When Ken Bayley was 19, he found himself naked in a prison cell debating whether to take his own life right there and then.<\/p>\n
In a drug-induced haze, he smashed his head against the door of his cell until he blacked out.<\/p>\n
When he woke, he was handcuffed to a hospital bed \u2013 covered head-to-toe in his own blood as wide-eyed children scurried past.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive this man his dignity,\u201d the nurse whispered to the attending police officers, before whisking him into a private room and attending to his wounds.<\/p>\n
With years of hard work, rehabilitation and a determination to live, the Afghanistan war veteran survived.<\/p>\n
But many others from Mr Bayley\u2019s hometown haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Now, he and his mates are determined to make change after witnessing the heartbreaking impact of a lack of mental health resources in their remote Queensland region first-hand.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s \u2018suicide capital\u2019<\/p>\n
Mr Bayley hails from Biloela, a tiny town of fewer than 6000 people, located 145 kilometres inland from the big smoke of Rockhampton.<\/p>\n
Biloela, and the neighbouring Burnett region, has some of the highest per capita rates of suicide in Queensland and Australia, with the area dubbed the nation\u2019s \u201csuicide capital\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a town where almost everyone knows everyone, the loss of so many lives to suicide has left a grief that runs deep.<\/p>\n
The region has a devastatingly high suicide rate of 33.4 per 100,000 people \u2013 well above the national average of 12.2.<\/p>\n
According to Suicide Prevention Australia, the rates of suicide in remote and very remote areas of the country are at their highest in five years. In these areas between 20.5 and 24.6 per 100,000 people take their own lives, compared to 9.9 to 10.9 in every 100,000 people in major cities.<\/p>\n
Over the past three months, news.com.au has travelled to Central Queensland, the Glenelg Shire in Victoria and the Riverina region in New South Wales as part of an investigation into Australia\u2019s rural mental health crisis.<\/p>\n
Residents of these troubled regions have painted a picture of systemic failure within Australia\u2019s mental health system \u2013 one which appears to be seriously neglecting the needs of regional Australians.<\/p>\n
Fed-up locals have described a lack of services, non-existent funding and isolation, which they feel are some of the driving factors of their high suicide rates.<\/p>\n
As a long-term Biloela local, Mr Bayley has almost lost count of the number of mates he\u2019s lost to suicide over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe friends I\u2019ve lost, you could be drinking with them and you wouldn\u2019t even know. Then five minutes later, you get a call that they\u2019ve taken their life. It\u2019s like what the f**king hell just happened?\u201d Mr Bayley said.<\/p>\n
\u2018One hour later he was dead\u2019<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 9.15am, and Mr Bayley and I are sitting in the conference room of a rural pub while a cleaner vacuums around us.<\/p>\n
Next to Mr Bayley sits Peter Davies, a South African game hunter turned morgue assistant turned miner.<\/p>\n
On his left sits Harley Cutter, 29, a miner who is attempting to wrangle his two-year-old daughter as she licks the glass windows.<\/p>\n
Biloela is just 17.6 square kilometres in size, and can be crossed by car in only five minutes. The town is rich in coal reserves and is a hub for livestock processing, making it a busy thoroughfare for large trucks and machinery.<\/p>\n
Most don\u2019t take the time to stop, simply using the town\u2019s roads as a means to an end.<\/p>\n
The three men say they are fundamentally different people who may not have been friends under different circumstances.<\/p>\n
But they met through their work in the mines, and together, they have watched mates die, cleaned blood caused by gunshot wounds and in desperate times held their own guns to their chins.<\/p>\n
Mental health struggles have impacted all their lives to an extraordinary degree. <\/p>\n
When asked whether they have experienced suicidal ideation, the trio respond in a chorus of \u201cyep\u201d, \u201cyeah\u201d and \u201call the time\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a mate that harmed himself and the cops came to get him. They held him at the hospital and then claimed he wasn\u2019t a psych risk so (they) let him go,\u201d Mr Davies revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went home and one hour later he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
He credits his children with saving his own life, saying he had thought of them moments before contemplating suicide.<\/p>\n
For Mr Bayley, it was his nephew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made a promise to him when he was born that I\u2019d be his uncle for the rest of his life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went through all the motions over and over, but something kept stopping me. I knew I couldn’t break that promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Rock bottom\u2019<\/p>\n
Mr Bayley left the army in 2010, before falling into a spiral of addiction, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that lasted more than 12 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really had to hit rock bottom, to the point that if I didn\u2019t change my life, I wasn\u2019t coming back from it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a war fighter, I thought I was invincible. But when it came to my mental health, it properly smacked me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to handle it, I didn\u2019t know how to control it and it scared the sh*t out of me. I was terrified and I\u2019ve been in some really bad situations but my mental health scared me the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2022, Mr Bayley was hospitalised alongside other veterans, some of whom had been battling mental health issues for over 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were 70-year-old men that fought in Vietnam and they still didn\u2019t have their life together. That was a really big turning point for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was allowed to break there because I was in a room surrounded by people that had been through similar things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men agree that within regional towns, social activities are few and far between, leaving room for a troubling drinking culture to take hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing to do in town is gamble, drink and do drugs,\u201d said Mr Davies. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe most social thing to do around here is go to a pub.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paltry funding and scarce resources<\/p>\n
One of the most concerning aspects of Australia\u2019s mental health crisis is the lack of resources dedicated to suicide in a town like Biloela<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had to clean up the scenes of our mates\u2019 deaths,\u201d said Mr Davies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is at no point a clean-up team. At least the police get some mental training, but we haven\u2019t had any sort of training to deal with a scene like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trio say Biloela Hospital is critically understaffed, leaving employees overwhelmed and overworked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the staff are locals and they just want to do the job but they\u2019re not given the correct tools and resources,\u201d Mr Bayley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re worked around the clock and do double shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no designated psychologist in town and every appointment is done via telehealth.<\/p>\n
If residents are successful in securing an appointment with a fly in fly out (FIFO) psychologist, they face months to years-long wait times \u2013 which could be far too late for someone in crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou feel like cattle going through a crush, it\u2019s just in and out,\u201d Mr Bayley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never see the same doctor twice. I\u2019ve gone to the doctor four times this year just for my mental health and was told my doctor had gone to Western Australia or NSW,\u201d Mr Cutter said.<\/p>\n
Recently, Mr Davies paid upwards of $650 to see a psychiatrist in Rockhampton, a three-hour round trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting professional help is scary, especially for men \u2026 We\u2019ve got this big man mentality that everything is all right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The group believe a dedicated mental health facility is necessary \u2013 and long overdue \u2013 for the region to take steps towards lowering its suicide rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s massive here and they can say it\u2019s drug addiction, but the root cause is mental health. It\u2019s all mental health and it\u2019s not being addressed,\u201d Mr Bayley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially in rural towns, you need that safe space and you need trained professionals because there are a lot of people here struggling who have to drive hours to receive any help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Government under pressure to strengthen system<\/p>\n
Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride told news.com.au the Labor government had delivered $1.1 billion to strengthen mental health care.<\/p>\n
\u201cA key pillar to strengthening our country\u2019s mental health system is expanding our network of Medicare Mental Health Centres to 92 locations nationwide, with a particular focus on regional communities and areas of need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese centres provide free mental health support, with no referral, appointment or eligibility criteria required.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, we are bolstering our mental health system to be more connected through services including Kids Hubs, headspace and headspace Plus services, Youth Specialist Care Centres and specialist perinatal mental health services, making it easier for Australians to access the care they need and navigate the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise that Australians living in rural and remote communities can face additional challenges accessing support. That\u2019s why are delivering a network of 20 headspace outreach services for rural and remote Australia, alongside launching Medicare Mental Health Check In, Australia\u2019s first free national digital mental health service, making sure professional support is available wherever people live.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, the Commonwealth has delivered an extra $25 billion in funding for public hospitals, recognising the vital role regional hospitals play in supporting local communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know there is more work to do, particularly for rural and remote communities, which is why we will continue investing in practical measures that improve access to care, reduce barriers to support and ensure Australians can access mental health services when and where they need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are currently eight Medicare Mental Health Centres open across regional Queensland, and three more are expected to be delivered.<\/p>\n
For residents in Biloela, these centres are located between two and 14 hours away.<\/p>\n
Additionally, there are 18 headpsace services across regional Queensland, but similarly, the closest to Biloela is a three hour drive.<\/p>\n
Call for action<\/p>\n
Speaking to news.com.au, Suicide Prevention Australia chief executive Nieves Murray called for an urgent increase in funding for suicide prevention, and an increase in community preparedness. <\/p>\n
\u201cOften we find that particularly in rural and remote areas, it\u2019s very difficult to get GPs and psychologists, so things such as telehealth need to be more available because we simply don\u2019t have the professional infrastructure in those remote areas,\u201d Ms Murray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing is for sure, where you live shouldn\u2019t decide how quickly you can get help.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said there was also a pressing need for the government to equip key members of communities to recognise and respond to people in distress.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly those formal services are important but the prevention of suicide isn\u2019t just about clinical supports, it\u2019s about the role we each play in asking the questions and having the skills to have the conversation with people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf as many of us knew how to do mental health first aid as normal first aid or physical first aid, we would be a much stronger community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Struggling behind closed doors\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mr Davies and Mr Cutter \u2013 both more recent arrivals in Biloela \u2013 admitted they struggled to find their footing in the somewhat cliquey community at first.<\/p>\n
Leaving South Africa four years ago with his two young children and wife, Mr Davies shared that he had recently been diagnosed with ADHD, something that went untreated for much of his adult life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t on medication as a child because there was a sort of stigma about it. So, growing up I did use drugs and alcohol as a form of self-medication,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really wanted to appear strong for a long time, my mental health felt like a weakness. I didn\u2019t want to break down in front of my wife or feel like a burden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried too hard to make friends when I first arrived. I thought I had 100,000 friends when I was drinking but once the party ended, they were nowhere to be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Cutter is the more reserved of the three, and said there have been times when his mental health forced him to retreat from the people around him.<\/p>\n
He has struggled with his mental health since childhood, having been through many different psychologists and medication trials.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an unspoken thing that some of us are very much struggling behind closed doors. It\u2019s hard to have a brave face out in public and around your work mates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have friends like Kenny and Pete, who are quite open with talking about their mental health, it makes me feel like I\u2019m not fighting this fight by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
His move to the town was a particularly daunting experience, marred by feelings of loneliness. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing isolated every day (in the mines) for 12 hours in a piece of equipment, gives you a lot of time to think. It doesn\u2019t take long for those thoughts to go the wrong way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recalls driving a truck at 3am and looking over the highway thinking \u201cthere\u2019s my out\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be lying if I said I hadn\u2019t thought that a few times.\u201d<\/p>\n
A community rallying together with one solution<\/p>\n
The trio have since become part of a larger purpose, one that provides a safe space for Australians to open up about their mental health issues.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Mr Bayley started Mental Fishing, a self-funded initiative to spread awareness about mental health issues and create a safe environment for others to share their struggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found if I was having a bad day, fishing was the one thing that helped me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mental Fishing was born following a chartered fishing trip with 10 strangers, none of whom had uttered a word at the beginning of the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the end of the day, everyone was talking and I knew everything about everyone,\u201d Mr Bayley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, there\u2019s something here and there\u2019s something I want to create. I just want to provide something for people to give a go and shoot the sh*t and let them know that there are avenues out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, the community has over 400 members across Australia \u2013 many who don dedicated Mental Fishing T-shirts.<\/p>\n
The shirts are a conversation starter, a way for members to break the often awkward barrier of starting a conversation around mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rare that you can go out in this town and not see someone wearing the shirt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n