Ensuring the provision of general and mental health clinicians in country areas has become a difficult and increasingly expensive exercise for WA's regional and rural local governments.
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According to Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) president Karen Chappel, the level of responsibility being placed on rural shires to ensure allied health services, GPs, and other high level clinicians are available within their communities has increased in recent years, as well as the demand for mental health practitioners in WA's country areas.
"Having access to high level clinicians, particularly psychologists and psychiatrists outside of the State's metropolitan areas is definitely an issue that needs attention, because the waiting list and times for people to get clinical support in regional areas at the moment just isn't healthy," said Ms Chappel who is Shire of Morawa president.
She said often for some local governments, the expansion of their role in providing and vetting facilities, as well as ensuring additional incentives are on offer to attract health clinicians to service their communities, extended beyond their means because of their smaller rates bases.
"WALGA has been advocating for stronger support for regional local governments around providing services for GPs and allied health, because the gap just seems to be getting bigger," Ms Chappel said.
While the provision of mental health programs tends to be beyond the scope of local governments, they are still responsible for supporting not-for-profit organisations so they are able to deliver mental health services within their communities.
"The not-for-profits have the State or Federal government contracts to undertake or deliver those services and meet the needs of the community," Ms Chappel said.
"So whether it's providing housing for counsellors, or sometimes cash components or sometimes vehicles - they do help every which way, but mental health is not an area of expertise that the local government really wants to be in itself."
Acknowledging many WA farming communities had fallen on tough times due to poor harvests as well as a steep decline in sheep prices, Ms Chappel, who is the deputy chairwoman of not-for-profit financial counselling service Rural West, recommended the organisation to affected people to regain focus and find solutions.
"Rural West is Federally funded and is a financial counselling service for farmers, fishers and small businesses," she said.
"So for people who might be in situational stress, a little support from them can often go a long way in helping them to get back up on their feet."
With their services free to qualifying businesses, Rural West's business and rural financial counsellors are mobile and available across WA.
"I'm a firm believer that we have a really good life in the country as farmers, we roll with the punches and we are tough because we have to be tough," Ms Chappel said.
"But we still have every right to have access to the same standards of education and health in the regions, so that's where we have to campaign constantly to maintain a good quality of life"
Speaking on the issue of mental health in the regions, Shire of Moora president Tracey Lefroy said it was of the "utmost importance" to prioritise investments in regional mental health programs for the wellbeing of farmers and rural communities and they supported both the formal and informal sectors in their delivery and advocacy of mental health services in the region.
"The Shire of Moora is a strong advocate for and supporter of community events that provide activities to support and enhance the mental health and well-being of community members," Ms Lefroy said.
She said the Shire continued to acknowledge the importance of contemporary land use policies to effectively address incoming land use pressures, such as renewable energy projects, carbon offset projects and mining.
"It is critical to ensure that land is not lost to sustainable long-term food production to safeguard the agricultural industry and alleviate mental health pressures on farmers who face alternative land use pressures that are imposed on them by external forces," Ms Lefroy said.
