Garry McDonald, best known for his acting roles in iconic Aussie comedy 'Mother and Son' and as the irrepressible Norman Gunston, will be guest speaker at the annual Stress Day Lunch at the Cairns Convention Centre on Wednesday, 13 October.

He is currently touring Australia with his latest play, 'Halpern and Johnson', and will make a stop in Cairns as a mental health advocate. Mr McDonald speaks from personal experience after this well publicised battle with depression and anxiety.

“I am especially looking forward to coming to Cairns. I am happy to be involved in Worklink’s mission to breakdown the stigma of employing people with a mental illness,” he said.  “In Australia mental illness is becoming more and more common, so we as a nation need to break down the stigma attached to it.  It happened to me and I came through it.

"People with a mental illness can and do achieve great things. Just imagine if the Brits had decided during WW2 that Winston Churchill was unemployable!”

Worklink is a non-profit organisation that provides employment assistance, professional support and counselling services to job seekers who have experienced a mental health condition and other disadvantaged groups in the Cairns region.

Worklink CEO, Dorothy Dunne said “Research has shown that work is fundamental to a person’s recovery from mental illness and Garry is testament to this.

“Worklink has assisted hundreds of people who have experienced mental health issues locally to return to the workforce. However, nationally workforce participation rates for people with mental illness are very low in comparison to other OECD countries”.

Ms Dunne said “We need to do more to break down the stigma associated with mental illness and are very excited to bring Garry to Cairns during National Mental Health Week to share his story of recovery”.

While mental illness can take many forms, depression is one of the most common with around 1 million Australian adults and 160,000 young people live with the condition each year.

On average, one in five females and one in eight males will experience depression in their lifetime.

Tickets for the Stress Day Lunch are $65 per head and can be purchased by calling Worklink on 4031 0877.