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- 4 September 2001
Port Stephens Electorate Machismo Project
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Page: 16334
Mr BARTLETT (Port Stephens) [5.50 p.m.]: In my inaugural speech I spoke, in part, about the alienation that males face in schools and in the community. The recent outbreak of so-called gang behaviour leads me to believe that that behaviour is part of the alienation. Tonight I will give an update on the Machismo project in the Port Stephens electorate. The community-based Machismo project is designed to bring together males of all ages, creating resilience and developing connectedness. Machismo operates on a number of levels using the creative and performing arts as a vehicle to improve self-esteem and wellbeing. The project provides males with non-aggressive and self-empowering tools for self-expression through workshops and performances within schools and in the community.
The Machismo project is flexible and utilises the resources of communities that take part in it. In many ways male alienation represents the lack of diversity in our community and it is the intention of Machismo to challenge those stereotypical expectations by exposing them to activities not usually directed towards males, that is, the arts. Machismo connects males, including retired men, to the community by offering fun activities in the forms of visual art, drama, film-making, music and physical theatre. My intention is to get an interchange of ideas among honourable members, because we certainly do not have any answers.
The creative and performing arts will be developed through community projects in the schools, after school and on weekends. The project comprises various strands including the physical strands that develop circus skills and performances. Another high-profile activity covers different sorts of masculinities and addresses male suicide and domestic violence. The project tries to create resilience and connectedness with the males involved in it. In Port Stephens the project is not completely in place, but it is worthwhile talking about it. The Machismo project executive comprises teachers, youth workers, people from the reuse and recycle organisation, and representatives of the local council, the arts, and the local botanic gardens. The executive group, when divided into a number of subcommittees, will do a number of things. The performing arts subgroup has received a $1,000 donation from the Minister for Juvenile Justice, which it will use to purchase unicycles and juggling sticks.
The performing arts subgroup will take young men who have a love of risk-taking on skateboards and will put them onto a unicycle and give them juggling sticks. They will be taught the skill of juggling while riding the unicycle, and they will be encouraged to perform. The performance will be put to music and a film will be produced. It is planned to take the productions to the local primary schools, which should increase the self-esteem and wellbeing of the many people involved. The project is also considering forming a photo group, which will be provided with disposable cameras to take pictures of areas in which they feel threatened and areas in which they feel safe. That could be done with males of all ages.
The Reuse and Recycling Group at Salamander Bay is involved in the establishment of a steel drum group, similar to the Jamaican Steel Drummers. The recycling group has an enormous amount of drum-size material from the waste stream including tin cans that could be used by a steel drum group. The project has discussed the implementation of a sculpture group at the local botanic gardens. Discussions have been held with the local council about displaying sculptures along the cycleway and on roundabouts. The idea is to give young men a feeling of belonging in their community. I thank many people for their involvement in this project including Janelle Pearce, Lindsay Brown, Kate Croll, Helen Brown, Graham Saxon, Barbara Lane, Jim Campbell, Ron Lindsay and Dave Sams—all of whom have given their time freely, because they believe that this project is a very good idea. [Time expired.]
Ms NORI (Port Jackson—Minister for Small Business, and Minister for Tourism) [5.55 p.m.]: I thank the honourable member for Port Stephens for drawing this matter to the attention of the House and, indeed, for having the courage to talk about it. It is not always easy for men to talk about feeling alienated within their community. I thank the honourable member for his contribution to the collective raising of consciousness of those problems. I congratulate the people involved in the Machismo project. The fact that it is community based gives me confidence that it will be successful.
Today the Premier announced some very tough law and order legislation to deal with the behaviour of certain people. Nevertheless, it is always preferable to work preventively, if we can, particularly in stopping antisocial behaviour before it becomes a problem, because offenders will be dealt with under the criminal justice system. At the end of the day, no matter how many police there are and what legislation is in force, taking responsibility at an early age for one's behaviour is the best way to achieve our social goals.
I am pleased that the Machismo project focuses on teaching men and young boys something that perhaps they are not used to, something that is a challenge to all of us as policymakers and as parents, possibly more of a challenge to those of us who are mothers, and that is to teach our sons how to express their anger and aggression verbally, not physically, and how to deal with that productively, not destructively. I congratulate the honourable member for Port Stephens and his community on their contributions to improving the social fabric of New South Wales.
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