Former Victorian premier and beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett called for the all-party, bi-partisan Australian Senate Suicide Commission this week after the release of Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing there were more than 3000 suicides last year.

Mr Blenkiron said an inquiry was a “no-brainer” but also questioned why there were only national suicide figures released, not local numbers.

Ballarat is estimated to have between 100 and 150 annual suicide deaths but no official figures have ever been released.

“With the grieving cycle and the healing cycle, you have to get through denial first or the healing doesn’t happen,” Mr Blenkiron said. 

“Unless they open up about the figures, we can’t change things. Are they scared of releasing the figures or do they think the community can’t handle the truth?”

He also queried why governments didn’t plan or budget long-term to deal with major issues, rather than just deal in three year electoral cycles.

“As a nation, we need to look at reality and face up to it. We need to educate our children and see what needs to be done in our society to get the right message out there.

“It looks like they only plan for three years, with no long-term planning in our political system.”

He said Australia needed to set a mission statement of important priorities which all subsequent governments had to abide by.

Mr Blenkiron also said suicide awareness was now quite high in Ballarat but practicalities and safeguards still needed to be put in place.

Mr Kennett said the suicide rate had to “stop us in our tracks”. 

“The 2015 total is two and a half times the national road toll and six times the number of Australian lives lost in the entire Vietnam war,” Mr Kennett said.

“It is a national disgrace requiring a national response.”