Suicide Prevention Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 21 September 2021.)

The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:39): I rise on behalf of SA-Best to speak in support of the Suicide Prevention Bill 2021. In doing so, Mr President, on behalf of SA-Best I would like to sincerely thank you for your tireless advocacy for suicide prevention and to acknowledge the strong leadership and deep commitment you have shown over many years to ensure this important piece of legislation, the first of its kind in any Australian jurisdiction, is before us today.

The bill is indeed very timely, given that South Australia is to be a party to the new Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement to be signed off in November, I believe. Suicide is one of the most disturbing and difficult public health problems we face. Each year, our stats show us that 250 people die by suicide in South Australia. I have no doubt that number is probably higher than those stats show, but that is according to official figures and it is a horrifying statistic even at that level.

It is, of its nature, a very difficult subject to talk about and we know appropriate reporting in the media can play an important role in preventing suicide, in increasing public understanding and in reducing the stigma around mental illness. Researchers estimate that every suicide has a direct and profound impact on roughly 60 people. It is a very tragic thing when someone has attempted to take their life or died by suicide.

It is particularly distressing when young people die by suicide with their whole lives before them cut tragically short. It is no less upsetting that many older people also make this choice, often dying alone and in terrible circumstances. That is one of the issues I discussed at the briefing I had on this bill and I was somewhat surprised by the statistics as they apply to our older people (85 and over).

Grieving a suicide can be quite different from other types of bereavement, given that it is often sudden, it is unexpected and it is self-administered. The emotional, physiological and/or social distress that family and friends suffer and the realisation of the suffering the deceased themselves has sometimes silently endured can trigger persistent feelings of grief that can linger for many years after a death by suicide. Survivors of attempts and the families and friends of the deceased can harbour profound feelings of shock, loss, failure, shame, stigmatisation, guilt and anger.

Those left behind are often haunted by agonising questions like: 'Why did they do this to me? Did I do something wrong? Could I have done something to prevent it?' Individually, and as a society, we all want to reduce the incidence of death by suicide and I think it is important that this bill has that as its focus and primary objective.

Academics tell us that suicidal behaviours, including thinking, planning, attempting and committing suicide, are not influenced or caused by one factor, but rather a complex web of interaction between multiple factors and all risk factors. Although there is no evidence yet that COVID-19 has increased suicide rates, we do know the pandemic has amplified pre-existing problems in our mental health system and that demand for counselling services is up 53 per cent nationally, with 60 per cent of all contacts being people aged 15 to 34.

The current Chair of Beyond Blue, former Prime Minister Ms Julia Gillard, noted recently that there is a clear resolve from governments to address these issues, including providing extra funding to improve mental health and suicide prevention, and she noted that the key is bringing it together into one coherent system. I think the bill does precisely that. It takes a whole-of-government, multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach to preventing suicide and I am pleased to see the level of cross-agency collaboration and cooperation the bill fosters.

The Suicide Prevention Council will provide the necessary leadership to drive South Australian suicide prevention responses and initiative; that is its goal. The bill provides a clear framework, I think, to ensure suicide prevention responses are a priority across all levels of government and the community. It is not confined to departmental silos. It requires that every state authority must, in carrying out its functions, give effect to a state suicide prevention plan and report on these annually.

Certain state authorities will also be required to have suicide prevention action plans. To my mind, it is always a good thing to see action plans underpinning strategic plans to make sure there is tangible action to be implemented. I am particularly pleased to see the information gathering and sharing provisions of the bill, because we know we need to have accurate and up-to-date data to inform future innovation, planning, policies, programs and priorities.

This is one of the key areas that I focused on during my briefings with the government, because I think we all have questions around how that data will be collected, how it will be accessible in terms of transparency purposes and what will be done with data that is collected in real time. There are a host of questions that I have asked in relation to this. I am confident they have been taken on board and I am confident they are being worked on as we prepare the plans and the accompanying policies and guidelines that will underpin this legislation.

The establishment of the new register will ensure there is accurate and more comprehensive information, and I am very hopeful it will have up-to-date statistics available in relation to deaths by suicide and suicide attempts but also that that information will be available beyond just the government. Practitioners and researchers need to be aware of and have ready access to data that may point to trends and patterns as well as newly emerging problems in order to develop effective responses.

For example, we know understanding the methods used in a person's attempt or death by suicide can play a very important role in its prevention, with accurate up-to-date data key to this information. Understanding why some methods are prevalent in suicide attempts but others are more prevalent in deaths by suicide can better inform preventative policies, programs and educational activities.

To achieve these objectives of the bill, the bill provides for the creation of a new statutory body, the Suicide Prevention Council. That council takes over the role of the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention and will provide a sustainable, properly resourced body to lead whole-of-community and whole-of-government planning, strategies, actions, policies, programs, training and education initiatives—that is, a multipronged approach to reducing the incidence of suicide in South Australia.

I think the membership of that council has been carefully thought through, but I do note that the opposition has amendments on file, and I certainly have some questions in relation to those as they relate to the council itself. Ex officio members give the council the necessary whole-of-government representation to ensure it effectively operates across a range of specialties, leveraging the seniority and expertise of the Chief Public Health Officer, the Chief Psychiatrist, the Chief Executive of Wellbeing SA, the Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, the Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People and a Mental Health Commissioner.

The addition of a member of parliament I think completes what I am sure will be a high-level, influential and effective council. The primary function of that council is to prepare a suicide prevention plan and to make recommendations on policies and programs that are aimed at reducing deaths by suicide. The bill is very prescriptive about what needs to be done in the state suicide prevention plan. It specifically requires the plan to contain a part relating to suicide prevention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

As suicide can be particularly prevalent in young Aboriginal cohorts, this is an extraordinarily important provision. Again, I note the opposition's amendments, and they relate specifically to what I have just outlined in relation to the council and the composition and potentially the requirement for some other body or issues group to sit alongside this, which I am hoping the opposition will be able to clarify further during the committee stage debate.

I note the bill is scheduled to commence on proclamation, and while I understand it will take some time to get the council appointed and administrative supports in place, I sincerely hope this bill is fast-tracked and we see the council commence its important functions next year. With those concluding comments, I indicate our support for the bill on behalf of SA-Best.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.