The New South Wales government has announced a significant increase in mental health funding, allocating over $111 million in this month’s budget. This decision comes in the wake of the fatal Bondi attack in April, which brought to light several deficiencies in the current system. The additional funding is set to expand community mental health teams throughout the state, including the creation of extra positions to better serve the community’s needs. Reporter Chantelle Al-Khouri will provide further details on how this funding will be implemented and its expected impact.
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00:00 So, there are a couple of measures in this announcement.
00:05 So, the package is going to include some support for alternatives
00:08 to long-term hospital care for people with complex mental health needs.
00:13 Also, last year, there were more than 124,000 people
00:17 who went to New South Wales emergency departments
00:20 presenting with mental health issues.
00:22 So, that's something the government said they wanted to tackle.
00:24 So, with this announcement, they're trying to ease
00:26 some of the pressure that's on the state's emergency departments
00:29 with a $39 million boost,
00:31 and they're creating a new avenue for people to receive advice
00:35 from, you know, specialist clinicians
00:37 and also to help connect people to the right services
00:40 that they need for their mental health issues.
00:42 The government also says that this funding will allow
00:44 a focus on homeless people in this country
00:47 who are slipping through the cracks in the health system.
00:51 We did hear from the New South Wales Premier, Chris Mins, a little earlier.
00:54 He says, look, he knows this is, you know, a small measure,
00:57 that there's still a long way to go with this.
01:00 He also says that advocates have been waiting for something like this
01:04 for a while, but he's not declaring victory.
01:05 He knows there's a long way to go.
01:06 We heard a little bit from him a little earlier.
01:08 Here's what he had to say.
01:10 If we can make an early investment with new initiatives
01:14 that are actually working in the community,
01:16 then not only can we save money
01:18 when it comes to other parts of spending
01:20 for the New South Wales government,
01:22 we can make a difference with someone's life
01:24 who's going through a terrible experience
01:25 and may be suffering from crippling mental health diagnosis.
01:29 We also heard from the New South Wales Mental Health Minister,
01:32 Rose Jackson, a little earlier.
01:34 She says that some of the recent tragedies that we've seen,
01:36 including that Bondi attack,
01:38 kind of highlighted some of the issues
01:41 that are in the mental health space
01:43 and that it also elevated a conversation in the community
01:46 about mental health.
01:47 She said what happened in Bondi
01:50 also highlighted the consequences
01:51 of not having adequate services in place,
01:54 which is why they're focusing on this for the budget this month.
01:57 For those who don't know or don't remember the details,
02:00 Joel Couchie killed six people
02:02 in that Bondi Junction Westfield attack
02:05 before he was shot dead by police.
02:07 Now, after that attack, the New South Wales Premier at the time
02:11 said that a government-funded coronial inquiry,
02:13 an independent inquiry,
02:15 would probe whether there is enough adequate funding
02:18 or sufficient funding in the mental health space
02:20 in New South Wales.
02:21 So, he's still saying there's a long way to go,
02:23 but this is their first announcement ahead of the budget.
02:26 Thank you.
02:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]