Protecting communities from harm

The Mental Health Foundation fully supports the passing of this Bill. This is because people experiencing mental distress are more likely to experience drug-related harms, including overdose, and we support a health-based, harm reduction approach to drug regulation that reduces these harms for tangata whaiora.

The protections provided by this Bill have the potential to save lives, as they would provide reassurance that people seeking emergency assistance for someone experiencing an overdose will not be arrested for calling for help. This will enable timely medical intervention and create opportunities for people to access further support and treatment.

The MHF strongly opposes the passage of this Bill. We are concerned the introduction of move-on orders would increase instability for people experiencing homelessness, many of whom are already living with mental health and addiction challenges. Rather than addressing the underlying causes of housing insecurity and homelessness, the Bill risks disrupting access to support networks and services and creating additional barriers to recovery and wellbeing.

Instead of criminalising homelessness, we support the resourcing and implementation of measures such as housing-first solutions and wrap-around health and social supports, which are far more effective at improving wellbeing outcomes for individuals and communities.

The Mental Health Foundation strongly opposes the passing of this Bill, because it would diminish the legal recognition, dignity, and human rights of transgender, gender-diverse, takatāpui, and intersex people in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This Bill does not address any clear or evidenced harm or offer any meaningful public benefit. Instead, it risks worsening marginalisation and exclusion for groups that already experience significantly poorer mental health outcomes resulting from higher levels of prejudice and discrimination – especially young people who belong to these communities. Recognition, inclusion, and belonging are essential foundations for mental wellbeing. Laws that deny people's identities and attempt to narrow recognition of human diversity risk causing significant harm to mental health.