Meeting Minutes: January 2025
Wagga Mens Consultation Group: the dv2650 project
Meeting Minutes: Men's Consultation Group
Date: Wednesday 29th Jan 2025
Meeting Time: 10:00am
Location: Wagga Wagga Council Chambers
Meeting Commenced: 10:02am
Chairperson: Johanna Elms – Wagga Women’s Health Centre
Attendees: Dr. Joe McGirr, Joshua Pearson, Uncle Hewitt, Richard Foley, Rhys Cummins, Penny Stanbury, Johanna Elms, Kylie Fitzpatrick, Craig Mansour, Scott Sanbrook, Dallas Tout, Michael McCormack, Ken Grimson, Daniel Tha Nya, Bernard Higgins, Phillip Tome.
Apologies: Andrew Crakanthrop, Tim Kurylowicz
Agenda
Goal Setting: Short/Medium/Long term goals for increasing male engagement around issue of Domestic and Family Violence
Roles: Co-Chair for the group, nominations for role
General: Educational resources, community news, training opportunities. Key topics of focus being; “She Is Not Your Rehab” TEDX Talk and the Men’s Wellness Centre.
Key Discussion Points
Roles: Announcement of the Co-chair role vacancy
Dallas Tout – Suggested that role should be given to an identified community leader or person, not elected.
Rhys Cummins – Asked what the responsibilities of Co-Chair were
Johanna Elms - Outlined and Highlight to the group key responsibilities of the Role
Michael McCormack – Vouched for Rhys Cummins to be appointed in the role
Uncle Hewitt – Nominated Bernard Higgins and offered his support to Benard during the role. This received secondary notion, and the room fell into agreeance.
New Co Chair appointed: Benard Higgins
General
Training opportunity for “She Is Not Your Rehab” TEDX Talk
Penny Stanbury – Highlighted the upcoming training opportunity on 13th Feb in Melbourne presented by “She is not your rehab: How to create violence free communities.” Offering 2x tickets for MCG Members:
Offered to attend: Benard Higgins – Will confirm according to dates and work commitments.
Dr. Joe McGirr – Upon watching the TEDX talk agrees that training needs to be built in and incorporated into an action plan here locally, suggests training is something that is utilised as a group during future meetings.
Suggestions for training/type of training:
something as a team for the MCG, having a Key Speaker/Trainer.
Inclusion of data research
Having “she is not your rehab” come locally to offer training
Men’s Wellness Centre
Rhys Cummins – highlight that the centre will focus on providing support for Mental health, Physical Health, Family Support services and he wants to run educational programmes out of the centre. The focus of the Centre will be Healing and Wellness.
Also confirmed from Rhys that so far the petition to open the Men’s the wellness centre now has 500 supporting signatures with 40% of these being from women.
Dr. Joe McGirr – Highlighted that the Centre should focus on narrowing down what services it will offer, where funding will come from and that the Centre needs to focus on men and women working collaboratively to engage men.
Dallas Tout: Suggestion to discuss details, timelines, ideas for the Wellness centre in the next meeting.
Goal Setting
IDEAS
Targeting specific groups such sporting events and carnivals, having information stalls at events.
Proposing Rhys and Uncle Hewitt go into Juvenile Justice/Youth Centres. Gather information around topics.
Invite a member from the Army to be a part of MCG Meetings
Invite members from other organisations spoken to be included in MCG meetings such as Propatria, Corrections, Juvenile Justice Centre
Sporting Community: Wagga Brothers and Kangaroos – program for DV. What impact it had on the players and club. What success, bring to meeting next week
Engagement with schools – find out what training and resources they are currently providing, offer more training in schools.
TAFE: having a compulsory training that is provided within work hours to all employees.
Volunteering Community Time
Men’s Health expo
Deep Dive / training day on country to go deeper into the goals – facilitated by Adam
NIA – National Indigenous Australia Agency
Meeting Adjourned: 11:04am.
Meeting Minutes: Friday 8 November 2024
Wagga Mens Consultation Group: the dv2650 project
Meeting Minutes: Men's Consultation Group
Date: Friday 8th November 2024
Time: 3:30PM
Location: Wagga Wagga Council Chambers
Chairperson: Johanna Elms – Wagga Women’s Health Centre
Attendees: Dr. Joe McGirr, Joshua Pearson, Uncle Hewitt, Richard Foley, Rhys Cummings, Penny Stanbury, Johanna Elms, Craig Mansour, Dallas Tout, Michael McCormack, Tim Kurylowicz
Agenda
Next Steps Post-Forum
Advocacy by Men
Early Intervention Initiatives
Community Engagement Strategies
Cultural and Regional Considerations
Key Discussion Points
1. Advocacy by Men
Dr. Joe: Advocacy by men is crucial to shift the narrative from being a "women’s problem" to a men’s issue. Men must take responsibility to influence public debate and change attitudes and behaviours.
Emphasized the need for a dedicated group of men to discuss and address these issues, with potential contributions from military, sporting, and CLONTARF organizations.
2. Early Intervention Initiatives
Josh: New pilot project inspired by UK-based violence reduction models, focusing on earlier intervention for youth aged 6-18 years, including primary school students.
Reframing narratives and re-engaging youth in education.
Government’s direct involvement in data sharing and coordinated responses to youth violence.
Dallas Tout: Highlighted the importance of addressing early warning signs like educational disengagement and poor attendance, starting from early childhood.
3. Community Engagement Strategies
Richard Foley: Proposed the inclusion of a prison reform group and establishing a male health center. Suggested holding public speaking events to inspire action among men.
Rhys Cummings: Praised the forum for its impactful discussions and expressed interest in being part of a working group to broaden outreach.
Tim: Noted the importance of understanding men's behaviors when feeling disempowered and the need to engage them effectively where they are.
4. Cultural and Regional Considerations
Uncle Hewitt: Emphasized cultural grounding and the role of Aboriginal leaders. Suggested creating a culturally safe model for addressing these issues.
Dr. Joe: Advocated for focusing on Wagga Wagga specifically, with a culturally respectful approach to men’s and women’s business.
Craig Mansour: Highlighted opportunities to engage youth through schools and regional networks, leveraging TRAC’s extensive reach.
5. Public Discussion and Media Engagement
Michael McCormack: Addressed the societal nature of domestic violence, emphasizing the need for community-driven solutions. Recognized the forum as a groundbreaking step.
Proposed media partnerships to drive campaigns and change public discussions.
Subcommittee Proposal: Establish a media and communications subcommittee to work on public relations and campaign strategies.
Purpose and Outcomes
Purpose: Improving the safety and community well-being of Wagga Wagga through collaborative and culturally respectful initiatives.
Outcomes:
Develop a model for violence prevention specific to Wagga Wagga and its district.
Integrate the initiative into RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) with strong Aboriginal leadership.
Establish culturally safe practices, acknowledging traditional custodians.
Next Steps
Establish Subcommittee: Form a working group to engage media and partners.
Implementation Plan: Develop short-, medium-, and long-term strategies tailored to different age groups and community needs.
Resource Sharing: Use a collaborative platform (e.g., Google Docs or a wiki) for transparency and coordination.
Follow-Up Meeting: Schedule a Christmas meeting to review progress and set milestones for 2025 activities.
Meeting Adjourned: 4:29 PM.
