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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-27 Daily Xml
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SUICIDE PREVENTION

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (15:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Mental Health a question about suicide prevention.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER: Last week's Stock Journal states:

Every four days, a farmer in Australia suicides, according to anti-depression agency beyondblue.

Recent research from Flinders University also shows that farmers are more likely to commit suicide than other people living in rural communities.

The article goes on to outline some of the difficulties and reasons for such a high rate of suicide which, of course, is being exacerbated by the current drought and hard economic conditions. The article states:

LOXCARE coordinator Carolyn Wood...says community awareness is the key to combating depression and the prevention of suicide.

She goes on to speak most enthusiastically about local recognition of the signs of suicide and community support such as that offered by the CORES group that has been so successful in Tasmania and, indeed, which presented a workshop in Loxton.

My question is: will the state government reconsider its current negative position on funding the community-based suicide prevention group CORES and, if not, why not?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (15:08): We know that our farmers can from time to time do it very hard and, given their remoteness from support services, they can end up in situations of great stress. We also know that this unprecedented drought has exacerbated those pressures.

I certainly know that in my former role as the minister for mental health it was an issue that occupied a great deal of our time, energy and planning—and also funding. On many occasions I outlined in this chamber in detail the number of programs and the extensive breadth of programs and the significant additional funding that the state government has put into providing extra support services for farmers and other people living and working in regional areas because of the drought. So, I am happy to refer this question to the minister in another place and bring back a detailed response.

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