MATT THISTLETHWAITE, MEMBER FOR KINGSFORD SMITH: We're a couple of hundred metres up the road from the Bondi Junction attack site, and we're just up the hill from Australia's worst terrorist incident at Bondi Beach last year.
There's a lot of trauma in our community because of those incidents, and this is a much needed Medicare Mental Health Clinic that will provide informed trauma support for this community, but beyond that, general mental health services that are much needed in the eastern suburbs.
And I'm very proud to be part of the Albanese Government that is investing millions in Medicare Mental Health Clinics and better support services and counselling across Australia. And I want to thank the Minister, Minister McBride, for her commitment to delivering better mental health services in our community. We're doing this in partnership with the local member, Allegra Spender, who's been a great advocate for better mental health services in this community.
So this is a great day for our community to continue that important trauma support for the victims of Bondi and their families, particularly as we come up to the 12-month anniversary where there will be a lot of recognition of that trauma in our community. So, good day for our community to ensure that we're getting better mental health services.
And I'm going to ask Allegra to say something, and then we'll hand over to Emma.
ALLEGRA SPENDER, MEMBER FOR WENTWORTH: Thank you. I really want to thank the government for putting in place this incredibly important mental health support here right in the heart of our community. Our community has been through a lot through the Bondi Junction attack, through the worst terrorist attack on Australians’ soil, but also through other local challenges through shark attacks and through just the broad challenges of young people.
We know that 1 in 5 Australians do not access mental health support or delay that access because of cost, and this is a free service, free at the point of delivery, for people to be able to walk in and access mental health service, and that makes a huge difference.
So I thank the government. I know that you have taken this really, really seriously. My community is enormously concerned about mental health, about how do we support young people but our broader population in some really difficult times, and this service, and particularly how thoughtfully and sensitively it has been done with the community, means that it is a very important and special service for our community. And I really thank the government for it and particularly thank the Minister for your advocacy.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Thank you, Allegra. Thank you to Matt and Allegra. Your advocacy, your unwavering support for your community is why we're here today. As you mentioned, the trauma that has happened to this community through the attack at Westfield Bondi Junction, the evil incident that occurred on December 14 in Bondi, that has been felt in this community and across the country.
I'm proud to be part of a government that is investing in people's mental health and wellbeing. We believe that this centre will be a beacon of hope, co-designed with the local community, including its Jewish-Australians, to make sure that it is a culturally responsive place where anybody can walk in and receive support and care.
We have already seen more than 300 local people access support through the interim site at Bondi Neighbourhood Centre, and we know that that's been more than a thousand occasions of care, to make sure that people within this community can access free support when they need it without any of the barriers. They don't need to see a GP for a referral. They don't need to pay. And they'll be able to access free support walking in to this beautiful centre here in Bondi.
As a former mental health worker myself, I want to recognise the staff, who provide compassionate care that is trauma-informed to make sure that people are welcomed into a safe place and receive wraparound support and care. I also want to thank Rabbi Mendel and Jewish House and the broader Jewish community for working in partnership with New Horizons to make sure that this centre is thoughtfully designed with the community, to be able to make sure that it is a culturally appropriate service where everybody can walk in and feel safe.
As Matt mentioned, this is part of a broader commitment of more than $40 million by our government in the aftermath of the Bondi terrorist attack, boosting support to Bondi headspace to make sure that more young people that they need it- through extended hours of care, boosting support to crisis lines like Kids Helpline, Lifeline, Beyond Blue, 13YARN, to make sure that people can have support when they need it for free.
And I just want to thank again Matt and Allegra for your advocacy and for the way that you have stood with your community to make sure that services like this remain. We know that recovery from trauma is a long journey, and we wanted to make sure that this centre here is a demonstration of our collective commitment to the community of Bondi, to make sure that everybody in this community feels safe, that they know that they can come to a place where they'll be welcome, where they'll be able to have the right kind of support and care provided within this community.
JOURNALIST: Minister, you mentioned that this has been co-designed with the Jewish community. Can you talk us through some of that co-design?
MCBRIDE: Yes, and I've spoken to Rabbi Mendel this morning and also Rabbi Yanky, and he'll be one of the rabbis that will be here a few days a week to make sure that people can have that culturally safe care. The refreshments here are kosher refreshments. There'll also be some Jewish symbolism, and we'll have a Jewish blessing today so that the Jewish Australian community know that this is a place where they are welcome and safe, and also so that the wider community can also access support they need.
JOURNALIST: Minister Thistlethwaite, question to you. You spoke about how the community has been through so much over the past couple of years. What have they said to you? And how much of a difference will this centre make?
THISTLETHWAITE: Yeah, I still attend events where victims, family members and those in the local Jewish community will break down in your arms because speaking about December 14 reignites all of those emotions, and it’s still very raw in this community. And Allegra and I are dealing with that on a regular basis.
So having a free service that people know is embedded in this community, that they can come to, that is culturally appropriate, where they can get support is really, really important. And the counsellors that are working here, providing that support, do an excellent job. They understand the community's needs, and they're ensuring that people get as much support as they possibly need, particularly as we come up to the 12-month anniversary. This is going to be a difficult time for the community around Bondi, and knowing that we've got this free mental health service that people can access is invaluable for our community at this time.
JOURNALIST: And one for Allegra. Given we are coming up to the 12-month anniversary and this centre has just opened, what's your message to community members today?
SPENDER: I think this is– the message really is, please come and you're welcome. I know that there are– I do speak to members of the Jewish community who are afraid of accessing some health services because they're afraid that there will be anti-Semitism directed towards them.
And so that's why I think that this service and how deeply embedded the Jewish community has been in designing this service is so important. This is a service where you're welcome, and that is for the Jewish community, but that is also for the whole of the community.
So many of our community were at Bondi that evening. It reverberates throughout the community. And so, this is a place- because you don't always know immediately the support that you need. Sometimes that happens months and up to a year afterwards. I mean, I was just on the weekend with some of the lifesavers who were some of those first responders who are also dealing with that trauma. And I think it is so important to have a service that is visible, that is accessible, and where everyone in our community is explicitly welcome. I think it’s meant a huge difference.