Special Envoy for Men’s Health, Mr Dan Repacholi MP, will visit Tasmania for the first time this week as part of his national engagement with communities working to improve the health and wellbeing of Australian men and boys.
Mr Repacholi will spend five days travelling across the North West and Southern regions of Tasmania, meeting with local men’s health organisations, clinicians, community leaders, sporting clubs, workplaces, youth groups and grassroots organisations focused on improving men’s physical and mental health outcomes.
The visit includes meetings with Men’s Sheds, mental health services, youth education providers, pharmacists, relationship support services and suicide prevention organisations, as well as visits to a range of local sporting clubs and community health services across Burnie, Devonport, Latrobe, Launceston, Hobart and surrounding communities.
Mr Repacholi will also engage directly with young people, including local college students, to hear firsthand about the mental health challenges facing young men in regional communities.
The purpose of the visit is to hear directly from Tasmanians about what is working on the ground, identify existing gaps in support services, and better understand how the Commonwealth can support practical, community led solutions to improve men’s health outcomes in both metropolitan and regional settings.
The Australian Government’s men’s health package focuses on prevention, early intervention, ending stigma, improving mental health outcomes, targeted suicide prevention, and practical funding for community based programs that support connection and wellbeing.
Mr Repacholi said he looks forward to continuing engagement with Tasmanian communities in the future as part of his work to ensure local voices help shape national men’s health policy.
Quotes attributable to Dan Repacholi, Special Envoy for Men’s Health:
“As Special Envoy, my job is pretty simple, get out of Canberra and into communities.
“This is my first visit to Tasmania in this role and I am really looking forward to hearing directly from local men, families, volunteers and service providers about the challenges they are seeing on the ground.
“Men’s health challenges look different in every community. What works in one part of the country will not necessarily translate somewhere else, particularly in regional areas.
“I want to see what is working, what needs more support and how the Commonwealth can better back local solutions.
“Too many Aussie men are still dying too young from preventable causes and that has to change.
“This visit is about making it easier for men to talk about their health, access services earlier and stay connected to their communities.”