Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Rally calls for greater spending on mental health

Unions and community groups have called on the State Government for more resources for mental health at a rally on the steps of Parliament House today.

The rally, coordinated by VMIAC (Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council), comes on the back of a focussed campaign by the Health And Community Services Union (HACSU) to promote mental health resources as a significant health and social issue.

Lloyd Williams, HACSU State Secretary, spoke at the rally along with other Carer and community representatives. He told the 500 strong crowd that mental health resourcing needs stronger backing from the government.

One in five people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Mental illness represents 20% of the illness burden and yet mental health receives less than 10% of the health budget.

HACSU has put a detailed budget submission to government (details available on their website www.hacsu.asn.au) calling for an additional $80 million over two years for mental health.

The ongoing HACSU Peace of Mind Community Campaign and the 2004 HACSU Mental Health First Campaign aim to make government understand that it cannot lose focus on one the most significant contemporary social issues facing the community.


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