Joining the 2024 Youth Voice in Parliament campaign, Dan Repacholi (Member for Hunter, NSW) amplified the voice of 14 year old Jade on access to mental health care. Speech transcript is below -
In ten years I want my country, my world, to be happier, healthier, and safer. I would like to see members of my community getting the help they need with their mental health. 1 in 6 Australians aged 16 to 85 have had serious thoughts of killing themselves. It is in the top three leading causes in death for people under 35. These statistics need to change, and for this change we need serious action.
Do we have enough services to give everyone who suffers with their mental health the help they need, are we gonna let these people die, feeling alone and miserable?
There were 52,130 same day and 205,220 overnight public hospital mental health-related hospitalisations in 2021-22. In 2022-23, 3% of presentations to public Emergency departments were mental health-related.
If that many people need to go to the HOSPITAL, I just wonder how many others we have, that need help.
It is crucial that parliament do something for mental health, lives are at stake, families wellbeing are at risk! 54% of people who have a mental illness do not access any treatment. At least one in five people with severe mental illness are unable to recognise that they have an illness. So with people who don’t access treatment, and people who think they don’t need it, combined, thats a lot of people who aren’t getting care.