Warning for MPs over ‘dangerous’ mental health misinformation

Mental health experts are urging Victoria’s elected representatives to avoid using farmers’ challenges as a political football as MPs return to state parliament this week. 

It comes after MPs told the state government last month they would have “blood on [their] hands” if they passed a controversial emergency services levy, and claimed farmers had taken their own lives because of the then-proposed bill.

Advocates say there is a real mental health crisis among Aussie farmers but warn of the potentially dangerous consequences of publicly spreading misinformation or talking about suicide recklessly. 

Unverified figures spread publicly 

Discussions about the suicide rate among farmers reached fever pitch last month when state parliament passed a controversial emergency services levy that would result in a tax increase for farmers of about 150 per cent.

On May 30, the Victorian government announced that the implementation of the new tax rate for primary producers would be paused for 12 months.

In the days after the bill passed, a social media post gained traction claiming 17 farmers had taken their own lives since the bill was announced. 

The ABC has been unable to verify this figure. 

A follow-up post from the account in the days after confirmed they had not verified the figure but said it had come from a “trusted source”.

“That’s what had been reported to me at the time. Could the number be lower? Maybe. Could it be higher? Absolutely. If that’s what you’re fixated on … you’re missing the point,” the post read. 

The unverified figure is still cited publicly, including by a local councillor and in official statements from a farming advocacy group.

Bill debate talks of ‘blood on hands’

Some Victorian politicians also raised the matter of farmer suicide when debating the bill. 

The day before the levy passed, Liberal member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur told parliamentarians farmers had already taken their own lives because of the then-proposed bill. 

“I am here to tell you, you have blood on your hands. There were two suicides last week as a result of what you are imposing on farmers,” she said.

The statement echoed the words of her Liberal Party colleague, member for Southern Metropolitan region, Georgie Crozier, who alluded to the farmer suicide rate when she told the state treasurer that the mental health toll for farmers would mount as a result of the bill. 

“You will have blood on your hands. I am telling you there will be some very sad circumstances because of the pressures you are putting on people,” she said.

Liberal Member for Eastern Victoria Renee Heath repeated the figure cited by Ms McArthur. 

The ABC has contacted government and mental health agencies to factually check the number of farmer suicides in Victoria since the levy passed, as well as in the three years prior.

Suicide data classified by occupation was either not collected or not made available to protect the identities of the deceased and their families.

Politicians urged to use tact 

Suicide experts agree that politicians and the media need to be extremely cautious when discussing the issue, as public conversations about suicide can affect vulnerable individuals.

Professor Kairi Kõlves works at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention at Griffith University.

Dr Kõlves said suicide statistics should not be highlighted as part of a political debate.

“It is very dangerous,” she said.

Dr Kõlves said public figures needed to be careful about the language they used when talking about suicide because over-reporting could lead to serious repercussions. 

“We may lead other people to take their own lives. People who are particularly impacted here are those who are already in a vulnerable situation,” she said. 

“Specifically, those vulnerable farmers might be further impacted, and it may lead to further suicide clusters.

“When it’s over-reported or presented in a certain way, people might feel like ‘Oh my God, that’s me, this is my way out.'”

Cumulative stressors 

Experts agree that multiple factors over time are more likely to contribute to an individual taking their own life, rather than a single challenging event or circumstance.

National Rural Health Alliance chief executive Susi Tegen said removing the levy would not be enough to alleviate the mental health crisis among farmers.

A 2023 survey of 1,300 farmers found that 30 per cent of farmers had attempted self-harm or suicide, while a 2021 report by the National Rural Health Alliance found one farmer died by suicide every 10 days in Australia.

Ms Tegen said, since then, farmers have continued to face a seemingly endless torrent of major challenges.

“Rural Australia has been through major financial, environmental, and global stressors in the past few years,” Ms Tegen said.

“That has been due to floods, droughts and fires, global markets, and also internal politics and policy positions in federal and state governments.

“The stress is increasing, the mounting debts, and the issue of farming being a seven-day-a-week career.

“You can understand why the suicide rate is high because of the conditions wreaking havoc for those communities.”

Farmers urged to ‘refill cup’

Kelly Marson from mental health awareness charity Let’s Talk said the governments needed to work proactively to solve the farmer mental health crisis.

Ms Marson called on governments to implement regionally specific mental health and suicide prevention strategies.

“We cannot provide a preventative strategy that works in Melbourne; the country has to be looked at differently,” she said.

“The stigma is still so raw.”

In the meantime, National Centre for Farmer Health director Alison Kennedy said she encouraged farmers to prioritise their mental wellbeing by staying socially connected. 

“Having that time to refill your cup will make you much better at doing the things you have to do as well,” she said.