The Advertiser Editorial February 7 2018: The challenge of rural mental health

FIGURES revealed by The Advertiser today showing there are just three psychiatrists based in regional South Australia compared to some 200 in Adelaide underline the lack of mental health facilities for people living outside the city limits.

FIGURES revealed by The Advertiser today showing there are just three psychiatrists based in regional South Australia compared to some 200 in Adelaide underline the lack of mental health facilities for people living outside the city limits.

It is not that the problems are any less in rural, regional and remote South Australia – grim suicide and drug use figures hint at the extent of wider problems.

There may also be stigma attached for people considering seeking help for a mental health issue, especially in small communities where news travels fast.

While we take pride in the image of stoic country people rising to myriad challenges with courage and ingenuity, as a community we need to reach out and lend a hand at signs of mental health issues, not turn our backs.

That’s true mateship.

With lots of problems and few resources for mental health in rural areas, we need to hear more about concrete plans to address the issues from the various political parties vying for support at the March 17 election. Programs for both prevention and treatment should be seen as investments, not costs, as the human and economic cost of ignoring mental health issues will be far greater.

The focus on the lack of mental health services in rural areas from a UniSA survey comes as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) comes into effect for adults with mental illness from July.

The NDIS has been held up as something of a cure-all but advocates are warning large numbers of people now receiving either state or federally funded help will not qualify for the NDIS.

This could leave thousands of people slipping through the cracks as these services wind up, creating risks of deterioration into drug abuse, homelessness, depression and violence.

A major forum today will invite health spokesmen from all political parties to outline their plans for mental health services.

We expect practical, costed solutions, not vague motherhood statements.

Battle for GST pie

FEW issues get the political blood pumping quite as much as the debate over the GST and its carve-up.

And at the heart of much of the angst is Western Australia.

From that state’s perspective, they are enraged at receiving what they describe as the nation’s lowest share of the funding pie.

For the likes of South Australia and Tasmania, which rely heavily on GST dividends to underpin their economies, this argument holds little water.

Respected economist Saul Eslake summed it up as well as anyone when he said WA was to blame for its own economic pain, having squandered much of the benefits of the so-called “mining boom” when it was able to raise far more revenue per head of population than the other states.

He said WA’s woes were not the result of a deply flawed GST distribution system, but a reflection of the state’s inability to control its own spending.

The issue is again expected to be discussed at this week’s Coalition of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra.

South Australia must stand firm.