In New Zealand last week the Coroner asked for debate about the restrictions on reporting suicide. The Chief Coroner said” My personal view is that there’s room for some gentle opening up of things …”

The media are bound by legislation that seeks to prevent “sensationalising, glamorising or romanticising suicide or giving it undue prominence”. Paradoxically new Zealand has the most strident laws restricting the reporting of suicide and a relatively high suicide rate by country.

The number of New Zealanders taking their lives per year is reported as 50 per cent higher than the road toll.

The less we share about suicide the less we know, and then it is hard to recognise the warning signs. How can the risks and dangers of depression be appreciated or anticipated when we don’t share what we know.

It is tragic that more open reporting of experiences is not possible and people feel uninformed,and more at risk, as a result. In Australia a month ago Professor McGorry called for suicide statistics to be reported on the television news and on the front page of every newspaper everyday. Professor McGorry and Judge Neil MacLean, the NZ Coroner seek to build community understanding. If we were better able to recognise the early signs of mental illness and support rather than stigmatise this might be a world more could live in.