Political 'groundhog' day

For me, today is political groundhog day. Once again I wrote to the new Minister responsible for Mental Health congratulating him on his appointment and seeking a meeting to discuss the critical work of ReachOut. In the last four years we have had five Ministers (Butler, Collins, Dutton, Ley and now Hunt), under four Prime Ministers (Gillard, Rudd, Abbott and Turnbull) from two governments. I have become really good at writing this letter.

The trouble is every time a Minister changes so do their staff. In my experience, little corporate knowledge is retained and momentum is lost – and it takes at least six months for it to be regained. During this time important mental health reforms slow and lives are lost to suicide.

For a not-for-profit organisation like ReachOut, each change of Minister creates additional work, greater uncertainty, and diverts valuable resources from driving our mission forward. Multiplied across the sector, this adds up to hundreds of hours and millions of dollars wasted.

I congratulate the new Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, on his appointment. I sincerely hope he gets up to speed quickly. I hope he is true to his commitment to make mental health a priority so that more help is delivered to Australians, when and where they need it.

Most of all I hope groundhog day doesn’t repeat itself in 2017. Recent history tells me I shouldn’t hold my breath.