Clark DavidGENERAL DEBATEHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business.We all know someone who has been affected by mental health or addiction issues either in our families or in our broader sphere of friends and acquaintances. This Government from its very outset has set out to address the challenges to support those we love who wrestle with these challenges.In our first hundred days we launched the inquiry into addictions and mental health. That inquiry reported back in December last year having received 5200 submissions having had 26 public meetings and having had 2000 people attend those public meetings. It was a serious report that engaged seriously and has made serious recommendations. Today the Government announced its response to that inquiry and tomorrow will announce the resources that will support that response to ensure we are prepared to support those particularly with mild to moderate mental health and addiction needs who have missed out for too long.The challenge of that inquiry was made in 40 recommendations. We've accepted 38 out of the 40 recommendations in principle or in full or we've accepted them for further consideration; we have decided not to accept just two. We will commit as a result to significantly increasing access to publicly funded mental health and addiction services for people with mild to moderate needs. We will commit to increased choice by broadening the types of service available. We will urgently complete the national suicide prevention strategy. We will establish an independent commission to provide leadership and oversight of mental health and addiction to keep an eye on Government as it implements the findings of the inquiry and to keep an eye on the whole system to ensure it is responding appropriately. We have committed to repealing and replacing the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act. It is out of date; it needs a full repeal and it needs a replace. In the meantime of course we have progressed a number of issues. As a Government we started from the very beginning by committing to doing those things we knew made sense anyway. In our very first Budget we got on with putting more nurses in schools by rolling out that successful programme to decile 4 schools. We got on with introducing the Mana Ake programme for Canterbury and Kaikōura for intermediate and primary school kids who are wrestling with the challenges that followed the Christchurch quakes. We got on with putting more detoxification beds into Auckland. We got on with launching the Piki pilot which brings integrated therapies talking therapies and makes them available for 18- to 25-year-olds across the wider Wellington region. Of course we set aside more money for specialist services with $200 million going into the mental health ring-fence in our very first Budget. We also committed $78 million to a rebuild of the Hillmorton Hospital facility in Christchurch. On top of all of those things we've made GP visits more affordable for community services cardholders who are those who often struggle to get to their GPs to get the services they need because we know that for many people GPs are the first port of call. Of course there are services available across primary care. In terms of our response to the inquiry we will be getting that draft suicide prevention strategy completed in weeks—in about eight to 12 weeks. We will also be establishing a mental health and wellbeing commission and we will be progressing the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill which treats addiction issues as health issues—that gets serious on the peddlers and the suppliers and makes sure they face criminal charges but actually treats those caught in the web of addiction with compassion and helps to find them the support that they need to deal with the challenges that addictions present. I am very much looking forward tomorrow to being able to announce the full mental health and addiction package in this Government's and the world's first wellbeing Budget. I'm incredibly proud of the work that's going on behind the scenes to make sure that these issues are already being progressed. I congratulate the leadership of the Prime Minister and the finance Minister for an excellent Budget that's focused on the issues that New Zealanders care about addressing the challenges in mental health and getting on with the solutions because this is a Government that is caring and compassionate and wants to see positive change.