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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 703 asked in the Legislative Council on 10 May 2022 by Hon Dr Brad Pettitt

Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Minister for Health; Mental Health
Parliament: 41 Session: 1


Question

(1) How many persons aged under 18 have died from suicide in the Kimberley each year since 2018, broken down by town and age?
(2) How many of those persons in (1) were Aboriginals, broken down by year, town and age?
(3) If the Minister is unable to answer (1) or (2), why not?
(4) How, what and when is the Minister informed of youth suicides in the Kimberley
?
(5) Does the Government have any plan to deal with youth suicide rates in the Kimberley?
(6) If yes to (5), will the Minister table this plan?

Answered on 14 June 2022

(1)   Since 2018, there have been four confirmed suicide deaths in the Kimberley region of people under the age of 18. This total does not include any suspected suicide deaths where the case is still open, and the coronial investigation is still ongoing. Data broken down by year, town and age cannot be released as it would be identifiable.

(2)   Four Aboriginal people.

(3)   Not applicable.

(4)   The Minister is regularly briefed on data provided by the Office of the State Coroner on suicide deaths across Western Australia, including suspected and confirmed cases.

(5)   Yes.

(6)   The Mental Health Commission has developed the Western Australian Suicide Prevention Framework 2021-2025, which provides for a coordinated approach to address suicide prevention under the four streams of Prevention/Early Intervention, Support/Aftercare, Postvention and Aboriginal People. The Aboriginal People stream supports Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers in 10 regions of Western Australia, including the Kimberley, to operationalise region-specific prevention plans for Aboriginal populations. The Framework is publicly available on the website of the Mental Health Commission.