Labour's new Health Minister David Clark has said he will take personal responsibility for reducing New Zealand's suicide rate. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Labour's new Health Minister David Clark has said he will take personal responsibility for reducing New Zealand's suicide rate. Photo / Mark Mitchell
National's former health minister Dr Jonathan Coleman says he will be holding the new health minister to account if New Zealand's suicide rate does not drop.
His comments follow a Herald interview in which the new minister, Labour's Dr David Clark, said funding and priority shortfalls under the previous government led to more young people taking their own lives.
The latest suicide statistics showed 606 people had taken their lives in the past year. The rate has remained largely static for the past 10 years.
Labour made mental health a priority in its election campaign, pledging to restore the Mental Health Commission and launch a mental health inquiry.
In the interview Clark criticised the past government's failure to match an increase in people seeking mental health support with funding.
And he spoke of sharing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's vision of bringing the suicide rate down to zero, although he has previously called a 20 per cent reduction target "sensible".
Coleman declined to be interviewed by the Herald for the story but spoke to Newstalk ZB's Larry Williams this afternoon.
He told Williams he was surprised Clark was personalising the issue.
National's former Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says it's "foolish" for a health minister to take personal responsibility for the suicide rate. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"Dr Clark is now signalling he is going to take personal responsibility for the suicide rate from this point on with a zero suicide target ... I think he's making a real rod for his own back," he said.
"Of course we want to get the suicide rate down ... it's an extremely tragic and difficult area and I'm just very surprised that he's prepared to talk like this - he's not doing himself any favours."
Coleman defended his record on mental health, saying the National government had put an extra $300 million of funding for mental health in the 2017 budget, with $100 million going into spending on portfolios like social welfare, housing and education that impact on mental health.
But weeks out from the election Coleman said he had changed his mind and was open to the idea.
Asked by Larry Williams if any government was accountable for New Zealand's suicide rate, Coleman said it was "foolish" for the new health minister to say so.
"I genuinely wish Dr Clark well in improving that suicide rate because he's now set the target, he's said he will taking personal responsibility and I will be holding him to account over that," he said.
"I hope he does succeed because this is people's lives - but clearly if he doesn't he will be failing to deliver on one of biggest things he campaigned on."
WHERE TO GET HELP:
If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.
