check against delivery
I want to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to Elders past and present. I extend that respect to all First Nations people here today
- Thank you to Uncle Albert, Aunty Irene, Uncle Peter and Aunty Sandra for your combined welcome to country
- I also acknowledge everyone with a lived or living experience of suicide
- The Hon Roger Cook, Premier of Western Australia
- The Hon Meredith Hammat, Minister for Health and for Mental Health
- Nieves Murray, CEO of Suicide Prevention Australia
- Maureen Lewis, Commissioner, WA Mental Health Commission
I want to thank Suicide Prevention Australia for the invitation to be here today – my first conference since being reappointed as Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
And I’m pleased to convey the best wishes of the Prime Minister and the Health Minister Mark Butler.
We’re delighted to be back in our jobs after a hard-fought election campaign.
We see enormous potential with a returned Labor government to embed a stronger Medicare, to make mental healthcare more accessible and affordable and, of course, to reduce the prevalence of suicide and suicidal distress in Australia.
We have worked hard on this with many of you over the past three years.
You have offered your candid advice, and I thank you for it.
Now the campaign is behind us, I believe we can come together in good faith towards our shared objectives.
We are all motivated by the fact that suicide and suicidal distress can be prevented.
As Suicide Prevention Australia has advocated for consistently, we need an approach that brings together all governments, services, and communities. An approach that is genuinely preventative and reduces the likelihood of distress occurring in the first place.
We heard this call in the finalisation of the national suicide prevention strategy the government released together with the National Suicide Prevention Office in February – a document shaped so carefully by many in this room.
The strategy sought to develop a new vision for how we address the circumstances that lead to suicidal distress, how we support people experiencing suicidal distress and those who care for them.
Dare I say it was a forerunner to your conference theme of Together Towards Tomorrow.
It reflects a deeply collaborative approach and I have worked in the same spirit, teaming up with my colleagues across government to address the drivers of suicidal distress:
- improving access to free healthcare
- strengthening the social safety net
- bringing down inflation and easing the cost of living
- reducing unemployment and increasing wages
- addressing housing insecurity and homelessness.
These determinants affect people differently.
They remind us that some individuals and communities are more at risk than others.
They draw the connection between the major policy decisions governments take and the lives of people.
And for me, they give a reminder on how important a wellbeing perspective to budgeting is – an approach Treasurer Jim Chalmers initiated in the government’s first term.
Just last week the government made a submission to the Fair Work Commission recommending a real wage increase for Australia’s award workers.
Across the economy, real wages have now grown for six quarters in a row and many Australians are now seeing relief from the cost-of-living pressures they have been living with.
Inflation in down. Employment is up.
There is more to do but we are starting to see some real progress.
And as we implement Labor’s election platform, we will extend that security further through:
- reducing student debt
- cheaper medicines, and
- strong protections in the workplace.
I said at the launch of the strategy that it presented an opportunity to chart a course towards a country where we can prevent suicide.
We have picked up an important new advocate in this work.
Dan Repacholi’s appointment as Special Envoy for Men’s Health will bring him up close with the particularly confronting facts around suicide in men – too often young men,
Dan’s electorate neighbours mine. We are good mates and we will be a unity ticket for investments which address suicide, building on commitments we took to the election, including $32 million for Men’s Sheds, Movember and other men’s health initiatives.
More broadly the government will invest $1 billion in mental health, breaking down barriers of the mental health system so more Australians can get the care they need, wherever they are, for free.
This includes five new walk-in Medicare Mental Health Centres here in Western Australia, doubling the size of the network we established in our first term.
It will also fund 58 new or upgraded headspace centres and 20 Youth Specialist Care Centres for young people with more complex needs.
Many hundreds of millions of dollars in ongoing investments are flowing under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, including jointly funded programs through our bilateral agreement with Western Australia.
I also note the National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program, under which we fund Suicide Prevention Australia.
These programs will continue to build the evidence and support more tailored interventions for groups we know are at higher risk of suicide.
First Nations Australians are at greatest risk of all.
This is why we also now have a national strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention, developed by Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia, to improve federal support for those initiatives such as Culture Care Connect, delivering suicide prevention on the ground.
Lastly, I’d just note that one other task of this term will be to formalise the permanent, independent structure of the National Mental Health Commission and National Suicide Prevention Office.
We have reaffirmed the independence of the NSPO at every opportunity.
Alex Haines and his team have played a vital role in educating more Australians about suicide prevention and providing advice to government on how we allocate resources to this vital task.
As I said a moment ago, we will achieve more in our collective advocacy, in funding, and in cultural change across the country, by working together.
I thank you all for your tireless contributions and I wish you all the best for the conference.
Thank you.