As a psychiatrist working in the public sector, I was depressed to see that the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry Report into Mental Health – ceremoniously handed down by the prime minister – is a missed opportunity which will continue the long tradition of resource misallocation. Doubtless thousands of bureaucrat-hours were spent on its genesis, but I wonder how many of its authors have any direct experience in treating mental illness? Predictably, a good proportion of its content plays to its target audience.