Justin Heazlewood

And so the pulp mill was a huge employer of about 4,000 people.

And being a conservative sort of place, a lot of Christianity, a lot of sport, probably a lot of low-level homophobia.

It was just the time and the place.

It all felt a bit, what are you looking at, mate?

I wasn't dead comfortable in that environment.

I was a little nerd.

I was smart, wisecracking, thoughtful, had very geeky glasses and a little bowl cut.

I was running the school newspaper and things like that.

And there were a lot of terrifying older men around in their hotted up Commodores.

I just lived in a red brick government housing unit, really a nice little unit with a nice garden and in a court with some other little old ladies.

And it was just me and mum and the cat.

I don't know my dad.

I've never met him.

So long story short, he abandoned my mum and I when I was a baby and very successfully went on to have his own separate family.

And we just had no contact with him whatsoever.

And at a very early age, my mum sort of gave me the talk

where she showed me a black and white photo from the Advocate newspaper.

And she's like, see this man, that's your father.

And this is his name.

And this is sort of roughly where he is.