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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 01 Hansard (Thursday, 12 February 2004) . . Page.. 273 ..

There are some real problems in relation to grieving and how a separation affects men in various ways. Depression and its effects would often lead to suicide, as Mrs Burke has indicated, or simply not being able to cope. Some, of course, adjusted but the stats in the study show that all men were affected adversely in some particular way.

The book describes men’s grieving. Men will divert feelings into normal routines such as work and hobbies, they try to get strategies for dealing with practical concerns and they suffer from stress. One to two years after separation, 33 per cent continue to report stress-related symptoms, 33 per cent claimed 10 years later that they would never get over the divorce and 67 per cent stated 10 years later that they still felt dumped—61 per cent of separations were initiated by women. I think 21 per cent of them were initiated by the men and the rest were mutually agreed upon, so it is certainly a very stressful event. For the ones who remarried, over 50 per cent of second marriages ended in divorce, adding further to the problems.

We live in a very complex society, and the new federal Leader of the Opposition rightly highlights issues about men and the need for men as role models, especially for children. There are some real issues in relation to children who see very little of their fathers and do not have a father role model and in relation to boys’ education in schools. There are some huge problems in relation to the mechanical processes and difficulties in the law faced by men during marriage breakdown: the various family law problems that can go on for many years in some instances, the huge emotional and financial costs that are suffered by men, and the huge problems which, as Mrs Burke has said, sometimes lead to suicide.

I know the family law jurisdiction is a federal one, but it affects all jurisdictions and the territory here and it is a very important factor in the way men cope. We are continually seeing issues in relation to men’s health. Every day there are new problems in that area. We also see some real problems in the support networks we have for men. Many men in our society just feel that it is very difficult to cope and that the system is letting them down. They see quite a number of support mechanisms, such as crisis accommodation, which can assist women in difficulty—again, rightly so. They are usually pretty full. I can remember that from my time as a minister and I know that from the recent stats. However, we have seen some horrible statistics in recent times, too, in relation to crisis accommodation for men.

During the debate on the tender for the men’s shelter in Kaleen and the problems experienced there, there were allegations of not very good process and bias on the part of the department by the Lone Fathers Association. It had its contract cut short in the end, and another group took over there. The allegations that that particular group, which has done so much to help men, was hard done by—which are important in themselves—are indicative of some of the problems. However, regardless of what was right or wrong there, we still only have one crisis service that looks after men with children. The indications are that the new service is doing a good job but also that there is still unmet need there. There is a need for another crisis service for men with children.

I indicated at the time that I thought one should be built on the south side, and I thought it would be appropriate if Lone Fathers ran that one. That, of course, has not happened; there are issues there to be resolved. During the debate, I recall that a figure was used,

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