❓ Hon. Ljiljanna Ravlich questions the Minister for Mental Health about the increasing suicide rate in WA compared to other states, challenging the success of the government's prevention strategy. The Minister defends the strategy, highlighting declines in rural areas and metropolitan areas since its implementation, and suggests anomalies in the data.
AnsweredQoN 549Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SUICIDE —
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS DATA
549. Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH to the Minister for Mental
Health:
I refer to recent Australian Bureau
of Statistics data on suicide that shows Western Australia is the only state in
the country where the rate of suicide increased between 2006 and 2010 compared
with the previous five years. It also shows that the rate of suicide in WA rose
from 11.8 deaths per 100 000 of population to 13.2 deaths per 100 000 of
population. All other states and territories reported a decline.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house why the number of suicides in Western Australia
continues to increase at an alarming rate whilst at the same time the rate is
declining in other states and territories?
(2) How can
the government claim its suicide prevention strategy is a success given the
alarming increase in suicide deaths in Western Australia?
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS DATA
549. Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH to the Minister for Mental
Health:
I refer to recent Australian Bureau
of Statistics data on suicide that shows Western Australia is the only state in
the country where the rate of suicide increased between 2006 and 2010 compared
with the previous five years. It also shows that the rate of suicide in WA rose
from 11.8 deaths per 100 000 of population to 13.2 deaths per 100 000 of
population. All other states and territories reported a decline.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house why the number of suicides in Western Australia
continues to increase at an alarming rate whilst at the same time the rate is
declining in other states and territories?
(2) How can
the government claim its suicide prevention strategy is a success given the
alarming increase in suicide deaths in Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for asking the question.
(1)–(2)
What the member referred to is an Australian Bureau of Statistics report about
the age-standardised death rate from 2001–05 as one block of statistics
to 2006–10 as another block of statistics. What the member does not
make clear to people is, in terms of the rural areas, the peak of deaths by
suicide relate to the years 2006 and 2007, and it has steadily declined in the
non-metropolitan area since then. I would say that if people need a measure of
the success of a suicide prevention strategy that has been unashamedly directed
at, in the first instance, rural and remote areas of Australia, that is one measure
of success that they might like to use. Secondly, the member also does not
mention that 2008, which was the year before our suicide prevention strategy
was even launched, was the highest level of suicides in the metropolitan area.
There has been a steady, but not necessarily sufficiently, declining rate of
suicide since then.
When we measure one block of five years
against another block of five years and average the suicides out in each of
those years, the statistics that Hon
Ljiljanna Ravlich referred to are the figures that were shown for WA. However,
the Mental Health Commission is making it absolutely clear that there is some
anomaly within those figures that will be rectified in the process. But I draw
members' attention to what is occurring with the number of suicides in
this current financial year. Whilst I think there will be plenty of opportunity
to go into those in more detail when we have the debate on suicide that is
coming up shortly, I would say that the statistics are showing us that there is
an amazingly improved status around suicide in this state.
(1)–(2)
What the member referred to is an Australian Bureau of Statistics report about
the age-standardised death rate from 2001–05 as one block of statistics
to 2006–10 as another block of statistics. What the member does not
make clear to people is, in terms of the rural areas, the peak of deaths by
suicide relate to the years 2006 and 2007, and it has steadily declined in the
non-metropolitan area since then. I would say that if people need a measure of
the success of a suicide prevention strategy that has been unashamedly directed
at, in the first instance, rural and remote areas of Australia, that is one measure
of success that they might like to use. Secondly, the member also does not
mention that 2008, which was the year before our suicide prevention strategy
was even launched, was the highest level of suicides in the metropolitan area.
There has been a steady, but not necessarily sufficiently, declining rate of
suicide since then.
When we measure one block of five years
against another block of five years and average the suicides out in each of
those years, the statistics that Hon
Ljiljanna Ravlich referred to are the figures that were shown for WA. However,
the Mental Health Commission is making it absolutely clear that there is some
anomaly within those figures that will be rectified in the process. But I draw
members' attention to what is occurring with the number of suicides in
this current financial year. Whilst I think there will be plenty of opportunity
to go into those in more detail when we have the debate on suicide that is
coming up shortly, I would say that the statistics are showing us that there is
an amazingly improved status around suicide in this state.
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