Hi John,

When we came into Government almost five years ago, we promised to take mental health seriously.

Today, we wanted to share an update on our progress so far – and how we’re ensuring more Kiwis can get the mental health support they need. Check out the update here:

From the outset, we knew it was going to be a big job. We inherited a health system under serious pressure after years of underfunding and neglect by previous Governments, which meant people couldn’t get the help they needed.

While these challenges won’t be turned around overnight, our work to build a whole new mental health system is well underway. More than 500,000 free mental health sessions have already been delivered through our new Access and Choice programme, and we’ve started rolling out our plan to upgrade mental health and addiction facilities across the country.

We know there’s more to do, but our changes are already making a real difference for thousands of New Zealanders. We promised to take mental health seriously – and thanks to our work so far, New Zealand is finally getting closer to a system that everyone can rely on. Check out the full update here.

Thanks,
The Labour Team