Swarbrick ChlöeCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green): E Te Māngai tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. It is a pleasure to stand on behalf of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and speak in support of this Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill. As so many of those who have contributed to this debate already have showcased mental health and particularly mental ill health is not ambiguous. It's not something that kind of happens out there over there in some other community and we just talk about it and don't see it. It's very much the case that all of us have it. All of us have experiences of it and it comes from our life experiences. It comes from the way that we were raised and the environments that we presently find ourselves in by the situations that we are confronted by. I think that mental ill health to think about it in an illustrative way is much like the tip of the iceberg. It is very much the case that it's the manifestation of all of the other things that are going on in our lives of the baggage that we're carrying that is so often invisible. On that note whilst a lot of people have noted so far in this debate that something like this shouldn't be political I really want to re-emphasise that I personally in my very earnest—perhaps some may characterise it as naive—point of view come to this Chamber believing very fully that politics is personal and the personal is political and we've seen that in the contributions from the debate today. I also just want to acknowledge the point made by my colleague Jenny Marcroft from New Zealand First who stated that those who have spoken openly about their own experiences with mental ill health are brave. I've spoken numerous times about the fact that I have clinical depression and I'm medicated for it and I think that that is a shared experience for many who work in these bizarre buildings. But I don't feel brave in saying that in any way shape or form. The reason that I decided to share that is because I think that in coming to a place like this Parliament which is supposed to be a House of Representatives it's important to be honest and your full self that being warts and all. That obviously didn't stop the flood of emails that wanted to decry me as crazy but none the less keep them coming folks.I also want to speak to and acknowledge an incredible former Green MP who has been spoken about by other contributors to this debate—that being of course Kevin Hague. Kevin stepped down—decided not to run again for the Greens in 2016—and took on a position with Forest & Bird. He was our former health spokesperson. When he was looking to the end of his term he wrote an op-ed for Stuff.co.nz. And he spoke about the fact that he had been campaigning for a number of years alongside the other parties that we now join in Government as well as NGOs and those in the community for an independent inquiry into mental health and addiction and wellbeing in this country. But I just wanted to quote a piece from this op-ed that he wrote for Stuff. It says Had I been Minister of Health re-establishing the commission would have been a first step. Government spending on something this sensitive must be monitored and it's clear that this isn't occurring adequately. No one I speak to in the sector believes that the ring-fence is anything more than a 'nice idea' these days." It is immense and wonderful that Kevin has ended up as one of the talented members on the diverse interim committee establishing this Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and I want to acknowledge him for the experience that he brings to that.I also want to acknowledge colleagues from across the House many of whom have spoken about their own experiences particularly Matt Doocey for the work that he has engaged in with all of us—that being primarily my colleague Jenny Marcroft Louisa Wall and David Seymour and myself—on the establishment of the cross-party group into mental health and addiction wellbeing. That is a really fundamental step forward to bring a cross-partisan approach to this issue which affects all of us.I also however want to respond to a comment that has been made by a number of National Party people who have spoken to this legislation so far that being a calling for the social investment approach in this area. I guess on that point this is where it is important that we recognise that all of us do come with different ideologies and perspectives to this issue. For me and I think in particular for the Greens and the experiences that we're bringing to the table the kind of approach that we want to take isn't one that looks at all of these data points and in a very Minority Report-esque way says "These are the people who we need to reach out pluck from their communities and treat." Instead we want to make sure that we increase the standards of living for everybody.Whilst yes sometimes that can cost more money it means that certain people don't miss out. That's where I also think it's important to recognise that that $1.9 billion that was allocated in this Budget—this last Budget announced by the Government this year—whilst so much of it is going to core front-line services which are so crucially needed particularly in the regions as many have highlighted it is also really crucial that we think about the environments and the contexts that New Zealanders are living in that are leading to these record levels of mental ill health. That's where I think it's important to highlight the communities that are actually noted explicitly in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill. There are noted: Māori Pacific peoples disabled people rainbow communities and other groups that experience poorer mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Members have noted that this of course includes those in the regions and particularly at times of immense struggle particularly financially the likes of those who work in our agricultural industries.And I guess that prompts the question of what do these under-served communities have in common? It's actually something that was brought together in the mental health and addiction inquiry He Ara Oranga which reflected a vast amount of contemporary research into wellbeing in modern society. It found that the major driving factors of poor mental health are the environments that somebody is in. Two key things which consistently presented were isolation and trauma. It's been the case that historically our approach to mental ill health has been to further isolate and traumatise people. Unfortunately I think in the realm of the kind of addiction services we still far too frequently take that approach as well.So the point that I want to make is that I don't think—when we talk about things like resilience particularly amongst younger people we speak of it as though it's some commodity that you can buy off a shelf and all of a sudden you've got this armour that you can wear out into the world without us recognising that perhaps challenges are new and different and novel. And those challenges are different for different people but it's important that we see that in the circumstances that we all are faced with.So it's the fact that resilience isn't a commodity; it is in fact a community. That is where all of us in this country as Jenny Marcroft raised have a role to play and not just making transparent the fact that this issue exists but also in making accessible that dialogue because those are two really crucial things and two really crucially different things. Transparency is about knowing that something exists; accessibility is about recognising yourself in it and how you can contribute to that conversation.Just in summation I want to say that I'm really excited by the proposition that is presented by what appears to be unanimous support for the establishment of this commission across the House. I want to say that I hear members of the Opposition with their concerns particularly around timing and otherwise and I hope that we can work through those. As we have seen this Parliament functions at its best when we work collaboratively. In areas particularly pertaining to mental health and wellbeing and reducing dependency on and addiction to substances in this country there is no better place where we could be collaborating because it is that conflict and that history of conflict and the trauma that comes with it that so many people who present with poor mental health carry in their day to day. So if we can role-model something hopefully at the very least it can be collaboration in this area.The Green Party are very happy to be supporting this legislation and look forward to submissions particularly those from folks with lived experiences at the Health Committee. Kia ora Mr Speaker."