Is the government serious about eliminating suicide in New Zealand?

Media Release 21 June 2025

Right to Life commends the government for instituting its latest five year Suicide Prevention Strategy to eliminate suicide in New Zealand. The Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey, announced the new action plan on Tuesday 17 June 2025. He said that the government had a duty to do more.

The Ministry of Justice has released the provisional suicide statistics for New Zealand for the year ending 30th June 2024. The total is 617 suicides, which is 51 suicides more than the 566 suicides reported in 2023. These statistics are provisional, until the final numbers are released by the Chief Coroner.

The male suicide rate in 2024 was 15.9 per 100,000 population, increasing from 14.9 per 100,000 population in 2022. The suicide rate for women in 2024 was 6.4 per 100,000, increasing from 5.9 per 100,000 population the previous year. The suicide rate for Maori was 16.4 per 100,000 population, up from 16.3 per 100,000 population in 2022. The highest suicide rate remains in the age group of young people aged 20 to 24, with a rate of 19.9 per 100,000, increasing from 19.6 per 100,000 in 2023.

To our shame, New Zealand continues to have the second highest youth suicide rate of the 41 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Suicide is self-murder, and it is an intrinsically evil action, which means aiding or assisting in it is not morally justifiable. It is always wrong, and is a violation of the fifth commandment which is “you shall not kill”.

Each of these deaths by suicide was a preventable tragedy, and are a tragedy for the family of the suicide victim and for our community.

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Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey stated, “Achieving our overarching vision of a future where there is no suicide in New Zealand will not happen overnight, but I am confident this next action plan will move us closer to our goal”

Right to Life asks the Minister: “How can we achieve your vision where there is no suicide in New Zealand, when your government is fully funding doctors for up to $3,000 for each patient to assist them to suicide as a “health service” under the End of Life Choice Act?” (EOLC Act]

The Ministry of Health, which presides over the killing of patients as a “health service”, has a dedicated team to oversee the administration of the EOLC Act 2019, to ensure that every New Zealander, no matter where they live, can have access to having a doctor administer a lethal injection or assist in suicide, if they comply with the criteria of this immoral law.

Right to Life fully supports the government’s Suicide Prevention Strategy, with its achievable objective of no suicides in New Zealand.

But this goal will not be achieved until the End of Life Choice Act 2019 is repealed.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life New Zealand Inc.