Asian Family Services hope the Select Committee will state Asian and ethnic minority groups as in the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill to ensure equitable health access for the publicly-funded health system to protect, promote, and improve the health of the Asian and ethnic minority groups in New Zealand.

The examples provided in this submission are direct experiences from working with Asian and ethnic groups and the systematic barriers we witnessed through the mental health and addiction sectors. With over 20 years of experience as the Asian and ethnic groups mental health and addiction primary health care provider in New Zealand, our responsibility is to authentically represent their voices, especially those who suffer silently from mental health and addiction issues, which unfortunately is not well understood by the general population. Many Asian and ethnic groups individuals were unable to share their pain and frustration that were buried deep inside, leaving them to feel invisible and extremely vulnerable at the time when their cultural and linguistic needs were not being met, respected, or understood by mental health and addiction services.

Below is the full submission: