Western Victoria fires
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:04): (423) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. Minister, much-needed mental health support has been delayed for the devastated community of Pomonal because the government has not adequately funded support services. Yesterday in question time in the other place the Premier said she would:
… immediately ask both the Minister for Emergency Services … and the mental health minister to understand what has happened here.
Minister, what advice have you provided to the Premier?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:04): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. It is an important one. Can I first acknowledge the significant impacts of the fires on the Pomonal community and the Grampians community more broadly and acknowledge that these events have the capacity to have devastating impacts on people’s mental health and wellbeing. It is something that the government is very committed to addressing. There have been mental health services in place since the events occurred. There are a range of mental health supports available to residents of Pomonal, something that I have spoken to the member for Lowan about as early as this morning. My office has also been in contact with her about these issues.
We have the Northern Grampians region covered by a range of different options for people in the community. Whenever there is an emergency situation like the one that we have seen in the Grampians, we do get immediate psychosocial and first aid provided by the Red Cross and the Victorian Council of Churches, who are in place now and have been since those events. We also have the Horsham mental health and wellbeing hub, which offers free walk-in and telehealth support, which can support residents who have been impacted by the fires. As was noted yesterday in the Assembly, Grampians Community Health are also providing support to community members on the ground. I would like to thank them for their support for the local community during what has been an incredibly difficult time. The Department of Health is currently in discussions with Grampians Community Health to ensure that they can continue to provide that on-ground support that has been there since day one. It is really important that those supports are available for the local community. Those active conversations between the department and Grampians Community Health are ongoing to ensure that there is that support there at the time that we need it as we move from immediate relief to the recovery phase of this emergency.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:07): You did not answer the question, but thank you for the information nevertheless. Minister, it is well known that the longer you leave mental health support after trauma, the more likely it is to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, with higher rates of family violence and alcohol and other drug misuse. Eight days after the event, how long will the community have to wait before you provide this urgent funding that has been requested time and time again?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:07): Well, I do not know that Ms Crozier has listened to my answer. There have been significant supports in place since these terrible events unfolded. Nothing is more important than providing that immediate support to the community, and a number of us have been working hard on those issues since day one. The reality is that the conversations that are happening between the Department of Health and Grampians Community Health have no bearing on the fact that there are going to continue to be services available on the ground. I would also make the point that there are a number of additional services available to the community across the Grampians because of the reforms that our government is pursuing, including local services, which have not been available up until quite recently. There will be people impacted by the emergency, but there will also be people who have pre-existing mental health issues, and they will continue to – (Time expired)