Citing a lack of commitment, and duplicity by Australia's government, John Mendoza, the nation's top adviser on mental health, stepped down from the National Advisory Council on Mental Health.

Many who have celebrated Australia's pioneering mental health policy focusing attention on treatment opportunities, insistence on human rights, models of community control, and efforts to combat stigma and discrimination, are disappointed. On more than one occasion, Americans have traveled to observe first hand, and speak with innovators before crafting programs here. California's Prop 63 was influenced by such a team visit.

The national conversation about Mendoza's resignation indicates that mental health policy is a matter of greater public discourse than it is here. Last year, Patrick McGorry received Australia's the Man of the Year Award.

Mendoza's resignation said:

"While significant improvements have been made in disability employment policy and to a lesser extent in housing and community services, there is no evidence of a change in policy or investment in mental health. The Rudd Government is publicly claiming credit for the increased investment in mental health when almost all of this is a consequence of the work of the Howard Government."

The decision followed last month's public critique that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd failed to deliver on campaign promises which initially brought Mendoza into service in 2008. In that letter he noted there were some, although insufficient, improvements. He cited:

"a commitment to build and fund on a recurrent basis some 1,300 sub-acute beds across a range of areas - palliative, aged, respite, mental health and others. Even if every one of these went to mental health, and had an appropriate model of step-up step down care, we would still be a 1,000 short of the number of sub-acute beds that existed in the mid-1990s and we would again be putting another patch on a broken system.""

Mendoza was unusually direct, at least judged by American standards, in his pointed criticism:

"the report released two weeks ago by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare highlight 'Australia's prisons are the repositories of the mentally ill, the drug and alcohol-addicted and the under-educated'. This is not new information but yet another confirmation of the failure of government policy in relation to the provision of mental health services.

The AIHW hospital data released this week also shows that unlike almost every other area of health, the number of hospital beds for mental health are declining by an average of almost 4% a year.

People from lower income groups experience higher rates of suicide, have even poorer access to any mental health care, are imprisoned (often repeatedly) rather than provided mental health care and face far greater social exclusion than other Australians. People with serious mental illness are among the most vulnerable of all Australians. Yet the Rudd Labor Government has ignored their need for investment in services now.

I regarded my appointment as chair of NACMH as the most important public service responsibility of my life. However, I have now formed the view that my efforts to influence the development of improved mental health services and end the shameful neglect of those with a mental health disorders will be better served in other roles."

Disappointment has been widespread, immediate, and public. For some it speaks to a credibility gap, made more conspicuous because it comes on the eve of a national conference about mental health. Activist McGorry wrote on a blog, "John's resignation is an expression of the extreme frustration felt by the entire mental health field at the enduring neglect of people with mental ill health. There is simply no excuse for this since we have 21st century models ready to go."

Internationally regarded psychiatrist, Dr. Alan Rosen said, "We are now becoming aware that this government has betrayed this trust by delivering hardly any of the mental health reform program NACMH were led to believe this government was working on."

Click here to listen to an interview with John Mendoza.