Mums Gone Troppo

Kate Finch is the former chair of Women in Resources.

She drives advocacy for women in heavy industries and has worked around the world to improve working conditions for women.

She’s also a single mum by choice, falling pregnant to her ‘friend with benefits’, something she never thought would happen after a PCOS diagnosis in her early 20s.

Her parenting philosophy is simple - the first five years of a child’s life are just as important as the first five years of the teens and living by this, she’s managed to foster a beautiful relationship with her son Tenzin.

This is our last episode before our much-needed and loved dry season break so we will be back in a few weeks. Enjoy the weather!

Louise Hardy is the daughter of former administrator John Hardy and Marie Hardy, the founder of Air North and Hardy Aviation. Despite the notoriety of her parents, Louise has very much carved her own path, even if she ended up working in the family business. 

A mum of two boys, Louise says she isn’t one for confrontation but her mum low comes from a moment when she had to stick to her guns to ensure her own son’s safety. 

She’s  always had a creative flare but despite having many different and varied career paths including a vegetarian cafe. However, she didn’t fall into dressmaking until later in life, launching her successful business Hello Chook.

Find the business here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100032867576214 

Please note, This episode touches on drug use, self harm and has a few naughty words so be mindful around little ears.

Lyrella Couzins is a voice you might recognize if you listen to the radio on a Saturday morning. She fell in love with Darwin the moment she walked off the plane and hit the wall of humidity, and she’s never looked back.

A mum of two, Lyrella’s story spans two marriages, two divorces, two kids with ADHD, a kid in the Cowdy ward twice, dealing with drugs, vapes, and a failing education system. 

Despite going through a year from hell, Lyrella is exceedingly positive for what 2024 will have to offer for her and her kids, with a few lighthearted stories in between and plenty of giggles.

Clare Martin is the first female AND Labor Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

One of ten children born in Sydney’s north, she made her way to Darwin for a six month stint working for the ABC, making her way from radio to TV and back again. 

Meeting her other half on the tennis courts at Mindil Beach, she soon became a mum to a pigeon pair - her son and daughter.

Clare talks bout the trials and tribulations of being a mum while working in the biggest job in politics but also how hard it was to wind down when that chapter came to an end. But no matter what she ends up doing, she’s always calling the Territory home.

Michelle Coleman is a former television journalist who came to Darwin for what she thought would be just one year.

Meeting her now husband - publican Justin Coleman, while on the job at a story, Michelle still had the urge to explore her career in a big city. 

In no surprise, big city life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and just one year into her new job in Melbourne Michelle packed her bags and came home. 

Now a published children’s author, Michelle’s life was turned upside down when a Long Covid diagnosis left her with chest pains and unable to walk up a flight of stairs. But instead of relying on medication, Michelle has turned to health and fitness which sees her now on the brink of a full recovery.

Molly's travel woes continue, and she's got a lot to say about unreliable and price-gouging airlines. With her entire family stranded in QLD, she's a bit lost and quite furious.

In other news:

Three Maas and a RaRa are once again fundraising for Autism NT. Catch their episode from earlier last year, or have a look at their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/3MaasNaRara

Darwin's Mother's Day Classic is right around the corner, and if you've listened to Amanda and Jess's episode, you can see why this event is so important. We do encourage you to head down for the run, and if you'd like to register, head here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552626434509

This week's guest is Taneille Brann, who had dreams of organising the Olympics, but for now, her legacy stays in Kununurra and Darwin, having played a major part in both the Arafura Games and the Lake Argyle Swim, which was started by her and now sells out in a matter of minutes.

Now a mum of two, Taneille’s parenting journey had a rocky start, when HELLP syndrome hospitalised her at 32 weeks pregnant. Her first son was born via emergency cesarean and Taneille woke up in the ICU. Her son then spent a further six weeks in the NICU.

Now embedded in the Top End, Taneille and her family have year-round stories of mango madness including an annual mango cup which brings together their chosen Darwin family in a battle for the esteemed title.

If you'd like to support Taneille's marathon efforts, go to https://melbmara2024.grassrootz.com/running-for-premature-babies/taneille-brann?tab=updates&fbclid=IwAR1CuMTKtcepy2onpF4YGUUgdXwZtJH9vP2mM8R7zeAPjf1BGoA3bo2Am_g

Molly had wild weekend with cancelled flights and wrong trains trying to get to and from the Gold Coast in two days. She's so tired, and can barely get the brain working after two red eyes in as many days.

Meanwhile, Sally's decided she wants to go to the markets at 4am, a true sign she's a real Territory girl.

Our guest this week is Laetitia Lemke. She's had a baby in every decade of her life, is an esteemed journalist born in Sydney and raised in Papua New Guinea to an Australian father and a Tongan mother.

Laetitia and her family relocated to Australia before settling in Darwin as a child. Despite a small stint in Sydney, she’s been here ever since. 

Having just come out the other end of a breast cancer diagnosis, Laetitia touches on everything from teenage pregnancy to being married to a movie star. Although she keeps things real for husband Rob, who is filming with mega stars like Mark Wahlberg.

From kids accidentally eating hallucinogenic mushrooms to a sassy five-year-old, Laetitia shares some excellent mango madness stories in one of our favorite interviews that will make you laugh and cry.

The juggle is real for Kathleen, who during this episode had a work computer, a podcast computer, a work phone and a solo toddler all at once. She's solo parenting while Steve surprised us by going fishing (it's the run off don't you know).

It's been a week for Molly, who can't even string a sentence together but somehow manages a thrilling conversation about toilet training.

Enter this week's guest - Mary Chalmers, the 51st most powerful person in the Northern Territory.

An absolute boss in the court room, she’s one of the Territory’s most high profile barristers, but you wouldn’t even know she dropped out of high school to start training as a hairdresser.

After a very close call with a cut throat razor and a client's ear, it was very clear it wasn’t the career path for her.

Having found her way into law, she’s now a mum of two teenagers, calling on her own experiences as a headstrong teen and knowing when to pick your battles.

Please note, this episode discusses postpartum depression and anxiety.

If you think you or someone you know needs help, please call Panda on 1300 726 306 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

If you live in the Northern Territory, NT Health has some resources to support new parents. Please visit https://nt.gov.au/wellbeing/pregnancy-birthing-and-child-health/support-new-parents

Molly’s had a week with a husband and child both on antibiotics for different reasons, and Sally proves she’s one of the cutest toddlers out there, so well behaved as the mum juggle continues. Kathleen enters into a week of solo parenting, so more on that next week!

This week’s guest…Born in high-fashion Milan, Francesca Allen never felt like it was home.

Instead, she traveled the world, finding a particular soft spot for Australia, and an even bigger one for Darwin, moving her life from the UK back to Darwin when the hot weather and laidback lifestyle came calling.

The mum of two, who now has her own photography business in Darwin, discusses how postpartum depression robbed her of the early months with her first baby, and how crippling anxiety in the early days meant a trip to hospital and countless hours with the maternity mental health team and in councilling. 

But getting the help she needed Francesca lives her best Territory life, capturing those special moments for not just herself but other Darwin families.

Molly is sick of the wet season, but not before she has a decent whinge about an infected blister on her foot. Molly's TikTok algorithm is serving some weird stuff, and what's the name of that person who cooks for a living again?

This week's guest is Elena Madden who owns True North, a strategic communications and PR firm in Darwin.

While she’s Darwin’s PR queen, she’s a long way from Roxy Jacenko, living on five acres in Darwin’s rural area, a life full of camping, fishing the outdoors, and one giant German pointer with a taste for the neighbour's chickens.

She’s also a mum of two, deciding early on that the adoption route was the best option for them. 

Now parents of two - Jesse and Harriet from South Korea, Elena shares the wild ride of adoption at a time when the entire globe was locked down, what it’s like being the parent of a child with high medical needs, and raising Territory kids without forgetting where they’re from.