Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Kim O’KEEFFE (Shepparton) (19:04): (1461) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Police, and the action I seek is for the minister to restore the mental health funding for vital mental health support for the police in the Shepparton electorate. I recently met with our local police, who are calling for desperately needed mental health support following funding cuts that have left police stations with no immediate mental health support. The government cut funding to the vital police mental health and wellbeing hubs that were promised but never delivered to regional police stations. These hubs, announced at a cost of $100 million, were designed to assist the growing number of officers on WorkCover and those suffering from trauma related to their service and were intended to provide early intervention, preventative care and ongoing psychological support for police officers. Frontline officers are first responders and are faced with the most tragic of circumstances, including road trauma, family violence, complex mental health incidents and the compounding social challenges created by limited local support services.

Locally we recently had the tragic and devastating drowning of an eight-year-old child, which had a significant impact on the officers who attended the incident. It took up to eight days for these police officers to be able to access clinical health support, which is just astounding. The emotional toll on officers in regional areas can be even greater because they frequently live in the same communities where these traumatic events occur. Police chaplains, who are mainly volunteers, are doing all that they can to support our police officers, but they are not qualified clinicians. Without dedicated clinical support, we risk worsening mental health outcomes, increasing burnout and increasing numbers of police leaving the force.

Nearly 1000 injured officers are currently waiting for support to return to duty. Instead of strengthening assistance for the men and women who keep us safe, this government has effectively pulled the rug out from under them. With more than 1100 police vacancies, it is crucial that support be given to our frontline police, who every single day put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe. The least this government can do is to provide them with the mental health and wellbeing support that they desperately need and deserve. I look forward to the minister’s response.