King to PM: Work not even started
Mental-health advocate Mike King says work fixing the “broken” mentalhealth system doesn’t appear to have started. He’s spoken out in response to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who last week said the decision for him to return his New Zealand Order of Merit medal was his to make.
King last Wednesday returned the medal in protest at the state of the country’s mental-health system. More than 100 people walked beside King in a hı¯koi from Te Papa to Parliament, as he returned the medal that he received in 2019 for services to mental-health awareness and suicide prevention.
On Facebook at the weekend, King said he was sorry he missed Ardern at Parliament but that “I understand with Fieldays, selling EVs and cycle bridges to New Zealanders you had a very busy week”.
He noted a comment in the media in which she said she had never suggested the work to improve mental-health services was finished.
“There is a lot of work left for us to do as a nation, and that includes supporting people who are struggling with mental-health issues. But this is ultimately Mike’s decision and I respect that,” Ardern was quoted.
In response, King said he never handed his medal back “because I thought ‘ work to improve mentalhealth services was finished’.
“I handed it back because in the eyes of New Zealanders who are being refused desperately needed help for their loved ones it seems nothing has been started. And I too stand by my decision.
“People are dying, Prime Minister, and all your people are saying is ‘she’ll be right, we know what we are doing’.”
He noted how in the story he referenced, Ardern also said “there is a lot of work left for us to do as a nation, and that includes supporting people who are struggling with mental-health issues”.
“Seriously?,” he replied. “Work we should do as a nation? What do you think we have been doing? What do you think happens when you throw people dying for help into the street or worse still, don’t let them indoors in the first place?
“We support them because you won’t, so please stop inferring we are not doing our bit, please, and tell Dr Bloomfield to start doing his.”
King earlier said how he had been full of optimism when Ardern announced $1.9 billion of mentalhealth funding three years ago.
Now he felt let down as nothing appeared to have changed.