Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has described the opening of a Suicide Prevention Office a "bitter-sweet milestone".
The office was one of the key recommendations of the Mental Health and Addiction inquiry, and a crucial part of the government's $40 million investment into suicide prevention in this year's Wellbeing Budget.
Last year 685 New Zealanders are believed to have taken their own lives - with young people,
Māori and Pasifika communities the most affected.
The government hopes the office will be a galvanising force in tackling New Zealand's woeful suicide rates.
RNZ political reporter Yvette McCullough has more.
