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00:06 S1

Hey, guys. Jed Altschwager here, Paralympic gold medalist. You're listening to Peter Greco on Leisure Link. Part of the Vision Australia Radio network.

00:40 S2

It's just gone 5:00 as we channel a little gallery. And it's so nice to be with you. Well, it's much better than nice. It's absolutely wonderful to be here with you here on Vision Australia Radio 1197AM in Adelaide via Radio, in Darwin digital via Radio Digital, in Adelaide... through the TuneIn radio app, look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide your favorite podcast or streaming service, of course online at varadio.org, and a big cheerio to our friends listening through 103.9, Hope FM in Esperance in Western Australia. Peter Greco saying thanks so much for your company. This program coming to you from Kaurna land.

Coming to you very shortly, we'll speak to Jed Altschwager, just back from France with a Paralympic gold medal. What's that like? We'll find out very shortly from Jed, we'll speak to Heidi Girolimo from the Opposition, the Liberal Opposition here in South Australia - now the shadow Minister for Cost of Living, was with Disability. What happens to those policies? We'll find out very shortly from Heidi. Pam Mitchell, our resident councillor, will join us talking about dementia. We'll also speak to Cheryl Nixon, who's got some good news regarding some awards that teachers have received sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank. We'll find out more from Cheryl about that. 

Also, speak to Dr Sam Hay about invasive Meningococcal. Such an important disease and an important topic to talk about. More prevalent in spring, apparently. So we'll find out a lot more about that. We will also catch up with Professor Tanya Buchanan about Dementia Awareness Week. Professor Buchanan is from Dementia Australia, and our finance guru Nick Horton will join us with Finance Facts. 

Well, how good is it to to talk to one of our gold medalists from the Paralympic Games, just completed in Paris, not long back in Australia, Jed Altschweiger. Jed, great to catch up. Thanks for your time and congratulations.

02:41 S1

Yeah. Thank you Peter, I appreciate you having me on.

02:43 S2

It's also a big congratulations to Nikki. He is, of course, who you're in the boat with. What's it been like since you've been back, Jed? There's been a few receptions for you and a lot of welcome home functions. How's it all going?

02:54 S1

Yeah, it's been, yeah, it's definitely been somewhat manic. It's also been incredible. Obviously, it was amazing to be able to come home and and and connect with my two kids and my wife again. They weren't over in Paris, so that's been awesome... the welcome home parties that we've been a part of have been absolutely outstanding. A lot of support. A bit of media here and there. I'm about... what, I'm a little about a week home, so, yeah, it's been awesome, mate. It's just like the, you know, the the the community is, just really got behind the Paralympics and all the athletes involved. So you can kind of feel that as I'm walking around the streets and saying hi to people. So it's been good to be home.

03:34 S2

Did you expect that? I mean, I guess it's hard to know what to expect. You probably had a bit of an idea of how much Australia was embracing the games. I mean, congratulations to channel 9. We spoke to a couple of the commentators whilst the games were on, and they did an outstanding job and not just saying that because we spoke to them, but they did and obviously Australia really kind of embraced it. I think in terms of media coverage and I guess profile, the games have gone to another level.

03:59 S1

Yeah, they really have made like channel 9. I think having 14 hours of live coverage of the of the games has set... another bar, you know, and set another precedent that, like you said, an outstanding job. All the reports that I was getting back home and... of how... it was covered and... the detail and all of that, I think, was so well done and and I guess, yeah, in some regard, I probably didn't know, yeah. The reach or the... size. And that was even leading into the games and, and when I got to the village perhaps, and all of that sort of environment, that's really when I was like, wow, this thing is really big. Like pirates, you know, the athlete village is like a city. 

And, you know, I was really taken aback. I was like this, you know, this Paralympic movement, you know, it's so special. And to be a part of, you know, the Australian Paralympic team was a dream of mine, you know, phenomenal people involved at the, you know, at the top end of that... organisation. And just really, you know, allowing us as athletes to be able to go out there and be the best we can.

05:01 S2

It's interesting, isn't it, because you've competed very well at world championships, etc., but I guess the games are a whole new experience.

05:08 S1

Yeah, they really are. I've, you know, I've raced a lot of big races in my life and, you know, World Championship races and World Cup races and and all of that, but I didn't I mean, people say that the games are a different beast. And I sort of I didn't brush it off by any means, but I was like, yeah, cool. I'll have that. I'll have it covered. I'll, you know, you know, just a few more heads watching. And definitely the couple of days leading up to racing was, yeah, something I probably like that that added layer of, I guess a lot more people watching, the added layer of... the four year event that comes around, you know, it being... the race of all races, the biggest race I've raced. 

You know, there were so many of this little internal conversations happening, but, you know, it really is, you know, and... people and countries and athletes, really. I mean, they don't pull it out of the bag, but they they really race out of their skins or like there's some tremendous like... performances at the games and... upsets and all of that. So it was, you know, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. And you know, Great Britain, hats off to them. And and hats off to Germany. They really made for an exciting final.

06:15 S2

And that added layer that you talk about so well explained is the fact that, you know, you just no matter how good your form is in a sense, all of a sudden you've got to kind of put a new focus on what you're doing.

06:26 S1

Yeah, 100%. You gotta it's almost like it resets a bit. It's like we raced all these boats two months ago, three months ago at World Cup, and it almost felt like everyone had stepped up, you know, and everyone had put on it and it was like, okay, these this is what the games are about. It's, you know, it's that event and everyone was ready to go.

06:45 S2

You kind of think, Hang on, what will you guys keep keeping a bit up your sleeve before or I mean, I guess just the, I guess the adrenaline just takes over.

06:53 S1

Yeah, a little bit. You know, I think it was always going to be clear that the other countries were going to get faster. It's a new event. So new events across any sport modality do progressively get faster. Especially at the start, you know, of the event being... put into the... roster. So we came out of the gates hard last year and set some really good benchmarks. But we you know, I knew that GB have a great training environment, great team. And I knew that the guys and the girls in the in the Germany. But the German boat, also you know, had a great environment. So it was like, okay, I know these countries are going to get quick. And you know, what do you know, they did and they got quicker. They really brought some tough racing. 

07:33 S2

Do you have much to do with them away from the water?

07:36 S1

Oh, you definitely say g'day and all that sort of stuff. But once, one thing probably about the Paralympics it's actually quite cool is, is also we finish early in the event. So probably now more than ever, we actually had a time to actually hang out, catch up for a coffee... you know, with some of the crew from the GB squad and some of the crew from the US. You know, I'm quite close with... Todd from the US doubles there and, yeah, you know, you definitely can. And you sort of have this real, like, battlefield mutual respect. It's such an odd... it's not, it's a different feeling, you know, it's like friendship. 

But it's also this, like, thank you - you know, for all the hard races we've done, it's like weird kind of thing. And you've been through it separately in different countries and different environments. But you kind of, you sort of know each other's path and journeys. It's quite a... cool relationship.

08:27 S2

Jared, you and Nikki, she is your partner in the boat, you were hot favourites. Your form had been outstanding leading up to the games. That does bring extra pressure. I mean, we kind of think, Oh, they're in good form, they should just win. But it kind of doesn't happen like that, does it?

08:39 S1

No it doesn't. We definitely you know, there was some some added pressure. I would say we I didn't admit it to myself or really, you know, it was something that I knew. I didn't need that extra noise. But, you know, you speak to people and they're like, look, you know, there was, you know, 3 or 4 events that we knew we could chalk up, you know, and rowing was one of them. But, you know, we could chalk that up to a win. And so, you know, but we still have to go out there and do it. And a lot can happen. You know, people see the seven, seven and a half minute race and... see the performance we laid down. 

But there is so much that happens in the boat, out of the boat,  in the environment, some adding to performance, some taking away from performance. It's just the part, you know, it's the ups and downs of the life cycle of being an elite athlete. It's not... perfect. Every day, all the day, all the time. So, yeah, it was so amazing.

09:35 S2

We're listening to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio, 1197AM in Adelaide and across the Vision Australia Radio Network, and we're speaking to Jed Altschweiger along with Nikki Ayers, winner of a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. Let's talk a bit about, if you don't mind about your personal life. You talked about your family. I've got a wife and two young kids. They're home. You're over there competing. I mean, you know, those of us that watch, I don't think you really. They won gold. We kind of don't appreciate the kind of story behind the story.

10:03 S1

Yeah, there's... a lot of story behind the story. There's a, you know, a whole team of support, that gets an athlete and gets me and Nikki to the... start line. And... for us, both families are really big priority in a really big value. And my, you know, my wife's been through everything from me, from when I lost my leg in 2015 to navigating that with me and and being such a strong pillar and and support to then, you know, being able to raise a beautiful family and then committing to this life of... rowing and becoming an elite athlete, supporting that and the ups and downs and, you know, the ups and downs. 

You know, I didn't make Tokyo, through selection and... riding all of that. And then to get to the next one and get it done. I remember I had a phone call the next morning. I woke up, after celebrating and had a very emotional phone call with my wife. And, you know, I was just like, you don't often get the thing. You know, in life there's always a thing that you're going for or something. And it's... the, a medal is so tangible. It's, you can grab it and it's this big thing and it's very public. And... it was just so surreal. I was like, we got the thing, that was just, it was really weird and and, yeah. So I couldn't have done it without her. 

And the kids, and my kids are at the age that they really understand it. So... they've loved it. Their friends have gotten around it. They love having dad around school and... their school and all that. And to be able to do it for them. You know, I'm... still navigating and learning how to be a dad. That's, I think a journey that I'll be on forever. And it's, you know, I'm seeing things that are making them proud and... sort of figuring out what, you know... what sort of dad data I want to be. So, that's it's all been pretty epic. It's rather emotional.

11:47 S2

Jed, I love the way you explained that. You, as you said, you lost your leg nine years ago. You were surfing, you know, before then, as a sport - if you hadn't lost your leg, do you think you would have become an elite athlete?

11:59 S1

Oh, definitely not, mate. That's the short answer. It wasn't on my radar. The importance, you know, fitness wasn't really even on my radar, you know, and the importance of my body. So you have a big seismic shift, like... an accident, like I did. And it really realigned some values, like, to the core. I'm still the same person and still the same values and positive and always been the way I am. But when you were tested like that, it really pulls out, and aligns other things in life. And one of them was, you know, health and fitness. And then that was when it snowballed into, you know, the opportunity to be able to represent my country and, you know, learn a new sport... and go down that path.

12:36 S2

And a little bit about Nikki. Hopefully we'll catch up with Nikki down the track, but, well, that was pretty emotional too. And it's hard not to get emotional when people get emotional. Well, I find it that way anyway. Yeah. No, that's right.

12:49 S1

Mate, I can't speak highly enough of Nikki. Yeah, she's a beautiful friend of mine. You know, her journey outside of sport has been, you know, tough. Just like just adding sport. Sorry. You know, it's just like anyone's. But, watching her navigate the last, you know, the last... I've known her for about eight years or seven years. You know, I'm just so proud of her and, you know, and also just thankful for her. And, you know, she moved down to Adelaide, you know, came down here for for two seasons and we were able to do what we could do. And I'm so grateful for that for her. 

And, you know, yeah, you know, I've made a friend for life - and you kind of go through a lot of things, when you're in a, in that proximity and, and you're going for something that's so... on a pedestal, you kind of go through a lot of things together and... yeah, mate, honestly. Yeah, she's an absolute terrific, terrific [?person]. Yeah. Headed home. She's back. Back on the south coast in New South Wales. So she's... loving it.

13:46 S2

You can call her terrific, but I don't think many other people could. So, you see, you win a gold medal, you can say whatever you like. And the fact that you're the first Australian pair to win an event like this was the first time the event had been held. That's a little bit special as well.

14:01 S1

Very special mate, like to me. You know, we sat down with Tom, our high performance director, having a beer after the race, and... he said, look like there's, you know, there's a couple of things here. Obviously, the gold medal is amazing and that's there. But we did the, we did the whole thing undefeated. We didn't lose a race. And to be the first gold medal for the Australian Paralympic, for the Australian rowing team at a Paralympic Games. You know, we're over the moon, you know, and... that that really makes me think about just all the people that have come before us. 

You know, you've still got Eric Hori cruising around winning medals and you know, he's been in the game for, you know, for four cycles now. And he has come agonisingly close. But just, you know, the efforts of of of people like him, people like Cat Ross and people, you know, that have that have laid the stone and kind of put para rowing where it is. And then for us to, I guess, sort of, you know, tap it across the line and get the gold medal. It's, it was incredible. So it's just so good for the sport, so good for... rowing ... in Australia.

15:05 S2

Yeah. It's a great sort of tribute and great kind of understanding of the history. It hasn't just happened for you or you haven't just made it happen. You kind of got an appreciation of the path that it's taken to get here.

15:15 S1

Yeah, absolutely. Yep.

15:18 S2

Tell us a little bit about the gold medal and be the ceremony. I mean, is it as good as it seems? I mean, I guess, you know, us mere mortals, we kind of dream of it. 

15:27 S1

Yeah, mate, the gold medal, like the the ceremony that basically... well, I kind of put it down to three things, like crossing the line was just spectacular. Like it was something else. Like relief, emotion. Just incredible. And then from there, it was like, we got to the pontoon and I was able to give Nikki a big old hug, and that was enough time.... and then from there, we basically... got got ushered away and we had to get dressed into our ceremony kit and then obviously go to the pod, go to the... podium, and then you get awarded your medal and they raise the flag and they put the national anthem on. And so it was just layer upon layer of just absolute incredible experiences. 

And, and then seeing that flag get raised, having my mum and dad in the crowd, having my brother, his family, my eldest nephew in the crowd and... it was just very emotional. You know, you can't really put it into words. It's just a feeling. It's a... beautiful feeling.

16:28 S2

Jade, great to catch up with you. Thank you so, so much. I'm gonna have to go grab a box of tissues. Yeah. can't go on. But in all seriousness, it's been tremendous. It was great to catch up with you before. And when someone that you've had a chat to before wins, we kind of feel a little bit like we can share a little bit more. So thank you for doing that. Hopefully we can catch up with Nikki down the track, but enjoy the moment and all the very best. Yeah.

16:50 S1

Awesome Peter, thank you so much mate. Appreciate the time, you know.

16:53 S2

What swagger. They're a gold medalist at the Paris Paralympic Games. 

Well, it's been great catching up with Heidi Girolamo over the last couple of years. And Heidi has had a bit of a change as far as her shadow portfolio goes. Heidi, great to catch up again. Thanks for your time.

17:10 S3

Thanks, Peter. It's great to be back.

17:12 S2

Now you're now in charge of cost of living also or still tax reform I think, and finance. How did this change come about?

17:19 S3

So I guess as an Opposition, we know that cost of living is a really key issue for many South Australian families and people who are doing it tough. And it was an area that I was quite interested in pursuing. And when there was a recent change, I was very keen to put my hand up for this role just to allow me to really focus in on cost of living, whether that be cost of groceries, looking at electricity and what supports government can provide, as well as also what other areas that we can look in within the cost of living frame. It works quite well with my other portfolios being finance and tax reform. So that's how we kind of ended up there. 

And it's given me a really good platform to be able to really advocate for South Australian families to indicate our support and to be able to hold the government to account when it comes to cost of living, to make sure that we're doing everything possible to help South Australian families.

18:16 S2

So before the change of leadership, there wasn't such a shadow portfolio or was there? 

18:22 S3

No, it wasn't separated out. So I was still very much interested in cost of living within my finance and tax reform area. But this having it as a separate portfolio allows me to really hone in on it and to be able to focus from a policy perspective. So we're still working closely with other shadow ministers, whether that be around electricity or housing affordability and other areas. But it is a new portfolio that has been identified as a key focus area. The opposition in Victoria and Queensland both have cost of living shadows because it is a really important issue right across the country at the moment.

19:02 S2

Well, I think the polls show that, don't they, when it comes to things that are sort of leading people's concerns as far as how how their life is going. That is sort of top of mind, top of the hit parade every time.

19:13 S3

Absolutely. And I think in a recent advertiser poll, it was around 60 or 65% of people had cost of living as their number one issue. So that's a fairly significant change from the election back in 2022, both from a state and federal perspective, where health and other areas were really front of mind. And I think health is still an important issue. But for many South Australian families, after so many interest rate hikes and the cost of groceries and everything going through the roof, cost of living is most people's number one issue. And that's why we're really highlighting it from an opposition perspective, to make sure that we have the right policies going into the election.

19:53 S2

And of course, the people who might be on lower incomes or indeed fixed incomes, people with disabilities, older South Australians, you know, every dollar is, in a sense, even more important to someone who might be in a well-paid job.

20:04 S3

Absolutely. And I think a lot of families are doing it quite tough if they're on that fixed income or pensioners and retirees where they're not, their income isn't growing very at the moment. And but the cost of purchasing basic needs is just escalating quite dramatically. I think all of us would see it when you go to the grocery store. And what you used to purchase for $100 might be 150 or $200. Then the families that if that's week on week out, that it's really catching up with a lot of families and it really is a challenging time. What the Reserve Bank has said that obviously they control interest rates and would like to bring them down, but until government gets their spending under control, that it's going to be increasingly difficult to bring them down as well. 

We've seen both federally and state, the huge spending does impact on inflation and whilst most South Australians are tightening their belts, we need to make sure that government is doing the same to make sure that we can get interest rates down to help many South Australian families, which hopefully would then have a flow on effect to other areas such as the like, you know, electricity, groceries, housing affordability. There's so many different areas that many families are doing it very tough in.

21:20 S2

We talked about things like electricity. I mean, for, you know, I think we might have actually spoken about this before, but for people like, say with their [?meth] or whatever, that their temperature, that they've got their living conditions under is so important. So in a sense that impact is even greater.

21:36 S3

Absolutely. It's it really is an essential service for many families as well, trying to keep the health at the right temperature. Or they might have equipment that they need to be running constantly. It's really important that electricity affordability is addressed at the moment. In South Australia, we have some of the highest electricity costs in the world and certainly within within Australia, and it's getting increasingly difficult for many families to keep keep the heater on during colder months. And we've seen a very cold week or start to the week here in South Australia. And... I do feel for a lot of families who are doing it quite tough, where it's becoming more and more unaffordable to be able to keep the lights on.

22:17 S2

So the government has in the state government has been, you know, pretty generous to some recipients of Social Security payments with a couple of one-off payments. You don't think that's enough?

22:27 S3

I think for a lot of families, that's a bit of a drop in the ocean at the moment. They're doing it quite tough, and many families didn't get a lot of those benefits as well. So I think for many families, they're looking at taking on an extra job at the moment or having to work longer hours in order to keep the lights on. And the $255. While I'm sure it was welcomed, that equates to about $0.70 a day, so it's not really going to help things in the longer term. And I think for many families that they tend are doing it really tough and it's just one thing after another. And so that's why we're really focused on making sure that we're listening and developing policies that can really help the state as a whole, and to help people when it comes to cost of living.

23:13 S2

You talked about, I think, Queensland and Victoria having similar shadow portfolios and policy formulation. Is that a little bit difficult, because in a sense, or challenging might be the word, because in a sense this is a federal issue more than a state issue? It is a state government of whichever color, it might be a bit limited as to what they can do in the cost of living area.

23:34 S3

I think it's really important that it's addressed from both the federal and state perspective. I do think there's a lot of costs and everything that can be managed here as well. I do think that from locally, certainly from energy policies and housing policies and all those sorts of areas can be managed from a state perspective. So I think that's why both Victoria and Queensland and now South Australia have gone down the path of having the real focus on cost of living at a state level to make sure that we're holding the governments to account, and also coming up with policies along the way that can can help families with their bills, which tend to be getting bigger and bigger - and look at, say, water bills as one area where it's 3.5% above inflation. 

So many families are going to get slugged some more money coming up as well. And I think that's very challenging for a lot of families. And that's something that we would like to see reversed.

24:30 S2

I think, again, to be fair to the government, I think those that are on limited income might be spared of those increases. But as you say, in terms of the percentage of the population, that it doesn't cover everyone. 

24:42 S3

Absaolutely. And that's always welcome for those who are on those concessions and all the rest. But it is for many working families as well who are being hit the hardest, I think so, who are often faced with huge challenges, um, just to be able to get food onto the table and keep the lights on. At the moment a lot of the the government support isn't going towards families, um, with where people are in potentially in multiple jobs or having to work longer hours as well. 

So I think there's challenges right across the board at the moment, and I know I've had concerns raised by a lot of pensioners as well, who have really often worked hard and really are sitting there with quite a very, very fixed income. And it can be really challenging for them to be able to to get the basic needs that they need at the moment.

25:36 S2

Of course, the flip side of that is for those people who might have a bit of money stashed away in whatever bank account, if interest rates do come down, then they're going to be penalised because their amount that they're getting returned on their money in the bank is going to go down. So it's a bit of a vexed situation.

25:51 S3

Yeah, it's an interesting time I think. But I think a lot of those people are also spending a lot more money at the grocery store. That's true. It can certainly be very challenging. And I think for a lot of people, especially, you know, retirees or people who have younger children or teenagers or young adults that are looking at getting into the housing market or into the job market, that they have the concerns for how things are going to end up going for with them as well. So there's yeah, lots to work with at the moment. And if you're, you know, always encourage your listeners to reach out if there is any concerns that they would like to raise around my portfolio. 

And I think cost of living is one area where we're really focused on making sure that we're listening and learning and making sure that we're coming up with ideas, looking at what they're doing, you know, what's being done here, but also what's being done interstate and overseas as well.

26:42 S2

Speak about ideas, Heidi, we've spoken to you a couple of times as minister or shadow Minister for Disability, and you were working on some policies. What kind of happens with that work now? Because Michelle Lensink has taken that role, and Michelle is no stranger to that particular portfolio. So what happens with some of those ideas? Is there kind of a handover? Does Michelle start afresh? How does that all work?

27:01 S3

Yeah, absolutely. So I've handed all of the policy ideas that I had developed through conversations with different people living with disabilities and different disability providers, and she's well equipped to be able to to run with those. And I still have a strong interest within the disability sector as well. And always wanting to to work closely with Michelle to make sure that we're getting those, those policies lined up for the election. From Michelle's perspective, she now has all of the areas within human services. So it does work quite well from that perspective. And she's got a long history of being involved and being the minister and everything around disability services as well. 

But certainly I'll be paying close attention to the policy space within the disability sector and also the outcomes from the NDIS review as well, and seeing what's happening there, because I think it is a challenging time for a lot of people, both participants and providers within the NDIS. I was going.

27:58 S2

To mention that that it certainly is a very interesting time, particularly with the foundational support, those sort of things being a bit of a changing landscape in the next. Well, we spoke to Nat Cook a couple of weeks ago, and Nat said this could be up to five years away before it's all sort of sorted out. But I mean, these things happen a little bit at a time. So again, a challenging time and a time where, you know, where we go to an election, maybe some policy changes could be very influential.

28:24 S3

Yeah, I think so. And certainly the state will be required to take a lot more responsibility with the foundational support under the state wing. And I think it has been challenging for a lot of people within the disability sector that split between who's responsible, whether it be state and federal. And I do hope that we do it properly when it comes to bringing the foundational support in, because it it's such an important... service or area that really needs to make sure that the the state has a good focus on. And it's certainly something that I'll continue to ask questions and advocate for as well.

28:58 S2

Now, thank you for mentioning asking questions because I like following people that follow politics. So I'm not sure. Maybe I have too much time on my hands or need to get another hobby, but you seem to be being spoken of rather highly amongst a lot of political commentators about your capabilities and maybe your future. Do you, are you kind of in touch with that, and how do you feel about that?

29:19 S3

Oh thank you. That's lovely. 

29:21 S2

No, that's not me saying it. No, I'm just... repeating what other people are saying. Yeah, I can, but I probably agree with them. 

29:28 S3

Oh, thank you very much. I value my role here within the team. And I've been working hard to make sure that I'm out advocating for South Australians and also putting our party position forward. I have been enjoying doing... more, I guess, media and having the opportunity to speak to people along the way. And I chair Budget and Finance Committee, so it's a committee where we have the opportunity for a different department to come in each fortnight, and that's been a good opportunity for me to be able to really delve into things in a bit more detail when it comes to whether we hydrogen or health or housing or lots of different areas within government as well, which has been great.

30:07 S2

Now, first, some of the grips of that hand on heart are hardy. Answer me truthfully - you seem to enjoy that. So you seem to enjoy that almost a bit too much. I mean, I know it's good for people to enjoy their work, but you seem to enjoy asking those hard questions.

30:20 S3

Absolutely do.

30:21 S2

It doesn't come across. Yeah. No.

30:24 S3

Thank you. It's been you know, I've got a good team around me that helped me prepare. But it is a, it's a really important opportunity. Similar to budget estimates within the Senate that we have the opportunity for opposition. And as for the crossbench and Labor Party who are also present, to be able to ask those questions. And it's been a really good, fair process. It was a committee that was formed by Rob Lucas when we were in opposition before, and then [?] continued on chairing it, and now I have when Labor was in opposition, and now I have the Opposition, the opportunity to to chair it now as well. And it's a... great committee and it's a really important part of our democracy, being able to have those questions answered along the way.

31:07 S2

I'm going to make that point. I mean, I know we've got to go, but it is like really important. I mean, regardless of which side you vote for or support or your leanings are, it's really important in any sort of democracy to have a good Opposition, isn't it? I mean, you know, we've heard a lot about what might have happened in the last few weeks, and we'll leave that to one side. But as constituents, we need a good Opposition to keep the government to account. 

31:30 S3

Absolutely. And we're a very hard-working Opposition, and working hard every day to make sure we're holding the government to account, and also coming up with good, constructive ideas along the way. And that will come, I guess, further along over the coming months as well, in the leadup to the election. But I think it's very important that we continue to work hard every day for South Australians.

31:51 S2

Heidi, good to catch up. Hopefully we can catch up with you before the end of the year. Wonderful.

31:54 S3

Thanks, Peter. Great to chat. Thank you.

31:56 S2

That's Heidi Girolimo there, the Shadow Minister for Cost of Living. And you can always call Parliament House on [08] 8237 9100 and ask to be put through to Heidi's office. If there's anything you'd like Heidi to tackle. 

It's always great welcoming Pam McLeod, resident counselor to the program. Third week of each month around about this time and always tackles topics in a unique way. And this is a very sensitive topic, which I'm sure Pam will handle very well. Pam, great to catch up. That's a rather long introduction, wasn't it? Oh, go for it.

32:32 S4

I, you know, I'm quite happy for you to say more.

32:35 S2

It's about being nice. We can talk all day.

32:38 S4

Yeah. Lovely to hear you, Peter. Lovely to everyone that's listening on this. Wow. On this getting near grand final time, isn't it?

32:46 S2

Yeah, indeed a serious topic, but, I guess in a sense it kind of fits in with maybe memory and doesn't it?

32:54 S4

Yeah. We're talking today about the week that we have on the calendar - this week, for those that are probably really aware and for some that may not. It's Dementia Action Week, which has gone from the 16th earlier this week through to the 22nd, where we're trying to build awareness around just the different forms of dementia, the ongoing pursuit, in the spheres of genius in mental health, to be able to... define and bring hope to people, families,  the people suffering, the people receiving news of forms of dementia and of course, what we're aware of. 

And, you know, it needs to be said, around football finals time, things that we notice more and more that creep in from even from very young ages of sport where people are experiencing trauma to their brain with head injuries. This is why, even more so this year and in the previous couple of years, the powers to be becoming much more vigilant in the game of footy and other competitive sports arenas where, you know, you can take snow skiing, you can take water sports, water polo, whatever, where people have the likelihood more to have head injuries as a result of their sporting activity. And this may seem not too bad at the time, but later on, especially where there's repetitive effects to the to the head, around the head, the knocks that this can lead to some damage in that regard, not the only cause. 

There are many other aspects in in mental health and the disease which brings on these forms of dementia and Alzheimer's, the whole stable of things in that field. But there are some areas, as in the areas of concussion and blows to the head. Road trauma, things of that nature. People falling off bikes, road accidents, where we actually can need to be placing more emphasis on what what is the overall fallout possibilities, not just today, but in years to come as we address that. So, you know, it is a topic worth discussion, today and some of the people that probably are in our minds as we think of that, if we look at that, at a level of people that are more known to us.

One that's had this difficulty for years now... because Bruce Willis, sometimes in dementia, we see that as a rapid decline. Other times it goes on and on. And he is one of those people, an actor, of course, that this has gone on for... years now as he deteriorates. We also know that we see on the press now George Negus, who is advancing in years and also the victim of dementia. And just look, you don't have to be famous. The moral of that story is that it doesn't matter how much money you've got. It can affect all of us. You can't buy out of that... decline, that disease. 

So we do need this Action Week to remind us, at least annually, it'll affect many of us that are listening in now personally and with someone we know, friend or family member, that has this news. So what can we do about that then just running down the list, there are different forms. So there's vascular dementia, there's young onset dementia, there's frontotemporal dementia which is the one Bruce Willis.... HIV associated dementia, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. I can't even say that word properly. And there's [?Louis] dementia that has picked up in the blood counts, bloodstream when you might just be going for a regular blood test and somebody can pick that up. That is happening. So there.

And of course, we know through traumatic brain injury that can offset this. And it can be, that people will say often that it can be genetically. Also, if you have a long history of that, it may be genetically there prevalent in your body. There are things we can do. We may not be able to prevent it if it is a genetic thing. But certainly we can obviously prevent it if it's a road trauma thing or a sport thing, by the ways that we go around and protect ourselves as much as we can and heighten awareness in those clubs and organisations. We can also have regular checkups because this isn't just something for aging population. So we can have regular checkups if we've been exposed earlier on and got some knocks to the head that we can say, look, can we just have an annual blood test, can we just check on the levels? 

We can also as well as medically, we can be looking at what I call exercise physically, mindfully, spiritually nourishing. And these cover so at a physical level, taking our brain for a walk, uh, taking our brain to the gym, taking our brain to Pilates or whatever else that you may engage in. So at a physical level, we are releasing the build up of adrenaline and allowing our bodies and our minds to be able to be less cluttered and physically... exercised to reduce those stress levels at a physical level. Mindfully, we can give our minds more variety, exploring more things in the capacity that our mind can think to can work out. So. 

And there's a great thing that happens in gyms where they now these days you might sit on the exercise bike. They've also got the computer on. They've also possibly got some music playing. And what we're picking up is different entry points to our brain cells by being exposed to a few things at once. And we are told that that can regrow brain cells that have been knocked off. So it's, you know, just doing a few things at once is like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time. We're doing some extra things to engage our brains in different exercises of brain brain gym at a more mindful state. I've been doing jigsaw puzzles or crossword. We could be doing jigsaws with the kids. The grandkids. We can think, all right, I always do it this way. I always walk this way. Maybe I'll go that way. 

So we're being more explorative, more creative, doing an extra sort of course, than possibly we've done. And we might have been tempted to do and we've thought, oh, I don't know, maybe I'm not clever enough to do that. But we engage and we, you know, whether it's... something tactile like sculpture, sculpture or pottery or ceramics, or whether it's dabbling in oil paint or acrylics or something, but just being a little bit more mindful. Maybe it's journalling, just to seeing what happens in our mind as we experiment with that exercise, spiritual level, being more aware of what's around and how our environment feeds us. We may not give that a lot of time. 

You know, often time, time spent for people around exercise, they immediately think of gym. But there are other ways to help exercise our minds, and that is through a spiritual level. Taking time to bring the balance to calm. So one is to release the adrenaline. The other is to reduce reduce the stress, build up the cortisol release that floods our brain if we don't look after it to reduce our stress level. So we're looking there at ways to breathe better, to meditate, to do a yoga class, to take a walk and sit on the beach in the sunset and kick the sand in the shallows or whatever you want to do. But just to bring in that dimension where we have these tingles, where we feel, Oh wow, I just love being here. I love doing this. My mind feels free. 

So it's experimenting and providing. That means to explore that path. It's exercise through nutrition and food and monitoring more what we can do to nourish our brains through the right chemical pathways, to not just have fast food, to not just have the packet of chips and to limit the overindulgence of the beer, the wine, the whatever else, the gin. And think, no, I look at, I choose this day, maybe it's a couple of days a week. I choose these couple of days to be able to nourish my brain, abstain from excess, to bring back in more nourishing, balanced foods. And so we have all forms of exercise that we can help our brains to have some release and recovery from the ill effects, things that we can do that are in our control. 

And I think these are really important [?names]. And so it is like being more aware of the prevalence of things. Being more aware of what we can do in our own capacities. Being being more aligned, mind centred about the struggles people have that we hear in aged care, in we might pass someone in a shopping centre that is just struggling, and you can see that they are confused or lost and just stopping and saying, Can I help you there? Are you okay? We have those OK Days that we've talked about for reasons. You see someone in a car park, they have no idea which level they've left their car on. It's a momentary lapse of consciousness in their mind, but it can be just in this Dementia Awareness Week, we can do something about that. 

As the person that notices as well and observes to be able to offer just in a flesh and minute of helpfulness until someone recognises that it could just be a momentary lapse. But those momentary lapses are worth exploring and testing. And so with our families ensuring that we do go, we do have those regular checkups. If we see one someone in sport and we see and then a member of our family or in the team that we make sure that as well as checking out whether the person has had a good concussion test, that they also have a follow-up medical appointment and a blood test to check out that everything is in order. These are things that we can do in our awareness. 

So I actually hope that we can bring not just fear and dread to this Dementia Week, but we can bring enlightenment as to what we can do within our own grasp to actually help build the future of being more alert, more sensitive, more knowing to be able to do our best to reduce this dreaded disease.

44:50 S2

Pam, beautifully said - and some really excellent advice there. And I must admit, I wasn't aware of so many types of dementia, so thank you for that. Now people can contact you for some one-on-one. You're a professional counsellor, so 0418 835 767 and I might just put in here also Pam, that Dementia Australia can be contacted on a toll free number 1800 100 500. So 1800 100 500 if people would like to contact Dementia Australia, particularly during this Dementia Action Week.

45:21 S4

And if I can just say as a PPS before we go, for many times people are aware that they are having some deteriorating mind function and they feel that it is basically a failure. It's something that you shouldn't talk about. Please, if you're feeling like that, please reach out. There are things that can be done every day. There are new discoveries. There are new medications. There are new supplements that can help. There are things that you yourself, together with your family, can put in place to help that fast-paced... deterioration. Please reach out.

45:55 S2

Good note to end on, Pam. We'll catch up again next month. That was wonderful. Thank you.

45:59 S4

Lovely being with you.

46:00 S2

Hey, Mitchell. They're joining us round about this time the third week of each month. You want to contact Pam? 0418 835 767.

46:08 S5 (SONG)

Bicycle. Bicycle...

46:11 S6

Hi, I'm Morgan Carter, canteen youth ambassador. You're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network. 

S5 (MUSIC) I want to ride my bicycle...

46:22 S2

It's great to work with a program. Cheryl Nixon, who's the CEO for Australian Schools Plus and does some really interesting news, has recently been announced. Cheryl, great to meet you. Thank you for your time. Yeah.

46:32 S7

Thank you for having me on.

46:33 S2

Now, you've... just announced your winners for this year. As far as pioneering initiatives in teaching go.

46:40 S7

Absolutely. So this... is what we've just announced is the winners of the Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards presented by Schools Plus. And what we do is celebrate some of Australia's best teachers through the award we had at a fabulous ceremony in Canberra. It was co-hosted by the Education Minister, Jason Clare, and we named 12 brilliant teachers and school leaders as this year's winner, and also ten teachers who were in their first five years of the in the profession. Are they one an early career teaching award for their remarkable leadership and innovation that they they're showing as well.

47:17 S2

So how do they get to this position. Do they get nominated? Do they kind of apply? How does that work?

47:23 S7

So it's a bit of both. Peter. We have a nomination process process where people from all across the country are able to nominate a teacher that they think deserves recognition. And then the teachers need to apply themselves as well. So these are these winners this year were selected from hundreds of nominations and applications from right across the country. And what we're looking for in these awards are teachers who go above and beyond, who don't let anything stand in the way of their students thriving at school. 

So the teachers are really committed to equity and inclusion, to creating opportunities for their students so they can succeed. And we have a particular focus at schools, plus on communities where you know more disadvantaged communities and make sure that the that the teachers come from them.

48:15 S2

Sure. You talked about hundreds of applicants or hundreds of people nominated from all around Australia. What about that sort of side of things? We are a big brown wine land, as people like to say. How did you get good representation from sort of rural and more remote areas as far as teaching goes.

48:32 S7

Yeah, absolutely. A lot of our teachers came from rural and remote areas. So, for example, we've had... teachers from First Nations community. One example is Adelaide Ford. She's the lead literacy teacher at the Norwegian Academy in West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. And she has a focus on literacy. She's... gifted the joy of literacy to many of her students, and it was fabulous to hear her talking about some young people that she's helped read for the very first time.

49:06 S2

And very powerful message, aren't they? And I guess it's the sort of thing where, you know, if kids could get a good education, hopefully it... sort of translates into good career

49:16 S7

Well I think teachers have such a profound impact on children's lives, don't they, Peter? I think we all remember the teacher who believed in us and helped us believe in ourselves. And that actually was, you know, one of the other stories I reflect on from the... awards this week. We had one young man who's been in the teaching profession for just four years, and he talked about how, when he was that student who was suspended many times, he was always in trouble. And I think he said at one point he learned more English outside of the classroom than in. But he had a teacher who believed in him and suggested that he become a teacher and lit that fire in him. And he's gone on now to change hundreds of children's lives through his work in the classroom as well. 

So there are many stories like that. And absolutely, education is the bedrock of our society. We strongly believe that. And these teachers... play a huge role in... shaping the future of our country.

50:19 S2

Now, I reckon there'll be a great sense of satisfaction in five, ten or however many years time if one of your students, uh, you know, kind kind of ends up But now being a professor of medicine or, uh, dare I say, Prime Minister of Australia, there'd be a great sense of satisfaction that I, you know, I was the teacher of that child when, um, they were much younger.

50:38 S7

Oh, could you imagine it? I really feel that, but I think... even seeing some of the children, who might be quite disengaged from school. Yeah. We heard stories like this as well, from some of our award recipients being able to turn their lives around. You know, they've been skipping school and and disengaged in, in class, and just then being able to put them back on the right track, help them finish year 12, help them find a positive pathway out of school. Whether their destiny is being the prime minister or whether their destiny is just, you know, a solid job and being able to be an active contributor to society. I mean, that in itself is a great achievement.

51:22 S2

That's very true. You talked about generosity, being sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank. What did the teachers get? You know, apart from obviously a great thing to be putting on their CV and a great sense of achievement just for a being nominated and then being a recipient. What do they get?

51:37 S7

Yeah. So Commonwealth Bank and schools plus are really committed to making sure that, you know, that teachers gain a lot from, from these awards and that the experience is something that's really special. So our teaching fellows receive a teaching fellowship, the winners of the teaching awards receive a teaching fellowship that's valued at $40,000. And it includes a year long professional development program that they participate in together to really build a strong and dynamic professional network of excellent teachers right across the country. 

And as well as that part of that prize, is funding for a strategic project in their school so that they can... amplify the work that they've already been doing. And our fellows often say that it's it's career changing that... this award. And for the ten teachers who are early career teachers and who receive our Early Career Teaching award, they also receive funding for their own professional development. Because our goal there is really to build their skills, their confidence, their network and support them to, you know, stay motivated and stay in the profession because we really need those teachers, for decades to come, for sure.

52:56 S2

That kind of double bonus if you like, you know, reward for the individual teacher, but also for the school. That's great too, because the school literally gets a chance to share in the success.

53:06 S7

And we know, we know that teachers are very humble and modest people, Peter. So I think partly it is recognition that, often, you know, they're not working alone, that they are working in teams and, you know, with their with their colleagues within the school. So, yes, we wanted to recognise that and allow them to have that further impact on students as well, because really at schools, plus that's what our goal is as a... national, not-for-profit working with schools in disadvantaged communities. Our goal is to close the education gap and really make sure that children have all the opportunities that they need to thrive.

53:42 S2

Well, there's so much to look forward to, isn't there? I mean, you know, there was a bit odd, I think, or, you know, the future, the future. But when you hear stories just that you've touched on today, it gives us great hope for the future and wonderful opportunities can open up.

53:54 S7

Yeah, absolutely. And I think, again, our teachers are so critical to our society, they probably don't get enough don't get enough recognition. So to be able to participate in this... and for us as an organisation to be able to offer these awards and put on what's a very special ceremony to... really spoil them and make them feel valued, we're very excited to be part of that.

54:18 S2

We all need to feel valued. Shout to you Australia Schools Plus and the Commonwealth Bank. Congratulations on that initiative and well done those to all those recipients. And I'm sure the these awards will go on for many, many years to come. Thanks for just giving us a bit of a snapshot today. 

54:32 S7

Thanks for your interest, Peter. I really appreciated it.

54:36 S2

That's Cheryl Nixon there. Cheryl is the CEO for Australian Schools Plus, along with the Commonwealth Bank, with those awards just announced in Canberra just a few days ago. 

Well, it's great to welcome to the program, DrSam Hay from Perth. Sam, if I may call you that, just thanks so much for your time. 

54:57 S8

No problems at all. Thank you for having me.

54:58 S2

Now, spring is a great time, particularly for us Southerners as the winter sort of starts to thaw out. But it can be a little bit dangerous for some, particularly youngsters and invasive meningococcal. 

55:09 S8

Absolutely. Not only do we have colds and flus flying around, but winter and early spring is peak season for invasive meningococcal disease.

55:18 S2

Do we know why that particular peak season?

55:20 S8

It's largely related to people being, you know, in enclosed environments. So just being around more and because it's a virus, it's transmitted by coughing and spluttering, just like your colds and flus. So it's just this time of the year.

55:35 S2

Is it different? 

55:39 S8

Oh yeah, but more severe. Yes. So invasive meningococcal disease, it's caused by the meningococcal bacteria. And look, up to 25% of us have got it in the back of our throats at any one time, and it just lives there happily, doesn't cause any problems, but sometimes the infection takes hold. Now, to start with, it usually kicks off as a simple cold, but what sets meningococcal disease apart from the normal cold is that kids rapidly become sick, so they rapidly go downhill with aches, pains, fevers, sweats. They might get a massive headache if they've got meningitis. 

Or if the infection spreads to the blood, that's when you get that classic rash.

56:21 S2

And I guess that's your message is for parents to be on the lookout for things like this.

56:26 S8

Without a doubt. So we're really urging parents to understand that meningococcal disease is out there, that there are there are 13 strains. There are six in particular that cause problems A, B, C, W, X, y. And in Australia we're really concentrating on strains B, W and Y. So it's understanding what the symptoms are, speaking to your doctor and finding out what protections might be available for you.

56:54 S2

I've read some reports suggest that youngsters as young as five weeks can get it. Is there like an age that kids are most vulnerable? And also things like, you know, through childcare or preschool, kindy, that sort of thing. Is that kind of heightened as far as that spread of infection goes? 

57:10 S8

Yeah. So our young kids under fives, our teenagers and then young adults are all at risk, without a doubt. And so yeah, the the daycare school environment tends to be where we get the outbreaks. But everybody's heard of and saying, you know, teenagers, young adults, outbreaks in nightclubs and things like that.

57:31 S2

And particularly maybe, you know, during exam time if they're under a bit more stress, can that play a bit of a role as well? Sort of stress factors? 

57:37 S8

It will do. Because when we're stressed, when we're sleep deprived, our immune system drops off so it can make any infection and this would be one of them are more likely.

57:46 S2

We'll come to treatment in a moment. But what about as far as vaccines go? Because often you hear the advertising about the meningococcal vaccine. And, you know, sometimes there's controversy as to whether the parents have to pay for it, that sort of thing. So is there a vaccine for these strains that you're talking about?

58:04 S8

That's the great news, is that we do have vaccines available. And this is what I'm encouraging parents to do, is to go and talk to your doctor and understand what vaccines are available, what the protection is that they can offer, and then... look at what options are best for you and the family.

58:25 S2

How effective is the vaccine?

58:26 S8

It's very good, actually. The... we have seen a drop in the strains that have been well covered. So we're very happy with the safety of it.

58:37 S2

What about as far as quick action when a parent becomes a little bit more concerned than usual regarding their child's health? Is quick action a high priority?

58:46 S8

Without a doubt. Look, I encourage all parents when your kids are sick, keep a close eye on them, and any infection has the potential to go downhill. So you're looking for fevers that go up and won't come down. Problems breathing where we're flaring at the nostrils, tugging at the throat or the in the chest. And then that floppiness drowsiness, losing consciousness. If that happens, then you need to go and get care ASAP. And yes, meningococcal disease is on the list.

59:14 S2

What about as far as the treatment goes? Is this the condition that sometimes can, you know, if it goes too far? Well, ultimately it can lead to death, which is a very sobering thought. But things like amputations and that sort of thing, is this the kind of condition that it can cause or the results that can come from invasive meningococcal?

59:33 S8

We can be reassured that most people are going to survive, but up to 1 in 10 it can be fatal, and up to 1 in 5 can end up with some sort of permanent disability. And yes, with that septicaemia, the associated with the rash, you can it can damage the extremities, and the amputations have been known.

59:54 S2

That is I guess, the good news is in a sense that is a, you know, fairly low incidence as far as across the board goes. 

1:00:00 S8

Yes, but obviously catastrophic for those kids and those families.

1:00:05 S2

Yes. Yes, we're a good friend of this program. Jay [?Don't], who's won medals at Paralympic Games, sadly is involved in the Paralympic Games because of meningococcal at a young age. So the take home message Dr Sam is to...?

1:00:19 S8

For all parents out there to understand that meningococcal disease can be catastrophic. To understand that it can start with a simple cold, and to please go and talk to your family doctor about what options you've got available to protect your family.

1:00:33 S2

Yeah. So that's, a good relationship with your GP is so important, is it? Sam, really appreciate your time. Thanks for giving us that very important message.

1:00:41 S8

Thank you very much for having me.

1:00:42 S2

That's Dr Sam Hardy, the GP and also very much a specialist in the area of invasive meningococcal A - very important message. And well, spring is here. Let's hope that we enjoy it to its fullest extent and also be on the lookout for anything like this.

1:00:56 S9

Hi everyone, I'm Alison Davies. I'm a registered music therapist, specialising in using music to support our brain to function at its best. You're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.

1:01:13 S2

What's Dementia Action Week? A very important week and a message that I'm sure many of us can identify with, but maybe many more need to as well. Let's chat about it with the CEO for Dementia Australia, Professor Tanya Buchanan. Tanya, thank you for your time. 

S10

Thank you for having me. 

S2

Just a bit about the message behind this week or the theme behind this week.

1:01:32 S10

Well, Dementia Action Week is an awareness raising and an advocacy week that is led by Dementia Australia. And this year, the theme we're focusing on really is addressing the stigma and discrimination that people living with dementia experience as a result of low levels of knowledge and awareness in the community. So our theme this year is Act Now for Dementia Friendly Future.

1:01:55 S2

And I guess that's very important because we often hear, and I'm not sure if this is part of the problem. If you like, people talk about, you know, it's a tsunami coming at us as far as the health system goes. Is language not that helpful? 

1:02:06 S10

Well, I think it is helpful actually, because I think what it fails to acknowledge is that whilst dementia, the risk increases as you get older. We also know that it's not an inevitable or normal part of aging. And so it's really important that this Dementia Action Week that we start to talk about the fact that dementia is not an inevitable or normal part of aging, but actually a chronic disabling condition. And we need to be looking at the ways we can support people living with dementia to participate fully in their communities.

1:02:39 S2

So people can do that. You can be living with dementia and still live a pretty good life.

1:02:45 S10

Well, exactly. And so, you know, there are a lot of stereotypes and misunderstandings about dementia in the community. And people living with dementia tell us that, you know, once they're diagnosed, quite horrible things are happening. Like they're suddenly treated as though they're less intelligent than other people. They're ridiculed in public. They no longer get invites to participate in family and friend gatherings, and that's really quite isolating. And people really shouldn't be experiencing that as a result of an illness, when in fact, once people are diagnosed and if they're diagnosed early and we can work to support people living with this chronic condition, they can have a very fulfilling life for a number of years. 

Dementia is, of course, a chronic progressive condition, so eventually they will progress. But for many years after a diagnosis with the appropriate supports, many people can live very full lives. 

1:03:36 S2

One of the things we've learnt on programs like this is there's kind of a distinction between cause and associated with, and you talked about being isolated that can sometimes be associated with the risk factor for dementia but doesn't necessarily cause it.

1:03:53 S10

Well that's right. So there's recent research in fact just came out this year in July that shows that there are 14 modifiable risk factors. And if we if we were really able to address those risk factors, we could potentially reduce the number of cases of dementia into the future by about 45%. And that doesn't mean if you address those risk factors you won't get dementia. But what it does mean is that you really reducing your risk of developing dementia.

1:04:21 S2

I want to touch on some of the modifiable things that we can do, we can all do. I guess the sooner we start, the better.

1:04:27 S10

Well, you know, this is a chronic condition, and so many of the risk factors for dementia are quite the same as risk factors for other chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer. So it's things like if you smoke, quit. Try to reduce your alcohol intake to at least within the the Australian guidelines for safe drinking. Eat a healthy diet. Watch your blood sugar, look out for high cholesterol levels, get those checked and and do exercise and maintain a healthy weight. 

But also we need to make sure people are aware that there is a risk between hearing loss and vision impairment or dementia. So there's a range of risk factors that we need to address, but specifically maintaining a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet, healthy exercise will be a great start. And then making sure we're getting our hearing and vision tested. And if there are any loss of hearing or loss of vision, we need to get that corrected as soon as possible. 

1:05:28 S2

Do you want to kind of expand a bit on that, like that association or that risk factor? How or why does that kind of happen?

1:05:35 S10

So the direction of why it happens is not completely clear. But what we do know, particularly for hearing, is that the more significant the impairment for hearing, the greater the risk for dementia. But we also know when people are diagnosed with dementia, if we treat their hearing, we can reduce the time that it takes for symptoms to start to really develop. So, you know, there's a number of theories about why that happens. Maybe because when people's hearing is impaired, they're more socially isolated, or maybe because it's means, you know, someone tells you a story about your childhood, you remember all of the sounds and the smells of that, and that lights up different parts of the brain, too. So we're not quite sure what the association is. 

But what we do know is that there's a definite link between hearing, and now we also understand, vision, and the risk of dementia.

1:06:28 S2

What about the amount of research that's going into it both in Australia and overseas? I guess it's not just curing it, but preventing it. You kind of touched on that already in a sense, but there's a lot of research going into it, because I guess, of the fact that it's a condition that we're going to have to deal with more and more in the future.

1:06:47 S10

Well, it is a really actually exciting time in dementia research at the moment. So particularly in the area of Alzheimer's, so Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia. We're starting to get very close to having the ability to do early, accurate diagnosis through blood tests. And also we have some new drugs on the market which are disease modifying therapies. They're currently in Australia with the TGA for approval. So we're waiting to see what happens there. But globally, there are more than 100 clinical trials of drugs for the treatment of dementia related conditions happening across the world. 

So we're starting to see real progress in terms of understanding dementia as a chronic illness and not sort of as this idea that, well, it's what happens when you get old. We understand there are things we can start to do to prevent many cases, to diagnose cases early and accurately and then in time, and hopefully not too much longer to be able to start to provide really strong disease modifying treatments so that people can live well or much longer with dementia.

1:07:56 S2

It sounds very, very positive. What about the familial aspect, Tanya? Is there much evidence in that area that it could be a potentially hereditary thing? Well, the.

1:08:05 S14

Number of actual, purely hereditary cases are quite low. What we know is that we need to focus on our modifiable risk factors that we've been talking about. And unfortunately, while it does, your risk does increase as you get older. There's not much we can do about that. So focusing on the things we can control around our diet, our exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and keeping on top of our hearing and our vision checks is the best thing we can be doing.

1:08:33 S2

I don't want to go too much off into the weeds, etc., but over the last week or so, we've seen a fair bit of movement in the aged care sector in terms of government reform. What about the way that the aged care sector works in this area with people with dementia?

1:08:48 S10

So Dementia Australia is really, strongly supportive of anyone who works with someone who lives with dementia having appropriate training. We think it's really important that you understand dementia as a chronic illness and having its own range of symptoms that need to be appropriately cared for. And so we're continuing to to prosecute that argument that anyone who works with someone who lives with dementia should be appropriately trained. And of course, we've had the aged care legislation come out just on Friday. And I can tell you it's a very, very long document, diligently working our way through it.

1:09:27 S2

Because, I mean, I know actually just on the another program here on Sunday on Australian radio, we spoke to Gillian Schultze from Resthaven, and she'd just been on a retreat with people with dementia and their family members and tried to... such a positive picture in terms of the benefits from that. So I guess that's the sort of thing that, you know, let there be more of.

1:09:48 S10

What we want to see, all Australians who live with dementia - there are 421,000 Australians currently estimated to be living with dementia, and that is people in their 30s, their 40s, their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s are living with dementia. It's not just something we need to think about in terms of aged care. So we need to be thinking about making our communities friendly for people who are living with dementia. And we need to be thinking that a dementia diagnosis doesn't mean that people aren't able to participate anymore. More people are able to participate, and we need to be welcoming them into our communities. 

And if I can give a little plug for our Hold the Moment podcast, that's a great resource because it's made by people living with dementia and shows really clearly how people tackle the chronic condition and the challenges that brings, while continuing to live a really full and exciting life.

1:10:41 S2

Well, what a cool idea... now is that available on the all your favorite podcast platform, Tanya?

1:10:46 S10

Absolutely available on your favorite podcast platform anywhere, please follow it and tell three of your friends about it, because it's absolutely making a great impact out there. And of course, with Dementia Action Week, you can also find out more about dementia by visiting the Dementia Australia website. Dementia Gorgo. And you know, we're really keen that Australians increase their awareness of dementia. Our research out this week shows that we've still got a long way to go in everyday Australians understanding what dementia is. And of course, we're also calling on all levels of government this week to do more to make sure that we've got more awareness and education, and that we're doing everything we can to make our communities dementia friendly.

1:11:25 S2

Can you give us the name of the podcast? And also we'll check out your website as well, and we'll put that up on our Facebook page too. 

1:11:30 S10

So our podcast is called Hold the Moment and it's available wherever you get your podcasts.

1:11:36 S2

Hold the moment I like that. That's very cool. We never came up with that full marks and people can find out more from your website.

1:11:43 S10

Absolutely. And if they have any questions about anything to do with dementia, a National Dementia Support Line is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year on 1 800 100 500.

1:11:55 S2

That's a very cool number as well. 1, 800, 100, 500. Tanya, loved to speak to you. Keep up the great work and let's hope - I'm sure it will be a very successful week. 

S10

Thank you. 

S2

That's Professor Tanya Buchanan there from Dementia Australia, talking about a very important topic, Dementia Action Week. 

It's great to welcome back to the program our finance guru joins us every month, Neville Horton. Neville, good to speak to you again.

1:12:23 S11

Oh, good to speak to you, Peter and the listeners. Indeed.

1:12:26 S2

Now, some interesting stats regarding how much the share market can increase in value over a period of time that you got there. 

1:12:35 S11

Yes. Alright. Well look, I've looked at that, that you were discovered that 1994, $10,000 left invested in the share market and presumably entitled to net income, and the growth in 2024 becomes 154,000. That's the normal increase in the share market at about 8.5%, and it's nowhere near as good as you can do. I have a fund that, for example, in the same period of time would get to 320,000 rather than the 154. But nevertheless, the share market undoubtedly long term is absolutely the way to go. Now, you might think that you're safe when you've got money invested in fixed deposit type of thing, and you think it's secure and you do it or not. 

Well, you're not because of the insidious effect of inflation, particularly at the moment it's rising, but it eats away at your capital. It could even be at many occasions, read your guide backwards quickly if you happen to have to pay any tax, but even inflation will give you almost a nil-nil result. So you you really are very, very silly if you don't take a long term view. This is where you've got a long term. I'm not talking short term share market. Short term can be a gamble. It goes up, it goes down. But if you look at a ten year plus period and that's the way I look at it. But if you can look at it for ten years to say that you don't think you're going to need to take money out of the market to perhaps pay for medical expenses or fund your children's house or something like that. 

Sharemarket? Absolutely. The way to go, and you can't afford not to be in it. Now, the reason for that is that their economy is based upon private enterprise and the major companies, the BHP and the banks and so forth. The government can't afford all these major blue chip companies to have problems. So and they don't in the long term. So if you're invested in about 10 to 15 in a fund, in the blue chip shares and it's probably 1 or 2, even my period of time failed. 

I remember Bruce Bonder used to broadcast years ago. It was very proud of his list of investments, including, you know, Pacific Dunlop, Bell Pacific. Dunlop went down the tubes and uh, but what the hell? Um, it didn't matter. He still got 14 one for the going. Well. So the economy is there. These are the companies that make the money. And if you want to participate, you have to have shares. So I say to this that you've got to have been a frame of mind that doesn't panic when the market goes down. If you or your spouse go to a panic triggered like it's not for you. But if you're sensible about it and quite sure that you're not panicking, you just ride it out. 

I've been riding it out for 40 years, and I take no notice of how the market's doing. I'm not, I don't even bother. I do have a feeling for it, but I don't care because I know that this is the best investment. So think about that. Oh, by the way, don't take anything I'm saying as advice. It's merely... giving facts. Yeah. For you, if you decide to follow up on something that I've said, you must get advice and you have to pay for it, which is only sensible. Like if you go to a doctor, you pay. If you're a solicitor, you're a lawyer. Problem? Just a normal professional thing. So you must get advice. 

What I'm here for is to give them facts. But I also provide a cost free telephone service. So if you want to follow up on anything. Now I have to sound a warning against some financial planners who charge exorbitant rates. And an example is a close associate of mine. His sister in Brisbane maybe had or maybe 400,000 invested, something like that. And she was paying this financial planner 5000 a year. Absolutely ridiculous. But that's right. And furthermore, he wasn't doing his job because he is entitled to a part pension, but he didn't point this out. 

I take my job as a financial planner to be the advisor for the whole family and to cover everything. And I'd be very ashamed of myself. If I see someone who can, I can, you know, get a part pension or full pension, but they're not know, pointing it out. That's part of the part of the job. Anyway, so she's got to sack him forthwith. And her brother is my close associate, who's going to take it over and will charge a hell of a lot less than that and do a better job as well. In fact, the first job we've got to do is get her a part pension. And I'm spending a lot of time on that at the moment. 

And you might be a bit amazed to hear that any couple, homeowner, couple, for example, who have assets under $1 million and it doesn't include the family home, are entitled to a part pension plus benefits. That's the benefits being reduced registration for cars, water rates, electricity, all that also varies, but it can be between 1500 and 2000 a year. And so if you've got $1 of pension, you get the you get the benefit, the concessions.

1:18:38 S2

The house isn't included. Your house can be worth 10 million. 

1:18:40 S11

It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. The 20 million doesn't matter. And it's completely free of it. And, but if you actually sell a house and move out and you know you've got the money, then it counts. But it does not count when you're living in the house. Yeah. And so that's... you know, I think that should be looked at. So you should look at your own affairs and say, look, have you got more than $1 million in assets excluding the house? And if you have, why aren't you getting a part pension at least? 

So anyone that really is not getting a full pension and feels that they're in the ballpark, feel free to ring me cost-free on... I thought, and if you didn't get that ring, Peter, to get the number again. But I'll repeat it. 0452 596 855. And I can give you the information as to whether you are worthwhile pursuing a pension or just on the.

1:19:51 S2

Information with the shares there from 10,000 254,030 years. I mean, that's what superannuation is kind of based on, isn't it? The superannuation companies investing in companies.

1:20:02 S11

Yeah. The the super funds are merely a cover for all sorts of investments. And they offer shares, fixed interest property or you name it. But the best one, of course is the shares. And so I give the industry funds who, by the way, don't give you the full picture in their advertising and they are not performing well. Matter of fact, as I said, I have a fund which will almost double their performance for very logical reasons, and they're in the same shares virtually as the industry funds. So you people, I've got a client, young bloke, probably about 35, I'd guess, and he's just a new client and I'm giving him advice and he, he his situation is that he has about 55,000 in industry. Super. And he's actually getting a compulsory contribution to his super about 10 or 11,000 a year. 

Now he's 55,035 is not a good picture. It's pretty poor. He is drastic. Does he do something to increase his earning rate over the next 20 years? Otherwise, he'll be a very poor retiree. And this is the thing. You let that a girl, you don't think much of it now, but it's very important 20 or 30 years down the track and the difference is enormous. I've calculated the difference for him, and I'll tell you next week, next time I'll deal what it is between his present industry fund and the fund that I'm proposing in the same shares. 

I'll give you the figure next time, but I'm going to strongly suggest very strongly that, look, he's got to do something now, and it's no good fiddling around. And he, of course, has to be prepared to accept downturns in the market and said, if you can't do that, we'll despite everything I say about it being an investment, it's not going to please and particularly if you've got a spouse to go, my wife, if I told her what I was doing, uh, it would have been worried. I did tell her once and she she said, no, no, no, don't do this. Three weeks later, they said the thing doubled. So I time that they said I'd never tell her. Another thing I never did for 67 years. Ah, devil! I just did it.

1:22:32 S2

I've got a new nickname for you, Neville. You're Neville the Devil.

1:22:34 S11

Yeah, well, I've heard that one before. Yeah. But, you know, so and particularly of my experience is women are more conservative and more inclined to worry about this. But on the other hand, many of the women particularly don't understand the investment side. And a lot of them don't understand it either, but particularly women. And they worry more about security and all that sort of thing. So, you know, but but nevertheless, there you go.

1:23:06 S2

That's Neville the Devil Horton. It's been used before. A bit disappointed about that, but I was original. If you want to contact Neville, 0452 596 8 - double five. Despite our frivolity, he's also very, very knowledgeable about investments. So in all seriousness, if you want to contact him and get some independent bias advice, give him a call. And of course, if you're going to make an investment, please consult your professional advisor. This is a finance facts that was just giving us the facts. 0452 596 855. Then we're back with more next time.

1:23:45 S12 (SONG)

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.

1:23:49 S2

Neville Horton, certainly a character. And... flying a little bit closer to the wind. But I think anyone can do it. Never can do it. So now, Neville also wanted to do some research on the changes to aged care and people going into aged care, which will come in in July next year. So Neville is going to do a bit more work on that. And we'll get Neville's thoughts on it when we catch up with Neville in October. But some very, very important changes going through Parliament, and I'm sure you'll need to do your own research as well. But Neville will give us a bit of a general idea of what that's about on the program in a month's time. Those changes coming through from July the 1st next year. 

Some good news from Blinds Australia: they are advertising for a project officer. So if you're in the market for a job and would like to be a project officer for Blinds Australia, give them a call, 1 800 0360. 1800 0360 or bca.org.au ... 

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about a job at Access to Arts. So sort of ledge link slash seek as far as jobs for people go. So that is pretty exciting news and always great to let people know about job opportunities that are coming up and speaking about that or sort of about that or related topic. I see that APM employment have now been taken over by private equity. So if you had shares in APM employment, you now get some money and those shares go to private equity. So it'd be interesting to see what happens. As far as the sponsorship of the APM Employment League with the SANFL next year and in years to come. We'll keep you posted about that. 

A couple of quotes before we go. Michael has sent a quote through. Michael's favourite quote is We haven't come this far to come this far. So thanks to Michael for sending that through. I guess particularly relevant during finals time. Of course. SANFL Grand final on tomorrow Norwood versus Glenelg. A couple of wonderful advocates have represented those two clubs Rick Nagle, former chair of dignity for disability and the Dignity Party, and David Host. What a great amount of work David has done in the area of advocacy. So both with children with disabilities and when they were playing football back in the 1780s. Who would have thought that 40, 50 years later? Tremendous advocates. 

So big cheerio to both of those guys. They'll both be watching on very, very closely tomorrow. I'm sure Roscoe has sent another quote through. Roscoe, thank you for your quote. Roscoe says, our critics are our friends. They make us better. So thanks, Roscoe, for your quote, reminding you if you'd like to send a quote through a two, three, four, 1197 here in South Australia during business hours, or if you want to call Voice Australia 1300 847 406. So you've got a quote for Leisure Link and we'll get it. Or if you want to check me out on the various email lists, etc., send you quotes through there and we'd love to put them to air.

Some birthdays before we go. Katrina Stuart having a birthday. What a tremendous advocate Katrina has been speaking about David and Rick. Also Katrina very much can be in that league. Kylie Franzen having a birthday pass. Winner of the Sir Charles Wright Scholarship. So happy birthday to you, Kylie. Hope things are going well. Ben Weeks having a birthday just back from Paris. Playing the sport of wheelchair tennis at the Paralympic Games and the very lovely Morgan Carter having a birthday. If you're a regular listener to the programme, we've caught up with Morgan a couple of times. Sadly, both lost both their parents, both mother and father to breast cancer before Morgan was 21 and has done some great work with organisations like canteen. And I think Morgan's in the process of writing a book, so hopefully we might be able to get Morgan on in the future to chat about that. But a very happy birthday to you, Morgan Carter. 

That is just about it for the program. Vikki Cousins is here looking a little bit sad that the Woodville-West Torrens Eagle was down in the grand final, but nor did Glenelg, so we'll see how that goes. Vicki's coming up very shortly. She's a bit sad about Woodville-West Torrens not being in the grand final, but she's very much up and about about presenting Australian Geographic. Sam Rickard, thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so much for yours. Reminding you as we love to do that. 

Leisure Link is available on your favorite podcast platform. If you like the program and the guest list that we have, you have to like the program. It's a wonderful program. Please tell your friends. Always room for one more listener. Oliver Twist still all being well, let's look back at the same time next week. This is Peter Greco saying, be kind to yourselves. Be thoughtful of others. This is Vision Australia Radio.