Some things which come out of Victorian politics these days beggar belief. The Labor government of Australia’s wokest state is always seeking to push the boundaries of identity and victimhood politics, and has proudly achieved a “world first” by appointing a Parliamentary Secretary for Men’s Behaviour Change. 

No-one has been appointed to look after behaviour change in anti-Semitic university students demanding the genocide of Israelis, or climate protesters who block roads and vandalise artwork and SUVs, or indigenous activists who vandalise and destroy heritage monuments. 

Perhaps more telling is that no-one has been appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary to look into why there is an epidemic of suicide among Australian men, why the vast majority of homeless people are men, why men are overwhelmingly the victims of violent crime, why men are far more likely to die or be injured at work than women, or the inherent bias against men in Australia’s family law system. 

Domestic violence is a terrible scourge. It’s appalling that women are dying in their own homes at the hands of people they once trusted and loved. However men are victims too: 25% of all domestic violence victims are men, but no-one has been appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary to look into the profound lack of support and assistance for male victims compared to that available to women and children. 

We’re told this “world first” portfolio will focus on addressing malign influences and role models online that promote “toxic masculinity” and disrespectful attitudes towards women. No doubt there’s plenty of that on the internet, especially pornography. 

But no-one has been appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary to address the malign influences online that cause women to have potentially lethal eating disorders like anorexia, or cause children to think all their imagined problems will be solved if they take puberty blockers and switch genders, or cause young people to commit brazen crimes for social media “credit”. 

One Nation repeats the call for the appointment of ministers for men in Australian parliaments – not to scapegoat them as the only perpetrators of domestic violence, but to support men and address men’s issues like parental alienation, physical and mental health, workplace safety and the epidemic of male suicide in Australia.