9. Question No. 9—HealthCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 9—Health9. CHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green) to the Minister of Health: Will the Government's response to the Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction contribute to better mental health care and outcomes for rangatahi; if so how?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): As I said a little earlier the Government has accepted or accepted in principle all recommendations relating to expanding access and choice particularly for people with mild to moderate mental health and addiction needs. We know that three-quarters of all lifetime cases of mental illness develop by 24 years of age and that too many of our young people are struggling with alcohol and drugs. Today we've clearly signalled our intention to provide more support earlier to New Zealanders who need it and that necessarily means better services for young people experiencing mental distress or drug issues. There will be more good news on that front in the Budget tomorrow.Chlöe Swarbrick: What additional and improved support for young people will the Government be providing?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: In tomorrow's Wellbeing Budget New Zealanders will see that we are serious about tackling our longstanding mental health and addiction issues and that we recognise the importance of doing this early. Without revealing Budget details now I can say the response will reflect both the people-centred approach recommended by the mental health and addiction inquiry and the confidence and supply agreement between Labour and the Green Party. We can already see that approach in our work with the Green Party to launch the Piki mental health pilot. Piki is all about early intervention and preventing small problems becoming big issues. That is also the approach that underpins the Mana Ake programme for supporting school students in Canterbury and Kaikōura.Chlöe Swarbrick: What is the Government doing to provide better support for those with addiction and substance dependence issues?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Just like with depression or anxiety and other mental health conditions we're committed to destigmatising addiction and substance abuse. The Government is committed to taking a health approach to drug use and we've taken steps to strengthen the capability and capacity of alcohol and other drug services to respond to increasing need. We're showing this by the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill which is providing for a health-based approach to people with substance abuse issues.Matt Doocey: Did the Minister think at the start of the term that he would be further down the track in addressing the mental health need than just accepting recommendations?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I expected that in this Budget we would be announcing some transformative change. This is a Government that in its first 100 days launched the inquiry into mental health and addiction and timed the report back of that inquiry to feed into Budget processes. We believe in making positive change in this area unlike the previous Government which wouldn't even accept that it needed to be looked at.Matt Doocey: What does the Minister say to Shaun Robinson from the Mental Health Foundation when he said today The foundation is concerned that while the Government has agreed in principle to address these things they have delayed making any definitive announcement or commitments."?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I would hope Mr Robinson will see the package in the Budget tomorrow and be willing to offer some positive comments because he will see many of the things that he has championed being agreed to by this Government. This is a Government that wants to work with those who are suffering from mental health issues and wrestling with addiction issues. It's a Government that is concerned to get alongside people and make sure that we actually have the resources to deal with the challenges we face as a society.Matt Doocey: Does the vocalisation of the delay in mental health amongst the mental health sector concern the Minister?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: They like us are impatient to see progress. For too long people have not been able to access the services they need particularly those with mild to moderate mental health issues. We know that over the last decade the number of people accessing or wanting to access mental health services has gone up by 60 percent. Funding over the last decade went up by around half of that. It simply has not kept pace with the increasing need in society. When people are in distress they need to be able to access mental health and addiction services. This is a Government that is committed to change.Matt Doocey: Taking that answer into account then why did the Minister wait six months from the report back of the inquiry to accept the recommendations?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The inquiry was a serious inquiry. They heard 5200 submissions. They met across the country in 26 locations and heard from 2000 people at those meetings directly who turned up to present their views. They heard from those crowds and then they presented a serious report. We were determined to make sure that we had steps in place to deliver on the recommendations because we didn't want a pat response immediately. This is actually a Government that takes these issues seriously—not just mouthing off but takes them seriously—because we want to see serious change. We accept that we inherited a situation that was underfunded under-resourced where people couldn't get the help they needed and we're determined to put the solutions in place to deal with the situation we've inherited.Matt Doocey: In that response when the Minister said he had delivered recommendations which recommendations has he delivered?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: We have already for example progressed work on the synthetic drugs response which sees drug issues treated as a health issue and that member knows it. We're progressing work on a mental health and wellbeing commission. There is work ongoing on a suicide prevention office. Of course there's a whole lot of work that can progress anyway. In our previous Budget we got on and put $200 million extra into the mental health ring fence. We launched the Mana Ake programme for people in primary and intermediate schools across Canterbury and Kaikōura. We also launched the Piki pilot—with support from the Green Party—that provides mental health counselling and support to young people aged 18 to 24. We've got on with the roll-out of nurses in schools because we know that that has a track record of proven success and we want to invest further. We've also reduced the cost of visiting a GP by $20 to $30 for people with a community services card because we know they weren't able to access for reasons of cost and that inhibited—SPEAKER: OK. I think that's enough thank you.Matt Doocey: In light of that answer is the Minister now saying that progressing work is the same as delivering recommendations?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: No."