Suicides reach 10-year peak

A rise in the number of Ma¯ori male suicides is a key factor behind an increase in overall suicide numbers to the highest level in at least a decade, a new Ministry of Health report shows.

The report said 553 people died by suicide in the 2016 calendar year and 135 were Ma¯ ori.

For Ma¯ori males the suicide rate was twice as high as for nonMa¯ ori males, three times higher than the rate for Ma¯ori women and six times higher than that for non-Ma¯ ori women.

Ma¯ ori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki – a former chair of Suicide Prevention Australia – said there was a lack of analysis of what was happening.

‘‘The data tells us Ma¯ ori men are the highest rate in the population,’’ he said. ‘‘But what we’ve got to do is really have a look at the individual coronial reports.’’

From the Health Ministry’s report it was not possible to separate which suicides were related to mental health issues.

Many suicides were related to the ‘‘daily struggle of life’’, such as the collapse of a small business, or the breakdown of a relationship, Tukaki said.

Ma¯ori men faced the same issues as the rest of the population but their issues were ‘‘amplified’’. Sometimes issues initially not related to mental health could become that way, if they weren’t responded to in the formative stages.

‘‘Was there somebody they could reach out to for help in the most desperate of times, and was that person or that service visible?’’ Tukaki asked.

Ma¯ ori, and Ma¯ ori men in particular, were less likely to reach out to services.

Tukaki believed setting up community level groups could be an effective approach.

‘‘We have to look at new and creative and innovative ways of arming as many people as we can quickly to respond to the need.’’

That should happen alongside the work being done to equip the workforce for more complex mental health issues.

‘‘Communities are the best organisations – and the people who live there who know what’s going on there.’’

For example, community-run networks were set up in South Australia to address suicide.

There was also the Babana Aboriginal organisation that ran yarning circles where men could talk about what was going on in their lives. Tukaki trialled something similar in Auckland and 60 men turned up. ‘‘What we found is that sort of model in the right environment, run by the right people – Ma¯ori for Ma¯ori – can elicit the same sort of results.’’

The report covered the years 2007-2016. During that period, the lowest annual figure was 494 suicide deaths in 2011.

The Government has announced a draft suicide prevention plan, including a national prevention office, a dedicated bereaved counselling service, and new guidelines for social media.

The 2016 report is provisional.

‘‘Communities are the best organisations.’’

Ma¯ ori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki