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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (23 September) . . Page.. 3145 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

In addition to these specific developments in mental health services, the Department of Health and Community Care has been successful in attracting funds under the national youth suicide prevention strategy. Funds have been provided to all States and Territories to assist in collating information regarding youth suicide prevention activities. The ACT will receive $14,000, with payments to be made in three instalments up to March 1999. Nationally, the information gathered in the stocktake will provide a valuable resource to service providers for future service development, and in the ACT it will assist us in planning for the future. Funds have been provided for the development of suicide prevention training for professionals, including general practitioners, teachers, police and community workers. The ACT will receive $100,000, with payments again to be made in three staged instalments up to March 1999. Tenders have been sought for this project, and I am confident that it will provide a significant contribution to the health of young people.

As well as participating in these national initiatives, we have also recently announced the formation of the ACT youth suicide prevention task force. The task force will work with the Department of Health and Community Care on the formulation of a youth suicide prevention strategy for the ACT, which is expected to be in place before the end of the year. Members of the task force will be drawn from a wide range of fields, both government and non-government. Members will be chosen for their particular expertise and the contribution they can make to the strategy. I expect that the task force will have its first meeting before the end of the month and that, soon after that, it will begin its consultations on the development of the strategy.

I am also happy to report to the Assembly that we are tabling the report of Mental Health Services in the ACT for the period 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997. The report will provide detail of the reforms that I have briefly described today; advise on some of the key strategic issues for the future; describe the services provided for people with mental illness; and provide some key statistics such as the Mental Health Tribunal workload statistics. The production of the first report of Mental Health Services is an important step in ensuring accountability. I am pleased that, in keeping with the undertaking I made in Moving Ahead, it will be distributed to members in the very near future. Mr Speaker, it has been my pleasure to report to the Assembly on the range of advances that have been made in this important area of service provision, and I look forward to reporting again in the future. I present the following paper:

Mental health services in the Australian Capital Territory - ministerial statement, 23 September 1997.

I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

MR BERRY (Leader of the Opposition) (4.02): It is more in sorrow than in anger, Mr Speaker, that I rise again to comment on a statement from this Health Minister in relation to mental health services in the ACT, which has in many ways highlighted the inaction within that area. The first thing I would like to say is that I think this statement was designed to pre-empt the report of an inquiry into mental health services that is being

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