McDowall James; Rurawhe AdrianDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. New Zealanders are watching this debate with high hopes and I'm afraid to say that almost every person I've spoken to recently about suicide prevention from NGOs on the front line to parents who have tragically lost children say that the system is broken. We have an ongoing mental health crisis in this country and with an estimated 150000 Kiwis contemplating suicide per year—that we know of—the risk factor is significant. While it seems that more people are actually opening up and talking about their personal struggles we still have a long way to go. I'm all for cross-party collaboration on this issue because we do need to come together for the sake of those at risk but that cannot be an excuse for ignoring faults in the system.Prior to entering Parliament I worked at the Wise Group a leading provider of mental health services through its many entities. One of those entities—Le Va for instance—has a programme called LifeKeepers which I think is a great example of a community-training approach to suicide prevention. One of the big issues with suicide in New Zealand is that many victims actually never sought help very sadly and it is typically those around them friends and whānau who can be empowered to spot the warning signs provide initial support and direct them to mental health services. This is important because the Government and the NGOs can't be everywhere. I was happy to see that a number of Parliamentary Service staff actually went through the LifeKeepers programme very recently.I also wish to share some of the concerns that I received from various entities—in particular around the acute and crisis services provided by the DHBs. At a high level NGOs have unfortunately spoken of a culture and attitude problem at the DHBs. People have told me that when they contact these services they simply aren't getting sufficient information in a timely manner nor are they receiving follow-up calls. It's likely that the DHBs need more resourcing but with an additional $1.9 billion committed I'm wondering why this hasn't yet been resolved. People in crisis seem to be unaware of the services available following their contact with a DHB and if they're not sick enough then they often get turned away. I hope that's not the general state of affairs but that's the feedback that I've received thus far.Another issue is coordination—or a lack thereof. There are a range of options when it comes to mental health services which is positive for choice. However front-line workers tell me that it can become a bit disjointed. We've got to ensure that organisations and Government entities are working together well for the benefit of New Zealanders. I'll speak very briefly about a tragic individual case. A young woman who was known to the urgent response service of the Auckland DHB reached out to them for help. In her final phone call she clearly communicated the urgency of her situation. She didn't get the help she needed—no call back. According to her mother as soon as she was in the public system she went downhill. That family is now utterly heartbroken. Sadly stories like this are all too common.I also want to briefly speak about our new New Zealanders. There is a mental health crisis unfolding amongst our migrant communities where many have been split from their families including young children for at least a year and in many cases significantly longer. When migrants contact me about their mental health struggles I always suggest obviously that they seek professional help and I provide as much information as I can. But in many cases they've already gone down that road and ended up worse off. So this is just one disaster waiting to happen and a very unnecessary one because the Government can actually help a great deal by having a more efficient and compassionate immigration system. As a country we need to do better for mental health.This is not an issue that we can just throw money at. We need to get to the root causes of distress enable earlier intervention and create an efficient system from the top down. We also need to be a country where a person seeking help is empowered to make choices for their own therapy and care rather than simply accept what's offered. ACT proposes a stand-alone nation-wide mental health commissioning agency with a clear responsibility for issuing contracts to the service provider of that person's choice monitoring patient outcomes using evidence-based decision-making and quality of care. I'd like to lastly very much thank all of those who contributed to the Zero Suicide Aotearoa report. As parliamentarians we need to confront the difficult issues and always work to improve the lives of New Zealanders.He āwhina he aroha ngā miro tuitui i ngā haehaetanga o te mate. Kaua tātou e raparapa me rapu hāpai kē. Me mahi tahi tātou. Kia ora tātou.[Assistance and love are the threads that re-bind us following the lacerations of death. Don't just wander in doubt seek help instead. We need to work together. Thank you all.]DEPUTY SPEAKER: Karen Chhour—five minutes.