Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is accusing Labour of playing politics with youth mental health by criticising campaigner Mike King.
The Labour Party is calling for the coalition to suspend its $24 million investment in King's Gumboot Friday initiative after he says alcohol is "the solution" to mental health issues.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB on Wednesday, King said alcohol was not a problem for people who were mentally unwell, going as far as suggesting alcohol had done more good than harm.
"If the government doesn't pause the funding it's essentially sending a message to young people between the ages of five and 25 that alcohol is some kind of solution for mental health distress and concern," Labour's mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary told RNZ yesterday.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has distanced himself from King, saying he respects him but disagrees with his comments about alcohol.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he does not agree with Mike King's controversial alcohol comments. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Speaking in Auckland this morning, Luxon said he also disagreed with the comments but stood by the work King's charity does and his government's investment in it.
"There's no doubt about it, alcohol harm's a major issue here in New Zealand but we are very supportive of the work of Gumboot Friday. The fact that 15,000 young people are getting their free counselling is actually really special," Luxon said.
"I appreciate the opposition want to make it a political issue. I would just say I wouldn't play politics with youth mental health."
King posted a video on Facebook on Thursday, saying he wanted to explain his comments after the "media hysteria" around them.
"First and foremost, I did not say that drugs and alcohol are a cure for mental health problems but by the same token for a lot of us they are not the cause of mental health problems either."
King said he went on Newstalk ZB to comment on the police opposing an alcohol licence for a fashion show fundraiser for mental health in Dunedin.
"For me I thought that that was nanny state overreach. Is that same standard going to be applied across the board? Is the heart foundation no longer able to serve alcohol because we know the correlation between heart disease and alcohol.
King. Photo: RNZ / DOM THOMAS
"Does that also mean that the AA if they're ever raising funds can't serve alcohol at their events? So the hypocrisy of it was what I was commenting on."
King went on to say he would use alcohol to escape his "overactive inner critic" he described as a crying newborn baby with colic screaming hateful messages 24/7.
"Getting wasted was like escaping from myself. It was like moving into the lounge and getting away from myself and giving me some peace. I can still hear the baby crying but it was at a distance that I could actually live with.
"Unfortunately, it's a temporary solution because the buzz only lasts five or six hours so after five or six hours I've got to go back into the bedroom, the baby's screaming louder and I've got a headache.
"So the only solution from me then was to get wasted again, get wasted again, get wasted again, it's called the relentless pursuit of temporary happiness.
"I am not advocating or saying that alcohol and drugs should be administered as a means to cure people of a mental health issue. By the same standard I am also saying that drugs and alcohol are not always the cause of mental health issues. There are no happy drug addicts and alcoholics out there. We use drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism until something better comes along."
Luxon said alcohol harm was a serious issue in New Zealand but it didn't stop his government from believing in the work that Gumboot Friday was doing.
"What I'm interested in is delivering improved mental health outcomes for young people across New Zealand. We've taken away some of the stigma around mental health over the last few decades but access to mental health is absolutely important and this is a fantastic organisation doing amazing work."
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