Mental health funding
Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:16): (889) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. A third of all calls to Lifeline emanate from people living in Victoria. However, only 12.5 per cent of Lifeline’s national call volume is answered in Victoria. Many of Lifeline’s centres in Victoria are under significant financial pressure, and there is real need for increased state government funding so Victorian Lifeline centres can deliver for people who are reaching out for help in times of distress. Will the minister therefore commit to increasing funding to Lifeline in Victoria as per Lifeline Australia’s prebudget proposal as state governments in New South Wales and in Queensland have already done?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:17): I thank Ms Bath for her question, and it is an important issue. The mental health and wellbeing of all Victorians is a really key focus of the Allan Labor government. Obviously we have been working hard to implement the recommendations of the royal commission, and one of the key pillars of that has been to make sure that there are mental health services not just in acute settings but in community settings right across the state. That is why we have been focused on the rollout of the hubs that support those locals across different regions. Of course our important call lines across the mental health service – there are a number of them, including Lifeline – do an incredible job, and I do want to acknowledge the work that Lifeline does right across the state. Of course they have been doing outstanding work, particularly in the immediate aftermath of emergencies across the state, to support Victorians with their mental health.
One of the key recommendations of the royal commission was to look at how we can streamline call services across the mental health system, and Lifeline have been leaders in that work and have done some great work to consolidate some of the pre-existing services, which have been in some cases duplicative, to bring those efforts together in a more streamlined way. Obviously you would understand that there is a budget process underway, and I am certainly not in a position to pre-empt the decisions of that process. The Treasurer will deliver the budget in the normal course of events, and you would be familiar with that process. But as mental health minister my focus will be on looking at improving and increasing the availability of supports to all Victorians, whether they live in regional, rural or metropolitan areas across the mental health system.
Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:19): I thank the minister for her response, and I am sure she will advocate for that funding, as requested by Lifeline Australia’s prebudget proposal. Minister, the highly successful 24/7 national Indigenous crisis support line service 13YARN is still not being delivered out of Victoria because Victorian Lifeline centres do not have the capacity to deliver those services. Is it the minister’s policy to bring the mental health benefits and the employment opportunities of the 13YARN program to Indigenous people in Victoria, or will you ignore this important funding request?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:20): I thank Ms Bath for her supplementary question. I am not sure that you have got the facts quite right there. The Victorian government is very proud to support a number of First Nations supports, whether that is in suicide prevention or mental health and wellbeing supports, including the Yarning SafeNStrong 24-hour culturally responsive and safe service for First Nations people. So we already do support that program. We work closely with our ACCHOs, because one thing that I am certainly very mindful of is that Aboriginal health services, including mental health, social and emotional wellbeing supports, need to be determined by those communities because they understand best what their communities’ needs are.