Mental Health Australia chair quits in despair at government inaction

The chair of Mental Health Australia has quit his position at the peak body, citing his frustration with the Albanese government’s inaction on mental health.

“The nation is amid a mental health crisis and Australians need urgent collaborative attention at the highest level. Only increased investment in services and major public policy reform will affect the necessary change. Every Australian deserves a system that truly supports and enhances their mental health. Anything less just isn’t good enough.”

Albanese and Health Minister Mark Butler have faced questioning over their investment in mental health services following two high-profile stabbings in Sydney this month. In both cases, the perpetrators’ families raised their history of mental illness. The health minister said this decision enabled thousands more people to see psychologists and promised more wide-ranging reform. However, the government is yet to formally respond to a review of the mental health system handed down at the end of 2022.

Professor Ian Hickie, co-director of the University of Sydney Brain and Mind Institute, said it was a difficult issue for the federal government because Australia’s healthcare system was reluctant to take on genuine reform.

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