24 hour crisis line needed this Christmas

Auckland’s 24 hour sexual violence crisis line, HELP, must be available over Christmas says Labour’s Women’s Affairs spokesperson Sue Moroney.

Labour is pushing for urgent action to keep the helpline going, after a petition signed by 12,000 people was tabled in Parliament yesterday calling on the Prime Minister to keep the crisis service from closing down.

“Sadly, the ‘festive’ season often sees a spike in physical abuse, meaning services like the HELP crisis line are in even higher demand,” Sue Moroney said.

“There have been promises made by the Government throughout the year to resolve the service’s funding constraints. Those promises have not been kept and the issue must be brought to a head.

“Labour wants the Select Committee to report back before Parliament finishes for the year with a report calling for the Minister to act.

“The service needs just $116,000 to stay afloat. That’s a small amount of money to deal with a huge amount of harm,” says Sue Moroney.