Te Au was with the Ministry of Health for the Opening of the Office of Suicide Prevention by the Honourable Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Honourable Minister of Health Dr David Clarke.
The role of the Suicide Prevention Office is to provide leadership and stewardship for suicide prevention and postvention activities. Guided by Every Life Matters – He Tapu te Oranga o ia Tangata: Suicide Prevention Strategy (2019–2029) and Suicide Prevention Action Plan (2019–2024).
A key priority of the strategy and the office is to work alongside Māori to enable and support effective Māori leadership of suicide prevention.
At the opening of the Suicide Prevention Office, Taa Mason Durie was announced as the Chair to the Board for the Office of Suicide Prevention. But wait there’s more!! the Honourable Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new $12million fund for Māori and Pasifika Community Suicide Prevention. This four year community suicide prevention fund will go some way to further enhance the capacity of our Māori and Pasifika Communities to address the impacts of suicide.