Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over seven million Australian adults are close to someone who has died by suicide or who has attempted suicide. One in two people are impacted by suicide by the time they turn 25. Men are three times more likely to die from suicide than females, with men aged 55 to 59 representing the largest increase in the age-specific suicide rate for Australians aged 15 and over.

The Dunkley community is disproportionately impacted by suicide and higher-than-state-average suicide rates. This is an issue close to me and my community, and that is why I've invited Dan Repacholi, the Special Envoy for Men's Health, to the electorate in November. We will meet with local secondary schools and host a forum with men from local organisations, businesses, sporting clubs and young men 16-plus to discuss men's health and wellbeing by bringing together representatives from community groups and schools and working with men and boys to identify what is working, explore the challenges, share personal experiences and present ideas on what is missing.

The forum will be powered by The Man Cave and Movember, along with SmackTalk and the Mental Health Safety Net. These organisations deliver great programs at a local, state and national level, providing awareness on mental health and wellbeing and the importance of reaching out for help if you are not travelling well. In light of World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September, checking in on our mates, our female friends and those that are close to us has never been more important.

It's Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. It is a disease that one in six Australian men are diagnosed with by the time they are 85. I currently know four men who have been dealing with this issue. Dave, my husband, was fortunate to survive prostate cancer. 'It all started with a finger up the clacker' is the name of my husband's memoirs that track his journey with prostate cancer over eight years. Raising awareness this September could mean a father, brother, partner or son is diagnosed earlier, and survival rates could be higher; 3,330 men die each year from prostate cancer—more than the number of women killed by breast cancer. This is unacceptable. I want to use my voice in this chamber and my experience as a wife to encourage all men over 40 to talk to their GP about prostate cancer testing as part of their regular checkups, because you never know; a finger up the clacker may save your life.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Luckily now there are blood tests.