Grey Power president Jennifer Custins. Photo / John Borren
Grey Power president Jennifer Custins. Photo / John Borren
A $116 million plan to overhaul New Zealand's mental health system so it targeted more people has been welcomed by Tauranga health experts.
Brian Thomas, the manager of Family Link Trust, said he was encouraged by the Government's Budget announcement because the mental health system was underfunded and stretched.
"It's great they will research ways to do it better. Hopefully, it will filter down to more money at the coalface."
The Government has budgeted $116m to test different ways of helping people with mild to moderate and severe mental health issues. It has ring-fenced $100m for a special fund to support "innovative solutions to address mental health issues". It aimed to build a better picture of mental health sufferers' needs and where there were gaps in services. Overall, the Government has budgeted an extra $224m over four years for mental health services.
Mr Thomas said it looked to be all about clients and whether clients could get better services. The system was currently under-resourced and not correctly focused. "The people that work in the mental health system are stretched -- they are good people. We need more people."
He said it was important that once the gaps were identified, the Government put in money to fill the gaps.
Mr Thomas said there was a strong mood for change. He referred to mental health advocate and comedian Mike King who likened the current system to pouring money down a big hole.
Family Link supported families whose loved ones were mentally unwell, sometimes with addictions.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board chairwoman Sally Webb said there were some real pluses in the $3.9 billion for health.
The health budget targeted health boards, care and support workers, disability support and ambulance services, pharmaceuticals, elective surgery, bowel screening, mental health and primary healthcare. Mrs Webb said it was great that more money was going into supporting the disabled and she was also pleased that the Government was continuing the bowel screening programme.
Mrs Webb said mental health services were predominantly aimed at the top 3 per cent of people that needed the most intensive care, meaning a lot of people were not accessing mental healthcare.
The Budget announcement on mental health was very much about doing things differently, she said.
Health sector $3.9 billion
• New money for district health boards: $1.76 billion
• Care and support workers: $1.54 billion
• Others incl Pharmac, PHOs and mental health: $600 million
Superannuation
As part of the Budget 2017's Family Incomes Package superannuitants could receive around $13 a week extra.
From April next year superannuitants could benefit from tax cuts and an increase to the Accommodation Supplement.
Grey Power president Jennifer Custins said it would give older people on a tight budget a lift to be thought of in the Budget, but $13 was not "an awful lot of money these days".
"A year away how do we know what the increased costs of living are going to be - it might only just catch-up with increased rent or food."
As a result of changes to personal income tax thresholds, married superannuitant couples would each receive $6.60 a week.
Single people sharing accommodation would receive $7.90 a week and single people living alone would receive $8.50 a week.
Superannuitants
• Increases were in addition to the usual adjustment of New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran's Pension rates that happens on 1 April every year.
• $13.9m over the next four years to reduce reoffending
• $40.2m over the next four years and $2.1 million capital for investment in anti-money laundering intiatives
• $11.9m over the next two years for additional security personnel across New Zealand's court system
Maori development
Buddy Mikaere addresses the panel at the Rena hearings. Photo / John Borren
The Budget has received a cool reception from prominent Tauranga Maori Buddy Mikaere who described it as "not too much to get excited about".
It included setting aside $10.7 million for marae development which he said would not go very far at all. He knew of one marae that faced a bill of nearly $1m to replace its main building.
Mr Mikaere said the Government should have given greater recognition to the role of marae in assisting the homeless and dealing with the displaced in emergencies like natural disasters.
Mr Mikaere of Ngai Tamarawaho's Huria Marae at Judea said Tauranga hapu were looking to carry on with the work of assisting homeless families, such as providing meals and laundry facilities.
"It's not all going on carvings."
Changes to income tax meant families on low to medium incomes would be able to afford the equivalent of an extra one or two blocks of cheese a week, he said.
Mr Mikaere said he was also a bit disappointed about the housing focus being on Auckland which gets an extra 30,000 houses over 10 years, when there was a real issue in Tauranga.
He noted however that Tauranga, with tourism hot spots like Queenstown, had been selected as one of the eligible areas for increases in the accommodation supplement averaging $36 a week. Mr Mikaere said the Budget would not change truisms in which Maori were in the worst socio-economic indices for health, employment, education and imprisonment.
"I can't see anything in the Budget that will change any of that." Mr Mikaere was Ngai Tamarawaho's environmental spokesman and has helped the hapu on a number of tangata whenua and council committees.
