The sudden death of a popular New Zealand TV news presenter has prompted the country to once again examine its high rates of depression and suicide.

Greg Boyed, 48, was “battling depression” and died on holiday in Switzerland, a statement from his family said. “Greg was the kindest and most caring man, a devoted father who cherished and loved his two children. We are all struggling to come to terms with this,” it read.

In response, broadcaster Jesse Mulligan said on Wednesday “there were tears in every newsroom in the country”. TVNZ colleague Daniel Faitaua dressed in black to deliver the midday news, and fought back tears while speaking of his friend, his voice wavering. “Moe mai ra, e hoa – rest in peace my friend,” said Faitaua.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joined other politicians in tweeting her condolences and remembered Boyed as a “thoughtful interviewer”.

New Zealand has a persistently high rate of suicide – with hundreds of people killing themselves each year - more than twice the number of those who die in road incidents. Youth suicide in New Zealand is the highest in the OECD, and the overall suicide rate continues to climb year on year.

We’ve almost had a doubling of people seeking support in the last 10 years. Shaun Robinson, Mental Health Foundation

Last year chief coroner Judge Deborah Marshall said recent data showed the rate for men in New Zealand was three times that of women. In the 2016/17 year, 606 people died by suicide, 457 of them men. Marshall described the upward trend as “appalling” and said it showed, despite more open discussion of suicide, the problem remained unnervingly stubborn.

“Over the last eight years I believe we’ve seen a shift in society’s preparedness to have a more open conversation about suicide, but we are not seeing any movement in what is an unfortunate static annual figure,” she said.

Shaun Robinson, the chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said Boyed’s death had caused an “outpouring of sympathy and grief” from ordinary New Zealanders, and caused many to reflect on the issues of mental health and suicide in their own lives and the wider community.

“I think the loss of someone high-profile like Greg can add to the focus on mental health and wellbeing,” said Robinson. “We are at the end of an inquiry into mental health ... and there is an enormous amount of attention on this right now. There has almost been a doubling of the media discussion around issues like suicide in the last three years. We’ve almost had a doubling of people seeking support from services in the last 10 years.”

“If there are good things to come out of tragedies like this, one of them may be that people can think in terms of a real person, and that will help to ground a lot of the discussions we are having and lead to some real improvements.”

The World Health Organisation says depression is the leading cause of global disability, with more than 300 million people living with it. Less than 50% of people with depression access treatment for it.

According to the 2016/2017 New Zealand Health Survey, 16.7%, or 640,000 adults have been diagnosed with depression, up from 10.4% a decade ago.

Friend and colleague Rachel Grunwell wrote in the New Zealand Herald that Boyed faced difficulties and “depression was also gripping him tight and taking him into a dark abyss.”

The passing of Greg Boyed is so sad, but it’s heartening to see so many men sharing their feelings of loss and sadness. I would like to think that you can always share your feelings so openly, and not just in these sad times. I hope that men will reach out more in general. ❤️ — Michelle Langstone (@mifflangstone) August 22, 2018

Mental health advocate Mike King said Boyed’s death highlighted the issues of depression and suicide in a way less high-profile New Zealanders couldn’t. “The one thing that has come out of this tragic circumstance is that people are talking,” said King.

“For too long this subject has been hidden under a veil of darkness and Greg’s passing is giving people an opportunity to say ‘look, we need to change what we are doing’. [His death] shines a light in a very dark place.”

The suicide statistics for the 2017-2018 year are due to be released soon, and King said he expected to see another annual, record rise, and that the onus should be on healthy people in a good mindframe to ask those around them if they were OK.

“It looks likely there is going to be a sharp spike in the figures. Currently our focus is on crisis. What we know is, 80% of people who have recurring thoughts of suicide never ask for help, ever. The reason? They are worried about what other people will think and say and do,” said King.

I don’t know Greg Boyed but we’re all becoming increasingly familiar with losing friends, whanau, colleagues, and neighbours like this



I’ve been lucky to have had enough support from the right people at the right moment in darker times



We can’t afford to leave it to luck



X — Aaron Hawkins (@CrAaronHawkins) August 22, 2018