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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2420 ..

MS FOLLETT (continuing):

I did want to make a brief comment, Mr Speaker, about the issue of funding for mental health services. I am acutely aware of the need to avoid scoring cheap points which I think can only compound the hurt all around that has been caused by the tragedy that occurred here on Friday. I do think that it has highlighted the need for action, both here in the ACT and at a national level. I would urge Mrs Carnell to respond in a positive way to the proposal that the Federal Minister for Human Services and Health has put forward for a national task force to address problems in this area.

Mr Speaker, I would like to comment briefly also on some of the specific findings of the Estimates Committee. I am sure that its non-Executive members - not to mention the Government itself - will by now be only too aware that the committee found that the budget in the area of mental health was presented in a misleading way whereby the Carnell Government appeared to be trying to take the credit for Commonwealth funding. The committee was very concerned that the Commonwealth funding in question might end in 1998 - the scenario that I spoke of earlier - leaving the ACT and the people here who suffer from a mental illness with very little support in this area.

As was shown by the vote on my motion on Tuesday, it is the clear view of this Assembly, of the parliament of the Territory, that the Government should reconsider its funding arrangements for mental health as a matter of urgency. It is now a matter of record that Mrs Carnell gave the Assembly's resolution and the Estimates Committee recommendations very short shrift. They were dealt with over lunch on Tuesday, as far as I can remember, and, Mr Speaker, I do not think that was good enough. I think that the Government should have taken a great deal more notice of the parliament.

I would like to reiterate what happened in the Estimates Committee, Mr Speaker, because I think it was fairly extraordinary. The Estimates Committee sought a guarantee from Mrs Carnell's department that adequate resources would be provided for mental health or to implement a mental health plan. The department's response was clearly less than satisfactory. On the one hand, they advised that increased funding for mental health would be premature at this stage - premature; I do not believe it - because sufficient trained staff and structures are not in place to utilise increased resources. What a cop-out! On the other hand, Mr Speaker, the committee was told by the department that the ACT mental health plan could be implemented only when the funds are available. It is a classic catch-22 situation. It may be that the department handled that clumsily; it may be that that is not what they really meant. But that is very much the evidence that was given to the Estimates Committee and that the Estimates Committee, quite rightly, in my view, found totally inadequate.

Mr Speaker, I believe that the Government must take the necessary steps to make sure that there are adequate funds to implement the ACT mental health plan as a matter of urgency, and that means taking action - something which we have heard Mrs Carnell indicate that she is anxious to do. I hope, on this occasion anyway, that she does a bit more than just hold a forum. On the issue of mental health, Mr Speaker, there is scope for a bipartisan approach. I think it should be, if at all possible, above politics; but that means honest and open dealing on both sides. In view of the tragedy that has occurred, as I have said before, I would be interested in taking a bipartisan approach to this issue, and also a national approach. So I leave that with the Government to further consider.

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