RICHARD KING, HOST: My next guest has also put a post up on social media about the Australian flag. The former miner and Olympic shooter is the Member for Hunter, Dan Repacholi. He's also the Special Envoy for Men's Health, and he's on the line. Morning, Dan.
DAN REPACHOLI MP, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MEN'S HEALTH: Good morning, Richard. Good morning, listeners.
KING: Do you think there should be more celebrations of Australian National Flag Day today, Dan?
REPACHOLI: Look, I'm a massive, massive fan of the Australian flag. I've competed under it all around the world and I've always been incredibly proud to represent it.
KING: The appearance of the Union Jack sort of rubs a few people the wrong way. John Williamson's been a big advocate for changing the Australian flag. Do you think it should stay exactly the way it is, Dan?
REPACHOLI: Look, Richard, this is a contested area, without a doubt. But at the end of the day, we all get to have an opinion on this, and that's what's good about this country. We get to have opinions and we get to have conversations about this. Whether the flag stays like that, whether it changes, who knows in the future? But this is our flag, and this is what I'm proud to work with every single day.
KING: Good. Look, another hot topic, and it's one that you spoke about yesterday. We're talking about the manosphere, and you did announce yesterday Federal Government funding to the tune of $3 million for a research centre named WellMen, supporting the mental health and wellbeing of men and boys. The research program is also going to examine some very hot issues, including problems with the manosphere and the fact that many young males are attracted to a lot of misogynistic content online, and there's plenty of it. Any thoughts on what Matt Canavan, the Nationals leader, had to say earlier in the week? He said one of the problems was the feminisation of our education system and the lack of male teachers. Do you think the lack of male teachers, particularly in primary schools, is a problem, Dan?
REPACHOLI: These were disgusting comments by Matt Canavan, and they're complete rubbish. Apparently, young blokes are getting dragged into the manosphere because schools are teaching them about consent and respect. I mean come on, give me a break. And if Matt Canavan really thinks that it is, he should have a good hard look at himself and his position within the Nationals, because he's the leader of the Nationals and he's saying things like this. Teachers aren't the ones pumping this garbage into our young blokes' phones. Social media algorithms and the misogynists, influencers and grifters are doing that, and they're making an absolute fortune from it. And this is the bit that really upsets me, that these people are feeding this garbage to our young kids.
KING: But, in fairness, there are many educationalists who argue that perhaps a lack of male teachers, particularly in primary schools, does have an effect on the upbringing of our boys.
REPACHOLI: Oh look, if we can get more males into schools, that would be great. If we can get more males into health professions as well, and more males into all the areas that are mainly dominated by females, that's good. It's good to get more males involved in them. But how we do that is a challenge along the way, Richard, because in our area, for instance, in the Hunter, a lot of folks are going out and working in the mines, working in the engineering sector and working in so many other sectors, rather than going and becoming teachers. My 11-year-old daughter has a male teacher, and she loves him. She thinks the absolute world of him, and he's a superstar in what he does. But how we get more males into that field, I don't know. And it's been an issue for a long time, getting more males to become teachers. But to just say that the fact we don't have enough male teachers teaching our kids is why blokes and young blokes are going down these avenues, we've got to stop blaming the teachers, stop blaming women and stop pretending that teaching respect is a problem. The problem is the platforms. The problem is the algorithms and the influencers feeding this crap to our kids and cashing in. They should leave the teachers alone and have a crack at the people who are actually causing these issues, which are largely social media platforms.
KING: 21 past 7. My guest on 2HD is Dan Repacholi, the Federal Member for Hunter and the Special Envoy for Men's Health. Look, this announcement yesterday about the research centre called WellMen, with a Federal grant of some $3 million. What's the purpose?
REPACHOLI: This research program will examine the latest issues, including problems with the manosphere, new mental health strategies in schools, in sports clubs, online and at work as well. So I'm really looking forward to the work that James is going to do here, because this is keeping up with the times and where we're getting our information from as folks now. It's quite often not passed down from generation to generation anymore. It's passed on through the next TikTok trend or the next algorithm that's chasing you.
KING: Good to talk to you. Thank you very much for your time, Dan, and happy Australian National Flag Day.
REPACHOLI: Cheers, Richard. Cheers, listeners, and fly it high and fly it proud.
KING: Good on you. Dan Repacholi, Member for Hunter and our Special Envoy for Men's Health.