152. The Government has announced that it is introducing a new community management approach for asylum seekers,172 however we are not aware of a time frame or any details of such a programme. 153. The Committee may wish to: (a) Recommend that if the Government is to proceed with the Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill that it introduces international human rights standards and principles to the Immigration Act 2009 on the use of immigration detention for those who arrive as part of a mass group, including a statutory obligation to adhere to the requirements of detention only as a last resort and to comply with the requirements of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination. This would ensure that immigration officers and the District Court would take these principles into account; and (b) Make inquiries with the Government as to the details of the community management approach to asylum seekers and progress made towards implementation. Mental health and compulsory treatment (List of Issues item 24) 154. In 2018, the Government launched an inquiry into mental health and addiction to identify unmet needs and develop recommendations for a better mental health and addiction system in Aotearoa New Zealand. He Ara Oranga: report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction was published in November 2018 and included a set of 40 recommendations.173 155. The Inquiry report summarises people’s experience with compulsory treatment174: Throughout this Inquiry, many people shared their experiences of being held and compulsorily treated under mental health legislation. Submitters described the trauma of compulsory detention and treatment, the loss of their right to participate in decisions about their treatment and recovery, the adverse impacts of forced medication, and the harm and powerlessness they experienced through practices of seclusion and restraint and prolonged use of the Mental Health Act. 156. In response to He Ara Oranga, the Government established a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Act 2020. The Government accepted and prioritised the two recommendations relating to the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act: (a) Developing options for short term improvements to the way the Act functions now (b) Establish a longer-term process for full repeal and replace to avoid rushing legislative change. 157. One of the short-term improvements that has been made is the introduction of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill which was passed in October 2021. The Act eliminates indefinite treatment orders by requiring the Courts to review an order at the end of each 12-month period for the duration of the compulsory treatment order. 172 Amendments to mass arrivals legislation (28 March 2023) available at https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/amendments-mass-arrivals-legislation. 173 He Ara Oranga : Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction (November 2018) available at https://mentalhealth.inquiry.govt.nz/inquiry-report/he-ara-oranga/ 174 Ibid., at p. 189. 36