CEO Update: Success comes with unity
Success comes with unity
As I begin to write this final update I am sitting in seat 13D on a flight from Sydney to Townsville, ahead of the World Mental Health Day events to be celebrated there tomorrow.
Given this is my last week in the role, perhaps it’s fitting that it’s an exit row!
In my 8½ years at Mental Health Australia I have sat in this seat often, and have often used the time on the plane to reflect on the task of mental health reform, the state of our sector, the performance – good and bad – of Mental Health Australia.
I cleaned up my office before I left Canberra, and amongst my papers I found my original application for the role. In that application, which was addressed to the Hon Rob Knowles, I expressed my naive ambition to lead “a credible, sustainable organization exercising national leadership on such an important issue as mental health”.
I believe I have stayed true to that ambition, and I am incredibly grateful to those who have been part of that journey – some I have barely known, and others who have become closer to family.
I reflect that over the course of my lifetime, mental health reform has made some great progress. As a teenager I was vaguely aware that people occasionally had what my parents described as “nervous breakdowns”. When they did, they often disappeared for a while, sometimes returning well, sometimes returning in what I now know was a murky haze of medication. That was about the full extent my understanding.
Fast forward to today and my own, young adult children, have a deep and sophisticated understanding of their own mental health, and the mental health of those around them. They have conversations that are nuanced, they look out for each other, and importantly, they aspire to lead and support mentally healthy lives. Our interventions are much more nuanced too, as we begin to understand the evidence, and we begin to recognize the diversity of both aspiration and need.
But none of us are blind to the fact that we have so much more to do.
We continue to allow too many people to languish in social, economic and environmental circumstances that create mental distress and injury.
Our mental health systems remain inadequate to deal with the distress and injury that members of the community experience in substantial numbers.
We fail to invest, on any kind of fit for purpose scale, in preventative and protective activities that we know work.
I will be an active and supportive observer as a new CEO takes Mental Health Australia on the next leg of its journey.
It is in equal parts a challenging and rewarding role.
We make our case in a very noisy environment, and we will not be successful by simply shouting more loudly than the many causes, good and bad, who are also shouting as loudly as they can.
Success comes with unity.
Success comes when we speak together, about our shared goals, not when we clamber over each other seeking to speak first and speak loudest.
Of all the things I hope we have achieved together while I have been at Mental Health Australia, I hope we have an increased understanding of our own diversity, and that we are becoming more unified.
I cannot adequately thank the wonderful staff and the many wonderful people I have had the privilege of working with for more than 8 years.
I also note that the whole “Speaking Frankly” was a name thing, so you might want to look at that…
Warm regards,
Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer
Productivity Commission update
The Commission will seek further information and feedback following the release of the draft report on 31 October 2019. The Productivity Commission is advising that they will hold public hearings on the following dates, at the following locations:
- 15 November - Canberra
- 18-19 November - Melbourne
- 20 November - Perth
- 21 November - Geraldton
- 25-26 November - Sydney
- 28 November - Broken Hill
- 2 December - Rockhampton
- 3 December - Brisbane
- 9 December - Launceston
Adelaide and Darwin public hearings will be held at dates to be advised in early 2020. Please note registrations to attend or participate in the hearings is not open yet.
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Yesterday was a fantastic day! Over 1000 organisations around Australia were promoting World Mental Health Day through various events and activities, and over 1500 people made and shared a #MentalHealthPromise on the day alone! Townsville also was successful in breaking the Guinness World Record for the ‘most people in high-visibility vests’, reaching 2,499 to beat the previous record of 2,136. It was a fantastic afternoon of fun, connection and raising mental health awareness for the whole community. Follow @aumentalhealth to see some highlights from the day!
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Congratulations Townsville - Guinness World Record Holders!
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