Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to this House about an important organisation and to speak generally about the role that dads and father-like figures play within our community. I recently met with an organisation called the Fathering Project, and, while we are still some months away from Father's Day, I thought it was an opportune time for me to speak about this organisation and particularly to give a shout-out to all of the fantastic fathers, stepdads, grandfathers, uncles and the men within my electorate of Hughes who play such an important role within their own families and within the community. On that note I give a shout-out to my father, Rob, for the role he has played in my life and to my husband, Michael, for being a fantastic father to our boys, James and Nicholas.

The Fathering Project has pulled together evidence that demonstrates fathers' potential to positively influence their children's health and mental health, social success and academic achievements. This evidence is now robust, indisputable and compelling. I'm delighted to say that the Fathering Project is already in place in many of the schools within my electorate of Hughes. It aims to bring fathers into the classroom and into the schoolyard. Mothers and grandmothers have played a very big role traditionally within the school system to support the teaching and education within schools, and the Fathering Project has seen that there is a need also to encourage fathers, dads, stepdads, grandfathers, uncles and father figures—so not just biological fathers—into the classroom as well to positively promote education for their children.

We are living through a time of rapid social change, and community views of fatherhood are actively changing. Dads are now encouraged to play a much more active role in the lives of their children than was the case in the past, and in my electorate of Hughes, for example, dads have a very big role. They do the traditional things such as coaching the soccer teams and running the Bunnings barbecue of a weekend, but I have found many fathers are now much more involved in school communities, including in PM&C organisations and going to schools to do reading and things like that. That is something that needs to be celebrated, and I thank all of those fathers. On my website I encourage anyone, all schools and preschools within my electorate, to go to my website because I am providing money to promote the fathering project into schools this year, so please—jennyware.com.au.