The mother of a woman murdered in the Bondi Junction stabbing attack has joined mental health advocates at Parliament House urging federal, state and territory governments to urgently reform Australia’s mental health system.
Elizabeth Young was part of a roundtable led by Wentworth MP Allegra Spender and the Black Dog Institute that was attended by mental health organisations and advocates from around the nation on Wednesday, with Mrs Young urging governments to “find the courage” to make urgent reforms.
Her daughter Jade Young was one of six people killed by Joel Cauchi in a shocking stabbing attack at at Bondi Junction Westfield in April, with dozens more injured.
After the attack, it came to light that Cauchi had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 17 and in 2019, started to come off his medication with supervision. Within a year, he was sleeping rough and living a transient lifestyle.
He had not had any contact with Queensland’s public health system since 2012.
Mrs Young said after the horror of the attack, the federal, state and territory governments still had not met despite committing to a national mental health ministers summit to discuss joint action on reform.
“Currently, three months on, no date and no agenda has been set for this meeting,” she said.
“Please, in the long shadow of the horror of Jade’s death I beg you, as the voice of three shattered households, please actually do something about the discrepancies, the disparities, the inconsistencies and current mental health funding management between the federal government and the states.
“Think as ordinary humans, think as a mother or father, a husband or sister or brother.
“Find the courage to work together to co-ordinate action on mental health reform and funding.
“We need a co-ordinated national approach to mental health so that no matter where you live you should be able to receive the care that you need.
“Australia’s mental health system is in crisis and now is the time to act.”
Mental health organisations stated that gaps between the federal, state and territory governments had left thousands of Australians with severe and complex mental health needs, and that a lack of adequate support was causing distress and increasing costs to communities around the country.
Ms Spender said the tragic events at Bondi Junction in April highlighted the urgent need to better support people with complex mental health conditions.
“Since the attack I have been contacted by family and friends of people suffering with complex conditions, telling me of the challenges they face everyday caring for their loved ones,” she said.
“People are not just falling through the cracks, they are falling through chasms.”
National Mental Health commissioner Kerry Hawkins said she had experienced issues with the mental health system within her own family and that discrimination that existed towards people who lived with profound distress needed to be addressed.
“I would just highlight again that family members who walk alongside people with these kinds of distress are also completely unsupported,” she said.
“Hundreds of thousands of Australians live in quiet despair with emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion and financial exhaustion.”