The government has accepted the vast majority of the recommendations made by the mental health and addiction inquiry report. But which ones will actually see immediate action? Alex Braae reports. Out of 40 recommendations made to the government by the long-running mental health and addiction inquiry, 38 have been either accepted, or accepted in principle. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Electric vehicle incentives now well overdue, mental health inquiry accused of suppressing Māori voices, and tensions erupt at Auckland Uni anti-racism hui. The incentive package to entice people to buy electric vehicles is well overdue and still nowhere to be seen. Lobby group Drive Electric told Stuff that the target … Read more
Every morning, so far, I’m alive: a memoir is the story of how Wendy Parkins unravelled and put herself back together, sort of. A professor of Victorian literature, Wendy Parkins whips us from Dunedin to Dover to Matakana, through three breakdowns, some extremely sub-par therapy, and a strange experience at an Auckland retreat. Tying the whole … Read more
Today is ‘Gumboot Friday’, a fundraiser for the charity I Am Hope, in which New Zealanders are encouraged to walk in the shoes of a child who needs mental health support. All funds raised provide free counselling to children in need. We asked a mother to share what it’s like to parent a child with … Read more
The terrorist is clearly an extremist, but it is an unfair leap to assume we can blame mental illness for his actions, writes Shaun Robinson of the Mental Health Foundation Following Friday’s appalling terrorist attack, the Mental Health Foundation has been disappointed but unsurprised to see some people speculating the terrorist must have been mentally … Read more
The anti-natalism isn’t funny, says Emily Writes. It’s just very sad. Content warning: suicidal thoughts Mumbai businessman Raphael Samuel, 27, should really be a joke right? He’s suing his parents, who are both lawyers, for conceiving him and bringing him into the world. They’re taking it in good humour and there are plenty of easy laughs … Read more
The hours are long and lonely, your creations are constantly criticised and alcohol is everywhere – is it any wonder many brewers are struggling? Content warning: suicidal thoughts From the outside, the beer industry seems like a brilliant lifestyle choice. What could be better than making beer all day, drinking free beer at night, selling … Read more
The decluttering phenomenon has revealed some dark truths about people’s need to fill the void with things. Do you ever have moments when you suddenly see something that’s been sitting in front of you your whole life in a completely different way? That unsettling, swooshy mixed up feeling of thinking, “hang on a dang second. What?” … Read more
Simon Day spoke to Sir John Kirwan about what he’s learned about living well – and why he’s determined to help young Kiwis learn, too. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title How to Enjoy Grappa Sir John Kirwan is relaxed. Standing in his kitchen chopping parsley and garlic, the view of Rangitoto … Read more
Are mental health issues the same as mental disorders? And how can better understanding mental disorders help us treat people with them? Every second article on my newsfeed at the moment seems to be about the mental health crisis and how the New Zealand health system is struggling to manage it (see articles X, Y, … Read more
Want to feel smart but also read something snackable? Check out the Science Media Centre’s top 10 NZ science stories for the year. From finding the alleged Golden State Killer to ‘gene-edited babies’ – it’s time to take a look at the issues that shook the science world over the past 12 months. In New … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Man appears in court charged with murder of British backpacker Grace Millane, little progress made on child poverty, and National responds to UN pact critics. A 26 year old man has appeared in court, charged with the murder of 22 year old British backpacker Grace Millane. The … Read more
Thousands of views were taken in, meetings were held up and down the country, experts were questioned, and it all fed into a massive report on the state of our mental health system. So what does the report say we need to do? Read more about the mental health inquiry with our edited extract from … Read more
A hugely important report seeks to effect a ‘paradigm change’ in NZ mental health services. Here are the essential findings and recommendations. The Minister of Health today released He Ara Oranga (Pathways to Wellness): the Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, a publication which followed a series of meetings nationwide by … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout begins immediately from review into parliamentary bullying, a phenomenal piece of mental health journalism featured, and National’s polling bounces back. Has Trevor Mallard opened the door on something that will get out of control? We talked a bit about this last week, but things have moved … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Small scope of medicinal cannabis changes criticised, big chunk of cash for the West Coast, and Karel Sroubek speaks out. Patients undergoing palliative care will be able to use medicinal marijuana, without fear they’ll end up being convicted, reports the NZ Herald. The change has come out of … Read more
The moment is now for tough conversations about justice reform, and it is vital that increased use of diversion for those with mental health issues is part of those conversations, writes Nicola Corner from JustSpeak For the past few months, we’ve seen a lot of much needed discussion come out in the justice space. In … Read more
The Testimatic is New Zealand’s first medicinal glory hole, providing an eye-contact-free testicular examination. Don Rowe gets his balls squeezed in public. “If you don’t do it, your story is bullshit fake news,” the man said. “That’s journalism – you have to do it or really you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” … Read more
Half of all children in New Zealand say they’ve experienced bullying, an ominous number in light of our dire mental health statistics. For Newshub, Patrick Gower reveals his own struggles in an emotional appeal to stand strong. It all started with “Paddy Carrots” and “Bugsy”. As a schoolboy, I had seriously protruding buck teeth, and … Read more
The Spinoff is proud to present the latest in our Frame documentary series produced by Wrestler and funded by NZ on Air. Under The Korowai looks at Te Whare Marie, a kaupapa Māori mental service provider that is combining tohunga-led cultural therapy and clinical methods to help young Māori understand, rather than fear, their gifts. … Read more
A new week has dawned, and to start it off, another conversation secretly recorded by Jami-Lee Ross has been leaked to Newshub. So what does it say, and what does it mean? The leader of the opposition goes on all the major TV and radio shows on a Monday morning, and generally the interviews follow … Read more
Facing criticism, comparison and scrutiny every day takes its toll. Heaping even more pressure on someone who’s suffering isn’t the answer, writes chef and MKRNZ judge Ben Bayly. It’s no secret that restaurants are high-adrenaline, high-stakes workplaces. The hours are long, it’s highly competitive and with the added pressure of maintaining impeccable customer service, there’s … Read more
A personal essay by Paula Harris: “I was admitted, under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, to the secure unit of the psychiatric ward just after noon on Friday…” Content warning: This essay contains references to suicidal ideation which may be confronting for some readers. It was Friday the 13th. That isn’t … Read more
According to reports over the weekend the MP Jami-Lee Ross has been admitted to mental health care after being ‘sectioned’. But what does that mean? What is sectioning? In New Zealand, when you have a mental illness, you can generally decide your treatment options. Sectioning is a term that covers situations where someone needs mental … Read more
The Botany MP is experiencing mental illness – and he, like the women he has hurt, and his family, are as deserving of help and support as anyone else. Public speculation and privacy violations only serve to hinder this, writes Scout Barbour-Evans Scout Barbour-Evans is an expert in being mentally ill, living with PTSD, Bipolar Disorder … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Bus strikes begin in Auckland and Hamilton, secret party donations stay in the spotlight, and backlog of sex assault cases unassigned by police is rising. In transport news, the week is likely to be dominated by bus driver strikes. Some bus services in Auckland and Hamilton might … Read more
Reports that Botany MP has been sectioned and is in care for mental health issues have sparked a flurry of conjecture over the last couple of days. The Mental Health Foundation of NZ, which has to date not entered the debate around the controversial MP, who by his own account had a breakdown in recent … Read more
For chefs and restaurateurs all over the world, hospitality’s pressure-cooker environment is no joke. As we increasingly grapple with the consequences of depression and anxiety among those working in our food industry, what’s New Zealand going do about it? Le Suquet à Laguiole in the south of France enjoyed the highest accolade in fine dining for two decades. … Read more
In the spirit of Mental Health Awareness Week, writer Carolyn Gillum has put together five poetic ‘cures’: poetry as a prescription for anxiety and stress, for feeling less alone, for insight into yourself and the world, for hope and for friendship. Poetry. Twenty-five years out of high school and the word still conjures the clink … Read more