Suicide helpline

The State Government’s move towards a dedicated Busselton suicide co-ordinator has added weight to growing speculation that suicide is rife in the town.

Mental Health Minister Helen Morton said preliminary discussions had taken place to establish the role in Busselton.

Shadow mental health minister Ljiljanna Ravlich claimed the new coordinator was “long overdue” and proved opposition concerns that suicide was an issue in the Busselton and Dunsborough region.

“If that’s the case, then there must be a reason the Minister has taken this decision now,” she said.

“I think it’s a problem across the State but there’s no doubt that suicide, particularly youth suicide, is an issue.”

Ms Morton was unable to provide details on the number of suicides in the South West in State Parliament last month, amid opposition suspicions suicides were increasing.

Ms Ravlich said the lack of answers was concerning and called for full disclosure about the extent of the problem.

Ms Morton told the Times she was still trying to retrieve the figures but research showed overall suicide rates were not significantly different to the rest of WA.

“I have not been informed of any region with a spike in suicide numbers,” she said

However, Busselton Acting Senior Sergeant Stuart Gerreyn said local officers had noticed an increase in suicides in the town in recent months.

“There have been two or three in the last couple of months that we’ve had to attend,” he said.

Ms Morton said the Ministerial Council on Suicide Prevention would be keen to help make the Busselton and Dunsborough communities “suicide-proof” if residents believed it was an issue and described it as the business of everyone in the community.

Ms Ravlich said she would continue to pursue figures on the number of suicides in State Parliament as well as the number of vacancies in mental health industry across WA.

Acting Snr Sgt Gerreyn said relationship and mental health issues appeared to have a bearing on suicides which police had attended and said police officers were able to put residents in touch with counselling services.

Support services can be contacted at www.lifeline.org.au or at the Salvo Care Line on 1300 363622.