Anderton Jim: Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Anderton Jim: Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:661;Page:9589] 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Leader—Progressive) 
: 
 The announcement to the House that the National Party will not be supporting the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill is a continuation of a well-worn record that is high on rhetoric but abysmally low on practical action. If the member who just spoke Paul Hutchison is trying to convince himself or anyone else that the relationship between families and the mental health system is hunky-dory and everyone is happy with it then he is living on a different planet than most of us who have to deal with mental— 
Hon Member 
: He never said that for a start. 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: That is exactly what he said. If the member does not understand his own rhetoric then he is trying to fool himself. 
Here and around the world mental health illnesses are a growing public health issue. It has been estimated that by 2020 depression will be the leading illness and cause of disease burden in developed countries like ours. Mental illness has traditionally been hidden. People were embarrassed to talk about it but it is everywhere in our community and virtually every New Zealand family will be touched by some form of mental illness at some point in their lives. It is never just the ill person of course who directly suffers; it is also the family—mothers fathers sisters brothers grandmothers and grandfathers. None can escape being affected. The lives of those who love and care for someone with mental illness are often dramatically changed yet they do not always have access to sufficient information and support to understand what is happening and how they can get through difficult times. If the member who spoke previously does not understand that he does not understand anything about what is happening in the real world. It is no wonder that families can feel isolated and desperate. 
Today the stigma around mental illness is less damaging than it used to be. This is in large part thanks to heroes like former rugby player John Kirwan who had the courage to front a very public campaign about depression. The previous Labour-Progressive Government put nearly $7 million into that campaign and it has made an enormous difference to the way men in particular report to agencies for assistance. It has helped destigmatise mental health by being far more open about the issues involved. 
We launched our new mental health and suicide prevention strategies and part of that meant putting a strong emphasis on building a more responsive primary health care sector. Often a general practitioner is the first line of assessment and treatment when people turn up often with their families to the surgery in need of help. The evidence showed that good primary health care had the potential to have the largest impact on reducing mental illness. Studies also showed that the more families are involved with the treatment of their loved ones the more rapid and the more long term the recovery is likely to be. The more the loved ones are involved the more rapid the recovery. 
Getting people well as quickly as possible is important to everyone. The cost of mental illness is felt throughout all of our communities. People suffering from depression have worse general health and take more time off work and their work is restricted when they are present. They make the most or more use of health services and experience poorer health-related quality of life. If we want people to stand the best chance of getting better we have to help the families of those who suffer from mental health problems as much as possible. 
That is exactly what this bill attempts to do. It is not just because we are a caring society that we should do this but also because society benefits when people get better quicker and stay well. Despite the relative openness about mental illness today when someone one loves becomes ill it is still devastating and often confusing for family members. Families often do not know how to help. They often blame themselves and they can feel lost and isolated. That means that it is time for this bill and I wish the author of it well as it continues its progress through the House.