Prior to the election, the then-spokesperson for mental health in the National Party, Matt Doocey, committed to funding 13 additional psychiatry registrar places. Psychiatrists are questioning why this commitment has been left out of today’s budget.
Psychiatrists say the Luxon-led Government has failed to meet its pre-election commitment to fund additional psychiatry training places in today’s budget, despite the escalating mental health workforce crisis across the motu.