New chief psychiatrist backs Minister of Men
South Australia’s new chief psychiatrist, the first Indigenous person to hold the role, is backing calls for a dedicated Minister of Men.
South Australia’s newly-appointed chief psychiatrist, associate professor Dr Melanie Turner, has backed calls for a dedicated Minister of Men, saying “it could be a great avenue to make some really positive change in part of the male population”.
It comes after SA’s Health Minister Blair Boyer told InDaily last week that it was something that the government would “look closely at”.
“Even in that space we could look at things around, perhaps, alcohol use, or we could look at domestic violence, we could look at unemployment – some of those things that are a much higher level in the male population that I think have been harder to tackle without exactly zoning in on it” Turner, who is a “proud descendent” of the Noongar Aboriginal nation from Western Australia, said.
Turner, who has a background as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, also supported the Malinauskas Labor Government’s nation-leading ban on social media for children under 16.
“I think that in general the challenge with social media is that it is so large and so vast that it can present almost anything to a child that otherwise in our community we would probably filter, but there is no filter in social media,” she said.
Asked about data showing higher suicide rates among males, Turner said it was important that men have safe spaces to share their feelings and that men’s and women’s mental health go hand-in-hand.
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“We need to know that women’s mental health is core to men’s mental health being good. We know that if families are going well, children are going well, women are going well, men’s mental health is a lot better,” she said.
Among issues specific to women were the gender pay gap, domestic violence and the higher rate of women facing homelessness, she said, adding that First Nations and refugee women were impacted the most.
“I think we need to always keep coming back to that for any population, and for women, we are always taking into context that disadvantage of being a female in a society where there are those pay gaps, those employment gaps and those risks with just being a female as you walk down the street,” she said.
Other challenges to the mental health system included the increased demand for support post-COVID and difficulties navigating the mental health system.
“It has been challenging with the same number of staff, or even increased staff, to manage that quite significant increase in capacity,” Turner said.
“I think coordination of an early intervention pathway is probably one of the things that we don’t have that would be good to do.”
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Asked about the government’s announcement of new mental health units, Turner said she was “a strong supporter of alternatives to the emergency departments for people in mental health crisis”.
“It is very difficult to help somebody feel calm, safe and secure in a quite chaotic, noisy environment, just inherently by the other parts of the job that an emergency department has to do,” she said.
Turner was appointed as the next chief psychiatrist for the Department of Health and Wellbeing yesterday, taking the reins from Dr John Brayley.
Alongside her work as a clinician, Turner is the inaugural presiding member of the state’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, teaches medical students and registrars at Adelaide University, is chair of the Medical Board of South Australia and a member of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Among her responsibilities in the new role, Turner would lead a team overseeing the Mental Health Act of South Australia, with a new version coming out later this year. The team would also look after the Suicide Prevention Act.
Other priorities in the role included work towards closing the gap in mental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, focusing on early intervention and prevention for those impacted by mental illness and expanding suicide prevention programs.
SA independent Sarah Game has long advocated for a Minister of Men, saying that “I think the government is realising that targeted programs and assistance for men and boys would be overwhelmingly positively received, in addition to being needed by the community”.
“If a Minister for Men were to eventuate, it is vital that there are no ‘do better’ overtones. The Office for Men needs to promote a positive and supportive narrative,” she said.
Lifeline: 13 11 14, lifeline.org.au
Headspace: 1800 650 890, headspace.org.au
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 635, beyondblue.org.au
SANE Support line and Forums: 1800 187 263, saneforums.org
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