By Afraa Kori
More than 200 Cardinia Shire residents united at the Garfield Community Hall for a powerful forum, hosted by the Garfield Mental Health & Wellbeing Group.
The event featured a moving keynote speech from Rosie Batty (OAM) who shared her personal insights on the current state and management of mental health in Australia.
Her journey, marked by profound personal tragedy, has transformed into a powerful mission to advocate for change, shaping policies and support systems that protect and empower victims of domestic violence.
Local resident Jenny Pickering, the driving force behind the Garfield Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, has played a key role in leading the group’s efforts to raise awareness and provide accessible information and support within the community.
“When I attended Rosie’s presentation in Pakenham last year, I was touched and I wanted to bring it to Garfield because we have mental health problems here as well,” Jenny said.
“So it took a month to follow up with Rosie and she finally said she would love to come to Garfield. Our event today has made a huge impact. People are coming to me and saying, ‘it’s the best thing that’s ever been here for me’. It’s a fulfillment of something I wanted to do for probably a long time.”
The forum was part of the group’s broader mission to reduce stigma, improve access to mental health resources, and foster community connection around wellbeing issues.
It event offered valuable insight into how much society has shifted over the past 15 years — from changing attitudes toward family violence to simply being able to gather in one room and openly discuss it. MC Marg Bogart described this openness as a vital step in early mentorship and prevention.
“What was really profound for me was the older women, 70 plus actually speaking up.They were probably told to tolerate negative attitudes, opinions and violence for a very long time,” she said.
“So now, for them to even have the freedom to come into the room and listen to it and then go, I want to ask a question too. Also the fact that people are still talking to her, an hour after she finishes, it’s moving. It just means the generational shift and the community shift towards violence and gender inequality has improved.
“I believe that without people like Rosie or the Mental Health Committee in Garfield, enabling us to get together, there’s no opportunity to have conversation, there’s no shift for change.”
Former Cardinia Shire councillor and White Ribbon ambassador, Graeme Moore is disappointed by the low number of men in attendance, noting that Rosie was “preaching with the converted.”
“We need more men here to understand what this is all about and it’s been my thoughts all along during this emotional night,” he said.
“Violence happens to our community behind closed doors and it needs to be exposed more to the public so people can see what’s going on. It’s not just up to the police, it’s up to us all to be involved.
“Also the political leaders don’t have all the answers and it’s got to come down to the grassroots of the community to fix these problems. I think forums like this are a great step in the right direction. There is strength in numbers and when we learn it’s all a learning curve!”
With the federal election approaching and people of all ages represented at the forum, it was clear that violence has had a profound and widespread impact, with the audience desperate to know what the major parties are doing in response.
During the Q&A panel discussion, Mr Moore asked: “Do you think our political leaders are doing enough on this issue, and if not, what more would you expect from them? With local, state, and federal levels involved, where is the problem?”
“You could tell when there is a strong leadership, you know that that change is happening. When that falls by the wayside, it stalls and goes backwards, and that’s so disheartening,” Rosie replied.
She acknowledged that while not everyone currently supports the Victorian Government, it remains the most progressive in advancing work on the issue.
“It was so inspiring for me to be able to work with a government,” Rosie said.
“We are way ahead of any other state across Australia with the way that we respond to family violence, the way our courts operate in the context of family violence, our prevention and our programs. So as imperfect as we are, we are so much more advanced than any other state, and that is because of the leadership of the government.
“It’s disheartening that we’re constantly fighting for funding, just to keep programs running or doors open. We will never see enough funding to properly resource the organisations that are overstretched and overworked.“
Rosie emphasised that while political leadership and accountability matters, lasting change “will take generations to fix” as “there is not one fix”.
Everyone plays a role in shaping change, from parenting and relationships to challenging behaviours, with schools and communities influencing change through how we model behaviour for our children and act daily.
Moving into a deeper and more emotional reflection, the Gazette asked Rosie, “What do you have now that you didn’t have before?”
“I hope that I have more compassion and a better me. I can be very impatient, intolerant, and judgemental, so I’m balancing that all the time,” she responded.
“But I’m never going to be enough and that’s the burden I carry. So I embrace the positive things people say to me.”
