WELL-THYLOVE YOUR BODY
INTERVIEW Kiwi ealth
Fiona Ralph
.PHOTOGRAPHY
Michael James Rooke
.
Whyiswellbeingsoimportanttoyouandtothe
Labour-ledGovernment?I think fortoolongwe
havelookedatverynarrowmeasuresofsuccessfor
ournations.Yes,economicgrowthisimportantbut
sotooisthewellbeingofourenvironmentand
people.We’retryingtoacknowledgethatintheway
wegovern.Forinstance,theissueofmentalhealth
andwellbeingisa challengethattheWorldHealth
Organisationsayswillbetheworld’sbiggest
healthproblemby2030.Wecan’taffordtowaitfor
thattohappen.Weneedtotakethisseriouslyin
NewZealandnowandtostarttackling the long-
termchallengeswearefacing.Howwillmentalhealthsupportbemade
moreaccessibletothepublic?OurWellbeing
Budgetinvestmentmeansthatwewillhave
mentalhealthspecialistsworkinginmedical
centres.Ifa personvisitstheirGPandneeds
mentalhealthservices,theirGPwillbeabletotake
themtoa specialistimmediately.Thisavoidsthe
needforreferralsanddelayswhichweknow
reducesthelikelihoodofsomeonegettingthe
supportandtreatmenttheyneed.Ofcoursethis
willtaketime(tofindandtrainthestaff) to roll
outbutwehavebeguntheprocess.Howwillbodyimageissues,including
eatingdisorders,foodaddictionsandbody
dysmorphia,beincludedinthementalhealth
budget?Ourinvestmentinmentalhealth
servicesandprofessionsmeanspeoplewiththese
issueswillbeabletoaccess the help they need,
whentheyneedit.Howdoyouprioritiseyourownmentalhealth
withsucha demandingjob?I spendtimewith
myfamilyandfriends.AndI lovewhatI do,so
whileit isall-consuming and challenging, I also
findjoyinit.Whatdoeswellbeingmeantoyou?Formeas
PrimeMinister,andasFinanceMinisterGrant
Robertsonhassaid,it meansworkingtoensurethat
everyNewZealanderhastheopportunityandthe
meanstoleada lifeofpurposeandmeaningto
them.Agovernmentdoesnotdeterminea person’s
wellbeing, but we can certainly play a part.Keeping the country well
Inwhatwaysdoyoubelieveprioritisingpeople’s
wellbeingisbeneficialfora nationandits
economyinthelongterm?Weallknowthat
NewZealandhasseensolidratesofGDPgrowth
overthepastfewyears– butwhatdoweknowabout
thequalityofthateconomicactivityandhowit has
beenshared?
Nobodywantstoliveina countrywhere,despitea
strongeconomy,familiesarehomeless,our
environmentisbeingrapidlydegraded,andpeople
withmentalhealthissuesdonotreceivethesupport
theyneed,andwherewehaveshockinglevelsof
familyviolenceandchildpoverty.
Veryfewpeoplewoulddisagreewiththat
statementandyetit hasn’tnecessarilyledtoa
fundamental difference to the way we’ve done things.PRIMEMINISTERJACINDAARDERNTALKSUSTHROUGHTHEGOVERNMENT'SNEW
WELLBEING BUDGET, WHICH PRIORITISES THE MENTAL HEALTH OF NEW ZEALANDERS