This week James Packer stepped down from the board of Crown Resorts and, with great honesty acknowledged that this was due to mental ill health. We have seen prominent sports people and politicians disclose before, but Mr. Packer is one of the first top business leaders to do so. In doing so he has shown leadership and courage, which will encourage many others. Things are definitely changing in Australia, but how are we placed to respond to the rising tide of mental ill health? More than half of us will suffer from mental ill health in our lifetime. Four million Australians are affected by mental illness every year and hundreds of thousands are disabled: our major source of disability. Nearly 3000 people die every year from suicide and for each death, 30 more attempts. Yet most people who need expert mental health care still lack access to quality care. National expenditure on a disease area that explains nearly 15 per cent of the health burden is currently just above 5 per cent of the health budget. Multiple national inquiries into Australia's mental healthcare system have come to the same conclusion: that we need a new approach and a new financial model to deliver progressive growth and investment to build a humane and expert system of care built to scale.

Federal governments have become increasingly interested in mental health over the past 15 years or so and we have seen genuine progress during the Howard government with Better Access and headspace, and innovative new programs during the Gillard government. The current health minister, Greg Hunt, has a very personal commitment, making mental health one of his four key priorities, and has been actively introducing several positive new initiatives. The National Mental Health Commission envision a "stepped care" model, which however remains aspirational. Beyond primary care the next steps are largely missing or out of reach, both in regional and metropolitan settings. The excessively devolved primary health network model is at risk of fragmenting evidence-based models of care. The Federal government now has a shared responsibility with the States to strongly integrate services, and add more specialised steps to bridge the large gap between primary care and acute care.

James Packer has stood down from the board of Crown Resorts due to mental ill health. Credit:Rob Homer

State governments have cashed in their standalone mental hospitals and reduced beds dramatically, but have failed to build the assertive and specialised community mental health system to enable the downsized system to operate safely. A large cohort of people, the "missing middle", too complex for primary care but not desperately ill enough for acute care, has grown exponentially. Relentless population growth in the major cities has fuelled this perfect storm. Inevitably, preventable deaths and incarceration rates have increased substantially, and public safety has been compromised. Countless personal stories of tragedy and neglect from across the nation reflect this reality, some of which we will hear today in Canberra.

We need to invest much more in mental health and in new ways. Why don't we? This has been a real paradox. We have much better awareness of the scale and nature of mental ill health and stigma has been reduced, James Packer's disclosure shows. We have effective treatments and evidence for much better return on investment than for any other area of health care. So why has progress been so slow? If this level of unmet need and variable quality were present in cancer or heart disease it would not be tolerated. The missing element is that the 4 million Australians with mental ill health, and particularly the 700,000 with severe and complex illnesses, and their families do not have a voice. If they can find their voice, this will assist our political leaders in their genuine efforts to build the system we need. This is why Australians for Mental Health, to be launched today in Canberra, has been established as a new grassroots movement to unlock and amplify that voice. The aim is to sustain a standing campaign nationally and at every election, state and federal, until mental health gains full parity with physical health. Australians for Mental Health wants to inspire and engage all of the 4 million Australians and their families, and our political representatives in this nation-building opportunity. We want to empower our political leaders to give mental health care the priority it needs to strengthen our society and safeguard our mental wealth.

Australia has the solutions to ensure everyone receives the same quality of healthcare for their mental health as for their physical health. We need a financial model that enables the missing steps in the ladder of care to be constructed. This means a different kind of inquiry, this time involving the Productivity Commission, as Alan Fels has proposed. We need accessible and holistic community care hubs, which integrate high quality physical and mental health care with social programs such as housing and vocational services. A loud and sustained national voice through Australians for Mental Health supporting political leadership across the political spectrum and the federal/state divide is the missing force.

Professor Patrick McGorry is the Executive Director of Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health