Government’s hydra of working groups

Radio NZ report:

The 21-member working group set up to advise the government’s response to the mental health inquiry has been replaced with several more working groups.

This could almost pass for a parody, if it was part of a novel.

First of all Labour has no mental health policy except they will hold an inquiry, which is basically get a working group to tell us what our policy should be.

Then they get the results of the inquiry and rather than just accept the recommendations, they set up a 21 person working group to second guess the inquiry and come up with their own ideas.

And the 21 person working group is now going to have nine working groups replacing it, all trying to decide something.

And no doubt then they will need a further working group to collate all the material from the nine working groups.

It’s nuts.

But mental health advocates have said the process runs the risk of unnecessarily repeating the inquiry.

No kidding.

Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson raised concerns.
“Part of our feedback was you have to be really clear what it is you’re asking people, otherwise this could look like the inquiry is just carrying on. When do we stop talking and start doing?

Doing? Talking and empathy is surely enough.

Maybe the Government could set a ten year target for something, and then abolish all interim targets.