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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Thursday, 11 March 2004) . . Page.. 1090 ..

Mr Speaker, let us look at the question of a forensic facility. Mr Stanhope has said it would be too expensive and remarked that we can purchase the service for, say, $150,000 per person per year from New South Wales. Well, I would be interested in knowing just where these beds are. Are they at Kenmore, are they at Morrisett, will they be at Long Bay?

The reality is that New South Wales does not have enough forensic beds for its own needs. They are not going to be able to rent us beds that do not exist. That, by the way, is also ignoring the rather inhumane policy being espoused by the government that we should be sending forensic patients a long way away from their families, a long way away from their support networks and a long way away from their community.

However, Mr Speaker, the lack of beds in New South Wales is an opportunity for us and if we, for instance, built a 10-bed forensic facility as part of the prison, I am sure that we could always lease any excess beds back to New South Wales. I guarantee you they would be snapped up in a second. The advantage there is that people from our region, from down the coast, out to Wagga and down towards the snow country, who have difficulties could be housed much closer to their families, to their support networks, their communities, and that would be a good outcome.

The remand centre Official Visitor has told us that up to a third of remandees have mental health issues. I take Mr Refshauge’s point that not all of these remandees can blame their actions on mental illness. The proportion that can, though, is still significant. This is a real problem. There are very serious adverse events occurring monthly and something must be done. If you look at the New South Wales corrections website, they say something like 40 per cent of inmates in the New South Wales system have mental health problems.

It is not just a matter of money: it is a matter of listening to those in the community, listening to the families and friends of those who are affected. It is about listening to those who have a mental illness and to those who have recovered from one. If the government does that, as I have done and, indeed, as Ms Tucker and Ms Dundas often do, they will find out how to address the problems and they will find the solutions. They will then just need the courage to actually do what is needed.

The Canberra Liberals are aware of the problems in mental health and we are acutely aware of the shortcomings of the past. However, under my leadership, the Canberra Liberals are committed to solving the problems of the mental health system. Indeed, I can say that mental health policy will be at the forefront of the policies that we will take to the people of Canberra at the next election.

MR CORBELL (Minister for Health and Minister for Planning) (3.50): I thank Mr Smyth for bringing this matter of public importance before the Assembly today. Mental health is a matter of importance for all Canberrans and it is certainly a priority for the Stanhope government.

When the Stanhope government came to power in 2001 the spending for mental health in the ACT was $67 per head of population, the lowest in the country. Mental health had been neglected and ignored for five years under the previous government. I am proud to

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