Mates in Construction 5 mill funding boost
MATES in Construction Qld and NT have been award $5 million in funding over the next five years.
The announcement was made on World Suicide Prevention Day by the Queensland Minister for Industrial Relations, Grace Grace.
“I can’t think of a better organisation than MATES in Construction, who does excellent work around these two themes,” said MP Grace, referring also to RuOK Day.
She said the Queensland Palaszczuk Government had provided 3 million in funding over the past three years to MATES, “because they do extraordinary work.” Funding has been locked in until 2025, "that’s five million dollars spent on suicide prevention and assisting workers in the construction industry with mental health".
She praised MATES for providing counselling, information, professional development and to the those in the field helping workers and their families "survive a terrible blight on our community".
MATES in government: Qld premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Grace Grace, Member for McConnell.
The ongoing funding would enable MATES to "continue to grow, advance and deliver fantastic services in suicide prevention".
MATES marked World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 with its ‘Fly the Flag’ campaign, celebrating the work done for workplace mental health and suicide prevention, and calling for donations to support its cause.