Launch of Headspace and Orygen Specialist Program Victoria University

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. 

I also acknowledge: 

• The Honourable Steve Bracks AC, Chancellor of Victoria University 
• Professor Adam Shoemaker, Vice Chancellor of Victoria University
• Professor Patrick McGorry AO
• Jason Trethowan 

I bought my son a book for Christmas last year. 

Turns out it was also a book for me. 

It’s called The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. 

And it has a lesson for all of us. 

It’s a story of four friends. Big and small. 

It’s a story about kindness and compassion. 

And it’s a story about bravery. 

“What is the bravest thing you have ever said?” Asked the boy. 

“Help” said the horse. 

“When have you been at your strongest?” asked the boy. 

“When I have dared to show my weakness.”

“Asking for help isn’t giving up,” said the horse. 

“It’s refusing to give up.”

It’s a message you have given us too Patrick. 

Breaking down taboos. 

Encouraging this country full of brave people to show a bit of weakness. 

To ask for help. And to not give up. 

And this is just the next chapter of that story. 

There is an obvious relationship between education and health. 

You can see the symbiotic nature of it in our schools. 

Children who struggle at school are more likely to experience poor mental health. 

And the same is true in reverse. 

Children who experience poor mental health are more likely to fall behind. 

We know that school students experiencing poor mental health are absent more than other students, and by Year 9 are, on average, 1.5 years to 3 years behind their class mates in literacy and numeracy.

This is not just an issue in our schools, it’s everywhere, for all of us. 

Including our universities. 

Think about when you were at Uni. All the stress and all the pressure. 

All the added pressure we put on ourselves. 

Think about everything you were going through. 

That’s why places like this are so important. 

This is a big deal. This is the first HeadSpace on a university campus in Victoria. 

I know it will make a world of difference to the people that will access it. 

Not only that, this will be a place for practical experience and training for the students here studying youth mental health-related courses. 

In that book the mole tells the boy: “This is easily my favourite place.” 

“Why?” asks the boy. 

“Because you are all here,” said the Mole. 

I feel that too. 

Thank you for everything you do. 

It is a real privilege to be with you today.