Mental health campaigner Mike King has created a controversy with his comments regarding alcohol. Photo: RNZ / DOM THOMAS
Mental health advocates are questioning whether the government has funded a man or a kaupapa.
The Labour Party is calling for the coalition to suspend its $24 million investment in mental health campaigner Mike King's Gumboot Friday initiative after he said alcohol was "the solution" to mental health issues.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB on Wednesday, King said alcohol was not a problem for people who were mentally unwell, going as far as suggesting alcohol had done more good than harm - he later clarified the comments saying it was not a cure, but was not the cause either.
In a Facebook video aiming to explain his comments King said he went on Newstalk ZB to comment on the police opposing an alcohol licence for a fashion show fundraiser for mental health in Dunedin describing it as "nanny state overreach".
Dunedin's district licensing committee has since granted a special licence for alcohol sales at the Dunedin event that is raising money for a suicide prevention charity.
Mental health charity - Hauora Aotearoa's Founder Jase Te Patu is questioning if it is appropriate to have Mike King as the face and the person behind the government's mental health response.
"I really question if it's kaupapa driven. It should be about the kaupapa.
"At the end of the day, the question has to be asked, will I AM HOPE and Gumboot Friday still exist if Mike King is no longer a part of it, and if the answer is no, then it's about the man and not about the kaupapa and that's problematic to me."
Te Patu said he used to run his organisation based off his own journey and what he had achieved but changed the model to be about what they stand for, not the person behind it.
The added problem to this situation was that because of the government funding, King had by default become the person people looked to as a leader, but he was not walking the talk, he said.
"Mike King has reduced the stigma of mental health and mental distress, and I want to give kudos to him because he's brought something to the fore that needs to be paid attention.
"But by default of being given that much money in terms of funding with a big, big piece of the funding pie, it means that he holds more of a responsibility in that space as a rangatira."
The Labour Party wants the government to suspend its investment in King's mental health initiative after his comments, but Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is accusing Labour of playing politics with mental health by criticising the campaigner.
Luxon said he disagreed with King's comments but stood by the work King's charity does and his government's investment in it.
Mike King has often described himself as an alcoholic, and in the latest clarification of his comments said in the past he used "getting wasted" as a way to avoid the "inner critic" inside his head.
Jase Te Patu has now been sober for nearly eight years and understands the hurt that comes from hiding your mental distress with alcohol use.
But he also understands the added weight that comes from working in mental health, with mental health problems.
"Having lived experience means that you're going through this thing that you're helping people to heal from, but having lived experience also gives you that added responsibility that 'that thing', and in this particular case, with Mike speaking about alcohol in that way, that it may be a rongoa or a healing for people who are going through mental distress? I feel it's really dangerous."
Te Patu said he was worried about what impact King's words and slow clarification would have on rangatahi and young people who were struggling.
"This is what I mean when I say 'He mana tō te kupu", your words, they hold great mana, especially as someone who is leading in this mental health space."
RNZ's Morning Report and Checkpoint have approached King for interviews since he made his original comments on Wednesday but he has declined.
