The Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, is calling for an urgent boost to local mental health funding, more on-the-ground counsellors, and an expansion of Medicare mental health plans to at least 10 sessions for people impacted by the Longwood bushfires.
Ms Cleeland said communities are carrying deep and lasting trauma, and immediate, practical support must be treated as a core part of disaster recovery, not an afterthought.
Right now, two remarkable local mental health counsellors and advocates, Jack O’Sullivan and Ivan Lister, are on the ground supporting residents, entirely funded through the generosity of the Seymour Club and local fundraising efforts.
Ms Cleeland said the fact the community has had to donate and raise money for basic mental health care shows just how delayed and inadequate the official response has been.
Ms Cleeland said the scale of the devastation, and the confronting work people were forced to undertake in the days after the fires, has left many emotionally exhausted, with very little support available locally.
“What people saw and what they had to do in the aftermath of these fires will stay with them for life,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We cannot expect people to simply move on after witnessing that level of destruction, loss and suffering.”
Mental health services in the region were already stretched before the fires, with the nearest Mental Health Local more than a two hour round trip away in Shepparton.
During the emergency response, just one roving counsellor was available across multiple impacted communities.
“That is nowhere near enough. Our region feels incredibly exposed,” she said.
Ms Cleeland also raised serious concerns about a group of young local men, many in their mid-twenties, who carried out the bulk of livestock euthanasia after delays of nearly ten days before Agriculture Victoria resources were fully mobilised.
“These young blokes stepped up because someone had to,” she said.
“They did a job no one should ever have to do, and they did it for their neighbours and their community.
“They deserve immediate, professional support, not months down the track and not over the phone from hours away, but face to face, here at home.”
Ms Cleeland said counselling must be available not only for those who lost homes and livelihoods, but also for firefighters, first responders, volunteers and locals who returned early to help clean up and rebuild.
“Mental health support is not optional in disaster recovery. It is as essential as food, shelter and financial help,” she said.
“I am calling on the Victorian Government to urgently deploy more on-the-ground counsellors, back local providers, and commit to long-term services so our communities aren’t left to carry this alone.
“Our region showed extraordinary strength and compassion through this disaster. Now we need the system to show up for us.”