Dire mental health support for people in regional Qld can no longer continue

Queenslanders living in remote and regional areas are more likely to die by suicide than those in cities. Simultaneously, they are the least likely to be able to find help with a massive shortfall in mental health beds. It’s time for real action, writes the Editor.

Queensland has always had a unique flavour, both culturally and politically, and while there are a variety of factors contributing to our distinct character, the overarching reason comes down to simple demographics.

We don’t all live in a big city.

While other states (excluding Tasmania) have an average of more than 65 per cent living in their capital, only 49 per cent of Queenslanders live in Brisbane.

That means state governments should be paying more attention to our regions than other states do.

A story in today’s Sunday Mail, by senior journalist Jill Poulsen, provides one illustration as to how our present state government is not doing that.

Just eight mental health beds have been added across the state in the 12 months since the Palaszczuk Government started collecting its mental health levy.

And it is desperate regional Queenslanders who are bearing the brunt of this alarming shortage.

The fact is that Queenslanders living in remote and regional areas are more likely to die by suicide than those in cities.

Simultaneously, they are the least likely to be able to find a hospital bed in a state which is short about 500 mental health beds. Medicos say there is no real transparency on how the $1.6 billion mental health levy, announced in the wake of The Courier-Mail’s “Through the Cracks’’ campaign, will be spent.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick introduced the levy last year, to be paid by businesses with an annual wages bill of more than $10 million to help fund an additional $425 million annually for mental health services.

The Sunday Mail and The Courier-Mail will maintain a focus on this story, as we have on many others such as the ongoing crisis regarding maternity wards in our regional hospitals.

To that end, this week The Courier-Mail will host the Bush Summit in Rockhampton – the first Queensland iteration of the event which is now in its fourth year.

The agenda-setting summit has already sparked real change in the Australian bush.

Water, or the lack of it, roads, housing and dwindling services are all on the agenda along with new and unfolding problems such as a lack of compensation for those regional communities and individuals impacted by the infrastructure being built for the energy transition.

A lack of health services, especially those related to mental health, will also be examined as will be the distribution of the wealth generated by mining.

Many regional Queenslanders, quite reasonably, often claim the money royalty tends to stick to the southeast of the state rather than spreading itself across the regions.

This state needs the economic grunt of the regions where a large portion of the nation’s GDP is generated.

But we also need to show the people who inhabit the far-flung portions of our sprawling state that they are appreciated, valued and, most importantly, listened to.

EKKA MAGIC APPEALS TO ALL THE FAMILY

There is nothing quite like the Ekka. It’s not merely the strawberry sundaes, the Bertie Beetle show bags, the dagwood dogs and the sound of bellowing livestock mingling in with the cries of the carnival barkers.

It’s the sense of rhythm that it brings to our lives as August dawns, the country cousins arrive along with the dry westerly winds, a ferris wheel appears on the skyline and that strange, ancient allure of the fairground starts working its magic.

This year the Royal Queensland Show (as it is more formally known, and which opened its doors yesterday) has attracted more than 21,000 competition entries from woodchop to giant vegetables, along with 10,000 animals from beef cattle to cats and dogs.

There is world-class live entertainment on offer, award-winning food and wine and, of course, the delights of sideshow alley. What may surprise many is how children, who now have daily access to computer-generated entertainment options beyond the wildest dreams of earlier generations, are still enthralled by the traditions of the fairground.

So take the kids, and yourself, along this week. Experience a Queensland institution which has endured almost 150 years.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Anna Caldwell, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at www.couriermail.com.au/help/contact-us