Work on suicide prevention has stalled under the Minns Labor Government with no Suicide Prevention Plan to be released for at least another year, and the removal of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement from last Friday’s National Health Ministers’ Meeting
Shadow Minister for Health and Mental Health Sarah Mitchell said The Suicide Prevention Act was a major policy platform of the Minns Government, but they are failing to deliver any action.
“Passing legislation may grab a headline, but it delivers no real change. This Government is talking about working to prevent suicide, but none of the statewide or agency plans which are meant to deliver this work will even be drafted until well into 2027,” Mrs Mitchell said.
“It is hard to understand why this work hasn’t been prioritised, and why there is no sense of urgency to address a major mental health issue for many families.”
NSW Parliament passed the Suicide Prevention Act a year ago and requires both a statewide plan as well as plans from each key NSW agency to work proactively to prevent suicide.
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health Susan Carter said it was revealed in Budget Estimates that no plans will even be ready to be implemented until at least two years after the Act was passed. It is hard to understand why such important work is subject to such a long delay.
Compounding the issue is the news from the long-awaited gap analysis that 67,500 people with severe mental health challenges are unable to access emergency care in NSW each year due to funding and staffing issues.
“We hear the Government complaining about falling tax revenues and understand that delivering good mental health policy is challenging, but not nearly as challenging as living with severe mental health needs or losing a family member to suicide,” Ms Carter said.
“Government requires decision making and action – and we urgently need to see this in mental health.”
