Mental Health Crisis Care on the Eyre Peninsula
MEDIA RELEASE
Date: 29 January 2026
Independent candidate for Flinders, Craig Haslam, has issued an urgent call to the Premier and Government of South Australia to address what he describes as a critical failure in crisis mental health care on the Eyre Peninsula.
Mr Haslam said the issue is deeply personal, following the recent loss of his nephew to suicide, as well as a dear friend from Streaky Bay.
“In the past month, I’ve lost a nephew to suicide and farewelled another good mate,” Mr Haslam said. “These are not statistics — these are people. And right now, people in our region are being turned away when they need help the most.”
Mr Haslam said the Flinders region lacks effective mental health crisis services, despite the Eyre Peninsula's scale and economic contribution.
“Port Lincoln Hospital has a Mental Health Ward, but it can’t accept patients because there aren’t enough qualified staff,” he said. “Across the entire Eyre Peninsula — a region larger than Tasmania — acute mental health care is supported by just three part-time workers. That is simply not good enough.”
As a result, people experiencing acute mental distress are being refused care locally and forced to travel long distances.
“Recently, someone was turned away in Port Lincoln and had to drive themselves to Whyalla before being flown to Adelaide,” Mr Haslam said. “Is that good practice? What if something had gone wrong on the road?”
Mr Haslam acknowledged the important preventative work of community organisations such as Mentally Fit EP, but said they are severely under-resourced and cannot replace crisis services.
“These organisations do vital work, but they cannot be expected to carry the burden of a system that is failing at the acute end,” he said.
Despite contributing more than 50 per cent of South Australia’s grain and 80 per cent of its seafood, Mr Haslam said the region does not have a single full-time crisis clinician.
“We more than pull our weight economically, yet we are left without basic crisis mental health care,” he said. “This is not a new problem. Successive governments have failed the Eyre Peninsula.”
While welcoming the State Government’s recent $850,000 investment to restock the Todd Reservoir, Mr Haslam said priorities must extend to mental health.
“That investment is positive, but people’s lives matter just as much,” he said. “We need a serious, funded commitment to crisis care and mental health services on the Eyre Peninsula.”
“I am urgently calling on the Government to act now — this issue cannot wait.”
