Thank you!
Thank you to all who attended our first Parenting Beyond Breakup online conference! To all our incredible speakers tonight at our Inaugural PBB conference. We truly could not have done this without you.
What an incredible evening of emotional, relevant and powerful content. Thank you from our entire team for all your time, efforts and commitment to working with us to bring something special to all our parents in distress.
Parenting Beyond Breakup Online Conference
a Rational voice
Are you a separating parent or grandparent in need of support?
Are you facing child access and family law issues?
Do you work in the area of family support?
Join some of Australia’s leading experts in family law, child access and situational
distress, along with Lived Experience Mums and Dads for a far-reaching and
compelling discussion on Parental Alienation Awareness Day:
TIME & DATE: 5:30 – 9:30pm, Wednesday 12 October 2022
WHERE: Via Zoom/Online
COST: $25 ticket price (hardship exemption available email enquiries@parentsbeyondbreakup.com)
Videos
The Honourable John H Pascoe, AC CVO
Keynote Address: The Family Law Process
Lucinda Brogden AM B.Comm., M.Psych.
Speaker: Situational Distress vs Mental Health
GILLIAN HUNT CEO PBB
Host
JULIAN LEESER, MP
Federal Member for Berowra Shadow Attorney-General Shadow Indigenous Minister Patron of Parents Beyond Breakup
Conference Opening
Did you know that the majority of parents going through separation and access issues with their children are suffering a ‘perfect storm’? Loss of family, home, social networks, finances – to name but a few.
With so many divorces and separations in Australia, it is highly likely that you, or someone you know, understands that perfect storm from your own lived experience.
If so, our Parenting Beyond Breakup Conference would be a great resource, support and even a reset on your own personal wellness journey. With 5 days to go, register at pbb.events
Join some of Australia’s leading experts in family law & child access in our conference. far-reaching and compelling discussion which aims to spread the awareness of parental alienation.
JULIAN LEESER, MP
Federal Member for Berowra Shadow Attorney-General Shadow Indigenous Minister Patron of Parents Beyond Breakup
Conference Opening
In November this year Julian Leeser, Federal MP for Berowra, accepted our offer to become the first official Patron of Parents Beyond Breakup. With his own Lived Experience of the suicide of his father whilst he was very young, Julian has been a staunch advocate of suicide prevention, using his political platform to successfully raise the issue of suicide at the highest levels of government. PBB is proud to be associated with Julian and we look forward to his future association with our organisation as we all work to reduce suicide amongst our most at-risk demographics.
“Some Australians experience immense difficulty navigating the family law system. This hardship, paired with the trauma of family breakdown, causes some parents to experience suicidal ideation. I am grateful for the wonderful work Parents Beyond Breakup does in supporting parents through this challenging system.” – Julian Leeser
“Just because your family looks different to how you imagined it, it does not change the fact that it’s YOUR family , and more importantly – its’ your CHILD’s family.” – Gillian Hunt
Gillian Hunt CEO PBB
Host
Chief Executive Officer – Gillian joined Parents Beyond Breakup as CEO in April 2021. She has previously held senior executive positions across various ASX listed organisations including Asciano, Arrium and the John Holland Group. She has extensive corporate, management and NFP director experience including deputy Chair of Habitat for Humanity Australia. Gillian is a Graduate and Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds degrees in Communications and Anthropology, has post graduate qualifications in Marketing, Economics and Management, and has twice been acknowledged in the Salt and Shein Top 50 report as one of Australia’s most influential corporate affairs professionals. Gillian is a passionate advocate of suicide prevention and mental health, having Lived Experience of the suicide of a close family member. Gill also serves as a Board Director of Australian Men’s Health Forum.
“Once I was a parent………I am a parent now……..I will always be a parent.” – John Pascoe
The Honourable John H Pascoe, AC CVO
Keynote Speaker
The Honourable John H Pascoe, AC CVO was appointed Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 25 February 2019. Prior to his appointment, Mr Pascoe was Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia since October 2018 and was the Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia from 2004-2018. He is the Australian representative to the Hague Conference on Private International Law Experts’ group on Parentage and Surrogacy and is a member of the International Social Service Expert Working Group which is developing principles to protect children in International surrogacy matters.
Prior to Mr Pascoe’s judicial appointments, he was Managing Director in the national law firm, Phillips Fox (now known as DLA). He has broad commercial experience including CEO of a public company and Chairman of a number of listed companies and statutory authorities.
He is an Honorary advisor to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Association (Asia Pacific) and is currently serving as a Patron of the LAWASIA Family Law and Family Rights Section. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Cambodian Children’s Fund Australia which delivers education, family support and community development programs in impoverished communities.
He was appointed a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 1994, an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2002 and was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003. He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in January 2010 and awarded The Companion of the Order of Australia in 2016, in recognition of his eminent service to the law and to the judiciary.
Throughout his judicial career, Mr Pascoe has promoted the care and wellbeing of children, advocated on behalf of the Rights of the Child and has lectured and written on the elimination of human trafficking in all forms particularly the trafficking of newly born children.
“Reconcile with Your Children, Reconcile with Yourself if you Cannot.” – Dr. Stan Korosi PhD
Dr. Stan Korosi PhD
Speaker: Parental Alienation
Parental alienation goes by many names to avoid confronting its ugly reality as a social and severe public health issue with potentially fatal outcomes. The social sciences are replete with research demonstrating how destructive, if not deadly, the process of alienation is for parents and children. Alienation is an ideology that dehumanises parents and treats children as disposable and tradeable assets. It defines family by membership in a voluntary and temporary social group. And memberships can be cancelled! Alienation is a cancel-culture. It uses narratives to construct alternate and false realities that make discrediting, vilifying a parent, and coercing their children to revoke their membership appear normal. The solutions are counter-narratives to “de-normalise” and disrupt alienation processes and structural de-alienation through social institutions such as Family Law to reinstitute family membership. Structural de-alienation also requires grassroots social action to change social attitudes and laws to apply more equitable approaches to parental alienation as a social and public health issue.
Dr Stan Korosi. PhD (Soc, Univ Sunshine Coast QLD), M.Couns. HS (Latrobe).
Principal Consultant-Director
Administrative Services Director-Family Bridges Workshop
“In the midst of crisis holding on to hope can be a challenge. This too shall pass can be the most grating phrase. Holding on to hope, knowing the challenges will pass and remembering we are stronger than we know are all great pieces of advice – so is remembering we are all human and worthy of love and compassion. If we can be anything we can be kind” – Lucinda Brogden AM B.Comm., M.Psych.
Lucinda Brogden AM B.Comm., M.Psych.
Speaker: Situational Distress vs Mental Health
Lucy has a strong commitment to helping others. Her primary areas of focus are issues facing Women and Girls and Mental Health and Wellbeing, particularly in the workplace. She takes an evidenced based approach to problem solving and social investment.
Lucy has more than 25 years’ experience commercial experience with companies including Macquarie Group and Ernst & Young working in accounting, finance and organisational
psychology. Specifically, Lucy has worked in trusted advisory roles with some of Australia’s leading CEO’s, Managing Partners, Ministers, and Chairs.
After eight years as a Commissioner and Chair of the National Mental Health Commission and Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance, Lucy is now pursing new interests within the Care sector.
Chair, Diabetes Research Program
Director, Australian Unity Limited (from 8 September)
Director, Be Kind Sydney
Governor, Queenwood School
Founder & Patron, Sydney Women’s Fund ‘
Patron, Partners in Depression
Patron, Lifeline Northern Beaches
Ambassador, Kookaburra Kids
Friend, Carers NSW
Silver Medallion, Surf Lifesaving – Patrol at Bilgola Beach
Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
Dr. Zac Seidler
Situational distress and emotional support
Dr. Zac Seidler is a Clinical Psychologist, the Director of Mental Health Training at Movember and a Senior Research Fellow with Orygen at The University of Melbourne. Zac has devoted several years to the goal of reducing the staggering male suicide rate, treating, and researching men’s mental health with over 50 peer-reviewed articles published. Zac has worked clinically with men of different ages and presentations from adolescents in Darwin with early psychosis to older HIV+ men struggling with adjustment. Zac is a member on the advisory committees for Life in Mind, White Ribbon, Migration Council of Australia, the National Mental Health Commission and Suicide Prevention Australia. Zac has appeared on the ABC, BBC, Sky News and in The Guardian, The Age and Vice for his work.
“It’s the situations that rock a man’s life that might not sit comfortably in the ‘mental health’ world but require our love, intervention and attention if we’re to offer them a shovel to help dig their way out of the trenches” – Dr. Zac Seidler
Shaya Lewis-Dermody
Panel: Family law tools for parents
Shaya is an Author of two Family Law books and a Solicitor with almost 20 years’ experience. She heads up a National Law firm The Family Law Project who help clients navigate the family law system and aim to keep clients out of court wherever possible. Shaya is a qualified Independent Children’s Lawyer and often appointed by the court to represent children. She has been a finalist numerous times in the ‘thought leader’ Women in Law Awards with her passion to ditch the legalese and make Family Law accessible for everyone.
“Families and children need to be put at the front and centre of separation and thankfully we are starting to see a shift in this space.”- Shaya Lewis-Dermody
“Sometimes the family law requires parents to jump through giant flaming hoops to get the best results for their children. It’s all about knowing which hoops to jump through and how to not get burned.”- Adam Jones
Adam Jones
Panel: Family law tools for parents
Adam Jones is a family law solicitor based in inner Sydney and has been at the coal-face of complex parenting and property matters for the last decade. In 2018, he chose to establish a sole practice dedicated exclusively to family law working on increasingly complex areas of law including international anti-suit injunctions, the defence of sexual abuse allegations and intricate Child Support departure applications.
Adam has also founded a pro-bono arm of his legal practice, Dad’s Family Law, providing free legal advice to fathers and their supporters around Australia through town-hall style meetings held regularly in NSW, QLD and Victoria. Dad’s Family Law continues to provide access to justice for many self-represented litigators who would not otherwise qualify for funding by the various Legal Aid Commissions in Australia.
In addition to his work with fathers, Adam also volunteers at the Inner City Legal Centre in Kings Cross Sydney where he contributes free advice to the most marginalised members of the community in the area of family law.
He is also involved with Dad’s in Distress through Parents Beyond Breakups where he provides free legal advice on a monthly basis to a national audience.
“Don’t worry alone – that is the easiest way to explain what we are trying to do to get the suicide rate down to zero. It has to be zero as 1 is too many”- Gus Worland
Gus Worland
Closing remarks
GUS WORLAND Family man. Friend. Sports fan. Founder. Australian radio host and TV personality Gus Worland is the driving force behind mental fitness charity Gotcha4Life. Gus set up the not-for-profit foundation in 2017 to help people develop the emotional muscle, resilience and social connections needed to build mental fitness and prevent suicide. A compassionate bloke, Gus wears his heart on his sleeve. But that heart was shattered the day news arrived that Angus – his friend, mentor and father figure – had taken his life. Angus seemed to have it all – a beautiful family, home, great job, the respect and friendship of many. But he had something else too. Inner worries that were eating away at him. And he never told anyone about it. The stigma around mental health stops too many from reaching out and asking for help when life throws challenges our way. Gus was driven to action. In 2016, he hosted three-part documentary series Man Up, lifting the lid on the relationship between masculinity, social isolation, mental health and suicide. The attention it received created awareness – but Gus knew more was needed. ‘It is time for action – time to draw a line in the sand to engage, educate and empower people about mental fitness.’ GotchaLife was founded
“At times, the going is tough and the challenges appear insurmountable. Through the darkness, we must keep pushing forward, our kids deserve no less.” – Brendan Blomeley
Brendan Blomeley MBA, FAICD, FIML
Conference Thanks
Chairperson at Parents Beyond Breakup (Joined 2019) is CEO of the Tasmanian Racing Club and has Lived Experience as a Dad in Distress. He is also an Alderman on the Clarence City Council and is a former Federal and State Ministerial Adviser and Chief of Staff to the Chief Government Whip in the Senate. Brendan offers PBB the benefit of his experience at all three levels of Government, with extensive proven success in Corporate and Government Relations. He is a Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Institute of Managers and Leaders. Brendan also holds an MBA and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.
“Be the dad your kids wish to find” – Pete Nicholls
Pete Nicholls
Conference MC
Regional Manager SW Sydney – Pete has an electronics and engineering degree and a background of design in the defence aviation sector. An interest in data analysis led to retraining in Organisational Psychology and a pivot into corporate research and consulting; there he has held international leadership roles within IBM, Mercer and HayGroup. In 2013, Pete volunteered as a DIDs group facilitator. With a passion for suicide prevention, he has since made PBB his main occupation and retains a handful of part time ASX100 consulting clients. Pete’s roles within PBB include two terms on the board (2014-17) and as CEO (2017-20). As a separated dad, he has 21 years experience of parental separation and has acted as a McKenzie Friend.
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