LISA CHESTERS, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BENDIGO: Lisa Chesters, Federal Member for Bendigo, very proud to be here today with Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Regional Health, the honourable Emma McBride. It wasn’t that long ago that I stood out the front and said that a re-elected Albanese Labor Government would turn the Bendigo headspace into a headspace Plus. It was our commitment at the last election, and I’m very pleased to be standing here today with our Assistant Minister who will talk through in detail what that means for this centre and for Bendigo.
In February 2013, we opened the Bendigo headspace for the very first very first time, and the then minister, Mark Butler, was here in town to open that service. We've seen since that date in February 2013 demand for this service [indistinct] grow. It's because they're trusted, it’s because they are respected and they have the relationships, not just with our schools and young people, but with countless organisations throughout Bendigo and the Loddon Mallee region. I'm so proud of the team here and the extraordinary work that they do, and that's why I fought so hard to make sure that they were on the list to be one of the first in the country to become a headspace Plus. What today's announcement means is that the team here will have the funding and the resources that they need to continue to support young people who might be having a mental health moment. And we say moment because a lot of the young people that come into this service, they may only need one meeting with a couple of follow-ups, or they may be here for longer. But that is just the success of the extraordinary work of the team here – GPs, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, and everybody else that wraps around that young person to help them get through.
Well, I hand over now to Emma who will speak in detail about this fantastic announcement for Bendigo headspace. So welcome back to Bendigo, Emma, on the proudest of days.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Thank you so much, Lisa, this is such a proud day to be part of the Albanese Labor Government and to stand alongside you as the Member for Bendigo with your advocacy over such a long time for improved health services, and particularly mental health services young people. As Lisa mentioned, when this centre opened back in 2013, about one in five young people each year experienced mental health challenges. That's now doubled. That's two in five young people that experience mental health challenges in any year. And we've seen that locally here – in the last year, more than 1000 local young people have received support from headspace Bendigo. Importantly, 618 of those young people are new to the service, which shows as demand is growing, that we need to grow our services too. Which is why we're so proud to announce that headspace Bendigo will become one of the first headspace Pluses in Australia, one of the first 10 to be part of this enhanced model of care to be able to meet the more complex and challenging needs of young people as they evolve today, to be able to have a big boost in funding to provide more specialist support, more services and more wraparound care, and better integrated into the local community and existing services to provide that continuity of care.
For too long, many young people growing up in the regions have had to travel too far, have had to wait too long and have had to pay too much to get mental health support and care. We're changing that, as part of a $1.1 billion investment by the Albanese Labor Government, the biggest investment of a Commonwealth government in mental health support and care, more than $700 million of that being directed towards young people. And here, an almost tripling of funding between the core funding. enhancement funding and the headspace Plus funding. That funding will be flowing from August-September this year so that establishment can start, with the intention that this headspace will be elevated to a headspace Plus within about 12 months, which will make such a big difference for young people, their families and the community in Bendigo and the wider regions.
And I just want to thank the staff here, as a former mental health clinician myself, to recognise the staff, the contribution that they make to the support and care of young people and their families and their community. and also to Gus, one of the youth ambassadors here. The headspace centre in Bendigo has a thriving youth ambassador program, where young people bring their own lived experience to be able to shape the support and care that is provided through centres like here in Bendigo. It's making a powerful difference to the way that mental health support and care is offered. and producing a really big impact here. And this is part of our government's unwavering commitment to make sure that wherever you live, wherever young people grow up, they can get the support and care that they need, close to home and for free.
JOURNALIST: How many are being upgraded to pluses across Australia, and also in Victoria?
MCBRIDE: So we've made a multi-million dollar commitment to uplift 30 headspace centres to headspace Pluses. This headspace centre in Bendigo will be one of the first 10, and there will be three in Victoria. We announced one with Richard Marles, the Deputy Prime Minister, in Geelong. We'll have another announcement about another headspace centre closer to the city. But this headspace will be one of the first 10 in Australia to become a headspace Plus with a big boost in funding, with enhanced supports, more staff and better wraparound care for young people right here in Bendigo.
JOURNALIST: Why did you choose Bendigo? Out of all of regional Victoria, why did Bendigo stand out as one of the first in Victoria to [indistinct]?
MCBRIDE: Well, I want to acknowledge local member Lisa Chesters for her advocacy. Lisa wrote to me in the first week that I became responsible for mental health and wellbeing for our government, to highlight the need in Bendigo, to highlight the exceptional performance of this headspace. And when you think about it, more than 1000 young people receiving support and care here in the last 12 months, of which 600 are new, It shows that this is a trusted service that young people have confidence in. But it also shows the large and growing demand, which was why when we're looking at nationally the demand, that it absolutely was a priority to make sure that headspace Bendigo was one of the first 10 in Australia to become a headspace Plus.
JOURNALIST: Do you know exactly how much funding was delivered here in Bendigo, and was that the amount originally asked for?
MCBRIDE: Headspace centres have a core funding of around $1.1 million. This headspace centre, as Lisa has reminded me, has received now three enhancement or demand management rounds of funding, the most recent one, just under $500,000. And then the headspace Plus funding will be another about $1.4 million. So core funding plus another round of enhancement funding plus headspace Plus funding will make a tripling of funding right here at headspace Bendigo.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any plans to expand into regional Victoria- more regional towns in Victoria?
MCBRIDE: What this will mean, particularly from headspace Bendigo, and having spoken to the team here today, that they will be able to do more outreach, particularly to the more rural or remote parts of the region, because we know that it is hard to reach young people who live much further out of Bendigo. And we want to make sure that wherever a young person lives, that they can get that support sooner because we know that earlier intervention and wraparound care makes such a big impact, particularly to young people who'll come into headspace from 12 years old.
JOURNALIST: A question for Lisa. Thank you. In your conversations with young constituents, what have they said to you exactly about access to services such as this?
CHESTERS: They know where it is, and that really speaks volume to the team here. They are known whether they're involved in Bendigo Pride, in various open days at La Trobe Uni or at school. They're involved in sporting clubs. I quite often bump into somebody from the Bendigo headspace team when I'm out and about on weekends. They are known and they are trusted. So when somebody isn't quite right and isn't quite sure, they know through either their own networks or through a family member or through a school teacher that they can come here, have that confidential support, and it's for free. And that's what's critical for them, that they don't have to scrounge around. If they're not quite confident yet to talk to their parents, that's okay, because they can come here and get the support that they need.
JOURNALIST: Have you heard many stories in the past that they might have to travel to places like Melbourne to get the support they need?
CHESTERS: Absolutely. They're no longer getting on the train. They can come here, they can walk in, they can reach out online, they can make a phone call. Sometimes it could be family members or friends or parents reaching out on behalf of a young person, they come in together. But they come in here and they feel heard, they feel listened to from the moment they step in. And quite often young people who come into this service, they talk about the relief that they feel from the very first conversation that they had, that it's not them, that it’s a moment and that they feel like they're already on that journey. And that kind of speaks volume to the team that I have here that it's that trust that they have throughout the community.
It's also the relief that family members have when they know that their young person is engaging with the Bendigo headspace, because there is a lot of concern out there about some mental health services throughout not just our region but throughout regional Australia, but not here at Bendigo headspace. Everybody talks about this headspace in quite a high regard, and people are relieved and feel safe when they come here.
JOURNALIST: Just off-topic from headspace, but Lisa, have you spoken to Jacinta Allan, and know when she might be making a decision on whether she's running in Bendigo East?
CHESTERS: Yes, I have. I've spoken to Jacinta. Tough time of course. It is entirely her decision, and she'll let all of us know soon.
JOURNALIST: Is she doing okay?
CHESTERS: She is, all things considering. It's pretty brutal when this happens. I was reflecting – the last time it happened like this in this way was when Julia Gillard was toppled as prime minister. But she is strong, she is resilient, and she set the tone for all of us in her final press conference as premier when she stepped down. If you want anything in politics, you have to stand up and fight for it, just like I did for Bendigo headspace and I'll continue to do for younger people in our region.