General News
8 October, 2025
Let’s Talk comes to Cobden
COBDEN Rotary Club hosted an open day over the weekend, featuring live music, face painting and the opportunity to talk about mental health with the Let’s Talk foundation.
On Saturday, October 4, the site of Cobden’s mini golf was open to the community for a chance of a hole in one and also to talk about mental health.
Jane and Mick Fitzgibbon, two of the cofounders of the not-for-profit Let’s Talk alongside John Parkinson, were in attendance to break the stigma around having conversations about mental health.
“Let’s Talk was started nine years ago - it’s a foundation about breaking the stigma of mental health and early help seeking and educating the community to ask questions,” Mrs Fitzgibbon said.
“It is non-clinical - so it started around the fact that in the south west, back then, there were 17 suicides.
“Let’s Talk does presentations across the community - we asked what needed to change, why these 17 people weren’t in the system of mental health and why weren’t they reaching out to get help.
“We found that stigma is the biggest thing.
“For farmers, the statistics are that 75 per cent of them will not reach out for help and we need to change that.”
Mrs Fitzgibbon said the last 12 months have been particularly tough, especially for farmers, due to persisting drought conditions in the south west.
“We all need to talk about our mental health like we do our physical health,” she said.
“You can seek help from your GP, you can seek help from professional organisations, like we really support Rural Finance Counselling service.
“They’re free, they will come and visit farmers for their mental health and also offer financial counselling.
“In the last 12 months, farming has been very stressful - physically, mentally and financially - and we all need to look after one another.
“We need to check in on our neighbours and ring up people, say hello to people - culture change takes decades.”
Mr Fitzgibbon said even helping one person made all the difference.
“Normally one in 20 people that we speak in front of will go and get help after the presentation,” he said.
“Then you have the ripple effect, because those 30 or so people after the presentation may contact five or 10 of their friends.
“They’re more likely to be able to help their friends in their journey.”
Mr Fitzgibbon said the more people who reached out, the greater chance change could be made.
“Mental health should be before most of the other things you do in life,” he said.
“If you’re not actually going well, you need to change your life accordingly.
“If you don’t actually play the game, you won’t get well.
“More people need to get help early and the community need to be more understanding and wanting each other to reach out.”
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