Mr DEAN (Windermere ) - Thank you, Mr President, I appreciate that.

Mr Parkinson - Dental treatment as distinct from mental treatment, we understand.

Mr DEAN - I will keep it in mind. It is not the mental health I am after, it is dental treatment.

Mr Aird - I had a dental treatment once - you put your fingers on the ends of the battery, right at the terminals, and get someone to start it up and you get 12 volts going through you for about 10 minutes and away goes the pain.

Mr DEAN - I don't know what is wrong, I cannot switch the thing off, Mr President. It needs to be taken outside, I think.

I am pleased to make some remarks about the work of the Mental Health Tribunal and I will begin by commending the president of that body, Deborah Rigby, and the 24 other Tasmanians who have served as tribunal members and the small staff of three. On a budget of some $310 000 these people appear to have accomplished much and we must remember that the work they do involves those unfortunates in the community who suffer from mental illnesses. Specifically the role of the tribunal is to independently review orders that restrict the freedom of persons who suffer from mental illness, while taking into account the right of the patient to both autonomy and to receive a treatment in the least restrictive manner. There is no single formula. These reviews are done on a case-by-case basis because there are so many variables that can affect the state of those who are mentally ill. Those who assess them must be guided by tolerance and compassion and the wisdom that comes from experience in how they reach their judgments.

The Mental Health Tribunal is a very human path of the machinery of the State. I was not aware until I read this report that the small staff of three also perform the executive function for the Guardianship and Administration Board and the Tasmanian Forensic Tribunal. The honourable Attorney-General has been served notice in this report of at least two areas where the Mental Health Tribunal has recommended government action with a view to improving the operations of the tribunal in the patients' interest. President Rigby speaks of systemic failings that require urgent attention and she cites a breakdown in communication between the hospital area and community treating teams, and what she describes as the complete hiatus of responsibility being taken by Mental Health Services when a patient moves back into the community after a period in hospital. This is the kind of accusation that is symptomatic of greater ills within our public service management structures.

What President Rigby appears to be saying is that there is no chain of shared responsibility, and that the net effect is that the lofty deals enshrined in the Mental Health Act 1996 to properly care for the mentally ill are mere words without a lot of substance. The system fails, and one of the reasons it fails, so she says, is that the system is not adequately resourced. Mr President, is that not something that we hear much about, unfortunately, with many of our government departments, that they are not resourced adequately? It has caused a lot of frustration in many areas.

I would hope, Mr President, that there is consensus within the Government and a compassion to be concerned enough to address these matters, and perhaps a start might be made with an announcement from the Government about when the long-promised review of the Mental Health Act might commence. President Rigby says the review is long overdue; it was supposed to have been done six or seven years ago.

Mr President, the protection and support of the disadvantaged is not just a core Labor goal. In the party's national platform it is described as an enduring Labor value. Here in Tasmania the State Labor platform is almost lyrical about how Labor will establish proactive, preventive health programs and early intervention services, and develop - and I quote - 'Ongoing communication and consultation between areas of health service delivery'. I think that is exactly the systemic failure that President Rigby refers to.

There is also a commitment on the Labor health plan to ensure that health care services and programs are based on social justice principles of equity, access, equality and participation, and are comprehensive and integrated into other areas of government policy. Then there is also this -

Ms Thorp - It's a great platform.

Mr DEAN -
'Labor will continue to support and work to improve mental health services both in the public and community sectors.'

It is a pity they were not doing it.

Ms Thorp - You don't think that's happening at all?

Mr DEAN - Mr President, to accomplish the goal of its own platform, the Government need look no further than advice it has received from the Mental Health Tribunal. The tribunal's annual report contains a number of promises; all the Government has to do is follow them, and by doing so, at the end of the day the Government will be able to award itself a tick, and it will be able to report to the community, and specifically to the Labor rank and file, that the platform target has been met and a benchmark has been achieved.

Ms Thorp - You don't think that a platform becomes an aspirational document?

Mr DEAN - I cannot be sidetracked because I have only a certain time to deliver this.

There is consistency here, Mr President, between the tribunal's report and the platform of the party, but then I expect the Government is ahead of me and is alert to what needs to be done.

'Establishing proactive, preventative health programs, early intervention services, developing ongoing communication and consultation between areas of health service delivery, Labor will -

(a) ensure that in a cost-constrained environment' -
and we certainly know that is the case -
'services are delivered in a cost-effective manner by a statewide approach to service delivery;

(b) ensure health care services and programs are based on social justice principles of equity, access, equality and participation, and are comprehensive and integrated into other areas of government policy.'
There are a number of other areas there that are referred to. Another one I refer to is:
'Labor will -

(a) promote the better coordination of acute care with a preventative approach of community-based care;

(b) promote a close liaison between all tiers of government agencies and the voluntary sector.'

Ms Thorp - Thank you so much for promoting our platform. I'll get you a full copy, if you like. It's on the Net.

Ms Ritchie - Have you got the Liberal Party's? They don't have one, do they?

Mr DEAN -
'Public Health
Labor will -

(a) ensure the ongoing review of the Public Health Act to provide the best possible legislative framework for delivery of public health programs in Tasmania;

(b) encourage further coordination and linkages between public health, local government and local communications;

(c) encourage public health campaigns in key areas such as lifestyle factors which influence the health and wellbeing outcomes - for example, smoking and obesity.'

Mr Wilkinson - What about dentistry? Eye teeth.

Mr DEAN - Dentistry, you are right. It was interesting because, having approached a dentist this morning because I have an abscess, I was told to simply take pain killers until March of next year and to come back in March of next year - that was the position of the dentist - a highly unreal situation.

Mr PRESIDENT - Which tablets are you taking?

Mr DEAN - I want to quote the minister, Lara Giddings, Minister for Health and Human Services:
'Labor believes the objective of the Tasmanian health system should be to promote health, to preserve health, to restore health when it is impaired and to minimise suffering and distress, and to establish preventative health measures designed to maximise community wellbeing.'

There are a number of other issues that the minister identifies with. I am not sure if any of it has been done, to be quite frank.

I want to refer to another couple of points that were referred to by the minister - patients' rights, 216, Mental Health:

'Labor will:

(a) continue to support and work to improve mental health services, both in the public and community sectors;

(b) ensure that support is available for families dealing with mental health issues when needed, and;

(c) ensure that young people have access to both services and mental health professionals'.

I am not sure that any of that is occurring, Mr President. A lot of work needs to be done.
For a start, I could talk about Ward 1E and some of the problems there but then I think I would probably occupy the rest of the afternoon.

I wanted to finish, Mr President, by making a comment on an article that was in the Examiner today. I cannot leave mental health without referring to the protection and support of our whistleblowers. In Bundaberg, the whistleblowers in the hospital system have been rewarded and honoured for their services for uncovering all of the difficulties and problems that were in the health system and, specifically, in relation to the Patel case - but they have been honoured and rewarded. I am waiting, Mr President, for the whistleblowers in Ward 1E , the situation here, to be honoured and rewarded and properly recognised as well.