I am honoured to have been asked by Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Sussan Ley MP, to serve in the capacity of Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Early Learning and Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health.
I have a deep passion for these areas of public policy, having served the Australian and Victorian Governments with leadership of early childhood, school, vocational, higher education and research policy which I have pursued in service to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, and as Secretary of the Coalition’s Small and Family Business, Education, Employment and Training Policy Committee.
I have worked in addressing challenges to mental health through my engagement in social media and technology policy, and most particularly, through my work on the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society.
I look forward to working with Shadow Ministers Duniam and Ruston on these matters.
Both areas are important to my electorate of Flinders, where the Coalition has a proud history of investment in mental health, including in the formation of Jimmy’s Place in Rosebud, and funding for wellness hubs at both Rosebud Secondary College and Western Port Secondary College, as well as establishing Headspace in both Rosebud and Hastings, and the establishment of the Kindred Clubhouse in Hastings.
At the last election, the Coalition committed to restoring the number of Medicare-subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20 on a permanent basis, as well as investing $400 million to deliver a world-leading focus on youth mental health.
The Coalition has a legacy to be proud of in the mental health space, having established headspace in 2006 as a trusted and recognised support service, a service which now has 150 sites nationally.
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