Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Waimakariri LEC hosts Health Minister, Dr David Clark for a community Mental Health update

On Thursday 13 June, Waimakariri Labour Electrorate Committee (LEC) hosted Dr David Clark, Health Minister for an update on the Governents progress on mental health support for the people of North Canterbury.

LEC Chair and 2017 candidate Dan Rosewarne stated that, 'of all the issues the people of Waimakariri write to me about, the provision of mental health support for people in North Canterbury is at the top of the list'. Dan said that the meeting served as a great opportunity for the Public to give feedback to the Minister directly on what concerns them and how we can improve the wellbeing of the people in our community'.

Here in New Zealand, half of us will experience a mental illness at some stage of our lives. Your postcode shouldn’t determine whether or not you can access mental healthcare — but for many New Zealanders, it’s been too hard to get the support they need. This is particularly true for those in rural areas, where specialist services can sometimes be hours away.

That’s why, when the Government announced a record mental health package in the Wellbeing Budget last month, they made sure their plans included specialised support for rural communities including North Canterbury.

Dan said that the Waimakariri LEC would be hosting more meetings for the people of Waimakariri to have their say leading up to the General Election next year.

'Right now is a busy time for the LEC, The Southern end of the Waimakariri Electorate passes over the Chritchurch City Council Harewood Ward. We have been working to support the Labour aligned People's Choice in preparation for Local Body Elections this year. The People's Chioce have selected Belfast local Scott Franicevic to stand for Council and Community Board in the Harewood Ward where public transport and water bottling are set to be the key issues heading into the Local Body Elections'.

ENDS

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