Speech delivered on 19 November 2025, Government House, Canberra.

This is a very special place, and Ben—it’s wonderful to be with you again. We were together in Melbourne recently, and I’ll speak more about that in a moment. But it’s truly lovely to have you as our emcee today.

I’ve always felt that Government House and Admiralty House in Sydney are places of peace and belonging. I’m so glad Ben is encouraging us to lead with our hearts. That’s something we try to do at every event we host here. Everyone you’ll meet who works with the team here brings heart and care to everything they do.

Now, I may be the one who fronts the show, but it’s my team—who you’ll see around the house—who brought this event together, working alongside the team from The Man Cave. I want to begin by acknowledging and paying my respects to the Ngunnawal people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather. I also acknowledge other families with long-standing connections to this place, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present. A very warm welcome to any First Nations people joining us today.

As Governor-General, I want to acknowledge the many people contributing to this important conversation. I’m delighted to see the Honorable Justine Elliot, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence. It’s wonderful to see you again—I saw you just last week at Executive Council. (Check out my Instagram!) We have strong relationships with ministers, and the work of government flows from Parliament to here.

Senator David Pocock is here—no stranger to this house—and co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Healthy Masculinity. Also with us is Dan Repacholi, Member for Hunter, who co-chairs that group and serves as the Government’s Special Envoy on Men’s Health. Together, David and Dan have done something remarkable: this is the first time Parliament has had a friends group focused on healthy masculinity. Thank you both for your exceptional work in this area, which is making a real difference—not just in Parliament, but in the communities MPs return to.

We’re joined by Jonie Belyea, Member for Dunkley; Micaela Cronin, our Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, who has joined me here many times for important discussions; and Hunter Johnson, founder and director of The Man Cave. It’s great to have you here, Hunter. And Al Green, co-founder of The Man Cave—hello, Al! Ian Ward-Ambler, Chair of The Man Cave, is also here, along with board members and directors. You’re all very welcome.

Ben, of course, is CEO of The Man Cave. We also have a number of government representatives here, including Emily Hurley, Assistant Secretary of the Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Specialist Policy Branch at the Department of Social Services. Many senior officials are here today, and your presence is incredibly important as we reflect on men’s health—especially the wellbeing of young men.

I want to especially welcome the Man Cave team, who you’ll recognize by their T-shirts. You are remarkable. And today, I want to warmly welcome the young men here with their families. You’ll be helping us understand a great deal through today’s activities. Please don’t be nervous—you are our special guests. Hearing from you is what The Man Cave is all about, and today we’ll learn from your insights. Your voice is the most important one in the room.

It’s wonderful that we’ve come together on International Men’s Day. The timing is perfect. It’s a busy day at Government House, with announcements and events involving the Parliamentary Friends group, but it’s a privilege to host you here. Today is about raising awareness of the contributions men make to society—through responsibility, kindness, leadership—and highlighting their roles in our communities, families, and workplaces.

We must also pay close attention to the challenges men face: suicidality, mental health struggles, homelessness, violence, and abuse. These issues are often discussed in the context of women, and rightly so, but today is a vital opportunity to reflect on the issues facing men.

We’re here for a very special reason: to celebrate the success of The Man Cave. Eleven years on, The Man Cave has reached and transformed the lives of 100,000 boys and young men across Victoria and New South Wales.

These young men, whether in schools or online, have received life-changing gifts: the chance to be emotionally open, a space to be heard without judgment or fear, tools for self-expression, empathy, emotional literacy, and relationship-building. They’ve spent precious time with remarkable men who now serve as role models—and they themselves are becoming role models for others. As they grow older, they’ll continue to guide younger generations.

The results speak for themselves. After attending a Man Cave program, 91% of boys report wanting to be a man who treats others with care and respect. And 84% feel empowered to build and maintain healthy relationships. The impact of these workshops will be lifelong—not just for the young men, but for everyone they love, relate to, and will one day raise.

It’s wonderful to be here in Canberra doing this work. Back in June, we spent time with the founders and leaders of The Man Cave. We had breakfast together at a hotel, and then visited Lifeline to promote their work—gaining powerful insights into men’s mental health. We were also there for the Big Freeze, supporting Neale Daniher’s extraordinary commitment to fighting motor neurone disease.

I often reflect on how grounding it was to start that day with The Man Cave team. We began with heart and listening—and that carried us through the day.

And I think it’s interesting to draw a link between the work of The Man Cave and Neale Daniher—our 2025 Australian of the Year. His term is coming to an end soon, and we’re already seeing nominations for 2026 coming through from all states.

Just two nights ago, I spent time with Neale and his family at Admiralty House in Sydney to congratulate him on his year of service. He was also launching his new book, The Power of Choice. In preparing to host Neil and his team, I wanted to read this new book—having read his first autobiography many years ago. This one is completely different. Neil would say it shouldn’t have taken motor neurone disease for him to deepen his understanding of what it means to be human, to be a man.

This book is part memoir, part teaching guide. And unlike the typical “coaching” books—often full of ego and self-aggrandisement—this is not that. It’s a deeply touching work, written for Neil’s grandchildren, as a way of showing them what a life of purpose and integrity can look like.

I said to Ben, I wouldn’t mind sharing something from it with you. In the middle of the book, Neil outlines a series of choices we all face—especially young men. He writes that “you choose what you grow.” On one side, you can plant greed, dishonesty, envy, pride, impatience, fear—and he’s clear: what grows from those seeds is not good.

But on the other side, he offers a different path. If you plant kindness, you grow compassion. If you plant honesty, you grow integrity. Plant humility, and you grow wisdom. Plant respect, and you grow trust. Plant courage, and you grow moral strength. Plant generosity, and you grow community.

That’s only half of the positive choices Neil explores. It’s a remarkable book from a man who now speaks only through a computer, having lost physical ability to motor neurone disease. And yet, he’s still teaching—sharing the lessons he wishes he could have told his 20-year-old self. A man who, in his day, was a relentless football coach, focused solely on winning. What he now says to his younger self is: “I was wrong about you.” Because a life lived with purpose and integrity is what truly matters.

I’ve felt this message echoing across the country this week. Since taking on this role, I’ve become more convinced than ever that there is an urgency to the issue of care.

We know the statistics—they’re devastating. For boys and men under 25, the leading cause of death is suicide. And sexual abuse and violence against women and children is still overwhelmingly committed by men. That must change.

We’ve seen the troubling rise of the “manosphere,” and survey findings showing that boys who follow certain masculinity influencers are more likely to hold misogynistic views. This is not what The Man Cave stands for.

For over a decade, The Man Cave has counteracted these harmful messages with a vision rooted in healthy masculinity. They teach that empathy and vulnerability are key components of strength—replacing a conquest mindset with one of custodianship.

That’s why I resonate so deeply with Neale's description of life: integrity, purpose, vulnerability, and kindness.

When I was sworn in as your Governor-General 16 months ago, I promised to centre care in everything I do—care for each other, care for those who care for others, care for our extraordinary continent and its environmental riches, care for civics and the institutions of our democracy, and care in how we discuss and debate the issues of our time. Including the role of men in our society. But we must do so without anger, without judgment, without violence, without hate.

And I know many of you have a front-row view of the power of care—of kindness, of respect. These are the values the Prime Minister asked me to embody in this role: modernity, visibility, and optimism.

As I travel around Australia and speak with people, I hear again and again that these words resonate. And of all of them, interestingly, the one that resonates most is kindness.

Kindness is not a soft option. It’s not something only women talk about. That’s simply not true. We all talk about care. And I often say: care is not easy. Care is hard. It’s about showing up. It’s about working toward something bigger than yourself. It takes great strength—the kind of strength we’ll hear about this afternoon.

Respect. Strength. Commitment. Purpose.

These are the values we celebrate today. And we are so proud—and so grateful—for the creative, meaningful, and life-changing interactions The Man Cave has with young men, some of whom are here with us this afternoon.

Thank you for your care for them. Thank you for the futures they will build—for their future partners, their future children, and the communities they will help shape. We all benefit from caring about the young men in our lives.

I look forward to what we’ll learn this afternoon. Ben, thank you. And thank you all for your exceptional commitment to reaching the next generation of great, strong, kind young men.