Suicide

Mr DULUK (Davenport) (15:42): I rise today on a sombre note to discuss data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in March this year on the causes of death in Australia in 2014. It is with alarm and sadness that I note the tragically high rate of suicide in this country, in particular in South Australia, by the numbers. In 2014, there were 2,864 suicides nationally. That is almost eight per day—one every three hours. In South Australia, there were 240 suicides in just 12 months. That means that every 1.5 days someone in South Australia takes their own life.

These numbers are disturbing, but even more disturbing is that the number of deaths by suicide in South Australia has remained relatively unchanged over the last decade. In 2005, there were 231 South Australians who, unfortunately, took their own life. Any death is devastating. That any person is suffering to such an extent that they are motivated to take their own life is indeed a tragedy. Behind every suicide is a sad story of trauma and heartache for mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, partners, colleagues and whole communities.

The personal and social impacts of suicide and attempted suicide on those affected cannot be quantified but are clearly enormous. The financial cost of suicide in Australia is also significant. Suicide imposes economic costs on a broad range of areas, including health care, law enforcement and emergency services, just to name a few. One death by suicide is one too many. The inability to achieve a reduction in the annual number of suicides in South Australia is extremely concerning. It shows that the current strategies are not working. Suicide rates have been particularly stark in men aged 40 to 44 years. Nationally, 18.3 per cent of male deaths in this age group are attributable to suicide.

It appears that the young men of the 1990s are taking suicidality with them. As these young men enter middle age, they are suffering unaddressed depression and mental health problems that are being exacerbated. Many of these men have been employed in manufacturing, construction, farming and mining, all areas experiencing high levels of uncertainty and job losses. Often with families to support and mortgages to pay, they are increasingly overwhelmed and no longer able to keep the black dog at bay.

We cannot continue to fail our most vulnerable by persisting with unsuccessful policies and programs. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the state government's South Australian Suicide Prevention Strategy 2012-2016 has been underwhelming. There were 108 road fatalities in South Australia in 2014 compared with 240 deaths by suicide. That is less than half. We certainly do a lot in terms of reducing road fatalities in our state. We must do more to help reduce the tragic loss of life through suicide.

As a priority, services to prevent suicide should be strengthened so that those at risk of taking their own life are given the support they need. We need the government to deliver on its promises. It promised to establish a mental health commission. This means more than just a press release: it means the nuts and bolts of the commission's structure, responsibilities and its powers under relevant legislation. The government promised to adopt a new five-year mental health plan, as the previous mental health plan and wellbeing policy of 2010-15 expired more than six months ago.

It promised to address the acute shortage of mental health beds in our hospital system. The SA Health dashboard continually shows mental health beds throughout the hospital network in negative territory, with occupancy rates in these beds greater than capacity. Mental health patients often wait extended periods in emergency departments, sometimes more than 24 hours, despite the government's goal of having no mental health patients waiting more than 24 hours in an emergency department from 1 January this year.

After 14 years in office, the Labor government has failed to deliver better outcomes for South Australians suffering with a mental health illness. Despite the evidence, suicide is too often a low priority for this government. We must prioritise suicide prevention on the public health and public policy agendas. It is a critical public health issue and one that definitely needs the urgent attention of all those in this house.