SUPPLY BILL 2008

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 17 June 2008. Page 3291.)

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (23:54): I rise to support the second reading of this bill which provides, I believe, some $2.3 billion to ensure the payment of public servants and the continuation of state government services from 1 July until the Appropriation Bill for 2008-09 passes both houses. As we know the Supply Bill gives parliamentary authority to the government of the day to continue delivering services via public expenditure. The government is entitled to continue delivering these services in accordance with general approved priorities, that is, the priorities of the last 12 months until the Appropriation Bill is passed.

I do not intend to delay the council for any great period tonight, but I do wish to speak to an area that I know a lot of members know I have a strong interest in, and that is the area of mental health. Obviously, I have a particular interest in suicide prevention. I first want to note the efforts that the government has put on the record about the work that they are doing in relation to mental health, and particularly in the area of suicide.

I note the minister's presence in the council and I recognise that only last week she put on the record, in response to a question from me, a particular amount of detail of the way in which the government is spending money around mental health, and particularly in the area of suicide. Certainly, she did detail quite a bit of work that is being done, not only government programs but programs that have come through other organisations such as beyondblue. She did, indeed, talk about programs such as square, ASIST and SafeTALK, amongst others, and also the Mental Health First Aid program.

I commend every effort that is made in the area of mental health and every effort that is made, certainly, in relation to suicide, whether it be intervention/prevention or another important area and that is postvention. I think that some of the work that has been commenced recently, along with community groups in relation to those people who have had a family member or someone close to them commit suicide, is extraordinarily important.

Having said all of that, I will return to a program that I have worked very closely with since December 2006, and that is the Community Response to Eliminating Suicide program. I do again raise that program in this council because I think it is one of the most cost effective and generally community-based programs that has a significant effect on suicide rates in local communities.

Having undertaken some training, along with a number of other people in South Australia recently, I attest to the value of that program. It certainly is a very cost effective program, because for a figure of $350,000, with a little bit of administrative assistance from the department, we could roll 10 of those programs out across South Australia. There is community concern about the need for additional programs that get right down to the community. Certainly, no-one denigrates the work that has been done, but in many cases programs such as CORES are an excellent first step, which can get to some of these people where some other programs do not.

I continue to get letters and emails from people who have either experienced the CORES program or done the training and wish to have it introduced into their region. A number of community groups, such as Rotary, Salvation Army, the Loxcare group at Loxton and a number of other NGOs have had some exposure to CORES and would like to expand it. However, they all need some financial support in order to do that.

One of the people who recently had some exposure to CORES was particularly keen to get a program into their area, which, like many places, is suffering from several consecutive droughts. Unfortunately, the request to get some funding for a CORES program was replaced by the implementation or the availability of the square program. I am not an expert about the square program, but this person (who had undertaken some training from CORES) indicated that square is cold, clinical and impersonal compared with the CORES program.

I think they are relevant points. If we want to achieve absolute prevention of suicide in our community, we need something that is not cold, clinical and impersonal. We need a program that gets right into the community. Members have heard me say before that the CORES program is one which is as identifiable in the community as the CFS, a football club or a Lions club—or any other local body—where people are proud to wear the emblem of that organisation on their chest.

I cannot understate the importance of work in the area of suicide. We have a situation across our communities in not only rural areas but also suburban areas where more people are at risk. The statistics have been going up in South Australia in recent times. One of the things we know is that that is only registered suicides. There are many more deaths which most of us would presume are suicide, even if it cannot be proven. I recommend to the government that it considers at least one of these programs being run as a pilot program somewhere in South Australia.

I compliment all those people who work in the mental health area. I am sure the minister would agree with me that it is a difficult area in which to work. No two cases are the same, so I take off my hat to all the public servants, people from non-government bodies and volunteers who do so much work in that area. Again, I commend the Salvation Army, because I think it does terrific work in that area, as it does in a lot of areas into which a lot of other people will not go. As I said earlier, I do support the Supply Bill, which, of course, provides $2.3 billion for the provision of state government services to the community. In supporting the bill, I also support the facilitation and continuing delivery of public services by those public servants—and, of course, I have highlighted the area of mental health—who are committed to delivering them to the people of South Australia.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.