Today’s Health Select Committee hearing has revealed that the Government cannot point to how much money has been set aside in Budget 2022 for mental health services, National’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention spokesperson Matt Doocey says.

“Health Minister Andrew Little was forced to backtrack his comments around the exact figure that has been allocated for mental health services for Budget 2022.

“During the Health Select Committee hearing today, the Minister said the amount allocated for mental health was a ‘known figure’. When pushed for the number, the Minister said that due to the health restructure, Health NZ, Maōri Health Authority and the Ministry were still undergoing discussions around allocations and were yet to finalise funding.

“Three years ago Labour announced $1.9 billion towards mental health, yet mental health groups and services can’t point to where that money has gone. They will be having déjà vu when just five weeks after Budget 2022, the Minister cannot provide a straight answer to how much money has been allocated.

“It is simply not good enough that the Minister is suddenly unable to provide the approximate amount of funding allocated for mental health services, when in previous years this has been provided.

“New Zealand has a skyrocketing rate of mental distress, overstretched services, growing workforce vacancies, and daily outcry from the New Zealand public for better access to mental health support.

“Mental health is an urgent issue and taxpayers deserve to know where the funds are going.

“The Government is failing in every aspect of health; emergency department wait times, a ballooning wait list for people waiting more than four months to see a specialist and now unable to provide a simple number for mental health funding. Clearly, the Minister’s ideological health restructure is poorly timed.”