Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026

Ms BRISKEY (Maribyrnong) (12:05): We cannot talk about health care without talking about mental health. Every one of us knows someone who has struggled—a relative, a friend, a colleague—or perhaps we ourselves have. Mental health challenges don't discriminate: they affect people in every community, across every age group and every walk of life.

And, sadly, for too many, it ends in tragedy. Unfortunately, mental illness has a long history of being stigmatised and misunderstood. Our mental health has been treated as less important than our physical health, but the truth is: mental health is just as important.

And, just as we expect to be able to see a doctor when we're physically unwell, Australians deserve access to high-quality, affordable, mental health care when they need it. That's why the Albanese Labor government is investing $1 billion to roll out even more places across Australia so that people can go and access free public mental health care, backed by Medicare.

Every Australian, no matter where they live or what they earn, deserves access to affordable, compassionate care. We know there are deep structural issues with the current system. We know the workforce shortage is real.

The reform won't happen overnight, but we're getting on with the job of fixing it. Our billion-dollar mental health package represents the single largest expansion of free public mental health services in our nation's history. It will deliver 31 new and upgraded Medicare mental health centres—free walk-in services where Australians can get their help without a referral or an appointment; 20 new youth specialist care centres, for young people with complex needs, offering wraparound support including mental health care, drug and alcohol services, and pathways to study and work; and eight new perinatal mental health centres, to support new parents during those early months when life can feel really overwhelming.

Of course, none of this works without the people to deliver it. That's why we're creating 1,200 new training places for mental health professionals and peer workers—skilled, compassionate people, ready to listen, to support and to care. And that's on top of the additional $361 million over four years under our new mental health services, in a stronger Medicare package, which includes $163.9 million for a new national early intervention service that anyone can access for free whenever they need it.

I'm especially proud that this commitment reaches into my own electorate of Maribyrnong. Today is headspace day, and soon young people in Melbourne's north-west will have better access to free wraparound support through a brand-new headspace service in Moonee Valley. The Albanese Labor government is investing $6.2 million over four years to establish this service, and it's expected to open in the first half of next year.

This is all part of a broader $200 million investment to deliver 58 new, upgraded or expanded headspace services across the country. As a child and youth psychologist, I know firsthand how critical early intervention is. It can mean the difference between years of silent struggle and the chance to thrive.

That's why I'm a strong advocate for headspace in Moonee Valley and why I'm proud to work alongside Minister Butler and Assistant Minister McBride to make it a reality. Reforming mental health care is not a one-off task; it's a long-term commitment—one that demands collaboration between governments, the health workforce and those with lived experience. The previous coalition government failed to make the necessary structural investments.

They left a system that was fragmented and inaccessible, and a workforce stretched to its limit. We're fixing that. We are rebuilding a mental health system that is public, coordinated and equitable—one that delivers for those who need it most.

For too long, the stigma attached to mental health meant it came a distant second to physical health. The Albanese Labor government is changing that. We are expanding services, rebuilding the workforce and embedding lived experience at the heart of our reform, because this is what Labor stands for: care, access and equity, no matter your postcode, no matter your pay cheque.

There's still work to do, but we're delivering the change Australians voted for and a system that they deserve: one that's fairer, kinder and there when people need it most—no more stigma; no more lives lost—helping all Australians to live happy, healthy lives.