❓ Ms. Hamilton asks about the impact of the McGowan government's financial management on mental health funding. The Minister outlines record investments in mental health services, attributing them to improved state finances after previous government debt.
AnsweredQoN 392Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH —
FUNDING
392. Ms E. HAMILTON to the Minister for Health:
Before I begin, I would like to
acknowledge the student councillors, the year 6 teachers and the principal from
Poseidon Primary School who are here in Parliament today.
Can the minister outline to the
house how the McGowan Labor government's responsible financial
management has allowed it to invest a record amount of funding into mental
health, alcohol and other drugs services to ensure that Western Australians get
the support they need?
FUNDING
392. Ms E. HAMILTON to the Minister for Health:
Before I begin, I would like to
acknowledge the student councillors, the year 6 teachers and the principal from
Poseidon Primary School who are here in Parliament today.
Can the minister outline to the
house how the McGowan Labor government's responsible financial
management has allowed it to invest a record amount of funding into mental
health, alcohol and other drugs services to ensure that Western Australians get
the support they need?
AnswerView source ↗
On behalf of the member for
Willagee, I welcome the year 11 students from Kennedy Baptist College.
I thank the member for Joondalup
for her question. It is a very important one. Once the state's finances
have been fixed, we can start to invest in those services that make a difference
to people's lives, particularly in the mental health area. That is why
I am very proud to say that the mental health budget represents an investment
of $942 million, which is a record for Western Australia. The only reason why
we can make these investments is because the McGowan Labor government has done
the hard work to get the state's finances in order after the crippling
impact of the former government in mounting up $40 billion worth of debt. As
the Premier says, once we get things going well within the government sector,
we can start to encourage economic growth with 44 000 jobs being created during
the time of this government.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr R.H. COOK : This morning I
went to the launch of the Thriving at Work program. The program has been put
together by the Centre for Transformative Work Design and sponsored by the
Mental Health Commission. It is about improving mental health and wellbeing in
the workplace. It will provide industry with the resources that it needs to
create better workplaces so that people can continue to enjoy better mental
health and wellbeing. This is part of the preventive health strategy that
underpins the research we sponsored into mental health issues in the fly in,
fly out workforce, so that we can continue to improve mental health and
wellbeing in our community. When people need the care of a mental health
service, it is important that the resources are in place to make sure that they
get the care they need, when they need it. That is why I am very proud that we
have invested an extra $42.5 million in the methamphetamine action plan, taking
our total investment to over $240 million across the forward estimates. In
addition, we are also investing significantly in community mental health
services, particularly in our rural and regional communities, with $22.4 million
in capital funding over the next three years to establish our mental health
step-up, step-down services. To remind members of these services, in addition
to the 22 beds in Joondalup and 10 beds in Rockingham, we now have six beds in
Albany. We are constructing a 10-bed Bunbury service, which will open early
next year. A 10-bed Kalgoorlie service is expected to open next year, and there
will be a six-bed service in both Broome and Karratha. These are important
services right across the length and breadth of this state so that we can
continue to investment heavily in mental health and get the care to people when
they need it. I am also very proud of a $15.6 million investment in a new
20-bed secure mental health unit at Fremantle Hospital. The second secure unit,
which is expected to open in 2022, will boost the total number of onsite mental
health beds to 84. We are also investing in mental health services on the
frontline, which includes a $4.8 million investment in a 10-bed crisis centre
in Midland.
We can make these investments only
because we have done the hard work. We have a record expenditure in mental
health only because the McGowan Labor government has made the hard decision to
get our state's finances back on its feet after the crippling impact of
the previous government on the state's finances. Thank goodness that
mental health consumers will now benefit from that hard work.
Willagee, I welcome the year 11 students from Kennedy Baptist College.
I thank the member for Joondalup
for her question. It is a very important one. Once the state's finances
have been fixed, we can start to invest in those services that make a difference
to people's lives, particularly in the mental health area. That is why
I am very proud to say that the mental health budget represents an investment
of $942 million, which is a record for Western Australia. The only reason why
we can make these investments is because the McGowan Labor government has done
the hard work to get the state's finances in order after the crippling
impact of the former government in mounting up $40 billion worth of debt. As
the Premier says, once we get things going well within the government sector,
we can start to encourage economic growth with 44 000 jobs being created during
the time of this government.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr R.H. COOK : This morning I
went to the launch of the Thriving at Work program. The program has been put
together by the Centre for Transformative Work Design and sponsored by the
Mental Health Commission. It is about improving mental health and wellbeing in
the workplace. It will provide industry with the resources that it needs to
create better workplaces so that people can continue to enjoy better mental
health and wellbeing. This is part of the preventive health strategy that
underpins the research we sponsored into mental health issues in the fly in,
fly out workforce, so that we can continue to improve mental health and
wellbeing in our community. When people need the care of a mental health
service, it is important that the resources are in place to make sure that they
get the care they need, when they need it. That is why I am very proud that we
have invested an extra $42.5 million in the methamphetamine action plan, taking
our total investment to over $240 million across the forward estimates. In
addition, we are also investing significantly in community mental health
services, particularly in our rural and regional communities, with $22.4 million
in capital funding over the next three years to establish our mental health
step-up, step-down services. To remind members of these services, in addition
to the 22 beds in Joondalup and 10 beds in Rockingham, we now have six beds in
Albany. We are constructing a 10-bed Bunbury service, which will open early
next year. A 10-bed Kalgoorlie service is expected to open next year, and there
will be a six-bed service in both Broome and Karratha. These are important
services right across the length and breadth of this state so that we can
continue to investment heavily in mental health and get the care to people when
they need it. I am also very proud of a $15.6 million investment in a new
20-bed secure mental health unit at Fremantle Hospital. The second secure unit,
which is expected to open in 2022, will boost the total number of onsite mental
health beds to 84. We are also investing in mental health services on the
frontline, which includes a $4.8 million investment in a 10-bed crisis centre
in Midland.
We can make these investments only
because we have done the hard work. We have a record expenditure in mental
health only because the McGowan Labor government has made the hard decision to
get our state's finances back on its feet after the crippling impact of
the previous government on the state's finances. Thank goodness that
mental health consumers will now benefit from that hard work.
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