ADAM STEER, HOST: I mean, it's supposed to be the greatest thing that that ever happened to you, right? The happiest moment in your life. But the reality of having a newborn is often far from that. Lack of sleep, uncertainty if you're doing the right thing. And that's before those feelings of loneliness, isolation, and sometimes even guilt can kick in. Well, there's a new perinatal mental health centre that opened in Berry Springs today. It's part of the Federal Government's $40 million rollout of centres like that across the country. They're called Gidget Houses. Emma McBride is the Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health at the opening today. Assistant Minister, welcome to the program.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good to be with you.
STEER: You say 50 per cent of women and at least 10 per cent of men experience anxiety or depression when they are expecting or just about- just have become new parents. Is $40 million enough in that space?
MCBRIDE: The Commonwealth has invested since 2019-20 about $200 million directly in perinatal mental health, including boosting services and perinatal mental health screening. The $40 million is specifically for Gidget Houses and they're located in communities, including the one that we opened in Berry Springs today, so that people can get the support that they need when they need it, close to home and affordably under Medicare. As you mentioned, it's about one in five new or expectant mothers or one in 10 new or expectant fathers that find themselves experiencing challenges in the perinatal period. Could be to do with birth trauma, pregnancy loss, adjusting to having this big change in their life. And we know that this has affected about 100,000 Australian parents a year, which is why it's a priority for our government and why we're partnering with Gidget Foundation to open these houses, including the one in Berry Springs today.
STEER: I'll get to the money in a second. There was one of the mums, Natalia Wallace, was speaking to our breakfast presenter, Jess Ong, about her experience this morning. I know you heard some of this, Assistant Minister.
[Excerpt]
NATALIA WALLACE: So I went to my GP and they referred me to the Gidget Foundation and that was- I got 10 free consultations with them, I suppose. So I was able to seek counselling support for my PTSD symptoms that I was suffering, as well as my anxiety symptoms. So I was given tools just to be able to, even now when I'm struggling with anxiety, I've got tools to help me bring me level-headed again. So it's really, yeah, it was really helpful.
[End of excerpt]
STEER: And it obviously can be very helpful under the enormous pressure that parents of newborns are facing. How long have the Gidget Houses been running for?
MCBRIDE: Gidget Houses have been running for nearly 20 years now, and they started in the northern beaches. They're named after a young woman who experienced perinatal depression. She went to see a new GP who she hadn't seen before. She was given a prescription for medication and tragically that week she lost her life, and her friends came together to set up the Gidget Foundation with the aspiration of having a Gidget House, and now we're opening these Gidget Houses right around the country to make sure that expectant or new mothers and expectant or new dads have the support they need.
STEER: Emma McBride is the Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health, your guest this afternoon on ABC Darwin right across the Northern Territory. Just opened one of these new Gidget Houses in the rural area, on the outskirts of Darwin and Palmerston. It's a perinatal mental health centre. How many staff will be employed at the centre?
MCBRIDE: So this centre will employ two specialist mental health staff to make sure that there is that support available face to face. There's also support through Gidget Foundation nationally, if people do prefer to have telehealth appointments, if that works better for them. And there's additional funding for the service in Berry Springs, acknowledging that it can be challenging to recruit and retain specialist health workers within the Northern Territory. And we're so proud that we're co-locating with the Remote Territory Healthcare and having spoken to Nick and Kylie there today and getting a sense of the type of work that they do and the care that they provide. And it's a place that already local people in Berry Springs know and trust. So it'll be a place where they'll feel comfortable being able to come to seek this support.
STEER: What's the budget line though? Is the Federal Government paying and forking out not only for the construction of the centre but also for the continual running of the centre?
MCBRIDE: That's right. We are making that investment, because perinatal mental health is a really big priority for our government, and we want to make sure that no one can't access care because of a barrier, whether it's cost or time or travel. So the Commonwealth is investing in the fit out, in the staff, and also funding the 10 sessions so that people, new or expectant parents, can get that support for free and close to homes.
STEER: And those staff, that centre, will be run entirely- are you giving that to the Northern Territory Government to run or are you entirely running it yourselves?
MCBRIDE: These centres are run through the Gidget House Foundation. And so the funding goes through Gidget House and then that will be then- this funding will then be directed to this service in Berry Springs to make sure that local people get the support they need. We've heard that already since the doors opened in February, there's been 41 appointments there. And so, I mean, we know that there's been a big demand and already it's meeting the needs locally.
STEER: And it's got the staff that is required there?
MCBRIDE: Yes, it does. It's such a strong priority. As a former mental health worker myself, we have such a strong focus on staff, on their skills and their expertise to make sure that when people do seek support, that they have the right kind of support provided by people with the experience and the expertise and the resources to support them.
STEER: Emma McBride, Federal Minister for- Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Prevention of Suicide. While you're rolling this out, I wonder if you're aware the Northern Territory Government has reduced its mental health budget from $135 million to $130 million. That's despite the NT having some of the highest rates of mental health burdens in the country. Domestic, family and sexual violence services have also been slashed by $8 million. What's your reaction to that? Is that okay?
MCBRIDE: For me, as someone who worked in mental health acute inpatient units, and I would see people that were distressed, escalated in crisis because there simply wasn't support. So I want to see mental health and suicide prevention as a priority for all state and territory governments. Under the most recent health and hospital reform agreement, NT Health will be more than $741 million better off over the next five years. Also in the coming weeks, in the new financial year, there'll be an additional $67 million. So importantly, this is funding that NT Health can direct towards services that local people need and deserve.
STEER: [Interrupts] But they are slashing those services. And then it has been revealed in the last 24 hours, a report obtained by the ABC under the Freedom of Information Laws, commissioned by Northern Territory Health in 2024, revealed the NT's only youth mental health inpatient facility was unable to hold 16- uphold 16 national safety standards, posing an unmanageable risk to patients and staff. Two years on from that report's release, advocates say no recommendations had been implemented at the facility.
MCBRIDE: I mean, as I mentioned, I worked in acute mental health inpatient units and we need to uphold standards so that every person seeking support, particularly young people and the staff that are working with them, have the resources that they need. That's why at the last election at the Commonwealth, we made a $1.1 billion election commitment around mental health. And of that, the greater portion, $700 million, is towards youth mental health/ In Darwin, the headspace there will be uplifted to a headspace Plus so that it can meet the growing demands of young people locally. We'll also be introducing one of our 20 youth specialist care services in Darwin to meet the more complex and severe needs of young people today.
STEER: Yeah but, I'm just saying that they- we've seen a reduction, despite an increase in the provision from the Federal Government, we've seen a reduction in the mental health budget. We've seen a reduction in domestic family sexual violence services. And now we're seeing a report that pulls into question the YIP, which is the youth mental health inpatient facility. Do you have confidence in the NT Health Minister and the Northern Territory Government?
MCBRIDE: As a Commonwealth, we will- we continue to work closely with all state and territory governments. We have a National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and bilaterals with each state and territory. We'll be going to the renegotiation of those bilaterals, which have been extended by a year. As a Commonwealth, it is our priority to make sure that every person, particularly young people, get the mental health support and care that they need and deserve. And of course, we would expect that from our partners, including Northern Territory Health.
STEER: Assistant Minister, thank you so much for your time today. It's good to see you. How long are you managing to stay in the dry season for?
MCBRIDE: I will be here for a few days, and it was fantastic to be out in Berry Springs today, heading to Katherine tomorrow, and to spend some time in Darwin and Palmerston and to see, particularly to see the new urgent care clinic here in Darwin and to know that just over two weeks, more than 550 people have been there and got that free care. And at Palmerston, that urgent care has been open now since 2023, 38,000 local people have been there, so.
STEER: Well, they have to be at the moment there's a code yellow and so they've asked if you have any minor fractures or anything that you need to go to the urgent care clinics rather than either of our hospitals because they're full in the top end.
MCBRIDE: And this is the thing now, urgent care being available can help relieve that pressure off the hospitals, and to make sure that people can get that urgent care when they need it.
STEER: Assistant Minister, thank you.
MCBRIDE: Thank you.
STEER: We'll talk to you soon. There's an Assistant Minister for Mental Health, Emma McBride, there.