The shocking figures that many missed

Suicide numbers are up, but we can all make a difference, writes

THE biggest story this week wasn’t drama at the ABC, it was a largely ignored report that revealed the number of people committing suicide is at a 10-year high.

Last year 3128 took their own lives. That’s 9 per cent up on 2016 and vastly higher than the 2341 people in 2008.

This is not because there are more people in Australia than 10 years ago. According to the Institute of Health and Family Welfare, a Federal Government body, the rate of deaths from cancer and heart attacks are down in the past decade. Sadly suicide is not, it’s going up.

Last week I wrote about the growing problem of loneliness in Australia and it is clearly a huge factor in why people take their own life.

I have no solutions to how we bring this number down, but there are a few things we can do to help people at the edge.

Firstly we need to give Lifeline every cent they need to answer every call they get. Last year they took almost a million calls from Australians, but thousands went unanswered.

Secondly, and clearly harder to do quickly, we need companies, courts and government to examine the pressure they put on people. Do banks lend too much money to people who can’t repay it?

Does the Family Court drag out processes and make things too hard for battling people who appear before it? Do we give GPs all the tools they need, not just drugs, to deal with mental health issues given it is the number one reason people seek out their doctor.

Thirdly, the media need to talk about this issue with greater importance. When this report was released showing the shocking new statistics, it was largely ignored by mainstream media.

Finally, we all need to preach the message of choosing life. This is not to shame the people who took their own life, but we must do everything we can to shine a light on the people who have been to that dark place but found a way to come back.

Take time this weekend to ring someone you know is lonely, if nothing else, just have a chat and make it clear they are loved and you look forward to seeing them soon.

Minor parties will surge again at the next election

At the last election a record number of people voted for a minor party. The Senate crossbench grew to 10 from the Xenophon team on the Left, to One Nation on the Right, with Justice Party, Liberal Democrats and Jacqui Lambie also there.

True, the vote bar was lowered with the double dissolution election, but 15 per cent of people broke up with mainly the Liberal Party and a chunk left Labor.

A new poll this week showed more than 60 per cent of people see no difference or don’t know which party is better for all Australians. It was a similar result when it was broken down by gender, sexuality, age and race.

Thankfully there is an answer. In my view minor parties are a chance for you to take out insurance against a government in the lower house. If it’s Liberal or Labor who wins next year, it looks like a couple of million people will take out that insurance again at the next election. I know I will. ruok.org.au/findhelp Lifeline 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice. org.au beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 www.beyondblue.org.au