TAMHSS has responded to the mental health Blueprint in a recent blogpost:
This Blueprint is very timely. It aims to be transformative asking for real (though not enough) amounts of money for improving and enhancing Australia’s mental health services. The authors quite rightly state: “the Blueprint does not make specific recommendations regarding other key services which are currently within state/territory jurisdiction, such as community mental health services, judicial and police services etc” as these are do not come under the Commonwealth jurisdiction. HOWEVER this perpetuates the existing, major, ongoing problems for mental health services in this country. As John Mendoza has said, this is yet another band-aid solution to the problem of providing integrated, comprehensive, innovative and collaborative mental health services in Australia. We must have a national approach that doesn’t set up a parallel system as happened under the Howard government. States and Territories must work with the Commonwealth towards a national system which therefore will include community mental health services and inpatient services and all other state/territory funded mental health services.
To read the entire post and supporting documents go to the TAMHSS Blogpost
