Radio interview with Assistant Minister McBride, ABC Radio Brisbane Breakfast – 18 June 2026

Media event date: 18 June 2026 Date published: 18 June 2026 Media type: General public LORETTA RYAN, HOST: I think most of you would have heard of an organisation called headspace. It's been around for almost 20 years. And during that time, it's grown to become the world's largest national network of youth mental health services.

CRAIG ZONCA, HOST: Yeah, and what's also grown is the rate of young people needing that help from headspace, which is showing no signs of slowing. Emma McBride is the Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. She's about to jump on a plane bound for Brisbane to deliver the keynote address to the headspace conference, and she'll do it knowing demand has never been greater.

Emma, good morning. ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Good to be with you, Craig and Loretta. Now, Emma, look, in 2007, it was, what, one in five young people accessing headspace.

How has that changed? As you've experienced in your communities and in classrooms and playgrounds around the country, that one in five has now doubled. Two in five young people in Australia today experience mental health challenges in any year, which is why headspace expanding and strengthening the network is a top priority for our government, including a more than $149 million investment to uplift headspace centres, 30 of them around the country, to headspace Plus, including three in Queensland.

So Emma, to deal with the problem, we have to work out what's contributing to this rise, why are so many young people suffering this. Do we know? We've heard, including from the Murdoch Institute report yesterday, showing that those aged 12 to 13 are most at risk of being harmed by social media.

But what we want to do is really to understand this better, which is why we're also creating Australia's first youth national mental health institute to continue to bring that innovation and the current research and evidence to any policy decisions or programs that we introduce or change. We know that we've got the social media laws in at the moment. Are they working?

What we've seen is that more than 5 million under-16s’ accounts have been deactivated since the law started in December. And we saw just recently Keir Starmer in the UK is now adopting this. It's been adopting internationally.

But what we know is that big tech companies need to do more to keep kids safe and from reactivating or making new accounts. As we've discussed before, over seven in 10 young Australians have seen content online they shouldn't be exposed to, predatory algorithms and like metrics targeting vulnerable young people, which is why we've acted and introduced the world's toughest social media age restrictions, really to protect young people online.

Yeah, and just on that though, even in your own friendship circle, Emma, I'm sure you hear from parents with teenagers who say, but our kids can still access it. You know, they might have lied about their date of birth, their age verification technology they've passed somehow, even though they might be 14 or 15. Are you getting that feedback and are you passing that on to the relevant minister, which is, of course, Anika Wells?

This is really about making big tech, social media companies, responsible for social harm. And, of course, when I hear about accounts being reactivated or making new accounts, I am passing that on because we need to make sure that big tech are accountable, that we protect young Australians online. It's why our independent eSafety Commissioner is actively investigating potential non-compliance.

It's why we're now going to be introducing a new Digital Duty of Care, all to protect especially the most vulnerable people online, including young people. Emma, we also hear about parents who are needing to take their kids to psychologists. And the trouble is accessing those psychologists.

Waitlists are never ending, and that's if the books are even open. What do you say to those parents? We want to make sure that any young person and the people that love them can get the support when they need it and close to home, which is why we're making- we made a $1.1 billion announcement at the election, the biggest investment by a Commonwealth in health and mental health – and the biggest portion of that, more than $700 million towards youth mental health.

I've spoken about the research that we're doing through the new institute. We'll also be expanding and strengthening the headspace network to make sure that young people can get that support sooner, including by introducing headspace Plus. So for those kids that are waiting, though, for those psychologists.

Will that get them in sooner? This is what this is aimed to do, to make sure that any young person waiting gets support sooner. If any parents are listening today, they can go to- they can call headspace on 1800-650-890.

They can jump online at www.headspace.org.au to look for the support that is closest to them, because we want to make sure that those 40 per cent of young people experiencing some form of mental health distress every year – which is not a statistic, Craig and Loretta, as you've mentioned, it's a friend, it's a family member, it's a loved one – can get that support now.

Emma McBride is with you, the Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Nineteen past seven here on 612 ABC Brisbane. Just before we let you go, Emma McBride, I have to ask for some reaction to what was a wide-ranging speech by Pauline Hanson, the One Nation leader, at the National Press Club yesterday.

We're covering the political fallout on that, I know, in again after eight o'clock this morning. But we've seen this huge surge in support for One Nation and for Pauline Hanson. As a member of the Labor Government right now, what do you think is contributing to that?

I think what we saw at the Press Club was that- a Press Club is an opportunity to present a positive plan to support Australians. Instead, what we saw was a plan to make it easier to sack Australian workers, to cut their wages, to cut healthcare, to cut Medicare, which really concerns me, especially with the focus that I have on mental health and particularly the mental health of young people.

In terms of what's driving it, I understand that people are doing it tough. I see that in my community, I see it in the regions and right across Australia. And what I want to emphasise to Australians who are struggling is that our priority is to cut cost of living, to make sure that you can get services when you need them.

And my particular priority in mental health and suicide prevention is to make sure that anyone who needs that support can get it and can get it affordably, whether it's free at a Kids' Hub or a headspace, or through Medicare Mental Health Centres. Appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much.

Good to be with you. Emma McBride, the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. And if you wanted to reach headspace, the national youth mental health service that Emma McBride mentioned, that number is 1800-650-890.

The Hon Emma McBride MP Mental health and suicide prevention Is there anything wrong with this page? Help us improve health.gov.au If you would like a response please provide an email address. Your email address is covered by our privacy policy Email address What you were doing?

(mandatory) What went wrong? (mandatory) Leave this field blank Accessibility We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past and present. © Commonwealth of Australia