ADJOURNMENT: Mental Health Services

Senator NASH (New South Wales) (11.13 pm)—I rise tonight to talk about a young lady I met recently. We talk about a lot of issues of national importance in this place, issues that we debate in the national interest, but tonight I would like to talk about a person who I think is a remarkable young Australian. Recently I was privileged to attend a fundraiser for the White Wreath Associa-tion in Yass. The White Wreath Association is a non-denominational, non-political and antidis-criminatory body supporting people who have been directly affected by suicide and those who are affected by mental illness and disorders. I was particularly moved to take part in this fundraiser because the driving force behind the event was a 12-year-old girl, Kyra Hansen, a year 5 student at Mount Carmel School in Yass who in my view is wise beyond her years and someone we could learn a lot from. Kyra’s uncle on her father’s side committed suicide four years ago. Kyra was close to her uncle and wanted to do something to raise the profile of the issue, and she did. This wonderful young lady, who as I said earlier is just 12, came up with the idea of a dance performance to raise funds for mental health awareness. She gathered a group of her school friends, choreographed the routines and together they rehearsed for six to seven weeks during their school lunchtimes. They dubbed it the Funky Fundraiser. Kyra and her fellow dancers Meg, Emma, Jamie, Tara, Erin-Louise, Casey, Monica, Heidi-May and Olivia raised almost $500 for the White Wreath Association, while at the same time bringing to light the issue of mental illness and the need for improved mental health services, particularly in rural and regional areas such as Yass. I can only hope that others might experience the same type of thing that I did that night: in a small hall in a small town in regional New South Wales, these young women were doing so much to promote something that they believed was important and where they believed they could make a difference. Such social awareness at such a young age is very encouraging and great to see among our young people in rural areas. I have long been aware of the need to improve mental health support services in the bush, both for sufferers and for their carers and families. I have spoken in this place on a number of occasions about the importance of continued financial support for mental health initiatives. The federal government treat mental illness as a national health priority, and so we should. Substantial funding has been and is being made available in a number of areas, including significant contributions to the National Mental Health Strategy; $69 million to help combat mental health problems among young Australians, particularly problems associated with drug and alcohol abuse; $263 million for the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program, training 4,000 GPs in best practice treatment of mental illness; along with approximately $10 million provided by the government for suicide prevention each year. But, importantly, this government realises there is still more work to do, par-ticularly in rural and regional Australia, in terms of support services aimed at both prevention and treatment of mental illness. As a resident of a regional area I realise mental illness, particularly depression, in country areas is related to a variety of factors, some of them unique to rural life. For example, financial prob-lems, isolation, and drug and alcohol use can all contribute to depression in country areas which in some cases can sadly lead to suicide—as in the case of Kyra’s uncle—something that has a devas-tating impact on entire communities. Earlier this year, Professor Ian Hickie, clinical adviser to the national depression initiative beyondblue, said that, while research indicates mental illness rates in rural areas are not very different to the general population, suicide rates are higher in the bush. He said: We don’t necessarily see more mental disorders but we see worse outcomes, the worst of all being suicide amongst young, rural men. This nation is only now emerging from one of the worst droughts in living memory, but the social and economic stresses it has created will linger for some time yet as the farming sector slowly begins to recover. We need to ensure that there are adequate support structures in place to assist peo-ple faced with these sorts of stresses and, in doing so, hopefully we can circumvent the develop-ment of mental illnesses like depression. But as I have mentioned, it is not only prevention services that need attention; we must also focus on the treatment. The lack of health services in country areas to deal with mental illness when cases do arise needs to be addressed. More has to be done to ensure those living in rural locations have access to the same level of care and treatment as those living in the city, and it is important that these treatment outcomes reflect the needs of the rural population. The unique demands of rural and remote mental health services were the centre of discussions at the 10th New South Wales Rural Mental Health Conference last month in Tweed Heads. I am advised that conference acknowledged the multifaceted approach needed when addressing mental health in rural and regional areas and the need for mental health workers in rural areas to be multi-skilled across a variety of areas. But, while the need for improved support services is obvious, it is equally important that the community is educated and aware of the telltale signs of mental ill-nesses like depression and people are willing to talk openly about it with family and friends. We need to eliminate the stigma attached to the affliction if we are to make serious inroads into the problem, and I commend to this place Kyra Hansen and her family and friends for their efforts in raising such awareness through the Funky Fundraiser at Yass. Statistics show us that many Australians will be touched by mental illness. For instance, one in five people in Australia will experience depression at some point in their lives. The work being done by groups like the White Wreath Association is so vital to raising awareness of the need to address mental health and prevent the devastating impact of mental illness on families and town-ships around Australia. We need to give them the necessary support and encouragement in their ongoing quest to reduce suicide rates around the country. While state governments are responsible for specialist public mental health services, I believe we need to look at all governments and all the roles they play in addressing the matter. This gov-ernment has provided and will continue to provide substantial funding for mental health initia-tives. This government acknowledges the issues facing rural communities in terms of mental health: it has been a national health priority for close to a decade now. We, not just those of us in this place but also those in the other place, as well as our state political colleagues, all need to work towards a common goal—decreasing the incidence of mental illness and suicide not only in the bush but throughout the entire country. Our task now is to maintain the momentum building around specialised programs and bring mental health support to acceptable levels right across Australia. Our task is to listen to the voices of people like Kyra Hansen, a 12-year-old girl who had the vi-sion and belief that she could do something to make a difference. She had that belief and she made it happen. To see those young girls up on the stage in this very small, very old cinema in Yass, believing that they could make a difference and make a change was really something that we all should have the opportunity to see at some point. I commend Kyra and her friends to you and I can only congratulate them for what they have brought to this debate and for what they have shown can be achieved with real belief.

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