STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr BUCHHOLZ (Wright) (16:43): This week marks R U OK? Day. It's a day that we should all very well be aware of.

R U OK? Day is about Australians being asked to do something remarkably simple, and that's just to check in with each other. It reminds me of a painful incident when I asked a great friend of mine if he was okay.

In mentoring those when asking that question, be prepared when they say, 'No, I'm not.' It's easy to say, 'Are you okay?' It's difficult to do what needs to be done next when they say, 'No, I'm not.' I was caught. So I listened to him, and I thought, 'What do I do? How do I react to this?' So I invited him down to the farm.

I said, 'Mate, pack a bag; come down to me for a couple of days.' I got him on a tractor. I got him doing some jobs around the place. It appeared that spending a couple of days at home offered some solitude.

A number of weeks later he took his own life. Mental health and depression is such a scourge. If R U OK?

Day is a day that reminds us to do more, then I sing its praise.