#5 ON COMING OUT, COUNTRY CULTURE, REAL MEN AND MORE

Today we are speaking with the Hon. Daniel Moloney, Mayor of the City of Ballarat. Daniel became Mayor in late 2020, and soon thereafter made waves as a leader through ending what he describes as “living on three quarter breaths for over 40 years” by coming out to the general public as a bisexual man. Much easier said than done - especially for someone in such a public role as mayor, living in a regional part of Australia. Daniel also hoisted the transgender flag in front of the Ballarat Town Hall on March 31 for the International Transgender Day of Visibility. Sure, suicide is a leading cause of preventable death all over the world, and is something that I bang on and on about - well, according to new research from the University of Melbourne earlier this year 2021, nearly half of all transgendered Australians have attempted suicide. Nearly half. This is in comparison to a 3.3% average for the rest of Australia as identified by The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2007. So undoubtedly a very significant gesture of support and respect from Daniel and the Ballarat City Council for a part of the community that arguably faces more obstacles to decent standards of well-being than any other. 

Daniel is so loved by the people of Ballarat and after talking with him for an hour, it was very easy to see why. What a lucky community Ballarat is to have such a brave, strong and contemporary leader at the helm. It was a real privilege to conduct this interview. 

Thank you for tuning in, and I hope that you enjoy the show.

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Links from the show:

• Head to Help: 1800 595 212
• Ballarat Community Health: (03) 5338 4500
• SONIKA: Call Ballarat Council on: (03) 5320 5500

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If you enjoy this interview, we’d be stoked if you gave it a rating or review where you listened to it!  : ) 

xx Dave P

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