Mike King: “alcohol is the solution for people with mental health issues”
Happy Gumboot Friday! Mental health "expert" Mike King has a hot tip for beating the blues!
Behind the Panels:
Tomorrow marks ‘Gumboot Friday’ the controversial $24m government initiative that aims to provide free kids counseling. On the surface, it seems to have good intentions, and for good reason, New Zealand has by far the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world.
But this week, Mike King, the man in charge of the initiative, stated on air during Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive that “alcohol is the solution for people with mental health issues” and says medical research proving it is linked with suicide is a matter of opinion (it’s not, alcohol is a depressant.) When pressed by the Herald to provide any sort of evidence to prove his claims, King promptly hung up.
This is not the first time King or his ‘Gumboot Friday’ have come under scrutiny, just earlier this month a report by the auditor general found that The $24 million contract awarded to Mike King’s mental health charity by the National-led Government was “inconsistent and unusual”.
In June, King had to change the title of one of his most senior staff after Stuff revealed the woman was not qualified for such a role, nor was it a suitable job title for the counseling work.
But Mike King doesn’t like being challenged on his advocacy, calling anyone that questions him “dickheads throwing shit”, and gets upset when other organisations get funding when he doesn’t even bother to apply for it.
One important statement the auditor general made in their report was the selection of t Gumboot Friday and the amount of funding was decided “without an open and transparent process to assess which type of service would best meet the policy objective, which providers might be able to deliver that service, and the appropriate amount to pay”. '
Now that’s a bit of a red flag, especially when other important services across the county, that didn’t receive funding, are downright struggling or having to close down, King’s comments and attitudes begin to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Let me be clear, the government should be investing so much more into mental health services, instead of (and I hate to keep bringing this up) Tobacco and Landlord tax cuts. And maybe divert funding away from the privatization of hospitals into these community-led groups led by actual healthcare professionals.
We shouldn’t be arguing over who gets what portion of the pittance we put aside for mental health funding, but while the spotlight is on Mike King we have to hold him accountable and call him out on his advocacy if it’s blatant misinformation like “alcohol isn’t a depressant”, even if it means he calls us all shitheads.
I’m sure King’s heart is in the right place when it comes to running this initiative, but as someone who grew up around alcohol and seen its effects firsthand, putting out into the world “alcohol is the solution for people with mental health issues” is putting the youth you claim you want to protect in direct harm.
Danz
My new book ‘Slices of Heaven: Uniquely Kiwi Comics about Aotearoa’ is available for pre-order now! It’s a print collection of warm and witty comics about the DNA of Aotearoa, celebrating our quirks, institutions, identity, and shared experiences.
