Labour Party calls for coalition Government to pull funding for Mike King’s Gumboot Friday after alcohol claims

The Labour Party is calling on the coalition Government to reconsider its $24 million worth of support for Mike King’s Gumboot Friday after the mental health campaigner claimed “alcohol is the solution” for mental distress . Numerous mental health campaigners and experts have sharply rebuked King for his claims , slamming those comments as “disgusting and unprofessional”. A University of Otago professor, the Mental Health Foundation, the Drug Foundation, the Minister for Mental Health and other campaigners say medical research makes it clear alcohol is linked with mental illnesses and suicide.

King, the campaigner behind I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday, defended his claims to the Herald and said medical research proving alcohol consumption was linked to suicide was a matter of opinion. King, whose youth counselling service has $24m in Government funding despite criticisms from the Auditor-General about the “unusual and inconsistent” procurement process , made his comments on Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive yesterday..