‘Emotional’ Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer opens up about struggles

An “emotional” Tasmanian MP has revealed that she had a panic attack on her way to a press conference with Scott Morrison.

An emotional Bridget Archer has revealed that she has suffered from mental health conditions for “a lot of” her life, and had a panic attack before a press conference with Scott Morrison on Thursday.

The Bass MP, who has notably crossed the floor of parliament several times during her tenure, stood beside the Prime Minister as he made a mental health announcement in Launceston.

In doing so, Ms Archer revealed that she not only had anxiety and panic disorders but had lost her stepsister to suicide – the culmination of which had driven her to secure better mental health outcomes for Tasmanians.

“This is something that’s very important to me. I know when people ask why you get involved in public life, I think everyone has their reasons why – and this is one of the ones for me,” Ms Archer said.

Bridget Archer fights back tears while speaking about her stepsister who died by suicide. Picture: Jason Edwards

“I know how much it means to me, and how much it means to Tasmanians to be able to access good quality mental health care when they need it.

“Again with suicide, something that I’ve had unfortunate personal experience of losing my stepsister to suicide, and I have seen the impact that suicide has had on small communities like mine across Tasmania as well.

“If we can stop one person from taking their life, then these services will be worth it, so a bit of an emotional day for me today.”

Ms Archer was later asked how her mental health had been faring during the highly stressful and lengthy election campaign.

“A campaign is an additional layer of pressure that … adds to the challenge,” she said.

“Generally … anybody that experiences these challenges, you work out strategies and you have tools in place and they usually involve things like exercise and sleep and maybe finding some time to meditate.

“And of course, some of those thing go out the window in a campaign, so that adds to the pressure, but I’m holding up OK.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked Bridget Archer for her candour. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Morrison, who was in Launceston to announce a joint $55m mental health agreement with the Tasmanian government, said he loved Ms Archer’s passion and commitment.

“I can only commend Bridge in the strongest possible terms to her community because she’s got a massive heart,” he said.

Outgoing Health Minister Greg Hunt also commended Ms Archer for her “immense courage”.

“To face what she has faced in her life and to turn this into a passionate career, there is not a person in Australia who doesn’t face themselves or their friends or family mental health challenges,” Mr Hunt said.

“As a country, we are evolving and not just our treatment but our recognition around the stigma of mental health.”

The funding will establish new and existing mental health services as well as ongoing support for the state’s first Head to Health centre in Launceston.

“When I became prime minister about 3½ years ago, (a priority was) ensuring that mental health was getting the support it needed and that we would make greater strides across the country with people living with mental health challenges every day,” Mr Morrison said.

“(Mental health) is real, it’s debilitating. It can rob people of their quality of life, and this is one of the most tangible things we can do to help people improve their quality of life … by ensuring that they have mental health services that they can access, that we’re destigmatising issues of mental health.”

Originally published as ‘Emotional’ Tasmanian MP Bridget Archer opens up about struggles