More details have been revealed about the government's planned mental health inquiry.
Director and chief advisor of Mental Health John Crawshaw has given a briefing today.
The inquiry will have a broad scope and cover both mental health and addiction.
It won't investigate individual cases but will have a strong focus on the inequalities between population groups.
Dr Crawshaw says the inquiry is principally about gaining a common understanding across the government and community.
"It would be my hope that coming out of this inquiry, we would have that consensus, have clarity that this is where we are headed into the future."
Dr Crawshaw said it will have a strong focus on the inequalities between population groups.
"For Maori, they are 3.6 times more likely to have the application of the mental health act, and they are much more likely to be in seclusion, and we see that Maori have much higher statistics in terms of suicides."
It's expected the inquiry would report back by the end of next year.
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