Belinda Young

20/10/2026

It’s late and I can’t sleep. I’ve cried a lot over the past 24 hours. I’m devastated by what has happened to Independent MP for Indi Helen Haines in Wangaratta. My thoughts are with Helen, her family, her colleagues and the community she represents.

When I struggle to make sense of something, I turn to research. It’s how I try to understand my emotions, or at least sit with them. So I’ve been reading and learning, all the while hoping for the very best outcome for Helen. What I’ve come to realise is that this grief is also for the loss of something I once believed and cherished about Australia.

During my PhD interviews with bushfire-vulnerable communities in California and Victoria, I saw how entrenched political polarisation in the US had become. People avoided difficult conversations, even when they understood the risks. I believed Australia was different. We could disagree, sometimes passionately, without becoming enemies.

Today I’m crying for Helen, but also because I’m not sure I believe that of Australia anymore.

Responsibility for what happened rests with the person who did this, and I won’t speculate about why. Separately from this, I’ve run an online community for more than a decade. I’ve seen the extraordinary good social media can do, and I’ve seen how quickly conversations can turn hostile. I worry about a culture where hostility and intimidation become normal parts of public conversation.

I feel profound admiration for anyone who enters public life, and I worry about those who may now think twice, especially the women and girls watching and wondering whether it’s safe to speak up.

Most of all, I worry about our communities. We face enormous challenges, from climate change and bushfires to housing and family violence, and they need people willing to speak, to listen, to challenge ideas and to find common ground. How do we do that if people become too frightened to have the conversations?

I don’t have the answers tonight. I’m not even sure I’ve found the right questions.

I’m just terribly sad for Helen and everyone who loves her. And I’m grieving the confidence I once had that, despite our differences, Australians could still sit around the same table and talk.

I desperately want to believe we still can. For now, I hold onto hope that Helen recovers, supported by her family, her colleagues and her community.

Send a message to learn more

21/09/2026

Afternoon everyone,
I am currently at a women’s forum in Mt Evelyn on behalf of MOTHs. I’ll try to keep you updated but if you have a question you would like me to ask about women’s health, please comment below.

TIA

06/02/2026

I hope this makes you all giggle at this very story...

One afternoon in January I’d driven back from a blissful family camping trip, hair crusty with sea salt from the morning's swim, and my head filled with the memories of those glorious auroras. I was mentally shifting gears from thongs-and-esky mode to “meeting Her Excellency, Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria, at Government House” mode.

Pulling into the driveway, I immediately knew something was… off.

The power lines were sagging low across the drive. Not touching-the-ground low, but definitely this feels like a judgement call low.

After a cautious assessment involving squinting, reversing slightly, and telling myself I have a PhD and should therefore be capable of basic risk analysis, I gingerly drove under them.

Power was on. Excellent. Confidence restored.

I jumped into the shower, already mentally rehearsing polite conversation, and… nothing. No water. Not even a sad dribble. Just silence. The kind of silence that tells you that there's either been a catastrophic tank or pump failure (or both).

I leapt out of the shower and, popped my thongs on to check the tank. Stopped... and decided it best to put clothes back on before walking out to inspect the tank.

One tap of the tank confirmed it. Empty. Bone dry. Not a molecule to spare. How?? That much water can't just disappear... but that was a problem for later.

With an event invite staring at me from the calendar and no time to negotiate with gravity, infrastructure or weather. Enter Mums of the Hills Vice President, Katerina who, without hesitation, offered her shower, taking the role of Vice President to bold, uncharted new levels, adding Emergency hygiene response to her remit.

Ten minutes later I emerged, clean, semi-composed, and pretending my life was held together by more than goodwill and rainwater.

Together with Katerina, I attended the Government House function freshly showered, appropriately dressed, and made polite conversation with absolutely no one suspecting that mere hours earlier I had been negotiating with sagging power lines, an empty tank, and a last-minute Vice-Presidential shower bailout.

Which just goes to show: you can meet Her Excellency with perfect manners and polished shoes… and still be held together by friends, favours, and the quiet chaos of life in the hills.

The hills keep you humble. Even on your fanciest days.

I'll tell you more about that event in the near future, but think it's best we get through the next few days of hot weather first.

04/09/2025

Enough is enough. We’re standing up and shouting Enough is Enough!!

An Important Call Action. Stand With Us

Evening everyone, For the past 2 weeks, MOTHS, Single Mums of the Hills (SMOTHS) and Mountain Men have been collaborating on a joint statement in response to the murder of a woman in Upper Ferntree Gully, allegedly by someone they knew. Enough is enough. While we call on ministers for systemic change, grassroot action and cultural change is also necessary. We hope that other individuals, groups and clubs share our vision.

We're encouraging our community to stand with us and share this joint statement.

***********
Enough is Enough
Partner Violence Is a Crisis

This is a joint statement from Single Mums of the Hills (SMOTHS), Mums of the Hills and Mountain Men.

Partner violence is not just a private issue. It’s a community crisis — and the Yarra Ranges is not immune.

What is Partner Violence?
Partner violence is when one partner physically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally and/or financially abuses the other. It can happen in any type of relationship — married, de facto, dating, separated or divorced.

What can this look like?
A partner checking your phone, controlling your finances, calling you names, threatening to leave you with nothing, or isolating you from friends and family. These are just some of the red flags that can be experienced.
It’s not just bruises or black eyes — it’s control, fear, and the slow erosion of self-worth.
We are calling this out. Now!
Respect between partners means acknowledging each other’s feelings, thoughts, and boundaries. When one partner constantly disrespects, overrides, manipulates boundaries or uses their partner as an emotional punching bag, the damage ripples outwards — to children, to extended family, and to the community.
This is how generational trauma begins.

We are saying enough!

The Reality in Australia

In 2023–24, the truth was devastating:
• One woman was killed every 8 days
• One man was killed every 41 days
…by a current or former intimate partner*.
This is not okay. It’s not rare. It’s happening far too often — in homes, on our streets, in our neighbourhoods. And it has to stop.

What Can You Do?
There are ways to take action. But today, it starts with this:
* Call it what it is — abuse.
* Listen and believe the person who may reveal the abuse. Sometimes they do not even know or understand the abuse. Let them know you are there for support.
* Model respect in your own relationships — especially in front of children.

As an individual please share this statement on your personal social media pages to show your support.

We also call on Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence in Victoria, to increase funding for community-led education and training, support legal reforms to strengthen responses to coercive control and other non-physical forms of abuse, and work with grassroots organisations to drive intergenerational change.

If you are experiencing partner violence, please call: 1800RESPECT — 1800 737 732

What Clubs, Groups, Businesses and Organisations Can Do?
This issue cannot be left to individuals alone. Governments, agencies, police, courts, businesses and communities must work together.
If you’re a club, group, business or organisation, please share this statement on your public social media pages to show your support.

You can take part in 3Rs Training (Recognise, Respond, Refer), funded by Mums of the Hills, to learn how to identify signs of partner violence, respond safely, and connect people with the right support. Link in the comments.

Together, we say: No more silence. No more excuses. No more partner violence.

Daniela De Martino MP Aaron Violi MP Jacinta Allan FVREE Centre Against Violence

30/07/2025

We’re taking it to 11.. 🤣🤣🎸🤘

28/06/2025

I’ve always longed to be a band. Not just because they seemed sooo cool but because you can see the team work needed to make great music. Each person relying on the other, literally being tuned in to each other, and when it works, it’s magic.
Join us on July 31st at the Sooki Lounge. It’ll be a great night for a great cause.

18/06/2025

Loved the chance to share the Mums of the Hills story the other night at the Monbulk & District Community Bank's Community Awards night. I left feeling so inspired by the incredible community groups in the room. The juggle is real, but so is the impact.

08/05/2025

Very proud of this milestone.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 - 𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝟏𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝

This Sunday marks ten years since I started Mums of the Hills — and fittingly, it falls on Mother’s Day. Also, can I take this moment to thank my younger self at my foresight to click create on the same day that Moth-er’s Day would fall in a decade’s time.

At first I just wanted to know where mums hung out, or where to find a good plumber or a babysitter. But underneath that was a deeper yearning: I wanted to walk down the main street and bump into people I knew, to feel part of something. I grew up in a small town where that sense of connection came naturally. After years of living overseas, I missed that feeling of belonging.

As many of you know, the real turning point came one ordinary day while painting a wall in our home. I was balancing on a ladder—kids aged two and four playing nearby—when I slipped and fell. Thankfully, I wasn’t seriously hurt, but as I sat there, stunned and sore, it hit me: there was no one I could call. No nearby friend to drop everything and come. That moment of vulnerability stayed with me. It was the spark that lit the fire. I didn’t want other mums to feel that alone. So I started building the community I wished I had—a place where mums could connect, support each other, and as I’ve already said, feel like they belonged.

Ten years on and here we are. Over the years, we’ve shared everything — the hilarious, the heartbreaking, and the unexpectedly beautiful. And as I sit here remembering these stories and wondering just how many babies this group has helped feed, name, soothe, and celebrate — the timing couldn't be more perfect.
This morning at 10am, our very own social media superstar Alannah welcomed her beautiful baby girl into the world. We are over the moon at this news and already lining up for baby cuddles. (Bagsies first.)

MotHs has always been about community, connection, and showing up for each other — and today, we get to celebrate with Alannah. Welcome to the world gorgeous Quinn and here’s to so many more years of welcome mums and babies into our MotHs!

𝐺𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑦, 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒? I’d love it if you could pop it in the comments or tag us in your own post using .