Minister Matt Doocey visits Whanganui, wants ‘local solutions’ to mental health

Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey. Photo / Andrew Warner

Government minister Matt Doocey was in Whanganui this week to open MP Carl Bates’ new office, attend a mental health hui and meet with local tourism operators.

Doocey, the country’s first Minister for Mental Health, said he wanted to get more money out of Wellington and “into the grassroots and front line”.

“That’s what we were hearing today from a lot of [mental health] providers,” he said.

“They are very innovative. They know their communities and they know the needs.”

From what he had seen in Whanganui, it was at the forefront of “local solutions for local needs” thinking, he said.

Doocey, who also has the ACC, Tourism and Hospitality and Youth portfolios, said he would be visiting the mental health co-response team pilot while in town.

“In New Zealand, if you have a physical health crisis, you call 111 and you get a health response.

“If you have a mental health crisis and call 111, you have a criminal justice response.

“Thankfully, our police are going out, and I want to acknowledge them for that, but we do need to think differently. Pairing up our mental health professionals with our police is going to make a big difference for people in crisis.”

He said the Government’s mental health innovation fund, which will provide matching funds to community mental health organisations, would soon be open.

“That has been well received. We already have a lot of NGOs [non-governmental organisations] actively working on their applications.

“How you deal with mental health needs where I live in North Canterbury, with middle-aged dairy farmers, could potentially be very different to young Māori in South Auckland.

“We want to understand the needs of the region and ensure they have the resources to respond.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multi-media journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.