Martin Whitely

Martin Whitely
In office 10 February 2001 – 9 March 2013
Preceded by	Clive Brown
Succeeded by	Dave Kelly
Constituency	Bassendean
Personal details
Born	(1959-10-19) 19 October 1959 Perth Western Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor Party
Profession	Teacher
Website	Martin Whitely Homepage

Martin Paul Whitely (born 19 October 1959 in Perth, Australia), is a researcher, author and was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2001 until he retired from state politics in March 2013. He represented the electorate of Roleystone from 2001 to 2005. Following the abolition of Roleystone, he represented the electorate of Bassendean and was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry from August 2006 until the Carpenter government lost office in September 2008.^[1]

During his parliamentary career Whitely was outspoken on a number of issues including:

• campaigning against the use of ADHD medication by children
• opposing the inclusion of Psychosis Risk Disorder (Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome) in DSM5
• criticising the faction system of the Western Australian Labor Party (WA Labor)

Whilst still in politics Whitely wrote Speed Up and Sit Still - The Controversies of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment (UWA Publishing 2010).^[2] Since retiring from politics he completed a PhD (thesis title ADHD Policy, Practice and Regulatory Capture in Australia 1992–2012).^[3] Subsequently he has researched Australian mental health policy and practice and pharmaceutical and medical device regulation, suggesting reforms of Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) product safety monitoring processes.^[4][5]

Whitely won the Curtin University 2017 Research and Engagement News Story Award for a study he led published in the Medical Journal of Australia (Influence of birth month of Western Australian children on the probability of being treated for ADHD^[6]) which found that among West Australian school children aged 6–10 the youngest in class (born in June) were approximately twice as likely to take ADHD medication as their oldest classmates (born the previous July).^[7]

Anti-ADHD Child Medication Advocacy

From 1995 until his election to parliament in 2001, Whitely was a secondary school teacher. During this period Western Australian ADHD child prescribing rates rose rapidly.^[8] By 2000 they were among the highest in the world and over twice the per-capita rate in of the second highest Australian state (New South Wales).^[9]

In his first parliamentary speech (2001) he called for tighter ADHD prescribing controls.^[10] In late December 2002 the Western Australian Health Minister Bob Kucera and Whitely jointly announced the abolition of “en bloc authorisation” which allowed “specialists to prescribe stimulants without individual patient authorisation”.^[11] In August 2003 the Stimulant Regulatory Scheme began collecting detailed annual reporting of ADHD stimulant in Western Australia.^[11] Data from the Stimulant Regulatory Scheme shows after these changes the number of Western Australian children prescribing stimulants fell from 8,859 in 2004 to 5,636 in 2010, despite the state’s population increasing by approximately 17%.^[12] This approximates to a 46% decrease in per capita ADHD stimulant child prescribing rates over this period.

Between 2002 and 2005 the Western Australian proportion of 12-17 year olds self-reported having used amphetamine non-medically in the last week fell from 3.2% to 2.0%.^[13] In 2007 then Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter attributed this “significant decline” in amphetamine abuse among teenagers “to a drop in the number of prescriptions for amphetamines” to treat ADHD.^[14] However, the 2005 Australian Secondary School Alcohol and Drug Survey indicated that even after this fall there was still considerable illicit use of ADHD stimulants by teenagers. The survey reported that 45% of Western Australian 12 to 17 year-olds who had ever taken ADHD medications weren’t prescribed the drugs and that 27% of those who had been prescribed psychostimulants had either given them away or sold them.^[15]

In 2007 Premier Carpenter announced the intention to establish two clinics to better support children diagnosed with ADHD stating "this new approach will ensure that stimulant medication is not the first line of treatment. If our recent history is any guide, reducing ADHD prescription rates will reduce [amphetamine] abuse rates".^[14] However in late 2008 the Carpenter Government lost the Western Australian state election and Whitely became an opposition member with reduced influence.

Beginning in 2011 there was a rebound in child prescribing rates with most of the increase occurring between 2014 and 2016 after Whitely retired. In 2016 8,857 Western Australian children received ADHD stimulant. From 2010 until 2016 the state’s population increased by 13%.^[12] Despite the rebound per capita child stimulant prescribing rates in 2016 were 25% lower than those in 2004.

Whitely also campaigned to influence national (Australian) ADHD policy. He unsuccessfully sought to prevent non-stimulant ADHD medication Strattera (Atomoxetine Hydrochloride) from being added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme because of its boxed warning for increased risk of suicidality.^[16][17] Strattera was added to the PBS in 2007. Until 17 February 2018 the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had received 149 reports of adverse events. This included 78 reports of suicidal/homicidal/self-harm ideation or behaviour, with four incomplete suicide attempts (including a 7 year old girl) and three completed suicides (including a nine year old boy).^[18] Because adverse event reporting to the TGA by doctors is voluntary the actual number of adverse events associated with Strattera (or any medication) in Australia is unknown.^[19] Whitely also campaigned to prevent the endorsement by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) ADHD national treatment guidelines developed by the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP).^[20][21] The guidelines were never endorsed by the NHMRC because of concerns about conflicts of interest among guidelines panel members and the heavy reliance on research lead by high profile ADHD medication proponents with undisclosed significant conflicts of interest, most notably Professor Joseph Biederman.^[22]

Whitely’s self-described “at times obsessive”^[23] campaign against the use of ADHD medications by children has attracted considerable criticism. Prominent Australian psychiatrists including Professors Florence Levy^[24] and Alasdair Vance,^[25] have been highly critical of Whitely, who has no medical training, for politicising the disorder, ignoring scientific evidence and promoting an emotive and sensationalist debate. However, Whitely has received praise for his advocacy from prominent American psychiatrist Professor Allen Frances who lead the development of the DSMIV on behalf of the American Psychiatric Association.^[26]

Psychosis Risk Disorder (Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome)

Whitely was also prominent in Australian efforts to prevent the official recognition of ‘Psychosis Risk Disorder’ in the influential American Psychiatric Association’s, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM5) published in 2013.^[27][28] Psychosis Risk Disorder (officially termed Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome) was removed from the draft of the DSM5 after its inclusion lost the support of former prominent advocates including former Australian of the Year, psychiatrist Professor Patrick McGorry.^[29]

Democratic Reform of the Western Australian Labor Party

Between 2007 and 2011 along with WA Labor Minister, Alannah MacTiernan, Whitely led the Labor Reform Forum. The forum argued unsuccessfully for rule changes in WA Labor designed to reduce the influence of factional leaders. Whitely was particularly critical of the power the state secretaries of the two largest unions affiliated to WA Labor, United Voice (then Dave Kelly) and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Union (then Joe Bullock).^[30]

Despite believing he had too much personal power Whitely endorsed Dave Kelly as his successor in the seat of Bassendean.^[31] However, he was highly critical of Joe Bullock and then (2012) rumours of plans to preselect Bullock at the top of the WA Labor Senate ticket.^[32] In 2013 after leaving state parliament Whitely resigned his membership of the Labor Party when Bullock was preselected for the number 1 spot on WA Labor’s Senate Ticket.

References

External links

• http://www.martinwhitely.com/
• Speed Up and Sit Still: The Controversies of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment
• Drug Free Attention Difficulties Support Inc.
• Martin Whitely discusses ADHD, psychiatric drugs, and the needs of children on the Dr. Peter Breggin Hour - 11/7/11.