With the national suicide rate on the rise and mental health workers in demand Matthew Tukaki sat down with Opposition Spokesperson for Mental Health, Ingrid Leary. Ingrid Leary has said:

“I welcome what is a significant investment into mental health however cynical about the timing on the back of yesterday’s damming report by the mental health commission regarding lack of coordination and crisis response

• It is the government scrambling to cover an internal crisis regarding the lack of leadership from Minister Doocey in the mental health space – he is missing in action and won’t even meet with high profile frontline providers who face imminent closure
• The mental health commission report called for a coordinated response and no amount of money will work without a proper strategy and coordination and we have not seen that in the announcement today.
• Matt Doocey has had two years to sort this out, he has been missing in action, and everyone in the sector knows things are getting worse due to his lack of leadership.
• Re peer  support: yes we also support that however it has to be within a coordinated mental health strategy and there doesn’t seem to be one. “