Latest news with #RuralWellbeingFund
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Action taken on farm conversions
Good news for Gore with the government ending the large-scale conversion of productive farmland into carbon-only forestry. Pre-election I was National's forestry spokesman, and in response to local and national concerns I helped shape the policy we took to the election to restrict good farming land being converted into carbon forestry, while noting the continuing importance of production forestry to our economy. National was the only party to take this policy to the election and we have delivered on it. The first reading in Parliament attracted unanimous support from all political parties. Importantly this legislation will be backdated to the Prime Minister's announcement at Waimumu on December 4, 2024. Last week, I was pleased to see so many from the Gore community come to hear Associate Health Minister with responsibility for rural health and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey, in town for the rural health roadshow. This was an opportunity to hear feedback from the community and those working in rural health about what's going well and where barriers may be. It builds on initiatives already under way to improve rural healthcare services. The government is investing $164 million over four years to strengthen urgent and after-hours care nationwide, meaning 98% of Kiwis will be able to access these services within one hour's drive of their home. We are improving access to mental health support, recently announcing $3m over four years to help improve rural communities' access to primary mental health and specialised services. The government is also doubling its investment in the Rural Wellbeing Fund over the next four years. For GPs, the government has confirmed the largest funding boost for general practice in our country's history — $175m this year alone — part of a $1.37 billion package focused on delivering timely care closer to home. This includes a funding increase for GP clinics to help them see more patients and ease wait times and provides support for low-income families and under-14s. It was also great to be down the road in Invercargill last weekend for the Season 57 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final. What a fantastic celebration of our rural community and congratulations to everyone who took part and helped make it happen. Well done to Otago Southland Regional Young Farmers for a very well-run event, and to Balfour Young Farmers for winning club of the year. You did our region proud.
Otago Daily Times
03-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Population growth ‘has got ahead of public services': minister
Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey visits Wanaka this week as part of a nationwide rural health tour. PHOTO: ODT IMAGES Wānaka's exponential growth over the last decade is working against it and the government is playing catchup. On Tuesday associate health minister and minister for mental health Matt Doocey landed in Wānaka as part of a nationwide rural health roadshow, where he faced sticky questions from a packed audience of around 300 concerned locals. Wānaka's population has surged past 18,000 this year — more than double the figure recorded in the 2018 census. However, the town's health infrastructure has struggled to keep pace, leading to widespread gaps in care, particularly in mental health, maternity, and aged care services. "The population has got ahead of public services, and we need to ensure investment is going in," Doocey said. "So rather than being behind the curve, we get you in front of the curve and that means getting you the services you need." A recent report by health advocacy group Health Action Wānaka highlighted these deficiencies and pointed out additional barriers such as high travel costs for residents needing to access healthcare elsewhere in the region. The group's spokeswoman Monique Mayze emphasised the urgency of bringing essential services closer to home. "Rural communities are doing poorly in what is preventable," Mr Doocey acknowledged. "So how do we bring these services closer to home?" The government has responded by pledging $3 million over four years to improve mental health access in rural communities, alongside a $4 million investment into the Rural Wellbeing Fund. Despite these promises, locals and advocates remain concerned the funding is insufficient given the rapid population growth and mounting healthcare demands. Mr Doocey promised the government would develop a detailed "roadmap" and timeline for service improvements by December, stressing this would not be a "strategy that sits on the shelf." Mr Doocey said he had not been aware of all the issues the growing area faced. "I can hand on heart say I have not heard of this issue around the country, so you do scratch your head and it beggers things aren't right are they?" "Do we need to continue to spend in health, yes. But we have to make sure we are spending it in the right place to make a difference. The Government is investing $164 million over four years on after after-hours care nationwide, with the aim of getting 98% of Kiwis to be able to access those services within one hour's drive of their home. Meanwhile, Health Minister Simeon Brown is advocating for more regional autonomy, aiming to return decision-making powers to local health boards rather than maintaining the centralised system implemented by the previous government. On the same day as Doocey's visit, members of Health Action Wānaka met with Minister Brown in Auckland to present their concerns. Although no immediate commitments were made, Brown promised to consider the group's input when shaping future healthcare plans. Spokeswoman for the group Monique Mayze left the meeting feeling encouraged that they were heard but added they will be keeping a close watch on the next steps taken by the government. "The minister was really receptive to what we had to say," she said. "He'd obviously been well-briefed on what we came to talk about." The group had requested a meeting with Mr Brown around three months ago prior to publishing a health report exposing urgent unmet health needs in the region. Members of Health Action Wānaka went into the meeting prepared with three "quick wins" including the introduction of telehealth psychiatric consultations, publicly funded blood collection within the next two years and funded radiology services. "He's agreed with all of the three quick wins that he's going to discuss them further with Health New Zealand and come back to us with a plan," she said.
Otago Daily Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
MPs scrutinise the cream cheese latte, among other things
Another Scrutiny Week is done and dusted, although some ministers and ministries came under more scrutiny than others. Take Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson, for example. Under the benign and avuncular chairmanship of Waitaki National MP Miles Anderson, the biggest tension of Mr Patterson's appearance before the primary production select committee came even before proceedings began, from the revelation there was such a thing as a cream cheese latte. It would be fair to say this discovery divided MPs' opinions as much as the likes of the Treaty Principles Bill — and not down party lines either. The Taieri New Zealand First list MP's appearance was primarily with his Minister for Rural Communities hat on, although no appearance anywhere by Mr Patterson would be complete without a mention or two of wool. Of which, more shortly. Mr Patterson's opening remarks emphasised rural communities is not a Cinderella enterprise set up to keep a backbencher busy: last year it reviewed more than 120 Cabinet papers to advise how decisions might impact country folk, as well as engaging directly and regularly with 12 other ministries. Mr Patterson — a farmer himself — said the four main issues he had focused his team on were health, education, connectivity and law and order. Now, it can be argued they are almost everyone's four main areas, but not everyone lives up the road from a school, down the road from a medical centre, has ultra-fast broadband or is within minutes of a police station. "Rural communities is not all about agriculture, it is about the needs of about 860,000 people," Mr Patterson said. Wellbeing — in particular mental wellbeing — was a focus of Mr Patterson's presentation. In the recent Budget the Rural Wellbeing Fund received an extra $2 million to double its funding over the next four years, and the government also committed $3m to Rural Support Trusts. "They have proven their worth, not just during adverse events but also managing farmers facing mental health issues ... there is a real issue with isolation and the issues that come with that," Mr Patterson said. "The trusts have credibility and are well led, we have confidence in them ... a lot of this is driven by volunteers, it is genuine peer-to-peer, farmers talking to farmers. That's their secret sauce and it is us leaning into that and saying you have something here that works, what can we do to help it?" The previous week Mr Patterson, along with almost every MP, had been at the annual Field Days event in Hamilton. There he got to push many things, not the least of which was wool — he and Finance Minister Nicola Willis were there as the not at all coincidental announcement was made by Kainga Ora that it had signed a deal for wool carpets to be supplied to state houses. A week later, Mr Patterson was keen to stress this was likely to be only the start — which was music to the ears of committee members like Mr Anderson, who until entering politics was a sheep farmer. "There are 130 procurement arms in government so there is significant ability to be able to leverage government procurement to assist the wool industry," Mr Patterson said. Scrutiny Week is an innovation of this Parliament and in the run-up to last week's hearings each select committee released a report as to how members thought it was going. The primary production committee noted it had spent eight hours on estimates hearings in 2024-25, and under the previous regime it heard from the relevant ministers and officials for just four hours. Even more impressive was the amount of time spent on annual reviews — up from four hours to 13-14. "Our committee has enjoyed the opportunity Scrutiny Weeks provide to dedicate time to hearing from ministers or entities, with that being the only focus for the week," the report said. "It has meant that we get to drill down on particular matters of concern, current issues, and spending without having to squeeze this in around normal business. Being able to focus on scrutiny, and take our time with hearings, has made the process less challenging than the previous approach of scheduling scrutiny hearings within normal meeting times." So far so good, but not everyone was happy. Opposition MPs — some of whom seem to feel that scrutiny was invented just for them — have complained (and not just on primary production) that they are not getting enough time for supplementary questions. Although not endorsing the idea, the committee suggested consideration be given to having an Opposition MP become its chairperson for scrutiny hearings could help avoid that perception. The social services and community committee (chaired by National Southland MP Joseph Mooney) reported in a similar vein, saying it had also increased its time on scrutiny, but warning its workload was already considerable so it had not been feasible to double that allocation of time. The report also noted that while Mr Mooney had allocated the majority of questions to non-government MPs, "some of us consider that a culture shift is still needed to honour the Opposition's role in leading scrutiny of the executive". The committee resolved to "continue to reflect on this over the parliamentary term," although good luck coming up with a definitive answer. The general tenor of all the reports was in similar vein: great concept but needs some tweaking, which seems a fair call. Anything that obliges the government to fully explain what it is up, to to the people who put them there, is welcome accountability — but it only means something if the level of questioning actually makes someone accountable. In the meantime, cream cheese latte anyone?
Scoop
15-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Call For More Rural Psychologists To Help Farmers With Mental Health
There are disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. , Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti reporter While many farmers are feeling good about record meat and dairy prices, mental health is still a massive issue with disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. Depression is something Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is familiar with, after his own battle began eight years ago. 'It's amazing how it creeps in. It affects your farm, your family and your entire life. 'I describe it creeping in like a fog – all of a sudden you find yourself in a bit of a mess and you need help to get out,' he said. Langford is grateful for the support his wife wrapped around him, and urges other farmers in his situation to reach out. 'The key for me was getting off farm, spending time with kids and family,' he said. The sector is welcoming a $3 million funding boost for the Rural Support Trust over four years to improve access to mental health services, but it's sparked calls for more clinical psychologists in rural areas. Clinical psychologist Sarah Donaldson told RNZ that through her work with the Trust she sees high demand from the farming sector. 'Our largest proportion for referrals is distress – from mild through to acutely suicidal. 'There are greater risk factors in the rural sector unfortunately – huge workloads, isolation, work and home are all wrapped up in one bundle and there's lots riding on it,' she said. The Rural Support Trust helps farmers access the help they need, which Donaldson describes as a 'lifesaving' service. But she's worried about a shortage of specialists in rural areas, such as clinical psychologists. 'We need more people that have some clinical training that can be attached to rural support or do outreach services. 'There are people scattered around the country but there's no specific channel to train in rural mental health currently,' she said. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey assured RNZ that the government is working on a workforce plan in a bid to reduce wait times for patients needing mental health services, which he said will also have an impact in rural communities. 'But let's be very clear, one of the biggest barriers to people accessing timely mental health and addiction support is too many workforce vacancies,' said Doocey. He said a key factor is the lack of clinical internship placements. 'Sadly, only up to a couple years ago there was only 30 clinical internship places a year. We've committed to doubling that, growing it by 100 percent to up to 80 placements by 2027,' said Doocey. The new funding for the Rural Support Trust is on top of another $3 million over the next four years allocated through the Ministry for Primary Industries, and $2 million of health funding is being invested in the Rural Wellbeing Fund. Rural Support Trust chair Michelle Ruddell said the farming sector has been calling for this for years. 'We are immensely grateful for the funding and it means our rural people will be better supported. 'We are going to be able to deliver our core work – it's one on one, free, impartial and at a time and place that suits them,' she said. Ruddell describes the demand for their services as 'huge' and said a key part of the work is getting farmers to speak up when they need help. 'Looking after our mental health is really hard and it often gets left behind – our rural people not only struggle to ask for help on a day to day basis, but actually don't often ask for help very often for their own wellbeing,' she said. It's a challenge the group is up for, they're determined to reach more farmers in every nook and cranny of Aotearoa.
Scoop
15-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Call For More Rural Psychologists To Help Farmers With Mental Health
Article – RNZ There are disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. , Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti reporter While many farmers are feeling good about record meat and dairy prices, mental health is still a massive issue with disproportionately high suicide statistics in rural areas. Depression is something Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is familiar with, after his own battle began eight years ago. 'It's amazing how it creeps in. It affects your farm, your family and your entire life. 'I describe it creeping in like a fog – all of a sudden you find yourself in a bit of a mess and you need help to get out,' he said. Langford is grateful for the support his wife wrapped around him, and urges other farmers in his situation to reach out. 'The key for me was getting off farm, spending time with kids and family,' he said. The sector is welcoming a $3 million funding boost for the Rural Support Trust over four years to improve access to mental health services, but it's sparked calls for more clinical psychologists in rural areas. Clinical psychologist Sarah Donaldson told RNZ that through her work with the Trust she sees high demand from the farming sector. 'Our largest proportion for referrals is distress – from mild through to acutely suicidal. 'There are greater risk factors in the rural sector unfortunately – huge workloads, isolation, work and home are all wrapped up in one bundle and there's lots riding on it,' she said. The Rural Support Trust helps farmers access the help they need, which Donaldson describes as a 'lifesaving' service. But she's worried about a shortage of specialists in rural areas, such as clinical psychologists. 'We need more people that have some clinical training that can be attached to rural support or do outreach services. 'There are people scattered around the country but there's no specific channel to train in rural mental health currently,' she said. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey assured RNZ that the government is working on a workforce plan in a bid to reduce wait times for patients needing mental health services, which he said will also have an impact in rural communities. 'But let's be very clear, one of the biggest barriers to people accessing timely mental health and addiction support is too many workforce vacancies,' said Doocey. He said a key factor is the lack of clinical internship placements. 'Sadly, only up to a couple years ago there was only 30 clinical internship places a year. We've committed to doubling that, growing it by 100 percent to up to 80 placements by 2027,' said Doocey. The new funding for the Rural Support Trust is on top of another $3 million over the next four years allocated through the Ministry for Primary Industries, and $2 million of health funding is being invested in the Rural Wellbeing Fund. Rural Support Trust chair Michelle Ruddell said the farming sector has been calling for this for years. 'We are immensely grateful for the funding and it means our rural people will be better supported. 'We are going to be able to deliver our core work – it's one on one, free, impartial and at a time and place that suits them,' she said. Ruddell describes the demand for their services as 'huge' and said a key part of the work is getting farmers to speak up when they need help. 'Looking after our mental health is really hard and it often gets left behind – our rural people not only struggle to ask for help on a day to day basis, but actually don't often ask for help very often for their own wellbeing,' she said. It's a challenge the group is up for, they're determined to reach more farmers in every nook and cranny of Aotearoa.
