ROWAN HOLZBERGER, MEMBER FOR FORDE: So I'm very, very pleased to be able to welcome today Ministers Emma McBride and Murray Watt, who's here on the Gold Coast a lot. Today we've really got a very special announcement. It is about mental health. It is something which sits at the very heart of Medicare. And I think that if you look at what this government has done with Medicare over the last couple of years in particular, we have seen just in- because of one policy alone, where we tripled the bulk billing rate in November last year, the number of bulk-dwelling clinics in Forde went from nine to 21 overnight. This government is throwing everything that it can at health in Australia, but particularly mental health, something that is a subject very close to my heart and very important to our community. So thank you for coming along today, and I'm throwing to- I think to Emma.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Thank you very much Rowan and Murray. It’s wonderful to join you here today on the Gold Coast. We know that in Australia today, about one in five Australians experience mental health challenges that need extra support in any year, which is why I'm proud to be here for the official opening of the first Medicare Mental Health Centre on the Gold Coast, expected to help about 6000 locals over the first 12 months of operation in one of the fastest growing northern corridors of the region – and importantly, backed by Medicare.
When I worked as a mental health clinician, I saw people in the community were distressed, escalated to crisis, simply because there wasn't support available. Which is why I'm really proud that our government has invested more than $1.1 billion in strengthening Medicare and introducing Medicare Mental Health Centres. This is the first on the Gold Coast, the 17th in Queensland and the 57th opened across the country. Last week, we marked a significant milestone: more than 500,000 visits to Medicare Mental Health Centres all backed by Medicare for free. An important part of bringing healthcare to the heart of communities and making sure that services are available, close to home, when people need them.
It's expected that this centre will provide care to about 6000 locals each year, and it's staffed by a multidisciplinary team of 24 mental health professionals – psychologists, social workers, counsellors and importantly, peer workers, people bringing their own lived experience to provide support and care to others.
I might now hand over to Senator and Minister Murray Watt to add some more comments. Thank you, Murray.
MURRAY WATT, QUEENSLAND SENATOR: Thanks very much, Emma. You are very welcome here on the Gold Coast. It's terrific to have you here. You've been doing a terrific job making sure that the interests of all Australians are being met when it comes to their healthcare, including here on the Gold Coast. And Rowan, terrific to join you here as well. Rowan's been doing a fantastic job standing up for the interests of people living in the Logan-Gold Coast corridor, which have been ignored by previous governments. And our government heavily to ensure that their interests are being met.
Just to reinforce something that Rowan had to say, the Albanese Government has been very hard to turn around the decline in Medicare that we saw under the previous Coalition government, including here on the Gold Coast. In our just over four years of being in government, we've now created two urgent care clinics in the northern Gold Coast, and now from this week a Medicare mental health clinic as well, really meeting the needs of this growing corridor, a fast growing population. and making sure that they get the Medicare services that they deserve. So thank you, Emma, for making sure that the Northern Gold Coast is not being forgotten when it the Medicare service, and in fact is receiving its fair share to make sure that people who choose to build their lives here are getting the Medicare services they deserve.
Maybe if we could take some questions on- if you've got any on this, and then move on to other issues of the day, thanks. I'm guessing it'll probably be Emma.
JOURNALIST: We know the real demand for mental health services is in that ongoing support. So is the centre going to be able to cater to that, including through the 10 mental health psychology sessions that people are eligible for under Medicare?
MCBRIDE: These centres are designed to give people initial information, support and ongoing wraparound care. As I mentioned, staffed by a multidisciplinary team, including psychologists, mental health social workers, councillors, so that people can get ongoing support, tailored to meet their needs within their local community, and importantly free and backed by Medicare.
JOURNALIST: And are people going to expected to meet any particular threshold of risk to qualify for the clinic?
MCBRIDE: With this centre, it's designed to meet the needs of most Australians, so anybody can walk in. They don't need a diagnosis. They don't need a referral. They don't need an appointment. We wanted to remove any barriers that would prevent people from being able to access care when they needed it, and importantly close to home and free and backed by Medicare.
JOURNALIST: Can I just ask where that 6000 figure comes from?
MCBRIDE: This is the first on the Gold Coast, but the 17th in Queensland, and we've seen now more than 80,000 visits to the centres across Queensland. So this is where the estimate comes from, given the need in the local community, the previous lack of access to services and what we're seeing in Queensland and across the country.
JOURNALIST: So first to overseas, what's the latest information from the government in regards to Australians impacted by the devastating floods in Nepal?
WATT: Yeah, I think all Australians woke to that terrible news this morning that we may well have seen a significant loss of life of Australians in Nepal. I've personally travelled in Nepal when I was much younger and familiar with the area, and I know it's a very popular destination for Australian tourists for hiking and other purposes. So I think all of our hearts go out to those families who are currently worried about their loved ones. Minister Wong as the Foreign Minister will be providing an update later this morning to provide full details, but of course we will be providing every possible form of consular assistance to families who may be impacted by this.
JOURNALIST: Just a new question on data centres [indistinct] online. Did the federal government capitulate to Queensland and the NT at National Cabinet by allowing those jurisdictions to continue without plans to not just use renewables and [indistinct] to power their data centres?
WATT: The short answer is no. What we're seeking to do through national standards for AI and data centres, which have now been approved. by National Cabinet, is insure that all states and territories work with us to ensure that data centres don't become a drain on our energy and water supplies and don't drive up the prices of power and water for households and for other industry. And that’s what we've been able to secure through this agreement at National Cabinet. We recognise that there are some states and territories that are in a different situation with state-owned generation. We are allowing them to use their state-owned generation to meet data centre needs. However, they need to make sure that they do that in a way that doesn't drive up prices and doesn’t make the energy grid unstable. So that's a good position to reach. We can now have those national standards and work with the states and territories collectively.
JOURNALIST: So does that mean the federal government won’t have to use its powers to bring Queensland and the NT in line with the standards?
WATT: We certainly still intend to legislate at the Commonwealth level, because we do want to make sure that we have standards that are applied right across the country. We can't have a situation where an individual state or territory chooses energy sources or water sources that are going to drive up household power bills or industry power bills. We've been able to secure that agreement through National Cabinet, and the next step is to work with the states and territories to better define those standards and then legislate at the Commonwealth level.
JOURNALIST: And just finally, what was the outcome of yesterday’s discussion in regards to water?
WATT: Yeah, so on water, we have been able to reach agreement with the states and territories again towards some principles about minimising water use when it comes to data centres, ensuring that they pay their fair share of water infrastructure, where possible using recycled water and other forms of non-drinking water. As I say, the broad principle here is that we do want to encourage data centre investment in Australia. We think it has massive economic opportunities for Australia, but we want to do that in a way that respects Australians’ needs and not drive up power and water prices. That’s what we’ve been able to reach agreement on, and now we’ll move forward.