May 27, 2024
Gumboot Friday above politics says Taylor
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Former I Am Hope Foundation chair Sir Ian Taylor says the $24 million the Government is putting into its Gumboot Friday suicide prevention initiative over the next four years will be money well spent.
The pre-Budget announcement drew fire from Labour because his successor, former insurance executive Naomi Ballantyne, had made donations to the National Party.
The technology entrepreneur says he joined the charity because of founder Mike Smith’s vision and drive, and independent research has estimated every dollar it spends on free mental health counselling for suicidal young people is worth $5.70 to Aotearoa in social return.
“In teenagers, that’s where we need to focus, if the numbers are dropping, isn’t that an indication Mike is getting to them early enough to take them away from that danger,” Sir Ian says.
Sir Ian Taylor says he quit as chair once public funding was signalled in the New Zealand First coalition agreement with National, because he wanted to insulate Gumboot Friday from his own outspokenness.