The Hon. EMILY SUVAAL (16:53): I move:

(1)That this House notes that September marks National Suicide Prevention Month as well as World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day.

(2)That this House acknowledges people with lived experience of mental ill-health and recovery and the experience of people who have been carers, families or supporters.

(3)That this House notes and supports the work the Government is doing to develop whole-of-government suicide prevention legislation.

(4)That this House further notes that we must all strive towards zero suicide.

If this debate raises any distress or concern for individuals in this Chamber or watching online, people are encouraged to contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Callback Service on 1300 659 467. I am mindful of the sensitivities regarding this debate, particularly in light of media reporting today and the front page ofThe Sydney Morning Herald about the tragic loss of a 12-year-old girl. This month marks National Suicide Prevention Month, as well as World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day. It is an important time to reflect on the impact of suicide and mental health issues on our community. In Australia nearly 10 million people have been affected by suicide, representing almost half of our population. That number represents not only those who have died by suicide but also their families, their friends and their peers. It represents first responders and workers. It is an alarming figure and it highlights the importance of suicide prevention for our community.

As we well know, over two in five Australians aged 16 to 85 are estimated to have experienced a mental health disorder at some point in their life. Alarmingly, according to the NSW Suicide Monitoring System, in 2023 around 934 people died by suspected or confirmed suicide in New South Wales. That equates to losing two or three people per day to suicide in New South Wales. It is an issue of significant concern and a problem that has sadly only worsened in the past decade. It is a problem that the New South Wales Government and my colleague Minister Jackson are determined to address. We are committed to doing all we possibly can to better support the mental health of people all over New South Wales.

Since coming into government the Minister has acted immediately, commissioning a gap analysis as an initial step to understand the size of the problem and prioritise immediate actions. This year's budget saw an investment of $2.9 billion towards mental health services in New South Wales, the largest investment on record. The investment includes $143.4 million to the Towards Zero Suicides initiative, which addresses the priorities in the strategic framework for suicide prevention. That is also complemented by suicide prevention initiatives co‑founded with the Commonwealth Government under the bilateral Agreement on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, a combined $338 million investment over the five years to 2025-26.

The New South Wales Government has also committed to introducing legislation that establishes a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention across the entire government. The legislation will aim to foster a culture within government where suicide prevention is a shared responsibility, with clear mechanisms in place to ensure accountability. While the Government has confidence in our State's services and our frontline workers, it is clear that there is much need for improvement and much more work needs to be done. While suicides often have a mental health component, there are also many other factors at play that contribute to suicide. Those include social issues, housing and financial stresses, and cost-of-living pressures. Addressing the other factors that can contribute to suicide will reduce the likelihood of someone reaching the point of crisis.

As I mentioned, it is estimated that 934 people died by suspected or confirmed suicide in New South Wales in 2023. That number is simply too high. The fact of the matter is that any number above zero is simply too high. No-one should be in a place where they have reached that absolute crisis point. It is tragic that today, still, people are reaching that crisis point. Our Government is dedicated to preventing any more lives from being tragically lost. We have delivered record investment into our mental health services and are introducing landmark legislation that will better prevent more lives from being lost by suicide. I commend the motion to the House.

The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (16:58): I contribute to debate on the motion moved by the Hon. Emily Suvaal concerning NationalSuicide Prevention Month. The Coalition will support the motion, which acknowledges that September is National Suicide Prevention Month and 10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day, which will be followed by R U OK? Day. It is hard to believe but, in Australia alone, nearly 10 million people a year are affected by suicide. It is a disturbing figure because it equates to almost half our population. It is deeply personal for me because, indirectly, I fall into that 10 million.

In 2013 I volunteered as a telephone crisis support person for Lifeline. I took on the role because I, too, had experienced times when I felt down and struggled with my mental health. I wanted to give back and be there for someone else. Thankfully, I was able to find my way back to feeling good about my mental wellbeing. It was that journey which inspired me to help others who were going through their own difficult times and who had no‑one to talk to. Volunteering for Lifeline allowed me to offer empathy, a listening ear and a reminder that people are not alone in their struggles.

The theme for this year's R U OK? Day is asking, ''Are you okay?" on any day. It is pertinent because it reminds us that those conversations should not be limited to just one day a week or month; they should be part of our everyday lives. The message is especially poignant given that, according to recent data from the Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker, 72 per cent of Australians report experiencing elevated levels of distress. In any year, one in five Australians experience a mental illness. Compounding that is the confronting statistic that about 54 per cent of people do not seek treatment. Rates of psychological distress in New South Wales have almost doubled over the last decade. At the same time, mental health funding has flatlined.

It is a stark reminder of the prevalence of mental health challenges and the urgent need for all of us to have a proactive role in supporting each other. My Lifeline training was more than 10 years ago, but I feel confident to ask the question, "Are you okay?" I have learned that, when confronted with such situations, we need to reach for understanding and empathy, not stigma. I urge us all to strive towards the goal of zero suicide and lift others up when it comes to offering hope and support to those who need it most.

Dr AMANDA COHN (17:01): On behalf of The Greens, I support the motion with one small amendment. I thank the mover for the opportunity to discuss such an important issue today. In New South Wales, there were 936 suspected or confirmed deaths by suicide in 2023, and another 467 in the first half of this year. Of course, they are not just numbers on a page; there is a whole person, and bereaved family and loved ones, behind every single statistic. Men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. First Nations Australians are twice as likely to die by suicide than non-Indigenous Australians. LGBTQIA+ people, and particularly trans and gender diverse people, are far more likely to die by suicide. That is linked to trauma, discrimination and social exclusion.

Under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, Australian and State and Territory governments have a shared responsibility to ensure the sustainability and enhance the services of the Australian mental health and suicide prevention system. Days like World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day, which primarily raise awareness, are not the solution in isolation. I have spoken in this place before about the challenges, particularly facing men, in accessing mental health services and the need to reduce stigma associated with mental health care.

There is more work to do to encourage people to seek help when they need it, but it really grates when people take that step and then cannot access the care that they need. It was heard loud and clear through the recent Portfolio Committee No. 2 - Health inquiry into community and outpatient mental health care in New South Wales. A whole‑of-government response to suicide prevention is absolutely welcome. I acknowledge that the Government has released a discussion paper and is currently consulting on its proposed suicide prevention legislation. I move:

That the question be amended by omitting in paragraph (3) "supports" and inserting instead "anticipates".

The Greens will be strongly supporting the motion as amended. The Greens welcome the important work the Government is doing, but it is a bit rich to ask The Greens to support it before we have seen the draft legislation. Finally, it is not a problem that we can legislate our way out of when funding is also critical. We need funding for outpatient and community mental health services, funding for step-up and step-down accommodation, funding for psychosocial support services, funding for social and public housing, and funding for family and domestic violence services. We need to pay mental health clinicians and frontline emergency what they are worth. Of course, that list is not exhaustive. I hope that the Government will follow up its intended legislation with the funding that those services need.

The Hon. Dr SARAH KAINE (17:04): I support the motion and thank the Hon. Emily Suvaal for bringing it to the House. I have a couple of points. Firstly, the Minister spoke this morning about loneliness. I draw a line between the motion and the Standing Committee on Social Issues inquiry into loneliness, which I think will converge on some of the issues that contribute to the prevalence of suicide. I am not looking forward to gathering that evidence, but I anticipate that we will learn a lot about those intersections and, hopefully, how that might inform future policy for the Government in this area.

Secondly, I thank the member for particularly acknowledging the role and impact of carers in this area. While we acknowledge the absolute grief of those families that have been impacted by an actual suicide, we also need to acknowledge the impact of attempted suicide, consider what support we give to families of people who attempted suicide and were unsuccessful, and recognise the daily grief, panic and pressure experienced by families who find themselves in that situation. I acknowledge that there is a particular cohort of carers who live with suicide, not as something that has happened, but as a fear that constantly stalks them and makes sure they are never far from their phones.

Thirdly, while the Government is very focused on mental health and is investing in mental health services—and there has been an inquiry, which has suggested other actions—I urge the Government to consider supporting research into mental health, even though that is not strictly in the State Government's remit; it is also a matter for the Federal Government. I have spoken before in this House about how the suicide risk for people with bipolar disorder is between 10 and 30 times higher than for the general population. Mental health research does not receive the same support as research into other illnesses, and that directly impacts those who experience mental health issues and the prospects of family and carers recovering and living a full life. I commend the member for the motion.

The Hon. SUSAN CARTER (17:07): I support the motion and commend the honourable member for bringing it to the House. Members talk about a range of issues in this House, but the motion concerns one of the most important things about which we will speak, on this day or any other. It is sobering to hear the figures that we have heard today. It is sobering to reflect on the fact that at least 500 people in New South Wales have died through suicide this year. However, I do not think that it really helps us to focus on those figures because looking at numbers as large as that allows us to distance ourselves from the very real trauma that people are experiencing.

If someone you love has committed suicide, it does not matter that there are hundreds of others; it matters that the person is forever gone from your life. It also matters that you will forever ask yourself, "How did our circle of care not hold that person up?" I thank the Hon. Dr. Sarah Kaine and the Hon. Emily Suvaal for bringing the attention of the House to the wider circle of impact of suicide, and the wider trauma of asking, "Did it happen? Will it happen?" They are tremendous burdens to carry. I commend the Government for its legislative response. Of course there is a role for government to play, and there is an important role for funding. We need adequately funded mental health services, but the beauty of the message of R U OK? Day is that it reminds us that the question is not always out there.

It is not always a question that a government, State or Federal, has responsibility for. Of course there are areas that they must be responsible for, but it is an area that we are all responsible for. At the end of the day, by being open to others, by being able to offer kindness to others and by being able to instil hope in others, we are always part of the solution. By being able to offer care to people who have experienced that deepest of grief, we are all able to be part of the healing. Yes, government has a role and everybody in this place has a role, but everybody in the community also has a role. I encourage all of us to reach out in hope and care to those around us—to check that we are okay and that we then have the strength to offer our support and our love to those around us.

The Hon. ROSE JACKSON (Minister for Water, Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Youth, and Minister for the North Coast) (17:10): I thank the co‑chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Mental Health for their contributions and my colleague the Hon. Emily Suvaal for moving this important motion. The statistics that we have already heard paint the very problematic and confronting reality of the impact of suicide in New South Wales. I will add just a few more, although I accept the point made by the Hon. Susan Carter that statistics can be a reductive way of addressing such a personal challenge. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young people, and that is a very sad and distressing thing in and of itself. Of the 934-odd people who died by suicide last year in New South Wales, 50 per cent had never reached out for support through formalised mental health services. That speaks to the incredible importance of the point made by many members that we all have a responsibility to look out for the mental wellbeing of those around us.

We cannot just assume mental health clinicians and the health system will resolve it; many people have no interaction with that system before we lose them to suicide. Of the 50 per cent who do reach out, 50 per cent of those will discontinue their support. That goes to the point that Dr Amanda Cohn raised, which is that the support systems that we have in place need work. Those people who have taken the step to reach out for help should not be failed by the system because of inadequate funding, training or other support. It is not enough for government to talk about the problem and lament it. As the Minister, I have a responsibility to actually do something about it. That is the intention of the suicide prevention legislation—a landmark whole-of-government response to the challenge. Importantly, it is being led by NSW Health, but it is not intended as a health-based response.

The whole-of-government approach to the challenge is emblematic of the whole-of-community approach that is required to confront the issue. Yes, it is about housing. It is about how our workplaces operate, how our schools operate and whether we have programs in place for social isolation and loneliness. That is the intention of the legislation, and I welcome the opportunity for members in this place to be part of the consultation process that is happening right now. I encourage them to use that as a way to make sure that if they, the people around them or their communities have something to say on the topic then they are given the opportunity to do that. I thank the member for bringing the motion to the House. We will have that debate next year, and I look forward to it.

The Hon. EMILY SUVAAL (17:13): In reply: I thank all members who contributed to debate. I thank the Hon. Aileen MacDonald for sharing the story of her experience volunteering for Lifeline and how that experience was part of giving back. It is a really important example of the value of lived experience, and she would have been a really wonderful voice to hear on the end of that phone. Conversations should not be limited to R U OK? Day. I thank Dr Amanda Cohn for her contribution and indicate that the Government will support the minor amendment that she moved. We need to reduce the stigma that exists for people accessing help and around suicide generally, particularly for men. We need more funding for services that are proven to work. I acknowledge the efforts of the Minister and the Government in securing additional funding, and I look forward to seeing how that continues in that space.

I thank my colleague the Hon. Dr Sarah Kaine for bringing the perspective of loneliness into the debate. An upper House inquiry is looking into that contributing social issue, and it will be interesting to see what that surfaces for us. It was also a welcome contribution to hear the perspective of carers. It is really important that their voices are heard in this debate, and the unimaginable grief of someone who has cared for someone who has either taken their own life or attempted suicide. That is an unimaginable situation for someone to have to be in. As a government and as members of Parliament, we ought to do all that we can to support people in those positions.

I thank the Hon. Susan Carter for talking about the trauma that exists for people who have been impacted by suicide, whether it is the immediate family or loved ones. The trauma might recede at times, but it does not go away. We all have a role to play in reducing the harm that suicide can cause. I thank the Minister, the Hon. Rose Jackson, for talking about the statistic of the 50 per cent who never reached out to services. That is a really sobering number. Yes, statistics can be reductive at times, but that is a stark reality that indicates the need for us all to do as much as we can in our own time and in our own capacity to ensure that we are all okay.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Emily Suvaal has moved a motion, to which Dr Amanda Cohn has moved an amendment. The question is that the amendment be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

The PRESIDENT: The question is that the motion as amended be agreed to.

Motion as amended agreed to.