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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-05 Daily Xml
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SUICIDE PREVENTION

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:27): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse a question about suicide prevention.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Members would be aware of ongoing community concern about suicide across South Australia, particularly in rural and regional areas. Equally, I expect that members may not be aware that the Tasmanian-based community response to eliminating suicide program (CORES) has recently been taken up in regional areas of Victoria and Queensland. This expansion results from the increasing recognition of the value of this award-winning and community-based program around the country. My questions are:

1. Will the minister reconsider funding at least one CORES program in South Australia?

2. If so, will she consider partnering with one or more of the numerous regional community organisations that have demonstrated strong interest in the program?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (14:28): I have answered this or a very similar question on a number of occasions in this chamber, so I give the honourable member opposite 10 out of 10 for repetition.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: He just does not listen to the answer about the incredible amount of work South Australia has done in relation to its mental health services right across the state. Not only are we reforming, rebuilding, relocating and transforming our mental health system right across South Australia but we have also put in place a set of intensive rural and regional drought response services and support. South Australia has invested an extraordinary amount of time, energy and resources in working with local communities to ensure that they have the appropriate support, not only generally as a service but also specifically in response to the particular pressures that the drought has placed on people.

The South Australian suite of programs and services targeting suicide prevention and postvention covers the activities of the CORES program from Tasmania. I have already raised that in this place before, but obviously the honourable member did not listen to my answer. The CORES program is an initiative developed and implemented by Tandara Community Care Inc, working closely with its local community. It is designed to develop the skills and confidence of community members to assist persons who may be contemplating suicide, and to assist in developing the community's strength and capacity to eliminate suicide.

There have been references to the South Australian government introducing the CORES program. However, the government already has a number of suicide prevention and postvention initiatives in place, based not only on similar programs to CORES but a range of other complementary programs as well. To reduce the impact of psychological distress on the population, the South Australian government has added to the $1 million provided by beyondblue under the one-off $25 million boost by committing a further $1.4 million over five years, bringing its commitment to the beyondblue depression initiative to $2.4 million. It will enable beyondblue to deliver a range of prevention and promotion programs throughout South Australia.

The Social Inclusion Board provided funding of $680,000 over two years (between 2004 and 2006) specifically to support the implementation of locally driven suicide prevention initiatives in South Australian regional areas. These initiatives focused on young people, and in particular young Aboriginal males. Country Health South Australia has provided leadership and coordination for these initiatives, and as a result suicide prevention is now undertaken as part of Country Health SA's mental health promotion activity.

In collaboration with the Australian government and the SA Divisions of General Practice, a primary health care suicide prevention and intervention model has been developed for South Australia called square. The model provides for assessment, early intervention, coordinated support and follow up for people at risk of self-harm or suicide through the establishment of partnerships between GPs, mental health and general health services, drug and alcohol services, emergency services, community organisations and community members. It is expected that better partnerships will result in reduced demand for emergency services.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: He keeps asking the same question over and over. He is obviously not listening to the answer, so I will keep repeating it. By working with key regional partnerships, the SA Division of General Practice and Relationships Australia are rolling out the primary health care model of suicide prevention and training across the state. Drought affected country areas have been given the highest priority. Implementation and training will be completed by June 2008.

Additionally, suicide prevention training for workers and community members has been identified as a high need area for Aboriginal service providers and the Aboriginal community. In response, the CNAHS and Adelaide University funded two trials of the LivingWorks program, which includes a two-day workshop on suicide intervention skills with ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and a half-day workshop specifically for care givers (SafeTALK: Suicide Alertness for Everyone—Tell, Ask, Listen, KeepSafe).

The South Australian government funded the Mental Health First Aid program—and I know I have outlined this before, but obviously I need to do it again—with a total of $225,000 over 2005-06 and 2006-07 to assist in raising South Australian communities' awareness of mental health and the prevention of suicide and self-harm. The program provides the community with information on how to identify and assist people who are experiencing a mental health problem, and also aims to reduce the stigma around mental health issues. The suicide awareness component of the Mental Health First Aid program has been complemented by the square program, and I am advised that the Department of Health has funded this important program for a further 12 months.

I could go on and on. As I said, here in South Australia have we committed extensive funds to the reforming and transforming of our mental services right across the state—a commitment of $107.9 million to reform the mental health system that was left in a disgraceful state by the former Liberal government, which simply allowed our mental health services to fall down around our ears. This government has not only rectified that, it has also put together a significant package of mental health support services to assist people in rural and regional areas who are under additional stress because of the drought. This government is committed to what is a wide range of initiatives.

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