Today is World Mental Health Day. Nicole Lawder MLA, Canberra Liberals Member for Brindabella and Shadow Minister for City Services, Seniors, Women, and the Arts, shared her thoughts.
The past week has seen some stunning changes in our nearby political landscape. The resignation of Gladys Berejiklian closely followed by that of John Barilaro left many surprised.
Some have expressed their personal opinions about possible corrupt behaviour by Ms Berejiklian. One of my own family members, on Facebook, said she always knew she (Gladys) was “a corrupt b*atch”. This from someone who has never met Ms Berejiklian, and who has lived her entire life in Queensland.
Opinions are everyone’s right to express, but for people in public office, sometimes that “feedback” becomes overwhelming, and politicians, who are people too, have to think about their own mental health and wellbeing.
I believe most people enter politics wanting to make their community better. Where they go from there, whether they become corrupted by power, is probably is frequent as for people in any other profession or area of life. So too, mental illness or ill-health is probably as common for politicians as it is for the general population.
Nearly one in two (46%) of Australians[i] over the age of 16 have or will experience a mental disorder in their lifetime. Given that politics is a high stress and highly unusual occupation for which there is no real job description, it makes sense that some politicians have spoken publicly about their own battles with mental health.
Whether you believe politicians to be corrupt or not, I believe you will find that most of them have sacrificed a lot of their personal life to serve the public. For example, I cannot count the number of family events, celebrations, and holidays I have missed to attend public events instead. This is hard not just on the person who is the public figure, but for the family members as well.
As a case in point, check out the photo, taken about this time in 2019. Everyone looks happy and smiling. This was an exciting day, with the (then) Leader of the Opposition speaking at the National Press Club. I am with Elizabeth Lee MLA, Yasmin Coe (wife of the then Leader), and Candice Burch MLA.
I had made the decision to attend this speech because I feared the possible public commentary about lack of support or disunity if I was not present, and I did not want to create that opportunity or speculation. I decided to attend the speech instead of attending a family memorial service. It is a decision I deeply regret and have reflected on many times since. Yes, it was a bad decision, and I should have prioritised my family and been there to support them after a death. But in the cut and thrust of politics, with a year to go before the election, I did not.
Politicians can be hard on each other, too. Sometimes, we shrug that off as part of the same cut and thrust, but sometimes, it appears too personal, too targeted to be able to let it go. I have often thought that the way politicians speak to and about each other would probably not be tolerated in any other workplace; it would be categorised as bullying or similar. I, too, have said things in parliament that I now regret. And I think I am probably one of the less aggressive politicians around.
We have heard high profile politicians such as Andrew Robb talk about their own mental health struggles. In 2015, John Brogden in NSW tried to commit suicide in his electorate office. Simon Corbell in the ACT took leave to address his depression. John Barilaro took mental health leave last year.
I imagine it is more common that most people realise – a life spent in the public eye, with media scrutiny and everyone feeling like they have a right to criticise everything about you from your looks and your clothes, to your speeches and your policies.
This is not to say that politicians are seeking your sympathy. It is more that politicians are people, too. They have personal lives, and sometimes a lot going on in those personal lives. Illnesses, divorce, rebellious teenagers, babies, money problems, caring for ageing parents, buying a new house – all the stresses that the rest of the population has, coupled with playing everything out on the public stage. They make bad decisions too.
One of my favourite quotes is: “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” You never know what is going on behind the scenes with anyone, politician or not.
Today is World Mental Health Day. Please be kind, even to politicians. They’re only human.
[i] The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2007
