Govt reviews $100m for mental health
The Government has confirmed it is reviewing what to do with $100 million informally tagged to 17 mental health initiatives, following a political spat over whether the money existed.
Health Minister David Clark said while some of those initiatives chosen by the last Government may proceed, they’re likely to be significantly changed as little to no work had been carried out to progress them before the election.
He also suggested $100m reserved last year for mental health spending might be put back in the pot for announcement at the next Budget.
It comes after a heated backand-forth over whether $100m put in contingency funding by the previous Government at the last Budget was there, with the current Government standing behind the argument there was no mental health funding because it had not been appropriated.
However, Treasury officials and Finance Minister Grant Robertson confirmed to Parliament’s finance and expenditure select committee that the money was there – a briefing Clark was forced to admit he was aware of.
The argument revolves around whether the previous Government had formally ‘‘appropriated’’ or funded the specific mental health initiatives it had chosen just before the election, which it had not. The lack of appropriation however, meant the Government could spend the money on what it wanted within mental health with arguably fewer procedures involved to reallocate it.
National was calling on the Government to spend on mental health initiatives ‘‘with urgency’’, or to reveal what it was being earmarked for.
Clark said National had been in office for almost nine years and ‘‘precisely no money had been put aside to fund the 17 initiatives’’.
‘‘The funding was never appropriated for any of those initiatives – many of which were in their absolute infancy,’’ he said. ‘‘Where background work for some of the prior Government’s initiatives had started, those initiatives are being reviewed on their merits. Even those that proceed may not be recognisable in their original form since the preparatory work was at such an early stage when National left office.’’
National’s spokesman for mental health, Matt Doocey, said the Government was ‘‘hiding behind bureaucracy’’.
‘‘If [the minister is] trying to say it’s not appropriated, just go and appropriate it and spend the money. Because as you’ll know the issue that’s bubbling up now is around emergency responders – ambulance and police. They are saying that they need that pilot to go ahead, which was going to pair them with mental health workers, to not only provide a better response to mental health callouts, but also free them up.’’