Movember Mo More?

Prostate Cancer Foundation president Barry Young announced yesterday the agency that could no longer take part in the annual November fundraiser because organisers had turfed it out last month.

Movember, which was first held in 2006, gave the ailing foundation a new life, raising $800,000 in its first year and $2 million last year, when 26,000 Kiwi men spent a month cultivating a moustache.

The Australia-based Movember Group, which has copyright of the event, had sought control of how the New Zealand-raised funds were spent, Mr Young said.

"We were told that unless we spent the money in a time frame approved by them, and on projects approved by them, then we would not be the beneficiary of any further Movember campaigns."

The foundation was disappointed, but the situation was not tolerable when donations had been made in good faith to the New Zealand branch. "It is a huge blow."

The Movember Group did not return calls last night.

Mr Young said the foundation had taken a cautious approach and spent "very little" while it investigated prostate research in New Zealand, which, unlike Australia, had little previous data.

It planned to announce a two-year Wellington research project in the coming days, but the organisers had wanted the money spent faster, Mr Young said.

Kiwi "mo bros", including sports personalities Marc Ellis and Arthur Klap, questioned why the Movember Group had allowed the row to ruin an event that had raised men's awareness of a cancer that kills 600 Kiwis a year.

"Movember not only raised money, it raised awareness of men's health," said Mr Klap, who was found to have prostate cancer last year.

"Ownership and copyright [of Movember] are nonsense when you're looking at the purpose."

The 56-year-old raised more than $8500 last year - the biggest single amount - by shaving off his nearly 40-year-old beard and growing a moustache.

Mr Ellis, who went nationwide with his moustache-growing efforts in 2006, said he was disappointed with the organiser. The event was a golden opportunity for Kiwi men, most of whom had the urge to grow a moustache.

Men's depression in proud partnership with the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand's 'Out of the Blue' campaign - because 1 in 10 men experience depression during their lifetime but most don't seek help.  Depression is a known high risk factor for suicide which, unfortunately ranks New Zealand with the fourth highest rate of suicide per capita.