Page 215 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
supports surrounding youth suicide, what we are able to do on the matter, and I am confident that as a compassionate group of people we can work towards better outcomes for the health and wellbeing of young people.
I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Capital Metro, Minister for Health, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Climate Change) (10.42): I move the amendment to Mrs Jones’s motion that I have circulated in my name:
Omit all words after “(2)”, substitute:
“(2) resolves to refer the issues related to youth suicide and self-harm to the Standing Committee on Health, Ageing, Community and Social Services to examine the extent and impact of these in the ACT, having regard to:
(a) ACT Government and Commonwealth Government roles and responsibilities in regard to youth mental health and suicide prevention, particularly in relation to the recently announced Commonwealth response to the National Mental Health Commission Report and the mental health and suicide commissioning role for the Primary Healthcare Networks as it affects the ACT;
(b) any gaps or duplicate roles and responsibilities;
(c) whether there are unique factors contributing to youth suicide in the ACT, taking into account the small number of young people who have died by suicide in the ACT in recent years, and the impact public investigation may have on families and close friends, that can be identified through submissions and expert witnesses; and
(d) ACT Government-funded services, agencies and institutions, including schools, youth centres, and specialist housing service providers’ role in promoting resilience and responding to mental health issues in children and young people; and
the Standing Committee on Health, Ageing, Community and Social Services will report back to the Legislative Assembly by the last sitting day of 2016.”.
First of all, I thank Mrs Jones for bringing this motion on this morning. There is nothing potentially more important than the mental health of children and young people in our community. Mental illness is very common and it affects around one in five Australians every year. As such, that is nearly 80,000 Canberrans who experience a mental illness each and every year. Most of these people will have a mild to moderate form of mental illness that will respond well to interventions and support at a primary health level. However, there are probably about 10,000 people each year who require treatment and support through publicly funded hospital or community sector mental health services.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video