R U OK? Day

Ms PRATT (Frome) (12:33): I move:

That this house—

(a) recognises that 11 September 2025 is R U OK? Day, a national day of action that reminds all Australians to check in with one another and support those who may be struggling;

(b) acknowledges the vital role of meaningful conversations in suicidal prevention and commends R U OK? for empowering individuals to connect and offer support;

(c) encourages all South Australians to take the time to ask, 'Are you OK?', and to listen with empathy and without judgement;

(d) recognises the many local organisations, volunteers, health workers and community leaders across the state who work every day to promote mental wellbeing; and

(e) recognises that mental health is a shared responsibility and calls for continued investment in accessible, community-based mental health services across regional and metropolitan South Australia.

Of course, R U OK? Day (11 September) is well behind us, and we are now in the middle of October when we mark Mental Health Awareness Month. I note that the member for Elder has put forward her own motion recognising World Mental Health Day. We have been cut short today, but I anticipate that across the chambers we will all take the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to invest in mental health, thanking those who work in the mental health sector and recognising the challenges that people living with mental distress experience.

I, too, take that opportunity. While we are discussing a motion that recognises R U OK Day?, I think we have collectively moved or evolved to understand that that is not one question for one day out of 365, but in fact a question we want to put to people any day of the year. So it is 'are you okay?' at any time, but the message must go further than that; it is not just in the asking of the question. If we are prepared to ask that question, we are also prepared to hear the answer whatever it may be, and make sure the person we are asking knows that we are there to listen and to support and demonstrate compassion for those who experience and live with anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses.

The month of October allows every member in here within their own communities to reach out and connect with those services that are currently available. It is important to recognise that services do exist, but there are opportunities that I will continue to take to ask of the government what more can be done. What more funding can be allocated beyond the government's commitment to investing in mental health beds in hospitals? When that person is discharged and returned to their home, to their community, to their family, to their lifestyle, what supports exist and what supports are required at the community mental health level?

I was very fortunate, last week, to have been invited and included in my community of Clare by the mental health services sector to join them in the expo, having a table and being available at Ennis Park, a very public square in Clare that is a main thoroughfare between the businesses and retail sector, to demonstrate in a very visual way what services are available for people who live through the Clare Valley and Gilbert Valley district and catchment. It is important to note that, as I travel the state meeting with different groups who want to talk about opportunities for policy or investment in mental health, in regional communities there is sometimes a refrain that suggests there are no services in regional South Australia, and that is not correct.

I do observe the duplication of those services, and I see that particularly in Port Pirie. But I think that what they have a sense of is, in fact, they do not know where to start. Some of these services are invisible, difficult to find and difficult to navigate. The bilateral agreement that we have with the commonwealth around funding has existed for a long time but it starts to be a handbrake on how that money flows through, where it goes and the visibility that we need mental health services to have.

At the expo, obviously many more experienced people than I were available. It had the feeling of a family fun day, with balloons and the Clare Lions group cooking a barbecue. At the heart of it, what we were all trying to do was to demonstrate the volume of services that are available and to build awareness but to come out of our offices and to be amongst community as they walk around.

I want to recognise and thank those who were there on the day, including the Clare Community Mental Health Services clinicians, in particular Vanessa and Kiraleigh, who organised this expo. I mentioned the Clare Lions Club, who cooked up a storm on the barbecue. The Lower North Clare community mental health team and the lived experience Rural and Remote Mental Health Service team were present.

The Clare Medical Centre was present. We had mental health nurse Bronwyn Lane and, in particular, Dr Michael Nugent, who made himself available for quite a long time. We had a great chat about GP services more broadly and, of course, the concern about the medical team's inability to service on-call support to the hospital at the moment because of a GP shortage. Here is a busy GP already under pressure but hanging out with the kids and community members at the expo to make himself available. I cannot thank him enough for that.

Rural Living Psychology was represented by Chloe Nunn and Maggie Hentschke. Riverflow Psychology was represented by Julie Cutten. When it comes to the Lifeline Connect Centre, I have a soft spot. I think that is known not just locally but in the chamber. There is no apology for referencing as many times as I can those who go above and beyond—beyond their role, beyond their paid role—to invest themselves and their expertise in a community.

I continue to revere and admire Lorna Woodward, who continues her connection to the Lifeline Connect Centre in Clare. There is another one in Port Pirie, and it has been important to see that model roll out. Lorna and all the trained volunteers that are associated with the Connect Centre were there. I give a shout-out to Hilary Adlam and Tina Maynard in particular, some favourites who have been on the journey from day one.

I also want to recognise that Neami National were present at the expo, as well as Careers and Disability Link, who have a presence in Clare; the SA Intellectual Disability Health Service; Sureway; Hill Shed community garden, represented by Rae Bartholomaeus; and, very importantly, Pipsta face painting, Pip Laver, who created an environment that was family-friendly.

Last week, the member for Hartley, the Hon. Vincent Tarzia, and I attended the inaugural gala for the Breakthrough foundation, supporting John Mannion's work in continuing to fundraise for the essential research that we need to deliver evidence-based services when it comes to addressing mental distress and mental illness and demonstrating support for those academics who invest their entire careers towards understanding the neurological mechanics of how our brains behave and drive some of the behaviours that can dysregulate so many people. We want to thank John Mannion and pay respects to the work that he continues to do. His leadership and advocacy in that space is very important, and it was a great event.

I also was able to attend this week an event hosted by the Mental Health Coalition, which was not just recognising lived experience but hosting a carers' round table. I had the joy of meeting Kerry Hawkins, who is the CEO of Community Mental Health Australia. Her plenary speech, her delivery and address to us this week, really was an honest and frank account of the barriers that we continue to see in how funding flows from the commonwealth to the states and makes its way to those who need it. It is separate from the NDIS for those who live with a mental illness outside of any NDIS package. I thank Kerry for her research and her years of advocacy and expertise in this space.

Geoff Harris does an extraordinary job advocating for the work of our state peak body, the Mental Health Coalition. It was wonderful to catch up with Paul Creedon again of Skylight and to see our state-based non-government services coming together to host a carers' round table to highlight the difficult, sometimes lonely and heavy journey that carers walk alongside those who live with mental distress.

Outside of the city, we have amazing people who volunteer and donate their time in connection to our suicide prevention networks. In my own community of Jamestown, I want to again recognise Greg Boston, Emma Scharkie and others who belong to the Mid North Suicide Prevention Network. They worked out early on that exercise would drive improved wellbeing and that Parkrun was the way to go. I know, Deputy Speaker, that that is a preferred pastime of yours, and I commend anyone who participates in Parkrun on Saturday mornings. It is an extraordinary activity that people can be involved in.

I look forward to catching up with the girls from Mentally Fit EP, who continue to make their way from the West Coast to keep coming to the city and setting up or creating relationships with the government and the non-government sector. To Lain Montgomerie and Emma Gale, I cannot wait to catch up with you when you arrive. So much talent exists in my own electorate for those who continue to bring awareness to the plight of the drought and its unintended consequences when it comes to the mental health and mental wellbeing of our farmers.

There are women leaders like Steph Schmidt, who in her unassuming way has used every platform available to her. She won an AgriBusiness Rural Women's Award, and she continued through COVID to find avenues to build awareness, to build literacy around mental health and to promote positive practical ways that farmers, men and women, can be aware of and address some of those signs. She does that in such an extraordinary way. She is in huge demand. As a farmer, Steph is always going to be torn between actually living that life and sharing her expertise with others.

Finally, I want to mention Kate Gunn, who established the ifarmwell website with practical resources. There is a business relationship between ifarmwell and Kick off ya Boots, which was a John Gladigau initiative. We saw John Gladigau last night addressing the friends of the grain producers association. There were a number of country MPs who spent some time with those farmers. They came to hear John's everlasting positive approach to the trials and tribulations of farming. I know that all too well. The Kick off ya Boots initiative, which has travelled around the state using music to create awareness, has been so important. With that, I conclude my remarks.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (12:48): I begin by indicating the government's support for this motion recognising R U OK? Day, and I thank the member for Frome for bringing this motion before the house. Held every year on the second Thursday of September, R U OK? Day is a national day of action that reminds everyone to check in with those around them, to take the time to ask if they are okay and to listen with empathy and without judgement.

R U OK? Day is a national suicide prevention organisation and registered public health initiative that has changed how we talk about mental health. It encourages open, meaningful conversations that remind us all we are not alone. There are people who care about us and help is available. These conversations can and do save lives. They remind us that mental health affects every family, every workplace and every community right across our state. While 11 September this year was an important reminder, it is important that we remember every day can be an R U OK? Day. Asking that question and listening with empathy only serves to make our state a better place.

In supporting this motion we also acknowledge the incredible work of community groups, leaders, volunteers and individuals who consistently uphold and promote mental wellbeing in their communities. Your contribution is often quiet, too often unseen but it is life-changing and, in many cases, life-saving.

The member for Frome spoke about Kick off ya Boots and John Gladigau, and it was lovely to see him last night for a grains producers' event in the house. Last year I had the privilege of being able to drive up to Loxton—I had to go up and back one night which probably was not the safest—but I saw Kick off ya Boots 2. It was an incredible performance. It was an amazing opportunity to bring people together, particularly from the Riverland, and see a musical written by a local, someone who understands what it is like to work on a farm, to work in these smaller communities and to struggle with mental health. It really opens up those conversations in a really relatable way. It is incredible and I cannot wait to see what John Gladigau gets up to next.

I also wanted to commend the R U OK? campaign and the network of organisations providing mental health support in both the government and non-government sectors. Campaigns like R U OK? Day encourage regular, open conversations that help reduce stigma, increase social connection, enhance community awareness and enable friends, families and colleagues to be really alert to the people around them, connecting someone with appropriate support long before they are in crisis.

Mental health and suicide prevention, as I have said multiple times in this house, are a shared responsibility. It is not only a whole-of-government responsibility: it is a whole-of-community responsibility. This approach helps every South Australian think about how they care for themselves and those around them, whether at home, school, work or in the community.

As always, I am very proud to be part of the Malinauskas government and we are a government that is investing in mental health and suicide prevention. We need a comprehensive health system supporting every South Australian from prevention through to care and recovery. Since our election in 2022, we have invested $1.7 billion to deliver mental health services right across the state with total investment to reach $2.5 billion during this term. That is a 30 per cent increase, funded, compared to the previous state government.

Investment though is not just about the dollar figures, it is about delivering real tangible outcomes for South Australians in need. That is why we are bringing more than 130 new mental health beds online including new rehabilitation units at the Queen Elizabeth, Modbury and Noarlunga hospitals. I do want to thank everybody who was involved in the establishment of the rehabilitation unit at The QEH. The minister and I were joined by the Premier, the fabulous Aria Bolkus, our candidate for Colton, a few weeks ago at the opening of this rehab unit and it looks incredible and it has had so much input from people with lived experience. It was really special to have Brooke, who is one of those consumers, present at the press conference as well to hear her input and her views on the service.

Last week we recognised World Mental Health Day and celebrated another construction milestone on the Northern Crisis Stabilisation Centre. That service is on track to deliver mental health support services from early next year. It is a 16-bed service that will enable people to have up to three days of support, to be able to feel more settled when they have been in mental health crisis or in suicidal distress, and enable them to get support from both mental health clinicians as well as people with lived experience—those peer workers.

It will be co-located with the Medicare Mental Health Centre which will be on the floor beneath and it is going to be a really great place for people to get the support they need while also diverting people from emergency departments.

We have also expanded the mental health co-responder model, which I am a big fan of. It pairs a mental health clinician with a police officer responding to mental health 000 call-outs. Following the successful trials in the Central Adelaide and Northern Adelaide local health networks, which saw more than 2,400 presentations to emergency departments avoided, the Malinauskas Labor government's most recent state budget secures funding for this program over the next five years and expands its reach into the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

We are also building a brand-new 12-bed mental health ward at the new Mount Barker hospital, which will be the first mental health inpatient unit in the Adelaide Hills. As the member for Frome rightly has pointed out in her motion, we know the investment needs to extend beyond metropolitan Adelaide. That is why the Malinauskas Labor government is investing in mental health services for regional and rural South Australia. We have recruited three additional psychiatrists across three regional local health networks and recruited eight additional mental health nurses across regional local health networks to deliver specialist mental health services for older South Australians.

Lifeline Connect centres are continuing in Clare and Port Pirie with the support of a $250,000 investment from the Malinauskas Labor government. We have also opened the Mental Health Alternative Care Service in Port Pirie, which is based at the hospital. In partnership with the Albanese government, we have opened Medicare mental health centres in Mount Barker, Mount Gambier and Port Pirie. We are also building a new six-bed mental health subacute ward at Mount Gambier hospital, which would double the number of mental health beds in the Limestone Coast. We have also introduced one of the first paediatric virtual mental health services in Australia by expanding the Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service at the Women's and Children's Hospital.

In closing, I would like to again thank the member for Frome for moving this motion recognising R U OK? Day. South Australians want the state government, regardless of colour, to provide robust and meaningful investment and support to a public healthcare system that they can be proud of. Our state has a proud history in this space, being the first state to enact legislation dedicated specifically to suicide prevention, legislation that established formal mandated mechanisms for ensuring a focused and coordinated approach to suicide prevention. South Australia now has a really active Suicide Prevention Council and state Suicide Prevention Plan, as well as 41 suicide prevention networks.

Over the last three years, I have had the immense privilege of meeting with many of these suicide prevention networks, run by incredible volunteers, seeing firsthand the work they do in their communities to reduce stigma, foster connectedness, and empower their communities to intervene early and support those affected by suicide. We see you and we thank you so much for asking that question and listening with empathy and going above and beyond every day to support your communities and suicide prevention. Let's all make every day an R U OK? Day. I commend the motion.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (12:57): Just quickly, I want to compliment the member for Frome for bringing this motion to our attention. The R U OK? Day is an absolutely fantastic thing, but one of the things I have found since becoming a member of parliament is that you also have to follow up. You ask people, 'Are you okay?' and they will say yes, they are.

I have had personal experience with a family member. We thought he had a bit of an issue. We asked, 'Are you okay?' He said he was great, fantastic. Unfortunately, he did the drastic act just after that. When I was the member for Frome, I was a great supporter of holding health forums in Clare and Port Pirie. I was an instigator, in collaboration with the councils, in establishing the Lifeline Connect centres at Clare and Port Pirie.

One of the things we need to do is make sure we talk to people to get them to accept that they need some assistance. As a local member and as a member of this chamber, I will give 110 per cent support and I hope that everybody in this chamber endorses this motion. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.

Sitting suspended from 12:59 to14:00.