As you read this, the odds are someone will take their own life: probably a male, more than likely to be aged in his 20s.

By nightfall, more people will commit suicide than are killed on our roads, and by year's end, statistics will be drawn up putting the official number of deaths by suicide somewhere approaching 2,000.

But no-one really knows how high the figure is because shame, insurance and non-reporting of deaths hides the real number of those who end their lives prematurely, by their own hand.

And that's the crux of the conversation raised by the new Australian of the Year and University of Melbourne's Professor of Youth Mental Health Patrick McGorry when he called for a softening of the media guidelines for reporting suicide.

Largely, the media does not report suicide in any depth, and sometimes not at all.

Guidelines steer journalists away from reporting individual cases, or the methods used in a death, or where it was located. Any reporting of suicide also includes telephone numbers where those reading can seek help.

The consequence of this under-reporting is often you will hear "an incident'' has caused a delay in your trains, or the closure of the bridge. That's it.

And unless a suicide or an attempted has extenuating circumstances - for example, involving a celebrity, or multiple attempts at one school - it is not likely to be reported at all.

The flip side of that, according to some, is that a shocking problem killing our children in droves is being swept under the carpet and not being addressed in conversations with our teenagers over dinner, or indeed in research dollars invested in it.

That's a valid point, when you consider the public debate about slowing the number of deaths on our roads - which is less annually than those lives lost from suicide - or the dollars thrown at breast cancer research, for example.

At the centre of the debate about how publicly suicide should be discussed and reported is whether or not increased reporting will lead to increased deaths, or copycat suicides.

Certainly, experts believe there is a real risk that coverage of individual cases might prompt others to consider that option and they point to research showing links between reporting suicide and copycat behaviour.

But like most things in life, there are big shades of grey too, with others arguing that unless we bring the topic out from the shadows, the shame attached to it will mean more youngsters will be caught up in its net.

Just take these four responses, all speaking from a position where they have thought deeply about how greater public discourse might influence the number of suicide deaths each year.

Jenny's father took his own life a few years ago and her family still struggles to talk about how he died. There's shame in it and guilt, that no-one picked up the warning signs. She says her family says he's dead and the way he killed himself, is now really irrelevant.

But she thinks differently. If only, she says constantly. If only she knew he was suffering depression, if only it was a topic that you could talk openly about, if only he had talked about it someone might have encouraged him to seek help. If only. If only. If only. Her dad might still be alive.

Peter is an ex-train driver and hates to hear the suicide of a person referred to an "incident'' on radio broadcasts. It's not an incident, he says, and that fails to acknowledge the heartbreak, the grief, and the struggle that train drivers have to face when someone ends their life in front of them.

Perhaps, he says, although he doesn't have statistics, it would save the lives of some train drivers who find they can't face life after what they see and the community ignores.

Karen is a mental health expert and she says there's not a piece of evidence showing more discussion will lead to "positive outcomes''.

"To make it newsworthy, and I understand this, the media have to focus on the emotional stuff,'' she says, and that's the danger to those reading it, who might be vulnerable.

Tom is a male counsellor, who agrees with Karen on the evidence but points to the paucity of Australian research around the whole issue of suicide.

He says the jury is still out and widespread and sensible public debate might open avenues of communication, particularly in rural areas, and lead to someone seeking help.

Four people, all with an interest in the issue, and four different viewpoints.

Professor McGorry, who raised the issue of suicide reporting, was simply starting that conversation.

We tiptoe around the issue but still hundreds and hundreds of young people will lose their lives in Australia this year. Can that be called a success?

The risks are real and high, but we should pull back the curtain and have a serious public discussion - involving governments, academics, educators, media professionals and the families of those at the centre of it - about whether the guidelines enveloping reporting are too conservative.

To not have that conversation is an indictment on all of us.

All names have been changed to protect confidentiality or at their request. If you are depressed or needing help you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Madonna presents Mornings each weekday on 612 ABC Brisbane