❓ The Treasurer outlines the government's investment in mental health services, highlighting increased funding, new facilities, and staffing. He criticizes the opposition's perceived approach of cutting services.
AnsweredQoN 324Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Will the Treasurer outline what measures the government is taking to provide for the needs of Western Australians affected by mental illness? Mr E.S. RIPPER
Will the Treasurer outline what measures the government is taking to provide for the needs of Western Australians affected by mental illness? Mr E.S. RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
The government is committed to improving mental health services through in-patient services, intermediate care and community support options. That is why we have allocated $173 million to build new mental health facilities throughout the state, providing108 acute in-patient beds, employing 400 new mental health workers and constructing an extra 400 community supported accommodation beds and 47 intermediate care beds for mental health patients across the state. That is why we signed up for Beyondblue in November 2004. The government’s total spending on mental health is up by 50 per cent on 2001 levels. Ours will be the first state to lift mental health spending to nine per cent of the total health budget. That is our record on mental health: better resources for mental health services and better resources for care in the community. What about the other side of politics? The opposition has a new mantra launched by the member for Vasse. What is the new doctrine of members opposite? It is “less with less”. Those are the new opposition buzzwords - the Buswell buzzwords. They are not original, because they are taken from the shadow Treasurer’s new guru, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Less with less was his slogan, and he certainly put the doctrine into practice. Less with less means cuts to mental health services. William Weld took the advice of his favourite think tank, the Pioneer Institute, and shut down mental health facilities and left patients to the mercy of the private sector. That is what he did with his less with less campaign. That is the sort of policy that Western Australians can expect from the new “less with less” opposition. I think that Western Australians will have a very good understanding of what a “less with less” approach would mean - cuts to services, user pays and less investment in infrastructure.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: The government is committed to improving mental health services through in-patient services, intermediate care and community support options. That is why we have allocated $173 million to build new mental health facilities throughout the state, providing108 acute in-patient beds, employing 400 new mental health workers and constructing an extra 400 community supported accommodation beds and 47 intermediate care beds for mental health patients across the state. That is why we signed up for Beyondblue in November 2004. The government’s total spending on mental health is up by 50 per cent on 2001 levels. Ours will be the first state to lift mental health spending to nine per cent of the total health budget. That is our record on mental health: better resources for mental health services and better resources for care in the community. What about the other side of politics? The opposition has a new mantra launched by the member for Vasse. What is the new doctrine of members opposite? It is “less with less”. Those are the new opposition buzzwords - the Buswell buzzwords. They are not original, because they are taken from the shadow Treasurer’s new guru, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Less with less was his slogan, and he certainly put the doctrine into practice. Less with less means cuts to mental health services. William Weld took the advice of his favourite think tank, the Pioneer Institute, and shut down mental health facilities and left patients to the mercy of the private sector. That is what he did with his less with less campaign. That is the sort of policy that Western Australians can expect from the new “less with less” opposition. I think that Western Australians will have a very good understanding of what a “less with less” approach would mean - cuts to services, user pays and less investment in infrastructure.
The government is committed to improving mental health services through in-patient services, intermediate care and community support options. That is why we have allocated $173 million to build new mental health facilities throughout the state, providing108 acute in-patient beds, employing 400 new mental health workers and constructing an extra 400 community supported accommodation beds and 47 intermediate care beds for mental health patients across the state. That is why we signed up for Beyondblue in November 2004. The government’s total spending on mental health is up by 50 per cent on 2001 levels. Ours will be the first state to lift mental health spending to nine per cent of the total health budget. That is our record on mental health: better resources for mental health services and better resources for care in the community. What about the other side of politics? The opposition has a new mantra launched by the member for Vasse. What is the new doctrine of members opposite? It is “less with less”. Those are the new opposition buzzwords - the Buswell buzzwords. They are not original, because they are taken from the shadow Treasurer’s new guru, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Less with less was his slogan, and he certainly put the doctrine into practice. Less with less means cuts to mental health services. William Weld took the advice of his favourite think tank, the Pioneer Institute, and shut down mental health facilities and left patients to the mercy of the private sector. That is what he did with his less with less campaign. That is the sort of policy that Western Australians can expect from the new “less with less” opposition. I think that Western Australians will have a very good understanding of what a “less with less” approach would mean - cuts to services, user pays and less investment in infrastructure.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: The government is committed to improving mental health services through in-patient services, intermediate care and community support options. That is why we have allocated $173 million to build new mental health facilities throughout the state, providing108 acute in-patient beds, employing 400 new mental health workers and constructing an extra 400 community supported accommodation beds and 47 intermediate care beds for mental health patients across the state. That is why we signed up for Beyondblue in November 2004. The government’s total spending on mental health is up by 50 per cent on 2001 levels. Ours will be the first state to lift mental health spending to nine per cent of the total health budget. That is our record on mental health: better resources for mental health services and better resources for care in the community. What about the other side of politics? The opposition has a new mantra launched by the member for Vasse. What is the new doctrine of members opposite? It is “less with less”. Those are the new opposition buzzwords - the Buswell buzzwords. They are not original, because they are taken from the shadow Treasurer’s new guru, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Less with less was his slogan, and he certainly put the doctrine into practice. Less with less means cuts to mental health services. William Weld took the advice of his favourite think tank, the Pioneer Institute, and shut down mental health facilities and left patients to the mercy of the private sector. That is what he did with his less with less campaign. That is the sort of policy that Western Australians can expect from the new “less with less” opposition. I think that Western Australians will have a very good understanding of what a “less with less” approach would mean - cuts to services, user pays and less investment in infrastructure.
The government is committed to improving mental health services through in-patient services, intermediate care and community support options. That is why we have allocated $173 million to build new mental health facilities throughout the state, providing108 acute in-patient beds, employing 400 new mental health workers and constructing an extra 400 community supported accommodation beds and 47 intermediate care beds for mental health patients across the state. That is why we signed up for Beyondblue in November 2004. The government’s total spending on mental health is up by 50 per cent on 2001 levels. Ours will be the first state to lift mental health spending to nine per cent of the total health budget. That is our record on mental health: better resources for mental health services and better resources for care in the community. What about the other side of politics? The opposition has a new mantra launched by the member for Vasse. What is the new doctrine of members opposite? It is “less with less”. Those are the new opposition buzzwords - the Buswell buzzwords. They are not original, because they are taken from the shadow Treasurer’s new guru, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Less with less was his slogan, and he certainly put the doctrine into practice. Less with less means cuts to mental health services. William Weld took the advice of his favourite think tank, the Pioneer Institute, and shut down mental health facilities and left patients to the mercy of the private sector. That is what he did with his less with less campaign. That is the sort of policy that Western Australians can expect from the new “less with less” opposition. I think that Western Australians will have a very good understanding of what a “less with less” approach would mean - cuts to services, user pays and less investment in infrastructure.
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