Question agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
]]>That the Senate take note of the report.
I rise to make some remarks on the report of the Senate Education and Employment References Committee on its inquiry into mental health conditions experienced by first responders.
First responders are the professionals the rest of us turn to and rely upon in our times of greatest urgency and distress. They are the highly trained officers who attend our medical emergencies, who go into burning houses, who stand between us and danger. They protect us and our families. Their presence and skills when we call 000 can mean the difference between life and death. Their working lives are spent navigating extreme circumstances the rest of us—if we are lucky—will rarely encounter. They perform a vital role in the community, and they are training to make critical decisions which will determine the course of people's lives.
But they are also people. They are men and women who are not, and cannot be, inoculated against the known risk of psychological injury caused by repeat exposure to significant trauma. Over the course of the inquiry the committee heard from many first responders and got a glimpse into their world, the things they see and experience. And those things they see and experience are remarkable both in scale and in substance. As put by one first responder, it is not a normal job. It is a job in which you engage with people having the worst, and sometimes last, days of their life, and you do so day in, day out, over many years. It is a job in which you may be required to place yourself in danger or be assaulted whilst trying to save lives. A job in which you witness catastrophic injuries up close, and in which you appear out of the blue to deliver the worst news imaginable to people's families.
Mental ill health is not like a broken arm, or like influenza. It does not announce its presence suddenly one day. The committee heard time and time again that it is hard to pinpoint a moment when a person's mental wellbeing begins to unravel. Instead, many witnesses told the committee that mental health is like a bucket which slowly fills, bit by bit, until it overflows, and it is impossible to say whether it was the first drop or the last which did the most damage. Even in the wider community, the conversation around mental health has only recently started to shift.
The committee had the opportunity to engage with a wide range of professionals in the mental health field, and the evidence they presented was unambiguous: first responders' work places them at an increased risk of developing serious mental health conditions—not least depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as an increased risk of suicide. Cumulative exposure to trauma—a core feature of first responders' work—can have a profound effect on mental health. This being the case, it is reasonable to expect that first response organisations should mitigate that risk by prioritising the health and wellbeing of their workers.
Unfortunately, first responders' lived experiences—related to the committee in both public and confidential submissions—tell a different story. They speak of an entrenched stigma around mental health and of a widely-held fear of reporting psychological injury to management. They speak of a culture of intimidation and bullying in some organisations, where those who report mental health conditions are treated like liabilities to be disposed of rather than helped. They speak of an adversarial culture which sees mental health injury as a weakness, rather than recognising the strength and self-awareness required in seeking help. And they tell of a system which treats them with indifference when they can no longer work and confronts them with an almost impenetrable wall of bureaucracy and endless hoops to jump through if they turn to workers compensation to get by. Perhaps the most striking thing to emerge from this inquiry is how much poor management can exacerbate mental health conditions and cripple rather than assist an individual's recovery.
The committee noted the commendable efforts underway in some first-response organisations, which are implementing evidence based programs and initiatives to protect the wellbeing of their staff. We were heartened to hear several organisations admit the mistakes of the past and recognise that genuine cultural change takes time. There is a long way to go—however, we must as a community seize the momentum generated by this inquiry and demand that the mental health and wellbeing of first responders be taken seriously. Initiatives, guidelines and strategies are merely words on paper if they do not translate down the management chain into something palpable for workers. The committee therefore urges federal, state and territory governments and stakeholders at all levels to accept and implement the recommendations of this report without delay.
In presenting this report to the Senate, I would like to recognise the service of first responders around the country, and to thank each and every one of them. I would particularly like to thank the individuals who participated in this inquiry—those who told us of their darkest hours, and those who have suffered the incalculable grief of losing loved ones to suicide—many retelling and reliving their trauma in the knowledge that what happened to them in the past cannot be undone, but that sharing their experiences may help their colleagues and other families in the future. These are people who are hardwired to protect others and we, as a community, have a moral obligation to help them. As the committee concludes in its report: 'The human cost of inaction is too high.'
I put on the record my thanks to the ever professional committee secretariat in conducting at times what was quite a difficult inquiry but a very rewarding one. I also want to put on record my thanks to the other committee members, in particular to Senator Urquhart, who did much of the very heavy lifting in relation to this inquiry and really got down to some of the hard detail analysis of what was required. So my thanks particularly go to Senator Urquhart for this inquiry. I recommend and commend this inquiry and its report to the Senate.
]]>What I would like to do is say a number of words on behalf of his children, who have contacted me, in the very place where their father so eloquently contributed to some of the great debates of this nation. It's a great honour to do so on their behalf. They say:
Dad died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, 9 February 2019. His sister Jane was by his side which was fitting as she was there at his birth and was reading traditional Irish stories to him just before he passed. Although most of dad's mainly Irish forebears lived in Tasmania for several generations, one dating back to the 1820s, Dad still lived the old Irish stories.'
Barney spent the last couple of years of his life in an aged care centre. One of the carers at the centre told the family that Barney never spoke about himself. But Barney knew the names of every carer and always knew something about them or their families. That's typical of Barney, his whole life was spent thinking about the wellbeing of others before his own. Even when things weren't going great for him as the final couple of years were not easy for him.
Dad was a creature of habit and would go to the same stores at the Victoria market every time he went there. He'd always chat to the storeowners about how they were going, how their families were going and the state of their businesses. It always put a smile on their face every time he would turn up to their stores. Dad hasn't been able to get to the Victoria market for a while now and it appears that we have inherited the same habits as Dad as we go to the same shops as he used to go to. Although he hasn't been there for a few years now they still ask after him every time.
Just before Christmas in 2018, we took dad and mum to Anglesea, a rare visit for them in recent times. Mum and dad used to take us there all the time when we were growing up. Running and swimming on the beach, having the traditional Australian barbeques and bush walks. They were great times that dad's children, Sean, Justin, Megan and Jerome will never forget. Dad and mum, and their children would've loved for the youngest sibling, Geraldine, to be there, also.
Barney's grandchildren have this to say about him: Granddad was a great man. His tenacious upholding of personal values is inspiring to us. However, nothing defined his character more than his unique ability to provide unconditional love and kindness to those close to him. Demonstrative of this he used to come and watch the grandkids swimming each week at Melbourne University. This became increasingly difficult for him but he'd turn up each week and take the grandkids for donuts and muffins afterwards.
Dad played footy in his youth, and loved South Melbourne where he grew up as a teenager. However, when they moved to Sydney and transformed into the flashy Sydney Swans complete with dancing girls this was too much for him. Dad decided to support a local club so he changed allegiances to Fitzroy. Like the old South Melbourne, Fitzroy were not team that featured often in the finals. Soon after, Fitzroy moved to Brisbane and became the Brisbane Lions. After that Dad gave up supporting a club. Some say it was a matter of principle for him that he couldn't support a team that was not local but we think it was more to do with the success the Brisbane Lions had winning back to back grand finals which didn't sit well with his support for the underdogs on and off the field.
We've heard a lot about dad's principles and decency and kindness, but dad was also a practical man. In September 1987, dad trekked out to Waverley Park with this family to watch the VFL Preliminary Final between Hawthorn and Melbourne. This match has gone down in history due to a rare error from the great Melbourne Irish import, Jim Stynes.
The final moments of the game went something like this:
Gary Buckenara from Hawthorn received a free kick, 55 metres out. Although a good kick, 55 metres was probably beyond him. The siren went. Game over. Except for the crowd waiting for the free kick. He lined up, the crowded stadium on the edge of their seats. Buckenara needed to kick the goal for Hawthorn to win. Then, in one of the great moments in finals history, Jim Stynes accidently gave away a 15 metres penalty which put Buckenara 40 metres out. It was Hawthorn—and not Melbourne—that advanced to the Grand Final that year.
And where was Barney and his family when this historic drama unfolded .... they were already in the car headed back home as dad wanted to leave early to beat the traffic.
Barney was a thoroughly decent human being and a credit to the labour movement and to this place. He never abandoned his humanity or his sense of obligation to those less fortunate and less powerful during his 18 years in this place.
In his maiden speech, Barney said:
Power corrupts; lack of power corrodes absolutely. People who are powerless to give at least minimum expression to their needs are at risk of being rendered hopeless, desperate, alienated, physically ill, mentally ill, or a combination of two or more of those things.
Barney never forgot those people in his time here. He was never afraid to speak his mind or to stand up for what he believed in, but he always did so with courtesy and dignity and was a man always willing to extend the hand of friendship across the aisle, and that has been reflected in the very kind and heartfelt tributes extended to him from former colleagues across the political spectrum.
Barney is survived by his wife, Lillian, whom he met at the University of Melbourne and had loved ever since. Rest in peace, Barney Cooney.
]]>Adopting a durable cross-party framework would be much better than surrendering to political dysfunction and trying to bind future governments to hastily drafted contracts for controversial projects.
Does the Prime Minister agree?
]]>Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:
Putting local workers first, including cracking down on 457 visas; using Australian grade steel; and protecting local manufacturers.
Is the proposal supported?
More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—
The proposal is supported. Given that no speakers list has been circulated as per normal practice, and therefore no allocations have been advised to the clerks, all speakers will be allocated 10 minutes.
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