ADJOURNMENT

Ms TEESDALE (Bass) (19:45): Earlier this month, I brought together local organisations and community representatives in Launceston for a healthy men's community conversation. We were joined by the Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Ged Kearney, and the Special Envoy for Men's Health, Dan Repacholi.

Tonight I want to share some of what we heard from the people in that room. We began the night with one simple question: how might we change the story from 'I'm handling it' to 'I got some help with it'? What followed was an incredibly thoughtful, very generous and, at times, deeply personal conversation.

Participants spoke about their own experiences, about the men and the boys they work with and about their families, their friends and their communities. One of the strongest messages we continually heard was about the barriers that can stop men asking for help. Participants spoke about the instinct to say, 'I'm doing okay; I'll be fine,' and to keep pushing through even when something is not right.

They talked about the shame that can still be attached to vulnerability and asking for support and how difficult it can be to take that first step. But they were equally clear that changing the story cannot be about telling men or making men feel like they are the problem. They asked us to celebrate good men, to use positive and strength based language and to make it normal for someone to say to their mates, 'I went to the doctor for a check-up.' They wanted asking for help to be seen as a strength.

A message that really stayed with me was just how hard it can be to even know where to begin. One participant who's working with young people in our community captured it in a single sentence—'I just don't know where to start.' There are many services available, but participants told us that that does not necessarily mean that they are easy to find or easy to navigate.

Sometimes people simply want to know who they can call. They want to speak to a real person. They want someone who can help them work out what happens next.

As we heard repeatedly, the first door to better health is not always the door of a clinic. It might be a men's shed. It might be a sporting club, a workplace or a community organisation.

It might simply be a conversation between two friends. One of the most powerful moments of the afternoon came when a participant shared how a mate had noticed someone was struggling. They reached out and they helped them to get that support that they needed.

It prompted a discussion about just how powerful mates can be for our health. A mate might notice when someone is not quite themselves. A coach might ask that extra question.

A mentor might stay connected when someone is going through a difficult time. Participants told us that relationships become even more important during major changes in life—losing a job, a relationship breaking down, becoming a father or simply reaching a point where things feel harder than they did before. We made sure that there was an incredibly strong focus on our young men and our boys.

We asked: How do we raise healthy boys in this current environment? How do we help them to communicate honestly? How do we teach young people that looking after their mental health should be just as normal as looking after their physical health?

We spoke about schools, families, sport, positive male role models and supporting dads from the moment that they become fathers and even before that. One participant described fatherhood as a powerful motivation to want to do better and to work to do better, and that really struck me. A lot of what we heard was about not waiting until someone is actually in crisis.

We need to make sure that the supports are available well before that. We need to make sure that there is connection, prevention and a sense of belonging and knowing where to turn. What was key for many of the men in the room was having someone around them who noticed when they needed a hand.

By the end of the afternoon, participants had generated more than 50 questions and more than 50 ideas on how we as a nation at the federal level could help do things better. Those ideas will contribute to the National Healthy Men Community Conversations. They will help inform future work to support men and boys to be physically and mentally healthy.

I want the people who joined us that afternoon to know that their contribution was absolutely heard, and it is valued. I'm incredibly grateful for your honesty and the openness in which you shared your experiences, your professional knowledge and, in many cases, deeply personal observations and reflections on either yourselves or the men in your lives that you care about.

We know that there's no single policy or program that can answer all of this, but perhaps there is something that all of us can take away.