Submissions closed on 05 June 2018.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te Iwi
On 31 January 2018, the Government established an Inquiry into mental health and addiction. The ultimate goal is to improve the mental health and addiction outcomes of New Zealanders. We are a diverse and multicultural panel with a broad range of ethnicities, ages, backgrounds and perspectives.
Our task is wide ranging: we have been asked to look at how mental health is promoted and supported in New Zealand, and how interventions and services could be transformed to respond more effectively to the needs of people experiencing mental health and addiction challenges, including people affected by suicide.
We want to provide a clear direction for the future that generates hope and supports communities, whānau and family, providers and government to take action.
Providing a submission on this consultation document is one way you can contribute to this Inquiry. Our Connect with the Inquiry page has more information about other ways you can connect with us.
Your views
The Have your say - online page has five key questions that we would like to hear your views on. These questions are deliberately broad to ensure that they capture the full range of issues and solutions you may wish to share with us.
Your submission might be very specific, based on your own experiences of mental health or addiction. You might have insights as a service provider or a family member, supporting a person who has experienced mental health or addiction challenges. As well as your personal experiences, you might also have ideas about what improvements could be made across the whole country and the entire system.
Everyone’s views are important because they will help us to understand what people around the country think is working well and what needs to improve.
Tell us what you think
We want to hear what you think, especially what your solutions are to make things better. Your comments and ideas might be about anything you think is relevant, including the role of different sectors — such as education, disability support, social welfare, housing, justice, policing and prisons — and the impact of various risk factors, for example: housing issues, violence, unemployment, social deprivation and poverty.
To help you make your submission, you may want to read a simplified version of our Terms of Reference.
Overall, we want to hear your ideas about solutions that might help to:
build positive mental wellbeing for all New Zealanders
help people to deal with mental health challenges early (before specialist treatment is required)
enable people to avoid becoming addicted to something that causes harm
prevent people from taking their own lives
make it easier and faster to identify when someone is facing mental health or addiction challenges and get them help more quickly
improve the quality of the support and interventions given to those who need it, and
any other ideas about how to improve mental health and wellbeing in Aotearoa.
Your views matter
The only people who will have access to your submission will be the Inquiry panel and nominated staff of the Inquiry. It is possible that some content from submissions, such as individual stories and experiences, may be referenced or included in the Inquiry report but identifying information (such as names) will be excluded, and stories and experiences will be kept anonymous where possible.
You can tell us that you would like your submission, or certain parts of it, to be kept confidential so that it won’t be used in the report. Please go to the Legal information about your submission page to find out more about our management of your submissions during and after the Inquiry:
You can attach documents to your submission
You can also attach documents to your submission. If you are completing your response online, there is an opportunity to attach anything you want to contribute (except current service complaints which are outside the Terms of Reference). If you are completing a paper version of this document, please attach any additional information to your submission when you send it to us.
You can provide more detailed comments
You may wish to make more detailed comments about areas such as design and provision of services, how to improve coordination between the health sector and other areas, workforce planning, collection and sharing of information, and funding, governance and accountability. You can include these in your answers, or put them in a separate submission from you or your organisation.
Conclusion
This Inquiry is a once in a generation opportunity for change. We will be working hard in the time available to gather the best information we can, and your views are part of this.
Your voice is important and will help us set the direction for mental health and addiction in Aotearoa. Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete your submission — we look forward to receiving it.
Mahi Ngātahi he oranga mō tatou,
Professor Ron Paterson (Inquiry Chair)
Answer our questions here
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