Thursday, 4 August 2022

Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Mr MERLINO:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (16:15): I got it right this time. Fantastic. I am not the minister and I am not the Clerk; I am the member for Bayswater, and I am here to kick off debate again on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022. It is a great privilege to speak on this bill and speak in support of it. I would just like to start by acknowledging the fantastic work of the previous Minister for Mental Health and the current minister and the entire team. I know there has been a lot of work and a lot of dedication, and of course it has been extremely well supported and obviously crafted with a great deal of work from the department. It is always important to acknowledge those people who have done a great deal of work to get to this point.

Given that this is a significant part of the reforms and one of the recommendations that we are acquitting as part of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the lived experience and the voices of so many people that have led us to this point. Whilst this is directly acquitting one recommendation, I will go on and talk about some of the other things that we are doing that obviously lead into, as part of this fantastic work, this very important generational reform in Victoria. I would like to put on record and begin my contribution by thanking all of those people for all of those very, very important and on many occasions extremely difficult things they recounted—their lived experience—through the royal commission that have led us to this point.

Of course we are here to establish through this bill the statutory framework necessary to reform Victoria’s mental health system and achieve the vision of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. We know the context. In March 2021 the commission released its final report. The government is committed to implementing the recommendations in full. The royal commission recommended, through recommendation 42, that we repeal and replace the act with a new mental health and wellbeing act by mid-2022—and here we are. This bill will deliver on this recommendation and acquit or lay the foundations to progress a further 28 recommendations.

The bill will repeal and replace the Mental Health Act 2014 and will do a range of things. It will bring into scope regulation of a broader group of mental health and wellbeing services, establish new government oversight entities, introduce new rights-based principles, establish in legislation an opt-out model of access to non-legal mental health advocacy services, regulate the use of chemical restraint in mental health services for the first time in Victoria, introduce new measures to support a reduction in the use and impact of compulsory assessment and treatment and restrictive interventions, increase the uptake of safeguards that promote supported decision-making and the agency and autonomy of people living with mental illness, and of course enable new mental health-led responses to people experiencing mental health crisis in the community.

It is incredibly important that I talk about some of the background and the context for this bill. I think of the fact that things like this take bold reform. They take bold steps, and they also take a government who are willing to admit that they do not get everything right and a government that take decisive action. I think way back when to 2014 when I was sitting on my couch in Wantirna. I remember the Royal Commission into Family Violence and in 2014 this government committing to implement one if it was elected. It did that. It committed to all of those recommendations, and we are kicking on with that really, really important work. Particularly given my background and my experiences in my life and professionally as well, it is critically important work. Again, that takes bold, decisive action and a commitment to see it through, listen to the experts and listen to the voices. That led us to that reform.

Again, in 2018—before I was even the candidate for Bayswater—from recollection there was the announcement in the men’s shed talking about the underinvestment and talking about creating a mental health system that Victorians deserve and not laying the blame in any single person’s or single government’s hands but saying that we all must do better, that we must set upon a range of reforms, and, through the royal commission, let them do their work and that we would implement every single one of the recommendations and of course fund them as well. That is extremely bold. I was very proud, even before my time in, and now being part of, this government, that there was a government in this nation—and I am very proud to be part of this government—that was willing to say, ‘We’ve got to do better, guys. We have got to do better’. To now be here being part of that solution as part of the team is a very proud moment, but of course my role is small. I feel quite insignificant compared to the roles of so many before me and those who have done the lifting of mountains to get to this point.

Look, speaking to locals—and I am sure this experience is the same for any member of Parliament, Labor, Liberal, Greens, independent et cetera et cetera—this means a lot. This is something we have spoken about often. This is going to change lives and it is going to save lives. This mental health bill really does help to lay the foundations. It acquits one of those recommendations but really is a commitment to the community and an ongoing commitment to Victorians that we are getting on with this work, that we are reforming the mental health system and that we absolutely want to make sure that Victorians get the mental health system that they well and truly deserve.

Of course the report was quite a read and quite extraordinary, and also the government’s response, but it is important to fund that stuff. Our commitment was to do exactly that, and since 2019, $6 billion—this is nation leading. This beats and exceeds what the federal government has committed across the entire country, and this is just here in Victoria. That is our government’s commitment, absolutely mammoth. I will go through and take the house through some of the funding commitments, but I do want to talk about the interim report. In the interim report on page 543 under ‘A new approach to mental health investment’, there is a recommendation that:

… the Victorian Government designs and implements a new approach to mental health investment comprising:

a new revenue mechanism … for the provision of operational funding for mental health services …

There was a recommendation, which of course we took up in the government as our commitment, ‘Funding for a better mental health system’:

A substantial increase in investment will be required to deliver the scale of reform needed to achieve a contemporary mental health system in Victoria.

It goes on:

There is crucial work to be done by the Victorian Government to design and implement a new revenue mechanism. Starting this work now will ensure adequate funding is available to implement the Commission’s final recommendations and support enduring reform of the mental health system.

Then it goes on, on page 544, under ‘Need for increased investment’:

The Commission considers that there is a clear and significant need for increased investment in Victoria’s mental health system.

Then we go to page 560, under ‘Recommended process’, from experts, listening to lived experience:

The Commission recommends that the Victorian Government adopts a new approach to secure a dedicated and stable level of investment for the mental health system.

It then goes on to tell, through its report, why it recommends that. Of course the government absolutely in full has taken up that recommendation. We will acquit it, and obviously we are getting on with that important work.

I have a couple of minutes left. Just very briefly, as a part of context, when I put material out to my community I talk about the government’s plan, I talk about positivity, I talk about supporting Victorians and I talk about supporting our mental health system and understanding we have not done everything perfectly. But to think there are some who have used that material as an opportunity and have used their voice in this place to say, ‘You are wrong. Lived experience, you are wrong. Royal commission, you are wrong. This is a tax. That’s simply what it is’. For two years let us just say a few opposite spent time campaigning against this, and we still do not know what their position is. I cannot believe it. With the great opportunity and privilege that I have, my personal view on this is I want to do good. I want to listen to experts. I want to get out there and work with my community, provide better health care, provide better emergency services and provide better schools. One of the most primary functions of government is of course to support our healthcare workers, support our healthcare system and understand that we all have a role to play in providing for better mental health care and providing a better mental health care system. We are all part of that solution.

I think the government acknowledged that we have not done everything right, that we have not been perfect, but it is not about one side or the other. It is about coming together. I really hope that we can have a bipartisan position on funding for something that is not something that government has handed down a report on, this is a report from experts on a royal commission, people who have done the work, who have done the legwork. I mean, just look at some of the stuff. Despite the work of the royal commission, there have been numerous statements—you know, ‘If we can, we will’. In some of those throwaway lines we have heard real opposition to making sure of our mental health care system, regardless of who is in government—Labor, Liberal, whatever the case may be.

I hope that for as long as possible it is a Labor government, because only a Labor government will fund health care properly. Only a Labor government will make sure the mental health care system is grown, is properly invested in and is supported so that people can have the facilities, the support and the treatment that they need and that they deserve. For too long we have not done enough. We have not been good enough, and this work, this commitment to Victoria, is about righting those wrongs and doing exactly that. I hope we can all get behind this. I am sure we will all be supporting this bill today and supporting the funding model which backs that work in.

Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (16:25): I am glad today to be speaking on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022. It is a pivotal part of the most extensive reform of the mental health system in Victorian history. It is also a crucial component in our commitment to delivering every single recommendation from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. But before I go on I would like to echo a sentiment expressed by many of my colleagues, principally that if you have lived and/or a living experience of mental illness, whether you have dealt with it yourself or you are family or a carer or a supporter, you recognise the importance of addressing this particular illness.

Our mental health strategy contains three fundamental pillars of reform: significant workforce expansion; sustainable ongoing investment; and—what this bill is delivering—legislative transformation. The past three state budgets since the royal commission’s November 2019 interim report have injected over $6 billion into mental health reform in Victoria. Indeed work is underway now on 90 per cent of the royal commission recommendations, 18 months since the release of the final report.

I would also like to remind everyone here that this should not be a partisan issue—and I think we generally accept that up to a point. Every one of our lives has been touched by this issue, and so has every one of our constituents. This should not be a political issue to deal with, yet the opposition has not made an ironclad commitment to implement every recommendation from the royal commission. This is not the time for Thatcherism, this is the time to expand services so that every Victorian can have access to the mental health services they need. However, the opposition will not accept the recommendation by the interim report of the royal commission to create a dedicated mental health levy. I think that this is disappointing, because what this means is if one does not accept a levy based on, say, a percentage or some other formula, then we have got, in a sense, a bit of a barney, a fight, over how much and arguments about, ‘Well, is it well spent?’ or ‘Should there be more?’ and so on. And it is a pity, because that just distracts us from getting on with the main game. This is not really a talking point, it is just a political strategy—and what we are talking about is lives. I would hope that we will be able to revisit the mental health levy at some time in the future. The issue really should transcend politics—something which is recognised by stakeholders and mental health advocates. So I would ask the opposition to match our commitment to implementing every single recommendation of the royal commission into mental health.

I would like to talk now about the state of mental health in the electorate of Hawthorn. In 2015 VicHealth released resilience scores on different regions in Victoria. These are numbers between zero and 8 which aim to measure people’s resilience in a crisis. In Boroondara the average score was 6.4, which is around the Victorian average. However, what is a major point of concern for me is that the lowest resilience score in Boroondara came from the 18 to 24 age group; the group that is most affected is in the area of youth between 18 and 24. This shows the vulnerability of our younger constituents to mental illness. This is reflected in a 2018 VicHealth study that showed that 75 per cent of adult mental health conditions emerge by the age of 24. The importance of the action we take today to counteract this issue therefore cannot be overstated. We must do everything in our power here in this chamber to assist those suffering or at risk of suffering from mental health issues.

During my time as the member for Hawthorn many constituents have contacted me exhausted from societal pressures. I would like to use the example of two constituents who recently contacted me about this bill. They are in their 70s and explained how they have struggled daily with the deaths of their children in the last few years. As a parent I could not imagine losing one of my children, and this couple’s story was truly heart wrenching. Their children suffered from a combination of alcohol dependence, anxiety and depression. These afflictions are commonplace throughout our society; however, our system still failed to meet their needs. We are committed in this chamber to doing everything in our power to stop situations like this from ever happening again or from worsening. These parents still rely on support groups and our existing infrastructure, and I am confident that this bill will help them deal with these issues.

I was glad when my new federal neighbour Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah recently helped open a new Headspace centre in the nearby Malvern electorate, and I am thankful that we finally have a federal government who will treat this issue with as much seriousness as we have in this chamber. The previous federal government managed to spend even less in this area, despite having considerably more funds. Those in the opposition have consistently flip-flopped on providing the resources needed to implement the royal commission’s recommendations.

This bill will lay out a blueprint for building a compassionate and effective mental health and wellbeing system from the ground up. I would like all those suffering from mental health issues to know that they are not alone and that they have a state government that is working night and day to create a new, better mental health system. We will continue to fund the required programs in this area, and we will continue to pass legislation like this when it is needed. I spent my career in education, and I am glad today to have witnessed over the course of 40 years a complete change in the way people treat mental health issues. The removal of stigma around mental ill health has broken down cultural barriers for Australians in accessing these services.

The funding provided by this government and this bill are part of an overarching strategy to build a new, better system. This reform is not just for Australians today but for building a system for generations to come. But for this system to last for generations we need emphatic bipartisan support for it. All of our lives have been touched by this issue, and I am absolutely sure that those opposite me have helped constituents affected by this issue, so I would like to make one final plea to the opposition to support every single recommendation from the royal commission and not to cherrypick. We have read the reports and we saw the picture they painted, and we need to fix this system. The Andrews government will do the work to make sure that the royal commission’s recommendations are met and that Victorians are no longer let down by the mental health system.

In conclusion, mental health is an absolute priority for this government. That is why we have invested over $6 billion in this area in the three budgets since the November 2019 report, and it is why we are proposing this bill. We are transforming the mental health system, and I urge us all not to just rest on our laurels but to keep evaluating that and to make sure that money is being spent in the right way—and if it is not right there, then remove it and apply it elsewhere in the mental health system. Having said that, I commend this bill to the house.

Mr McGHIE (Melton) (16:35): Congratulations to you, Deputy Speaker, on your elevation to the Deputy Speaker role.

I rise today to contribute on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022. It is always good to follow the member for Hawthorn’s contributions, and I thank him for that. Of course the handing down of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System’s final report was a pivotal moment in Victoria’s history, and the reform that has been desperately needed by sufferers and the people that surround them cannot come soon enough.

The former Minister for Mental Health noted in his second-reading speech that there are three core foundations necessary to achieve success in this reform, and they are the workforce, the legislation and large-scale sustainable investment. Today’s bill helps to deliver the legislation component to the investment this government has already made financially and into this critical workforce. This bill is a comprehensive bill. It differs from the Mental Health Act 2014 and sets out a fresh foundation for the new mental health and wellbeing system, looking beyond the issues of compulsory treatment and restrictive interventions which dominate the existing legislation. This is an unapologetically aspirational bill and in keeping with our bold and aspirational commitment to the Victorian community to deliver on every single one of the royal commission’s recommendations.

The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System was unequivocal that our system was broken and failing Victorians. The final report laid out a blueprint for building a compassionate and effective mental health and wellbeing system from the ground up. While the commission undertook its important work, we did not stand idly by, with a record investment of $869 million in November 2020 to address critical demand and improve the mental health system while we awaited the final report. In total we have invested more than $252 million in additional mental health support since April 2020 to help meet demand and to ensure Victorians get the care that they need during and well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. This was in keeping with expert advice on how to best manage traumatic events such as this pandemic that we have all gone through over the last 2½ to three years.

Also in record-breaking investment, the 2021–22 state budget provided an enormous $3.8 billion to kickstart the next decade of mental health reform. It focused on funding for services to provide greater clinical care and community support services to Victorians in need. We then backed that in through the 2022–23 budget with another $1.3 billion of further investment, building on the foundations created the year before and continuing to build the momentum necessary to fully deliver on the royal commission’s outcomes. This investment will be the turning of the tide for mental health in Victoria, and this government is immeasurably proud to be the one to deliver it. Of course to achieve great outcomes, that cannot happen overnight. In order to secure the future of Victoria’s mental health system we need the opposition to actually come to the table and explain how they intend to continue this vital work if not through sustainable funding mechanisms, including the mental health levy.

Some of the highlights of the record $3.8 billion through the 2021–22 state budget investment included: $954 million to reform area services to better support the mental health and wellbeing of adults and older adults; $264 million for 20 new local services for adults and older adults, supporting people in their communities; a further $266 million for supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people; $196 million to support the mental health and wellbeing of infants, children and families; $370 million for new models of care for bed-based services that are safe and compassionate; $173 million for government- and community-wide suicide prevention and response; and $218 million for mental health reform in education, setting up children and young people to thrive. In Aboriginal mental health and social and emotional wellbeing we provided $116 million, and we provided $141 million in asset funding to expand mental health treatment options for Victoria’s youth.

The 2022–23 Victorian state budget is investing $1.3 billion for brand new initiatives, which will build on last year’s record investment of $3.8 billion. We could rattle on about more and where the money is going to improve the mental health services, but one important area that needs to be highlighted is the $372 million for workforce initiatives, which includes training an additional 1500 mental health workers, including 400 mental health nurses, 100 psychiatrists and 300 psychologists. There is an additional $490 million for acute hospital-based care, which includes 82 new mental health beds in key growth areas such as the Northern Hospital and the Sunshine Hospital—obviously that is in the electorate of the Deputy Speaker. These are great initiatives in spending in regard to trying to assist the Victorian community with their mental health issues. Since the royal commission’s report over 2500 mental health jobs have been created in Victoria, delivering on exactly what our mental health workforce strategy identified as necessary for this reform, for without caring mental health workers there can be no mental health system at all. Professor Pat McGorry, executive director at Orygen, welcomed the investments as an outcome of the royal commission and reflected that this approach will mean that Victorians and in particular young Victorians will be able to bounce back from the adversities experienced over the last two years and go on to lead healthy and contributing lives. Of course this is just the start of a 10-year journey, he says, and we are committed to long-term mental health reform that will benefit all Victorians for generations to come.

Our job now is to overhaul our mental health system and win back the trust of those Victorians who need our help and support. This should not have to be a partisan solution, but until those opposite similarly commit to implementing a single recommendation of the royal commission we are the only ones Victorians can rely on and really count on in this state to improve the mental health situation. Despite the dedicated work of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and despite the thousands of expert witnesses, formal statements and informal contributions from across Victoria, the opposition will still not commit, as we have done, to implementing all of those recommendations that the commission has tabled on this lifesaving outcome. One bit of the expert advice they particularly refuse to acknowledge is in relation to the creation of a dedicated mental health levy. As recommended by the interim report of the royal commission, this initiative recognises the considerable struggle mental health services have faced in receiving sustainable, ongoing funding sources in our crowded health sector.

Investing in mental health is critical, as we all know, and I am personally pleased to see this government investing in mental health and the workforce that surrounds it. As an ex-paramedic I can assure you that so much time of our hardworking first responders is used providing care and support for those struggling with mental trauma, and it has been in the past disheartening to see the same individuals time after time getting to a point where their only option is to call out a paramedic. We should never let mental health get so bad that for many that is the only option available to them. It is also smart to reduce the pressure on our first responders by dealing with the mental health issues at the core. It is the same as we hear about reducing pressure on our public health system by investing in the GPs. We need to have a smarter approach to the way we treat people physically and mentally, to provide better outcomes for patients and to reduce pressure elsewhere in the system, such as on our first responders. In my experience as a paramedic and as the ex-secretary of the ambulance union I have seen many paramedics suffer with mental health injuries over the years. In fact in my 38 years working in the ambulance industry unfortunately I know of 23 paramedics that took their own lives, and some of those paramedics were my work colleagues. I knew every one of those 23 paramedics. I am pleased to say that things have improved, but we have got a long way to go.

This bill is a vital piece of reform as we seek to continue to work, as highlighted in the mental health royal commission. I want to thank the previous minister and also the ministers that have done a huge volume of work on these reforms. I support these reforms, I support this legislation and I commend the bill to the house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Ringwood.

Mr HALSE (Ringwood) (16:45): Thank you, Deputy Speaker, and I echo the words of the member for Melton in congratulating you on your elevation to that role.

It is always a pleasure to follow the member for Melton when we are talking about health policy issues, given his extensive experience, and those final comments that he made about those in his sector, those paramedics, who have during the course of their duties suffered severe mental ill health. It is always a pleasure to rise and talk about health policy when you are a member of the Labor Party because that is at the core of who we are. We want people to have access to world-class health and mental health services. Irrespective of where they live or their socio-economic status, everyone deserves the right to universal health care, and this series of reforms that Labor has introduced since the election in 2018, the re-election of the Andrews Labor government, has been significant.

One of the most challenging areas of public policy is mental health and how we address this lacuna of services—and the approach as well—that has lagged in standards over the previous generation, and so the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System was implemented. That in and of itself was telling of this government’s intent around this issue. That the Andrews Labor government would commit to implementing every single one of the findings and recommendations of the royal commission is something quite significant. It is a bold move to say that you are going to hold a royal commission and then that you are going to implement every single one of the recommendations, not knowing how much they will cost and not knowing what the reforms will be. It is a great privilege and honour to speak to this bill, a significant bill for Victoria, as members have noted, one that points to a structural milestone in the 10-year mental health journey, the reform journey that is being undertaken by this government and being led by this government.

As others have noted, the bill has a wider focus than the Mental Health Act 2014 and thus provides this transformational reform that the system needs for those who intersect with it. The bill brings forth recommendations, as I have mentioned, from the royal commission. I want to go through some of the relevant outcomes, and I want to talk about mental health workers, some of the issues they are confronting at the moment and what this legislation seeks to do. The bill, as we have heard, will establish new governance and oversight entities for the mental health and wellbeing system; introduce a new rights-based framework and principle, which is tremendously important; establish in legislation an opt-out model of access to non-legal mental health advocacy services; and regulate the use of chemical restraints in mental health services for the first time. This is an issue that has arisen in my community, in the Eastern Health network, and has had some publicity recently, and I will touch back on that at a later point. It will increase the uptake of safeguards that promote supported decision-making and the agency and autonomy of people living with mental illness and will enable new health-led responses to people experiencing mental health crises in the community.

Of course we know what the context is for this bill: the royal commission and its final report released last year. The Victorian government has of course committed to implementing all of the recommendations, and as a part of those it will repeal and replace the existing act with this new bill, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022. It also lays the foundation to acquit the progress of 28 other recommendations of the royal commission. Of particular importance the bill has a focus on those with lived experience of mental ill health. Those experiencing mental illness and psychological distress, their families, carers and supporters will be placed at the centre of the mental health and wellbeing system, as they should be. Treatment for mental health should be through better services in the community, community-based services to foster peer-led support; that will be the core aspect of Victoria’s mental health system—as I mentioned, a rights-based approach with objectives and principles and the inclusion of designated lived experience roles at the highest levels of new and existing governance and oversight entities.

I would like to just quickly make some remarks about our mental health workforce. I had the opportunity to bump into the secretary of the Health and Community Services Union before to talk about some of the issues that his members are confronting every single day. We will be out in Maroondah Hospital soon to tour the mental health ward and to talk with workers at that facility. I am conscious that we often think of mental health workers in a particular frame. We think of mental health nurses, or we think of psychologists or psychiatrists, but the spectrum of individuals who work within the mental health workforce is enormous—the dozens and dozens of professionals and individuals who make up the mental health system and make it tick every single day. These people are lifesavers, just like that consultant physician in the emergency room or the emergency department nurse or the surgeon—so too are mental health nurses, occupational therapists and social workers; so too is that person who works as the admin officer of the mental health ward in a hospital; and so too are those community outreach workers who go into situations which are very difficult and often very confronting. Those individuals are truly lifesavers, and we need more of them. We need to acknowledge the work that they do. We need to support them in a better way, and that is in part what this bill does.

This is part of a journey. This is one aspect of an enormous piece of public policy reform that lesser governments would simply choose not to pursue—it would be too difficult for them to pursue—but not the Andrews Labor government, because we know how serious this issue is in our community. It is highlighted by and has come to the fore during the pandemic, but we know that one in four or one in five Victorians will suffer mental health ill health at some point during their lifetime and nearly 50 per cent of Victorians will be diagnosed with a mental health condition during the course of their life.

We all know someone who has been impacted or touched by or has intersected with the mental health system. We know a sister, a friend, a sibling, a colleague, a co-worker—a colleague in this place—who has been touched by mental ill health, and we know, as the member for Hawthorn touched upon, the stigma that is often attached to those who are battling and going through a journey of mental ill health. We want to move beyond that and normalise the treatment of mental ill health, just like we would approach someone who presents at an emergency department or to their doctor with an ailment like a broken arm or a virus. We want to implement a system that is supportive of individuals so that they can seek that treatment that they need when they need it in a peer-led environment that is community based, that is well resourced and that is best practice. That is what this bill seeks to do: set the framework and the foundation for that work to occur.

Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (16:55): Thank you, Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your appointment. I know that representing the western suburbs is quite similar to representing a lot of the areas that I represent in the north, and you know full well the importance of this system and reforms to this system and have welcomed the investments that we are making in places like the Northern Hospital and the Sunshine Hospital.

I was fortunate walking through Strangers Corridor today to see a dear friend of mine, Paul Healey, who is the secretary of the Health and Community Services Union, and like me, he grew up in Warrnambool. We actually did year 12 together at Warrnambool TAFE, and he began his career as a psychiatric nurse. We were both mentored and influenced going into the labour movement by a fantastic life member of the Health and Community Services Union, Kevin Goodger. Kevin is in his 90s now and is no longer working as a psychiatric nurse, but it is people like Kevin that influenced people like Paul and me to understand why this system needed such reform and indeed our commitment to Labor politics.

There is another giant of mental health I also want to acknowledge, as other members have, and that is Patrick McGorry. I did happen to hear Patrick McGorry—it was either yesterday or this morning; time flies in a parliamentary sitting week—talking about a potential breakthrough in the use of medical marijuana as a potential treatment and maybe even a cure for the symptoms of many common mental health issues. What really struck me was that Professor McGorry said that in terms of treatment there had been little innovation and breakthrough for many decades, and as someone that had been involved, indeed, with the work that the member for Altona did in the introduction of medical marijuana in this state, I think now we are reforming this system it could be something that really works. I note that the new Minister for Mental Health is at the table and is taking note, so I am really hoping that it is something that she will have her department really get into and have a look at. I know that she enjoys working with Professor McGorry.

I wanted to acknowledge and congratulate her on her appointment but also acknowledge the great work of the member for Monbulk in his work as the Minister for Mental Health and Minister for Education and for his diligence in implementing the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and introducing this bill to the house and delivering the full second-reading speech to the house, which is different to what is normally done. I wanted to thank him particularly for the commitment that he made over a period of time and for the care and attention he took to the needs of my community who were particularly impacted by the trauma of Black Saturday and still are to this day—that is, members across the community, our first responders, police, firefighters and ambulance staff, and there are many of those workers that live and work in my community—but also to the young people and for his commitment especially to our mental health professionals in schools. There were trial sites, particularly in the Yan Yean electorate at Mernda Central College, at Mernda Primary and at Whittlesea Primary, and I really want to thank him for his attention to that.

There are the mental health beds that are being built at the Northern Hospital, which I mentioned earlier, and there is an early childhood parenting program being set up in the City of Whittlesea. This is a great bill, and I commend it to the house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The time set down for consideration of items on the government business program has arrived, and I am required to interrupt business.

Motion agreed to.

Read second time.

Third reading

Motion agreed to.

Read third time.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The bill will now be sent to the Legislative Council and their agreement requested.