Tuesday, 25 August 2026

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (19:15): (1795) I rise this evening with an action for the Minister for Mental Health. The action I seek is that the minister convene an urgent meeting of schools, health services and youth mental health providers across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in response, sadly, to recent youth suicides. Yesterday an article in the Age reported that 10 young people have died across two suspected suicide clusters in Melbourne’s east. The youngest was just 13. Thirteen. These are 10 ‍young lives lost and 10 families dealing with unimaginable grief. The impact reaches much further, to friends, classmates, teammates, teachers and other young people who may already be struggling.

The fact that these deaths appear to have occurred in clusters is particularly concerning. Young people do not live their lives within the boundaries of a single school or suburb. Their friendships and connections extend across schools and communities and sporting clubs. Schools and mental health services are responding, but something of this scale cannot be looked at just school by school or service by service. There needs to be a clear understanding of what is happening right across the region, where the pressure points are and whether young people are falling through the gaps between services. These deaths require a coordinated response. Schools, mental health services and government need to share information, understand where young people may be at risk and ensure that appropriate support is available. I urge the minister to take seriously this request to make sure that we do everything we can in response to this crisis.