gogo1, ALP or LNP... two sides of the same coin in my opinion. What's the point of banging on about that here?
farmboy... I think that we have all made our points in regard to this tragedy. I also think that we may innately agree on some things but arguments framed in different contexts (legal versus societal or mental health concerns) are incompatible because they speak to different underlying issues. The Government system is clunky... the different parts don't talk well to each other... it is the nature of the beast. Law however overarches all and provides a common thread.
With respect to mental health - the law has an equalising effect. Despite it's impact on individuals, families and communities, mental illness or disorder rarely constitutes a carte blanche exemption from legal responsibilities. Mental health issues affect all demographics across society, so I don't think the concerns of one demographic are more or less important than the concerns of another. Again community groups can play a big impact on mitigating problems within their region (i.e. CWA, Mens Shed).
That mental health concerns are heightened in rural contexts among a certain demographic is a complex issue that needs to be researched and understood, before we ascribe it as a consequence of any one thing based solely on our opinion of the matter. A whole range of factors come into play.
There are many barriers to accessing mental health services in rural areas, including firstly a lack of funding /lack of services and targeted interventions, stigma associated with mental health, the inadequate training of rural doctors in mental health assessment (under diagnosis or misdiagnosis), just to mention a few things. There is a whole array of biopsychosocial factors that needs to be taken into account, since factors at the most proximal (biology, family, community) to most distal (Governments / Institutions) system levels, influence a person across their lifetime.
