ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: I'm proud to be here today as part of the Albanese Labor Government on what is a really important day for mental health and mental fitness in Australia. I'd like to start by acknowledging Chelsea Frawley and the Danny Frawley Community for the work that they have done connecting sport with community, creating that third space and their focus on mental fitness, which has changed the conversation about mental health and wellbeing in Australia.
We know that in Australia today, one in five adults experience mental health challenges in any given year. And for young people, that's two in five. Which is why it is so important that the Black Dog Institute, one of Australia's leading scientific translational researchers, have partnered with the Danny Frawley Centre to be able to create a new focus on mental fitness, to reach through elite sport, to communities, to classrooms, to playgrounds, to change rooms, to change that conversation about mental health and wellbeing for all Australians.
It's why I'm really proud to be part of a government that has now invested $1.1 billion in mental health and wellbeing, including in that additional funding through the Black Dog Institute an additional $2 million with a particular focus on men's mental health and wellbeing. Understanding the unique impacts that mental health struggles have on men and boys, and the work that we can do, including through this partnership with the Danny Frawley Community to boost protective factors, to create safe third spaces through sport and community connection and to really focus on mental fitness as part of mental wellbeing.
And I also wanted to let the Danny Frawley Community know, and people within the wider audience to know, that we now also for the first time have introduced Medicare Mental Health Check In, a free digital mental health support service on your phone for all Australians, because we know that connection matters. We know that making sure that people can reach mental health support when they need it, without the barriers of cost, of travel, of time, makes such a big difference. And I'm so proud to be here today with Sam Harvey from the Black Dog Institute, with Chelsea Frawley from the Danny Frawley Centre at the launch of the Spuds mental health seminar, bringing together researchers, clinicians, elite sport, to focus on mental health and wellbeing, really to raise the prominence and the profile of this conversation amongst all Australians, and to continue the legacy of Danny.
Danny, so many people know from St Kilda, from the AFL, from the wider community, the contribution that he did raising the profile of mental health, speaking openly about mental health challenges helping to break down the stigma so that people don't continue in silence and struggle alone. And I think this is what is going to be so important about the discussions today in the mental health summit and ahead of the Spud’s Game double header, kicking off the AFLW season and bringing together people across the community through the connection of sport, through a sense of belonging, through being part of something bigger than themselves, and at the same time having honest and open conversations about mental health and wellbeing.
SAM HARVEY, PROFESSOR, BLACK DOG INSTITUTE: We know that to address that, we need to be able to reform our mental health care system to be able to get help to people when they need it. But we need to be [indistinct] that. We've also got to understand what's happening, what's driving the increased rates of mental health. Now, the answer to that is complicated, but almost certainly, it involves some of the changes that young people are experiencing about their connection with society, the meaning they get from those connections, their lifestyle.
That's why last year the Black Dog Institute partnered together with the Danny Frawley Community to bring together the power of Black Dog’s science, our understanding of what works, with the reach of Danny Frawley Community and the partnership with the AFL. So today is really the opening bounce of Spud’s Week. And Spud’s Week is the week in Australia's sporting calendar which is set aside to think about mental health and to think particularly about the power of sport, the power of sporting clubs, the power of community and how that can increase young Australians' mental health and fitness, to try and turn the tide on this mental health epidemic we're seeing.
Today is about bringing together experts, people with lived experience, people from the sporting community, politicians, to think about how we can harness the power of sport, how we can harness the power of football communities to improve mental health. We're going to talk about the latest research around what works and how we can prevent mental health problems from occurring, but then crucially how we can put that into action, what are the steps we need to take so that all Australians can engage with their community, where necessary with their sports clubs to improve their mental fitness. Thank you.
CHELSEA FRAWLEY, DANNY FRAWLEY CENTRE: Thanks so much, Sam, and Assistant Minister. As Sam so eloquently put, we are at the opening bounce of Spuds Week this week. We're incredibly excited to have the best and brightest in mental health across this country, within this space, deliberating over something that affects so many of us right across this country. We know that one in five Australians experience a mental illness in a year, which is why we're here bringing the best and brightest into this space to talk not only about men's mental health and some of the trends that are happening there, but also looking at how we can use sport as a platform for protection around mental health.
Since opening our doors here in 2022, we've delivered programs to over 30,000 people right across this country. We know that community sporting clubs are the beating hearts of our communities. They're where intergenerational friendships are made. They're where each player, volunteer, umpire has each other's back. whether that's on or off the field, and it's second nature. But we cannot do this work without funds. So if you have the means to do so, we'd really appreciate any donations to spuds.org.au to help us and the Black Dog Institute fund much needed mental health research and programs.
JOURNALIST: Talk to us about your involvement today, and bringing all these people together.
HEATH BLACK: I think for me, really, a lived experience of my own mental health journey, and also working in the industry with our talent pathway for many years in the mental health and wellbeing team, and currently at the Eastern Football Netball League in a community development role. So gone back to community level and seeing the impact of mental health across the board, and being able to use my lived experience to pass on the knowledge of how to, I suppose, get people to talk about mental health in a more positive way. And to be here today is an absolute privilege, to be back at Moorabbin where I played at the St Kilda Footy Club, and I just did the same drive from home as I did for three years in traffic. It's just a great privilege.
And the connection with the Black Dog Institute, I run my own charity, a golf day, and raise money every year for the Institute. And I just note how important this is, and using footy and sport as a platform to get people together is the most important thing we can do.
JOURNALIST: How important is elite sport in this conversation to, as you say, spread that message to the younger people coming through at grassroots level?
HEATH BLACK: I think having those people in elite sport who are role models are exceptionally important for people at community level to latch on to, and to have hope that they can get to that elite level. But also, everybody finds their level. So if that's at community level for the rest of your career, that's great also. But the ones that do come through and do make the elite level, that's a bonus, but whatever makes you happy.
JOURNALIST: What about Spud’s legacy? Talk to us [indistinct] …
HEATH BLACK: Oh wow. Where do I start? I was fortunate enough to meet him a couple of times. And I think we all know, and to even be standing here, I can remember the grandstand and the boxing ring underneath this grandstand, and the St Kilda players making their own weights room. To be standing here and seeing a legacy and what the funds have provided for the most important issue, mental health, and it's very, very close to me, is something that I'm extremely proud to be here today.
JOURNALIST: Heath, this is the sixth game of Spud's Game, but obviously the week is getting bigger and bigger. And something like Spud’s Summit with so many key stakeholders, do you wish that sort of thing was happening when you were playing? And how important is it that it is happening now?
HEATH BLACK: I suppose the short answer, yes, but I am so hopeful. And what I've seen over the last 17 years in this space as a mental health advocate, from where I first started to talking to people in a really awkward situation and having to really get out of your comfort zone to what we see today, Is just- it gives me hope that we are on a better path. And all of the education that's out there, especially in our sporting environments, give people the platform to actually be able to speak.
JOURNALIST: And what are you hoping to achieve today at Spud’s Summit with so many of the stakeholders in the room?
HEATH BLACK: Well, firstly, I'm just happy to be here as a past sportsman and someone that lives through mental health issues, but just to collaborate and to have the opportunity to sit around a roundtable and talk is invaluable, I think, today.