Misinterpretations about alcohol’s impact on mental health are just the latest in Mike King and his one-man crusade against the world.

There’s something quite funny about reading Aotearoa’s most prominent mental health campaigner has just said that “alcohol is the answer” to mental health problems. And there is a deep despair in realizing that you are not surprised at all.

King spoke at length about his views on alcohol with Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan last night. King was opposing police’s attempt to block one of his suicide prevention charity events from obtaining a temporary liquor license. In doing so, he suggested that alcohol, rather than being a problem, was a solution for young people experiencing mental health problems. Alcohol is a known depressant and increases impulsivity. Two things that have unsurprisingly negative consequences 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 this?

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

“So I’m a drug addict, an alcoholic; “All my life I’ve used drugs and alcohol to silence that little voice in my head that tells me I’m not good enough, that I’m useless.”

A generous reading of 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 reading would be to note that “alcoholic says alcohol is the solution” is not a particularly strong basis on which to build an argument.

It doesn’t help that this is the latest in a long, long line of comments questioning King’s ability to be a leader in mental health and advocacy.

King is the best example we have of what can happen when someone with a god complex gets enough publicity and money to satisfy their ego. Mike King was a comedian who promoted New Zealand pork. He was a comedian who later condemned pork in all its forms. He was then a man willing to talk about his struggles with mental health in the public eye. He later became a fundraiser to raise awareness about mental health and suicide in New Zealand. He later became New Zealander of the Year. He was later a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He later returned it because his sanity was not resolved. He later became the only person capable of solving New Zealand’s mental health problems. He later became the face of mental health, receiving $24 million in government funding to address the problem.

And all the while, from his time as a comedian 20 years ago, a celebrity spokesperson a decade ago, and a consulting organization leader today, he’s been saying the stupidest things you’ve ever heard.

It’s a story as old as New Zealand. One gains status – one makes a positive impact by speaking about one issue – one receives positive feedback – one thinks there is a solution to every problem in New Zealand. God complex.

King’s choice to speak out about his struggles with his mental health in the late 2000s was admirable and well-received. For a “man” to be vulnerable was groundbreaking at the time, and between King and John Kirwan, New Zealand men were strongly encouraged to talk about their feelings.

But then he continued. Instead of continuing to be a very good and effective spokesman for a cause, King at some point decided that he was the solution. And anyone who disagreed with him as the solution was evil, incompetent, we are killing our children or all of the above. (Google “Mike King hits” and you’ll see that this is his favorite pastime.)

Then there is his research idea. In 2019, King was encouraged by the Department of Health ethics committee to: Stop a study and destroy hundreds of suicide letters had asked the grieving whānau to surrender so it could be analysed. The study was supported by the King’s Key to Life charity and received comments from clinical professionals as well as the public about the ethics and process.

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

Despite everyone shouting so much about being the problem and King being the solution, there is no evidence to suggest he actually helped. Gumboot Friday offers two free mentoring sessions for teens. Counseling alone is fine, but two sessions with a random counselor is not a sustainable model for any real change. Rather, it should play a small role in a much larger approach to New Zealand’s mental health.

But the King is god, and god is not a supporting character. King is very loud in 2021 “struck” Instead of funding Gumboot Friday, the Labor government is funding a drug rehabilitation program run by gang members. King’s charity had not submitted the application in time. Later, King still received his funding through a conduit. mysterious one-off mental health fund. Despite this, just this morning he penned an op-ed in the Herald claiming that the government has so far failed to fund Gumboot Friday (this is semantics, the $600,000 in funding received in 2021 was specifically for organizational costs, not consultancy). He continues to raise public donations for Gumboot on Friday, speaking out about climate concern through his e-bike tour of New Zealand and supported by partners such as Genesis and Fonterra.

King claims to be nonpolitical because he hates politicians and constantly criticizes every political party, but he still spends a lot of time privately lobbying for government funding. he mentioned I called Jacinda Ardern As Prime Minister and I get no response. He cornered her in Koru Hall to lobby for funding for the tour in question, and didn’t like being told it was a process at the airport that didn’t involve twisting the prime minister’s arm. According to King, he needs to convince the right person to go through the usual process. And he’s right.

Ahead of last year’s election, King was campaigning vociferously for anyone pledging to invest in mental health (read: his charity), and he got his request. National leader Chris Luxon inexplicably promised National would be funded live on radio if he was elected.

This is not a man who wants to see New Zealand’s mental health problems solved. King is a man who wants to solve mental health problems in New Zealand by him. This is an impossible outcome and successive governments have built a stick on their backs by continuing to promote his idea. As a country, we are now faced with an approach to mental health based on a former comedian with a tendency to anger offering two counseling sessions to people in need. No solution can be achieved by one man, one organization or one approach, but it’s nice to pretend that you can.

King believes that he exists outside the functions of society and democracy, and unfortunately he is encouraged to take this approach with consequences. But at a certain point, the façade collapses and all that remains is a man with a god complex, shouting that alcohol is the solution to suicidal thoughts.