Dunking, swimming, voting, singing, learning, breathing and tech-surfing

00:07 Georgia

Hi, I'm Georgia Munro-Cook, a member of the Aussie Gliders, winner of the Osaka Cup, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.

00:41 Peter

It's just gone 5:00 - and with some talk about making things great again, I welcome you to Leisure Link, which is great, and getting even greater here on Vision Radio. Radio 1197 AM in Adelaide, online at varadio.org through the TuneIn radio app. Look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide, VA Radio Digital in Adelaide and Darwin - and also your favorite podcast or streaming service. Our friends listening through 103.9 Hope FM, Esperance in Western Australia.

And a huge thanks, as always, to Disability Media Australia for their tremendous support. You can find out more including Leisure Link at Powered Media - p o w e r d dot media. Great to be here. Fantabulous day to be here. Peter Greco saying, Hope things are going well for you. This program coming to you from Kaurna Land.  

Coming to you very very shortly: we'll catch up with Georgia Munro-Cook, one of our mighty Gliders who are just back from winning the Osaka Cup. Lee O'Connor will join us to talk about the mighty swim for miss. Also catch up with Courtney Baron from the Western Australian Electoral Commission. What is available for people who are blind or low vision to vote at this year's election? Only a couple of weeks away, Alison Davies will join us music therapist. What happens to our voice as we age? We'll find out soon. Rachel Ramsdale will join us to talk about a very good graduate program for people who might be blind or have low vision? Well, I've yoga from Reva Bryce and adjunct professors Reese Woodward joined us from USC. Will the latest news in technology? Anyone for a new iPhone? Or some wonderful news from our ozone gliders? 

Our Australian women's wheelchair basketball team just back having won the Osaka Cup. One of the stars of the team Georgia Munro-Cook is with us. Georgia, welcome and congratulations.

02:36 Georgia

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

02:37 Peter

How was that?

02:39 Georgia

It was pretty great, it's... I've been going to the Osaka Cup for nearly ten years, and it's the first time we've won, so that's very exciting.

02:46 Peter

And of course, on the back of not qualifying for Paris, I talk too much about that, but maybe a kind of a bit of vindication or a bit of... what's the word, revenge, if I can put it that way, for, for not doing so well at all as far as getting to Paris went.

03:00 Georgia

Yeah for sure. I think last year was a very, very disappointing year for us, and I think we've got a lot of great new players coming through, so it was really exciting to see that we're now on the right track moving forward.

03:11 Peter

This is a cup. It's a big match or it's a big tournament isn't it? It's been going for for a long, long time.

03:17 Georgia

Yeah for sure... I think it's actually some of the biggest crowds I've ever played in front of, because they do a really great job of getting lots of Japanese school kids in, and they advertise it everywhere. And yeah, especially when we played Japan, it was very loud in there.

03:30 Peter

Okay. What's it like? I mean, do you think it's one of those things where I guess, you know, more and more people become aware of the... Paralympics and the abilities of sport with people with disabilities... so, you know, the kind of, the general public can be more involved and kind of understand the game more?

03:44 Georgia

Yeah, for sure. I think just what Japan are doing in terms of getting people involved in watching wheelchair basketball, I think it's something Australia could really learn from because I know whenever people come and watch us play, they really love it, but it's just having the opportunity and knowing about it and coming to see us.

03:59 Peter

You can mop yours on the back of Tokyo hosting the Games in 2021 as it was.

04:04 Georgia

Yeah, definitely... they did a lot of investment leading into that, and unfortunately a lot of people didn't get to go see the games because of Covid. So I guess this is their opportunity to get to see disability sport in action.

04:18 Peter

Yeah, that's a great point you make about leading up to it, because I know I've been doing this program for a little while, and certainly the last maybe decade or so, in terms of the amount of athletes that are coming out of Japan, not just in wheelchair basketball, but in all sorts of sport for people with disabilities, they're kind of all sort of moving up the ranks in their respective sports.

04:37 Georgia

Yeah, for sure. I think when you host the Paralympic Games and we're going to see this, I think with Brisbane 2032, you know, there's a lot of investment. They want to do well. And that kind of really sets them up for the future as.

04:48 Peter

Well you know. Well last week we spoke to Rachel Watson regarding the set up now in Queensland. And also late last year we spoke to Jed Schweiger in South Australia. And what the South Australian Sports Institute is doing. So I think the kind of states and Australia and the AIS in general are probably all sort of pulling towards that direction or heading towards that direction.

05:09 Georgia

Yeah, I think so, definitely.

05:10 Peter

Tell us about soccer there. It sounds like the final was a bit of a match.

05:14 Georgia

Yeah, for sure. So we were struggling a bit in the first half. I think some of our shots were a little bit off, but we really in the third quarter, I think really, like cracked down on them and stopped them from scoring and got ahead and got a win.

05:27 Peter

Well, a couple of goals. Couple of points. Yeah.

05:30 Georgia

Yeah.

05:30 Peter

Was it 51 to 49? 

05:33 Georgia

Yeah, that sounds right. So excited to win, I'm not sure about the final score.

05:36 Peter

I was going to say those games that are like that - I mean they, I mean obviously it's nice when you win comfortably and I guess, you know, from a coach's point of view, it's sort of less stressful. But winning those close finishes - I mean, when that final whistle goes, that must be the kind of the the icing on the cake as far as playing the sport goes.

05:52 Georgia

Yeah for sure. Like there's something really special about, you know, having a bad first half and then being able to turn it around. I think obviously you want to play well the whole game, but... yeah, it's kind of good to to know that we can do that.

06:04 Peter

You talked about the disappointment of not making it for Paris. Was that kind of a bit of a... resolve for the players and a bit of a motivating factor since not qualifying? 

06:14 Georgia

Yeah, I think so. I think it really showed us where we were in the world and how much work we need to do to get back to where the gliders have been in the past. And with a lot of young players coming through, kind of teaching them that they maybe weren't doing enough or that what they needed to do to be an elite athlete. Yeah, it was a really big learning opportunity. I think it's probably...

06:32 Peter

Maybe sometimes a hard pill to swallow, if you kind of think you're doing as much as you can, but someone points out that maybe you're not - but, you know, it's kind of a, you got a pretty sort of person who's got a good opinion of yourself to be able to sort of swallow that pride and... dig in a bit deeper.

06:48 Georgia

Yeah, I think so. Like, I think when you make the Australian team, you think, Oh yeah, I've got it made. But you know, it's, then there's two kinds of people - the people that are like, just kind of settle in and just do whatever, and then people that want to be better and try and be better. And I think we've got a bunch of girls on our team that want to be better.

07:05 S2

What about as far as some of the players that did well through the... tournament? Happy to name some names?

07:10 Georgia

Yeah for sure. We have a 15 year old on our team, Ebony Stevenson, and she had an incredible tournament I think. Yeah she's just going to be a really great player, and that's super exciting. And then also Shelly Matheson at the other end who's 40 years old... she made the All Star Five as well. So that was... really exciting I think. Yeah.

07:30 Peter

Does that give you... not that you're old, but it's like a stretch, I should say... but does that give you kind of impetus as well to think that, you know, you've still got a decade or more ahead of you as far as elite basketball goes?

07:43 Georgia

Yeah, definitely. I think like with Brisbane coming up, I'll be 38 and it makes me think that I can keep going till then.

07:51 Peter

We're still very young at 38. Because, I mean, I guess it kind of depends. And it's been hard to generalise, but, you know, a number of athletes who were, you know, have disabilities can go on for a very long age. I mean, not not just in basketball, but in all sorts of sports. I think there's a lot of examples of players that, you know, keep playing well into their 40s.

08:12 Georgia

Yeah, definitely. I guess maybe some people start a bit later.

08:15 Peter

In their life. Yeah, yeah.

08:17 Georgia

A bit later.

08:17 Peter

Yeah. Just a bit about your career - I believe you played basketball before... joining the Gliders. Do you want to share a bit of that story with us?

08:27 Georgia

Yeah. So I played basketball since I was about eight years old. And when I was 18, I had a career-ending injury and disability, and I kind of just felt a bit lost, I guess not being able to play the sport that I loved. And then a couple of years later, someone introduced me to wheelchair basketball, and I loved it, even though I couldn't push a chair at all. Yeah, but I quickly kind of learned how to push a chair and got involved in the gliders. And yeah, I've been a member of the team since around 2015.

08:58 Peter

Because you played in the underage team... the under 25 team. And it was successful there too, weren't you? 

09:04 Georgia

Yeah. So that year in 2015, we won a Silver Medal at the under 25 World Championships.

09:10 Peter

Is that a good grounding? Kind of a good idea of what was ahead of you?

09:13 Georgia

Yeah, definitely... I got to know a bunch of the girls that were my age, and we've kind of moved through the ranks together a bit. Some of them have recently retired, which is a bit sad, but... yeah. No, that was awesome.

09:26 Peter

Did you know much about sort of sport for people with disabilities when you were playing conventional basketball then?

09:32 Georgia

I knew a bit, because I was maybe like six when the Paralympics were on in Sydney, and we went to watch it, okay. And we had people come to our school and... let us try wheelchair basketball. But I was too young then to try it, but I remember it happening. Yeah. So I always really liked the Paralympics because I remember watching it, but obviously I didn't know everything about it. I think that's why it's so exciting to have Brisbane coming up to introduce a whole new generation of people to wheelchair sport.

10:02 Peter

I've spoken to a few people sort of in the last couple of years since we've known Brisbane have won the Games. That's part of the focus, isn't it? Not just to have a great Australian performance in 2032, but also the kind of lead-up and getting getting more people involved with sport. You know, they've got disabilities and just sort of more movement, more activity.

10:23 Georgia

Yeah for sure. Like I think if I didn't know about para sport, I maybe wouldn't have thought to play wheelchair basketball when I had my injury. But yeah, it was super important to me, that other people had that opportunity.

10:37 Peter

Listening to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio. We're speaking to Georgia Monro- Cook, one of the members of the Gliders who are just back from winning the Osaka Cup. Georgia, you must love basketball. Did you do a PhD on it?

10:49 Georgia

I did, yeah. I wrote my Ph.D. on the WNBA, which is the women's basketball league in the United States.

10:55 Peter

Was that fun or was that hard work? That sounds more like fun than hard work to me. 

10:59 Georgia

I had a mixture of both.

11:00 Peter

Yeah.

11:00 Georgia

I think you always want to study something that you like.

11:03 Peter

How did that come about? 

11:05 Georgia

Yeah, I obviously always really loved basketball, and I was always a bit frustrated about the kind of reception that women's sport received. So when I was deciding what to do for my honors research and then my PhD, it kind of felt like a natural fit.

11:18 Peter

What did you kind of get from it, or what was kind of your conclusion? I mean, I know it was probably hundreds of pages, Georgia, but can you kind of sum it up in a few sentences?

11:28 Georgia

Yeah, for sure. So I guess when the WNBA started in the 1990s, there was a really big push to present these women as like, feminine and mothers and all this sort of... I guess, gendered expectations of what a woman should be. But a lot of these women weren't necessarily like that, and they were kind of forced into this box. And the WNBA has become much more successful over the years in terms of... actually presenting a more authentic perspective of what a woman athlete is. And then in recent years, you have the rise of... you know, players like Caitlin Clark that are getting more and more popular. And yeah, I think we're really seeing a big growth in women's sport.

12:06 Peter

The authentic is such a great word. And I guess, you know, the public's pretty perceptive. They can probably see through false stuff. I mean, you know, authentic... authenticity does kind of win out, you think in the end, wouldn't you? 

12:17 Georgia

Yeah, for sure. And I mean, you look at some of the advertisements from, you know, the early 2000s and it's pretty funny, like it looks a bit ridiculous. And you can see why people weren't convinced by them, I guess.

12:27 Peter

Yeah. And I guess we live in interesting times or kind of, you know, a time when things are changing. I mean, it's probably, what, seven, eight, nine years that AFLW has come in. I know you're in Sydney, so maybe not quite as aware of AFLW... but NRLWas well. I mean, a lot of our athletes with disabilities who are women have done incredibly well for a long, long time. I'm thinking way back to people like Louise Sauvage, but it's kind of... you know, this is probably the sort of Genesis in a way, and sort of in 10 or 20 years time, we'll be able to look back at these times and think, Well, that's when kind of maybe things were growing even more. 

13:04 Georgia

Yeah, I hope so. You do kind of see a history of like, ebbs and flows of women's sport, like it gets really popular for a time and then people stop investing money into it. So hopefully, I guess now we'd like you to the Matildas and all those things, we can see a lot of investment and hopefully that keeps going.

13:19 Peter

Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. The maturity has certainly been very popular. Of course, the Australian women's cricket team have been popular and also successful. I guess success can help a lot too, Georgia.

13:28 Georgia

Yes, definitely.

13:29 Peter

We're we all like to be associated with winners. 

Georgia

Yes, definitely. Yeah. 

Peter

Well, what about from your point of view? Have you played... internationally or.... I mean, you played for Australia, but I know over the years we've had players that have gone to the US or indeed to Europe to play?

13:44 Georgia

No, I haven't actually. I was a bit like I'd already finished my degree by the time I started playing wheelchair basketball, so I didn't go to college.

13:52 Peter

Mm.

13:52 Georgia

Yeah. And I haven't played in Europe either.

13:54 Peter

Is it something that you kind of entertain?

13:56 Georgia

Yeah, maybe. I kind of have my life here a bit.

13:59 Peter

I'm going to say it sounds like got a pretty full-time job anyway doesn't it. Or you have got a full-time job which probably takes up a lot of time and energy.

14:06 Georgia

Yeah. For sure. One of my teammates, Hannah, plays in... Germany at the moment, though, and she really loves it, so maybe.

14:13 Peter

She'd be a good life experience. And, apparently at the school, you were very good at Maths and English.

14:20 Georgia

Oh, yeah. I don't remember much of that now, though.

14:23 Peter

Oh, come on, Georgia,  wasn't that long ago.

14:25 Georgia

Some 12, 13 years.

14:27 Peter

You're being very, very modest. Now... speak about being modest... would it be fair to say that you are now more famous than your Dad?

14:34 Georgia

Oh, I don't think so.

14:37 Peter

Do you want to tell people who your Dad is? He's happy to talk about that. I didn't ask him beforehand. But you're happy to talk about that? 

14:43 Georgia

Yeah, sure. So my Dad's... one of the original Wiggles, Murray.

14:47 Peter

What was that like, growing up with... the Wiggles? Because I guess he's your Dad first and the Wiggles second. Would that be fair?

14:53 Georgia

Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, he was always a Wiggle, like, my whole life, so it never really felt very different to me. No, but it was pretty cool. Like, he would travel a lot when I was a kid and we would sometimes go with him to, you know, America or England. So that was pretty cool. But, yeah. And sometimes it's a bit weird when we're like out to dinner and stuff and people come up and want to take a photo.

15:15 Peter

There's Murray! Like that. I guess, you know, you kind of, you know, you want to have your privacy, but also it's kind of maybe nice to be recognised.

15:25 Georgia

Mm, yeah. I don't think he minds. I think... it's probably a good level of famous where people recognise you, but you're not being, like, mobbed in the street.

15:32 Peter

Well... you know, sometimes little kids, maybe are too little to be... otherwise they probably could if they would. Yeah.

15:39 Georgia

Sometimes they're good because they don't... realise that, you know, the little person on their TV is this, like, really tall man.

15:47 Peter

Actually, it's interesting though. I did read, you know, quite some time ago that kind of a lot of psychology went into The Wiggles, too. So they knew how to kind of pitch their pitch, their music. 

15:59 Georgia

Yeah. So my Dad and Anthony and Greg all studied early childhood education, so they kind of knew what was needed for young kids.

16:08 Peter

I guess it's, you know, one of those things where, you know, I... it's easy to know, but then you got to put it into practice as well and kind of, you know, reap the rewards of the theory. 

16:20 Georgia

Yeah, for sure. And I think it was a lot of trial and error, going into it. And I didn't expect to get that far. But anyway...

16:26 Peter

And you starred in a few videos.

16:28 Georgia

Yes. When I was a kid, there's a few videos of them, me there.

16:31 Peter

How do you feel now when you look back on them?

16:34 Georgia

Oh, it's mostly just kind of funny. I... didn't inherit my dad's musical ability so that, you know, that's the extent of my acting.

16:42 Peter

Well, you know, you're good at Maths and English and you've got a PhD, so I guess that's, you know, that's pretty good. Shingles to hang on your CV. Yeah. What's next for the Gliders?

16:53 Georgia

So next we have to qualify for the World Championships, which should be a bit easier than qualifying for the Paralympics. Hopefully that will be in November. So we just have some camps coming up to prepare for that.

17:05 Peter

Of course you've got the National League as well. 

17:08 Georgia

Yeah. So that should start in June. We have a Women's National League and it should be expanding a bit this year. I think we now have six teams, whereas last year we only had four. So that's really exciting.

17:17 Peter

Of course as we talked about briefly, Australia didn't make it to Paris. But there's a lot of consolation prizes. I mean that a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but there are things like a World Championships and World Cups between time. So there's still a lot of... you know, things to be shooting for as far as a national team go.

17:36 Georgia

Oh, definitely. I think the World Championships will be a really great experience for us.

17:40 Peter

Where are they being held?

17:41 Georgia

oh, they're in Ottawa, in Canada.

17:43 Peter

And maybe with Brisbane hosting the Games, and it's a long way down the track. Well, seven years with Brisbane hosting the Games in 2032. A few countries'... teams might come to visit here to prepare as well, which could be good for Australia's team as far as our preparation goes. Do you think? 

17:59 Georgia

Yeah, I hope so. We quite often have to travel to other countries, so it'd be nice to come here.

18:02 Peter

What happens with the Osaka Cup? I mean, is there a cup? Do you all get a little replica? How does that all work? 

18:10 Georgia

No, we only got one trophy, actually, for the whole team.

18:12 Peter

Okay. What happened to it? Either... I can't have it. Well, I'd put it in a safe place. Yeah.

18:17 Georgia

Yeah, someone's got it. Definitely.

18:19 Peter

All right. Hey, George, great to catch up. It's great to hear about the Gliders. We've been chatting to you or members of the team for many, many years. It's... certainly a team that is very much, has a lot of affection and a lot of admiration for the way that you've gone about your business for many, many years. Hopefully this is sort of the first step back. And we're... 2028 is now only three years away. And then of course 2032. So lots to look forward to. 

18:45 Georgia

Yeah. Thank you for having me.

18:46 S2

That's Georgia Monro-Cook there, one of the successful Gliders just back with the Osaka Cup. 

Well if you're a regular to the program and you've been listening a long time, for quite some time we've been speaking about the Mighty Swim way back at the beginning. Lee O'Connell was very much involved, and he is back with us. We love to catch up again. Thank you for your time.

19:15 Lee

Well, thank you for this opportunity to speak to you again, Peter.

19:19 Peter

How many times have you been involved with this?

19:21 Lee

Mm... 20.

19:22 Peter

So is that all?

19:24 Lee

Yeah. That's all, Peter. So this was the 20th year of the Mighty Swim, and I was basically involved from year dot when we started it in 2006, and I was actually involved the year before that because, um, the concept of the Mighty swim was the brainchild of a Victorian girl who had MS. And they started the Mega Swim in Melbourne. And in 2005, they invited me to go over there to see how their Mega Swim worked. And so we brought it back to South Australia in 2006. 

And... with the help of Atlantis Masters Swimming Club, and in particular a beautiful lady named Ruth Ziegler, who unfortunately has passed away since then, the MS Society and Atlantis combined to run the first one in... oh gee, I think we might have run it later in the year, a bit later in summer the first year, but it's now consistently the second weekend in February.

20:37 Peter

And for people who might not be aware, you're a physiotherapist by profession, so I guess you've got a special interest. You kind of know about MS and you know the importance of fitness and health and looking after yourself.

20:49 Lee

Definitely, Peter, I guess for me this was a sort of a very happy mix because when we first started the swim, I was working as a physio at the MS Society and my sort of specialty passion area is aquatic therapy. I'm also a masters swimmer, so when this concept was sort of brought to us, I thought, well, you know, that ticks a lot of boxes for me. And having worked at the MS Society for 12 years, I just passionately knew the value of hydrotherapy for MS clients particularly, but for everyone really, but particularly for people with a disability, because so often they can do some things in the pool that they can't do on land. 

And the pools also are very it's a kind environment, but it's also a levelling environment. So you get in the pool and it's much less obvious what your disabilities are. And I guess my passion for the last 20 years has been as captain of teams, which is our rowdy lot of miss and other clients with disabilities who swim in the mighty swim. And I guess part of the... my passion with it is there's not a lot of fundraising events and this is a fundraising event over and above a swimming event. There's not many fundraising events where the people who the funds are being raised for are actually participating in the event to their advantage, but also part of the fundraising for the event. 

And I think what so many people have said over the years, so we have other masters swimming clubs, we now have a lot of teams that are there because they have a specific link with someone with MS, and so they're connected in really important ways to know the effect of MS on people's lives. And they often look over at teams and I mean, we were a bit naughty, we break all the rules. We've ins and you know kickboards and noodles and... but people look over and they're abiding by the rules. They're swimming, they're relay one person at a time and we're swimming two, four, six, eight, ten people at a time. Doesn't matter. And they can see that these people are (1) trying, but (2) involved and passionate about the cause as much as other people who are swimming.

23:38 Peter

It's such a great point you make about, you know, people with their best, people with disabilities raising funds and awareness for themselves as much as anyone else. And rather than someone having to do it for you or even wanting to do it for you, it's kind of cool when you can do it yourself, to be part of it yourself.

23:54 Lee

Yeah, absolutely. Peter and I think, you know, we had close on 30 people in teams this year. And we also, to be honest, people with MS don't only swim in teams. We have some people with MS swimming in some of the other teams as well. And actually, you know, having their own team to... assist with the fundraising. But I think people do see that they're not just sitting there waiting for handouts. They're being involved and they can see I think most of the clients feel the benefit themselves of actually getting in there and and doing it. 

And to be honest, we just have some wonderful stories of people who have achieved over and above what we thought they could, what they thought they could. And part of that is the encouragement of other people in the team and and just getting in there and doing it.

24:51 Peter

I mean, you're a physiotherapist, so I guess you can't the physical stuff, but it's kind of the, the mental, the mind, the emotional thing that goes with it as well in terms of the benefits. 

25:01 Lee

Oh, I think so, Peter. We had one girl, Sue, this year who got in with her carer. Now she's very disabled. She gets in, you know, she's in an electric wheelchair a lot of the time. She gets in via the hoist, you know, she has a noodle or she had a carer in with her. She swam a kilometre and she was so proud of herself and and she's just one example, and I need to tell you about... you've spoken to Chris in previous years. One of the girls with MS. Unfortunately, she couldn't swim this year for a medical reason. But her mum, who is 91, Rita or sorry, 90 - 91 this year - Rita swam nearly a kilometre for her daughter.

And, you know, just and she she was determined she was going to swim this swim, no matter what. And she it was she said, Look, it's it's my reason for living at the moment. I'm going to get to the Mighty Wwim and swim. And Chris's sister swam as well. And, you know, at 90, it was just a beautiful example of being there for your daughter every year for 20 years, but also example to other people that just get in there and do it, you know, give it a go.

26:20 Peter

Just no barrier. Lee, any idea how much might have been raised that 20 odd swims?

26:25 Lee

Yes. Well, overall, we we're probably a bit sketchy on the numbers, but it'd be close to $1 million. And over the 20 years. And this year, we raised $134,000, which in this economic climate and with less swimmers than we've had in previous years. And I think that's a reflection of the economic climate as well. Yeah. And teams ourselves. We raised $30,000 of that. So it's a it is a really good fundraising event.

27:01 Peter

Good work in in and out the pool as well. Lee, what are the kind of... cute things about it, if I can put it that way? Also maybe challenging. Challenging is that it goes right overnight, does it, through the wee small hours?

27:13 Lee

Absolutely. So it is the MS 24 Hour Mighty Swim. And it starts at 12:15 on a Saturday and finishes at 12:15 on a Sunday. And there, you know, there was a bit of a wind last weekend on Saturday night. And that's always a challenge in the middle of the night. But I think one of the things that attracts some people... is just this experience of swimming overnight with the stars. And we actually had the monster trucks at the Wayville Showgrounds because we swim at Unley Pool right there. So we even have fireworks about 10:00 at night as well. 

So it's just it's a lovely event and I think, um, Unley, you know, I have to take my hat off to the Unley City Council and Unley Pool because they have sponsored that event for the 20 years. And, you know, speaking to the pool manager, Craig this time, he said, Lee, we just loved this event. We love the atmosphere, we like how it's, you know, a real community based event. And in doing that, it's raising the profile of MS and raising people's awareness of MS. So you know they love it and they provide the staff for the 24 hours. A few of them were looking a bit seedy by midnight, but that's okay.

28:31 Peter

Well, they're only human. 

Lee

Yes, exactly. 

Peter

The event has come and gone - 20 of them, which is tremendous. Can people still contribute if they wanted to? If they've heard about this, maybe for the first time, or maybe they weren't able to get there over the weekend or get involved before the event.

28:47 Lee

Absolutely. They just go on to the... all you need to put in your search engine is MS Mighty Swim 2025, and it'll come up as Support MS or something like that. And you can still donate. If you know an individual, you can donate to them. If you want to just put in teams, you can donate to us or you can just donate to the event yourself. So it's still open for donations, and it's also open for people to think about next year, I think. Peter, you know, will we celebrate? We'll be turning 21. 

Peter

21?

29:22 Lee

Yeah. 

Peter

Lovely. Well, we'll put the details up on our show notes. So if people haven't got them, they can go to our show notes and there'll be a link there for it. Lee, great to catch up again. Congratulations. I mean, that's stickability that's passion to its nth degree that you've shown. Congratulations to you and all those that are involved. Obviously, over that 20 years, there's probably hundreds of people and I look forward to saying 21 next year.

29:48 Lee

That's great, Peter, thanks for your interest in it. And it's a very worthy cause, mostly providing services for people with MS that they would wouldn't otherwise have. So yeah, thanks for your interest as always.

30:01 Peter

The icon of their part of the... Mighty Swim after 20 campaigns and still going strong. You were amazing.

30:14 Amy

Hi, I'm Amy Winters, Paralympic gold medalist, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.

30:22 ID

Share this. We were missing...

30:27 Peter

March 8th is the date for the West Australian election. Let's find out what's in place and speak to the Deputy Electoral Commissioner in Western Australia, Courtney Barron. Courtney, great to meet you and thank you for your time. 

30:38 Courtney

Thank you so much for having me, Peter.

30:39 Peter

How are things coming along as far as preparation goes?

30:42 Courtney

Our preparations are going really well at the moment. On Wednesday the 19th, we just sent out our first postal voting packages to voters. And on Monday the 24th, our early polling places will commence across the state.

30:57 Peter

Okay. And of course, I guess for people to register for a postal vote, is it almost getting a bit tight for time?

31:03 Courtney

You can actually register... up until the 5th of March, Peter. So there is plenty of time for people to still register if they want to. And the easiest way to do that is to go onto our website at electionswestgov.au. Or they can call our general inquiries line on 1 360 306, and our team can help people to put in an application for a postal vote for this election.

31:34 Peter

All right. Well, repeat those details before we wrap up. What about, Courtney, for people who might be blind or have low vision, I've been doing this for a while... I know in past elections there's been things in place for people who're blind, have low vision to vote independently, verifiably and secretly. What about this time around?

31:50 Courtney

Thanks, Peter. We've we've had a number of measures in place for this election for people with additional needs, particularly those people who might have low vision. There's three options, in particular, I'd like to share with your listeners today that are available to them. 

The first option is that most of our polling places across the state will have a range of assistive... tools to help voters, and some of those tools will include hearing loops, magnifying sheets, or reader pens. And to find out which polling places have those tools, you just need to hop on to our website and search for your district. And then against each polling place, it will list which tools are available, and that's for both voting on the day and for the early polling that starts on Monday the 24th. So from Monday the 24th, there will be a range of polling places, both in the metropolitan and the regional areas that do have those assistive tools. 

The next option I'd like to share with your listeners is that we do offer a phone-assisted voting service that is a secure form of voting over the telephone with automated, interactive voice responses. It's fully secure, but that is just for eligible voters. So phone assisted voting is just for voters who are either visually impaired or have some other physical impairment or have reading difficulties. It is an application process for that over the phone. But those applications are open from the 24th of February to 4 p.m. on the 8th of March, on polling day. So if any of your listeners think they may meet the eligibility for that and would find that useful, that's an option that's available to them.

33:40 Peter

It's a verbal application, if you like.

33:41 Courtney

It is. Yes, it is and it is fully secure, it's a two step process. And so you do need to provide your details in the first step. But the second step where you actually cast your vote, we use a secret PIN and a voting ID, so the person's personal details are no longer linked to their vote. So it is a fully secure process.

34:02 Peter

That's fairly similar in a sense, to what the federal election has done the last few times? 

34:08 Courtney

That's right. The third option we have is for this election, visibility in Victoria Park. They are providing us a polling place exclusively for people with a vision impairment that will be open on the 1st of March for three hours, and that's in Victoria Park. But that will have staff available who are trained working with people who have a vision impairment. It'll have fewer voters there, less foot traffic. It'll be a very safe space to navigate, and we will have a range of assistive technology, equipment and support available on the day. So is there any listeners who would find Victoria Park a convenient location to go to? Please hop onto our website to find out more information about that offering.

34:54 Peter

Okay, well, this bill is certainly rolled out in particular to people in Perth. So that's the Saturday before the election. Is that right? 

35:01 Courtney

That's right. The 1st of March and visibility polling place will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m..

35:07 Peter

Is there a booking required if you'd like to go that day?

35:10 Courtney

That's a good question, Peter, because I do know that it is... a restricted number. We do require... No, sorry, I've just checked for you, Peter. There's no booking available, but it is exclusively for people with a visual impairment and their carers. So there are capacity limits at that venue.

35:29 Peter

Is there any more that we need to know? Because that's certainly very comprehensive. And congratulations. As a person who is very passionate about accessible voting, I think you've, you're doing a good job. Not that my... opinion probably carries much weight, but I think that's fantastic.

35:45 Courtney

Thank you Peter, we're really trying to improve the accessibility of our services for this election. And we've worked really closely with our disability reference panel to do so. And after the election, we'll continue to do so because improvements in accessibility benefit everyone. So it's something that we're committed to do for this election and future elections.

36:04 Peter

I was going to ask you about that. This seems very logical and sensible and quite sort of easy to follow instructions, if you like. So you've been consulting, you know, someone who thought this would be a good idea. Let's try it. You've been consulting to come up with these options?

36:18 Courtney

That's right. We have a disability reference panel... where a number of advocacy groups are represented. And we do take all of our proposal options in the lead up to an election to that group. They've been able to assist us with a number of tangible measures for this election. The visibility polling place is one example. What we've also developed in consultation with our Disability Reference panel, is an easy read guide for this election, so that steps readers through what to expect at a polling place when they arrive and how to cast a vote. And so that's really to help people with a range of ability levels to be able to understand what to what to expect on the day.

37:00 Peter

What about in terms of your website, Courtney? Because a lot of people obviously these days access information via the web and if it can be accessible, easy to navigate, that can be a good thing.

37:09 Courtney

Absolutely. We do have a number on our website for an assistive service. But in saying that, we do welcome any feedback in terms of the accessibility of our website, because that is something we're always looking to improve. So if people do have any issues, if they could please reach out to us and let us know. And that way we can incorporate that feedback and take it on board. It's a space where we're learning about as an organisation, but we're very committed to improving.

37:40 Peter

We're also... the sort of thing that what I might find accessible, someone else might not. So it's very hard to be all things to all people, although I guess you try as best you can to be that.

37:50 Courtney

That's right Peter. And like I said, something I personally believe in is that accessibility benefits everyone. So the more that we can do to make people feel they've been included the better, because then the more passionate they'll be about and interested they'll be in casting their vote at Election Day, which is really what I'm here to achieve.

38:12 Peter

So there's two houses for voting in in Western Australia. 

38:16 Courtney

Yes. That's right. So we have a Legislative Assembly, which is our ower house. And we have our upper house, which is the Legislative Council. So for the Legislative Assembly, voters will be voting for a candidate in their district... for the Legislative Council, we have one whole estate district, so electors across the state will be voting for the same representatives in the Legislative Council.

38:42 Peter

And they said nominations, if you like, or those candidates, they're all being finalised by now.

38:48 Courtney

That's right. So nominations closed on the 13th of February. So all the candidates can be viewed on our website. So if voters would like to go to our website at WWLP, Hornswoggle interview. They can search for their district, and they can pull up their Legislative Assembly candidate for their district. Or they can go to the Legislative Council page and pull up the list of candidates for the Legislative Council. 

And for the first time in Western Australia, voters will also be able to see How To Vote cards on our website. So we now require in Western Australia, How To Vote cards to be registered with the Electoral Commission. And the benefit to voters is that that means they don't have to wait until they go to a polling place to look at a How To Vote card. They can hop onto our website at any time that's convenient for them, and they can view the How To Vote cards for their district or for the Legislative Council.

39:46 Peter

You still have How To Vote cards handed out at the booths.

39:49 Courtney

There will be How To Vote cards provided or handed out at polling places. However, both How To Vote cards must be registered with the Electoral Commission in order to be handed out at polling places, and people will know whether it's been registered or not, because if it's been registered by us, it will have a statement on it to say, Registered by the WA Electoral Commission. And once it's been registered with us, voters can have confidence that that How To Vote card is accurate in terms of how to cast your vote if you want to for that candidate or party. We would have checked all the instructions to make sure that it aligns with what's in the on the ballot paper. So voters wish to follow that How To Vote card, they will be casting a valid vote.

40:34 Peter

So if someone goes to a polling booth on the day and they need a bit of help, there are people there that can do that. It's okay for someone to say, Look, can I have a bit of support - and you can get someone to give you that support?

40:46 Courtney

Absolutely. Voters that need assistance can ask a polling place worker to help them. Alternatively, they can have a friend or relative attend a polling place with them if they prefer to do that for error, for instance. That's also an option for sure.

41:01 Peter

Well, I think that's very comprehensive. 

41:03 Courtney

Thank you, Peter. And if I can just remind your listeners before I go that early polling does commence on the 24th of February. So if your listeners wish to visit an early polling place or they wish to access our phone assisted voting, they can do so from the 24th of February. You don't need to wait until Election Day, to the 8th of March, so please hop on to our website to have a look at the range of voting options we have so that you can find what's convenient for you.

41:33 Peter

And just to... details to register for a postal vote that date?

41:37 Courtney

That's right. So you can register for a postal vote now until the 5th of March. And you just need to hop on to our website or call our general enquiries line on 1 360 306. And one of our team will help you there.

41:53 Peter

And what's the number to call if you want to register to vote via the telephone. You know when you call back the second time to.

42:01 Courtney

Register for the assisted voting, you call our team on 1 360 800. That's 1 360 800. And that will go straight through to our phone assisted voting team who will be able to help.

42:17 Peter

We'll put those details up with our show notes, Courtney. So if people have missed it, they can consult there and... check it out. Well, it sounds like you're certainly giving people who are blind or low vision opportunity. This is going to be me editorialising, Courtney. So you don't have to comment if you don't want to, but I just implore people to to take advantage of this, because obviously, the more people that are blind or low vision do it, then the Commissioner says, Well, there's there's a demand for this. We can improve upon it. We can keep doing it. If no one does it, then you think, well, no one cares. So, you know, it's sort of it's a low priority. So that's my editorial. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to do that, but I do.

42:54 Courtney

I agree though, and what I would add to that, Peter, is please provide us with the feedback. What worked, what didn't. That way we're here to listen and learn, and that way we can do better each time. 

43:07 Peter

Well, thank you so much for that. Congratulations on the initiatives and we'll look forward to seeing how it all goes.

43:12 Courtney

Thanks so much Peter. It was great to chat.

43:14 Peter

That's Courtney Barron, who is the Deputy Electoral Commissioner at Western Australia. So March the 8th is the date. But early voting starts February 24th. Depending on when you're listening, you might have already started and you've got those details. If you miss them you can go to our show notes. And as always, you can always give us a call here at the radio station. 

It's February, it's just been Valentine's Day and we always love to have on the program. Is Allison Davies from allisondavies.com.au ... Ali.

43:50 Allison

Hi Peter. Thank you so much for having me again.

43:53 Peter

It's a pleasure. I know you're doing a lot of travelling lately, so great that you've made yourself available early last week or last month, I should say. We talked about what can we do to keep our voices healthy, etc. What about when our voices age? What's kind of happening there?

44:09 Allison

Okay, there's so many angles we could take this conversation on. Firstly, I want to say, all our voices are our identity in sound. So every person has a unique voice. It's like a fingerprint. So every single one of us will have our own unique sound. And we have this sense that our sound should always be great. And if it's not good enough, then we shouldn't be using our voice. And that goes for whether we're talking or singing or expressing ourselves in all sorts of ways. 

But this is incorrect. So I just want to remind us all, including myself, that our voice will age as we all do, and our voice should age and we don't want to be like anti-aging with our voice, or thinking that our voice always has to stay perfect and strong and supported by a big, deep breath and all of those things. As we age, sometimes we have less energy, we have less, sometimes our executive functioning changes, and that can alter the ways we use our voice, whether we're singing or speaking. So I just wanted to like, remind everyone straight up: our voice is going to age, and that's okay.

45:26 Peter

It's a bit like a hair might go grey or, you know, we get a few extra wrinkles.

45:29 Allison

Exactly. And I'm all for celebrating those things. I'm one of those... middle aged women at the moment who feels very much like I want to keep my wrinkles, I want to keep my grey hair, and I want my my kids to see women with who are aging. Right. I want them to see aging faces and aging bodies. And so I feel very good about that. And I feel we should talk about that in terms of voice as well. Because we don't always have to keep the most pure, pristine energy field. Gusto. Voice as we age, it's okay for our voice to change. And it doesn't mean that we're.... getting worse at singing or getting worse at... public speaking or any of the things we use our voice for.

But also you will know that there are like, you know, for example, like rock stars or singers who have just who have just been around forever and are still going strong and are still famous and will still sell out an arena... their voices change as well. But the reason that some, for example, let's think of like Jimmy Barnes as an example, right? He still has an incredible voice. No one would deny that. But I'm sure if you really analysed his voice, it will have changed from when he was young. And... that's fine. 

And one of the reasons that we absolutely adore and obsess over and fangirl over and really love, you know, artists that have been around for a long time because we develop an emotional connection to them, because their music and their voice has soothed us, has made us feel heard, has accompanied us through seasons of our life that, you know, has brought us memories we have an emotional attachment to, like Bob Dylan and Jimmy Barnes and Johnny Farnham and, you know, singers who have been around for a long time. And so once we develop an emotional attachment for them, we stop analysing how good we think their voice is and we just enjoy them. Mm. 

And I think that we should give ourselves a bit of grace and apply that to ourselves as well, because we only tend to let go of the analysis of someone's voice and talking about whether their voice is good enough, if they're really, really, really famous. But we all will age, our voices will age, and they shouldn't have to just keep meeting this external standard to be seen as good enough. Does that make sense?

47:53 Peter

Sense? It does. I went to see Paul McCartney. I think it was the year before last. I also went to see him, or probably 30 years ago, and his voice was definitely different. It was kind of a bit, shall we say, milder or not as strong and even like, you know, blasting out or, you know, hitting the notes wasn't quite as it was 30 years ago. But as you say, that's kind of part of the natural process.

48:16 Allison

Exactly. I mean, think of all the things that change in our body, our lung capacity. Think of just the breath alone, how that will impact our voice and our projection. And then think of like the body. What about chronic pain or disability or other things that we're carrying in our body that will impact our energy, impact our capacity to make a lot of noise, or to to even be on stage for a long time or to more tours to promote ourselves, all of those kinds of things.

Well, I remember when Leonard Cohen did a came back on tour and he... I went to see him for my 30th birthday. So that was... 15 years ago now. And the only reason he went back on tour was because his business manager had stolen all his money and he was broke. So he went on tour and it was fabulous. And he was very different to how he sang in his earlier days. He was very a lot less gusto. And there was a whole stage of people with him sort of, you know, backup singers and other people holding the space as well. So it wasn't all on him, and it was incredible and beautiful and everything that you would want to see. And it was very different to how he would have performed in his younger years.

49:38 Peter

Your sleep can make a difference as well too, can't it?

49:40 Allison

Absolutely. Sleep makes a huge difference and sleep impacts our brain or lack of sleep impacts our brain. So if we're not really getting enough sleep, then that's going to impact our executive function and we can forget things and we can mess up our routine or forget the schedule and things like that. And so this doesn't just apply for like famous singers, like we're sort of talking about now, this is all of us. All of our voices will change over time. The sound of it as well, not the not the core of the sound of our voice, will always sort of tend to sound the same. 

But our voices do change in pitch. They heighten and lower depending on our hormones. And so there are lots of changes that will take place over time, and it has got nothing to do at all with whether our voice is good enough, or if it is as good as it used to be. It is just like one of those natural things that is going to happen to every single person, and we should all just give ourselves grace and and really honor our changing voices.

50:43 Peter

I know last month you talked about some of the things you can do to keep your health and your voice healthy or healthy for longer, if you like. So, I mean, I guess that kind of transposes over into the fact that if you do that, your voice will maybe change less. I mean, notwithstanding, as you said, there's so many other factors that can go with that, you know, just the aging. But things like, you know, chronic health conditions and so on.

51:06 Allison

Yes, I would say that the fitter and healthier we are, the stronger our voice will be. And a lot of that is to do with our brain health, because speaking and singing is a brain function. So we really need our brain to be functioning at its best. This doesn't mean that someone who has a traumatic brain injury or anything that that impacts their brain from functioning at its best, has less capacity for singing. That's not true, but singing and speaking is a brain function. 

So the more sleep we get, the more hydrated we are. The more energy we have, the more relaxed, the more soothed our nervous system is. That means our limbic system will be active, so that we'll be feeling things so that we can put emotion in our song or in our words, which which always impacts the way it's received. You know, when we're hearing someone sing and we hear the emotion in their voice, we're like, Oh, they're telling a story and that's what we want. So caring for our brain is caring for our voice.

52:07 Peter

That's a good one, I like that. You know, you talked about Jimmy Barnes and I talked about McCartney. It's the sort of thing that when they're on stage, I mean, part of it might be like, Leonard Cohen might be a financially driven because they need the money. But also, I guess it's partly kind of the adoration, the adulation, and also, indeed just that the adrenaline rush.

52:28 Allison

Oh, absolutely. Because we don't go to someone, we don't go to one of our favourite artists just to analyse their voice. We go to the performance. We go to see them. We want them to make eye contact with us. We are connected to everyone else who's in the audience because they're there for the same reason. And when we go to listen to music and actually we could do a whole segment on this, Peter, maybe we should do this next time the people in the audience are having just as musical an experience as the people on the stage. 

So when you are in the crowd at a concert, you are experiencing so much good stuff, so much of the stuff that your brain loves. And that's part of the reason why we feel so good and we have such long term memories. We don't forget concerts and festivals we've been to because we've had such a healthy brain experience just by being there.

53:19 Peter

All right. Well, we'll talk a bit more about that next time. Also. I mean, I went to see Petula Clark. I mean, she might be sort of a bit too old for you to know of, but very, very famous, I believe, sort of after the war. I think Petula is in her 90s now and still performing. And, you know, even when she was talking between songs and telling stories, which she did very well, she was kind of struggling a bit, but the stories were still interesting, and I'd only been to see her that one time. And I thought, well, if she came again, I'd probably go again.

53:47 Allison

Yes, because also you're witnessing something special of her life. I felt the same when I saw Nina. Listen, we're just name dropping now. We are in the late 90s. When I was in living in London, I saw Nina Simone, and she had two gentlemen, sort of one holding each arm, sort of walking her over to the piano, her down at the chair. And she was definitely old. And towards the end of her life, and what I experienced at that concert is something that I felt like no one would have experienced at her previous concerts, because it was so vulnerable. It was so human. I was seeing her in the late stage of her life, and I was experiencing a new energy from her, so there's so much to gain from being an aged singer and having an aging voice. 

And I really hope that we can all take away that sense of our voice needs to be perfect for it to be any good. Because as it ages, it's just like the body. People do tend to think, oh no, it's past its peak. And that's just a myth, we tell ourselves, and it makes us feel bad. So we should just get rid of that right now.

54:56 Peter

Alli, that's a great note to end on. Thank you for that now. We will, next month we'll talk about what's it like being in the crowd. What happens to you when you're at a music concert and you're either having a great time or maybe, you know, sometimes you've heard people walk out of concerts. Maybe we might touch on that as well, but we'll leave that for next time. In the meantime, if people want to find out more about you, they can go to Allison Davies dot com dot AU - or check you out on all the social media outlets as well. 

Ali, great to catch up. Really interesting and a really good message that kind of loved your voice. Doesn't matter what it sounds like and doesn't matter if it's aching just a little bit. Absolutely great to catch up, Ali. Thank you - Alison Davies there from allisondavies.com.au

55:42 ID

On the Vision Australia Network through your favourite podcast service.

55:45 Peter

On 1197 AM in Adelaide, you're listening to Leisure Link. Well, the intake is open for the graduate program at Vision Australia. Let's find out all about it and speak to the person in charge of it in charge of equity and inclusion, their advisor Rachel Ramsdale. Rachel, good to catch up. Thanks for your time. 

Rachel

Thanks for having me. 

Peter

Now you've opened your intake. Who can apply? Who are you looking for?

56:12 Rachel

Yeah. So we're looking for... fairly recent graduates. So anyone who is blind or low vision and has completed studies at a diploma level or higher within the last four years.

56:24 Peter

Does it matter what they've completed that study in?

56:27 Rachel

No, we've had we've had quite a range in the past of all different types. So... I guess, yeah, it just depends on what they're looking for in their career. And if they think that we can help them in that space.

56:39 Peter

What about where they live? Does that matter?

56:41 Rachel

Yeah. So as long as they're within a commutable distance to a Vision Australia office location. So we have, you know, many, many around. So if you're near to an office, we do, look we do have obviously hybrid working. So there will be some times that they can work from home. But we'd like them to at some point be in the office, you know, just to connect in with the team and just just really have some social interactions and that. So yeah, if they're if they live near an office, that's... ideal.

57:09 Peter

Okay. So what sort of things do they get to do? How does the program work?

57:14 Rachel

Yeah. So it's it's a really good program. So it's a 12 month paid program. That's just really about being supportive and empowering them for pathways to develop their skills and launch their career. So in that 12 months, it includes a 13 week external placement. So they're still employed by Vision Australia, but we find somewhere for them to just get a bit more, you know, added skills added, I guess exposure to to outside contacts and just really add to that, not just being in a, I guess, a Vision Australia environment that's probably a bit more accommodating, but just to getting out there and seeing what it's like out there.

57:53 Peter

The big bad world, right? 

57:55 Rachel

Yeah. Yeah.

57:56 Peter

And you help people find that position if they can't find it or that's part of their graduate program with you, that you kind of help them find such a position. 

58:05 Rachel

Yeah. Absolutely. So the external placement, at the team that run the graduate program, they handle all that. So they'll... keep in contact with the graduate... you know, they're interested in what's going to fit with their, I guess, career aspirations. But... we do all of that... searching for the organisation, organising all the sort of interviews and the connecting them in and getting it all sort of sorted.

58:30 Peter

Now, another program has had a few different names over the journey, but what about kind of feedback from it? What sort of a response do you get from graduates that have graduated?

58:40 Rachel

Yeah, look, we've had some really positive feedback and really great outcomes. And look, we love getting feedback wherever possible because we, you know, aim to keep adapting the program and making sure it's really, I guess, tailored to suit the individual person that comes in. And we want to make sure that they're, you know, they're... getting the most out of it. 

But we've had some really positive feedback and we've had, you know, some grads that have you been lucky enough to stay on with Vision Australia... and then we've had some grads that have been lucky enough to stay on with their external placement organisation.
So yeah, it... yeah, it's been great. 

Peter

Yeah. Well, if you can sort of get a placement and then they think this person is pretty good, we'll make them an offer they can't refuse. That's going to be hard to beat, isn't it?

59:28 Rachel

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

59:29 Peter

What about as far as, kind of the sort of areas, the industries, if I can call it that, that they might be working in or have graduated into, to... kind of look at that sort of thing? Yeah. The external placement organisations is that...

59:43 Rachel

Yes. Some of the past ones we've had, we've had places like Seeker, Bupa, Wise Employment, Ernst and Young. At the moment we've got our current grads. A few are going off to Endeavour Foundation. Yes it's quite a range. So it's been really good.

1:00:03 Peter

Quite a range. Folks are very high profile organisations. I mean these are kind of mainstream, dare I say big corporates. So yeah, if you kind of get get your foot in the door or something like that, obviously lots of opportunities open up.

1:00:15 Rachel

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. The organisations have been great. They've been really good coming on board and and you know, letting us work with them.

1:00:23 Peter

Right. So the graduates have much to do with each other. I'm assuming you take on more than one graduate. So do they kind of have a bit of interaction with each other? I'm kind of thinking about a bit of peer support amongst themselves.

1:00:34 Rachel

Yeah, absolutely. So they've obviously got, you know, the team that they're in, they're colleagues that they can draw on their manager. They'll have a few of us in the actual program that always connect in and meet with them. And they also get a mentor and a buddy who are both blind or have low vision that they can connect into and, you know, work amongst themselves how often they want to catch up, but they do catch up there. We've always had quite good grads that have quite meshed well together and keep in touch with each other, and I actually regularly catch up with the whole group of them all together. 

So we sort of have a chat. Any issues, you know, just just really casual, just what's happening, how's it going, that kind of thing. So yeah, they're regularly in contact with each other and lots of other helpers.

1:01:23 Peter

I think you said that if they graduated the last four years, so generally they're probably younger people, but if they're kind of an upper age limit, if someone's maybe graduated as a mature age student, is that okay as well? 

1:01:34 Rachel

Yeah. Look, we've had we've had so many different... there's no real age limit as long as you've... completed your diploma or higher in the last four years. Yeah. It doesn't... there's no age requirement, if that makes sense. Yeah.

1:01:47 Peter

Yeah, there might be... well, the older you are the more experience you've got. Right. Yeah maybe I think... so what happens from here then? So I think, Oh yeah I reckon I can apply. Do you go through like... an interview process or what's the sort of... situation after you sort of send in your application?

1:02:03 Rachel

Yeah. So once the applications close, we'd sort of look through them all and... contact people and then, yeah, whoever was sort of... successful and... seemed interesting, we'd... contact for an interview and then... I can't tell you the exact process of how that I think they would interview... 

1:02:23 Peter

And then we'd probably give too much away.

1:02:24 Rachel

Yeah, exactly. But yeah, it's an interview process, but it's not, look, something that you need to be, too... you know, interviews sometimes can be quite... overwhelming, but it's like, yeah, I don't think you have to worry. It's not that kind of serious, you know? Oh, my God. Nervous? Can't give you that. 

1:02:43 Peter

It can be... well, I guess part of something doing like this is getting a little bit out of your comfort zone. And also having to maybe think a bit on your feet as well. So that's kind of all goes with... sort of, you know, growing as a person, if you like. Yeah. And I guess it depends on what sort of area they go into. I'm thinking in terms of their... skill in the area of technology, that kind of just depends on what sort of areas they might want to work in as to how well that might be suited.

1:03:08 Rachel

Yeah, I think it just it, you know, we will the... whoever's successful we will chat with them about, you know, what it is that they want to do and their career aspirations. And, we sort of match that to what we think would fit best in which department that would fit best in. But we've got, you know, so many areas, whether that's client-facing or non-client-facing. There's you know, all sorts human resource. There's IT, there's finance, and then there's your actual client-facing roles and that. So yeah we just sort of try and figure out where they'd best fit and where feels right for them and go from there.

1:03:44 Peter

We have a microcosm of society anyway, isn't it. Really. Yeah. All right. Now people have got a little bit of time to kind of get their act together.

1:03:52 Rachel

Yeah. So the applications are open... so each year, roughly around this time February, we send out the job ad... and then it closes on the 31st of March, applications close.

1:04:04 Peter

And when would the sort of intake start? As in, when do you start your 12 month time with Vision Australia? 

1:04:10 Rachel

Yeah, so it would be 12 months, from July till June.

1:04:13 Peter

All right. That financial year. Yeah.

1:04:15 Rachel

Yeah. That, kind of, yeah. So after people send it in, they've got a few months to find out if they're successful and then start to early July. 

Peter

Yes, yes. Well, it sounds very exciting. I think you might actually arrange a grab for us to speak to in the next week or two. So we'll keep an eye and ear out for that. In the meantime, how can we find out more? 

1:04:33 Rachel

Yeah. So just... you can go to our website, on our Careers page, there's some information about the graduate program. And also the job ad is on our careers listing. But if you've... if for some reason you can't find it or you've got any questions, you can reach out to Careers at Vision Australia dot org and we'll get back to you.

1:04:55 Peter

All right. We've got the link as well, so we can put that up with our show notes as well. Rachel, sounds very exciting. Hopefully you'll get a good, I'm sure you'll get a good crop of people that will be intaked or whatever the term is, and there'll be all the better for the 12 months spending with the graduate program. Thanks for spending some time with us.

1:05:14 Rachel

Thanks so much for having me.

1:05:15 Peter

That's Rachel Ramsdale there. Rachel is the advisor for equity and inclusion at Vision Australia. Tell us about the graduates program, all those details after the show notes. 

Let's catch up with adjunct Professor Denise Wood from the USC. Always interesting and relevant news. Denise, great to catch up again.

1:05:42 Denise

Yeah. Likewise. Peter.

1:05:43 Peter

Now Apple has come out with a new phone. 

1:05:47 Denise

Well, yes... but they teased us all because on February the 18th, TechRadar was saying - and quote from TechRadar February 18th - Apple is almost certainly going to launch the iPhone SE4 tomorrow, and we're very much here for it, with some late leaks and rumors throwing up several surprise predictions. 

Well, the surprise predictions went in a different direction completely because it's not an iPhone SE4... so they're called a swifty. Honest. Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 E, so it's expanded rather than going with a version 4 of the SE line. It's it's expanded. It's version 16 line, and it's available now including in Australia for preorder. They start in Australia at $9.99. But the real game changer, like the iPhone 16 lineup is it's... intelligence-ready, Apple intelligence-ready. But it's still within that budget range, which is fantastic. 

So it's got the 18 CPU, which is the same, uh, nanometer processor that's in the rest of the 16 lineup. It is a step down, of course, as you'd expect with the E, like the SE, so much of the six is the 6.1in screen is is a step down from the iPhone 16, but a real step up from the iPhone SE three. So it's a single 48 MP camera that shoots 25 MP by default and up to 4K 60 frames per second. Video. It does have a Super Retina XDR display. It does include the action button, but it's able to be programmed to run visual intelligence. So the real game changer from an accessibility point of view is you can point your camera at objects, people, business places, shops, event flies to get information or take angry actions. 

Is... that's a major update because it means that the camera control button on the rest of the 16 line up is quite a different approach than the rest of the iPhone 16. It's aluminium with the ceramic shield covering the display. It's meant to be ultra strong screen. It's also got the Ip68 rating for waterproofing water resistance. And, it marks the end of the Home button that we saw on the iPhone SE lineup. So that's a big game changer. 

But one of the really big changes is its list of their handsets to use Apple's C1 chip, which is a homegrown cellular modem, Apple is claiming real battery efficiency. I mean, if you look at the comparison of the SE to this new 16 E, it's double the battery on this. And it's ten hours more for video than the SE three. So that's really significant. So that is available for pre-launch or pre-order on the 22nd. So midnight I think, and It will be delivery from the end of the month for 28. So if you're an SW fan or you are in that kind of budget category, that's probably a game changer for you because it's the first of that SW generation that will really support Apple intelligence and some of the features around that battery life, etc. ... so pretty cool.

1:09:30 Peter

Did you say from $9.99? That's...pretty good. Under $1,000. 

1:09:34 Denise

Yeah. Well, for a 16 point species, you might call it... yes. Compare that with the price of the other 16 lineup. It's quite a dramatic difference, but that's always been a characteristic of the SE line. And the two things that have made the SE very popular is the small size of course... and the price, the budget price. So they've tried to retain, you know, many of the things that got the fan club for the SE range with the advantages of 16 lineup. So pretty cool.

1:10:07 Peter

Now some news also from Google?

1:10:09 Denise

Oh, yes. So if you are a fan of... Google Meet... there's some enhanced screen reader control that's just been added. So, uh, one of the... problems, if you are using a screen reader is... the cacophony of sounds, particularly with emojis and things like that, you might want to hear them narrated, but it could get pretty cluttered conversation, if that's all that chatter is going on. So Google Meet has... responded to that by offering much more granular... screen reader control to mitigate that risk of neuro smileys and so on. 

So... there's four options. So using shift and R as the shortcut, press R from Google Meet settings. You can now bring up all different options of controls. So number one, you can tell it to Don't Announce Reactions. So in doing that, you stop the screen reader from thought-speaking any of the emoji reactions. The second option is play a sound for reactions so that plays a sound instead of reading the content verbatim. So it's an emoji, but you don't necessarily know exactly what it is. The third is announce all reactions, just gives you a verbal confirmation as the reaction arrives. And the fourth is if you want a cacophony, announce all reactions and does the same and adds the name of the user who sent their reaction. 

So might sound like a small feature, but you know, if you're a screen reader, I... definitely a difference to your interaction in Google. So put on...

1:11:53 Peter

Google can be quite distracting those sort of things. Do you reckon that would have, or those changes would have come about through public sort of feedback? 

1:12:02 Denise

Oh well, I imagine so. I think Google has always been being really responsive to feedback. And they do have a commitment to accessibility. So I'm quite sure that... and they would have their, you know, their team of accessibility experts as well that will be responding to those concerns. So so that's a cool feature. And, you know, an example of how a relatively small change could make a huge difference. So yeah, good on Google.

1:12:29 Peter

And you can choose which sort of setting you want every time you have a, you know, a Google meet as well.

1:12:34 Denise

Yes. Well it may depend on who you're meeting with of course.

1:12:36 Peter

That's right. You know, with some you might need to know what kind of emojis they send, for various reasons. Well, I think you're giving us a bit of an insight into some of your students, Denise, but we'll leave... yeah, I guess we drop anyone in. I am also, of course, there's always stuff happening there. And you've got some news regarding ChatGPT. 

1:12:58 Denise

Yes. Well... of course, we're up to now in ChatGPT 4.0... and one of the new features is so ChatGPT has had a voice and audio engagement for a while, but they've now introduced what's known as Advanced Voice mode, which is pretty cool. It can understand the context, it can respond to emotions, and it can maintain coherent dialogue even if it's interrupted. Now, this hasn't been without controversy. You may have heard about the concerns over the cloning of famous people's voices. I think the most recent one was the actress Scarlett Johansson. So that created quite an ethical debate about the use of AI, voice cloning. And in fact, OpenAI removed that voice and issued an apology. 

But that aside, with all of the... whenever we talk AI, we're always concerned about ethical issues. But nevertheless, you know, from an accessibility point of view... you know the voice conversations are now natural and engages in human-like dialogue. It can handle those interruptions and maintain topic continuity just like a real conversation. So basically you can speak to ChatGPT 4.0, with this advanced mode and it will respond to you not only respond to what you've asked it, but respond to your emotional state and personalise its interactions. 

It is also supporting 50 languages. So there was a demo at a recent event where someone spoke to... a child... who spoke in an entirely different language, and they carried on a normal conversation, each of us an entirely different language, as if they were, you know, native speakers. Quite extraordinary. So, you know, for global communication and language learning, it's an amazing breakthrough. So it also remembers past conversations. So it again it personalised those interactions. 

So for someone that may find it difficult to type or, you know, someone who's vision impaired, who finds it easy just to, just to talk or someone who's neurodiverse and feels helpful, you know, really fantastic. You know, with all of the caveats around ethical considerations, which we're always conscious of, as we have seen with... all the controversy over DC.

1:15:33 Peter

I was going to ask you about that. Do you... want to spend a minute on that, or is that a question without notice? 

1:15:39 Denise

Oh, no. That's all right. I mean, I'm sure many, many of those that are listening in today will have seen about the controversy. It really shook the, uh, share markets, of course, involves uddenly suddenly... downgraded the value of all of the stocks of IT companies whose trillions of dollars on developing these artificial intelligence. So Deep Seek released this this new technology with... which seems to be able to cut through and take leaps ahead of some of the existing technologies. But as it's come from... China, as you know, there's a real sense around security. And in fact, many countries have already banned the use of deep tech. Certainly companies are. 

So I think the share market kind of stabilised once they realised that, you know, the uptake of this was not going to be... global and, and immediate. But it has certainly put all of the developers, I think, on notice that these technologies are rapidly emerging and there are various players that can... leapfrog over the developments that are happening. So... watch the space. I think over... the next few months because I think we'll see more of this happening as the race to receive primacy in this AI space continues.

1:17:06 Peter

Watch this space and listen to this segment because you will have all the latest news shows. Did a great night to catch up. Thank you for your time. We'll speak again next month.

1:17:16 Denise

Look forward to that. Peter. Thank you.

1:17:17 Peter

That's the Adjunct Professor Denise Wood from USC with all the latest news on technology. If there's something you'd ever want to tackle, get in touch. 

And we can ask the nurse about that, too. Well, we always love hearing from a yoga expert. Reeva Bryce is with us for another month. It's lovely to hear from you again. Thank you for joining us.

1:17:39 Reeva

Thanks, Peter, for that warm welcome. Here we are in February, heading for March again. And a quarter of the year will have been gone. But this is the February that's regarded as the hot month. But sometimes it does continue on through to March. And so I thought what I'd do today is what we call the cooling breath. Now the name is Wiitala Wiitala and it's known as the cooling brick. A very, very simple one. The shape of the tank cools the air as it's injected into the lungs, and breathing is opposite to the usual Kamiyama. As we breathe in through the mouth and out through the nose. And that's the difference there. 

Precautions. Lower blood pressure, heart disorders, asthma, bronchitis, excessive mucus, and anyone with chronic constipation. The heart conditions don't retain the breath. Well, you don't really, you know, hold it in for just a little bit and then out technique. Now as long as you're comfortable, you sit comfortably over on a chair and make sure that your back, you know, nice and straight or you sit cross-legged on the floor. You can do this standing. I mean, if you're seating at all. Put your hands on your palms. Palms of your hands on the sides.

1:19:09 Peter

We know what you meant.

1:19:11 Reeva

I'm where I'm going. I don't...

1:19:13 Peter

That's all right. We know what you meant anyway.

1:19:18 Reeva

Yes, we know what. And any of you who's standing, you rest your hands on your thighs and just hang down. So we got that. So you're there, lying down. You have to be careful that your chin is not pointing. You know, up and you've got pressure there in your throat. Need to be down a little bit. And I'm always a bit careful to do people. Or you can do it lying down. You have to be a bit of care there. Now what to do is you purse your lips and just that little bit and extend the tongue out for the mouth. Just a little, both in the middle. Fold the sides of the tongue to form an and a narrow tube. And I think going on here I'm not sure. 

Here we go, here we go. But anyway, the purse, the lips and the tongue slipped out of the mouth just a little. And if folding the sides of your tongue the inhale slowly through the mouth and you will feel the breath flowing along the tongue. Both the lips for retaining your breath, and at the same time firm the abdominal muscles. Slowly let the breath out and you relax the abdominal muscles at the time, same time. Remember, the breath is going out through the nose. And yes, I am. That's it... you can repeat that, 7 to 9 times - seven is probably enough. Depending on how you are feeling. 

It cools the body system therefore calming any inflammation in the body. And inflammatory skin condition encourages free flow of prana throughout the whole body. Helps to purify blood and help to eliminate thirst. And this to me is an important one. Yeah, induces muscular relaxation, mental calmness and tranquility. Soothe the eyes and ears and benefit of a ptosis, which is bad breath and promotes optimal digestion. And that's where the firming of the abdominal muscles come in. And I'll come back to the cooling... illuminating. 

First, I have sometimes gone off out and forgotten to take my water bottle with me. I might have been going to do a bit of shopping and think, Oh, it's a nice day. I'll put give me on to somewhere else, but I'll walk there and I like to walk up and down different streets. One street might take my eye and away I go... and I ended up one day when I was heading to Bunnings at Kent Town. I ended up way up on Greenhill Road, close to where Glen Osmond Road comes onto... [?] road there. And I stopped and I thought, I thought, Oh, you know, in between there. 

By getting there, I was using Sitali breath to make sure I didn't get dehydrated. And I had a choice then to either walk down through to Hart Street where I could catch my bus and go home, or I could get off the bus and go through and, you know, get to Kemp Town to Bunnings. But I decided I'd walk back to Bunnings. So it was I used the shuttle of breath again, and I made sure I did not go up and down any side street. I didn't let any side... I just followed the straight path through. And yes, I've got there. But... yes. And sometimes when I've been out walking up through my road here or somewhere... is actually tiny. 

Breath is very, very handy, and it doesn't mean people don't see what you're doing. Nearly all, you know, curving the lips a little bit and it comes not sticking right out so you don't feel embarrassed about it. It also reminded me that some years ago... class, that I had some of the ladies there played an outdoor ball. And I taught moves, and they passed it on to the other teammates and they found that it helped them. That's why they passed it on to their teammates. Here they are. It's really hot. So yes, so it does work. And then there's this other too. If the relaxation that with me finally... oh where am I? I could have got, you know, a bit... you know, distracted.

But the cooling breath helps you to relax, and that's something, you know, calmness and tranquility can delay, and then you have that clear mind to make a decision, which I did about what I was going to do. Could I do it? You know, that sort of thing. So it's a lot of benefits there. 

1:23:57 Peter

Well, I was doing it as you were talking to a stranger, and their breath is cooler when it comes in through the mouth rather than through the nose. So you can actually feel the cooler air coming in.

1:24:06 Reeva

Yes, you can, and I know that you've practiced it. Yeah. You can.... if you don't personally, besides the tongue, don't, you know, come up that little bit, it still stays, you know, or stay flat. So you're not calling it. You need to persevere for the for the tongue, the sides of the tongue, to turn up a little bit and make that little... tunnel if you like.

1:24:35 Peter

To get through one more time.

1:24:36 Reeva

Yes, I will, yes. That, you know, make sure to be comfortable. I said, when I'm out walking, I'm doing it, you know, attending, but per its extended tongue outside the mouth, just a little, and instead it folds the sides of the tongue to form a narrow tube. Inhale slowly through the mouth. You'll feel the breath flowing along the tongue. Blow through it. Pause, retaining the breath and at the same time firm the abdominal muscles. If learning the breath out through the nose, relax a year dominant muscles at the same time. And that's it. Very very simple. 

And you can repeat that 7 to 9 times myself. I find that seven is usually okay for me. And sometimes you might only need, you know, 3 or 5. But five years, five up it's better. And either it helps to stop you dehydrating. And it's also a reminder, hey, remember to take your bottle with you.

1:25:36 Peter

That's for next time. Yeah, well, let's say it's warm today. There's more warm weather forecast, I'm sure, the next month. So that's a very practical, handy one. Now if you want to contact you for some one-on-one, how can we get in touch?

1:25:52 Reeva

Um, on mobile it's 04128609604128.

1:26:00 Peter

66096. Reeva, always wonderful to catch up with you. We look forward to March with you.

1:26:07 Reeva

Indeed. And good night to everyone.

1:26:10 S2

Thanks, Reeva. Reeva Bryce there. Yeah. [?] has been around about this time the last week of each month. And if you want to get in contact with Reeva, 04128, 66096. And as we say every time we speak to Reeva hashtag Campbelltown senior citizen of the year. 

With a couple of quotes before we go. Terry sends a quote through saying... Revenge is best when served cold. Thanks, Terry, for yours. And Estelita sends her quote through from the UK. Well, it's not really a, quote, kind of a saying, if you like. Estelita says... The definition of dancing is standing still - only faster. Thanks to Estelita for sending your quote through. 

Some birthdays before we go. A bit of a goalball fest as far as birthdays go. Sam Byrne having a birthday. Brook Carter having a birthday and Mika Richardson having a birthday. I think Mika might have retired now, but all have played for Australia in the sport of goalball. And Paige Greco is having a birthday - our Paralympic cyclist gold medallist who always distances herself from being a relative of mine. Happy birthday to you Paige. 

Sam Rickard, thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so much for yours. Reminding you that Leisure Link is available on your favorite podcast platform. If you like the show, please tell a friend. Now, if you're listening through 1197 AM in Adelaide, coming up very, very soon - Vicki Cousins is here with Australian Geographic. 30 wonderful minutes. Be kind to yourselves. Be thoughtful and look out for others all being well. Let's link back to the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio. This is Leisure Link.