Dads on the Air

With special guest: Adrienne Burgess Our guest today talks to us from London. Adrienne Burgess has researched paternity leave around the world and she tells us what is important from both the parents’ and the children’s perspectives with a few surprises. Paid parental leave has stirred up a lot of feeling in Australia after being made the signature policy of Prime Minister Abbott. We are still uncertain about what is planned or even when changes are likely to be introduced. Minister Kevin Andrews stated recently that it was not yet possible to say whether a revamped passage would be ready for its scheduled start on July 1, 2015. Listen Now (MP3)

With special guest: Dean Mason In his book Daddy’s OK: Fathers’ stories of separation, divorce and rebuilding author Dean Mason takes us into the world of 14 families that have been through the trauma of separation and divorce. The 2006 Census showed that 50% of children in single parent families never have an overnight stay with the other parent, normally the Dad. But if our eyes glass over when contemplating the tens of thousands of Dads in this situation Dean brings it back to the individual personal level with these real life stories from his days as National Chairman of Dads in Distress Support Services. Listen Now (MP3)

With special guest: Ken Thompson Perhaps the most frightening experience a parent can endure occurs when their child goes missing. What if you then find out that you will not be getting any help or assistance from your partner or former partner because the partner has decided to disappear from your life with your child? This situation is arising more frequently and Australia has one of the highest rates per capita anywhere in the world. When the child is taken overseas the practice is described as International Parental Child Abduction or IPCA and there is a growing recognition of the damage done to the victims. Listen Now (MP3)

With special guest: Clint Greagen Our guest today provides us with an entertaining peek into what is still an unusual career in our society. Clint Greagen is a stay-at-home Dad with the skills of an award-winning blogger who tells us about his life in suburban Melbourne with four boy-children and a loving working wife. There is nothing un-masculine about Clint’s struggles as he is assigned to buy breast pads for his wife and to do the cooking / washing / cleaning for the family. He has to juggle these responsibilities and apply some logic in the middle of the chaos and craziness. Listen Now (MP3)

With special guest Charles Areni In the news lately there have been frequent references to pay differentials between males and females. This is often put down to the different opportunities available in the workplace because of gender roles that are a hangover from a less-enlightened past. But what about the denial of opportunities to look after the children and get involved in other areas around the home? In brief, Mums have too many roles, Dads have too few. Listen Now (MP3)

With special guest: Ryan Heffernan Ever thought about how when you leave the hospital with your new baby you do not receive an instruction manual? Our guest this week Ryan Heffernan has addressed this issue. In his entertaining and informative book Ryan provides a welcome toolbox for any Dad left with the responsibility of caring for a young child in the age range of 0-6. In fact any parent will welcome this no-nonsense source book for handling the challenges of parenting where you get the benefit of learning from a single Dad’s experience. What’s more with Ryan Heffernan giving us the lesson there is a lot of fun to be had which everyone can enjoy Listen Now (MP3)

With special guest:   Dr Tim Hawkes Parents are all too familiar with the difficulties of relating to their sons in a language that they understand while they grow from boys to men. Our guest today is Dr Tim Hawkes who as Headmaster of The King’s School is responsible for 1500 boys. Dr Hawkes has held this position since 1998 adding to a wealth of experience gained in England and Australia on how boys can best reach their potential as men. Listen Now (MP3)

  Dads on the Air was privileged to be invited to the Sydney launch of Dean Mason’s new book Daddy’s OK: Fathers’ stories of separation, divorce and rebuilding. The launch was held at Better Read than Dead bookshop in Newtown on Thursday 23 August 2012. Leading up to the launch Dean has been on the airwaves, both radio and TV, telling us about his new book which sets out the real life experience of dads caught up in the Australian Family Law system. Many of the stories are heartbreaking. But even as we get emotionally involved through the printed page there is an underlying message about what fathers can and should be doing if they find themselves in this all too common experience. The message here is not just for the dads, but for all their family and friends and those who may know someone going through the hell of family separation. If you would like to share the experience of hearing from Dean about his book and listen to what was revealed at the launch by Michael Green QC and Phil York from DIDSS, listen in to our exclusive broadcast of a special night in Sydney with national implications. Listen Now (MP3)

  With special guests: Patrick Bishop Paul Mischefki The role of men has been changing rapidly in the last generation and while the responsibilities have increased there has not been a corresponding increase in men’s rights and expectations. The role as breadwinner still falls largely to the men but what about the changes in what it means to be a father, lover, community member or a friend? With the growing number of fatherless families and the state playing an increasing role in our every day lives there are times when all men feel lost and needing some direction. Our guests today tell us about two successful groups that provide training for men by men as a way of reconnecting with men’s essential masculinity. These programs are not just for those men who are struggling to cope with the changes in the 21st Century, they are for all men who want to reach their potential by accessing the huge untapped energy that is within us. If you want to hear about men who have gone from counting their years to living their days join Patrick and Paul on our program today. Listen Now (MP3)

  With special guests: Rick Welsh Uncle Gerald Brown We have a great music selection in our program today, starting with the Jimmy Cliff song Many Rivers to Cross as featured recently in the award winning MABO telemovie on the ABC. This is followed by a song from Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu from his Rrakala album. Translated this song refers to the Salt Water People and that describes our second guest today. The songs selected by our guests reflect some important messages that they pass on to us. Listen Now (MP3)

   With special guests: Jill Egizii Karen Lebow In the USA just as in Australia there are many judges, lawyers, psychiatrists and psychologists who have no idea of the damage done by parental alienation. Many in the general public do not even know there is a name for what they see happening to friends, workmates and even themselves. For this reason it is vital that we improve the awareness and education relating to parental alienation. With that awareness of the damage done to children and parents will come social change. Today we cross to the USA to talk to two highly motivated women who have their own personal stories to tell. They tell us how they used their own experience as a springboard to develop networks and action plans for dealing with this form of child abuse. If you are not sure about what can be done to respond to this blight on our parenting practices listen in to hear what our guests are doing in such a big way.   Listen Now (MP3)

  With special guests Professor John Macdonald Melissa Abu-Gazaleh Today we present the second of our special shows to recognise Men’s Health Week which this year ran from 11 to 17 June 2012. Our guests today are activists, great people in our community who have recognised a problem and then decided to get out there and do something about it. Professor John Macdonald joins us from the Men’s Health Information and Resource Centre at the University of Western Sydney having recently returned from Zambia and he puts the local men’s health issues in an international context with his broad experience derived from a career which has taken him to Pakistan, Nicaragua, South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, France, New Zealand and Senegal among other countries. Our second guest is Melissa Abu-Gazaleh, a young woman who is passionate about the welfare of young men. Melissa realised at the age of 19 that young men were not engaging in the community and this was disadvantaging them as well as causing the community to miss out. This led Melissa to becoming the Managing Director of Top Blokes Foundation and being able to provide a platform for young men to shine. Listen Now (MP3)

  With special guests: Rob Koch Greg Millan Men’s Health Week runs from 11 to 17 June in 2012 with the theme “environMENts” so that the focus is not just on specific ailments and illnesses. The idea is that all Australians - men, boys, women and girls - should become involved in creating better environments for males in our society.Some of these environments are active and involved Fathering, hobbies and sports and social and family relationships. Today’s guests are leaders in the field of actively promoting men’s health and well-being. In Victoria and New South Wales they tell us what are the critical issues, the services they offer and some exciting new developments that they are involved in. If you want to make an assessment of your own health and well-being there is no better place to start than by listening to these experts in the field. Listen Now (MP3)

With Special guests: Chad Kolcze Martin Fisk Our show today features up front a beautiful and haunting song by Janis Vaile about Parental Alienation. Icicles (I will wait for you) will be part of an upcoming special on the topic. After a long time away from the studio our return to the airwaves was graced by the presence of two people who are doing something about boys at greater risk. At a time when there are so many one-parent families we know these risks. Boys in families without Dads are more at risk of suicide, to have behavioural problems, to drop out of school and they represent over 70% of the inmates in juvenile state institutions. To help counter these social problems there are good people providing mentoring services and other assistance. Today we cross to Byron Bay in the north of New South Wales and then to the nation’s capital, Canberra, to hear what Chad Kolcze and Martin Fisk are doing about keeping our youth happy and healthy. Listen Now (MP3)

  With special guests: Aaron Stuart Craig Hammond We cross today to the frontline when we speak to Aaron Stuart who is the Manager of Aboriginal Projects at Centacare in Port Augusta South Australia. It is hard for many of us to imagine what it would be like to be the first person called after a suicide by one of our people. And then for it to happen again and again. Aaron is facing an endemic where the Aboriginal rate of suicide is four times greater than for non-Indigenous Australians and with children sometimes as young as 8 succumbing. Aaron provides some inspiring lessons about the positive action he is taking and tells us how he copes with the terrible stresses that go with his job. Next we speak to Craig “Bourkie” Hammond who is the Leader Indigenous Programs, Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle. Craig is involved with a number of projects including the Nar-un-bah and Thou Walla engaging Aboriginal Fathers project. Fathering roles in the Aboriginal community extend to grandparents, uncles and older brothers. As one of eleven children himself and with a background as a youth worker Bourkie brings his skills and reputation to provide guidance and assistance in strengthening the relationship between Indigenous fathers and their children. Listen Now (MP3)