Tuesday, 14 May 2024

Mildura electorate mental health services

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (19:11): (653) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Mental Health in the other place, and the action I seek is for the minister to give Mildura residents a timeline on when the mental health local will be upgraded from the telehealth-only service it currently is to the full walk-in service. Mental Health Victoria, which is the peak body for mental health and wellbeing in Victoria, has said:

… substantial reforms recommended by the Royal Commission have been missed in this budget, raising concerns about the status of their progress …

And that is certainly true in Mildura, where currently we have a mental health local service, but it is a telehealth service which goes alongside the other mental health services that we have that we can get on the phone – Lifeline, Beyond Blue and all the rest of them. They are all fantastic services, but what we need is a walk-in, wraparound service that can serve the needs of those suffering with mental illness when they need it. I know this because we had a similar model long before this in Robinvale, established by my husband, who did a fundraiser during COVID. He has been battling mental illness his entire life, spoke about it publicly and knew what was needed. He needed support then and there – could not wait eight to 12 weeks for a psychologist or a counsellor appointment – so he ran a marathon and raised $50,000 to start a similar service to a mental health local at Robinvale District Health Service – walk-in, no Medicare, no referral, and there is someone there to see you when you need it. We need this.

We also need the other things that have been neglected in this budget: the 2000 supported dwellings for Victorians living with a mental illness and the 500 medium-term supported housing places. Young people are just left out in the abyss in Mildura. It is really frightening. I have had the family of a 15-year-old with debilitating symptoms who cannot get referred to another service. Headspace is not enough. The family are desperate for respite. They need a break as much as this young man needs treatment – desperately – and they have been told that he just does not fit anywhere. Can you imagine what that must do to the soul of your family, much less your own soul, when you are 15 and you are told you do not quite fit anywhere for treatment so your family cannot get respite. What then did they do? They came into my office and begged – literally begged – us to help them. This budget goes in the face of the royal commission for mental health reform in this state, and I ask the minister to address this urgently.