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Labor's approach to mental health
08 October 2007
Nicola Roxon, Federal Labor's Shadow Minister for Health, outlined Labor’s broad approach to mental health in an address to the opening of the Mental Health Foundation of Australia National Conference.
Federal Labor will show leadership to keep driving the reforms and investment that are needed to improve mental health services. Federal Labor will:
- put mental health firmly back on the COAG agenda since it has slipped from national focus;
- work with our State and Territory colleagues on an integrated, national approach to mental health service delivery;
- put in place an evidence-based approach;
re-orient mental health policy towards prevention and early intervention. Our postnatal depression plan demonstrates our commitment to this approach;
- work to ensure mental health services are well integrated with other primary care and specialist services. One example of this is our GP Super Clinics;
- invest in programs that can ensure resources are used to fill the gaps in existing service delivery, particularly in rural and regional Australia where need is high (such as our $20 million commitment to extend ATAPS); and
- develop an open, transparent system of evaluation and accountability of existing mental health services, to ensure our investment is well targeted and that the services which are in place are available to people who need them most.
Federal Labor will continue to strongly invest in mental health. However, while resources are important in mental health, they're not enough in themselves - national, strategic planning and co-ordination are also vital and are a current missing ingredient.
That's why Federal Labor will provide the leadership that is required to build upon the recent investment in tackling the mental illnesses affecting so many thousands of Australians each week.
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Click here to read Nicola Roxon's speech to the Mental Health Foundation of Australia [ pdf ]
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