The federal election was two years ago today, and this is the mental health reform we should be demanding in an election year, writes Simon Cuttard.
How long does a crisis have to last before it is considered government policy? Not a week goes by that we don’t hear about Australians taking their own lives or being harmed by a faulty mental health system. .
And while there are complex arrangements between the various levels of government, it’s safe to say that the federation has never stepped up to a leadership role.
With one year to go until the election, Australians need government, opposition and parliamentary leaders to step up and put mental health on the map. There are many topics worth discussing, including stigma, discrimination, and the controversy over Medicare rebates.
But for real change, we need to focus on structural problems and structural solutions.
Here are five structural policies that future politicians should tackle.
please support us by taxing them
Many parts of the economy are putting a huge strain on our mental health. Their commercial gain is our psychological loss, whether it is extractive digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, or the gambling companies that play a role in our suicide crisis.
We subsidize what we want and tax what we don’t want. This is a common maxim in economic policy, and it should also apply to dealing with businesses that cause mental distress and suicide, including gambling.
The federal mental health levy, which supplements existing revenue, will support new and better mental health and addictions support services across the country.
Psychosocial disability protection under the NDIS
A review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has raised serious concerns among people who have lived experience of psychosocial disability that they are being sacrificed for budgetary reasons. .
The government’s proposed early intervention pathway will mean that many people with psychosocial disabilities will move from the core NDIS model to a model with significantly less support.
How can governments create sustainability for all psychosocial disability participants in the NDIS equally, rather than isolating people with lived experience from a system that, while imperfect, values having choice and control? should be specified.
The commitment we need from the next administration is to co-design solutions, rather than imposing discriminatory reforms that disadvantage people with lived experiences.
Give us a strong and independent National Mental Health Commission
Every year, questions about mental health committees increase. Essentially, the Commission should have the important role of articulating the public interest while thwarting the various interests of industry associations, federal and other levels of government, and mental health services. It’s also important to get states and territories to pay their share of national mental health reform.
For the National Mental Health Commission to be effective, it must be empowered and empowered to monitor the government and its commitments to ensure that the people of Brisbane and Brusselton have their respective mental health needs met. It won’t.
Young people facing youth mental health crises, Indigenous communities battling suicide, and other underserved communities rely on committees to work on their behalf.
The recent federal budget mentions reforms to the commission. Urgent reforms to create a strong independent commission will be key.
Respecting lived experience requires funding
People experience mental health discrimination in almost every aspect of society. This is happening in schools, the media, workplaces, mental health services, and more.
This is reflected in the lack of funding for lived experience-based mental health services.
People with lived experience, including peer workers, have a long history of supporting each other in times of hardship. On a positive note, the federation has committed to establishing an association to represent fellow workers, similar to what exists for the rest of the workforce.
Future governments should prioritize managed mental health services based on lived experience, including early help, crisis and post-suicide support services.
National human rights investigation and law
In every state and territory, we allow human rights violations against people with lived experiences that we would not do against others. The use of seclusion, restraint, forced medication and forced electroconvulsive therapy remains alarmingly high within locked hospital wards.
That this serves as common national policy is an affront to our liberal principles of freedom and equality.
Governments that want to embark on mental health reform need to do two things. Establish a restorative justice process to identify the harm, listen to those with lived experience, and engage government and system representatives to respond. Similar processes have been called for in Victoria and Queensland, but governments have yet to take action.
While this is happening, the federal government should prioritize a national human rights law with specific elements designed closely with people with real experience. This strengthens the human rights of all Australians, not just experienced Australians.
There are no quick fixes for structural reform of mental health in this country. There are only structural solutions.
They are difficult. But if our lives depend on it, it is very important not to try.
Simon Caterle (he/him) is a mental health and human rights advocate with lived experience of mental health issues. He has advised government ministers and legal and mental health services. You can follow Simon on Twitter @simonkatterl.
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