The Men's Network

With special guest:

• Glen Poole.

On today’s program, we focus on the work of Glen Poole, who is chair of The Men’s Network, in England. While based in the UK, this movement is sure to expand across the globe, due to the parallel anti men/father bias, prevailing in most of the western democracies.

The Men’s Network in England – is a charitable organisation committed to improving the lives of men and boys in all areas of life – health, education, criminal justice, social justice, fatherhood etc. The aim of The Men’s Network is to take one small UK city – Brighton & Hove – and make it an international beacon of best practice that inspires other cities and countries around the world to take radical action to help all men and boys reach their fullest potential

Glen is 41 – works as a campaigns and communications consultant – and is best known his work as PR Director and Media Spokesman, for the infamous Fathers 4 Justice campaign, that he helped become a global phenomena 2003/2004. Glen was a stay-at-home dad in the late nineties and wrote for several parenting magazines in the UK about his experiences as a father.

He discovered the failings of the family law system at first hand after his wife left him when their only child was 2 years old. He found he was unable to win sole custody of his daughter, despite being her primary carer, but was successful in his fight for shared custody. He has shared parenting of his daughter for 11 years and is a passionate advocate of the need for radical reform and intervention worldwide to ensure that every human being has the best possible chance of having a great relationship with both their parents.  

Having worked extensively in the public and not-for-profit sectors Glen has observed at first hand the failings of the these services to meet the needs of men and boys in areas such as health, social care, education, housing etc – and as a result, Glen has long believed that there needs to be a Ministry For Men in the UK – and other countries too.

In March 2010 he joined forces with men in one city – Brighton & Hove, England – to form The Men’s Network – a charitable organisation that he believes will – in time - help transform the way the world works for men, boys and fathers. Glen has 5 years to complete the UK phase of this project, as he is heading for Australia in 2015 with his partner, who is a dual nationality citizen who spends her time between Byron Bay and England.

Glen is also dedicated to the promotion of International Men’s Day, and enthusiastically supports this upcoming event, due to be celebrated around the world on the 19th November 2010.

Last year, Dads on the Air dedicated a whole program to this important event, which will be repeated again this year. Accordingly next week’s program will  be totally focussed on International Men’s Day 2010, with a host of guests from all corners of the globe participating. 

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Men's Day In Movember

With special guests:

• Rob Treharne
• Sue Price and
• Uma Challa.

The month of November, appears to be rapidly developing into a Men’s Month, both Nationally and Internationally. It sees a number of worthy initiatives, which focus on the need to respect and better recognize the important roles men play, in a healthy society and the human family.

 

At a time when it is fashionable to ignore the needs of men and their health and wellbeing, it is refreshing to learn that most women in our communities, are appalled at the level of ridicule, neglect and persecution, our men and boys are forced to endure, at the hands of our mainstream media and apathetic governments.

 

This week we speak with three dedicated International supporters of men, who are doing their best to raise awareness, to the perilous plight of today’s male, and who play an important part in the organising of International campaigns to achieve these goals.

 

First up we speak with Rob Treharne, who speaks on behalf of the Movember Australia campaign. Each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world, with the sole aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

 

Next we speak with Sue Price, Men’s Rights Agency, whose untiring efforts in support of men, is well known around the world. Sue speaks enthusiastically, about the upcoming International Mens Day campaign, which will be celebrated in an ever growing number of countries around the world, on the 19th of November.

 

We end the show with an informative interview with Uma Challa, AIMWA, who heads the Indian team, which will spearhead the International Men’s Day campaign in India. Uma is an Anthropologist and Biologist by training, and has been an activist in support of Men’s rights for 5 yrs. She fights against the misuse of protections and privileges granted to women, and has worked hard to achieve true equality under law for both men and women of India.

Uma is also the founder of the All India Forgotten Women’s Association (AIFWA), All India Men’s Welfare Association (AIMWA), and the Andhra Pradesh Mothers-in-law Protection Association (APMPA). She is currently the President of both, AIFWA and AIMWA.

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Promoting Gender And Race Equality

With Special Guests:

• Dr. Warren Farrell and
• Lee-Anne Smith.

At a time when changing slogans and spin, bombard us at an incredible rate, it is difficult to keep up with what is propaganda and what is real. Just to name a few examples of a growing list of deceptive, manipulative blurring of the facts, to which the community is exposed daily, consider the following.

Global Warming has become Climate Change, Equal Rights for Women, has become Women’s Rights, Domestic Violence has turned into Violence Against Women, conveniently ignoring the fact that at least one third of the victims are Men.

 

Equal Pay For Equal Work, has morphed into Equal Pay For Women, never mind that women often work less hours, thereby earning less pay. Never mind also, that it is already illegal to pay someone less pay for the same hours worked, doing the same work, on the basis of age,race or gender.

 

It is refreshing therefore, to listen to the genuine and informed, as they speak passionately about real gender and racial equality. No sloganeering here, just the facts and a passion to promote equality. This week we speak with two such people, who represent the genuine article, and present a well balanced enthusiasm for their cause. 

 

Our first guest is Dr Warren Farrell, The Myth of Male Power, who’s understanding of both sexes is symbolized by his being, on the one hand, on the boards of four national men’s organizations, and on the other hand, being the only man in the US to be elected three times to the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women in New York City.  Similarly, he has started over 600 men’s and women’s groups, and over 200,000 women and men have attended his workshops worldwide.  

 

Dr. Warren Farrell began his research on gender issues in the ‘60s.  His first book, The Liberated Man, was published in 1974.  It was from the women’s perspective and the feminist perspective.  By the ‘80s, he began noticing that men were feeling misrepresented, and his award-winning national best-seller, Why Men Are The Way They Are, was written to answer women’s questions about men in a way that rings true for men.  

 

Our second guest is Lee-Anne Smith, of the Halo Leadership Agency. Halo is a non-profit incorporated, career and personal development agency, advancing Hopes, Aspirations and Leadership Opportunities for young people. The agency listens to the needs of young people, providing advocacy, programmes, peer mentoring and networking opportunities, that enable individuals to discover who they are, design their own futures and make a difference in their communities.

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The Recognition Of Parental Alienation

With Special guests:

• Dr. Glenn Ross Caddy and

• Prof. William Bernet, MD.

Incredibly, there are still those who believe the earth is flat, and others who are adamant that the holocaust never took place. These delusional skeptics are joined by those who are still in denial about the existence of Parental Alienation. 

Despite the availability of a mountain of documented evidence, in the form of peer reviewed academic research, a host of books and articles, as well as numerous court documents and victim accounts, there are still those who refuse to accept, that indoctrination of millions of vulnerable children, could possibly be taking place. 

 

The only conclusion that can be drawn from such delusional reasoning, so dangerous to our children’s well being, is that many of these so called ‘experts’, are either terribly incompetent or highly motivated to protect their lucrative source of income, which is derived from their involvement with the Family Justice Industry.

 

Today we speak with two academic experts on Parental Alienation, who live in the real world, and who share the disbelief that this form of child abuse is still not more widely acknowledged.

First up we speak with Australian Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Dr. Glenn Ross Caddy, who explains the pathology of Parental Alienation. Dr Ross Caddy describes in detail the terrible consequences of such child abuse, and how it negatively impacts not only the child, but also many other extended family members.

 

Our second guest is Professor William Bernet M.D, who is Professor of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, USA.  Dr. Bernet has been a member of the faculty since 1992, and is the director of Vanderbilt Forensic Services, the program that applies psychiatric expertise to legal situations.  Professor Bernet’s research provides valuable insight into the Parental Alienation Syndrome, and his work and efforts for better recognition of this phenomenon is to be applauded. 

 

The many parents and children who have had this unwanted abuse inflicted upon them, are well advised to listen to the interviews with these highly respected experts, and perhaps find some understanding and solace, for their undoubted emotional torment at having been forcibly separated from those they love most.

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Celebrating A Decade Of Dads On The Air

With special guests:

• Dr. Stephen Baskerville
• Sue Price
• Geoffrey Greene
• Barry Williams
• Warwick Marsh
• John Flannagan and
• Tony Miller.

In a remarkable show of solidarity and a sign that hope can defeat despair, a determined group of fathers and supporters gathered at Sydney radio station 2GLF this week, to celebrate 10 years of Dads On The Air. Both past and present members of the DOTA team came from far and wide, and proudly renewed a steadfast resolve to continue with their mission, to expose the immoral practices of an atrocious family justice industry, made possible by appallingly ineffective Family Law legislation.     

As they stood around the studio kitchen table, focused on a birthday cake, singing happy birthday DOTA, these traumatized Dads resembled a group of returned soldiers who, having been highly traumatized by the ravages of war, are in the process of rebuilding their lives. Their common bond was forged by the trauma suffered at the loss of access to their children, which has been forced upon them against their will, by a number of Government agencies.  

Successive Governments continue to inflict this trauma upon their citizenry, by persisting with the protection of the child removal industry, rather then protecting the family bonds of their constituents. For many years now, Governments of all persuasions have allowed their social policy platforms to be hijacked by a corrupt and inhumane anti-family, anti-male, Family Justice Industry, which is removing children from families in ever increasing numbers, leaving every family vulnerable to the destructive ravishes of this Industry.  

But what is now the world’s longest running radio program dealing with Men and Father issues, Dads On The Air, will continue to expose and broadcast to the world, the excesses of these crimes against humanity.  

Members of the DOTA team in the studio, were co-founders of DOTA, respected journalist John Stapleton, retired Police Detective Rick Torning [Uncle Buck], and former police officer Rod Hardwick, other team members present were, Author and Musician Ian Purdie, Musician and Entertainer Peter van de Voorde, Co-ordinator of Dads in Distress Phillip York, Researcher with Men’s Health Australia Greg Andresen, Lawyer and Mediator Bill Kable.

They were joined on air by a number of other leading advocates calling for urgent changes to Family Justice legislation, from both Australia and overseas, all of whom are united in purpose and working hard to inform Governments, that they are failing in their duty of care to protect the bonds of parent/child relationships Internationally.   

Our first guest was celebrated American Author and Assistant Professor of Political Science, Dr.Stephen Baskerville, ‘Taken Into Custody’ , followed by Sue Price, Men’s Rights Agency, Geoffrey Greene, former federal director Shared Parenting Council of Australia, Barry Williams, President, Lone Fathers Association, Australia, Warwick Marsh, Fatherhood Foundation, John Flannagan, Non Custodial Parents Party, and Tony Miller, Order of Australia Medal recipient, and founder of Dads in Distress.   

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Concern For The Nations' Boys

With special guests:

• Maggie Hamilton

• Melinda Tankard Reist

• Julie Gale and

• Dr Arne Rubinstein.                                                                          

Following years of neglect, there finally appears to be a ripple of concern, for the wellbeing of the nations’ boys. Growing up in an era that sees their fathers portrayed as either bumbling idiots or violent abusers, it is difficult for boys to find a role model to be proud of, or a place where they are honored.  

Our program this week consists of the recorded presentations made by four outstanding speakers, at a recent function held at NSW Parliament House, who dealt with the concern held by many, that we need to improve the support for the next generation of young men.  

First up we hear Maggie Hamilton, ‘What Is Happening To Our Boys’ , who as a well known author and social commentator, speaks about her new book, and the many reasons why we should be concerned about the way we support our boys, as they deal with the social pressures, new technologies, drugs and alcohol, peer pressure and porn, which affect them.   

Next we hear Melinda Tankard Reist, ‘Collective Shout’, who is concerned about the level of exposure to pornography and other social interests, and how some marketing influences negatively impact on our childrens’ view of the world.  

This is followed by Julie Gale, ‘Kids Free To Be Kids’, who is also concerned with the health and wellbeing of our kids, and how children are portrayed in advertising - i.e. What they wear, how they’re posed.  

Finally we hear an informative presentation by Dr. Arne Rubinstein, ‘Rites Of Passage’, who is the Co-Founder and past CEO of the Pathways Foundation, a Not For Profit organization that runs the National Award Winning Pathways to Manhood program in schools and communities around Australia. This program for teenage boys and their fathers is a contemporary Rite of Passage that aims to inspire the boys to have a vision and reach their potential.   

Dads On The Air is proud to have been broadcasting Men and Father’s issues for the past 10 years, and will celebrate our 10th anniversary, and persistence in the face of many adversities, on next weeks show. This now makes us the world’s longest running radio program, dealing with father issues.  

We hope to have many of our past contributors on the program, and look forward to your company, as we celebrate the success of the past 10 years, and proudly move into the next decade.

While it is difficult to be a lone voice in the wilderness, our mission will not be accomplished until the wilderness of political and media ignorance, is conquered, and our children’s human right to enjoy the love, care and protection of both parents, is guaranteed, and enshrined in legislation. 

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tagged Boys / Rites of Passage, Boys' Education, Gender & Masculinities, Media Representation of Males, Mentoring, Raising Kids, Relationships, Young Men

Tuesday

Sep282010

Fathers At Heart Of Early Childhood

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guest:

• Paul Prichard.                                                                          

While one arm of Government funded research, attached to an associated bureaucracy, promotes the view of the importance of fathers in early childhood, another arm of Government funded research and associated bureaucracy, promotes a one shoe fits all anti shared parenting policy.

 

Confusing the issue even further, is the deceptive ‘Equal Shared Parenting Responsibility’ legislation, enacted by the Howard Government. This clever but cruel, political smoke and mirrors psycho babble, served to fool Parliament and the community, into believing that Equal Shared Parenting Time, had finally become a reality, while in fact it simply allowed the sharing of parental responsibilities, where considered appropriate.

 

Totally ignored was the fact, that any notion of the equal sharing of parenting time, would continue to be subject to the mercy of the custodial parent.

 

But this week we play a recorded presentation, on the subject of why fathers should be central to our rethinking of early childhood in Australia. The keynote speech by Paul Prichard, ‘Centre for Community & Child Health”, was presented at the National Men’s Health Convention, in Newcastle.

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tagged Fathers - New & Expectant, Male-Friendly Services, Media Representation of Males, Raising Kids, Young Men

Tuesday

Sep212010

Supporting Australian Dads

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Akiva Quinn and

• Darren Atkinson.                                                                          

In an era when fathers are treated as a disposable commodity, there are those in our community who actually care enough about the plight of Australia’s dads, to help them cope with the difficulties of trying to be a dad during this difficult period.

This historically discriminating anti Men/Father era, is also shared by our Indigenous brothers. The only difference is that the dispossession and dis-empowerment of Indigenous men, started long before the wider community turned on its own men, fathers and boys. 

On today’s show we play two interesting interviews, recorded at the last National Men’s Health Convention in Newcastle with two such supporters of our Dads, who speak about the work they are doing in support of Australian Dads. 

 

The first interview is with Akiva Quinn, of Dadslink, a support group for dads in Victoria. He explains in detail the exciting programs made available by his organization, which go some way in helping Dads to better connect and bond with their children.

 

Our second interview is with Darren Atkinson of the support group, I’m an Aboriginal Dad. Darren is an Indigenous leader, with a passion to improve the parenting role of young Indigenous fathers. He explains how the child removal policies, and the prolonged dis-empowerment and persecution of Indigenous males, all but destroyed the fabric of his culture.

 

Many young Aboriginal men, have not benefited from a father figure during their childhood and lacked a good role model to prepare them for fatherhood. Interestingly, now that we have fine tuned this discriminating, government sponsored, child removal policy via our Family Courts, there is no doubt we will inherit the same aftermath as that now experienced by our Indigenous brothers. 

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tagged Fatherlessness, Indigenous Men & Fathers, Male-Friendly Services, Men's Groups, Men's Health, Mentoring, Raising Kids, Relationships

Tuesday

Sep142010

She-Wolves In Sheeps' Clothing

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Elizabeth Willmott Harrop and
• Steve Martin.

She may not be the first, nor will she be the last, to speak out in abhorrence at the level of accepted community bigotry. However on the subject of female child abusers, nobody does it better than Elizabeth Willmott Harrop, “She-Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”. Elizabeth resides in New Zealand, is a freelance writer, and has a Masters Degree in Human Rights and Social Change.

If anyone should be in doubt about the true state of who is actually involved with the abuse of children in our communities, they should listen to this weeks’ excellent interview with Elizabeth. As a well informed social commentator from New Zealand, she has carefully researched the subject, and articulates her findings with a passion, reserved for those stung by a horrible truth.

Elizabeth details her research, which includes statistics from the USA , Australia and the UK, as well as that of her native New Zealand, and the global findings are frighteningly similar.

What is most distressing is the level of Government unwillingness to recognize the findings of a plethora of studies, which reveal that female child abusers not only exist, but in actual number, almost equals the number of male abusers.

Unbelievably, despite the wealth of credible information available, elected representatives in the western democracies, persist in turning a blind eye to the truth about this issue, resulting in the drafting of hopelessly ineffective child protection legislation, which continues to be founded on a distorted perception of reality.

 

We are also joined by Steve Martin, CEO of Stepfamilies Australia, Melbourne, who speaks in detail about the dads in stepfamilies and the services offered by his organization.    

It is estimated that one in five Australian families is a stepfamily, which is fast becoming a prominent part of Australian family life. Many of these families need information, education and support. While there are many resources for biological families available to the community, the unique differences associated with stepfamilies are not well addressed, with very few services available.

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tagged Celebrating Men, Child Abduction, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, False Allegations, Male-Friendly Services, Mentoring, Raising Kids, Relationships

Tuesday

Sep072010

What Men Want - In Bed

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Bettina Arndt and
• Helen Rimington. 

At a time when it is considered funny and fashionable to engage in men and father bashing, it is certainly refreshing to see someone with the courage to enquire about the physical and emotional needs of men.

Well known social commentator, author and sex therapist Bettina Arndt,  “What Men Want - In Bed”, joins us to speak about her new book, and explains in detail, what her research into the needs of men has discovered.

 
Outspoken and pleasantly engaging, Bettina has left no stone unturned, in order to discover the inner thoughts of men, which are usually not discussed in public and which many men struggle with. This book is now widely available and a must read for all men.

 

We begin the show with an interesting interview with another woman who supports the well-being of men, Helen Rimington Director, Family Wellbeing,“Drummond Street Services”, who details the services provided by her organisation.

Helen speaks of a great new program offered to Dads, “Backyard Blitz”, which is an activity program specifically designed to help Dads and their kids.

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tagged Celebrating Men, Gender & Masculinities, Male-Friendly Services, Men's Health, Mentoring, Older Men & Fathers, Raising Kids, Relationships

Tuesday

Aug312010

Fatherless Day 2010

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Barry Williams

• Stephen S Holden and
  

• Warwick Marsh.
                                                                              

Despite all the evidence available in the form of a multitude of credible research and statistics, which clearly shows the immense damage being done to the bonds of family kinship in our Australian communities, the unrelenting push for a fatherless society continues.

The fact that this mountain of evidence continues to be ignored, is a sad reflection on the way our parliamentary system of government has been hijacked, by the anti-male zealots within the political parties and the bureaucracy.

 

Hundreds of thousands of Dads will not see their children this Fathers Day 2010, yet this did not even rate one mention during the recent federal election.  It is no wonder the wider community has turned their back on the main parties, who have ignored the many concerns of their constituents for far too long.

 

Speaking about some of these concerns, Barry Williams, President of the Lone Fathers Association Australia, describes the current Family laws as being in breach of anti discrimination legislation. He plans to take 4 points of discrimination to the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

 

We also speak with separated father Stephen S Holden author of The Other Glass Ceiling, who details some of the anti-father legislation and how easily it can destroy a fathers’ relationship with his children.

We end the show with Warwick Marsh, of Dads4Kids, who speaks about the importance of dads in a child’s life, and the celebration of fatherhood this special weekend on Fathers Day.

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tagged Celebrating Men, Family Law, Fatherlessness, Men's Health, Non-Custodial Fathers, Political Activism, Relationships, Shared Parenting

Tuesday

Aug242010

The Plight Of Modern Man

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guest:

• Paul Mischefski.  
                                                                              
  

This week we feature an interesting pre-recorded interview with investigative journalist Paul Mischefski of Mens Wellbeing, who speaks on a range of issues facing modern man in the 21st Century. In particular, there is considerable discussion around the way Domestic Violence issues are dealt with in Australia and elsewhere.  

Paul throws much doubt on the way information is gathered and how studies are conducted, which is reflected in poor domestic violence policy formulation by our governments. The resulting damage to generations of innocent men and boys by such discriminating anti male Domestic Violence propaganda, is incalculable.         

The ‘Mens Wellbeing’ website provides much helpful and informative information, including the following:  

At their deepest level, most men yearn to participate in some small or large way in the creation of a better world, and in doing so serve their families, loved ones and community. How to fulfil this yearning in these complex times is a conundrum that leaves some part of just about every man struggling for clear direction within himself about what it means to be an authentic, healthy man in our society.

Being a man in the 21st Century is no easy task.  In just one generation, the expectations on men have changed dramatically. Our roles as fathers, lovers, workers, community members, brothers and friends have all changed from what was expected of our fathers, in some cases almost beyond recognition. This rapid rate of change has left many men without adequate role models and in a state of confusion about what it means to be a man in the modern era.

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tagged Celebrating Men, Domestic Violence, False Allegations, Family Law, Fatherlessness, Male-Friendly Services, Men's Groups, Men's Health, Mentoring, Relationships

Tuesday

Aug172010

Men's Health, Alienation and Votes

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Ed Dabrowski
  

• Greg Millan and
  

• Joseph Goldberg.
                                                                              

The rights, and roles of men and fathers, have never been under more pressure at any time in human history. The gradual stereotyping and marginalizing of men and fathers in our communities, is witness to the decimation of the family structure as we know it. Children born today only have a 1 in 3 chance of remaining in meaningful contact with both the maternal and paternal sides of their family, in the event their parents should separate.  

It would not be unreasonable to assume therefore, that with a Federal election in Australia looming, the media and the major parties would have had something to say about an issue which has destroyed millions of parent/child relationships, as the result of a 35 year reign of terror waged on families, by the International Family Justice Industry.

Predictably however, with the exception of the NCPP, the silence has been deafening. Not one question raised by the mainstream media, not one caller to a Radio or Television station, not one comment was heard on this subject, by any of the candidates representing the major parties. It also raises the serious question as to why there is such apathy amongst the multitude of victims of this travesty of justice? Where were their voices? 

On today’s program we will discuss some of the causes and ways to deal with the ongoing debasing of maleness. Our first guest today is Ed Dabrowski  of mensvote.com, who discusses the policy positions of the major parties, concerning men as fathers and the issue of family values, in an attempt to understand the platforms of the political parties concerned.   

Next we speak with Greg Millan of Mens Health Services , who has just launched his latest book ‘Men’s Health & Wellbeing: an A to Z guide’. Greg is a men’s health consultant, who speaks about his new book and the men’s health services, who provide professional expertise in the design and delivery of effective programs and resources for men, as well as offering professional training designed specifically to help address the unique needs of men and boys.  

We then speak with Canadian medical - legal consultant  Joseph Goldberg, of Goldberg & Associates, who specialises in the area of Parental Alienation cases. Joseph has an intimate knowledge of this disorder, being an Alienated parent himself, and now has many speaking engagements and organises a number of symposiums which focus on the subject of PAS.     

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tagged Celebrating Men, Family Law, Fatherlessness, Media Representation of Males, Men's Groups, Men's Health, Parental Alienation/Psychological Abuse, Political Activism, Shared Parenting

Tuesday

Aug102010

Equal Parental Involvement

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Professor Thea Brown and
  

• John Stapleton.
                                                                              

This week we have an interesting interview with Professor Thea Brown, from Monash University, who speaks about her paper “Shared parenting and parental involvement in children’s schooling following separation and divorce”.

Professor Brown was appointed as Professor of Social Work in 1988, serving as Head of the Department, the Director of International Programs and Deputy Head and is now Professor, Research.  Her most recent research focus has been on separating parents and their children, on family violence and parental separation and divorce and on services supporting separating parents.

 

Professor Brown, speaks about the important need for Governments to act, in order to ensure that non-custodial parents continue to be involved with their childrens’ progress, especially in the area of their education. She points out the unacceptable policy differences in this area, which vary from State to State and from school to school.

 

We also spoke briefly with John Stapleton, who is in Thailand at present. Unfortunately the phone connection was not very good, and eventually dropped out. We hope to speak with John again in the near future. 

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tagged Boys' Education, Family Law, Fatherlessness, Non-Custodial Fathers, Political Activism, Raising Kids, Separation / Divorce, Shared Parenting

Tuesday

Aug032010

A Vision Of Justice

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• David Dufour and
  

• Coral Slattery.
                                                                              

An interesting program this week, where we discuss just some of the many issues facing Men and Fathers in 2010. First up we speak with American film maker David Dufour, Mediadads, who recently came out to Australia, to record material for a documentary he is making, about what it means to be male in 2010. Now back in America, he speaks about the interesting experiences of his journey.  

An organization of volunteers that has put an immense effort, into providing a continuous supply of updated information regarding the many ramifications of poor Family Law legislation in Australia, is the Family Law Reform Association.   

We speak with the secretary of this worthy organization Coral Slattery, and discuss some of the issues facing fathers. In particular the way the education system deals with the sensitive problems facing fathers, when they attempt to obtain access to their childrens’ educational progress.

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tagged Boys' Education, Family Law, Fatherlessness, Gender & Masculinities, International Perspectives, Non-Custodial Fathers, Political Activism, Raising Kids

Tuesday

Jul272010

Families And Elections

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Samantha Page and
  

• John Flanagan.
                                                                              

First up we speak with Samantha Page, who is the Executive Director of Family Relationship Services Australia (FRSA), which is the national peak body for family relationship and support services. Their purpose and mission, is to provide national leadership and representation for services that work to strengthen the well-being, safety and resilience of families, children and communities.  

FRSA member organizations deliver professional, quality assured family and relationship services across Australia through more than 400 outlets. Their membership includes faith-based and secular organizations, ranging in size and scope from small local community organizations to large state-wide and national service providers.  

Samantha faced some difficult questioning dealing with the delays in the system, the non-compliance of court orders, and the agenda driven anti shared parenting bias of some of the agencies.

Our second guest this week is John Flanagan, who is the Deputy Registered Officer of the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting). John speaks candidly about the role of his party in the coming Federal Elections.   

While the NCPP does not expect to see any of their candidates in Parliament, the Party nevertheless plays an important role in raising community awareness to the perilous state of  the Family Justice System, and the debilitating cost to the fabric of our society.  

John acknowledges that the 2006 legislation, which provided us with the much heralded “Equal Shared Parenting Responsibility Bill”, has absolutely nothing to do with  “Equal Shared Parenting Time” for separated parents.  

Unfortunately, while Dads On The Air correctly pointed out at the time, that it was a cruel exercise in Political Spin, most of the wider community, the service providers, as well as many in the fatherhood movement, fell for this discredited political con job.

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tagged Family Law, Fatherlessness, Male-Friendly Services, Non-Custodial Fathers, Political Activism, Relationships, Separation / Divorce, Shared Parenting

Tuesday

Jul202010

Dads in Distress Special

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Barry Guidera
  

• Laurence Anderson
  

• Rob Koch and

• Marcia Payne.                                                                               

For Australian men, who have reached the end of their emotional ability to cope with the ravages of a Family Justice system, which has removed their children, property and savings, Dads In Distress provides a safe and supportive haven for them to regain their emotional strength and sense of self-worth.

This week we salute all those who work in this wonderful organization, and who give up much of their spare time to help their fellow human beings cope, with the preventable, most traumatizing time in their lives.

Now 10 years old, Dads In Distress [DIDS] is moving from strength to strength in support of an ever increasing group of emotionally damaged dispossessed parents. First up we speak with the National Manager of DIDS, Barry Guidera, who gives us an overview of their great work. Next we speak with the Victorian project co-ordinator Laurence Anderson who details the new operational strategies being developed. We follow this by talking to Rob Koch Better Men Australia, who acts as a consultant to DIDS, and details some of the advice he offers DIDS.

We close the show speaking with Marcia Payne, DIDS Support Services, who has worked in Women’s refuges and who, having witnessed first hand the services provided to abused women, is deeply concerned at the lack of interest shown by our Governments, to acknowledge and provide support for the growing number of abused Men in our society.

The following is a snippet from the DIDS website which offers a wealth of information and support, to those finding themselves at the end of their emotional road.

“If you are finding it hard to deal with the break-up of a marriage, depression, child access, family court or just need someone to talk to, Dads in Distress is there to help”.

“Dads in Distress is a dedicated support group of men (in Australia) whose immediate concern is to stem the present trend of male suicide due to the trauma of divorce or separation. Current statistics that have been published, indicate too many men will take their own lives in preference to facing family, friends and importantly their own children with the failure of the relationship. We aim to prevent this incidence from occurring by showing the men and the community at large that someone really cares”

“While Dads in Distress Support Services (DIDSS) by its very name appears to be focused mainly on supporting men through separation from their partner and/or children, we actually have the health, safety and well-being of ALL the family uppermost in our mind. As a harm-prevention charity it saddens us that in our modern society of Australia there are men, women and children who are being harmed, and harming one another, in the very place where love and kindness should prevail”

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tagged Domestic Violence, False Allegations, Family Law, Fatherlessness, Men's Groups, Men's Health, Mentoring, Parental Alienation/Psychological Abuse, Separation / Divorce, Shared Parenting, Suicide

Tuesday

Jul132010

Research, Stress, and Contentment

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 10:30PM

With special guests:

• Dr. Bruce Smyth
  

• Graeme Campbell and

• John Stapleton.                                                                              

A diversity of subject matter is covered in the topics of this week’s show. We commence the program with an interesting interview with Dr Bruce Smyth, who is Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Public Health, La Trobe University.  

Dr Smyth has previously worked at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) as a Senior Research Fellow. He was also a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Child Support.  

Today he speaks candidly about some of the areas of research and number crunching he has been involved with, in relation to the gathering of statistics on the impacts of Australian Family Laws, on various vulnerable sections of the community.  

Next we speak with Graeme Campbell, a spokesman for the group  SRL- R [Self Representing Litigants - Resources].  SRL-R is a support organisation for those who by choice or necessity, have decided to represent themselves in either the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court in Children’s matters.  

Unless you are familiar with the Family Court environment, representing yourself in this Court will be one of the most stressful experiences you will ever encounter. Especially since those finding themselves in such unfortunate position, generally are already deeply traumatized, due to a number of the nasty side effects of the breakup of their family.   

Last but certainly not least, we speak to John Stapleton, the founder of Dads on the Air, and for many years the regular on-air presenter of our weekly program. John co-founded the program more than 10 years ago, and with his journalistic experience was the driving force behind the success of the program.  

John is a respected journalist of many years standing, who has worked for several of the leading newspapers of Australia. Now residing in Thailand, he sounds like he has discovered his Utopia in the middle of Asia.  

A true gentleman himself, John loves the gentle nature of the Thai population and the way families are valued. Compared to the individualistic nature of our own, dog eat dog culture, he certainly sounds contented and very much attracted to the Thai way of life.   

We very much enjoyed speaking with John, especially listening to the beautiful way he weaves his words  and sentences together, to present a wonderful picture in the mind of the listener. We certainly miss the creative journalistic skills he contributed to the program during those many years. 

Most unlike John, he ran out of phone credit in the middle of the interview, so we hope to hear from him again as soon as he obtains a re-charge.  

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tagged Child Support, False Allegations, Family Law, Fatherlessness, International Perspectives, Men's Groups, Separation / Divorce, Shared Parenting

Tuesday

Jul062010

One In Three Abusers Are Women

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Greg Andresen and 

• Sue Price.                                                                              

Our first guest is Greg Andresen, of the One in Three Campaign, who attended the recent Intimate Partner Abuse of Men Workshop, held on Wednesday 16 June 2010 in Perth, Western Australia. The workshop was aimed at service providers plus anyone who works with victims and perpetrators of family and domestic violence, and considered the implications for service providers, of the Edith Cowan University (ECU) Intimate Partner Abuse of Men research.  

Greg paints a disturbing picture of the way governments and the media, continue to be  misled by distorted and misleading facts and figures, presented by self interest groups, who want to ensure their collective snouts remain firmly planted deep inside the public trough.  

The fact that more questions are not being asked by our policymakers and the mainstream media, perhaps illustrates the reason for the continuation and acceptance of appallingly inadequate Family Laws and Domestic Violence legislation.  

By way of example, it is our understanding that a number of service providers attending the workshop, mentioned that Relationships Australia (WA) had directed their staff not to attend. This would be unsurprising, considering the views of their Manager, Terri Riley, expressed in the West Australian newspaper on June 1st 2010 (click here to view the article). As well as sustaining many discredited myths about domestic and family violence in this opinion piece, we are extremely concerned that the head of Relationships Australia, by telling male victims that they do not, and can not, experience systematic controlling abuse like women can, will prevent them from seeking help from services like Relationships Australia.  

Despite denying the documented reality that at least 1 in 3 of the perpetrators of Domestic Violence are women, Ms Riley proudly claims 7000 men sought help and support from Relationships Australia last year.   

In view of what Ms Riley has revealed about Relationship Australia’s bigoted philosophy, it would seem that any unsuspecting man seeking help and understanding for abuse from this organization, has about as much chance of success, as a victimized black man had, who sought help for abuse from the Ku Klax Clan, during its reign of terror.

The obvious question is, where are the anger management programs for the one in three  violent and  abusive women in our society? Or do we continue to pretend they do not exist? 

To provide an overview of the coming Australian election, and the possible implications for the nations’ fathers and their children, we conclude the show speaking with Sue Price from the Mens Rights Agency.   While recommending a continual vigil, to ensure the current government and its anti male followers are held to account, she nevertheless recommends boycotting the enduring bias and discriminating consultative process.  

Following 15 years of lobbying, Sue is frustrated by the way the system excludes and sidelines most of the credible independent voices, who represent the victims, and who continue to call for real justice and equality in the area of Family Law.  

Sue correctly points out, the way successive governments provide funding to a couple of lobby groups, in order to give the impression that they are actually seriously consulting with those claiming to represent the nations’ fathers. 

Unfortunately, these groups are seriously compromised, due to their total dependence on such government funding for their survival. It is well known, that if you want to neutralize your critics, you put them on your payroll.

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tagged Discrimination, Domestic Violence, False Allegations, Family Law, Feminism, Media Representation of Males, Political Activism

Tuesday

Jun292010

Winner Take All

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 10:30AM

With special guests:

• Molly Murphy
• Andrea Hayward and
• Robin Inslay.

Much has already been written about an appalling family justice system, which continues to wreak catastrophic havoc to the parent/child relationships of separating families. Molly Murphy, “Winner Take All”, who hails from Canada, decided to add her voice to the growing International chorus of authors and professionals, who have decided they can no longer stand by and watch our families and communities implode.

Her new book “Winner Take All”, provides a graphic account of the way separated parents are treated by our family justice system, and how the system fails to provide social justice equally. Molly joins us, to speak of how she came to write her book, and explains the urgent need for major changes, if our family bonds are to survive.

Molly Murphy is a registered nurse with a specialized designation in psychiatry having more than twenty years’ experience in the health-care field. She resides in Ontario with her three daughters and divides her time between her two passions. Her number one priority is family and her second is to help change family law so that the rights of both the custodial and non-custodial parents are valued equally by our judicial system.

Currently it is the father who is forced into accepting the role as the non-custodial parent to their own children in the majority of cases. By advocating, Molly hopes to one day see law reforms come into effect that truly reflect the best interests of our children. She also wants to create awareness through her writing concerning the dysfunction and discrimination that exists globally today within the family law system.

Our next guest is Andrea Hayward, who is director of DNA QLD, and who was recently asked to speak at the Lone Father’s Conference in Canberra.  Andrea outlines the procedures of a DNA paternity test and the Australian position on testing .

DNA QLD is a NATA/ISO accredited specialist Paternity testing facility offering quality world-class testing and client care. DNA QLD is focused solely on parentage testing and genotyping, unlike some other parentage testing facilities which also test for genetic syndromes. DNA QLD has a proven capability to facilitate testing for clients located in any state of Australia and in international locations such as Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and PNG. DNA QLD does not outsource testing to other laboratories and all our cases are processed in Brisbane. DNA QLD has a free collection centre in the Brisbane CBD.

Our final guest is Robin Inslay, who is the President of the ‘Lone Fathers Rockhampton Branch’, and he joins us to provide a roundup of the National conference held in Canberra. Their website tells the story.

The Rockhampton branch of LFAA came about from a call by concerned Central Queensland residents to do something about the damaging effects of divorce. Our branch is honoured, as do all other LFAA branches, to have a membership of many women as well as men. These women are the second wives, grandmothers, daughters, step-daughters; even the sisters of divorced fathers; and are very vocal about the many issues relating to fatherlessness in our society, today.

Our branch offers support to individuals from Yeppoon to Blackwater, Gladstone to St. Lawrence; an area which encompasses a large section of the Bowen basin mining region. We offer support and education on issues relating to family breakdown/divorce and take suggestions for submission to Government for change to relevant legislation.

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tagged False Allegations, Family Law, International Perspectives, Men's Groups, Non-Custodial Fathers, Parental Alienation/Psychological Abuse, Paternity Fraud, Political Activism, Separation / Divorce, Shared Parenting

Fathers At Heart Of Early Childhood

With special guest:

• Paul Prichard.                                                                          

While one arm of Government funded research, attached to an associated bureaucracy, promotes the view of the importance of fathers in early childhood, another arm of Government funded research and associated bureaucracy, promotes a one shoe fits all anti shared parenting policy.

 

Confusing the issue even further, is the deceptive ‘Equal Shared Parenting Responsibility’ legislation, enacted by the Howard Government. This clever but cruel, political smoke and mirrors psycho babble, served to fool Parliament and the community, into believing that Equal Shared Parenting Time, had finally become a reality, while in fact it simply allowed the sharing of parental responsibilities, where considered appropriate.

 

Totally ignored was the fact, that any notion of the equal sharing of parenting time, would continue to be subject to the mercy of the custodial parent.

 

But this week we play a recorded presentation, on the subject of why fathers should be central to our rethinking of early childhood in Australia. The keynote speech by Paul Prichard, ‘Centre for Community & Child Health”, was presented at the National Men’s Health Convention, in Newcastle.

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Supporting Australian Dads

With special guests:

• Akiva Quinn and

• Darren Atkinson.                                                                          

In an era when fathers are treated as a disposable commodity, there are those in our community who actually care enough about the plight of Australia’s dads, to help them cope with the difficulties of trying to be a dad during this difficult period.

This historically discriminating anti Men/Father era, is also shared by our Indigenous brothers. The only difference is that the dispossession and dis-empowerment of Indigenous men, started long before the wider community turned on its own men, fathers and boys. 

On today’s show we play two interesting interviews, recorded at the last National Men’s Health Convention in Newcastle with two such supporters of our Dads, who speak about the work they are doing in support of Australian Dads. 

 

The first interview is with Akiva Quinn, of Dadslink, a support group for dads in Victoria. He explains in detail the exciting programs made available by his organization, which go some way in helping Dads to better connect and bond with their children.

 

Our second interview is with Darren Atkinson of the support group, I’m an Aboriginal Dad. Darren is an Indigenous leader, with a passion to improve the parenting role of young Indigenous fathers. He explains how the child removal policies, and the prolonged dis-empowerment and persecution of Indigenous males, all but destroyed the fabric of his culture.

 

Many young Aboriginal men, have not benefited from a father figure during their childhood and lacked a good role model to prepare them for fatherhood. Interestingly, now that we have fine tuned this discriminating, government sponsored, child removal policy via our Family Courts, there is no doubt we will inherit the same aftermath as that now experienced by our Indigenous brothers. 

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She-Wolves In Sheeps' Clothing

With special guests:

• Elizabeth Willmott Harrop and
• Steve Martin.

She may not be the first, nor will she be the last, to speak out in abhorrence at the level of accepted community bigotry. However on the subject of female child abusers, nobody does it better than Elizabeth Willmott Harrop, “She-Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”. Elizabeth resides in New Zealand, is a freelance writer, and has a Masters Degree in Human Rights and Social Change.

If anyone should be in doubt about the true state of who is actually involved with the abuse of children in our communities, they should listen to this weeks’ excellent interview with Elizabeth. As a well informed social commentator from New Zealand, she has carefully researched the subject, and articulates her findings with a passion, reserved for those stung by a horrible truth.

Elizabeth details her research, which includes statistics from the USA , Australia and the UK, as well as that of her native New Zealand, and the global findings are frighteningly similar.

What is most distressing is the level of Government unwillingness to recognize the findings of a plethora of studies, which reveal that female child abusers not only exist, but in actual number, almost equals the number of male abusers.

Unbelievably, despite the wealth of credible information available, elected representatives in the western democracies, persist in turning a blind eye to the truth about this issue, resulting in the drafting of hopelessly ineffective child protection legislation, which continues to be founded on a distorted perception of reality.

 

We are also joined by Steve Martin, CEO of Stepfamilies Australia, Melbourne, who speaks in detail about the dads in stepfamilies and the services offered by his organization.    

It is estimated that one in five Australian families is a stepfamily, which is fast becoming a prominent part of Australian family life. Many of these families need information, education and support. While there are many resources for biological families available to the community, the unique differences associated with stepfamilies are not well addressed, with very few services available.

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What Men Want - In Bed

With special guests:

• Bettina Arndt and
• Helen Rimington. 

At a time when it is considered funny and fashionable to engage in men and father bashing, it is certainly refreshing to see someone with the courage to enquire about the physical and emotional needs of men.

Well known social commentator, author and sex therapist Bettina Arndt,  “What Men Want - In Bed”, joins us to speak about her new book, and explains in detail, what her research into the needs of men has discovered.

 
Outspoken and pleasantly engaging, Bettina has left no stone unturned, in order to discover the inner thoughts of men, which are usually not discussed in public and which many men struggle with. This book is now widely available and a must read for all men.

 

We begin the show with an interesting interview with another woman who supports the well-being of men, Helen Rimington Director, Family Wellbeing,“Drummond Street Services”, who details the services provided by her organisation.

Helen speaks of a great new program offered to Dads, “Backyard Blitz”, which is an activity program specifically designed to help Dads and their kids.

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Fatherless Day 2010

With special guests:

• Barry Williams

• Stephen S Holden and
  

• Warwick Marsh.
                                                                              

Despite all the evidence available in the form of a multitude of credible research and statistics, which clearly shows the immense damage being done to the bonds of family kinship in our Australian communities, the unrelenting push for a fatherless society continues.

The fact that this mountain of evidence continues to be ignored, is a sad reflection on the way our parliamentary system of government has been hijacked, by the anti-male zealots within the political parties and the bureaucracy.

 

Hundreds of thousands of Dads will not see their children this Fathers Day 2010, yet this did not even rate one mention during the recent federal election.  It is no wonder the wider community has turned their back on the main parties, who have ignored the many concerns of their constituents for far too long.

 

Speaking about some of these concerns, Barry Williams, President of the Lone Fathers Association Australia, describes the current Family laws as being in breach of anti discrimination legislation. He plans to take 4 points of discrimination to the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

 

We also speak with separated father Stephen S Holden author of The Other Glass Ceiling, who details some of the anti-father legislation and how easily it can destroy a fathers’ relationship with his children.

We end the show with Warwick Marsh, of Dads4Kids, who speaks about the importance of dads in a child’s life, and the celebration of fatherhood this special weekend on Fathers Day.

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The Plight Of Modern Man

With special guest:

• Paul Mischefski.  
                                                                              
  

This week we feature an interesting pre-recorded interview with investigative journalist Paul Mischefski of Mens Wellbeing, who speaks on a range of issues facing modern man in the 21st Century. In particular, there is considerable discussion around the way Domestic Violence issues are dealt with in Australia and elsewhere.  

Paul throws much doubt on the way information is gathered and how studies are conducted, which is reflected in poor domestic violence policy formulation by our governments. The resulting damage to generations of innocent men and boys by such discriminating anti male Domestic Violence propaganda, is incalculable.         

The ‘Mens Wellbeing’ website provides much helpful and informative information, including the following:  

At their deepest level, most men yearn to participate in some small or large way in the creation of a better world, and in doing so serve their families, loved ones and community. How to fulfil this yearning in these complex times is a conundrum that leaves some part of just about every man struggling for clear direction within himself about what it means to be an authentic, healthy man in our society.

Being a man in the 21st Century is no easy task.  In just one generation, the expectations on men have changed dramatically. Our roles as fathers, lovers, workers, community members, brothers and friends have all changed from what was expected of our fathers, in some cases almost beyond recognition. This rapid rate of change has left many men without adequate role models and in a state of confusion about what it means to be a man in the modern era.

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Men's Health, Alienation and Votes

With special guests:

• Ed Dabrowski
  

• Greg Millan and
  

• Joseph Goldberg.
                                                                              

The rights, and roles of men and fathers, have never been under more pressure at any time in human history. The gradual stereotyping and marginalizing of men and fathers in our communities, is witness to the decimation of the family structure as we know it. Children born today only have a 1 in 3 chance of remaining in meaningful contact with both the maternal and paternal sides of their family, in the event their parents should separate.  

It would not be unreasonable to assume therefore, that with a Federal election in Australia looming, the media and the major parties would have had something to say about an issue which has destroyed millions of parent/child relationships, as the result of a 35 year reign of terror waged on families, by the International Family Justice Industry.

Predictably however, with the exception of the NCPP, the silence has been deafening. Not one question raised by the mainstream media, not one caller to a Radio or Television station, not one comment was heard on this subject, by any of the candidates representing the major parties. It also raises the serious question as to why there is such apathy amongst the multitude of victims of this travesty of justice? Where were their voices? 

On today’s program we will discuss some of the causes and ways to deal with the ongoing debasing of maleness. Our first guest today is Ed Dabrowski  of mensvote.com, who discusses the policy positions of the major parties, concerning men as fathers and the issue of family values, in an attempt to understand the platforms of the political parties concerned.   

Next we speak with Greg Millan of Mens Health Services , who has just launched his latest book ‘Men’s Health & Wellbeing: an A to Z guide’. Greg is a men’s health consultant, who speaks about his new book and the men’s health services, who provide professional expertise in the design and delivery of effective programs and resources for men, as well as offering professional training designed specifically to help address the unique needs of men and boys.  

We then speak with Canadian medical - legal consultant  Joseph Goldberg, of Goldberg & Associates, who specialises in the area of Parental Alienation cases. Joseph has an intimate knowledge of this disorder, being an Alienated parent himself, and now has many speaking engagements and organises a number of symposiums which focus on the subject of PAS.     

Equal Parental Involvement

With special guests:

• Professor Thea Brown and
  

• John Stapleton.
                                                                              

This week we have an interesting interview with Professor Thea Brown, from Monash University, who speaks about her paper “Shared parenting and parental involvement in children’s schooling following separation and divorce”.

Professor Brown was appointed as Professor of Social Work in 1988, serving as Head of the Department, the Director of International Programs and Deputy Head and is now Professor, Research.  Her most recent research focus has been on separating parents and their children, on family violence and parental separation and divorce and on services supporting separating parents.

 

Professor Brown, speaks about the important need for Governments to act, in order to ensure that non-custodial parents continue to be involved with their childrens’ progress, especially in the area of their education. She points out the unacceptable policy differences in this area, which vary from State to State and from school to school.

 

We also spoke briefly with John Stapleton, who is in Thailand at present. Unfortunately the phone connection was not very good, and eventually dropped out. We hope to speak with John again in the near future. 

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A Vision Of Justice

With special guests:

• David Dufour and
  

• Coral Slattery.
                                                                              

An interesting program this week, where we discuss just some of the many issues facing Men and Fathers in 2010. First up we speak with American film maker David Dufour, Mediadads, who recently came out to Australia, to record material for a documentary he is making, about what it means to be male in 2010. Now back in America, he speaks about the interesting experiences of his journey.  

An organization of volunteers that has put an immense effort, into providing a continuous supply of updated information regarding the many ramifications of poor Family Law legislation in Australia, is the Family Law Reform Association.   

We speak with the secretary of this worthy organization Coral Slattery, and discuss some of the issues facing fathers. In particular the way the education system deals with the sensitive problems facing fathers, when they attempt to obtain access to their childrens’ educational progress.

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Families And Elections

With special guests:

• Samantha Page and
  

• John Flanagan.
                                                                              

First up we speak with Samantha Page, who is the Executive Director of Family Relationship Services Australia (FRSA), which is the national peak body for family relationship and support services. Their purpose and mission, is to provide national leadership and representation for services that work to strengthen the well-being, safety and resilience of families, children and communities.  

FRSA member organizations deliver professional, quality assured family and relationship services across Australia through more than 400 outlets. Their membership includes faith-based and secular organizations, ranging in size and scope from small local community organizations to large state-wide and national service providers.  

Samantha faced some difficult questioning dealing with the delays in the system, the non-compliance of court orders, and the agenda driven anti shared parenting bias of some of the agencies.

Our second guest this week is John Flanagan, who is the Deputy Registered Officer of the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting). John speaks candidly about the role of his party in the coming Federal Elections.   

While the NCPP does not expect to see any of their candidates in Parliament, the Party nevertheless plays an important role in raising community awareness to the perilous state of  the Family Justice System, and the debilitating cost to the fabric of our society.  

John acknowledges that the 2006 legislation, which provided us with the much heralded “Equal Shared Parenting Responsibility Bill”, has absolutely nothing to do with  “Equal Shared Parenting Time” for separated parents.  

Unfortunately, while Dads On The Air correctly pointed out at the time, that it was a cruel exercise in Political Spin, most of the wider community, the service providers, as well as many in the fatherhood movement, fell for this discredited political con job.

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Dads in Distress Special

With special guests:

• Barry Guidera
  

• Laurence Anderson
  

• Rob Koch and

• Marcia Payne.                                                                               

For Australian men, who have reached the end of their emotional ability to cope with the ravages of a Family Justice system, which has removed their children, property and savings, Dads In Distress provides a safe and supportive haven for them to regain their emotional strength and sense of self-worth.

This week we salute all those who work in this wonderful organization, and who give up much of their spare time to help their fellow human beings cope, with the preventable, most traumatizing time in their lives.

Now 10 years old, Dads In Distress [DIDS] is moving from strength to strength in support of an ever increasing group of emotionally damaged dispossessed parents. First up we speak with the National Manager of DIDS, Barry Guidera, who gives us an overview of their great work. Next we speak with the Victorian project co-ordinator Laurence Anderson who details the new operational strategies being developed. We follow this by talking to Rob Koch Better Men Australia, who acts as a consultant to DIDS, and details some of the advice he offers DIDS.

We close the show speaking with Marcia Payne, DIDS Support Services, who has worked in Women’s refuges and who, having witnessed first hand the services provided to abused women, is deeply concerned at the lack of interest shown by our Governments, to acknowledge and provide support for the growing number of abused Men in our society.

The following is a snippet from the DIDS website which offers a wealth of information and support, to those finding themselves at the end of their emotional road.

“If you are finding it hard to deal with the break-up of a marriage, depression, child access, family court or just need someone to talk to, Dads in Distress is there to help”.

“Dads in Distress is a dedicated support group of men (in Australia) whose immediate concern is to stem the present trend of male suicide due to the trauma of divorce or separation. Current statistics that have been published, indicate too many men will take their own lives in preference to facing family, friends and importantly their own children with the failure of the relationship. We aim to prevent this incidence from occurring by showing the men and the community at large that someone really cares”

“While Dads in Distress Support Services (DIDSS) by its very name appears to be focused mainly on supporting men through separation from their partner and/or children, we actually have the health, safety and well-being of ALL the family uppermost in our mind. As a harm-prevention charity it saddens us that in our modern society of Australia there are men, women and children who are being harmed, and harming one another, in the very place where love and kindness should prevail”

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Research, Stress, and Contentment

With special guests:

• Dr. Bruce Smyth
  

• Graeme Campbell and

• John Stapleton.                                                                              

A diversity of subject matter is covered in the topics of this week’s show. We commence the program with an interesting interview with Dr Bruce Smyth, who is Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Public Health, La Trobe University.  

Dr Smyth has previously worked at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) as a Senior Research Fellow. He was also a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Child Support.  

Today he speaks candidly about some of the areas of research and number crunching he has been involved with, in relation to the gathering of statistics on the impacts of Australian Family Laws, on various vulnerable sections of the community.  

Next we speak with Graeme Campbell, a spokesman for the group  SRL- R [Self Representing Litigants - Resources].  SRL-R is a support organisation for those who by choice or necessity, have decided to represent themselves in either the Family Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court in Children’s matters.  

Unless you are familiar with the Family Court environment, representing yourself in this Court will be one of the most stressful experiences you will ever encounter. Especially since those finding themselves in such unfortunate position, generally are already deeply traumatized, due to a number of the nasty side effects of the breakup of their family.   

Last but certainly not least, we speak to John Stapleton, the founder of Dads on the Air, and for many years the regular on-air presenter of our weekly program. John co-founded the program more than 10 years ago, and with his journalistic experience was the driving force behind the success of the program.  

John is a respected journalist of many years standing, who has worked for several of the leading newspapers of Australia. Now residing in Thailand, he sounds like he has discovered his Utopia in the middle of Asia.  

A true gentleman himself, John loves the gentle nature of the Thai population and the way families are valued. Compared to the individualistic nature of our own, dog eat dog culture, he certainly sounds contented and very much attracted to the Thai way of life.   

We very much enjoyed speaking with John, especially listening to the beautiful way he weaves his words  and sentences together, to present a wonderful picture in the mind of the listener. We certainly miss the creative journalistic skills he contributed to the program during those many years. 

Most unlike John, he ran out of phone credit in the middle of the interview, so we hope to hear from him again as soon as he obtains a re-charge.  

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One In Three Abusers Are Women

With special guests:

• Greg Andresen and 

• Sue Price.                                                                              

Our first guest is Greg Andresen, of the One in Three Campaign, who attended the recent Intimate Partner Abuse of Men Workshop, held on Wednesday 16 June 2010 in Perth, Western Australia. The workshop was aimed at service providers plus anyone who works with victims and perpetrators of family and domestic violence, and considered the implications for service providers, of the Edith Cowan University (ECU) Intimate Partner Abuse of Men research.  

Greg paints a disturbing picture of the way governments and the media, continue to be  misled by distorted and misleading facts and figures, presented by self interest groups, who want to ensure their collective snouts remain firmly planted deep inside the public trough.  

The fact that more questions are not being asked by our policymakers and the mainstream media, perhaps illustrates the reason for the continuation and acceptance of appallingly inadequate Family Laws and Domestic Violence legislation.  

By way of example, it is our understanding that a number of service providers attending the workshop, mentioned that Relationships Australia (WA) had directed their staff not to attend. This would be unsurprising, considering the views of their Manager, Terri Riley, expressed in the West Australian newspaper on June 1st 2010 (click here to view the article). As well as sustaining many discredited myths about domestic and family violence in this opinion piece, we are extremely concerned that the head of Relationships Australia, by telling male victims that they do not, and can not, experience systematic controlling abuse like women can, will prevent them from seeking help from services like Relationships Australia.  

Despite denying the documented reality that at least 1 in 3 of the perpetrators of Domestic Violence are women, Ms Riley proudly claims 7000 men sought help and support from Relationships Australia last year.   

In view of what Ms Riley has revealed about Relationship Australia’s bigoted philosophy, it would seem that any unsuspecting man seeking help and understanding for abuse from this organization, has about as much chance of success, as a victimized black man had, who sought help for abuse from the Ku Klax Clan, during its reign of terror.

The obvious question is, where are the anger management programs for the one in three  violent and  abusive women in our society? Or do we continue to pretend they do not exist? 

To provide an overview of the coming Australian election, and the possible implications for the nations’ fathers and their children, we conclude the show speaking with Sue Price from the Mens Rights Agency.   While recommending a continual vigil, to ensure the current government and its anti male followers are held to account, she nevertheless recommends boycotting the enduring bias and discriminating consultative process.  

Following 15 years of lobbying, Sue is frustrated by the way the system excludes and sidelines most of the credible independent voices, who represent the victims, and who continue to call for real justice and equality in the area of Family Law.  

Sue correctly points out, the way successive governments provide funding to a couple of lobby groups, in order to give the impression that they are actually seriously consulting with those claiming to represent the nations’ fathers. 

Unfortunately, these groups are seriously compromised, due to their total dependence on such government funding for their survival. It is well known, that if you want to neutralize your critics, you put them on your payroll.

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Winner Take All

With special guests:

• Molly Murphy
• Andrea Hayward and
• Robin Inslay.

Much has already been written about an appalling family justice system, which continues to wreak catastrophic havoc to the parent/child relationships of separating families. Molly Murphy, “Winner Take All”, who hails from Canada, decided to add her voice to the growing International chorus of authors and professionals, who have decided they can no longer stand by and watch our families and communities implode.

Her new book “Winner Take All”, provides a graphic account of the way separated parents are treated by our family justice system, and how the system fails to provide social justice equally. Molly joins us, to speak of how she came to write her book, and explains the urgent need for major changes, if our family bonds are to survive.

Molly Murphy is a registered nurse with a specialized designation in psychiatry having more than twenty years’ experience in the health-care field. She resides in Ontario with her three daughters and divides her time between her two passions. Her number one priority is family and her second is to help change family law so that the rights of both the custodial and non-custodial parents are valued equally by our judicial system.

Currently it is the father who is forced into accepting the role as the non-custodial parent to their own children in the majority of cases. By advocating, Molly hopes to one day see law reforms come into effect that truly reflect the best interests of our children. She also wants to create awareness through her writing concerning the dysfunction and discrimination that exists globally today within the family law system.

Our next guest is Andrea Hayward, who is director of DNA QLD, and who was recently asked to speak at the Lone Father’s Conference in Canberra.  Andrea outlines the procedures of a DNA paternity test and the Australian position on testing .

DNA QLD is a NATA/ISO accredited specialist Paternity testing facility offering quality world-class testing and client care. DNA QLD is focused solely on parentage testing and genotyping, unlike some other parentage testing facilities which also test for genetic syndromes. DNA QLD has a proven capability to facilitate testing for clients located in any state of Australia and in international locations such as Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and PNG. DNA QLD does not outsource testing to other laboratories and all our cases are processed in Brisbane. DNA QLD has a free collection centre in the Brisbane CBD.

Our final guest is Robin Inslay, who is the President of the ‘Lone Fathers Rockhampton Branch’, and he joins us to provide a roundup of the National conference held in Canberra. Their website tells the story.

The Rockhampton branch of LFAA came about from a call by concerned Central Queensland residents to do something about the damaging effects of divorce. Our branch is honoured, as do all other LFAA branches, to have a membership of many women as well as men. These women are the second wives, grandmothers, daughters, step-daughters; even the sisters of divorced fathers; and are very vocal about the many issues relating to fatherlessness in our society, today.

Our branch offers support to individuals from Yeppoon to Blackwater, Gladstone to St. Lawrence; an area which encompasses a large section of the Bowen basin mining region. We offer support and education on issues relating to family breakdown/divorce and take suggestions for submission to Government for change to relevant legislation.

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