Ms BURNET (Clark) – Honourable Speaker, I hope that I get through this in five minutes, but I might ask for indulgence of the House to extend the time because I have people here listening, but I will try to get through it.
I rise this this evening on ‘R U OK Day’ to tell the harrowing story of a constituent and those who advocate on his behalf. We talk a lot in this place about healthcare, the housing crisis, the broken hospital system, the lack of medical professionals, and the need for increased care.
This evening I want to talk about the very real struggle of a son, a brother, a young man roughly the same age as my sons. As a child, Jake was bright, good at school and described as a ‘golden boy’ by his teachers. As a young man, he had a passion for music and a bright future in the music industry, but with complex mental health challenges, the odds are firmly stacked against Jake.
Over the past few months, I’ve been honoured to meet Erica again. I used to work with Erica, who is here tonight with her family; a mother, healthcare professional and tireless advocate for her son, Jake, who has experienced mental health illness for over 16 years. Since he was 17, Jake has seen nearly 50 psychiatrists, been hospitalised for psychotic episodes on multiple occasions, and despite being desperately in need of care, was booted out of hospital because, like so many others, there are not enough beds or resources to support him.
Due to this fractured system, Jake has found himself homeless, living in inappropriate accommodation: at one stage a backpackers. Jake is on the NDIS and unable to work. He is reliant on support workers to perform everyday tasks.
On one admission to hospital, Jake waited for four days in the emergency department. Then he was meant to be reviewed by a psychiatrist on Friday, who finished up at the Royal on the Sunday. At every admission, his parents have to explain Jake’s situation each time, which is absolutely exhausting. This fragmentation of his care – and there’s no blame, by the way, on health professionals or anybody in this system, it’s just the system. This fragmentation of his care has taken 16 years to get a correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder with psychotic features.
Jake is just one of 5000 Tasmanians on the social housing wait list and despite being on the priority wait list for more than three-and-a-half years, no suitable property has been found. His parents are beside themselves, disheartened by the health and housing systems, and in constant fear for his safety. After 16 years of begging for appropriate care, they are burnt out due to compounding stress. Meanwhile, Jake feels hopeless, is sleeping rough and feels betrayed by the systems that were designed to support him.
Honourable Speaker, what kind of story is this? What kind of society are we if we can’t even care for the most vulnerable? Imagine how different Jake’s life could have been if he had appropriate mental health care from the start. If he could see just one psychiatrist rather than 48, who could work with his family to treat his illness. If he could have stayed in hospital when he was admitted. That he was offered a house as soon as he applied and paired with the support worker who could help find a job.
I have shared Jake’s story today. His is a story emblematic of so many people who are homeless, who are locked out of the housing system, who struggle with mental illness. It’s the fault of the problems. These are not things that happen to a minority of Tasmanians. They are common issues. Five thousand Tasmanians languish on the housing wait list and 2000 Tasmanians are homeless. More than 88,000 Tasmanians experience mental illness. That’s one in five Tasmanians.
These are not uncommon problems. They are systemic and systemic problems need systemic solutions. If we want to solve such issues for Jake and his family, we need to work together. That’s what I invite everyone in this 52nd Parliament to do.
