Parents Beyond Breakup endorses Albanese government appointment on suicide prevention
Parents Beyond Breakup has welcomed the focus of the Albanese Government on suicide prevention through the appointment of Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, the Hon Emma McBride MP.
“The appointment of the Hon Emma McBride MP as Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention is a welcome sign from the Albanese Government of an ongoing focus on saving more lives in Australia,” commented PBB CEO Gillian Hunt.
“We are encouraged by this appointment in the first days of the Albanese Government as a clear commitment to listening to the needs of our community and sector,” she said.
Parents Beyond Breakup is seeing unprecedented demand for support across the Helpline as well as all parents peer support groups.
“The lag in reported statistics doesn’t reflect our on-the-ground experience of heightened levels of distress through the Covid 19 pandemic and unprecedented natural disasters,” stated Mrs Hunt.
Whilst progress has been made over the past few years, now is not the time to remove the focus to save more Australian lives from suicide. PBB supports ongoing discussions between government and the sector in bringing much needed reform.
About PBB:
Parents Beyond Breakup is a national suicide prevention charity, focused solely on supporting separating parents and grandparents dealing with relationship breakdown, custody and child access issues, factors which contribute towards suicide for both men and women. As a Lived Experience, peer-support organisation, over two decades of data shows significant benefits for those using the National Helpline and/or attending the in-person and online support groups for dads, mums, and grandparents.
Every year over 3,000 Australians die by suicide with issues in spousal relationships the third most common factor cited for males compared to seventh for females. Consistent with previous years, males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than females