MHF submission on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (Improving Mental Health Outcomes) Amendment Bill

This submission is to the Health Committee on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (Improving Mental Health Outcomes) Amendment Bill.

The Bill seeks to mandate a national mental health and wellbeing strategy. Our submission outlines MHF’s overall support for mandating a strategy of this nature in law. However, we make several recommendations for strengthening the Bill, including naming ‘addiction’ in the title of the strategy, requiring the strategy be developed in partnership with Māori and those with lived experience of mental distress and addiction, and in consultation with all entities that contribute to mental health and wellbeing (not just health entities). The submission also addresses various drafting concerns and implications and suggests how to maximise the impact of this Bill.