Page 4370 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 13 October 2009
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ended up being a document that did receive broad support across the community. So I think we can do more of that. We can always do better. It is not just a case of more money; it is a case of making sure our current expenditure is used effectively in meeting the needs of people living with a mental health illness in the community and acknowledging that the majority of recovery and care occurs in the community and not in the acute setting, even though it is usually the acute that gets a lot of the focus, and indeed that will not change quickly. But I think if we all work together it can change over time.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (3.57): I thank Ms Porter for the matter of public importance. The Greens recognise the importance of the government and the community working together, and these partnerships can result in very positive outcomes for people experiencing mental illness. What is also important, though, is to have a well-resourced and supported community sector which can provide services in its own right.
Mental health is a matter to which the Greens are deeply committed. If we are to improve the lives of people living with a serious mental illness, we need to provide appropriate services for people to get better and stay well. To do that we need to provide mental health services via community organisations, as they can more actively work with consumers on their recovery journey by providing a more trusting environment, developing peer support networks and being more flexible in the delivery of wraparound services. If we can do these things, perhaps we can stop that revolving door of the emergency department and mental health inpatient units.
Given the Greens’ commitment to this issue, we did include specific items on this issue in the parliamentary agreement, which has already been referred to by Ms Gallagher. In recognition of the underfunding of mental health services, the agreement proposes that 12 per cent of health expenditure be delivered via mental health services. And I was pleased to see ACT Health dedicate 7.77 per cent of its budget to mental health services, up from 7.08 per cent the previous year. It will take time to reach this goal of 12 per cent given the history of lack of funding to mental health services, particularly after deinstitutionalisation occurred. That is why each year, through each budget, we would like to see an extra amount of funding put towards mental health so that we are making continual movement towards that goal. I would also like to note that at the Mental Health Community Coalition election forum Mr Smyth actually committed the Liberals to this goal of 12 per cent.
There is also a goal to see 30 per cent of mental health funding delivered via community organisations. The strong engagement of communities through the expanded use of community sector services characterises the world’s most innovative and progressive mental health systems. New Zealand is an example which is often used where funding to community-based and community-run services has led to very positive outcomes for people with mental illness. In the ACT the current figure is 13 per cent. However, it is important to note that in the last budget we did see an increase in funding to this sector from $6.5 million in 2007-08 to around $9.5 million in 2009-10.
The other parliamentary agreement item I would like to mention is the commitment to an increase in the level of funding provided to emergency service workers; again
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