Jamie Larcombe Centre

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:24): My question is to the Minister for Health. What services will the Jamie Larcombe Centre provide to our veteran community?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:24): Let me thank the honourable member for the first opportunity I have had since becoming Minister for Health to take a question of such intelligence. I can say—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: No, this is the first government question I have had. This is the first question I have had that has been underpinned by such sound research and knowledge. I have to say that I look forward to an opportunity where I have not been inundated with silly supplementary questions, so as to provide the Hon. Mr Ngo, amongst other members, an opportunity to ask a question around important policy that I know they care about.

On 5 October, I did have the pleasure of joining the Minister for Veterans' Affairs in officially opening the Jamie Larcombe Centre. In all seriousness, this was a really good day. It was a well-attended event and I think it was a very good sign of everybody's commitment to veterans' mental health generally that there was a good cross-section of political representation at the event. It was very much a good thing.

Obviously, there has been a long road that has led to the development of the Jamie Larcombe Centre that has been difficult, but this was a special occasion and it was great to have so many people present from all sides of politics amongst other far more important guests, including senior ADF officials and, of course, family and friends. The centre is named after Sapper Jamie Larcombe, in tribute to the service and also the sacrifice he made when he was tragically killed on 19 February 2011.

It was a privilege to be able to meet Jamie's family—Steve, Tricia, Emily, Ann-Marie and April—and also his fellow service personnel. Jamie's sacrifice and that of more than 100,000 Australians has made the world a better place and a safer place, and Jamie's legacy will be rich and last as long as our nation endures. Over the next 50 years, many thousands of veterans, their families, friends, advocates and those who provide them with vital services will be inspired by Jamie's story as they enter the centre.

Over 70,000 Australian Defence Force service men and women have been deployed and operational since 1999, many of them on multiple occasions. They wear their uniforms in our name and put their lives on the line in a very real way. They do that in some instances every day. We know that this will result in increasing numbers of deployed service people requiring treatment for mental health conditions including PTSD in the years ahead. That is why the South Australia government has designed specialist healthcare services for our veteran community.

In January 2014, the government adopted the Charter for Veterans. The charter outlined three key principles: government services should consider the cultural, economic, social, physical, emotional and pastoral needs of our veterans; veterans should be involved in consultation about services that affect them and their community; and services that directly impact veterans should aim to provide timely, appropriate and adequate assistance to veterans.

Building upon the work of the charter, a veterans' healthcare framework was released last year. The framework is part of our ongoing work to ensure that veterans receive the best available care at any of our major hospitals and healthcare facilities. It is in the context of both the veterans' charter and the framework that the new model of care for the Jamie Larcombe Centre was developed.

Issues affecting men and women who return from warlike service can be quite different to those affecting defence personnel who are deployed to non-warlike operations in peacekeeping, border control or natural disaster response roles. This $15 million investment into veterans' mental health will ensure that, regardless of age, gender or service history, our veterans who access the services at the Jamie Larcombe Centre will receive the best possible culturally sensitive care for the next 50 years and beyond.

The new centre includes: a purpose-built contemporary mental health unit incorporating ward and outpatient areas, along with courtyard and garden areas designed to facilitate recovery; library, communal lounge rooms, private family rooms and a children's playground for visiting families to enjoy; co-location of clinical services with a teaching and research hub; in-ward telepsychiatric facilities enabling veterans from country areas to access these services closer to home; designated separate inpatient areas for vulnerable groups; ECT therapy provided on the Glenside Health Service campus; and access to PTSD services for veterans, police and emergency services personnel, acknowledging that they have unique treatment needs as a result of their service.

The Jamie Larcombe Centre marks a new era in providing enhanced care to veterans in this state. It will be a centre of excellence in mental health research and education, incorporating an acute inpatient unit, outpatient services and specialist services for PTSD. I am sure that Dr Cowain and her hardworking staff and volunteers from Ward 17 will continue the outstanding work that they provide to our veterans in this new state-of-the-art facility. Our service men and women deserve nothing less.

I am very glad to report that very recently the Governor-General himself, with an extraordinary and distinguished career in our defence forces, had the opportunity to visit the Jamie Larcombe Centre, which I think is a great opportunity for such an outstanding Australian to be able to see the investment that this state government has made to look after our veterans. It has been a tough move to the Jamie Larcombe Centre, but undoubtedly it will be a good one, particularly when those recipients of care from Ward 17 get to see the familiar faces of the people who do the outstanding work, albeit in a brand-new environment.