BotlBrush

In an effort to show himself off as a great leader, what with approval ratings worse than George Bush, Brendan Nelson has opened up what was once considered a closed debate asking the tired question, should we lock up the mentally ill? The Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) thinks not, saying that if you lock people up you don’t help improve their condition but make it worse by encouraging physical abuse. Apparently treating mentally ill people like criminals doesn’t really help, who knew?

He justifies his stance saying that “thirty per cent of homeless people seeking support each night in every capital city had a mental illness”. How about we just cut through the bullshit and lock up all the homeless? Fact of the matter is they need help but you don’t solve it by replacing one evil with another. Unable to cite any meaningful research to back his opinion the opposition leader claims he was threatened by psychotic patients during his time as a GP, forgetting the fact GPs are often threatened both in hospitals and private clinics by frustrated patients who may or may not have psychotic conditions.

MHCA spokesman Simon Tat counters Mr. Nelsons position, he says “it led to people with a mental illness being seriously abused, and that was one of the reasons we moved away from institutions” adding “The call for institutions to be reopened is a step backwards and the evidence shows that it creates more problems for people with mental illness, greater levels of abuse and often an exacerbation of their illness”.

Brendan Nelson may be trying to play a safe card here to prove his abilities as a leader, perhaps thinking that he can use his past experiences as a GP to easily win a victory for the Liberal party who have been feeling pretty down as of late. It looks like his plans may backfire as the MHCA does have a big say in the debate, they of course would rather have a more progressive solution to the problem meaning the decision to ‘re-open’ this closed debate may end up being Brendan Nelsons last decision as leader of the Opposition. At least he set some records during his brief stint.