Mental health report leaked: now it's time for action

The Australian Greens have called for a national conversation about mental health care reform following the leaked National Health Commission's review of mental health services.

Australian Greens spokesperson on mental health Senator Penny Wright said too many reviews of the sector had been ignored by previous governments.

"The Abbott Government must now release the full report and lead a genuine community discussion around long-term reform of the mental health system," Senator Wright said.

"The National Health Commission's review has shown again that mental health care in Australia is too often a broken and crisis-driven system.

"The Australian Greens have long called for an increased focus on prevention and community care, but you can't rob Peter to pay Paul.

"We don't want to see the Abbott Government cut vital services at one end to prop up the other.

"The lack of adequate mental health care creates a huge economic burden for Australia - as high as $20 billion a year - so we can't afford for this to become another review sitting on the shelf collecting dust."