John McGrath AM

John McGrath AM served as the National Party Member for Warrnambool in the State Parliament of Victoria from 1985 until his voluntary retirement at the time of the September 1999 State Election. He held the position of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1992-1999. He also held an executive position on the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive of the Parliament, and in 1993 was selected to represent Australia at the World Conference held in Cyprus.

John’s decision to retire from politics was prompted by his desire to direct all of his energies towards promoting better outcomes for consumers of mental health services and their families. He now derives great personal satisfaction from his many activities in the field of mental health.

John brings a strong family carer focus to his involvement in mental health, instigated by the personal experience of having had two sons who suffered from mental illness. His second son, Shane, lost his life to suicide in 1993.

John is Deputy Chairman of Beyondblue: the National Depression Initiative, and has served as a Board Member since its inception in 2000.

He is Chairman of Mental Health Professional Network Ltd, providing education and training to multi-disciplinary groups, and establishing and maintaining networks around the Nation to improve outcomes for consumers in the primary care sector.

He is Chairman of the Victorian Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on Mental Health.

He is a Board Member of headspace: National Youth Mental Health Foundation, the new youth mental health initiative.

He is a Board Member of Crisis Support Services, the Australian Professional Crisis Support Telephone Service, providing services such as Mensline, Child Support Agency, Suicide Helpline Victoria, beyondblue Information Line.

He is a member of the College of General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration as part of the Federal Government’s Better Outcomes in Mental Health Initiative.

John held the position of inaugural Chair of the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) for five years, from the Council’s inception in 1997 until his retirement from that position in November 2002. This Council is Australia’s peak non-government body representing mental health, both nationally and internationally.

He also chaired a State Government Expert Reference Group. This group assessed worldwide knowledge regarding potential linkages between cannabis and psychosis, and identified and established projects to gain further evidence on this important issue. As part of this group’s activities a successful International Conference was held in Australia in 1997.

For several years he sat on the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry Professional and Community Relations Board.

John was the inaugural Chair of the Board of Management of the Western Region Alcohol and Drug Centre (WRAD), and continued in that position for 13 years; - until he left the region to further pursue mental health activities.

John believes that much can be done to alleviate the stigma experienced by people with mental illnesses. He believes the key to increased understanding is continual striving toward national awareness. As communities become better informed, those facing problems will be more likely to seek early intervention and crises will be less likely to occur. As a consequence of increased understanding, people with mental illnesses will be reassured and supported by compassionate behaviour from family, their peers, work mates and the general community.

AWARDS
In March 1983 John was presented with a Citizenship Award by the City of Warrnambool.

In May 2000 John was awarded the 2000 Rural Health Award for the Barwon South Western Region for providing an “Outstanding Contribution to the Health of the Community.”

In April 2008 he was awarded the Australian Mental Health Foundation’s F.J. Angus Award, “In Recognition of a Significant Contribution in the area of Mental Health”.

He was honoured with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, June 2008.

Under the seal of the Maroondah City Council in June 2008, Council recognised his “service to the community through a range of mental health organisations, the Parliament of Victoria and to the National Party of Australia.