On this picturesque peninsula, 260,000 people enjoy breathing space unmatched in most of Sydney. Sea breezes temper even the hottest days. If the water is more than a few minutes away, bushland is probably at the doorstep. But there is another side to paradise.

Thirty people killed themselves on the northern beaches last year, according to statistics made available to The Sun-Herald, and young people are over-represented in the figures.

But as Julie Power reports today, a grassroots initiative is tackling the alarming incidence of young people taking their own lives on the northern beaches. Measures include makeshift barriers such as fences at cliff tops and pipes blocking off access at night. These measures are designed to take a ''moment of despair'' as Northern Beaches Local Area Commander Superintendent Dave Darcy put it, to a moment of ambivalence.

A ''coalition of care'' has brought together community groups, mental health experts and the local council to support young people and families or anyone in ''desperate emotional trouble''. People who live near suicide locations have been trained in mental health first aid.

While the northern beaches does not deviate greatly from the national norm, in which most suicides are committed by middle-aged men, alarm bells are ringing about its youth suicide problem.

Theories as to why abound, but it can be argued that for all its lifestyle advantages, the area is not pure paradise for young people. The district's profile is older than the Australian median (40 compared to 38), while there are fewer young people (16 per cent of Manly-Warringah is aged 15 to 29; compared to the national 19.9 per cent).

The northern beaches is one of Australia's more ''whitebread'' enclaves. The cliched image of bikini babes and surfer dudes leaves the non-conforming young person on the outer in a painful and confusing way, compounded by the easy humiliations that can be dealt out on social media. It is refreshing to see a community initiative that recognises and tackle this acute and heartbreaking problem.

The national rate of suicides increased by 9 per cent in 2017. Away from the cities, there are suicide clusters among young Indigenous people in WA's Kimberley. Rural areas have suffered for many years. The pressure of growing up in smaller communities, some isolated, can compound the normal stressors associated with education, employment, personal relationships and substance abuse.

Launching the Nationals' campaign for the March 23 state election, party leader John Barilaro said his first act after a Coalition win would be to appoint a minister for regional youth to tackle drug dependency, suicide, and unemployment in country areas. "Without the next generation carrying on our legacy, nothing else matters. There won't be a prosperous regional NSW," he said.

Mr Barilaro's initiative is worthwhile, and there is hardly a politician who would not want to ameliorate the suffering. But governments can do better. They can take steps, in the same way they co-ordinated with health professionals and other concerned citizens to make impressive reductions in the road toll in the past 40 years.

Today we report on the commendable measures being taken by the local community to tackle suicide on the northern beaches. Where communities lead the process, they must be offered all possible help, and yes that means at the pointy end, with adequate funding. A fence is the right thing, but it is just one thing. We can all help in our own way to attack the problem before a suffering person sets out on the path to that fence.

Lifeline 131 114, MensLine 1300 789 978, Beyondblue 1300 224 636