Jeremy Buckingham speaking in parliament on mental health funding on March 12, 2024.
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00:00 I give notice on the next sitting day I'll move one that this house notes that according
00:03 to the Australian Government Institute of Health and Welfare as of July 2023, suicide
00:10 was the second leading cause of death in Australia for children aged between 5 and 17 years at
00:15 15.5% of deaths.
00:18 B. Suicide was the leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24 at 36% of deaths.
00:26 C. For people aged 25 to 44, the leading cause of death was suicide at 22%.
00:33 And C. Over three quarters, 75.6% of people who died by suicide were male.
00:40 2. That this house further notes that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, A.
00:45 Suicide was the cause of death that accounted for the highest number of years of potential
00:49 life loss for both males and females due to the high proportion of suicides that occur
00:53 within younger age groups.
00:55 I. A person who died by suicide lost on average 35.6 years of life.
01:00 B. Almost 85.8% of people who died by suicide had risk factors identified.
01:06 I. The most recorded suicide risk factors included mood affective disorders, suicide
01:14 ideation, problems with spousal relationships and personal history of self-harm.
01:18 3. That this house notes that suicides are potentially avoidable deaths that may have
01:26 been avoided through individualised care or hospitalisation.
01:30 4. That this house notes that the March 2023 report presented by the NSW branch of the
01:36 Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and an alliance of peak health and mental
01:41 health groups found, A. Triage and assessment services are piecemeal, so people often miss
01:46 out on getting an accurate diagnosis early and hence the right to a management plan.
01:51 B. Services that scored poorly on access and equity measures, particularly private psychiatry
01:56 and psychology, scored significantly higher on effectiveness.
02:00 C. There are not enough hospital beds.
02:03 D. It's almost impossible to access community follow-up for patients who are not on community
02:08 treatment orders unless they can pay for private providers.
02:11 E. People with a lifetime complex cognitive and mental health impairments who demonstrate
02:16 aggression often without acute diagnosis are channelled into the criminal justice system.
02:21 5. That this house further notes the Sydney Morning Herald article written by Mary Ward
02:25 on 11 March 2024 which said, A. Long wait times, a shortage of hospital beds and rising
02:34 demand for adolescent care have left NSW mental health services in a "constant state of crisis".
02:41 B. A 2023 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found mental health issues
02:46 represented 15% of NSW's total burden of disease, yet only 6.5% of the state's total health
02:54 budget was spent on mental health.
02:56 C. Professor Samuel Harvey, Executive Director of the Black Dog Institute and member of the
03:01 NSW Mental Health Alliance said, "The fact is the NSW mental health system is critically
03:07 underfunded and on the brink of collapse."
03:09 D. It was revealed last month that a $7.5 million plan to build a four-bed dedicated
03:17 adolescent mental health unit at Northern Beeches Hospital had been abandoned and replaced
03:21 with a $500,000 safe haven at Brookvale Community Health Centre.
03:26 E. Sydney is at risk of losing 70 private psychiatric beds as Wesley Mission intends
03:32 closing hospitals in Ashfield and Coggera.
03:35 F. In 2021, a woman waited 27 hours with her suicidal teenager at a major Sydney emergency
03:56 department and still didn't see a psychiatrist.
04:05 This House calls on the Government to consider increasing funding for mental health services
04:10 and suicide prevention programs using
04:12 A. The current 15% point of consumption tax on gambling and wagering and/or
04:19 B. A mental health levy like Victoria and Queensland, which have implemented
04:23 C. Payroll taxes at 0.5% on taxable wages over $10 million and
04:28 D. An additional 0.5% of taxable wages over $100 million.