STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr GOSLING (Solomon) (13:31): I also rise to raise the voice of a young Australian. Zahin, a 20-year-old second-year medical student in Darwin, wrote: Every morning that I wake up, I feel grateful. Grateful I live in a country where mental health is recognised as legitimate.

However, despite the enormous strides we have made, one demographic remains left behind: regional youth. The Australian institute of health and welfare found that youth mental health disorders are 1.6 times more prevalent in outer regional areas than in the major cities, and in very remote areas, there are only 2 psychiatrists per 100,000 people on average. As a young man, I can speak to this firsthand.

In 2020, I was diagnosed with a mental health condition. The hardest part about my struggle wasn't the condition itself, but the shame and confusion. Shame, because I thought I was weak.

Confusion, because I didn't know where to access support, or how long it would take. This is my story, but it's shared by countless others across regional Australia. That's why I'm calling on the Federal Government to ensure that where a young person lives doesn't impede their access to support, by bringing support closer to regional communities, investing in the workforce that delivers it, and by putting young people with lived experience at the heart of shaping service delivery.

I was obviously very happy and proud to speak with Zahin about the increased support that the federal Labor government is putting in not only to the workforce but also to headspaces around this country. I thank Zahin for taking a leadership role in raising his voice to bring the important issue of mental health for young Australians to this place.