Politics

‘Situation dire’: Aboriginal child suicide inquest lays bare intergenerational trauma

A coronial inquest into the suicide deaths of Aboriginal young people in the Kimberley region has recommended the introduction of a cashless welfare card, a banned drinkers register and voluntary boarding school placements. The findings, delivered [...]

Mental health royal commission overwhelmed by response

lmost 4500 Victorians have flooded a major inquiry into the state’s mental health system with submissions about the crisis in services for people suffering mental illness, including those at risk of suicide. Those making submissions are [...]

Aboriginal community pleas for ‘help in dealing with grief’ as Closing the Gap report finds most targets not met

Some members of South Australia’s Riverland Aboriginal community have lost 23 members of their family in the past two years, and they say they are desperate for help in dealing with grief. Their plea comes as [...]

State urged to examine dire housing need in mental health probe

After years of sleeping rough or in cutthroat boarding houses, the hollows in Graeme Starr’s gaunt, tattooed cheeks have finally rounded out a little. He’s eating well, no longer takes medication for schizophrenia and has stopped [...]

Why this landmark inquiry into mental health will be different

As the federal election bandwagon thrusts into full gear, please take heart that – behind the scenes and in a very quiet fashion – the diligent and painstaking work of improving public policies is still under [...]

Government Invests $1.45B into Community Mental Health

Community mental health groups have welcomed a record $1.45 billion government investment into the sector but say more needs to be done to address lingering service gaps. Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the investment on Wednesday [...]

More go straight from psychiatric hospital into homelessness

When Sonia and Linda Berton picked up their sister Katherine* from the psychiatric hospital and moved her into a hotel room in Melbourne’s north, they tried to make it safe. They checked the room for hanging points. [...]

Julia Gillard: simplicity ‘key to mental health’

Julia Gillard is urging people to adopt a simple approach to improving their mental health, warning against short-term fixes that are particularly prevalent when a new year dawns. In a message posted yesterday on the website [...]

One in three FIFO workers experiences high levels of psychological distress, study finds

One-third of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) resource workers experience high levels of psychological distress compared to half that level for the general population, a new report has found. The Government-funded Curtin University report into the mental health [...]

If we’re to have another inquiry into mental health, it should look at why the others have been ignored

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has promised to hold a royal commission into mental health if Labor wins the November state election. Last week’s announcement comes a couple of weeks after the federal government asked the Productivity [...]