Newcastle-based suicide prevention expert Shayne Connell has welcomed the Minns government's plan to create a new law to "drive down suicide rates in NSW". Login or signup to continue reading The government announced on Sunday that it was working on suicide prevention legislation to be introduced into parliament next year. The law was aimed at driving "a cultural shift within government".
While suicide prevention had historically fallen under the health portfolio, action to "reduce death by suicide" would become a "collective responsibility". Mr Connell said the legislation sought to make sure "every government department considers the suicide prevention impacts of their decisions". "It's a step to preventing suicide and promoting life," he said.
The new law is aimed at preventing the government from making decisions that lead to suicides. A specific global example was the Vessel in New York, a 45-metre high climbable sculpture from which numerous people had taken their lives. It is due to reopen later this year with new safety features.
A local example was fencing erected in the early 2000s to stop people taking their lives from Mooney Mooney Bridge. NSW Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson said another focus would be "factors that exacerbate suicidal distress ", such as financial insecurity, unstable housing and social isolation. She said it was "not always the case that mental ill-health is the primary driver of distress leading to suicide".
The discussion paper said 49.