Youth Parliament made headlines for the alleged censorship of its participants. The focus inside the chamber was a little different, with a number of Youth MPs speaking out about mental health issues from various angles. Some content in this article discusses suicide, and may be distressing.

Youth Parliament as a concept aims to platform passionate young people with a flair for politics — whether or not the event effectively did that has already been covered extensively. What Youth Parliament has effectively revealed is how concerned young people are with the state of mental health in New Zealand.

80 Youth MPs gave speeches in the General Debate portion of the event. Of these 80, several spoke about mental health issues that young people face. Taiko Edwards-Haruru, Youth MP for Carl Bates, directly addressed the speaker as he declared “Our young people are not just struggling. They are suffering.” Edwards-Haruru told the story of young person he knew of that commit suicide after a call to a mental health crisis line went unanswered for the last thirty minutes of their life. “They [young people] are told to speak up. But how can they speak up when no one is listening, and no one is answering?”

Edwards-Haruru wasn’t the only Youth MP to turn the attention of the house onto Mental Health. Dr. Ayesha Verrall’s Youth MP from Kāpiti Coast Mackay Thomson also approached the issue, this time from the perspective of the need for more community-based health services. “Kāpiti Youth Support is a great example of this. In my community, they provide clinical, addiction, mental health and counselling services, and they see over 60% of the entire population of young people in the region. I know very few people that have not been helped by these services.”

Kāpiti Youth Support is described as a “Youth One-Stop Shop”, providing medical as well as mental health services. However, as Thomson described in his speech, they alongside similar services are “chronically underfunded.” On their website, the charity and NGO writes that “although we receive funding from various government agencies, this funding does not cover the full extent of services we offer.” Thomson expressed the need for more government support for these Youth One-Stop Shop services, saying that “what matters is that whenever a service has to add a young person to a waiting list that’s a bit too long, or they have to reschedule an appointment for another day, that is directly affecting our young people. They relapse, or they miss school because they don’t get the help they need.”

Edwards-Haruru also gave his opinion on what is necessary to continue supporting young people in New Zealand. In the chamber, he asserted his belief that “we need mental health lines that answer — fast. Qualified, culturally grounded counsellors in every school. Pasifika and Māori-led support services that understand our worldviews. A system built around prevention — not just crisis management.”

Youth Parliament brings together young people with strong opinions from all over the country. Part of the beauty of the programme is how such a diverse range of people are able to share their beliefs. From youth in trades voicing their concerns about the job market, to Māori Youth MPs calling for the revitalisation of Te Reo Māori, to young people living rurally sharing their experiences with difficulty accessing transport and healthcare, people from all walks of life were able to provide insight on various issues. Yet in the same vein, people from all walks of life, who had never met before, came to Youth Parliament to advocate for the same thing.

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