One of the sad facets of our common humanity is our susceptibility to common maladies and diseases. Mental illness is no exception. Afflictions of the mind and spirit know no boundaries of race, ethnicity or religious faith. They afflict people of every persuasion, every profession and every postcode.

Mental illness is one of those quintessentially human issues that should unite us all in compassion and a desire to help.
In any given year, close to one in five Australian adults experiences serious mental or emotional distress. Nearly 3 per cent of the population suffers from a severe mental disorder. That’s over half a million people. This is not a marginal problem.

This is compounded in complexity when linguistic and cultural differences come into play. Therefore the Australian
Government has been pleased to fund the multilingual brochures we are launching here today.

The brochures will be available in 21 languages that were selected on the basis of the client population served by Multicultural Mental Health Australia. These brochures will provide vital information to people who might not even be aware of the treatments available for mental illness.

To many cultures, including our own, maladies of the mind are an extremely sensitive subject, but they are a subject for which open lines of communication are imperative. And this multilingual brochure initiative will assist us to bridge
the cultural divide in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

This is just one small piece of a much larger policy mosaic. A mosaic that is a testament to how seriously the Australian Government takes mental health care.

It was ten years ago, in 1997, that the ABS survey reported that “less than 40% of people with mental disorders receive
treatment in a 12-month period”. In response, between 1995-96 and 2002-03, the Australian Government’s annual spending on mental health climbed by 53%, from $792 million to $1.2 billion.

Last year, the Coalition made a momentous decision, along with state and territory governments, to rewrite the terms of
mental health care in Australia. This was propelled by a massive $1.9 billion infusion of federal funds that led the way for a suite of new clinical services, respite care, community awareness programs and new personnel.

At the core of this was the Medicare “Better Access Initiative”, which has made a real world of difference. The Australian
Government has allocated over half a billion dollars towards this innovative, evidence-based multidisciplinary approach to mental healthcare. This initiative increases community access to mental healthcare by encouraging GPs to work more closely with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists.

This program has been a resounding success. During its first eight months, Better Access has improved the lives of more than 400,000 Australians. Because many of those in mental and emotional strife come from immigrant communities,
these multilingual brochures will help us better address this unique community need.

Effective mental health care is entirely dependent upon the intellectual curiosity and the human empathy of its practitioners. We in the Government are providing the tools. But it is up to you, the clinicians and case workers, to pick up those tools and do good with them.

We can dole out the dollars, but while money can purchase buildings and brochures, it can only go so far to address
sufferings of the spirit. These more intangible needs require a human touch, a sympathetic ear and an inquiring mind. They require a rare sense of compassion that has been honed and focused by fi rst–rate clinical expertise.

And here is where you come in: regardless of whether you are psychiatrists or psychologists; whether you are GPs or mental health nurses; whether you are multicultural specialists or professional clinicians; it is you who inject the soul and the spirit into this vital enterprise.

Therefore I am particularly pleased to be surrounded by some of that spirit here this morning. Let us now put our shoulders to the wheel and work together to make a difference.