ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good morning everyone. I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, and to pay my respects to elders past and present, and to extend that respect to all First Nations people with us today, and recognise how much we have to learn from First Nations peoples about social and emotional wellbeing. I also acknowledge those with a lived and living experience of mental ill health and those bereaved by suicide. I want to thank my colleague, Doctor Andrew Charlton, for his advocacy and commitment to our mental health and suicide prevention reforms; and Doctor Michael Holland, my friend and colleague, for his continued collaboration and support for the mental health of communities right across New South Wales, particularly for people living outside of our major cities. I also want to thank Associate Professor Neil Hall and Bharat Nepal for bringing us together and organising this important summit here in Western Sydney.
Each person lost to suicide is a profound loss. To the people who love them, to their family, to their friends and to their communities, every person we lose to suicide is one too many. And it's important to recognise that while suicide impacts the entire population, it does not impact everyone equally. We know there are common drivers of distress across Australia, but the experience of every individual, family and community is unique. That is why we are taking a comprehensive approach to addressing the cost of living, supporting those experiencing gendered violence, improving access to healthcare and tackling housing insecurity and homelessness. In our work to improve access to healthcare, we have supported an additional 2 million bulk billed visits to general practitioners. At the same time, we introduced a new Level E consult to allow 60 minutes or more bulk billed appointments for people who require more time with their GP, including with their mental health. And we've increased rent assistance for thousands of Australians. But this work alone is not enough.
We have also been working to reform the mental health and suicide prevention systems, to provide better early intervention and help when it is needed, which is why we are delivering a new national early intervention service that will provide free help at the earliest possible stage of distress before people end up in crisis. And establishing Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country to provide a safe and welcoming place to receive care and support, including immediate support for people in distress. There are already three centres nearby – in Parramatta, Liverpool and Canterbury – providing free walk-in mental health support and care. And soon, Medicare Mental Health Centres will open in Blacktown and Campbelltown, alongside 61 centres to be opened wide across the country.
I know that those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities are less likely to receive support when compared to other members of communities. In conversations with culturally and linguistically diverse communities across the country, I have heard that people are not getting the support they need in the time they need it, or in a way that is culturally responsive or safe for them. And we need to make sure that all suicide prevention services and every service right across the mental health and suicide prevention systems are culturally responsive, are accessible for people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and are safe. Your contributions today are an important and meaningful part of this work, to make sure that those from South Asian communities can access the support and care they need, when they need it, in a way that is safe and meets their needs and those of your families and wider communities. In our time, we have prioritised consultation, working alongside researchers and people with direct personal and lived experience. This has continued with the draft National Suicide Prevention Strategy that was released for consultation last month, the first of its kind in Australia. This is about guiding a national approach and bringing us all together to save lives and prevent distress wherever possible.
The draft strategy, importantly, includes priorities for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, so we can address the gaps in services and any barriers preventing people from getting the help and support they need, whether that's in mainstream services or in more specialist services. There is an emphasis on culturally appropriate supports, financial security, and the significance of community to wellbeing. I'm a pharmacist by training and worked in adult acute mental health inpatient units for most of my working life before coming to this role, and at the time, it was called cross-cultural psychiatry. But the very different experiences that someone has of mental ill health and distress and crisis, depending on their cultural background, their faith, their identity, and that of their community, we must properly recognise and acknowledge and make sure that it is embedded in all of our mainstream services. From emergency departments to mental health inpatient units, to that transition back into community care, it’s something that is front of mind for me. I remember working with a psychiatrist who was fellowing in Australia, and an Australian-trained registrar was working with him. And I just- kind of was in the corridor and I heard them, and they were saying: kick the bucket. And just these kind of common phrases that might be used in, Australian conversation that were unfamiliar to the psychiatrist as he was preparing for his VIVAs. So it just to me was an everyday example of where people who've come from different backgrounds with different trainings, working together to support people in distress or crisis.
And I know that with this new National Suicide Prevention Strategy, that it recognises that connection to community. I've been told that in other parts of the world, someone isn't admitted to an inpatient unit without their family being part of that process, which in Australia isn't the case, or often isn't the experience. And so we know that we need to engage with culture in a genuine and deep way and in its many facets to be able to fundamentally shift suicide prevention in Australia, and that together we need to increase the availability of culturally appropriate suicide prevention support services for people from communities at higher risk of suicide in Australia. I acknowledge that there is much more work to be done to achieve a comprehensive, compassionate and effective mental health and suicide prevention system, which is what we all want, which is part of your day-to-day work, and which brings us together here at this summit. And I'm hopeful that the strategy will provide the culturally responsive approach that is needed to help to reduce and prevent suicide in Australia.
I want to finish by acknowledging that this work has only been possible with the support of people with lived and living experience of mental ill health and suicide, and learning from people and their direct experience has been the cornerstone of this journey to better suicide prevention services. And I'm personally grateful for the contribution that so many people have made as we work to address the drivers of distress, to provide compassionate support and implement a national approach to suicide prevention. I'd like to restate my commitment and the commitment of our government to making sure that every person in Australia receives culturally safe and inclusive support and care when it's needed. And I want to thank each of you for your work supporting people and working towards a better future without the loss of so many to suicide. Thank you, and congratulations.