Be Well Series in Springfield examines residents’ mental health and wellbeing

minimum exposure to adversity and a connection to culture and community. “

Dr Frkovic said early intervention was crucial to ensuring better outcomes for child and adult mental health.

“At the moment the whole system is hospital-centric, and we need to build a system that is community centric, and Greater Springfield is in a great position to do that,” Dr Frkovic said.

“If you intervene at the right time with a child, you can change the trajectory of their lives. We have a system that operates on late intervention. You must be really unwell, and you are brought in by ambulance. Unless we intervene early, it is not going to change.”

Dr Frkovic said while government funding was at unprecedented levels, he urged policymakers not to solely spend money in the same areas as the past.

Communities can play a greater role in improving Australia’s mental health and wellbeing by increasing the connectedness of their residents, the Springfield City Group’s Future of Health Seminar heard.

Key policymakers and medical experts from across Australia examined the impact of communities on the health and wellbeing of individuals from birth through to adolescence and beyond in the first of the Be Well Series at Greater Springfield on February 17.

Springfield City Group’s Deputy Managing Director Umah Ranchigoda said the forum, introducing Greater Springfield’s 10-year Mental Health and Wellbeing 2032 Strategy, focused on the role and responsibility of city-builders around the globe to create people-focussed communities, especially during the post-COVID recovery.

“Springfield City Group has a bold 10-year strategic plan to ensure the health and wellbeing of our growing community, which is already home to more than 52,000 residents, that will aim to deliver local community solutions, a connected and integrated system of care and wellbeing and public and private investment in prevention and early intervention,” Ms Ranchigoda said.

“Through the creation of Greater Springfield’s Nightingale hub, which is an integrated mental health and wellbeing community within Health City, we are building a leading whole-of-life, whole-of-community mental health and wellbeing framework that is focussed on a proactive approach. It is our aim to lead the creation of workplaces that strengthen the mental health of people and attract a knowledgeable and sustainable workforce.”

Assistant Federal Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention the Honourable Emma McBride MP addressed the forum, along with Queensland’s Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic and Dr Elisabeth Hoehn, who is the Director of Queensland’s Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health.

Dr Hoehn told the forum babies needed to be at the centre of community building, calling on mental health experts to focus on children in the First 2000 Days, from before their birth until their 5th birthday.

“The human brain experiences a growth spurt from the last third of pregnancy through to about 24 months of age and that is when we are building the infrastructure for each of our brains, so this age group is absolutely crucial to focus on,” Dr Hoehn said.

“The key thing about the impact of perinatal and infant mental health on a community’s wellbeing is ensuring that every child thrives.

“Every child has their own vulnerabilities and strengths, they bring different temperaments and may have abnormalities, disabilities, clinical presentations but they also have unique strengths, each of them.

“We want every child having positive experiences, having positive family and community connections and relationships, having opportunities and support to be curious and master the world, having good nutrition, safe and healthy communities,

“Social isolation is not just about older people; it is about young people, and you must have a mental health and city plan that go hand-in-hand,” he said.

Lendlease’s Head of Product Strategy and Investment Management Natalie Slessor told the forum that the global developer, which has been a key partner with Springfield residential developments, was working on a project to design loneliness out of cities.

“Loneliness disproportionately impacts the vulnerable but being comfortable alone in your community is part of connection,”

Ms Slessor told the forum.

“Some people need a big network, and some don’t. The physical, built environment helps to shape how we live, work and play. Quite often what we don’t build is important. Greater Springfield has been beautifully designed to follow how people live and that is unique in a city.”

Dr Sharon Ponniah, who moderated the forum, said communities needed to build “muscle” to respond to mental health issues as they arise, not only through qualified practitioners but through trained volunteers and peer support workers.

“If you create a place and space to do that, you can create a ripple effect and Greater Springfield has that opportunity right here,” said Dr Ponniah, who leads PwC’s Mental Health and Wellbeing work as a Partner.

Queensland MP Charis Mullen (MP for Jordan), Assistant Federal Minister Shayne Neumann (MP for Blair) and Ipswich City Mayor Teresa Harding joined a forum of 150 local stakeholders. They heard from speakers, including UQ Centre of Community Health and Wellbeing Professor Lauren Ball, West Moreton Health Board Chair Michael Willis, and Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research senior researcher Dr Holly Erskine.

Ms Ranchigoda said the first of the Be Well Series would deliver a call to action for mental health experts in Greater Springfield and beyond.

“I can’t stress how important it is to be preventative and that’s what this series is about. It is about getting these groups of stakeholders and academics to embrace what we can do and helping us to do it while creating opportunities for government to get involved,” Ms Ranchigoda said.

“That is why we have a 10-year strategy and the next steps are to take this to schools and to also consider childcare to teach the resilience that we inevitably encounter in life. It is about being preventative rather than reactive. Greater Springfield is the perfect platform. Communities globally need to play an active role in the solutions.”

For more information on Nightingale visit www. greaterspringfield.com.au/ourprecincts/health/nightingale/

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS)

The Supreme Court on Thursday queried the Uddhav Thackeray faction that there is a constitutional principle that whoever is sworn in as a Chief Minister must have accountability to Parliament and to the people, and defection affects the stability of the government itself, how does the Governor as a head of the state ignore the consequence.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav Thackeray faction, submitted before a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that the Governor was not empowered in law to recognise rebel MLAs of a political party and legitimise their action, as the Election Commission has power to recognise a political party. He said Thackeray was the President of Shiv Sena and questioned, in what capacity did the Governor give an audience to Eknath Shinde? He pressed that the governor recognised a split, which is not a valid ground under the Tenth Schedule and this is not a stage when a government is being elected, rather an elected government (with Thackeray as CM) was running then.

Sibal contended that a Governor, by his acts, cannot topple the government and further questioned, when Eknath Shinde and the BJP approached the Governor, and he asked to have a trust vote, on what basis did he ask this?

The Chief Justice observed that both the opposition and the defecting MLAs, could approach the Governor, but Sibal replied that he did not agree with this.

The Chief Justice said, what is of concern is that there is a constitutional principle which is that whoever is sworn in as a Chief Minister must have accountability to the Legislature, and therefore to the people.

"Defection affects the stability of the government itself. How does the Governor, as a head of the state, ignore the consequence?"

Concluding his arguments, Sibal contended before the bench -- also comprising Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha - that:

"I stand here for the protection of what is so close to our heart - institutional integrity and to ensure that constitutional processes survive..".

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, also representing the Thackeray faction, submitted that the orders passed on June 27, 2022 and June 29, 2022, by the apex court, "cumulatively and conjointly", were not orders that merely protected the status quo but created a new status quo.

"The formation of a new government on June 30, 2022 was the direct and inevitable result of two orders by the Supreme Court...".

He added that the consequence of change of government happened fundamentally because the Deputy Speaker was disabled/ fettered in the interim from discharging his constitutional duties under the Tenth Schedule (disqualification law).

The top court is dealing with Maharashtra political crisis triggered due to rebellion in Shiv Sena. It will continue to hear the matter on February 28.

On February 17, the apex court had declined to make immediate reference to a seven-judge bench the reconsideration of its 2016 Nabam Rebia judgment, which restricted the power of the Speaker to examine disqualification petitions against MLAs if a resolution for his removal is pending.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India said the issue of reference will be decided only with the merits of the case and had fixed the matter for hearing on merits on February 21.