10/07/2024
NEW ZEALAND IS CRUMBLING
(Not a good look on the world stage)
3 major protests, all on the same matter, within 18 months in Aotearoa!
Why would 3 otherwise sensible and educated people think there was no other choice but to go public on this issue?
We have one of the highest youth su***de rates in the OECD.
In 2022 (latest figures) there were 174 deaths from road crashes (source: https://www.transport.govt.nz/statistics-and-insights/safety-road-deaths) but 557 from su***de (source: https://tewhatuora.shinyapps.io/su***de-web-tool/).
26.03% were Māori (despite Māori only accounting for 17.77% of the population (source: 2023 Census).
$2.9bn was spent (admittedly stopped now) 2021-2024 on the NZTA “Road to Zero” (for the 174 deaths)
(source: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/planning-and-investment/national-land-transport-programme/2021-24-nltp/activity-classes/road-to-zero/ #:~:text=Road%20to%20Zero%20is%20a,Zero%20activities%20throughout%20New%20Zealand.).
How does that compare with $600k for each of Gumboot Friday and Mates in Construction?
But money won’t fix this problem.
No matter how much counselling you provide, the root cause is still going to be there.
We need to fund self-awareness, (importantly) self-acceptance (ie ‘resilience’), and addressing the root cause.
The recent $10m budget allocation, with 25% ($2.5m) on “prevention”, is going to be frittered away, as we can show holding a BBQ will improve mental health, and get funding for it (without any lasting benefit).
https://youtu.be/a9okjosZEsg
***deawarness
3 major protests, all on the same thing, within 18 months in Aotearoa!How did 3 unrelated professionals get SO frustrated at our approach to mental health th...