Teal MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender has called for greater support of those with complex mental health issues after speaking with victims of the Westfield Bondi stabbing, saying it’s a legacy they want from the traumatic event.In April, Joel Cauchi in the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre before being shot dead by a NSW Police officer. Family members denounced Cauchi’s “truly horrific” mass murder, saying he had been battling mental health issues for most of his life.
“It’s absolutely tragic … these family members are talking saying, you know, their lives have been ruined by this situation,” she said.“I’ve been approached in the streets, you know, on email, people just saying ‘this is so hard, we don’t have the answers here’.”Spender said it is up to the community and politicians such as herself to reform the mental health system.“These are really complex needs of people that we can, and we must, do better for their families and those people,” she said.