ACT govt refuses to condemn federal cuts to psychology appointments

Emma Davidson, along with Greens and Labor members, did not support a call to write to the Commonwealth about cuts to appointments.

The number of Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions was cut in half last month, dropping from 20 to 10.

The 20 appointments were part of additional COVID-19 funding and were implemented by the former coalition government. This expired in December and Labor chose not to renew it.

Opposition mental health spokesman Ed Cocks moved a motion in the Assembly on Wednesday calling on the leaders of the three parties to write to the federal government to reverse these cuts.

"Independent evaluations have stated that 20 sessions a year should continue to be made available and targeted towards those with more complex mental health needs," he said.

But Ms Davidson moved amendments to the motion, which only required that she write to the federal government saying the governments should continue to work together to appropriately fund mental health services.

MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:

This is at odds with the federal Greens who have slammed the cuts. It is also at odds with Ms Davidson's position that all mental health care should be universally publicly funded.

"As a Green I want all mental health care to be universally publicly funded and that's not just psychologists. The suggestion that additional Medicare psychology appointments are the only answer demonstrates a lack of understanding of the diversity of clinical services needed to address mental health conditions," she said.

However, Ms Davidson said funding more appointments simply created more demand and did little to alleviate pressure on the system.

"More funding appointments will not only fail to increase the number of psychologists and psychiatrists offering services in Canberra it would make appointments harder to access by increasing demand," she said.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.