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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 1787 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

I want to draw your attention to the requirements of the legislation which was passed by this Assembly. It envisaged and indeed required the appointment of a Director of Mental Health Services. Section 113 states:

The Director has the following functions:

(a) to provide treatment, care, rehabilitation and protection for persons who have a psychiatric illness;

(b) to rationalise and coordinate mental health services and to promote the establishment of community-based mental health services for the purpose of enabling, whenever possible, the treatment of persons who have a psychiatric illness otherwise than in an institution;

(c) to promote research into psychiatric illness;

(d) to assist in the training and education of persons who have a psychiatric illness;

(e) to consult with voluntary agencies and self-help, ethnic and other appropriate groups to ensure the provision of appropriate mental health services;

(f) to make reports and recommendations to the Minister with respect to matters affecting the provision of treatment, care, control, accommodation, maintenance and protection for persons who have a psychiatric illness;

(g) to promote informed public opinion on matters of mental health by publishing reports and information concerning mental health and to promote public understanding of and involvement in measures for the prevention and treatment of psychiatric illness and the treatment, care, control, rehabilitation and protection of persons who have a psychiatric illness.

Mr Speaker, the legislation envisages the appointment of a very senior person to look after the interests of the mentally ill in the ACT and to look after mental health services. The appointment of nine Directors of Mental Health Services does not provide the stability that is required in this very important health service in the ACT.

What has happened as a result of Mrs Carnell's squabbling with psychiatrists in the ACT is that the leadership of the Mental Health Service is unstable and the treatment and care of people within the service are at risk. Mrs Carnell has proved herself to be totally incompetent on the issue of mental health services in the ACT. I cannot understand why it is that she would adopt an approach by which, over a period of nine months, we would end up in a situation where we would have nine Directors of Mental Health Services. I think it is a shameful situation and I think it demonstrates that Mrs Carnell is just not up to the job of Minister for Health.

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