidly and honestly about some of the things they're grappling with—wait lists, availability and visibility. When a parent is dealing with a child in crisis, knowing where to go for help in an emergency is a big challenge. I listened to stories of parents sleeping on the floor of their children's bedroom, such was their concern about their child making it safely through the night. It was a very sobering discussion that I attended with my state Liberal colleague the member for Narracan, Wayne Farnham. I know both of us will continue to do everything we can to support what is coming out of those discussions at a local level.

For me, that's calling for a new headspace facility in West Gippsland. Many young people live in more remote parts of my electorate and cannot get to the headspace facilities, as fantastic as they are, across Bass Coast and in the Latrobe Valley. We desperately need those additional resources.

I was absolutely dismayed to see the Albanese Labor government cut, from 20 to 10, the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions. That has really impacted people in my community, across the board, who desperately need those facilities. At the last election, the coalition committed to bringing those back up to the full 20 psychology sessions and to having them subsidised on a permanent basis because that has been a very, very important part of supporting people experiencing mental health challenges in our community. But it's not the only part, and that means making sure that we've got the proper resources and resourcing for people in my area.

One in four young Australians experience a mental health condition in any given year, and that is particularly so for people in regional Australia. I note the comments from the National Rural Health Alliance that said in August that mental health is at a crisis level in regional areas on a per capita basis. They have spoken of that being twice as high as what it is in city areas, and chronic underfunding is a big part of that. I know all members approach this issue in a very genuine way across this parliament, no matter what part of Australia we come from. But, as I always say, your postcode shouldn't determine your potential, and in this instance I really worry for regional Australians and their capacity to access the mental health support they need under this government. I urge the federal government to revisit its approach on this issue.

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I start by thanking my friend the member for Monash for her work in the mental health space and for advocating for better mental health outcomes for her community. On Sunday 9 November 2025, I joined a small group of like minded people as we participated in a five-kilometre walk through beautiful Linear Park located in my electorate of Sturt. The walk was organised by Rotary Australia as part of a national initiative to 'lift the lid' on talking about mental health to raise awareness of mental health across Australia, with funds raised as part of the initiative going towards mental health research and noting that, in 2025, $500,000 has been raised as part of the Lift the Lid walks.

My Lift the Lid walk was championed by the Magill Sunrise Rotary Club, and I acknowledge Lindsay Davis and his team for their efforts in putting the morning together. Lindsay and his colleagues at the Magill Sunrise Rotary Club recognised that now, more than ever, we need to break down the stigma that continues to plague our society so that people are more comfortable discussing and seeking help for mental health issues. The Lift the Lid walk held in Sturt was held on a beautiful, fresh morning, with everyone in purple T-shirts and no-one racing to finish the walk first but everyone simply walking together to talk to each other, to provide company for each other and to ask how everyone was doing. Unsurprisingly, everyone that I walked with was dealing with a mental health challenge of some degree. This is not weakness; this is life.

The Albanese Labor government is determined to provide mental health help to Australians by delivering more mental health services in communities across this country, including a Medicare mental health clinic in Sturt, which will offer free, walk-in mental health support services. When the Sturt clinic opens, it will be one of more than 90 mental health centres operating across Australia and part of the government's historic plan to strengthen Medicare with a $1.1 billion commitment to deliver new and expanded mental health services to Australians. In addition, the $1.1 billion investment will provide 58 new, upgraded or expanded headspace services, taking the number to over 170. It will also provide 20 youth specialist care centres for young people with complex mental health needs and eight new perinatal mental health centres to help new parents deal with the challenges of parenting their precious newborn babies.

But these centres and services cannot operate successfully without the people to operate them, which is why the government is also facilitating more than 1,200 training places for mental health professionals and peer workers. This is in addition to other initiatives to build the mental health workforce, with more than 4,000 psychology scholarships, internships and training places available. Importantly, from early in 2026, the Albanese Labor government will also roll out a new National Early Intervention Service, which will deliver free phone and online mental health support from trained professionals. It's estimated that this service will provide support to more than 150,000 people each year.

During my campaign for the seat of Sturt, I met a young police sergeant, Kyria, who had just finished her night shift and who I, unfortunately, woke up when I knocked on her door in the suburb of Dernancourt. Kyria told me that almost every call-out she attended on each and every shift was related to mental health either caused organically or because of drug addiction. A paramedic, Josh, who I met when I was doorknocking in Campbelltown, told me that almost every call-out he attended as part of his work serving the community was caused by mental health, with some people with mental health conditions calling an ambulance 50 to 60 times a year.

The impact of mental health on individuals, on families and on communities is enormous and is growing. That is why, since coming to government, we have worked tirelessly to make mental health care more accessible for everyone—because mental health is health. Without mental health, we don't have health and, without health, we cannot contribute, we don't grow productivity, we don't grow our economic prosperity and we don't move forward. Economically successful and prosperous communities are underpinned by physically and mentally healthy populations. Compassionate, dignified and effective care and services that are accessible and affordable are essential to the success of our economy and of our country, and this government will continue to invest to provide that framework to Australians.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is incredibly important that the government continues to support mental health and mental health services right across Australia, and that means out into regional and rural Australia as well and into my communities in western Victoria.

When we were in government, we were able to roll out headspaces in Colac, in Warrnambool, in Portland and in Hamilton. But there is one key community which is still missing services, and that is Ararat. I call on the federal government to make sure that, when they're rolling out more and more headspaces across the nation, they prioritise Ararat because the need is real, and Ararat needs a headspace service. At the last two federal elections, I committed to providing and funding a headspace in Ararat, and I call on the government to know and understand how important it is that a service be delivered into that community.

If the government need any advice, they should talk to two outstanding individuals in the local community in Ararat who have set up One Red Tree, and they are working with Federation University to provide services out into the community. Carly and Tammie, I commend you again for everything that you're doing to improve mental health services in Ararat, but you need help and support. I was pleased to see you recognised by the Victorian state government for your work, but you need help and support, especially through the delivery of a headspace centre for Ararat.

Once again, with this motion here in this chamber, I call on the federal government to listen to the Ararat community and make sure you provide those services. Carly and Tammie have been up here, along with the CEO of the Ararat hospital, to lobby for these services. The government has listened, but now it needs to act because, more and more, this is the missing link when it comes to the missing piece when it comes to mental health services in my electorate in western Victoria.

I'd also like to turn attention to what is happening to households across this nation when it comes to energy affordability and the pressure that that is putting on mental health, especially for the poorest in our community. Minister Bowen, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, released his climate risk assessment a few weeks ago, and that talked about the mental ill health that can accrue from climate change. But where the government has been silent has been on what is happening to mental ill health when it comes to energy affordability, and the energy poverty that we're starting to see across this nation because of the bungled, bungled way that the government is approaching the transition is second to none. We're seeing that time and time again through reports as to what is happening with regard to energy poverty in this nation.

I would say to the energy minister that he should read a recent report from the University of Adelaide, which gives facts and data as to the pressure that is being placed on people, as well as their mental health and mental wellbeing, with regard to what is happening to electricity prices—they've increased by 40 per cent—and gas prices, which have increased by over 40 per cent. This is placing enormous pressure on people, and I would say to the government: read that report out of the University of Adelaide because you need to start focusing on energy affordability. If you keep allowing your minister to be more focused on the United Nations than on delivering energy affordability here in this nation, you are going to continue to increase energy poverty in this nation, which is already growing. Not only that—it's going to have a greater impact on people's mental wellbeing and mental health. So you have to put energy affordability— (Time expired)

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) 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.