Mental Health Services

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Can the minister tell the house about her trip to Mount Gambier last week?

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS (Taylor—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:47): I had the privilege last week of visiting the member for Mount Gambier's electorate and getting a firsthand look at the mental health and disability services in the region. We know that issues around mental health are particularly acute in regional and rural areas across the state, and I was particularly struck in the South-East by the work of the Aboriginal Suicide Prevention Network (the first of its type in South Australia), Menswatch and the Mount Gambier Suicide Prevention Network, who gave generously of their time to me and my team as they spoke about the work that they do to make a positive change in the area they work in towards mental health, resilience and wellbeing.

I have also had the opportunity of visiting the Mental Health Unit at the Mount Gambier Hospital and the Disability SA Mount Gambier office and talking to the staff of both of these facilities. Disability SA alone looks after 511 clients across the Limestone Coast region and it was heartwarming to hear their passion, amazing story and the work they do to help their clients in the area.

The NGO sector also plays a vital role in delivering services to the South-East, and I thank Mr Mark Kulinski from Community Living Australia's (also known as CLASS) disability accommodation service, who took the time to introduce me to some of the disability service clients that he has at CLASS homes in the area and their support workers. I was really pleased to meet Craig, who is a CLASS customer and has been helped in a transition from a long extended stay at a local hospital into his own home where he and others live a more independent life, with the support of the support workers.

Finally, it was my privilege to visit and talk to some of the occupants whose lives have been dramatically changed for the better by access to community rehabilitation housing in Mount Gambier. These houses not only provide a bed for those needing mental health care but a wraparound service which provides individual clients with new basic living skills such as how to prepare a shopping list, and how to get on with housemates and regular appointments with a psychologist that they would not have received.

Without these rehab services the consumers I met told me they more than likely would have remained homeless, on the street or perhaps even dead. Unfortunately, important services in our regions such as the one that I have just spoken of and the associated jobs that they create are under threat from the federal Liberal government because they have not agreed to commit to funding $20 million in mental health with the National Partnership Agreements beyond 30 June this year, and this is despite repeated requests from the state government and several ministers.

It is reassuring to hear the comments of the federal member for Mount Gambier, Mr Tony Pasin, who said that he is calling on the federal Minister for Health to, and I quote '…ensure the important services that funding these facilities will be maintained in the future'.I call on the state Liberals to follow the lead of their federal colleagues and stand up to the federal government's funding cuts in South Australia.