STAN SHAW, HOST: All eyes on Bunbury it seems with another announcement today for more investment in the regional city. This time it's from the Federal Government in the form of free access to mental health support in town, and more broadly the South West. Now, this was announced last year, but there's been further developments and Emma McBride who is the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Rural and Regional Health is in Bunbury today with the latest. Good morning.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Stan, good to be with you.
SHAW: Okay, so I understand further developments today in both a Perinatal Mental Health Centre for expectant and new parents and Medicare Mental Health Centres, both based in Bunbury. What's the latest on these?
MCBRIDE: I'm pleased to share with your listeners across the South West that we know that mental health and psychological distress has been rising in communities and we know that for too long it's been hard for people to find support. And as a mental health worker myself I saw people simply unable to get the support and care that they needed which is why we've expanded our rollout of Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country. So we'll be opening 92 across the country, five are already open in Western Australia and the one to come in Bunbury is now at the next phase where the Primary Health Network will then do a consultation with the community to work out what the particular needs are for the community, how they might be best met.
Following that community consultation, there'll be a competitive tender process to secure a provider and typically this process can take about 12 to 18 months to make sure that we get it right. So, it's the right service in the right place to meet the needs of local people.
SHAW: So starting with the Medicare Health Centre, this is a free service, okay, within opening hours, I understand, where someone who is in distress can walk straight into this facility and get free support. That's the nuts and bolts of it.
MCBRIDE: It is. And what we're trying to do was remove any barriers that people had to accessing support. So you don't need a referral from a GP, you don't need to make an appointment, and it's free and backed by Medicare so that people in the community can be able to walk in and access information and advice, and if they do need further support, to be able to have support from a range of- a multidisciplinary team of health professionals, so counsellors, psychologists, social workers, tailoring the particular support to that person to give them that wraparound care that we know is most effective.
SHAW: And the Perinatal Mental Health Centre, that is a separate facility and that's for expectant parents or parents, and that's free as well, so a similar model.
MCBRIDE: It is, it is free. So, the Perinatal Mental Health Centre is in partnership with the Gidget Foundation, and the Gidget Foundation was set up by friends of a woman known as Gidget who took her own life in that perinatal period, and what they're aiming to do and we're doing with them in partnership is to bring perinatal support and care closer to new and expectant parents and across the country.
So with the Perinatal Mental Health Centre, we know that about 100,000 Australians each year experience perinatal depression or anxiety. And so through this service, people will be able to get free support in that critical nought to 12-month period for them. And we know the big difference that makes for expectant or new parents and also for their children.
SHAW: It's a quarter past seven. My guest is Emma McBride, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Rural and Regional Health in Bunbury today with the latest on these developments. No doubt this is great news. Both free facilities where people can walk in and get support, but both levels of government have been accused in the last couple of being Bunbury-centric. A lot of these things based in Bunbury, the announcements in Bunbury, the money in Bunbury, and then people in Margaret River, Manjimup, Nannup, expected to drive in to access this service, particularly out in Manjimup and Bridgetown, desperate for some more support. Is that the case with this, that people will simply have to drive an hour or two to access this?
MCBRIDE: What we've tried to do, and I was at a centre yesterday, is also to provide outreach and support. So if somebody does need support closer to where they are, they can also call 1800-595-212, Medicare Mental Health, to be able to get support over the phone. And we've also introduced a new online service to be able to better meet the needs of people particularly those who live outside of our major centres, and so we've introduced Medicare Mental Health Check-In. It's Australia's first free online therapies supported by- we're working in partnership with St Vincent's Health Australia, and a team of multidisciplinary health professionals, psychologists, social workers, counsellors.
So what we're trying to do is bring centres closer to communities and also to provide outreach and digital services to expand the reach as far as we can. And as I mentioned, having worked in a regional hospital myself and seeing people end up distress escalating to crisis simply because they couldn't access support, we're trying to make sure that support is available with as much reach as possible and bringing it closer to people in communities.
SHAW: But there's certainly an advantage. You know, you've got a friend or a family member in crisis and you can walk into the facility and someone can lay eyes on them. Certainly an advantage to that over someone in Manjimup who has to pick up the phone, you must admit.
MCBRIDE: Yeah, so in Western Australia, we've opened services already in Gosnells, Armadale, Mirrabooka, Midland and Northam. And to open, we announced one yesterday in Kalamunda. We've got one to come in Mandurah, Bunbury where we are, Belmont and Melville. So we're trying to expand this. At the last election, I got a commitment for an additional 30 centres and five of those will be in Western Australia.
SHAW: Alright, so good start at least for Bunbury and hopefully maybe some expansion in the future as in face-to-face support out there?
MCBRIDE: Well, these services are provided under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, and there's bilateral agreements with each state and territory. All the ones in Western Australia are fully Commonwealth-funded. We'll be going into negotiations soon under the next national agreement, and given the demand for services and how welcome they've been, I expect that there will be advocacy for more services in the future.
SHAW: Maybe make a note of Margaret River and Manjimup, because they're desperate for support out there. Emma McBride, my guest. Just quickly, some more money announced as well for headspace in Bunbury. And quite a bit of money, I believe.
MCBRIDE: Yeah. So an additional $462,000 for headspace in Bunbury, and I'm looking forward to visiting there today with Senator Ellie Whiteaker. We know that for young people, not just across Australia but around the world, that distress has been increasing, and we want to make sure that young people can get the support they need when they need it. So this boost in funding to be able to help to meet the demand so young people can get support sooner.
We're also at the moment working on a new model for headspace because headspace was first developed 20 years ago. And the way young people seek support today is changing. The way they- the kind of problems that they're grappling with are also evolving. So we want to make sure that headspace and its model of care meets the needs of young people today, which is why the Youth Reference Groups are so critical, hearing directly from young people about their experiences, and how headspace can continue to evolve to better meet their needs.
SHAW: Manjimup is set to get a new headspace opening in the first half of this year. Any updates on that? Do you know when we'll see the doors open?
MCBRIDE: Coming soon. I know it's keenly anticipated and we're working very closely with the Primary Health Network and the provider to make sure that it's open as soon as possible.
SHAW: 7.20, Emma McBride, my guest, Assistant Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, and Rural and Regional Health. A couple of quick questions while I have you, loaded questions that can't be quickly answered but have a go. Next week's Federal Budget, make or break for many West Australian families, cost of living, fuel crisis, all this stuff, housing. What surety can you give listeners ahead of that budget that their life will get easier after Tuesday?
MCBRIDE: What I'm focused on with my responsibilities for mental health and suicide prevention is making sure that we can shield Australians from the worst impacts of global crisis, that we can make responsible decisions that support people and families, and always do it with individuals and communities in mind. And as a mental health worker and a pharmacist who worked in a regional hospital, that's always what drives my decisions in my portfolio. I'm not going to pre-empt the decisions of the Treasurer or what will be announced next Tuesday, but that's what really underpins our decisions as a Labor Government.
SHAW: So as far as support then, you can assure people, if their mental health suffers because of the cost of living, you'll be there to pick up the pieces?
MCBRIDE: What I'm saying is that we know that there are lots of drivers of distress whether they're international crises that are fuelling inflation or others, but we're working to shield them, and with my particular responsibilities, which I take very seriously, that we are doing all that we can to support individuals and families and communities.
SHAW: Right, another quick one, which is also loaded. Health Minister announces last week huge reforms to NDIS, wants to reduce spending by 2030 because it's out of control. Also, 160,000 current participants have their support reduced or picked up by non-NDIS supports. Now, when we spoke to people last week that was caught- people on NDIS were anxious about this, scared for their future and their supports. Those 160,000, can you assure them they'll get the support they need? Will they get picked up?
MCBRIDE: What I can assure your listeners and Australians is that the NDIS has really, for individuals and families, really changed lives, and it's something that we want to make sure is sustainable into the future. A part that I'm particularly focused on is people with psychosocial distress. And yesterday, I was at the Medicare Mental Health Kids Hub in Perth, and what we're really working to do is to make sure that particularly for children and families, because I understand that this would be concerning for people, is that through Thriving Kids that they can particularly get the support they need. So with my responsibilities, that's a particular focus that I have. I've met many NDIS participants and heard from parents and families about the way that it's really changed their lives, and we want to make sure that continues to happen sustainably into the future.
SHAW: Hey, we'll leave it there. Thanks for coming in.
MCBRIDE: Good to be with you, Stan.
SHAW: Emma McBride there, Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Rural and Regional Health.