SpeechJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First): Thank you very much. It's an absolute pleasure to take this call on the Appropriation (2019/20 Estimates) Bill speaking to health. But before I begin my contribution this evening I'd just like to begin by acknowledging our colleague a New Zealand First dearly loved member Pita Paraone who has passed away. In New Zealand First we are deeply saddened by his passing. He was a very kind and very gentle man and all of those who knew him whether they worked with him in the wider community or in politics they knew that he was a man of great integrity. We feel his loss deeply and many of our members are so very deeply saddened but we'd also like to reach out to our Ngāti Hine family who have also lost their uncle their cousin as well and those that are in Parliament from Ngāti Hine they are feeling this loss as we are. I know that those in the Māori Affairs Committee who worked with him in the previous Parliaments have also expressed to me and to my colleagues how deeply saddened they are. So I did want to begin with that and acknowledge his passing. Haere atu rā moe mai moe mai. I've just had along with some colleagues across the party the most amazing experience. We have formed the cross-party mental health and addiction group. We have been able to come together for the good of New Zealand. This is for me what politics is really all about: what we can do collaboratively together. This was formed out of the inquiry into mental health in New Zealand and it was one of the recommendations. There were 40 recommendations from He Ara Oranga and it was number 40: that we come together as a cross-party group and work together for the benefit of all those New Zealanders who are suffering. So it was with great pleasure that we launched tonight along with Sir JK"—John Kirwan—and another fabulous woman also Ngāti Hine and a cousin of Pita Moe Milne who's worked for five decades in the mental health area. We learnt from them their stories their struggles and the work that they have done in that mental health space and so now we have taken it upon ourselves. We're carrying that baton together. So I'd just like to acknowledge colleagues across the House: Chlöe Swarbrick Louisa Wall Matt Doocey and David Seymour and myself on that party. We have actually opened the invitation to all other members of Parliament to come and join this group this cross-party group and we would welcome you to be part of that as we work towards what Sir JK said was actually our Mount Everest and it's something that we have to knock off. We have to ensure that we reduce the deaths from suicide in this country. That is why this Government has invested $1.9 billion into mental health because we see the crisis that it is and we know that to fix it we all have to come together and work really hard on ensuring that we reduce the suffering in our whānau in our communities in our schools wherever it is seen. We have the most appalling statistics in suicide so I would like to acknowledge our Minister for making mental health and mental wellbeing at the forefront of this Wellbeing Budget in 2019.We want to make sure that all New Zealanders will be able to access free mental health and addiction support that works for them when they need it and how they need it. We need community services that are on the ground and that will be developed alongside kaupapa Māori services. Community services—we'll need to train hundreds of new staff as well. We'll need to build new facilities across New Zealand so that we can transform our approach to mental health and addiction with significant and sustained investment. We need to do this together. So reaching out through all of the mental health services building up the support—also something else that I'm particularly interested in is making sure that we support people the families that are left devastated and bereaved by suicide. Not just those with mental health issues but also the whānau the family that are supporting those through either suicide or supporting those with mental health addictions as well. Thank you Mr Chairperson. That's it for me this evening and I'm very pleased to be on the Health Committee."