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Speaking frankly... 
Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan is currently on leave and has invited colleagues to provide a guest blog each week. This week’s guest blog comes from Josh Fear, our Acting Deputy CEO at Mental Health Australia.
Garma - 'talk to us with tongues of fire'
I’ve just returned from East Arnhem Land, and the honour of accompanying our CEO Frank Quinlan, Senior Policy Officer Emma Coughlan, and fourteen representatives in a joint Carers Australia and Mental Health Australia delegation at this year’s Garma festival.
As many of you know Garma is a four day cultural festival held on the land of the Gumatj clan, part of the Yolngu people who inhabit the Gove Peninsula.
Now in its 19th year, this year’s Garma was marked by tragedy, with the recent death of Dr G Yunupingu, a Yolngu man from Elcho Island whose voice was a gift to the world.
It was also significant because the Government was expected to respond to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the culmination of many months of consultation and deliberation by the Referendum Council on the question of how best to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Constitution.
I can’t, in my limited space here, do justice to the festival itself, the rich cultural immersion it provides through dance, song, storytelling and art, nor (just as importantly) the many chance encounters I had in that remote place.
I do want to give a first-hand account of the public dialogue between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Garlarrwuy Yunupingu, leader of the Gumatj clan, and, on that day, the leader of all Australia’s first peoples. It was Garlarrwuy who gave to Referendum Council process the sacred Yolŋu word ‘Makarrata’: a coming together after a struggle.
At the opening ceremony which included an ancient fire dance, Garlarrwuy gave the Prime Minister the word for ‘tongue of fire’. He told the Prime Minister:
The fire is now our future and I have given the fire to you so you can talk to us with tongues of fire. Because we have come here for serious business, Prime Minister – very serious business.
Expectations were very high, both among those in the crowd and across the nation.
The next day was the Prime Minister’s chance to respond to the aspirations set out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. He did not commit immediately to achieving constitutional recognition or to a Makarrata Commission, however he was very confident of gaining bipartisan support for those measures. As he pointed out, there are some critical aspects of implementation that need to be considered in some detail:
What would the practical expression of the voice look like? What would the voice look like here for the Yolngu people? What would it look like for the people of Western Sydney, who are the largest population of Aboriginal peoples in Australia?
Is our highest aspiration to have Indigenous people outside the Parliament, providing advice to the Parliament? Or is it to have as many Indigenous voices, elected, within our Parliament?
What impact would the voice have on issues like child protection and justice, where the legislation and responsibility largely rest with state and territory governments?
These are important questions that require careful consideration. But the answers are not beyond us.
The highest hurdle, of course, is to gain popular support of the Australian people for constitutional change at a referendum. That will require all the skill and courage our political leaders can muster.
When asked whether he trusted the Prime Minster to take his ‘tongue of fire’ to Canberra, Garlarrwuy paused for a long moment. Sitting in a wheelchair after a recent kidney transplant, he finally said yes. ‘I will come to Canberra when I can walk again.’
Moving beyond the politics, attending Garma opened my eyes in many ways. I thought I understood the challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but I was just scratching the surface. I saw glimpses of a culture indescribably ancient and complex; a culture I can learn more about, even delight in, but never fully understand.
I encourage anyone who can to make time to visit the 20th Garma festival next year.
Josh Fear
Acting Deputy CEO
Mental Health Australia
Media Release - Miwatj Mental Health Program leading the way in remote Australia
Mental Health professionals gathered at the Garma Festival in East Arnhem Land to discuss social and emotional wellbeing and mental health, with a particular focus on the success of the Miwatj Mental Health Program...
Next WeekOn Tuesday, Acting Deputy CEO, Josh Fear will attend a National Disability and Carer Alliance meeting in Canberra. On Thursday, Josh Fear will attend the Expert Advisory Group for the National Disability Service Providers Benchmarking Project. |
Meet a Mental Health Australia Member
TEAMhealth - Top End Association for Mental Health Inc.
TEAMhealth is a not for profit organisation that has delivered wide ranging support for almost 30 years for people dealing with mental health concerns or mental illness. They provide quality mental health services, focused on support, recovery and rehabilitation across Darwin, Palmerston and the regional and remote communities of the Northern Territory’s Top End. Their purpose is to create community capacity for good mental health so that all people may lead a full and valued life.
TEAMhealth provide a range of services across their programs including support for recovery to people experiencing mental health concerns and mental illness, prevention and education services. These programs are provided to individuals of all ages including children, families, carers, youth and the aged; from various cultures and backgrounds.
TEAMhealth welcomes major new resources for mental health support on their 30th birthday
On 4 August TEAMhealth celebrated its 30th birthday with participants, carers, families and staff, and announced they had been successful in receiving the competitive Building Better Regions Fund grant of $1.9 million. With this grant they will provide a purpose built facility and program to support the recovery journey for people with mental illness, filling an important gap in mental health services in the Northern Territory.
See more information.
Web - http://www.teamhealth.asn.au/
Social - Facebook
Become a Member of Mental Health Australia
As the peak body for the mental health sector in Australia, Mental Health Australia is uniquely placed to influence the national debate on mental health issues and achieve our vision of mentally healthy people and communities. Representing more than 100 organisations in the mental health sector, find out more about Membership at the link below.
Parliamentary News
COAG Health Council Communique
The federal, state and territory Health Ministers met in Brisbane on 4 August at the COAG Health Council to discuss a range of national health issues. The meeting was chaired by the Victorian Minister for Health, the Hon Jill Hennessy MP. Major items discussed by Health Ministers included: Andrew Forrest and the Eliminate Cancer Initiative, family violence and primary care, Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, National Psychosocial Supports Program, development of the next iteration of the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023, penalties and prohibition orders under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, mandatory reporting provisions for treating health practitioners, and the National Digital Health Strategy.
State Government to invest $450,000 in Growing with Gratitude program (SA)
Minister for Education and Child Development Susan Close, says the SA Government will provide $450,000 to the Adelaide Crows to expand the Growing with Gratitude health and wellbeing program for school children. The program is delivered by the Crows' community team to 150 South Australian schools each year. It aims to help teachers, students and their families build and protect their mental health through developing gratitude, kindness, empathy and optimism.
New grants boost to Queensland Mental Health Week
Grants totalling $85,000 are available to communities across Queensland to host Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) community awareness events. Individual grants up to $2,500 are now open to local government, non-government and community groups hosting events and activities during QMHW, from 8-14 October 2017. Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick said the grants complimented the work being done by the Palaszczuk Government to support Mental Health in Queensland.
Reminders
Write a short recovery story for payment
PeerZone Toolkit (aka Swell) in New Zealand is developing information for people with mental distress and their supporters. Each story in the Toolkit discusses people’s experiences of managing one of the challenges in the ‘Relationships’ and ‘Purpose and belief’ domains. People who submit a story that is published will receive a NZD $100 Amazon gift voucher and a free copy of ‘Madness Made Me’ by Mary O’Hagan.
Email your inquiries and stories to info@peerzone.info
Youth This Is My Brave - Auditions Open
Auditions are now open for the Youth This Is My Brave Show in Canberra. If you are between 18 and 25 and have lived experience or have a family member or are the carer of someone with mental health issues and would like to tell your story live on stage to help break the stigma around mental illness then this might be for you. Auditions slots are available Sunday 13th August from 1:30pm and Sunday 20th August from 1:30pm at Tuggeranong Arts Centre on the 13th October. Youth This Is My Brave is part of ACT Mental Health Week and sponsored by Menslink.
New dates for SANE’s Suicide Prevention Workshops in Melbourne — register now
SANE Australia is excited to announce they will continue to deliver this important workshop exploring mental illness and suicide prevention. Since September 2016, SANE have delivered this workshop to over 750 health professionals. Participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with over 90% of participants noting the workshops relevance and high quality. Suitable for mental health workers, case-workers, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, counsellors, peer-workers, social workers, youth workers and students. Cost is free if within the South Eastern Melbourne PHN catchment, otherwise $190 per person if outside of that area.
Tuesday 12th September – Dandenong
Wednesday 20th September – Heatherton
Tuesday 10th October – South Melbourne
Wednesday 25th October – Heatherton
Tuesday 8th November – South Melbourne
Wednesday 21st November – South Melbourne
Contact spworkshops@sane.org to discuss a group booking for your organisation.
NACCHO Members' Conference and Annual General Meeting 2017, Canberra 31 Oct to 2 Nov
The NACCHO Members’ Conference and AGM provides a forum for the Aboriginal community controlled health services workforce, bureaucrats, educators, suppliers and consumers to:
- Present on innovative local economic development solutions to issues that can be applied to address similar issues nationally and across disciplines
- Have input and influence from the ‘grassroots’ into national and state health policy and service delivery
- Demonstrate leadership in workforce and service delivery innovation
- Promote continuing education and professional development activities essential to the Aboriginal community controlled health services in urban, rural and remote Australia
- Promote Aboriginal health research by professionals who practice in these areas and the presentation of research findings
- Develop supportive networks
- Promote good health and well-being through the delivery of health services to and by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people throughout Australia.
Participants needed for National LGBTI Health Alliance survey, to contribute to submission
The National LGBTI Health Alliance is developing a submission for the consultation being run by the National Mental Health Commission and they invite you to contribute your voices and wisdom. The survey may take about 20 minutes to complete and all responses are confidential and anonymous.
Public consultation open - Australian Teaching and Training Classification
Members of the public and all stakeholder groups are invited to comment on the proposed structure and data items for inclusion for the Australian Teaching and Training Classification (ATTC). The Consultation Paper describes the work undertaken to date to design a nationally consistent method of classifying teaching and training activities. It also includes the associated costs, provides details of the statistical data analysis undertaken and the consultation processes used to date.
Submissions should be emailed as an accessible Word document to submissions.ihpa@ihpa.gov.au or mailed to PO Box 483, Darlinghurst NSW 1300 by 5pm on Friday, 29 September 2017.
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