Thank you Mr Speaker,
Before I entered this place, I worked in the mental health inpatient units of Wyong Hospital as a specialist mental health pharmacist for nearly ten years.
Where I saw, each day, people in distress, escalating to crisis point and being brought in by police or ambulance.
Many who simply couldn’t access care.
I witnessed firsthand the impact of mental ill-health on individuals, families, and communities.
Involuntary admissions, seclusion and restraint, tribunal hearings, community treatment orders, careers ended, lives lost.
I saw then, what we know now - borne out through Royal Commissions, Select Committee Inquires, Productivity Commission Reports - that the system was failing people and we needed to do more.
That’s why, since coming to government, we’ve worked tirelessly to make mental health care more accessible for everyone.
Because mental health is health.
It’s central to how we live, work, and connect.
Through community based, stepped care, across the lifespan, we’re building a new system of mental health support and care in Australia – Medicare Mental Health.
Mr Speaker,
In my years working in mental health, I met people from all walks of life - some seeking support for the first time - others living with long-term conditions.
What united them was the need for compassion, timely support, and dignity.
Today, we know that mental health is the number one reason Australians visit their GP.
In fact, for the eighth year in a row, psychological issues top the list of concerns raised in general practice. Over 70% of GPs report this trend.
As a government we have an obligation to act, and that’s why I was proud to stand alongside the Prime Minister and Health Minister during the election to announce a 1.1 billion dollar mental health package.
The single biggest investment in mental health services delivering more support and care in communities, backed by Medicare.
This includes expanding our network of Medicare Mental Health Centres to 91.
We’re moving quickly to establish these centres, and as of last week, we’ve opened 50 Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country.
Just this month, we’ve opened centres in Redcliffe on the North Brisbane Peninsula in the Member for Petrie’s electorate, Campbelltown in South-West Sydney in the Member for Macarther’s electorate, Mount Isa in North West Queensland in the Member for Kennedy’s electorate, and Devonport on the North West Coast of Tasmania in the Member for Braddon’s electorate.
It was in Devonport where I met Tony, and I want to share some of his story with you.
After two lengthy hospital admissions for mental ill health, Tony said that he did not feel supported after being discharged.
He said, and I quote "Either I didn't know what support was there, or it simply wasn't there.”
He goes on to say, "There was no one who understood me or how to navigate the seriously lacking, fragmented and complex mental health system, well enough to provide meaningful assistance and to help guide me on my recovery journey."
After looking for support and receiving a recommendation about a new service, Tony walked into the Launceston Medicare Mental Health Centre, which he described as, and I quote “nirvana”.
It was there, Tony received wraparound support, before eventually taking part in a workshop where he learned of our government’s plans to open more Medicare Mental Health Centres, including in his hometown of Devonport.
I’m delighted to share with the House that Tony now works supporting people as a peer worker at the new Devonport Medicare Mental Health Centre.
In Devonport, and 49 other locations across the country, Medicare Mental Health Centres offer free walk-in care, with no referral or appointment needed, over extended hours.
They’re staffed by multidisciplinary teams of clinical and non-clinical mental health workers, and we’ve boosted funding to create a virtual network to make sure every centre has access to psychologists and psychiatrists.
As I touched on earlier, we’re building a system of care, across the lifespan, so everyone can thrive, no matter their age or stage.
For new and expectant parents, we’re partnering with the Gidget Foundation to open 20 Perinatal Mental Health Centres.
These centres will offer vital care, because we know 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men experience mental ill health in the perinatal period.
Just last week I joined the Member for Lalor for the opening of the newest Perinatal Mental Health Centre in Point Cook in Melbourne’s West.
For children aged 0 – 12 years and their families, we’re opening 17 Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs, in partnership with State and Territory Governments.
Kids Hubs offer developmental, behavioural and emotional support for children during their formative years.
Recently, alongside the Member for Lingiari, I visited the Kids Hub in Alice Springs – a First Nations led service for First Nations children and families.
The model pairs clinicians with First Nations health workers, with outreach into communities across Central Australia providing expert, culturally appropriate care, and helping to build stronger communities.
I’m pleased that by the end of this year we’ll have opened 5 more Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs right across the country.
For young Australians aged 12 – 25 years, we’re expanding headspace centres and strengthening the model of care.
When headspace was first established nearly 20 years ago, 1 in 5 young people experienced mental health distress in any 12-month period. That’s now doubled to 2 in 5 or 40 percent.
Which is why we’re opening 58 new and expanded headspace services, growing the network to 203 across the country.
Understanding the unique challenges faced by young people in rural communities, we’ll be establishing 2 new remote headspace centres and 20 outreach services.
This will support our expansion of headspace services in remote First Nations communities, like headspace Mutitjulu – located on the eastern side of Uluru, which I had the privilege of visiting earlier this year.
We’re also introducing headspace Plus for more complex mental health care, opening 30 centres across the country.
This will be complemented by 20 new Youth Specialist Care Centres, supporting young people who need ongoing care for more challenging mental ill health such as psychosis and eating disorders.
Mr Speaker, we’re taking a comprehensive approach to support mental health and wellbeing, with more initiatives underway.
Early next year we’ll launch the National Early Intervention Service.
A new digital platform offering free therapy for people with mild to moderate concerns.
No diagnosis. No referral. Just support when people need it.
Once fully operational, it’s expected this service will support more than one hundred and fifty thousand people each year.
We’re also strengthening the mental health workforce by opening up an additional 1,200 training places for clinical and non-clinical mental health workers.
This will be supported by our work to professionalise the peer workforce, because we understand the value of lived experience.
This will begin with the peer worker census next year, and the establishment of the new Peer Workforce Association.
We’ve also established two peak bodies to support people with a lived or living experience of mental ill-health – the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance and Mental Health Carers Australia – understanding the separate but related needs.
Mental Health Month’s theme this year is “taking steps on your wellbeing journey.” And I know—from my time in hospitals, in pharmacies, and now in Parliament—that the first step is often the hardest.
Ans it can be the most powerful.
So I say to anyone listening, inside or outside of this chamber, if you’re struggling, reach out.
If you’re caring for someone, ask for help.
If you’re unsure, walk into one of our Medicare mental health services.
You don’t need a diagnosis. You don’t need to wait. You just need to take that first step.
And together, we can take steps big and small towards a healthier, kinder Australia.