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SUPPORT FOR YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH IN REGIONAL SOUTH AUSTRALIA VITAL
 

Investing in community mental health services, and support for families and carers of Australians living with mental illness, is critical to providing appropriate care and support.
 
Labor made mental health a priority in Government and continues to believe that improving support and treatment for people with a mental illness is a vital primary health measure.
 
We will continue to hold the Government to account and push for funding to be delivered across South Australia, particularly the regions of our state.
 
Labor welcomed the recent, but overdue, announcements by Minister Hunt on the Inter­generational Health and Mental Health Survey and the creation of a child mental health plan.
 
The child mental health plan was a key recommendation of the 2014 Mental Health Commission’s review of mental health programs and services. That means this third-term Liberal Government was told five years ago that it needed a strategy to help the one in seven Australian kids experiencing a mental health issue.
 
Almost half the total Australian population will experience a mental health disorder at some time in their lives. Around 600,000 children between the ages of four and 17 are affected by a clinically-significant mental health problem.
 
Australia needs a plan that is evidence-based using meaningful data and credible research to address this growing concern.
 
“It was a great experience to be in Murray Bridge today with headspace’s Clinical Lead Suzanne Fuzzard to see all the wonderful work they are doing for young people in Murray Bridge and the surrounding region. They’re doing a great job helping young people who are going through a rough time.”
 
“Improving access to support and treatment for young people with a mental illness, especially in regional Australia, is an important public health objective.”
 
“Headspace deliver for young people in regional South Australia every day, but they need more support and investment to reach greater numbers of young people,” Senator Smith Said.
 
Labor stands committed to taking real action on mental health and will hold the Government to account on its promised investment in Australia’s health system.
 
WEDNESDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2019