SpeechHon MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I rise to speak at this the second reading of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill and as other members of this House have pointed out there has been a very widespread level of cooperation and true engagement in trying to help a problem that we all know can't be solved by one party or one policy in a short period of time. I think that the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill which has a primary aim of establishing a wellbeing commission—we've had those kinds of things before but I think this one's structured in such a way and has worked so well through the select committee process that I for one feel great hope that this is something that is going to make a significant contribution to our tragic suicide figures the mental health issues which have only progressed under cover of COVID. The challenges that we face as a society need to be approached in different ways and I think this legislation will enable a better contribution to better mental health for New Zealanders than we have been able to do as a country in the past.We still believe on this side of the House that we need more early intervention and more urgent front-line services. Perhaps again as a result of COVID the focus of people being alone isolated and the mental illness issues that then can emerge are things that we need to act on quickly. My particular concern through the select committee process and I was one of the members of the Health Committee that heard some of the submissions—there were 99 in all and we heard 43. Many of the contributions that were made really did show the select committee process at its best because the rural communities for example which hadn't really been considered as part of the core framework of this bill made their presence felt by their submissions and were listened to. The rate of rural suicides as my colleague Matt Doocey pointed out is at 17 percent in rural communities compared with 7 percent in urban areas; both too high of course but it proves that there is a need to put more resourcing and to pay more attention to what is happening in rural communities than we have done to date.An independent Crown entity which will provide independent advice to Government is the right process and the right way to go. There are a number of options. When we put up Predator Free 2050 there were a number of structures and governance mechanisms that we considered. Because it's all very well to be independent from Government but they also have to be accountable and deliver and you know I think increasing the size of the board numbers which we did at the select committee level to up to seven including those with the new buzz phrase with lived experience" was a really important part of establishing the credibility of this commission which is going to perform such a crucial role. It is a shame it doesn't come into force until February 2021. But I guess we're hastening through it as best we can.I think when we looked at some of the initiatives that National had campaigned on around these 17 mental health ideas and concepts that we wanted to deliver it was disappointing to those of us on this side of the House to see some of the more innovative and modern techniques being sidelined and scrapped—you know e-therapy telehealth more mental health facilities and availability of programmes that are in modern parlance and using tablets and so forth should have been more available in schools more readily. So it was a shame to see those go. But it is important to focus on what's positive in this.I think that the high-risk groups being included—particularly for my particular area of interest if you like elder abuse. I'm not as youth-close as my other colleagues and elder abuse is something I unfortunately learnt a lot about when I was the Minister for Seniors—the complexities the isolation the sense of shame being part of a generation that was always too proud and didn't want to show weakness to reach out for help even coming back from world wars and surviving terrible traumas. The pride of the nation and the way you used to have to conduct yourself was very much in the British tradition of stiff upper lip and deal with it yourself often through the bottle and other self-medication. But that's another story. They are issues though and they are quiet issues and for people who are proud and self-sufficient they need to be properly resourced to draw them out. And I think it was a very useful thing to add this requirement to seek the views of people at risk as well. I would hope that all the agencies that work in the seniors area will get behind this: the Age Concerns all of the elder abuse agencies Shanti Niwas the ethnic communities as well—because again language becomes more of a barrier for older people particularly if they are experiencing some aspects of onset dementia. The first thing they forget is the new language of English and they revert back to their own language and they need very careful guidance and interpreters who are sensitive to their needs. So I have confidence and faith dare I say that this Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission will be able to do that.The other thing I wanted to highlight was the way that this is going to be structured at the governance level that the board members—up to seven of them as I said—will be appointed by the Governor-General. So the usual process is for Ministers to decide and it's done at the committee level with many people chipping in. But having that added layer I think of having the Governor-General's involvement and a Minister making a recommendation to the Governor-General—and for those of you that have had the experience of talking with Dame Patsy Reddy as I have done when I was a Minister you need to go well prepared. She asks a lot of pointed questions. It's not good form if you can't answer them. I think it's another layer of an interested party with if I dare say the Commonwealth and a wider world view than we sometimes bring to decisions that are made in this House or at the ministerial select committees where these decisions are made. So I think that's another safeguard that's going to ensure more independence is guaranteed. I think that again it was something that emerged through the select committee process. I could go on. I won't because I feel that it is important to progress this bill as quickly as we can because it has a significant contribution to make and I know others want to speak on it. It is a bit of a shame to see it coming in at this time of night under urgency. It feels a little bit rushed and strange but none the less COVID intervened and I think when the select committee reported it back on 24 March prior to everything going a bit strange we had every hope that it would progress. So let's see that happen. Let's see this outbreak of consensus and wellbeing and camaraderie even around this very important intergenerational long-term issue. Let's address that with willingness and put it through which is why I commend this bill to the House."