International Men's Day
 

Mr GAFFNEY (Mersey) - Mr President, this morning I acknowledge this coming Saturday's International Men's Day and take a few moments to inform the members about the need for this day and the ways it will be celebrated around Tasmania and the country as a whole.

 

International Men's Day was founded by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies in the Caribbean.  While some may ask why we need such a day, we know there are many barriers and inequalities experienced by men, as well as women, and this day seeks to acknowledge some of these and more importantly to celebrate goods things about our men and boys together with the positive contributions they make to our society.

For the last several years, Men's Resources Tasmania has run a breakfast on the Hobart waterfront to acknowledge the occasion.  While this year other events have meant the breakfast will be postponed, MRT and other grassroots organisations will be celebrating in various ways.

 

The Australian Men's Health Forum, the national peak body for men's health and wellbeing, hosts an International Men's Day website with a calendar of events, many of which are already underway.  There are also posters, social media graphics and other resources freely available.

 

I urge all members to consider downloading and sharing some of these resources.  Please find out what events are on in your electorate and attend where possible, or at least raise the topic of International Men's Day in your work with constituents and communities.  For those listening, it is www.internationalmensday.info.

 

This year, the theme for International Men's Day is celebrating mateship, an idea that needs little explanation in Australia and one that is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of men and boys.

 

We know loneliness and isolation are significant contributors to illness and poor health outcomes, with health systems and services struggling to cope with increasing demand in our community.  With the huge and growing shortage of GPs and three-month-long waiting lists for psychologists and counsellors, our mates have never been more important for support in tough times.

 

International Men's Day is a day where, in this House, we can make a small difference for the men and boys in our community by acknowledging that not all men are on top of the world today.  Unfortunately, men seem to be particularly good at living shorter lives.

 

Another concern is the poor educational outcomes for some boys.  According to the latest National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) reports, nearly one in seven Year 9 boys - or 13.5 per cent - did not reach the national minimum standard age for reading.  This rate is nearly twice as high as the figure for Year 9 girls, at 7.1 per cent.

 

We hope the increasing focus on literacy skills can identify students who will benefit from additional resources, together with the growing recognition of the importance of good mental health and wellbeing and improving student outcomes.

 

Currently, the biggest challenge in Tasmania is acknowledging that there are areas where men and boys experience poorer outcomes.  Men account for two in three potentially avoidable deaths, and four out of five deaths from heart disease in people under the age of 65.  Yet, there are few strategies and policy documents that acknowledge men as a priority population ‑ and less than adequate allocated resources towards addressing this.

 

At a time when Tasmania can celebrate nation-leading statistics, such as generating all our electricity from renewable energy and being a net carbon-negative economy, for the first time we now have the highest rate of male suicide in Australia.  To summarise an article by Glen Poole of the Australian Men's Health Forum website, suicide killed 87 people in Tasmania in 2020.  There were 71 male and 16 female suicides.  In total, 82.6 per cent of suicides were male.  The number of male suicides in Tasmania has risen by 40 per cent in the past decade, and the rate of male suicide is nearly 40 per cent higher in Tasmania than the national average.

 

Our Premier is a life member of Lifeline and is the Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, and I am sure he is only too aware of the huge damage these losses have on families where someone has died by suicide.

 

Indeed, a women's health and wellbeing fact sheet on the Department of Premier and Cabinet's website highlights statistics where men are faring far worse.  One statistic I can quote:

 

10.5 per cent or more than one in ten Tasmanian women are risky drinkers compared to one in four males at 26.6 per cent.

 

To my knowledge, there are no male-specific strategies or policies in place in Tasmania, other than our criminal justice system and our Men's Sheds.

 

The difficulty in accessing timely health care, when added into the natural stoicism of men in seeking help, does them few favours; especially so when chewing concrete and being seen to get along with it is almost the definition of Tassie grit.

 

The growing cost-of-living pressure only adds to the reluctance of many men to risk what they might view as 'wasting time and money' to seek help.

 

Given this nature, it is now the time for the Government to consider an additional focus on men's health and wellbeing.

 

If we look for a moment at the Government's ministerial portfolios, we see a minister for almost every section of our community - be they children, youth, women, veteran's affairs and a number of others too.

 

It is time - given the cost of losing so many so early and so silently - that there should be a ministerial portfolio responsibility to represent the health and wellbeing interests of the male half of our community.  Addressing male wellbeing outcomes is good for all of us.  If we fail to include the areas where men do poorer in our general analysis we fail to provide the best outcomes for women, let alone our children.

 

Mr President, we can also celebrate that around the state men are supporting each other through local community-based activities.  Men's Sheds around Tasmania will no doubt have an extra cuppa in light of the occasion.  Local men's groups will connect.  One will meet for a sunrise swim at Carlton Beach; another will see mates from across the state meet on one man's property in St Marys - continuing a tradition that has seen the group meeting quarterly for over 20 years.  The Man Walk will commence at 9 a.m. this Saturday from McCarthy's Bread Lounge in Ulverstone.  These are some of the many unheard stories of men challenging the traditional macho stereotypes and caring for their families and community, and clearly demonstrate some of the good things men do and bring to our society as a whole.

 

On this International Men's Day I acknowledge the work of the various funded and unfunded voluntary grassroots and community-based organisations around Tasmania.  I genuinely believe that this Government, and future governments, could show support of the inequity regarding the financial commitment of our men's organisations, which proactively look at bettering the lives of the somewhat neglected section of the community. 

 

I celebrate the mateship they bring to their communities and wish them all the best on this International Men's Day.  I look forward to seeing progress in male wellbeing and I hope that we can report new men's health initiatives on International Men's Day in 2023.