PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms JORDAN-BAIRD (Gorton) (10:46): It's an honour to rise today and speak on this important issue. I want to thank my good friend the member for Bonner for her motion today and for all she does in the Queensland community and in this place to champion better access to mental health services. October is Mental Health Month.
One in five adults experience a mental health challenge in any 12 months—that's almost half of us in our lifetime. This is something that is impacting Australians right across the country, including in my home in Melbourne's western suburbs, where, with a median age of 35, we have a community full of young people—the ones who are often hit hardest. No matter your age, the Albanese Labor government has invested in services that can help you.
We're creating a network of mental health services that are free under Medicare across the lifespan, so that we can meet people where they're at. For children aged zero to 12, there are Medicare mental health kids hubs. For young people there is headspace, and for adults there are Medicare mental health centres.
Through Medicare mental health check in, people can access early intervention and practical support before they reach crisis point. This motion is timely because this Thursday is RU OK? Day: a national day of action for suicide prevention.
It's a time to check in on your loved ones. Send that text, make that phone call and ask, 'Are you okay?' Sometimes a simple check in, a phone call or a conversation can save a life. I want to take a moment to talk about a local organisation from the Western suburbs, Sisters to Sisters, and acknowledge the work of Yodit.
Yodit is someone who has dedicated her working life to caring for others, particularly older Australians and people from vulnerable backgrounds. She brings compassion, empathy and resilience to that work. From her own experiences, Yodit knows the need and power of connecting with people from different cultural backgrounds.
After experiencing unimaginable trauma, Yodit settled in Australia, where she strove to build a better life for her family and to make a better future. However, Yodit quickly realised that being a new migrant came with a fresh set of challenges. Through Sisters to Sisters, she has created a space for women from the Eritrean community to come together, talk openly about mental health and support one another.
That kind of community led support matters, because in many communities there can still be stigma around talking about mental health, which can be compounded by language barriers, cultural differences and difficulties navigating an unfamiliar healthcare system. Yodit shared with me that, in the Eritrean community, there is still a lot of stigma about getting mental health assistance from a counsellor or psychologist.
Many members of the community still worry that needing this kind of help means you are unwell. For mums who might be struggling, whether that be with anxiety, depression, isolation, grief or something else, going to a counsellor might be too big of a first step. That's why Yodit founded Sisters to Sisters, to offer women in her community a safe place to discuss mental health—a place where they can build trust with other mums through self-care activities and share anything that might be on their minds, at their own pace, in a welcoming, non-judgemental environment.
Sometimes the first step towards getting help isn't about walking into a clinic; it's sitting down with someone you trust and being able to say, 'I am not okay.' People like Yodit are helping to make those conversations possible—just women to women, sisters to sisters. We need a mental health system that meets people where they're at, whether that's through a community organisation like Sisters to Sisters, a headspace, a Medicare mental health centre or a new early intervention service through Medicare.
To Yodit and to all those who know what it feels like to face stigma and to break down barriers, thank you. Mental health care should not depend on how much money you have, whether you have a diagnosis or whether you know where to go for help. It should be there when you need it.
We know this and our government knows this. It's why we're building a mental health system that is accessible, free through Medicare, focused on early intervention and available to Australians at every stage of their lives. I commend this motion to the House.