Senator WRIGHT:  I, and also at the request of Senator Di Natale, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that four out of five Victorians believe mental health must be a top priority in the upcoming state election and that almost 92 per cent say regional mental health services need to be extended;

(b) recognises that mental illness in 12 to 25-year-olds is costing Australia an estimated $10 billion each year and people do not have access to the services they need; and

Impact of the Budget on mental health

The Hidden Toll

Senator WRIGHT: I want to go to the recommendations of the 'The hidden toll: suicide in Australia', the Senate report into suicide in 2010. This might be a question for Senator Nash to start with. I note that their National Party's 2013 federal election policy platform included a commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Hidden Toll report. Is the minister able to comment on the government's intention to keep that commitment?

Frozen indexation of mental health programs

Senator WRIGHT: I would like to ask now about the fact that it has emerged that there will be around about $20 million, arguably possibly more, of mental health program funding which will have its indexation frozen for up to four years. Is that correct?

Mr Booth: I am not sure. Could you give me some more information?

Senator WRIGHT: I might have to wait and get some more information about that.

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NMHC Review

Senator WRIGHT: Thank you. I will wait. Let me know if there is someone else I could ask today. I come to the National Mental Health Commission review. Will the government respond to the National Mental Health Commission review?

Mental health research

Senator WRIGHT: It is about mental health research generally. I am interested in how much money has been allocated to mental health research in the Medical Research Future Fund.

The Hidden Toll

Senator WRIGHT: I want to go to the recommendations of the 'The hidden toll: suicide in Australia', the Senate report into suicide in 2010. This might be a question for Senator Nash to start with. I note that their National Party's 2013 federal election policy platform included a commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Hidden Toll report. Is the minister able to comment on the government's intention to keep that commitment?

Eating disorders

Senator WRIGHT: I will now come to the issue of eating disorders. I am interested to know what data the department has in relation to the prevalence of eating disorders in Australia in 2014 or recently.

Mr Booth: Again, I do not have that information on me. We would need to take that on notice and see who the appropriate organisation is that collects that type of data. We can certainly look into it and we would be happy to make that information available.