Jan Tinetti Labour MP

When I was a principal I was approached many times about becoming an MP and I have to say I resisted until a former pupil of mine took his own life. It shook me to the core and I knew then I had to do something to change things and I knew the place I could do that best and advocate for my community was in Parliament.

This Government has taken the issue of mental health seriously from the beginning. We knew our system was in crisis after years of neglect. We launched a Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, the purpose of which was to identify unmet needs and develop recommendations for a better mental health and addiction system and to give the Government a clear direction on what needs to be done to achieve this over the next five to ten years.

The Inquiry Team report was released at the end of last year and it was clear that as a society we have left too many people on their own coping with mental distress or struggling with drugs and alcohol. It's a huge problem and that is why as part of the first Wellbeing Budget announced last month this Government made the largest ever investment in mental health. $1.9 billion will be spent on services including a new universal frontline mental health service which will help an estimated 325,000 people and an expanded nurses in schools programme which will reach an extra 5,600 students.