Central Queensland<\/a> and the Glenelg Shire in Victoria as part of an investigation into Australia\u2019s rural mental health crisis.<\/p>\nResidents of these troubled regions have painted a picture of systemic failure within Australia\u2019s mental health system, describing 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
\u2018Our boys are dying\u2019<\/p>\n
In 2020, Griffith lost five teenage boys in less than a year to suicide.<\/p>\n
Former teacher and psychologist Jenna Woodland recalled a dark cloud hanging over the town that year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never want to experience that again, I could feel the pain everywhere in the town,\u201d she told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
Ms Woodland is a local mother herself, and knows all too well the battle that comes with accessing mental health support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to travel 600 kilometres to access services and take time off work. It costs 1000 bucks everytime you leave here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local services are so difficult to staff here. You could be waiting weeks, months or years to see a psychologist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Woodland recalled a case from her time as a psychologist that particuarly struck a chord with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember taking a client to the hospital who was suicidal. I sat with him for eight hours in an empty room where they had taken his shoes and belt,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were waiting for a telehealth call from Wagga Wagga and it never came.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Woodland believes a lack of follow-up care is causing the system to crack.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you present at Griffith Base (Hospital), you\u2019ll sit in triage for hours because you\u2019re not a high priority. If you\u2019re not deemed a risk in that moment, then they will give you some phone numbers to ring and then send you off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no follow-up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Woodland said societal pressures had led to a longstanding stigma around mental health issues in parts of regional Australia, particularly among men.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen rally for mental health. They\u2019re the first ones to reach out, they drop food to your home and they\u2019re there for you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not one man in my son\u2019s life has stood up and said, \u2018come with me, let\u2019s go for a drive or lets go shooting\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Woodland believes it\u2019s ultimately up to men to address their disproportionately high suicide rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen instinctively know how to deal with men. They need to be out there teaching young boys,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why our boys are dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s heartbreaking\u2019<\/p>\n
According to Griffith Mayor Doug Curran, most people in the town know someone that has taken their own life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking,\u201d Mr Curran told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have to jump on planes to have their medical appointments, it plays a huge mental impost onto those patients and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wonder what the alternatives may have been if they had support. We don\u2019t have the right structure in our health system to offer that support.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes unnoticed until something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost 30 per cent of the population \u2013 about seven million Australians \u2013 live in rural and remote areas. According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, they face significantly worse health outcomes than their city counterparts, with higher rates of hospitalisations, deaths and injury and also poorer access to primary health care services.<\/p>\n
In the broader Murrumbidgee area, in which Griffith is located, over 15 per cent of adults experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress, with mental health conditions also more prevalent than across NSW as a whole.<\/p>\n
Despite the recent opening of the new $250 million Griffith Base Hospital \u2013 which supposedly delivers \u201cstate of the art facilities and enhanced regional health services\u201d \u2013 locals say they still have to drive hours to larger towns to access the most basic medical attention.<\/p>\n
The new hospital does not feature a designated mental health care unit, offering only telehealth conversations.<\/p>\n
Additionally, there are currently no acting psychiatrists in the town, and no pediatrician.<\/p>\n
There is a local headpsace centre, along with a few counselling services, but locals say extensive wait times have created a massive barrier to accessing care.<\/p>\n
Independent Murray state MP Helen Dalton said the hospital was a \u201cghost town\u201d that was struggling to employ staff due to the challenges of living in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to have a dedicated mental health unit at the hospital, and they\u2019re refusing to do that,\u201d Ms Dalton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are pushed beyond their limits up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Everyone knows someone that has died by suicide\u2019<\/p>\n
According to Suicide Prevention Australia, one farmer dies by suicide every 10 days, while almost half of all farmers (45 per cent) had experienced thoughts of self-harm or suicide.<\/p>\n
Farmers within certain demographics also have even higher suicide rates, including males, those who have separated from their spouse and middle-aged farmers.<\/p>\n
From 2009 to 2018, the average suicide rate in farmers was almost 59 per cent higher than non-farmers.<\/p>\n
This rate increased to 94 per cent higher than non-farmers in 2018.<\/p>\n
Local Griffith farmer Nathan Crowley, 36, moved back to his family farm four years ago after leaving at 18.<\/p>\n
The farm has been in his family for 80 years, making him a third generation rice farmer.<\/p>\n
Mr Crowley is no stranger to suicide and the impact it has on his rural community.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in the community knows someone that has died by suicide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The young farmer described a community that ultimately feels \u201cunheard\u201d by both politicans and wider Australia, as well as an overall \u201ctough lifestyle\u201d made harder by compounding issues such as water insecurity and drought.<\/p>\n
In Griffith, and much of regional Australia, the price of water has tripled and the average price of fertiliser \u2013 which usually sits at $600 \u2013 is now closer to $1500 per tonne.<\/p>\n
Without sustainable water, fuel and fertiliser policy, many of these family-owned farms will have to consider selling up to large corporations just to make ends meet, according to Mr Crowley.<\/p>\n
Call for action<\/p>\n
Australian paralympic sprinter and water skier Scott Reardon grew up on a farm near Temora, under two hours away from Griffith.<\/p>\n
When Mr Reardon was 12 he lost his right leg in a brutal farm accident, an experience he said was \u201clife altering\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I woke up as a 30-year-old in a 12-year-old body,\u201d he told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was harder for people to see me for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Reardon lost two friends to suicide in 2014, an experience he said had a devastating impact on his community.<\/p>\n
\u201cMales, particularly, tend to hide what we feel and we don\u2019t actually get out and have a chat about what is going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you are out in country areas, you are excluded from many support networks and those you do have can be very small.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Reardon recalled never having heard of the topic of mental health throughout childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was this ingrained generational stoicism that was passed down and mental health issues were just never something we spoke about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Paralympic silver medal winner believes early prevention is key to saving the lives of those struggling with suicidal ideation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be learning about mental health as soon as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs parents we need to make sure we are looking after our kids, allowing them to stop and breathe and to validate what is happening in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mr Reardon, his entry into the world of sport launched the mental healing process after his accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a choice. I could sit at home and complain or continue to live my life, regardless of what happened. I got out there into the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018People are feeling neglected\u2019<\/p>\n
Mr Curran has worked in local government for 18 years, and worries the people of Griffith are being \u201cleft behind\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worry people are getting tired and underappreciated,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real slap in the face, we feel invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Dalton echoed those sentiments, saying rural areas have \u201chad a gutful\u201d of being ignored.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very passive people and we take a lot, but we deserve a piece,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Griffith local Brian* said the issues of rural Australians could not be fathomed by those living in cities.<\/p>\n
\u201cMental health challenges people face in this part of the world cannot be fathomed by people in Sydney or Canberra,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve not lived in an area like this, you don\u2019t generally understand it well enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people are feeling neglected. (Cities) don\u2019t understand (the) challenges faced by people out here and the state is completely broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stigma stopping farmers from receiving help<\/p>\n
Suicide Prevention Australia CEO Nieves Murray said the ongoing stigma of mental health issues remains a key factor in people\u2019s postponement or avoidance of getting help, particularly in smaller communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften for people in small communities, there\u2019s a concern that they\u2019re going to be stigmatised if they reach out for help,\u201d Ms Murray told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to focus on reducing stigma by recognising there are other strategies that we can deploy to actually support people, rather than saying \u2018you\u2019ll be right\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Murray believes these strategies include awareness, improved community capability, mental health first aid and increased primary health networks.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrimary health networks have a significant role to play, but that\u2019s not the only answer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupporting communities to develop regionally-based, local-based responses is important. There is an opportunity for government to increase community preparedness and to invest in raising skill sets in the broader community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Murray said on top of incentivising professionals and clinicans to move to rural areas, communities need to be equipped with basic mental health first aid skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know for a fact that more than half the people who die by suicide don\u2019t have a mental health diagnosis and therefore don\u2019t touch the health system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also know that the first time a person tells their story of suicidal distress is the most telling in what happens next for that person. So, if somebody asks a question and has the skills to listen to the person\u2019s response and then support the person, often the trajectory is much more positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Government under pressure to strengthen ailing 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, including expanding its network of Medicare Mental Health Centres to 92 locations nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise that Australians living in rural and remote communities can face additional challenges accessing support,\u201d Ms McBride said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\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
Unfortunately, for residents of Griffith, the closest Medicare Mental Health Centre is in Wagga Wagga, a two-hour drive away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon in 2025 when a gunshot rang out through the bustling plaza 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