Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise the launch of an important new men's health initiative in my electorate led by the Western Bulldogs football club and the Macedon Ranges and North Western Melbourne Medicare Local. At present, men living in Melbourne's west are not healthy. There are areas in my electorate where over 50 per cent of men are overweight or obese and where one in three men smoke. The consequences are heart disease, lung disease and the lowest average life expectancy in Victoria. To address this, the Western Bulldogs AFL team have created the Sons of the West community health initiative, which is designed to support men living and working in Melbourne's west.

Partly based on a similar program run successfully by Liverpool Football Club in the UK, the program aims to engage up to 2,000 men in Melbourne's west to promote healthy living and prevent disease. Sons of the West is an innovative example of how to engage men and encourage them to take control of their own health. The 12-week program emphasises activities that are social and fun and alternates training events with barbecues, health checks, comedy nights and DIY training. The men undertaking this programme will train with legends of the Western Bulldogs football team, including Steve Kretiuk, Brad Johnson, Scott West, Doug Hawkins and Tony Liberatore, and learn how to prepare healthy meals from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food. And, if you get in good enough shape to drop a shirt size, participants will be rewarded with a free Western Bulldogs jersey.

I attended the launch of the Sons of the West and was inspired by the level of enthusiasm felt by the players and the organisers towards the initiative. The Sons of the West health expo is on this Sunday at the VU Whitten Oval between 11 am and 3 pm. I encourage all men in Melbourne's west to get along to it.

I applaud the Western Bulldogs for creating a program that inspires men of Melbourne's west to start looking after their own health, and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work in bringing the program to life, including ambassador Shane Delia; Western Bulldogs president, Peter Gordon; Bulldogs staff Shannon Rees and Nick Truelson; as well as Andrew Demetriou, Gerard Healy and Rohan Connolly for their work at the launch. I also commend the support of platinum partners Victoria University and Vic Health.

In particular, I would like to thank a major partner, Macedon Ranges and North Western Melbourne Medicare Local, for providing the funding so that the Sons of the West program can take place. This program is just one example of the fantastic work our Medicare locals do in providing tailored and coordinated support to the healthcare needs of our community. Unfortunately, the benefits of the Sons of the West program do not seem to be appreciated by the Abbott government. Not content with slashing $80 billion from health and education last night, they have taken the axe to Medicare locals as well.

The Sons of the West program is a fantastic health initiative that should have a bright future. It addresses the primary health concerns of men in Melbourne's west in a way that is fun and uniquely designed for men in Melbourne's west. The Abbott government should be encouraging programs like this, not slashing their funding sources and hampering their effectiveness.