25 November
Have your say on the establishment of a mental health and wellbeing commission

The Health Committee is calling for submissions on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill.

The bill would establish a Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. The establishment of this commission seeks to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders. In particular, it aims to improve equity for Māori, Pacific peoples, disabled peoples, rainbow communities, and other groups that experience poor mental health and wellbeing outcomes.

This bill stems from the recommendation to create a mental health and wellbeing commission in He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction. That Government inquiry heard the stories of thousands of New Zealanders, and this bill has been built on the back of those stories.

For this stage in the process, the Health Committee intends to hear oral submissions from submitters who specifically address the focus of the bill: the establishment of the commission. The commission would:
• provide system-level oversight of mental health and wellbeing in New Zealand
• promote alignment, collaboration and communication between government and non-government contributors to mental health and wellbeing
• monitor and advocate for the collective mental health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
The commission would be established as an independent Crown entity. This is to ensure its independence from the Government of the day. The bills intends that the commission would hold current and future governments to account for improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders.

Tell the Health Committee what you think about the establishment of this new commission.

Make a submission on the bill by midnight on 11 December 2019.

For details about the bill:

• Get more details about the bill
• Read the full content of the bill
• What has been said in Parliament about the bill?
• Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates

ENDS

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