AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022
Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue #3.19
Date 7 October 2003
For immediate release
SANE Australia
A national charity helping those affected by mental illness through
campaigning, education and research
media release
SANE Australia condemns cuts to WA mental health services
SANE Australia today joined its voice to those protesting against multi-million dollar cuts to mental health services in Western Australia
The Gallop government?s plan to axe millions for mental health services supplied by non-government organisations (NGOs) comes in the same week that the WA Government signed the latest National Mental Health Plan, which promises increased attention to these very areas being cut.
?No other government has made such cuts following the Commonwealth-State Health Agreement,? said Dr Paul Morgan, acting executive director of SANE.
?This is stigma in its cruellest form: saving money by attacking services for the mentally ill. The WA Government plans to remove support, advocacy and intervention programs from one of the most vulnerable groups in our community. If that isn?t stigma and bullying, I don?t know what is? said Dr Morgan.
SANE Australia fully supports the campaign by mental health groups in WA to protect their services, and calls on the Gallop government to listen to the community outrage this proposal has sparked.
A rally to be held today in Perth by the Save Our Services Alliance (SOS) ? a group formed for the ?future security of non government mental health services? ? is coordinated by the West Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH)
The SANE Charter supports a better life for people affected by mental
illness:
? access to affective treatment
? support in the community
? help for carers
? an end to stigma.
Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue #3.19
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