Minister for Mental Health The Hon. Andrea Mitchell did not reveal any new policies at the forum, but instead said she was there to listen to the community's views, highlight the Liberal's changes to mental health over the past four years, and affirm her focus on early intervention and prevention.

Key points made during speech and panel session:

• Announcements will come out over next few weeks - forum was an opportunity to listen to sector's views.
• Focus is to support the full spectrum of mental health services.
• There had to be quite a focus at the acute end (of services) but they are moving along the spectrum.
• Prevention is always much better than intervention and intervention at an earlier age before getting to the acute end is better.
• Liberals have increased funding by 84% and much of that has gone to the non-government sector.
• Confirmed the Mental Health Commission, a dedicated Minister for Mental Health, and the 10 Year Plan will remain in place.
• Everything in the plan is there for a purpose and will be monitored.
• Some areas may need to come forward, some things may not come on board as quickly as might have been thought because of other priorities.
• Ms Mitchell believes working together as a government with the non-government sector is the best way to get the best outcomes.
• Community organisations can respond to crisis better, are more flexible, innovative and get things done quickly.
• Commitment from Liberals to continue to work with non-government sector. 
• Appreciates when people and organisations suggest ideas for doing things better.
• Mental Health Act is improving care for families, consumers and carers. 
• Confident about work with Aboriginal people and using their culture.
• The belief, culture, practice, community, support, caring - all these things make a difference right throughout our own mental and physical health.
• Will continue to roll out the “well received” step-up, step-down services.
• Security of funding is essential. 

Responses to audience questions:

• Aim to achieve a set time frame from Federal Government on Homelessness National Partnership Agreements.
• Acknowledged more working together is needed to respond to the system navigation problems experienced by families. 
• Happy to look at ways to improve the linkages between mental health sector and the housing authority. 
• Supports no disadvantage for people in National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) receiving supports.

Hon. Stephen Dawson, Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Disability Services and Member for Mining and Pastoral Region didn't unveil any policies during the forum either, but said more announcements would be made as the election campaign rolled out. 

Key points made during speech and panel:

• Stated that the lack of services in regional WA, coupled with the ‘tyranny of distance’ is a problem.
• Creation of the Mental Health Commission (MHC) has been a good initiative (commended current government)
• If Labor wins next election, they will retain the Commission and a stand-alone position of Mental Health Minister.
• By having a stand-alone minister in the cabinet, there is an advocate and a powerful voice at the table to ensure mental health issues are not forgotten.
• More scrutiny needed on relationship between the MHC and Health Department, with key performance indicators in place.
• If in government in a few weeks time, Labor will look at how to better ensure mental health funds get to the services and health facilities that need them, through improving the Health Dept. working relationship with MHC.
• Wants to spend existing money on housing more wisely.
• Labor has committed to a range of changes to the Criminal Law Mentally Impaired Accused (CLMIA) Act - four out of the five key urgent key reforms identified by the sector, with the fifth one in discussion.
• CLMIA needs to be changed - Labor committed to changing it as a priority.
• Conscious of need for culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal people and also appropriate services for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) communities.
• Committed to a renewed focus on CaLD communities if he becomes Minister, including restoring funding to the Transcultural Mental Health Service.
• Suicide Prevention Plan (although not old) needs to be re-looked at, particularly in respect to the high rates of suicide amongst the Aboriginal population.
• Committed to having Aboriginal people at the table, making decisions and providing advice.
• Build a step-up and step-down facility in the Goldfields and ensure other facilities like this are delivered.
• In a tight fiscal environment, there is a need to break silos down in government departments more than ever.
• Referred to Mark McGowan’s announcement about Government needing to implement KPIs, reduce the number of departments and be held to task.
• Evaluation of the WA NDIS trials should be released.
• Supportive of having someone with a psycho-social disability representative at the table, but cannot commit to having someone on the board.
• Labor does not support the Federal / State NDIS agreement being made before the election. 
• In response to an audience question about a funded consumer representative voice, Mr Dawson committed to continue to fund independent and systemic advocacy.

Ms Alison Xamon, Spokesperson for Mental Health, Candidate for North Metropolitan Region will be running in the next election in the hope to re-enter parliament, and implement the many changes to mental health she is passionate about.

Key points made in speech and panel:

• Need to reconfigure the way government silos work.
• Save money by reducing imprisonment and spending it on community supports pre and post-imprisonment instead. 
• The fracturing of area health services needs to change, and how health services are delivered, supporting localised services.
• Ms Xamon will introduce a private members' bill to reform CLMIA if there is no timely bill introduced by the major parties.
• Is deeply supportive of ensuring community-managed mental health services receive the bulk of the new funding made available in mental health.
• It is about prevention, early intervention but it’s also about support for people who have got mental health issues who are trying to make their way out of the public health system as well.
• Understands the acute system has an important role, but believes far too many people are caught up in the Dept. of Health acute system and sub-acute systems, who aren’t accessing appropriate supports in the community, and do not need to be there.
• This is putting unnecessary pressure on the hospital system and economy.
• There has not been an adherence to the 10 Year Plan in the sense that most of the dollars made available have gone back into the Dept. of Health system rather than building capacity in community services that are trauma-informed and recovery-focused.
• Ms Xamon said we are dealing with decades of underinvestment by successive governments. 
• Build capacity among consumers, carers and family members, to better participate in co-designing the services - Non-government contracts should include contracts for this capacity building.
• Peer workers are transformational – need to provide training and support to build peer workers into clinical teams.
• Supports breaking down silos between government departments, with housing a prime example- more and better housing options, with supports are needed.
• Wants to see CLMIA Act reformed urgently, stating it is a human rights blight.
• The Greens unequivocally support all of the five most urgent CLMIA reforms identified by the sector, including flexibility amongst judiciary orders and procedural fairness.
• The Greens are the only party that support special hearings if people have been found unfit to plead and is of the view the Governor General has no place in deciding whether people stay in jail or not.
• Concerns over WA NDIS, when some decision makers do not understand psycho-social disability.
• Has come to learn the Disability Support Commission don’t understand psycho-social disability.
• If Ms Xamon gets back into parliament, she'll relentlessly pursue NDIS access.
• There is a lack of understanding about the unique needs of people with a psycho-social disability and understanding of how the recovery model fits within NDIS as opposed to other types of physical disabilities.

The Hon. Jacqui Boydell, Member for Mining and Pastoral Region drew on her own lived experience as a family member and parent, and talked about the regional development component of delivering mental health services.

Key points from speech and panel discussion: 

• Without actually addressing some of the educational, economic, unemployment, and mental health issues people have, you don’t have any regional development.
• If we want to grow our regional communities, housing and education need to be addressed.
• The Nationals' focus on mental health is about education for parents through schools, and for children to recognise when they may need assistance.
• Mental health is something you need to provide coping mechanisms for so people are able to engage and live a fruitful life, get a job, to study, have friends, and not fear engaging in the community.
• Highlighted the Regional Development programs The Nationals worked on – Regional Services Reform Agenda and the Water for Food in Derby where the community severely struggled with culture and suicide. 
• The program provided that community with a way forward - it created regional services, employment, training, meaning and hope, working with Aboriginal people on the ground. 
• Positive way to change – if changes can be made to economic circumstances in housing and education, then they can make changes in mental health.
• Doing something that is meaningful on a daily basis serves a purpose and improves mental health.
• Research shows education, early intervention, awareness are the key to finding a support program, or at the acute end, some kind of support that's going to assist you.
• The government's role is to have investment, and from a regional development perspective it is to allow people not to get to the acute end of services.
• Ongoing balancing act as to whether people in regional areas with mental health issues receive treatment in Perth, away from their home, family and support network.
• Listen to experts in field and try to extend services so people in remote and regional communities can access them but it’s a big challenge.
• Government needs to work in less silos. 
• Extending the Patient Assistance Travel Scheme extended to allied health services and the building Tele-health services will enable rural and remote people to get support they need.
• Referred to CLMIA - wants to take politics out of decision making and stated there is some common ground between the Nationals and the sector on this issue.

Audience questions focused on the following issues:

• Whether supports will be available for very young children.
• How can a whole of government approach support families to navigate the system and access the supports they and their loved ones need.
• The prevention of drug and alcohol problems for Aboriginal people.
• How to enable families who are battling to get support for their loved ones, to be heard.
• What is Labor’s commitment to continue an independent consumer advocacy voice.
• In the new agreement for WA NDIS what do we know about psychosocial disability?
• What is needed to bring decision makers to put in place things that will build the capacity of rural consumers and carers.
• Plans to address urgent need for safe, stable and sustainable housing for people with mental health issues.
• How the parties will address the need for the Housing Authority to proactively work with the mental health sector.
• What the parties will do to make sure that all consumers and carers can access free, community based mental health services before reaching crisis point.
• Whether we have started to see a reduction in the 40% of consumers occupying mental health beds (2009 figures).
• Which of the parties commits to enable CLMIA release decisions to be made by a broad or court, rather than the Attorney General.
• Whether the parties will commit to nominating a person with psychosocial disability expertise to the WA NDIS Board, to ensure these people can access the scheme, given that many will have difficulty connecting to the NDIS and a history of very poor access to services.