The attack on the 'Nurturing Knight'

One of the reasons the Men and Fathers Strategic Roundtable was held in Parliament House, Canberra is the desperate need for government action on positive male policies that will benefit the whole community men, women and children. We have an epidemic of male suicide in our country and little is being done to address it. Men are killing themselves at the rate of four to one compared with women.

Perhaps the area of male health that for all of us is an absolute national and international disgrace is in the area of our indigenous brothers. The average white man dies 3.4 years earlier than the average white woman. Aboriginal men die 14 years earlier than the average white woman. Aboriginal men in the Northern Territory die at the average age of 63.4 which is approximately 20 years earlier than the average white woman (83.1).

Unfortunately the issue of male suicide was brought into sharp focus by one of the three indigenous delegatesat the Men and Fathers Strategic Roundtable from Dubbo Frank Doolan or "Riverbank Frank" as he likes to be known. He was home only 24 hours from Canberra and this is the text I received from by my Aboriginal friend and verbatim I will quote him:

Another mate took himself out last night. No reason, family man, good bloke. Wasn't young either (70s). Fair Dinkum! Here we go again.2 bear with unbearable sorrow, 2 run where the brave do not go... it's what I do. Hope u r well, Riverbank Frank.

The philosopher Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Thankfully someone has broken into that desperation albeit with a touch of humour; to do that they had to do a lot of listening. As Leo Buscaglia said about caring and listening, "Too often we underestimate the power of... a listening ear... which has the potential to turn a life around." The Modern (Aussie) Man white paper is proof that Carolyn Managh and the team at M&C Saatchi did a lot of listening and in doing so eased some of that desperation in the modern Aussie man and perhaps saved a few men's lives in the process. What more could we ask for?