News of an elderly couple being carjacked by teenagers in the news wasn’t just confronting, it was unsettling in a deeper way.

Not because it was shocking, but because it’s becoming familiar.

We can argue policy, laws, and consequences all day long, but doing so often avoids the harder question: what’s really breaking down in our communities? Because incidents like this don’t happen in isolation. They’re usually the final symptom of something that’s been eroding for a long time, connection, accountability, and respect.

This isn’t about blame.
It’s about responsibility.
And it’s about asking whether we’re doing enough before crisis hits, rather than reacting once the damage is done.

As Christmas approaches, I hope you can find moments of rest and connection in whatever way feels right for you. Celebrate if that’s available to you. Sit quietly if that’s what you need. Hold your loved ones close, check in on your mates, and remember a simple lesson from a conversation I had yesterday, never take anything for granted.

Over the next few weeks you might notice some subtle changes moving into 2026 at The Unbreakable Farmer

Capacity Before Crisis is the next chapter of my work will not a move away from mental health or rural communities, but a shift upstream.

It’s about recognising pressure earlier, strengthening leadership and connection, and building the capacity to support people before crisis hits.

If we want better outcomes, we need to start sooner.

Preparedness is more than emergency plans and response systems. It is about the wellbeing capacity of the people inside them.
This blog explores why true disaster preparedness must include mental health, connection, purpose and physical wellbeing, using the Unbreakable Wheel of Wellbeing as a practical framework. When wellbeing is built before crisis, individuals, leaders and communities are better equipped to respond, adapt and recover when challenges arise.

Tomorrow, Australia’s under-16 social media ban comes into effect, a decision designed to protect young people, but one that also brings complex consequences, especially for rural, regional and vulnerable kids.

In this blog,I explore the real impact of the ban on young Australians who rely on digital connection as a lifeline, boarders far from home, isolated teens, kids with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ youth in small communities.

I unpacks why this issue isn’t just about kids and technology, but about an adult created problem, a culture of communication that we, as a society, have shifted online without giving young people the skills or alternatives they now need offline.

The blog outlines both the benefits and risks of the ban, and offers practical, community led strategies inspired by organisations like Dolly’s Dream to support young people through this transition. At its heart, it’s a call for adults to step up, reconnect, and ensure no young person feels alone as this major change takes effect.

Read the full article to learn how we can keep kids safe and connected and why both matter more than ever.

Leadership has always carried weight, but today’s leaders are facing a level of pressure and uncertainty unlike anything we’ve seen before. Across farms, worksites, businesses, classrooms and community organisations, leaders are absorbing emotional and psychological loads they were never trained to carry.

This blog explores the reality of leadership wellbeing, why leaders are burning out, how uncertainty is affecting them, and why modelling healthy behaviours is one of the most powerful things a leader can do. When leaders are supported and well, everything changes. This is the leadership conversation we need to be having.

We talk about suicide like it’s a number but numbers don’t capture the reality. They don’t show the faces behind the statistics, the families shattered, or the communities left reeling.
With one Australian dying every three hours, the crisis is real. But the real story lives in the people we’re losing the ones who were loved, needed, and doing their best in silence.
It’s time to move beyond the data and talk about the human cost. Real stories. Real pain. Real connection. Because that’s where change starts not in a graph, but in a conversation that makes someone feel seen.

There’s a real privilege in being invited into someone’s story, the raw, vulnerable parts we often carry alone. After a powerful conversation with a bloke named Wayne in Aberdeen, NSW, I was reminded why this work matters. When people feel seen, heard, and understood, something shifts. Walls drop. Pressure eases. What felt heavy becomes lighter. Inspiring vulnerability isn’t about fixing people, it’s about creating a safe space for honesty, connection, and the reminder that none of us are alone.

The latest 2024 suicide data has revealed a heartbreaking truth: Australia is losing one life every three hours, with 3,307 deaths last year alone. Men still make up the majority, but the sharp rise in suicide among women, particularly young women, shows this is no longer a single-group issue. It’s a whole-community crisis.

In this raw and honest blog, I reflect on why these numbers don’t shock him, but leave him deeply despondent. Drawing from years spent in sheds, community halls and kitchen table conversations across rural and regional Australia, I explore the urgent need to move beyond crisis response and invest in capacity building, strengthening frontline services, supporting local leadership, and normalising the conversations that save lives.

This isn’t just about statistics. It’s about people. Our people.
And it’s a call to action for every community, workplace and leader across the country.

Language matters, especially when we’re talking about something as sensitive as suicide.

For years, people have used the word committed, but that word carries heavy baggage from a time when suicide was seen as a crime.
Today, we know better. Suicide isn’t a crime it’s a tragedy born from pain and struggle. In this blog, I share why changing just one word can help reduce stigma, open conversations, and show compassion to those who need it most.

Sometimes the most powerful conversations happen in the simplest places like a community centre in Yuna, WA, where a bunch of blokes came together to talk about life, mateship, and what really matters.

Mental health isn’t just about getting through it’s about growing through. Every honest conversation, every small act of kindness, and every time we show up for someone else, we make our communities stronger.

This Mental Health Month, let’s be the reason someone feels seen, heard, and supported. Together, we can build a future where asking for help is normal and connection is second nature.

Let’s keep showing up, keep talking, and keep building communities that are truly unbreakable.

Read the full blog and join the conversation this Mental Health Month.

We all get 1,440 minutes in a day. The question is how many of those do you actually give yourself?

For farmers, business owners, and anyone juggling work and family, the answer is often none.

I get it, because I’ve lived it. But here’s the thing: protecting just 1% of your day around 14 minutes for yourself can have an enormous impact on your wellbeing. I call this your non-negotiable, and it’s one of the most powerful tools you can add to your mental health toolbox.

I’m not sharing this for sympathy, likes or an outpouring of concern.
I’m sharing it because we need to normalise conversations about mental health.

Some days I’m okay. Other days, like today, I’m not. The black dog is never too far away sometimes it’s barking in the background, sometimes it’s nipping at my heels, and other times it takes a big bite. On those days, I don’t feel strong or in control. I feel like I’m just hanging on by my fingernails.

And that’s okay.

Because poor mental health isn’t weakness. It’s part of being human.
If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. You don’t have to fight the black dog in silence.

Suicide doesn’t end with one life it creates an impact zone that ripples through families, workplaces, and whole communities.

In Australia, more than 3,200 people died by suicide in 2023, leaving nearly half a million people directly affected. Drawing on both statistics and my own lived experience, this article explores the far-reaching effects of suicide, the silence and stigma that too often follow, and the urgent need to make conversations about mental health a normal part of everyday life.

Suicide is not just a men’s issue it’s a whole community issue. By breaking down stigma, sharing stories, and creating safe spaces, we can shrink the impact zone and remind people they’re not alone.

In times of unexpected tragedy, like the recent events in Porepunkah, we’re reminded just how crucial community truly is.

This blog explores how rural communities, even when divided, find their strength and unity in times of challenge and why that sense of connection is so vital for our wellbeing.

Over the past few years, I’ve had countless conversations in rural communities about renewable energy especially wind farms. This debate isn’t going away, and in some places, it’s taking an ugly turn. Neighbours are falling out, people are staying silent out of fear, and the bonds that once held towns together are starting to fray.

"The real challenge isn’t where we place the turbines it’s how we protect the trust, respect, and goodwill that hold our communities together."

Progress should never come at the cost of connection. We can shape the future without tearing the heart out of the places we call home.

Sometimes it’s not the big life events that knock us down, it’s the small things piling up.
Mental health isn’t a competition, and you don’t need to wait until you’re at breaking point to ask for help. If it’s affecting you, it’s enough. You’re enough.

In a world that praises “soldiering on,” it takes real courage to be vulnerable, to connect, and to say, “I’m not okay.”
Because you don’t have to walk this path alone and you were never meant to.

Not one of us experiences today the same way.

In my work across Australia, from shearing sheds to boardrooms, I’ve seen how powerful understanding, compassion and kindness can be.
This article is a reminder that no matter our role or industry, we all have the ability to show up for each other in small but meaningful ways.

Let’s lead with Compassion, Kindness and Understanding.

Because you never know what someone’s today looks like.

A few weeks back I had the privilege of speaking at the launch of the Dubbo Men's Growth Room, a grassroots mental health initiative from Lifeline Central West that’s all about real connection, honest conversation, and community-led support.
I’ve written a few thoughts on why this project matters, how it aligns with the work I do as The Unbreakable Farmer, and why we need more safe spaces like this across the country.
Have a read, share it around, and let’s keep the conversations going.