Mike King and his god complex

There’s something darkly hilarious about reading that the most prominent campaigner on mental health in Aotearoa has just said that “alcohol is the solution” for mental health struggles. And there’s something deeply despairing in realising you’re not at all surprised.

King spoke at length about his views on alcohol with Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan last night. King was opposing a police attempt to stop one of his suicide prevention charity events from attaining a temporary liquor licence. In doing so he suggested that rather than being a problem, alcohol is in fact a solution for young people struggling with their mental health. Alcohol is a known depressant and increases impulsivity. Two things that have unsurprisingly negative outcomes for people experiencing suicidal thoughts.

So what does Mike King, the face of mental health and suicide prevention in New Zealand, have to say about it?

“I would suggest to you that alcohol has prevented more young people from taking their own lives than it actually makes them take their own lives,” he told the Herald when asked to clarify his comments.

“I mean, I’m a drug addict, an alcoholic; my whole life, I’ve used drugs and alcohol to stop that little voice inside my head that told me that I wasn’t good enough, that I was useless.”

A generous read on this would be to assume that King is urging people not to judge those who use alcohol as a coping mechanism for their mental struggles. A less generous read would be to point out that “alcoholic says alcohol is the solution” is not a particularly strong foundation on which to form an argument.

It doesn’t help that this is simply the latest in a long, long string of comments King has made that call into question his ability to be a leader in mental health and advocacy.

King is the best example we have of what happens when someone with a god complex receives enough publicity and money to match their ego. Mike King was a comedian who advertised New Zealand pork. Then he was a comedian who denounced pork in all its forms. Then he was a man in the public eye willing to talk about struggling with his mental health. Then he was a man fundraising for awareness of mental health and suicide in New Zealand. Then he was the New Zealander of the Year. Then he was a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Then he gave it back because mental health wasn’t solved. Then he became the only man who could solve New Zealand’s mental health problems. Then he became the face of mental health with $24 million in funding from the Government to address the problem.

And all the while, from when he was a comedian 20 years ago, a celebrity spokesman a decade ago and a counselling organisation leader today, he has been saying some of the dumbest s*** you’ve ever heard.

It’s a tale as old as time in New Zealand. Person gains status – person makes a positive impact by speaking on a single topic – person receives positive feedback – person thinks they are the solution to every problem in New Zealand. God complex.

King choosing to speak about his struggles with his mental health back in the late 2000s was admirable and well-received. A “bloke” being vulnerable was groundbreaking at the time, and between King and John Kirwan, New Zealand men were being strongly encouraged to talk about their feelings.

But then it just kept going. Rather than continue to be a very good and impactful spokesman for a cause, at some point King decided he was the solution. And as the solution, anyone who disagreed with him was the devil, incompetent, killing our children or all of the above. (Google “Mike King slams” and you’ll see it’s his favourite pastime.)

Then there’s his idea of research. In 2019, King was urged by the Ministry of Health ethics committee to stop a study and destroy hundreds of suicide letters he’d asked grieving whānau to submit in order for them to be analysed. The study was backed by King’s Key to Life charity and drew comments from clinical professionals as well as members of the public concerned about the ethics and process.

King’s response? “This isn’t North Korea. They aren’t Donald Trump, they can’t tell people what to do.”

Despite yelling a lot about everyone else being the problem and King being the solution, there is no evidence to suggest he is actually helping. Gumboot Friday offers two free counselling sessions for youth. On its own, counselling is good, but two sessions with a random counsellor is not a sustainable model for any real change. If anything, it should play a minor part in a much, much larger approach to addressing New Zealand’s mental health.

But King is god, and god is not a supporting character. In 2021, King very loudly “slammed” the Labour Government for funding a drug rehab programme run by gang members instead of funding Gumboot Friday. King’s charity simply hadn’t put in its application on time. Then King got his funding anyway, through a mysterious one-off mental health fund. Despite that, in the Herald just this morning, he penned an op-ed claiming the Government had not funded Gumboot Friday until now (it’s semantics, the $600,000 in funding received in 2021 was not for counselling specifically but for organisational costs). He is still soliciting donations from the public to Gumboot Friday through his e-bike tour of New Zealand talking about climate anxiety and supported by partners such as Genesis and Fonterra.

King claims he’s not political because he hates politicians, and is constantly slamming every political party under the sun, yet spends huge amounts of time privately lobbying for government funding. He has mentioned calling Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister and not getting responses. He cornered her in the Koru Lounge to lobby for funding in the aforementioned round and didn’t appreciate being told there was a process that didn’t include twisting the Prime Minister’s arm at the airport. To King, he just needs to convince the right person to circumvent usual process. And he’s right.

In the lead-up to the election last year, King was loudly campaigning for anyone who would promise investment in mental health (read: his own charity) and he got his wish. National leader Christopher Luxon inexplicably promised him funding live on the radio if National was elected.

This is not a man who wants to see mental health problems in New Zealand solved. King is a man who wants to see mental health problems in New Zealand solved by him. That is an impossible outcome, and by continuing to encourage his thinking, successive governments have built a rod for their backs. Now, we as a country are left with a mental health approach that seems to hinge on a former comedian with a propensity for anger delivering two counselling sessions to people in need. No solution can be achieved through one man or organisation or approach, but it’s so nice to pretend it can.

King seems to believe he exists outside the functions of society and democracy, and unfortunately he’s been encouraged in this approach by getting results. But at a certain point the facade drops and all that’s left is a man with a god complex, yelling about alcohol being a solution for suicidal thoughts.

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