Politicians discover men

But if we're ever going to break free from our current toxic, anti-male culture, we need a lot more Llew O'Briens and a lot fewer Dan Repacholis. Unfortunately, right now, the numbers aren't in our favour. Take Victoria.

Back in 2024, the state appointed Australia's first-ever Parliamentary Secretary for Men's Behaviour Change - Tim Richardson, tasked with saving young men from the "manosphere," one stern chat at a time. Fast forward to April 2026, and Victoria decided this modest little role deserved a promotion: a full, cabinet-level Minister for Men and Boys, world's first, thank you very much. Enter Paul Edbrooke, freshly sworn in.

He didn't get long to enjoy it. Three and a half months later, Premier Jacinta Allan resigned, her deputy Ben Carroll took over, and in his very first reshuffle - in the name of "smaller, more efficient government" - the Minister for Men and Boys was quietly put out of its misery. Edbrooke landed on his feet, reassigned to police. The ministry did not.

So, there you have it: Australia's first Minister for Men and Boys lasted fourteen weeks. Barely long enough to find the executive bathroom. If men's issues were ever going to get taken seriously, someone forgot to tell Victorian Labor.

However, political posturing about men's issues is suddenly everywhere – with other states now coming on board. In NSW, the Coalition has flagged a dedicated men's health portfolio ahead of the 2027 election, warning of "a generation of lost boys." South Australia has launched a Parliamentary Friends of Men's Wellbeing group, and the ACT has appointed its own Shadow Minister for Men and Men's Health. Even federally, there's bipartisan support for a national inquiry into the education of boys and young men - proof that when it comes to men's issues, nobody wants to be seen sitting this one out.

There's something in the air. Men are creeping onto the map. Even some of these appointments - clumsy and virtue-signalling as they are - are good news in disguise. However much they sneer at men's rights, it still shows the issue is making it onto the public agenda.

Look at this recent article in The Conversation, written by Blair Williams, a UNSW politics lecturer, having a go at Pauline Hanson as the "queen of the Australian men's rights movement." Hanson's identification with male grievance has been core to her politics since day one, tut-tuts the researcher, dutifully documenting three decades of advocacy for men. Williams' idea is to take her down a peg - but the result reads more like a highlight reel, one that will only endear the Senator further to her growing support base.

Yet the funniest example of men's rights hitting the public radar is found in Colin From Accounts, a hit Australian streaming comedy which is built around the rocky romance of its two leads - Colin and Ashley - and the eccentric friends and family orbiting them. The biggest laugh this third season belongs to Ashley's mother, Lynelle, who's started her own men's rights charity.

"I'm triggered, I'm triggered / Don't smile at me / It makes me feel unsafe / I'm a victim, I'm a victim," croon the backup singers at Lynelle's fundraising concert.

The writers of this very woke show go to town sneering at the whole idea of men's rights. They've named Lynelle's charity Women Against Women Against Men - WAWAM. It's meant to be a joke but like so many people who are fed up with men-haters, I'd join WAWAM tomorrow. So would the mums at Mothers of Sons - they're already fighting the feminists rigging the system against their sons.

The writers thought they were writing satire. It never occurred to them it's mainstream opinion.

We've created a meme to make the connection between WAWAM and Mothers of Sons and hope those of you on social media will post it in online conversations about the show. Here it is:

It strikes me it's probably no coincidence that WAWAM is run by a nutty, long-haired older woman. Co-creator Harriet Dyer - who also plays Ashley - has said the whole men's rights idea traces back to her own real mum, whose birthday happens to fall on International Men's Day, and who's "the tiniest bit worried about how the men are doing." That was apparently enough to send Dyer down a rabbit hole of googling men's rights activism in Australia - which probably led her straight to my front door. What a hoot.

Funny thing about being mocked: it means you still matter. Nobody satirises the irrelevant. Colin From Accounts thinks it's making fun of a fringe idea. Llew O'Brien knows better. So does every mum at Mothers of Sons. Men have arrived. They are finally on the map. It's about time.