Federal Council of the Liberal Party has passed my motion on uplifting men and boys. This is one of my proudest moments in a dozen years of publicly advocating for males...
Two and a half months ago, I saw an opportunity to write a Policy Proposal that pushed for positive changes. Using a template from the local Policy Committee, and the results of the survey that I conducted during the summer, I got to work. There are three key objectives: reducing male suicide; tailoring healthcare to the needs and preferences of men; plus boosting the education performance of boys and young men.
At each stage I was pleased to see a wide range of people step forward to support and help my efforts to succeed: men and women of goodwill who were also keen on achieving positive change... Having written the motion and sharing it with party members, I engaged in conversations about the importance of addressing these issues.
The first formal stage was proposing the motion to my local Branch in Canberra, flagging it to the Management Committee and adding it to the General Business. Secondly was the ACT Divisional Policy Convention, where all of the Branches assembled to consider motions from members. This included quite a few interactions, both in-person and digital, to lobby and influence the members of the party. At both stages there was little visible opposition, my motion was welcomed and supported...
Finally, motions from across the country were included in the agenda for Federal Council. This is the annual gathering of parliamentarians, party officials, and members that is similar to an Annual General Meeting of a business or charity. I proposed the motion and spoke to it amid the senior party leadership, David Lamerton seconded the motion, and another speaker also supported it (a female member from another Division). It passed with no detractors.
I'm elated to have taken this idea from grassroots campaigning all the way to the senior figures in the Federal Opposition. It's a great example of participatory democracy. This is how men and women of goodwill are collaborating for better social outcomes...
Huge gratitude to Adam Morris, Mark Parton, Gerry Wheeler, Brodie Taylor, Olga Imbriano, David Lamerton, Harry Kelly, Patrick Fazzone, Nick Tyrrell, and many other people who helped to make this happen.
I've done it, and so can you! Get involved in any of the political parties or social movements. Clearly state your evidence and your objectives, build coalitions of support, and bring people along on this journey to make a better future for our precious next generation.
David Maywald
Here are the speaking notes, which I used to propose this motion to Federal Council:
This motion is an example of grassroots member involvement. I joined the party two and a half years ago. This is my first motion, which I took to my Branch and then to the ACT Division. Today I will build on the excellent work by Julian Leeser and the House of Reps inquiry into boys education. I will follow Kellie Sloane in celebrating masculinity, and Matt Cross in boosting men’s health. And I will praise Mark Parton for his leadership on suicide prevention in the ACT, through deep listening, broad consultation, and prompting whole-of-government responses.
Many people have had close personal experiences of male suicide, relationship breakdown, and separation from children. Across Australia, seven men and boys are lost to suicide each day. Far too many children are growing up with fractured lives, and fewer young people are having their own children. Fatherlessness impacts almost one million children in Australia, with the worst impact of fatherlessness on already vulnerable families and disadvantaged communities: Indigenous, lower income, weaker education, economically stressed and already at breaking point.
One Nation and others are harvesting the grievance, that is felt by some males. They criticise the Coalition parties for not doing enough to support men and boys. Their messages resonate on social media and in echo chambers, and they do make some worthwhile points. Education systems have not been meeting the needs of boys and young men, there is too much leftist indoctrination, and excessive feminisation of institutions. Health funding isn’t fair to males, with high male mortality rates and inadequate services that don’t meet the needs and preferences of men. Male suicide is a national disgrace, and it’s worsened by laws that discriminate against both men and fathers through their implementation. False accusations and affirmative action have been weaponised… This has demoralised many males of all ages.
Strategically, what is the response for the Liberal Party to expand our voter base? We shouldn’t escalate the rhetoric, with exaggeration or heated debates. We need to engage deeply with the issues and appeal to sensible voters, which encompasses both social conservatives as well as the centre-left. Develop targeted policies that meaningfully address the key issues. And this is what my motion proposes…
As a nation, we already spend several hundred million dollars each year on so-called “suicide prevention”. But during the last twelve months, male suicide rose by 5% (and female suicide fell by 2%). The National Suicide Prevention Strategy has 117 actions, of which only 3 mention males or men’s services, while males make up 76.5% of all suicides. Amongst males, suicide is the largest cause of years of life lost because it tragically cuts short the lives of more than 2,500 men and boys each year… We don’t need to spend more taxpayers’ money. We need to curtail the services and funding that isn’t making an impact, and allocate towards programs that are meeting vulnerable men where they actually are. We need to accept that male psychology is fundamentally different to female psychology, with much more emphasis on doing rather than talking, side-by-side rather than face-to-face.
Health funding is skewed heavily towards females, to an excessive degree. National Health and Medical Research Council spent six times more on Women’s Health than Men’s Health last year. The four budgets prior to 2026 had sixty times the amount of new funding allocated to women’s health initiatives, in comparison to men’s health. Some rebalancing is needed. My motion argues to lift Men’s Health from 1% of the NHMRC budget to 2%. In hospitals, primary healthcare, and mental health, we must design new services and re-design existing services to provide what men actually need and what they will use. This means deep listening and co-design, just like Kellie and Mark are doing.
I’m delighted to see the House of Reps inquiry looking at the education of boys and young men. We must strive to lift male literacy, significantly boost student engagement, ensure course completion, and upskill young men – both for our economy and to give them purpose in their lives. No more excuses or pandering to extreme ideologies and academic theories. Our precious boys are being discriminated against. Girls and young women have benefited from several decades of female-positive education. Now we need to add aspects of male-positive education, so that all students have the opportunity to thrive. More male teachers, a renewal of technical high schools, much more physical activity and hands-on learning, trades pathways integrated into schools, content that connects with boys and young men, plus parents speaking up for our precious sons.
This is how men and women of goodwill work together for better social outcomes. And I encourage you all to join this ever-expanding movement for positive change.
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