Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I would like to acknowledge the work of the Beechworth Men's Shed and the fantastic gathering they organised on 4 February, with over 134 attendees. The Beechworth Men's Shed is a member of the Australian Men's Shed Association, AMSA, which is the peak body. There are over 960 men's sheds who are part of the association, and they employ four staff.

At the gathering at the Beechworth Men's Shed, there were a number of issues that came up for discussion. But one they particularly asked me to bring to the House today was the issue of funding. The men's sheds are funded by the federal Department of Health, with over 50 per cent of that funding being competitive grants. However, the funding has actually decreased since 2010—despite the number of men's sheds increasing. So I bring a heartfelt call to this House and to members of the government opposite to do some work in increasing the funding of men's sheds. They do such a good job. The movement was started over 12 years ago and it has since grown to over 1,000 sheds around Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom. They are now recognised right across the country as a major health provider for men. The Beechworth Men's Shed kicked off in November 2010 and it now has its own house at the back of the high school. It is going from strength to strength. I would really like to congratulate John Herbst and all your team: a fantastic job well done. I call on my colleagues to give you the funding you deserve.