House debates

Monday, 25 November 2019

Statements by Members

Movember

4:29 pm

Photo of Pat ConaghanPat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Well, there's the trucker, there's the pencil, there's the horseshoe—all different types of moustaches. And why am I talking about moustaches? Because, since 2004, men such as me have been making ourselves look ridiculous for a good cause, and that cause is Movember. Movember is changing the face of men's health, recognising that men all around the world need help in health. A little-known fact is that prostate cancer kills more men around the world than breast cancer does women. And there is testicular cancer, and suicide. Over 3,000 people died by suicide last year alone in Australia, and 75 per cent of those were men.

So, when you see someone like me walking around looking like a cross between Chopper Read and Rodriguez the mouse—the horseshoe!—thank them. I thank all of my 'mo bros', as we call each other, for your courage. But I also thank those men out in the world, in Australia, for their courage in dealing with testicular cancer and other men's health and mental health issues.