Mike King: A timeline of mental health ups and downs

December 2015 – King was appointed to the Ministry of Health’s Suicide Prevention External Advisory Panel to help prepare the country’s Suicide Prevention Strategy.

May 2017 -King publicly withdrew from the panel, saying the proposed plan was “window dressing” and a “master class in butt plating”. Prime Minister Bill English said he was not surprised because King’s direct style was probably not appropriate for the panel.

July 2017 – King called for an evaluation of the country’s mental health services at New Zealand First’s election year conference.

February 2019 – King named New Zealander of the Year.

April 2019 – King launches annual Gumboot Friday initiative through the charity Key to Life to raise money for children’s mental health.

June 2019 – King named Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit For services to mental health awareness and suicide prevention during the Queen’s Birthday celebrations.

September 2019 – King joins Labor-NZ First coalition announcement on new Suicide Prevention Strategyapproved the new action plan.

September 2019 – King’s Gumboot Fund suddenly runs out of money after ‘surge in buying’prompting concern from advisors and calls for help from the government.

October 2019 – King says the Department of Health is uncooperative. He criticizes officials who have demanded the charity stop collecting suicide letters in the name of research.

November 2019 – The Department of Health’s head of ethics demands Key to Life destroy collected suicide notes, says the ‘research’ is unethical and warns of serious privacy and security concerns.

November 2019 – King claims that the Ministry of Health rejected his request for a “Gumboot Friday supplement”. The Ministry of Health states that they have not received any requests and emphasizes that appropriate purchasing processes must be followed. Then-Health Minister David Clark claims that there was a “breakdown in communication”.

May 2021 – King sent an open letter to then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and said: New Zealand to return Order of Merit medal “The system is broken and our most vulnerable Kiwis and their families feel like no one is trying to fix it.”

June 2021 – King returned his NZOM medal in a public protest on the Parliament forecourt.

July 2021 – King said the Ministry of Health once again rejected the funding request. The charity said the charity did not apply in time. The king objects to this.

August 2021 -The Labor government has set up a special one-off mental health innovation fund of $1.2 million, half of which has been allocated to the Gumboot Friday initiative. King shared his thanks on social media.

June 2022 – King told The Platform that the fund was still “sitting untouched in the bank.” HE he later tells BusinessDesk This was wrong: the first tranche of $300,000 was spent on fundamental research and analytics. The charity had not yet decided how to spend the remaining $300,000. The ministry said the funding could be spent on organizational expenses but not on consultancy services.

August 2022 – Business Desk reveals health officials warned the minister of “potential reputational risks” surrounding innovation funding and flagged concerns about the service.

November 2022 – King broke down in tears during an interview at Rock’s Morning Rumble, saying the mental health system “sucks and nobody’s doing anything about it.”

May 2023 – The Key to Life Charitable Foundation is officially rebranding as the I Am Hope Foundation.

October 2023 – National leader Christopher Luxon pledged to fund Gumboot Friday in a seemingly impromptu pledge during his Rock Breakfast show. New Zealand is the first campaign to provide Gumboot Friday with $10 million over three years for free counseling services for young people.

November 2023 – National-New Zealand coalition agreement was announced and includes a pledge to “fund the Gumboot Friday/I Am Hope Charity with $6 million annually.”

May 2024 – Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters, making a pre-Budget announcement, $24 million support for Gumboot Friday a four-year initiative. The worker questions the purchasing process. King responds to “b***hheads throwing s***”.

July 2024 – RNZ emerges health authorities had to use a special ‘opt-out’ clause Ensuring that the government’s funding of Gumboot Friday complies with contractual rules.

October 2024 – Auditor general criticizes ‘unusual and inconsistent’ procurement process It’s about the government funding Gumboot Friday.

October 2024 – In a radio interview, Mike King says alcohol is “no problem” for mentally ill people and argues that alcohol prevents more suicides than it causes. Advocacy groups have criticized the comments and Labor has called for an immediate halt to funding for the charity. Luxon and Doocey deny the comments but defend funding for the charity.

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