❓ Dr. Jacobs questions the Minister for Health about 3,300 mental health patient deaths in WA's public health system over four years, requesting an inquiry. The Minister's response is perceived as dismissive, stating people die and accusing the opposition of scaremongering.
AnsweredQoN 759Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH PATIENT DEATHS
Hopefully, the minister will answer this question. I refer to the 3 300 mental health patient deaths that have occurred in Western Australia’s public health system over the past four years. Will the minister support the opposition’s call for an urgent inquiry into how and why these deaths have occurred; and, if not, why not? Mr J.A. McGINTY
Hopefully, the minister will answer this question. I refer to the 3 300 mental health patient deaths that have occurred in Western Australia’s public health system over the past four years. Will the minister support the opposition’s call for an urgent inquiry into how and why these deaths have occurred; and, if not, why not? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
People die; that is what life is about in the end. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: People die; that is what life is about in the end. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
People die; that is what life is about in the end. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: People die; that is what life is about in the end. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
People die; that is what life is about in the end. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
The SPEAKER : Order! I remind the minister that we are not talking about factional fights. Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : One could obviously anticipate where this answer is heading; it is going back to the causes of death. Perhaps political death is the issue we have here. The answer to the question given in the upper house was that something like 600 people with mental illnesses have died in the past 12 months. Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : 660. Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : In the past 12 months, 660 people who were known to the authorities to have mental disorders passed away. The overwhelming majority of those people were over the age of 70. It was simply a question of how many people with a known mental health disorder died in the past 12 months. That was the information provided, and that is what happens. Ultimately, when people come to the end of their lives, they die. The opposition tried to somehow or other suggest that these were people in care in institutions. It was very misleading. The fact that the overwhelming majority of these people were over the age of 70 - Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : How many of the deaths were related to mental disorders? Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : That should have been the question that was asked, but it was not. The question asked related to how many people with known mental disorders had died. One in five of the people in this room, at one stage of their lives, will suffer mental illnesses. Some people have mental illnesses today. Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr T. Buswell interjected. Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : It keeps on coming back, does it not? We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
We all know that our former Premier had a mental health disorder. Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : You are treating this lightly. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : I am not; I am treating it very seriously. The Liberal Party is scaremongering and being stupid, by trying to pretend that this figure for the number of people who died was somehow related to care, which was so misleading. The figure refers to the number of people who died who were known to have received some treatment during their lives in the mental health system. The overwhelming majority of these people were old; they died of old age. That is the answer to the question. The member for Roe, being a medical practitioner, should read the answer to the question asked in the other place. He is now trying to perpetrate a falsehood. That is the specialty of the member for Vasse. He went to the member for Kalgoorlie and said, “Mate, I’ll support you, don’t worry about that.” As soon as he turned away confident, the member for Kalgoorlie got a knife in his back.
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