Matter of Public Importance
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) [6.33 p.m.]: In public life one learns so much from one's local community. One hears about the many happy and sometimes challenging stories of hardworking, honest and decent people. For me, the stories of personal struggles relating to mental illness present powerful images of emotional and psychological pain, triumph and perseverance just to get through the daily grind of a normal day. I am delighted to speak about Mental Health Month as a matter of public importance. Frankly, it is a matter of national importance.
Mental illness is indiscriminate and affects every aspect of our society. It shows disregard for social status or personal achievement. Mental health is a matter of great importance in New South Wales and our nation as one in five Australians will suffer from a mental illness. One in six of our working population are currently experiencing mental illness. More than $11 billion is lost in annual workplace productivity but the cost to families and our communities in the fight against mental illness is so much more. Investing in programs and preventive measures makes economic sense. More importantly, it makes social sense because it is about caring for and helping other Australians and their families in their time of need. An organisation that spends a single dollar on an effective mental health action program achieves a return of $2.30. That is a pretty good investment.
Awareness programs such as Mental Health Month are important in reaching out to our community and providing the much-needed platform for thousands of organisations to become involved. Such programs enable the exchange of information and publicise the availability of support, particularly for high-risk groups. Different platforms are used, such as films, festivals, exhibitions and education seminars to encourage the collaboration and coordination of corporate and community organisations, all working together on implementing preventive and responsive measures on an issue of great public importance. Earlier today I had the pleasure of attending the Black Dog Institute's launch of the post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] guidelines for our emergency service workers. Our frontline emergency service workers are always there for others during times of trauma and tragedy but today's launch was to demonstrate that we are there for them in their time of need. I commend Professor Helen Christensen, the chief executive; Peter Joseph, the chairman; and all the staff at the Black Dog Institute for their ongoing work to make our community a better place.
Mental Health Month is about more than activities, events, programs and the dissemination of educational information. Its impact is more profound. It is about drawing attention to the way in which our civic society is afraid to talk about an issue that is personally sensitive and private. For many, it is an issue that contains much shame and is often experienced in isolation and solitude. By having these conversations, public forums and debates during Mental Health Month, it shows that we are unafraid of hearing opinions and views on the subject. It shows that no matter how difficult it is to implement policy, no matter how long we have to wait for scientific research to find a genetic source that induces mental illness and no matter how many risks we take to deal with mental health in New South Wales, we are unafraid.
Ours is a mature society that can openly debate ideas and initiatives. By publicising mental illness we normalise it in the same way that other illnesses—such as a broken leg, diabetes or cardiac illness—are considered normal. Our community can openly discuss issues without stigma and shame. Stigma and shame are significant hurdles to a long-term solution because they prevent those who feel isolated from reaching out for help. Stigma can cause them to pretend to their families and friends that everything is okay when it is not. In some diverse communities where patriarchal social norms are more prevalent, the pressure and expectation of managing a mental illness with a pretend macho exterior is even greater. Societal and cultural expectations, together with an increased sense of shame, make it difficult to admit to a mental illness. A strong masculine exterior can hide internal anguish and exacerbate a sense of isolation.
Every community in New South Wales must make it normal for there to be private and public discussions about mental illness. Surely that is what a mature and caring society does when faced with a complex issue. The positive impact of Mental Health Month in normalising open discussion was represented for me by the stories of Glenn, Susan and Sandra and her volunteers at Beautiful Minds. I have spoken about these wonderful people previously in a private member's statement. This month the ABC presented the documentary Changing Minds, which was filmed at Campbelltown's Mental Health Unit. It was my privilege when I was mayor to work with Sandra and Beautiful Minds to raise money to improve our local mental health facilities.
It has been my pleasure to speak about Mental Health Month as a matter of public importance. I finish with a Greek proverb: Our society grows great when people plant trees whose shade they will never sit in. Let us plant the trees so that people such as Glenn and Susan and many others can sit in the shade when they need to. Let us plant the trees to provide shade for people whose faces we will never see, whose names we will never say and whose stories we will never hear. Let us plant the trees to provide shade for the grandmother I met who had tears in her eyes and running down her cheek because all she wanted was for her boy to get better.
