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The New Zealand Māori Council says the latest suicide statistics show the need for a national suicide plan.
The latest Health Ministry data for 2016 shows the suicide rate among Māori men rose to almost 32 per 100,000 in 2016 – more than double the non-Māori male rate and also up on the 2015 rate of 25 per 100,000.
Council executive director Matthew Tukaki, who formerly chaired Suicide Prevention Australia, says the data is not timely and fails to give the detailed analysis needed to better understand what is happening and across what population groups.
He says the last national suicide prevention strategy ran out in 2016 and has not been replaced.
The numbers of deaths by suicide in New Zealand are beyond unacceptable and the Government risks following the same path to failure as the previous Government.
Mr Tukaki says it shows health and mental health systems are no longer fit for purpose in today’s New Zealand.
“I say to the Minister check your email – because it seems as if you are just nothing more than a series of glib one liners.” Tukaki said
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