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Law professor appointed as mental health commissioner
The Andrews government in Victoria has announced a four-pronged panel of commissioners for its state-based Royal Commission into Mental Health, with “an internationally recognised legal academic in the fields of criminal law and mental health law” serving as one of the commissioners.
Jerome Doraisamy
On Sunday, Melbourne University Professor Bernadette McSherry, who is the foundation director of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and president of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, was announced as one of four commissioners.
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In a statement, the state government described her as “an internationally recognised legal academic in the fields of criminal law and mental health law”.
In response, Professor McSherry tweeted that she was “honoured” to be a commissioner.
“Our role is part of a process whereby the perspectives of [mental health] consumers will be integral to shaping the [mental health] sector/system through pubic hearings, submissions and advice,” she wrote.
The state government appointed “respected public policy expert” and former Transport Accident Commission chairperson Penny Armytage as the chair of the royal commission, and the other two commissioners are University of Melbourne Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor Alex Cockram and former chair of the National Mental Health Commission Professor Allan Fels.
Speaking about the coming royal commission, Premier Daniel Andrews said: “We don’t have all the answers when it comes to mental health. That’s why we’re drawing on the experts who know the sector best and the Victorians who have lived experiences to help us find them.”
Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley added: “One in five Victorians will experience mental illness this year, and too many of those will lose their lives to suicide. We need a new approach to mental health, and a royal commission will help deliver a new system.”
