Pediatrician in the running for Senior Australian title

Mornington Peninsula Foundation board member Professor Frank Oberklaid AM will travel to Canberra in a bid to become the Senior Australian of the Year on January 25. The Victorian Senior Australian of the Year is a pediatrician and founding director of the Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital.

An internationally recognised authority and advocate for children’s health, Prof Oberklaid is currently co-group leader of child health policy, equity and translation at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and an Honorary Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Melbourne.  His recent research focus has been developing the Mental Health in Primary Schools program, which provides experienced teachers with the skills to become mental health and well-being co-ordinators.

“Over the last decade there’s been more focus on adult mental health and there’s been some focus on adolescent mental health, but for a long time child mental health was ignored; it was the elephant in the room,” Prof Oberklaid said. “It started to change pre-COVID and was amplified by COVID. Suddenly people realised kids get anxious and have issues as well.”

Mornington Peninsula Foundation is a place-based philanthropic organisation whose mission is to help Peninsula communities break the cycle of disadvantage. Prof Oberklaid joined its board a year ago. “I really believe in MPF’s mission and particularly their approach. Over the years I’ve learned that individual programs, as well-meaning as they are, just don’t cut it. Building capacity is the way to go, and that’s what MPF is doing.”

Prof Oberklaid said he was using his Victorian Senior Australian of the Year award as a platform for advocacy. “In my advocacy I focus on early childhood because the research is so clear. What happens to kids in the first five years before they start school has long-term consequences, and the argument for prevention and early intervention and then mental health is linked to that. My advocacy for a long time has been invest in kids, invest in prevention; that makes biological and economic sense as well.”