Page 1229 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 7 May 2014
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MS BERRY (Ginninderra) (5.18): I have to be honest; I had not known that much about men’s sheds until more recently. I got to know them a little with a friend of mine who was down the coast, a member of a men’s shed down there, but it was only after I was elected to the Assembly that I really had the opportunity to go out to the men’s sheds and meet some of the fellows that are out there and hear some of the stories and share in their “shedness”, if you like. My recollection of sheds is mum saying, “Yeah, go down to the shed. Dad’s down the back.” But I know that the men’s sheds in the ACT and across the country are very different creatures to my dad’s shed. So I thank you for the opportunity to speak about them today.
In the ACT the men’s shed has a fairly short history but it has become an invaluable part of the territory, providing a place for Canberra’s men to socialise, learn and contribute to our community. And in my time in the Assembly, albeit a short time, I have got to know many of the men of the local men’s sheds in my electorate. I am proud of the wonderful work that they do in partnering with schools and other community organisations. I will probably be repeating a bit of what has already been said today, but I think it is important that we acknowledge the important work that the men’s sheds do for themselves but also for our community.
As I have said before in this place, I have been lucky enough to be invited to some of the men’s sheds, the Melba Men’s Shed in particular, to talk about ways they could report problems in their community to the ACT government. As I said at the time, I could not imagine a bunch of blokes better placed to do that.
I am a woman and, visiting the men’s shed, I felt a bit special that they had allowed me into their inner sanctum. Hearing some of their stories, I know that they did tone things down a little for me while I was there, and I appreciate their honesty and that they were doing that. But with the camaraderie and the bantering across the room with each other, it was really wonderful to be sitting there and being part of that conversation. Whilst they are not just interacting with each other, their involvement in this organisation, this men’s shed, has led them to discover new opportunities about how they can be involved in their community.
It is worth saying again that whenever I am out and about in my community I am always running across members of the Melba Men’s Shed in particular. Mr Doszpot has already talked about the positive male role models that they play in primary schools where they have been using Meccano as a project with kids, to help them learn in a different way. They are participants in and leaders of community walking and cycling groups, active members of the Holt community park carers, church congregations and community councils, and they are a familiar face at the barbecues at Bunnings. They also support their local neighbourhood watch groups.
I think it is important that, when we speak about men’s sheds, we highlight the fact that in many cases it is not always the case that the blokes join the shed off their own bat but rather that the strong and sometimes forceful encouragement by their wives and partners to join is the catalyst for men getting involved in their local men’s shed.
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