Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What will you be thinking about when you take your last breath? This is what Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt asked people. She says no one ever says that they will be thinking about their cellulite or their thigh gap or lack thereof. In 2009, following the birth of her third child, Taryn Brumfitt headed off to a plastic surgeon. She wanted to 'fix' her post-baby body, as she puts it. But watching her young daughter play, she had an epiphany. How could she teach her daughter about positivity and to love her body if she couldn't do it for herself? She says this thought trapped her. She wanted to fix her body but she also wanted to set the right example for her daughter. So she tried bodybuilding, even competing, but found that it was a tough lifestyle to maintain and that she was always grumpy. More importantly, even though she now had the so-called perfect body, she still didn't feel any better about it. She worked out that it actually wasn't about what she looked like; it was about the psychology of how she felt about her body. From these beginnings, she started the Body Image Movement in 2012 and has been tirelessly advocating for body positivity and acceptance, particularly among young people, ever since.

Taryn happens to live around the corner from me in Boothby, and she is already doing Boothby proud with her unwavering determination on her body positive mission. We know that in Boothby, and all across Australia, the concerns raised by Taryn strike a chord with many. A national survey from the Butterfly Foundation, an Australian eating disorders not-for-profit, found that more than 40 per cent of Australians are dissatisfied with their appearance, and as many as 73 per cent wish they could change the way they look. Seventy per cent of Australian school children consider body image to be their No. 1 concern, and young people in Australia who have poor body image are 24 times more likely to be depressed or suffer from anxiety. This is a confronting statistic and one that tells us we need to do more to prevent the harmful impacts of poor body image issues, particularly in young people in Australia. That's why Taryn's recognition as Australian of the Year is so impactful.

Through her work as Australian of the Year, Taryn's mission and her Body Image Movement has been elevated to reach even more Australians, and Taryn has begun helping more people learn to embrace their bodies. Her goal of educating the global community has been off to a flying start with her documentaries Embrace and Embrace Kids being seen all around the world. Her books, Embrace Yourself and Embrace Your Body have also been great resources for people of all ages. The 'embrace' message is one of embracing your body as a superpower. As Taryn says, 'Your body is your home, and it's the most spectacular place to live.' Through her role as Australian of the Year, Taryn is spreading her important messages far and wide—that it is not our life's mission to be at war with our body.

Taryn is now setting her sights on yet another admirable goal: to reach one million kids, as well as their teachers, parents, sports coaches, early childhood workers and the whole village surrounding our children. With her evidence-informed resources and her tenacity, Taryn is well on the way to achieving her goal. She recently gave a keynote address entitled 'Supporting girls to embrace' at the 2023 Asia Pacific Summit on Girls' Education in Hobart, presenting evidence on how to reduce appearance pressure through improved health and wellbeing. She also spoke up for the need for diverse and different bodies to be seen by Australians on screen, as part of the Bodies On Screen panel at ACMI, alongside disability advocate Carly Findlay and other activists.

Added to a long list of advocacy work, keynotes and interviews, it is clear that Taryn has been fearless in her mission for us to rethink our relationship with our bodies as Australian of the Year. Her important work as an advocate for body positivity shows us how important the role of Australian of the Year is not only in recognising achievement but also in continuing the conversation and raising important social issues. I know Taryn will continue to do Boothby proud as she continues her vital work, changing the way that Australians think about their bodies. As Taryn says, it's not our bodies that need to change; it is our perspective. And I think I speak for all of us, certainly all of Boothby, when I say I'm excited to see how she changes even more perspectives throughout her journey this year as Australian of the Year.

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