Mike King got the money because he is a celebrity of sorts, and sucked up to NZ First. Which other organisations had specific mention in the Coalition Agreement? - and had to have the rules bent to meet contract requirements? That's right, none. Meanwhile good organisations have been defunded. The police are stopping mental health callouts, we don't have enough mental health workers and the many programmes already existing are struggling. Suicide ideation is a serious issue. So is self medicating with drugs and alcohol. I should know. Bottom line for me if you are getting $24 mil from the govt to run a programme you have some higher responsibilities. This was all about getting an alcohol licence for one Mike's fundraisers. That's when he made the comments. I agree with Labour ; review his funding. Urgently. Now.
The worst aspect of this whole debacle is that ALL the funding goes to Mike King's Gumboot Friday. So whilst he swans around ponificating about things he knows absolutely nothing about, reputable agencies are starved of funding and have been forced to close down. Mike is an unwell man by any measure and by his own admission, he deserves help in his journey towards personal wellness, what he doesn't deserve is a platform, funded by the tax payer, to spout his ignorant and ill informed nonsense. But then again he's not alone in being afforded this privilege, Seymour, Chour, Costello, and McKee are all bedfellows with no real mandate for the garbage they spew day in day out. How did New Zealand come to be controlled by such a circus of clowns?
I’m a board member for Cambridge Lifeskills which has been around for 30 years. As a charity we raise money to provide free counselling to primary aged children in our area. We believe in helping tamariki when issues arrive to help them and give them
strategies to guide them through life. Counsellors work with them one to one in all our local schools This is without any government funding. I believe mental health is paramount for the well being of all. The government has a duty to make sure funding is provided to ensure that all those who provide legitimate care have access to this. By giving 24 Million to Mike KIng and his organisation the government believes that this takes care of mental health. They need to listen to the experts and Mike does too. Being pig headed about his opinions doesn’t help his crusade. Much more money needs to be allocated fairly to all organisations as a necessity to provide access for those in need.
Thank you for the work you for Marilyn. It's the work that people like you do, that saves our babies. I lost an adult brother to suicide many years ago. Would just one compassionate person have made a difference? Can't answer that, but I truly believe it does 💜
What an excellent service you provide, well linked in to the community - the only safe way to provide services I believe. No cowboys needed. I'm sure the Cambridge community values your work.
Unfortunately the man shouldn't really be playing this particular ball. You are right Nick, it is the government that we should be focusing on for giving this person 24 million dollars to "play" at helping our most vulnerable, when there are many more deserving organisations that could do a better job. Makes bloody good press though. Comedian reininvents himself as a mental health champion??
Yep, the trouble is, the man in this case, is gripping the ball tightly to his chest, such that he's put himself out to be played. King has explicitly chosen to play politics and has benefited handsomely from it.
Hmmm, not sure I'm on board with thus one Nick. How did he get the funding?? Not a mystery once you've seen his video promos with Winston and the NZ First bus during election campaign? And his full anti-vax nonsense. Let alone his very public tantrums at Jacinda, Ashley Bloomfield and literally anyone who disagrees with him. I still remember the vitriolic, rage-spitting voicemails he left on other comedians phones back.in tbe day. God complex seems an apt summary, and he has no place with public money or credible public profile. And be the sounds of it the Board of National donors and other 'celebs' think the same as they have resigned en masse.
Hey Kirsty. I do think it was dodgy that he got the money, that there are more well-run charities doing great work who have missed out, that he's a loose unit saying stupid things and the whole thing stinks. And yet, I can't help feeling that this was motivated by an intent to do good, even though it has deteriorated into this ego-driven mess with no accountability, so the government could be seen to be doing something even as they cut funding. But yeah, it's a fair cop - I might have been a bit too glass half full.
Someone should have said - "Mike, you're good at going around and talking to people, but you don't know anything about running a mental health service, we'll fund you to do the former and someone qualified to do the latter."
In my work in the domestic violence sector I talked with a number of men who became enthusiastic "reformed sinners". By the way, this was not our goal! They adopted the ideas and language they had learned and set themselves up as saviours of others, while still holding distorted views about their own behaviour. They were the hardest ones to identify and the most reluctant to make real change. I believe Mike King is doing this, just in a different field of practice.
When Mike King first started his crusade for improved access to mental health support services I thought it was a positive thing. He has said some weird things, which I used to think was just Mike, a bit random with a good heart.
Unfortunately his behaviour around the Covid vaccinations, vitriolic outbursts towards Jacinda and Ashley, and his obvious anger issues (most recently displayed when his bike was stolen), has eroded my tolerance for his behaviour.
This latest brain explosion about alcohol cannot be explained away as Mike just being Mike letting his mouth run away with him. It shows a serious lack of judgement and self awareness.
He’s been given a substantial amount of taxpayer money to provide services and support for those with mental health issues. He has a responsibility to use that money appropriately and represent his organisation professionally.
I really have serious concerns about the process that granted so much money to his organisation, whilst ignoring many other organisations with more clinical expertise in mental health services.
I hope there is going to be some accountability requirements from the government for how that money is spent and how beneficial the service provided has been.
Very well said Diana. Unfortunately I have little faith - make that no faith - in this government to do the right thing for the those with mental health issues and the many organisations trying to support them.
It's a tough issue for me Nick. My daughter received two free Gumboot Friday sessions a couple of years ago. We'd been paying for counseling for years. Our daughter's psychologist told us there was money available, so why not use it. So we have some gratitude to Mr King. Now for the very big BUT. As a fund raiser for something the Government should have been paying for he was great. Just after that the last Government set aside $1.2 billion as the first tranche of money to finally do something about our woeful public mental health response. Over a terrible time for our daughter and us, but golden for our wallets, before she turned 18, we got 12 weeks of group therapy, and weekly individual sessions all funded. The mental health unit we were dealing with said it was game changing having those resources. And they were just getting started. King, never wanting to keep out of the limelight (he wasn't a standup comedian for nothing) tried to access some of that funding to offer counseling with unqualified councilors and non-complying systems... and got turned down. Winston got himself a few extra votes by committing to giving Gumboot Friday money. It's $24 million, a lot for you and me, but also a near derelict doer-upper in Ponsonby on 412 m2 just sold for $22.4 million (Stuff yesterday). It's more of a flashing red neon light shining on the double standards of this awful Government we have. Watch Guyon Espiner's 30 minutes episode with Sir JK. His plan to go into primary schools with a programme designed by experts (from University), funded with private fund raising as a pilot, and to make it sustainable before going for public funding, is awesome. What an open and self-aware guy he is too. The discussion touches on "the pub" as a place men used to go, to sort their mental health out. Guyon himself knows only too well how badly that goes.
I would like Mike King's t shirt to read "I am ignorant". Don't excuse the man because he means well, a feeble defense for someone who is probably encouraging even more mental disease.
Having lived with a man whose good brain got rotted by alcohol to the extent that he developed dementia I can assert that alcohol did nothing to help his depression.
Drink wont wash away your problems it will irrigate them.
There are folk out there who run great underfunded programmes. He may be doing more harm than good. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, they say.
Un-freak-in believable!!!! Mike has always been grumpy, volatile, and full of rage. He COULD be an advocate for CBT or DBT or any decent therapy…instead he is promoting alcohol to people with mental health problems????? Get him to an AA meeting - he sounds like he now has a wet brain, which may explain his tantrums and poor choices. This is the guy we give funding to?????
I agree, good intentions or not, when you go into that arena and get that kind of dosh, you have to take the criticism and challenges that come your way.
I think too, on reading Nicks missive, that there is a total sense where we the peeps feel powerless when a government dishes out doh re me to peeps that we as mere morons can see might be suss no matter how good the heart and intent is. Sometimes the people who have a vision and start something aren't the best people to carry it on and build it. I have smelled a rat around Mike and nepotism and am somewhat curious around outcomes and proof of impact.....or those dreaded KPI things.........While he would react badly to any accusations, I ain't no knee kicking kiwi. Just one who feels powerless about decisions made in these times, and wants the best, the very best for thems that need it and sees the government striping dollars away and decimating services. Nick is right, they are the real enemy here. As to an inquiry, bahhh humbug. Tis a dirty word when the government chooses who does the mahi, and it's payday for their mates.
Yes Nick, a really good summary of the sad situation with mental health assistance in NZ. However if the two quickly provided sessions had been available for my son 25 years ago, there might have been better outcomes. As it was, I had to wait a couple of months while his behaviour became worse, only to have the councillor I went to, ask me if I had childhood issues myself, and that teenagers often went through stages. My son was the 4th child and I believed that I could distinguish between normal teenage behaviour and something else going on. So yes, Mike doesn’t seem to have some filters, but he has been able to get some improvement to the system. I believe however that rather than throwing so much money to one system, it should have been shared better between others as mental health has so many variables and requires different types of help.
Totally agree with the sentiments expressed here by you and your readers. I have to be cynical about some of these people who move into charity work (after their career has faded IMO) and receive much better salaries leading their charities and continuing to promote themselves first. Alcohol is a major depressant, increases the likelihood of suicidal ideation and acts, can cause a lifetime of harm and challenges through Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - and definitely is the last drug we should be advocating for to help people - and yes Nick - like you - I have been in that place as well. This funding should be stripped and reallocated to the on-the-ground services that need it most, in my opinion.
Nick, for people who have a life trauma and self medicated with alcohol, then became addicted, this is a "red flag". The real answer is always love and support. That can take years and can't be presented as a "quick fix". Congratulations on your recovery and continued control, also your humanity and generosity of spirit that shines through. Sadly Mike is being used, and his simplistic solutions do not stand up to close scrutiny. The COC is a very corrosive self serving dangerous mix. One term Government please.
Totally agree about the inquiry - the COVID inquiries seem to be all about finding a way to punish the previous government for saving lives - imperfectly, admittedly, but it was a rapidly evolving situation.
Great article & as usual some excellent comments. I had read Maddy Chapman's Spinoff column already & think she puts her finger on part of it - Mike King thinks "HE ALONE can fix it" over & above any "experts" in the field, because he has personal experience & makes the mistake of giving that too high a rating over actual research. 🤔
MY personal experience is nil with alcohol - fortunately as a neuro-spicey it was one of those things where I didn't like the taste (another good thing?) & so wouldn't drink anything with alcohol. However, being a sober teenager/young adult while all around me....🤦 you get the picture...😱 definitely showed me judgement impairment, recklessness, depressive behaviour, in my friends. Sure, sometimes they were SOOOO drunk that if they had been contemplating suicide they would have been unable to carry it out - is that what he means?🤷 On the other hand, some of them died (& killed others) drunk driving, so...😥 Someone in the Spinoff comments (I think) referred to Mike King as "Aotearoa's Russell Brand" & unfortunately I can see it - recovering substance abuser wants to help others, but ego won't let them quietly work away in the background - Sir John Kirwan uses HIS "celebrity" in the right way IMHO. 🫂
And yeah, I sign on to the general unease in how the funding was awarded when we are being told how little $$ there is, & proven projects miss out or even have funding cut 🤬
I'm old and out of touch, so haven't heard it before, but "neuro-spicey" is awesome. My neuro-spiciness allows for alcohol and I haven't decided to give it up yet. It tends to calm the random synaptic firings and make me a bit more "normie" for a bit... until it doesn't :).
Mike King got the money because he is a celebrity of sorts, and sucked up to NZ First. Which other organisations had specific mention in the Coalition Agreement? - and had to have the rules bent to meet contract requirements? That's right, none. Meanwhile good organisations have been defunded. The police are stopping mental health callouts, we don't have enough mental health workers and the many programmes already existing are struggling. Suicide ideation is a serious issue. So is self medicating with drugs and alcohol. I should know. Bottom line for me if you are getting $24 mil from the govt to run a programme you have some higher responsibilities. This was all about getting an alcohol licence for one Mike's fundraisers. That's when he made the comments. I agree with Labour ; review his funding. Urgently. Now.
The worst aspect of this whole debacle is that ALL the funding goes to Mike King's Gumboot Friday. So whilst he swans around ponificating about things he knows absolutely nothing about, reputable agencies are starved of funding and have been forced to close down. Mike is an unwell man by any measure and by his own admission, he deserves help in his journey towards personal wellness, what he doesn't deserve is a platform, funded by the tax payer, to spout his ignorant and ill informed nonsense. But then again he's not alone in being afforded this privilege, Seymour, Chour, Costello, and McKee are all bedfellows with no real mandate for the garbage they spew day in day out. How did New Zealand come to be controlled by such a circus of clowns?
Thanks Mike. You summed it up very well, and succinctly.
Tautoko
when seyless sold NZ to Atlas Network.
I’m a board member for Cambridge Lifeskills which has been around for 30 years. As a charity we raise money to provide free counselling to primary aged children in our area. We believe in helping tamariki when issues arrive to help them and give them
strategies to guide them through life. Counsellors work with them one to one in all our local schools This is without any government funding. I believe mental health is paramount for the well being of all. The government has a duty to make sure funding is provided to ensure that all those who provide legitimate care have access to this. By giving 24 Million to Mike KIng and his organisation the government believes that this takes care of mental health. They need to listen to the experts and Mike does too. Being pig headed about his opinions doesn’t help his crusade. Much more money needs to be allocated fairly to all organisations as a necessity to provide access for those in need.
Thank you for the work you for Marilyn. It's the work that people like you do, that saves our babies. I lost an adult brother to suicide many years ago. Would just one compassionate person have made a difference? Can't answer that, but I truly believe it does 💜
What an excellent service you provide, well linked in to the community - the only safe way to provide services I believe. No cowboys needed. I'm sure the Cambridge community values your work.
Play the ball and not the man?
Unfortunately the man shouldn't really be playing this particular ball. You are right Nick, it is the government that we should be focusing on for giving this person 24 million dollars to "play" at helping our most vulnerable, when there are many more deserving organisations that could do a better job. Makes bloody good press though. Comedian reininvents himself as a mental health champion??
Yep, the trouble is, the man in this case, is gripping the ball tightly to his chest, such that he's put himself out to be played. King has explicitly chosen to play politics and has benefited handsomely from it.
Hmmm, not sure I'm on board with thus one Nick. How did he get the funding?? Not a mystery once you've seen his video promos with Winston and the NZ First bus during election campaign? And his full anti-vax nonsense. Let alone his very public tantrums at Jacinda, Ashley Bloomfield and literally anyone who disagrees with him. I still remember the vitriolic, rage-spitting voicemails he left on other comedians phones back.in tbe day. God complex seems an apt summary, and he has no place with public money or credible public profile. And be the sounds of it the Board of National donors and other 'celebs' think the same as they have resigned en masse.
Hey Kirsty. I do think it was dodgy that he got the money, that there are more well-run charities doing great work who have missed out, that he's a loose unit saying stupid things and the whole thing stinks. And yet, I can't help feeling that this was motivated by an intent to do good, even though it has deteriorated into this ego-driven mess with no accountability, so the government could be seen to be doing something even as they cut funding. But yeah, it's a fair cop - I might have been a bit too glass half full.
Someone should have said - "Mike, you're good at going around and talking to people, but you don't know anything about running a mental health service, we'll fund you to do the former and someone qualified to do the latter."
In my work in the domestic violence sector I talked with a number of men who became enthusiastic "reformed sinners". By the way, this was not our goal! They adopted the ideas and language they had learned and set themselves up as saviours of others, while still holding distorted views about their own behaviour. They were the hardest ones to identify and the most reluctant to make real change. I believe Mike King is doing this, just in a different field of practice.
Tautoko
When Mike King first started his crusade for improved access to mental health support services I thought it was a positive thing. He has said some weird things, which I used to think was just Mike, a bit random with a good heart.
Unfortunately his behaviour around the Covid vaccinations, vitriolic outbursts towards Jacinda and Ashley, and his obvious anger issues (most recently displayed when his bike was stolen), has eroded my tolerance for his behaviour.
This latest brain explosion about alcohol cannot be explained away as Mike just being Mike letting his mouth run away with him. It shows a serious lack of judgement and self awareness.
He’s been given a substantial amount of taxpayer money to provide services and support for those with mental health issues. He has a responsibility to use that money appropriately and represent his organisation professionally.
I really have serious concerns about the process that granted so much money to his organisation, whilst ignoring many other organisations with more clinical expertise in mental health services.
I hope there is going to be some accountability requirements from the government for how that money is spent and how beneficial the service provided has been.
I agree But I doubt Doocey will do it.
Very well said Diana. Unfortunately I have little faith - make that no faith - in this government to do the right thing for the those with mental health issues and the many organisations trying to support them.
Tautoko
It's a tough issue for me Nick. My daughter received two free Gumboot Friday sessions a couple of years ago. We'd been paying for counseling for years. Our daughter's psychologist told us there was money available, so why not use it. So we have some gratitude to Mr King. Now for the very big BUT. As a fund raiser for something the Government should have been paying for he was great. Just after that the last Government set aside $1.2 billion as the first tranche of money to finally do something about our woeful public mental health response. Over a terrible time for our daughter and us, but golden for our wallets, before she turned 18, we got 12 weeks of group therapy, and weekly individual sessions all funded. The mental health unit we were dealing with said it was game changing having those resources. And they were just getting started. King, never wanting to keep out of the limelight (he wasn't a standup comedian for nothing) tried to access some of that funding to offer counseling with unqualified councilors and non-complying systems... and got turned down. Winston got himself a few extra votes by committing to giving Gumboot Friday money. It's $24 million, a lot for you and me, but also a near derelict doer-upper in Ponsonby on 412 m2 just sold for $22.4 million (Stuff yesterday). It's more of a flashing red neon light shining on the double standards of this awful Government we have. Watch Guyon Espiner's 30 minutes episode with Sir JK. His plan to go into primary schools with a programme designed by experts (from University), funded with private fund raising as a pilot, and to make it sustainable before going for public funding, is awesome. What an open and self-aware guy he is too. The discussion touches on "the pub" as a place men used to go, to sort their mental health out. Guyon himself knows only too well how badly that goes.
Yes JK has been a game changer for mental health attitudes and actions.
Very well said Roger and thank you for sharing your family story.
Tautoko
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
I would like Mike King's t shirt to read "I am ignorant". Don't excuse the man because he means well, a feeble defense for someone who is probably encouraging even more mental disease.
Having lived with a man whose good brain got rotted by alcohol to the extent that he developed dementia I can assert that alcohol did nothing to help his depression.
Drink wont wash away your problems it will irrigate them.
There are folk out there who run great underfunded programmes. He may be doing more harm than good. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, they say.
O you took the words out of my mouth, good one
Un-freak-in believable!!!! Mike has always been grumpy, volatile, and full of rage. He COULD be an advocate for CBT or DBT or any decent therapy…instead he is promoting alcohol to people with mental health problems????? Get him to an AA meeting - he sounds like he now has a wet brain, which may explain his tantrums and poor choices. This is the guy we give funding to?????
I agree, good intentions or not, when you go into that arena and get that kind of dosh, you have to take the criticism and challenges that come your way.
I think too, on reading Nicks missive, that there is a total sense where we the peeps feel powerless when a government dishes out doh re me to peeps that we as mere morons can see might be suss no matter how good the heart and intent is. Sometimes the people who have a vision and start something aren't the best people to carry it on and build it. I have smelled a rat around Mike and nepotism and am somewhat curious around outcomes and proof of impact.....or those dreaded KPI things.........While he would react badly to any accusations, I ain't no knee kicking kiwi. Just one who feels powerless about decisions made in these times, and wants the best, the very best for thems that need it and sees the government striping dollars away and decimating services. Nick is right, they are the real enemy here. As to an inquiry, bahhh humbug. Tis a dirty word when the government chooses who does the mahi, and it's payday for their mates.
Yes Nick, a really good summary of the sad situation with mental health assistance in NZ. However if the two quickly provided sessions had been available for my son 25 years ago, there might have been better outcomes. As it was, I had to wait a couple of months while his behaviour became worse, only to have the councillor I went to, ask me if I had childhood issues myself, and that teenagers often went through stages. My son was the 4th child and I believed that I could distinguish between normal teenage behaviour and something else going on. So yes, Mike doesn’t seem to have some filters, but he has been able to get some improvement to the system. I believe however that rather than throwing so much money to one system, it should have been shared better between others as mental health has so many variables and requires different types of help.
Totally agree with the sentiments expressed here by you and your readers. I have to be cynical about some of these people who move into charity work (after their career has faded IMO) and receive much better salaries leading their charities and continuing to promote themselves first. Alcohol is a major depressant, increases the likelihood of suicidal ideation and acts, can cause a lifetime of harm and challenges through Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - and definitely is the last drug we should be advocating for to help people - and yes Nick - like you - I have been in that place as well. This funding should be stripped and reallocated to the on-the-ground services that need it most, in my opinion.
Nick, for people who have a life trauma and self medicated with alcohol, then became addicted, this is a "red flag". The real answer is always love and support. That can take years and can't be presented as a "quick fix". Congratulations on your recovery and continued control, also your humanity and generosity of spirit that shines through. Sadly Mike is being used, and his simplistic solutions do not stand up to close scrutiny. The COC is a very corrosive self serving dangerous mix. One term Government please.
Totally agree about the inquiry - the COVID inquiries seem to be all about finding a way to punish the previous government for saving lives - imperfectly, admittedly, but it was a rapidly evolving situation.
Have never liked Mike. If he really cared about his organisation he would step away from being it's public face.
But yes the real villain here is the CoC and it's disgusting agreement
Great article & as usual some excellent comments. I had read Maddy Chapman's Spinoff column already & think she puts her finger on part of it - Mike King thinks "HE ALONE can fix it" over & above any "experts" in the field, because he has personal experience & makes the mistake of giving that too high a rating over actual research. 🤔
MY personal experience is nil with alcohol - fortunately as a neuro-spicey it was one of those things where I didn't like the taste (another good thing?) & so wouldn't drink anything with alcohol. However, being a sober teenager/young adult while all around me....🤦 you get the picture...😱 definitely showed me judgement impairment, recklessness, depressive behaviour, in my friends. Sure, sometimes they were SOOOO drunk that if they had been contemplating suicide they would have been unable to carry it out - is that what he means?🤷 On the other hand, some of them died (& killed others) drunk driving, so...😥 Someone in the Spinoff comments (I think) referred to Mike King as "Aotearoa's Russell Brand" & unfortunately I can see it - recovering substance abuser wants to help others, but ego won't let them quietly work away in the background - Sir John Kirwan uses HIS "celebrity" in the right way IMHO. 🫂
And yeah, I sign on to the general unease in how the funding was awarded when we are being told how little $$ there is, & proven projects miss out or even have funding cut 🤬
I'm old and out of touch, so haven't heard it before, but "neuro-spicey" is awesome. My neuro-spiciness allows for alcohol and I haven't decided to give it up yet. It tends to calm the random synaptic firings and make me a bit more "normie" for a bit... until it doesn't :).
I also love neuro-spicey! Must remember to tell my school teacher daughter. She'll grab it with both hands.