It's time for Parliament to step onto the field & tackle men's mental health
Together, we can stop our men dying too young. It's time for a game plan.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, suicide is the leading cause of death among young men aged 15–34. Three out of every four people who die by suicide are male. These aren't just statistics. They're sons, fathers, brothers, partners and mates. And every loss is felt far beyond the individual, rippling through relationships, whānau, workplaces, sports clubs and communities across the country.
New Zealand’s health system has not kept up with what men actually need, and this is compounded by masculine norms that shape whether men seek help, how they're treated when they do, how long they stay in care and whether they return.
Improving the health outcomes of boys and men will take communities, government agencies, researchers, health providers, organisations like Movember, and our political leaders coming together to drive progress.
That’s why Movember is calling for a Men’s Mental Health Roadmap ahead of the General Election.
One of our Movember Community Ambassadors and Mo Bros, Craig Bullock, says it best:
“I know men's mental health isn't just a policy issue because I've lived it. There was a time when I came dangerously close to becoming one of the statistics. What I've learned is that men often don't engage with support in the way the system expects them to. The conversations that change lives are just as likely to happen in a sports club, or over a coffee with a mate as they are in a clinical setting.
A Men's Mental Health Roadmap must focus on prevention and early intervention, investing in trusted community organisations and meeting men where they live, work, and play. If we get this right, we won't just improve mental health outcomes, we'll save lives.”
- Craig Bullock -
A Men's Mental Health Roadmap is a national plan that would deliver real, measurable change over time by reducing the pressure on frontline services and shifting the balance from crisis response to prevention and early intervention.
A Men's Mental Health Roadmap would:
- Set a clear national direction focused on getting support to men and boys earlier, in the places where they are, like their workplaces and sporting fields.
- Support the delivery of men’s mental health services around their own lived experiences.
- Equip practitioners with the skills to engage with men more meaningfully and effectively.
- Provide evidence-based guidance and backing for all the awesome grassroots community organisations already supporting our men and boys across the motu to grow their programmes and scale up their impact, especially in rural and provincial communities where support is hard to access.
- Build health literacy — shifting the culture around help-seeking for men and boys by challenging the societal and masculine norms that have taught men to suffer in silence rather than seek support.
- Build men’s confidence in engaging with the health system.
Without a clear, Government-supported roadmap, efforts to improve men's mental health will remain fragmented, underfunded and unable to achieve the coordinated, sustained change that men and boys need and deserve.
Our hope is that our political leaders will embrace this and work to develop a national Roadmap in collaboration with the sector.
New Zealanders are ready for it. A recent Movember Institute of Men's Health survey found that 83% of Kiwis support the Government adopting a Men's Mental Health Roadmap – a real opportunity for our political leaders to turn this public will into lasting change.
How can you support the game plan for men's mental health?
Talk to your local MP, let them know you this is something that matters to you, your whānau and community, and ask them what their plans are for men’s mental health ahead of the general election.
Let's get the next Government to make men’s mental health part of its game plan this election!
Read Movember’s New Zealand Election Platform 2026