Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to thank the men who have offered their faces, their stories and their public profile to the photographic campaign by West Coast Youth & Community Support and Rotary Men's Wellness Campaign on Eyre Peninsula. One of the biggest challenge facing men's mental health is getting those who need help to seek that help. As we know, they are traditionally a group who try to hide their illness and deal with it themselves. This exhibition seeks to normalise the behaviour of seeking help by using normal men to tell their stories—from father Michael Traeger, who tragically lost his young wife only two years ago, and Sean Tosold, who has shared his battle with depression and child abuse—both from Cummins—to the most prominent citizens, like Port Lincoln Mayor Bruce Green and the state member for Flinders Peter Treloar, and 26 other men who contributed. We thank them for offering their time and commitment to this program. We especially thank Jo Clark from West Coast Youth & Community Support, whose idea it was. She said it came to her at two o'clock in the morning. I thank the photographer Robert Lang for giving his time to this project and putting on such a good display. The exhibition will be touring 10 Eyre Peninsula towns highlighting the importance of resilience and self-empowerment. I congratulate all involved.