Audio
New moves: inclusive work and sport, cancer and heart health, respite and recreation
03 seasons
8 February 2025
1 hr 28 mins
Interviews on disability and sport, arts, recreation, health, social justice and lifestyle.
In this series Radio Adelaide's Peter Greco presents interviews covering disability and sport, arts, recreation, health, social justice and lifestyle topics for people of all abilities and interests.
In this episode:
- Eliza Wooden, coach of the South Australian Womens Team, wraps up the Ivor Burge Basketball Championships and encourages more people of all abilities to get involved with the Basketball SA Inclusive Program.
- Bill Stavreski, Head of Research at the Leukaemia Foundation, shares exciting news of a local scientific discovery: Momelotinib (Ojjarra) - receiving TGA approval for the treatment of Australians with myelofibrosis, a rare and debilitating bone marrow cancer.
- Catherine McAlpine, CEO of Inclusion Australia, speaks about the first Disability Employment Centre of Excellence at Swinburne University.
- Chelsea Marchetti, from the Flipper Academy, shares news on the benefits and learnings from their summer fun program.
- Brooke Carter, Program Co-ordinator at the Australian Disability Network, invites applications for the Autumn 2025 Career Mentoring Program. Phone: 1300 363 645.
- Graham Hartland, General Manager, and James from Electronic Recycling Australia (part of the Bedford Group) talk of their planet-saving work. Thursday February 13 is World Radio Day - giving prominence to climate change and the environment.
- Jacinta Robertson, Community Wellness Manager at Resthaven, highlights opportunities of respite, and options and retreats for carers - as Resthaven celebrates its 90th anniversary.
- Miranda Say, neuro-psychologist, speaks about Red Feb: Healthy Heart, Sharp Mind - the link between heart health and ageing Well.
00:06 Eliza
Hi, I'm Eliza Wooden, coach of the SA team at the Ivy Bridge Championships, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.
00:39 Peter
It's just gone 5:00. Sad to hear the passing of Marianne Faithfull. What a sultry, sensational voice Marianne had or had a bit of Marianne. And this is the afternoon of the day I sit and welcome you to leisure link here on Australia Radio 1197 AM in Adelaide, online at VA radio, VA Radio Digital in Adelaide and Darwin through the through the Community Radio Plus app. Look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide your favourite podcast or streaming service. Our friends listening through 103.9 FM in Western Australia and also our other friends, friends everywhere from Disability Media Australia. If you want to find out more about them, Powerd Media - powerd.media - you can find the letter link on their website as well.
Peter Greco saying wonderful to be here. Thank you so much for joining us. This program will come to you from Garner Land. Come to you very shortly. We'll meet Eliza Wooden wrapping up the Oliver Birch basketball championships. Eliza, coach, the South Australian women's team. We'll speak to Bill Stavreski from Leukaemia Foundation. Some really wonderful news for a rare type of blood cancer - Bill will give us those details. We catch up with Catherine MacAlpine from Inclusion Australia, a disability employment centre of Centre of Excellence. That sounds like good news. Catherine will fill in the details.
We'll catch up with Chelsea Marchetti, our resident physiotherapist from the Flipper Academy. How did the summer program go? Brooke Carter will join us from Disability Network Australia. They've got a mentoring program which they're looking for people to enter. A chance for you or someone you know to improve, enhance your career. Also catch up with a couple of people from Bedford. They are involved in the Electronic Recycling Australia program. Coming up on Thursday is February 13th, which obviously is World Radio Day. The emphasis for this year is the environment and climate change. We'll find out what Bedford in particular are doing in that area. Of course, a very special year for Bedford turning 80.
Speaking about special years, Resthaven are turning 90. So we'll catch up with Jacinda Robertson who talks about community wellness. important for the individual and also for those supporting the person. And Doctor Miranda Sawyer will join us. A neuropsychologist talk about Red Feb, which is good for your heart, but also how your heart and your memory is linked.
The Other Basketball championships have just concluded. Let's find out how well particularly South Australia went and speak to our coach, Eliza Wooden. Eliza, great to catch up again. How you going?
03:29 Eliza
Hi, Peter. I'm great. How are you?
03:31 Peter
Very good indeed. How'd it go? How did we go?
03:34 Eliza
Oh, very good. Unfortunately, the women's team, we didn't medal this year, but we still improved... a lot. And I'm very proud of the girls.
03:43 Peter
Yeah, I know over the years, we've talked about the very long and passionate game you've been playing. So you feel like there's still improvement in the squad?
03:49 Eliza
Absolutely. We brought in two new girls this year. And it only made our team so much stronger. And very much looking forward to 2026 just to see where we can go. So, yeah. Very excited.
04:02 Peter
Where'd you go?
04:03 Eliza
We went to Ballarat.
04:04 Peter
And how was that? I guess this time of the year, as in January? February? Probably better than the middle of winter.
04:10 Eliza
It was. It was very nice. We did have a couple of cold days, but that isn't such a bad thing when you're playing sport. Normally when we play it, it is very hot, so it was nice to have some days where we weren't completely sweating. So it was nice.
04:23 Peter
What about the... overall championships? How'd it go? You know, from... the whole sort of competitions point of view.
04:31 Eliza
Very good, very smooth. Australia do an amazing job. Sarah, for basketball, she runs the tournament.... she is great. She does an incredible job. She works really hard behind the scenes... and we're very thankful for them. So, yeah, it was good.
04:46 Peter
Who took out the women's area?
04:47 Eliza
Victoria.
04:48 Peter
They've been pretty strong for a long time, haven't they?
04:50 Eliza
They are... very... they very much are very strong team... same in the boys. They... did win the boys as well. But they are a very strong state. But I feel like we're... slowly creeping closer and closer in 2024. My team lost to Victoria between 80 and 100 points... and this year, we are happy to say we only lost by 40. So massive improvement.
05:14 Peter
I guess that's the sort of game within a game that you can kind of... well, not so much play, but kind of point out to the girls that that improvement is quite, you know, quite impressive.
05:24 Eliza
Absolutely. And that's just where we keep going. I mean, the the Victorian team is full of very skilled players. They they are also all in the squad or most of them are in the Pearl squad. So they're a very good team and... nothing, you know, to them just, you know, are... some other states are just trying to play catch-up. They have a very good system in their state as well in how their programs are run as well. So yeah, I guess we're just looking at trying to build ours here in South Australia so that we can match with them and have a much better and more competitive tournament.
05:56 Peter
And how's that going? As far as the kind of local support as well?
06:00 Eliza
Yeah, I mean, we're getting there. There's more and more programs popping up. My work as well, we're trying to get some programs up as well. So slowly they are building. It's very exciting. The future looks good.
06:11 S2
It's all about depth. Obviously, the more players you got to choose from, the more competition for positions. It's got to improve the the team.
06:18 Peter
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, a lot of people don't even know that there's opportunities out there for people with disabilities. So just as as long as people are talking about it and it keeps getting out there, the more people hear about it, so that's all that matters. You talked about the pearls before. Of course, that's the Australian team for people who might not be aware. So that's the kind of national squad or the... yeah, the national team.
06:40 Eliza
Yes. Yes it is. Yeah. We... have one South Australian on the squad at the moment. But, after this tournament, hopefully we might have one, maybe two more, which is very exciting.
06:51 Peter
Alright. That's very exciting. And the men of Victoria won, that was... what did they...?
06:56 Eliza
Yes they did. Yeah. Our men came second, so they got silver.
06:59 S2
Okay. They've been very consistent. The same men over many, many years, haven't they, really?
07:04 Eliza
Yes. Us and Victoria, it's it's very much... been those two teams for, I think, around 8 or 9 years now. Our boys have won silver the last two years. But then the five years before that, we won gold. So yeah, but we've played Victoria every grand final for the boys.
07:22 Peter
Okay. We're looking the other side. We're looking, which is all right.
07:25 Eliza
Yeah. I mean, they get close... definitely, have been really improving in the boys, so they're doing amazing. I do hope that one day we can get a Tassie women's team up and running. This year we had a WA team back in the women's, which was very exciting. And also this year New South Wales and ACT didn't combine. So both states had a team, which also meant just an extra team for the women's. And then the men's also had a New Zealand team, which is super exciting. They were amazing. They're so friendly, such lovely people, and they're really hoping to get a women's team in the future as well.
07:56 Peter
Well, I know, yeah. I think we've been speaking for a number of years, but there was a time when South Australia didn't send a team because there weren't enough women playing. So you've kind of rectified that now. It's kind of building on it to get the team to be even better.
08:08 Eliza
Yeah, correct. So that's kind of where we started. When I first took on the coaching job, my very first trial was I only had four girls, I think, turn up. And then this year or in 2024 when I ran trials, I had 13 at trial. So yeah. Very exciting.
08:24 Peter
What about as far as the overall tournament? I know in the past they've had sort of Under 20 competition, and it's been a kind of a bit of a big basketball festival. Does that continue as well?
08:34 Eliza
Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
08:36 Peter
What about as far as next year goes? Any ideas as to where the nationals might be held or the bridge might be held?
08:43 Eliza
Oh, they did announce that at our presentations. It is going to be back at Ballarat this year. So next year, yeah.
08:49 Peter
Okay. well, I guess the Victorians keep having that home ground advantage, don't they?
08:53 Eliza
They do. They do. I think Ballarat just offers a lot for the Championship. You know, they can, they have all the right courts, they have training facilities, they have change rooms. Just everything that you need to run a tournament. They do... suit well. So that helps.
09:07 Peter
It's important. And as you say Basketball Australia running it then it's kind of good if they've got the best facilities and good for the athletes, if they kind of feel like they're playing in the best possible conditions and facilities. Yeah, they're elite athletes. They represent their states. They deserve that sort of treatment.
09:23 Eliza
Absolutely. And a shout out to the canteen because the food there is really good. So.
09:28 Peter
Well that's important as well.
09:29 Eliza
Absolutely.
09:30 Peter
Yeah. Well you gotta keep the they keep the fuel up. Otherwise you know, you run out of petrol - and that's not good for if you're an athlete. What about from here then - so what happens as far as the competition... sort of, weekly or regular for the athletes, both men and women? What happens now, particularly in South Australia?
09:47 S1
Yeah. No problem... We do typically not run trials till July. August. My girls have definitely reached out to me after the tournament just to continue some training. So we'll do a regular monthly catch-ups for some fitness, get some shots up. It's going to be recommending to my girls. Just a few exercises they can keep doing just to keep, you know, keep their bodies moving, keep them fit. They do, obviously do some basketball throughout the week, but, you know, just if we want to keep improving, we just need to be doing more and more every year.
It's very exciting. They, they're very driven this year... that they want to just keep getting better and better. Definitely this year, with... our scores being a little bit closer to some of those... stronger teams really, I think kicked a fire in them that they're so close. So, it's good. It's really amazing. I have a really great bunch of girls, and I'm really proud of all of them.
10:39 Peter
You cannot beat a bit of coaching influence as well. Eliza.
10:41 Eliza
I hope so. I do hope so.
10:44 Peter
And what about your support team? Because obviously you're very passionate, enthusiastic, very bubbly, but you need people to kind of be supporting you. How's that going?
10:52 Eliza
Oh, absolutely. My assistant coach Kyla, and my team manager Amanda are nothing short of amazing. They support me through everything, all through the highs and sometimes the lows. So, but no, they are amazing. And my family is again, nothing short of amazing. They they help me in any way that they can. I have a very strong family like connection, but also like very basketball related. So, they can help me with anything with if I need help on plays and... drills and things like that. They... help me with everything.
11:23 Peter
Terrific. If people did want to find out more, maybe they've heard about this for the first time... an opportunity for people, either men or women, to play basketball if they identify with... an intellectual disability... what's the best sort of way to go? A Facebook page or a website to go to?
11:40 Eliza
Oh, definitely go to a basketball website. Yeah, they have all the inclusive programs listed in South Australia. Definitely get into any program we can. And then yes, if you do want to take it further, contact us, well say you'll keep an eye on their Facebook page for trials and definitely sign up, especially any girls out there. If you are listening, definitely sign up please.
12:01 Peter
Okay, well, you sound like a person I'd like to play basketball for. I'm probably not tall enough, not fast enough, not good enough. But apart from that, I probably could make it. But that might be another story for another day. Eliza, great to catch up. We love your energy. Yeah, great to hear from you. And well done - on the guys finishing second and the girls with a much improved performance. And I'm sure from strength to strength we're going back to Ballarat next year.
12:25 Eliza
No problem. Thank you so much.
12:26 Peter
That's Eliza Wooden, be one of the, in fact, the coach of the SA women's team at the now long-running Ivy Bridge Championships have been going for years, very highly regarded and also greatly supported by Basketball Australia.
We've some really good news for people with some particular types of blood cancer. To tell us more about it, we've got the head of research at Leukaemia Australia, Bill Stavreski. Bill, great to meet you and thank you for your time. And this seems like very good news.
12:55 Bill
Yes. Hi, Peter. I'm... wonderful to be on this segment and thank you for the invite. And it is wonderful news. It's... a rare condition.... quite rare blood cancer, myelofibrosis. And not only is this a wonderful discovery and new therapy that is available for people living with myelofibrosis, but more importantly, something that was developed and originated in Australia.
13:21 Peter
And going back quite some years.
13:23 Bill
Yeah, it's... taken a few years. Initially, the first part of the research started in the late '80s, early '90s from researchers in Melbourne, and it's taken a few years to do the testing and to get from... bedside to bed. But, it is now wonderful news and only a handful of therapies that have been approved, both here in... Australia, and in the US.
13:49 Peter
And he has some good news recently with... TGA approval.
13:52 Bill
That's correct. And, you know... that approval... makes it... a step forward for Australians to be able to access this therapy and, looking forward to... making sure that it's... available at a affordable price for Australians who are living with this dreadful condition.
14:12 Peter
How common is the condition, Bill? And I guess there's a lot of research as well, going into why it happens to some people and not to others.
14:20 Bill
It's... not a common condition. It's... quite a rare condition. I think it affects... 1 in 100,000 or 1 in 200,000 people. It's very hard to diagnose. It's not something that is as common as other blood cancers, but that doesn't mean it's not as impactful or a burden on individuals and families themselves. It's... it is quite debilitating. These symptoms and signs are quite significant. Can include fever, weight loss, bone pain, abdominal pain. And many of those symptoms can mimic many other conditions which is quite difficult to diagnose. And so a lot of people go on for years without being diagnosed properly.
15:03 Peter
True. How effective is the treatment that's now been approved?
15:07 Bill
Well, this is... groundbreaking. It's very effective. And... living with myelofibrosis has quite significant side effects and conditions. Many individuals require constant and frequent blood transfusions and have a very poor quality of life. And so with Ojjaara, it really does transform their quality of life. Not only not requiring blood transfusions, but really... supports and reduces those symptoms and signs that... come along with the condition.
15:41 Peter
Don't want to get too much off the topic, but that must be obviously a good thing. Also for the blood supplies. I mean, if people are losing... needing less blood transfusion, then that... blood can be used for other... purposes.
15:52 Bill
Definitely. We're always low on... blood stocks. And... so it is... a double positive as you do... it's not only... positive for the individuals living with this condition, but it also means that those critical supplies need and can be used for other patients.
16:11 Peter
It's incredible, isn't it? You talked about the late '80s. I mean, it's getting 35, 40 years ago since the sort of... journey started, you know, to this day, you know, those mere mortals of us don't kind of realise the amount of work that goes into the the research and the testing and then the... sort of final outcome. It's extraordinary.
16:29 Bill
It is... things have changed. And so discoveries are moving quicker these days. But, back 20, 30 years ago, it did take time. Money and funds were also less available, so it... progress on discoveries like this did take unfortunately a little bit more time to go through. But... like most discoveries, it does require to go through clinical trials to ensure it's safe, it's effective. And through all the tests and trials has shown that... it is significantly improved and enhanced for any other therapies that are available. And... that really is the positive that, for families and particularly for the individual, it's not only about treating the condition, but it's about their quality of life.
And nobody wants to end up, every second or third day in hospital requiring transfusions. You know, it's at the best of times. Hospitals are great, of course they're necessary. But going there every second day, it's not something that you would wish upon anyone.
17:36 Peter
Oh, that's such a powerful point. What about the way the drug is administered? Is it intravenous? Is it a tablet? How does it work?
17:42 S3
It's a... very simple therapy. It's taken orally, so no needles, no injections required. It is simply a tablet. So that makes it even better for patients, particularly those who have been going through quite a number of transfusions and other therapies that have required constant hospital stays. So being able to take this medication orally is really akin to taking a Panadol tablet.
18:12 S2
I don't want to get you into trouble, but you talked earlier about it being affordable, so I guess it's the next kind of step, hopefully getting onto the PBS. Is that something you can comment on, or would you rather leave that alone?
18:22 Bill
Oh, look, it's... not something that I have a direct influence over, but we are supportive and really pushing for this to be available at an affordable price. Most patients - and families who do have blood cancers and myelofibrosis is no different - do experience financial difficulties. We know the cost of living these days is is quite high and continuing to get worse and worse. The facts and what we get from patients and families relate to us is that about wanting to, cannot return to work or need to take time off work. So without that financial income and really needing this therapy to not only survive but improve their quality of life, affordability is critical. And we're looking very closely and supportive of the PBS process.
19:17 Peter
So how does it work? I mean, I'm sure... GPs listening or specialists listening, they're all very, very busy. What about kind of getting the message out there that this is out there? How do people... I mean, can you go to your specialist, say, Listen, I heard this on the radio. Do you... reckon I could be a candidate? How does all that work?
19:32 Bill
Yeah. Very much. It's... for the patient and their families. Going to the hematologist. I'm having a chat to him, whether it is... applicable. Yeah, it is for those with moderate to severe myelofibrosis. And... that includes quite a number of Australians. So my advice and... would be to, yeah, go speak to your specialist, see whether this is relevant. And for most it would... but, again this is not medical advice directly... it would be relevant to most individuals living with myelofibrosis. So it is a wonderful story. And having that opportunity and availability of this therapy really does make a difference.
20:17 Peter
Well, nothing wrong with asking the question just for those that are playing at home. So how do you spell the name of the drug?
20:23 Bill
Yeah. So the name of the therapy is O-double J, A, double R, A. [NOTE: Actually spelt Ojjaara]. Now its scientific name is Momelotinib, and that Mel in it is representative of the city that it was discovered and that is Melbourne. So it really does have an Australian flavour to it. It is quite a tongue twister and quite difficult to pronounce. So Ojjaara is quite simple. You can go to your specialist and say, Look, I've heard this on radio. Please, is this something that is relevant for me?
21:00 Peter
Well, always great to share. Good news. There's not enough of that going around. Thank you for spreading a little bit of it with us today. We really appreciate it. Keep up the great work.
21:08 Bill
Thank you Peter, and... wonderful to have a chat and hopefully, be able to chat soon as well with even better information and more discoveries to support Australians living with blood cancer.
21:19 Peter
We're always here. That's fantastic. That's a boost of rescue there. The head of research at the Leukaemia Foundation with some really good news. And we'll put information up about that on our show notes.
21:30 Alison
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.
21:46 Peter
Well, I think there's some really good news regarding a Centre of Excellence for Disability Employment being set up, thanks to federal government funding and Swinburne University. Let's chat about it with the CEO for Inclusion Australia, Catherine MacAlpine. Catherine, great to catch up - thanks for your time.
22:01 Catherine
Thanks for having me, Peter.
22:02 Peter
Is this as good as it seems as far as the news goes?
22:05 Catherine
Oh, I think it's pretty good news. The whole reason that it got set up was some quite significant advocacy, you know, through the disability representative organisations and other advocates, a Disability Centre of Excellence was a key recommendation from Disability Employment Services. There's a reference group, a piece of work about 18 hours before the last election that the then Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Ben Gauntlett, chaired, and then made its way into being a government election promise and now has been delivered. So it's something that the government didn't even make up by itself. It was something that came from the disability community. So that makes it even better news.
22:48 Peter
Yeah, got a $2.1 million.
22:50 Catherine
Over four years.
22:52 Peter
Oh, crikey.
22:53 Catherine
I can't remember how many years. I think it's over four years. Yes.
22:55 Peter
Well, normally they give you the big figure and then you think, Oh, that's a lot of money. Then of course, when you amortise it over four years, it's probably not quite as much as it seems initially. But I mean, that's still not insignificant.
23:05 Catherine
It's not insignificant at all.
23:07 Peter
So what does that mean? I mean, you know... what's good about this, if I can put it that way?
23:11 Catherine
Well, the successful consortium has been led by Swinburne University, as you said, and that's the Centre of Excellence. And the leaders there, you know, Professor Aaron Wilson and Doctor Jenny Crosby has been involved in disability employment, especially people a long way from the market since way before the NDIS. So they've been leaders in this field and the people that have come together are the provider, peaks, Swinburne, Melbourne University, [?Droze] and other advocacy organisations. And so it's really all parts of the sector making sure the participant voice is heard, making sure that we're concentrating on people with the highest support needs, that we have some disability leadership in there. So it's really, you know, it's a new way of doing things. And one of its key focuses is making sure that the workforce in disability employment is well trained.
24:05 Peter
And what about well paid?
24:07 Catherine
And well paid, yes. And we would like to see many more people with disability working in the, like in the provider workforce, as well as obviously being given, you know, supported to achieve jobs. And we want everyone are well respected and well paid.
24:21 Peter
Well, that's been one of one of the things, particularly in some areas of employment, has been the pay and or the conditions, but in particular the pay.
24:28 Catherine
That's right. So this centre doesn't have control over things like that. But what it does do is to try and make the disability employment services, which it's linked to, more fit for purpose, help them reach a higher quality, be a place that people with disability and families and providers can get expertise from, or get expert advice. I don't know whether it's so much advice, but certainly get... evidence based evidence and information and support and to link in with some of the other things that already exist, in the employment sector. So we, you know, it's not a silver bullet, but we hope that it really will be a big step forward.
25:08 Peter
I hesitate to ask you this question, but I guess I've got to. There's an election coming up. So the money is kind of locked and loaded. Just in case if... there's a change of government or if the next government, whatever colour they may be, decide to, you know, have a look at and think, Oh no, maybe that's not such a good idea. I mean, this is all kind of, you know, this is all kind of... okay, as far as that goes?
25:31 Catherine
Oh, that's a very... [?] question, there.
25:34 Peter
No, Catherine.
25:37 Catherine
Cynical question, but also important. My understanding is that's all still being negotiated, as you would know. They're big... complicated contracts, these ones. And so Swinburne are busy doing that properly. And certainly we would hope that this would be something that any political party would support, because it was an initiative that was driven through the disability sector. As I said, it was a recommendation from work that the disability representative organisations did with DSS... that in a... big group over several months, chaired by the then... Disability Discrimination Minister, who was actually appointed by the previous government anyway, and this was one of the key recommendations.
So we would... hope very much that that would be honoured by both sides of politics. But you're right, it would be nice to have everything locked and loaded before we hit caretaker.
26:26 Peter
Yeah, it might be worth making a phone call or two, and I might take that on myself just to see what they are or what both parties might do. But as you say, let's hope it is, because, I mean, going back... well, actually, going back before the NDIS, there was talk about the fact that the NDIS was going to be almost revenue-neutral, because people would... more people would be employed and they'd be paying taxes and all that sort of stuff. I guess that probably hasn't quite worked out that way, given how much the NDIS is costing. And there's always talk about We might have to make a few cutbacks here or, you know, shave a bit off there, or maybe more than just shave... but, you know, a fair bit off there as well.
27:03 Catherine
Yeah. Well, of course the... aim of the NDIS is for social and economic participation. You're absolutely right. I'm not sure there was ever said the NDIS itself would be revenue neutral, but I think over the, like, it would generate savings in others, enough savings in other systems, and enough increases, for example, as you said, tax, for it to be cost neutral, sort of within the whole government budget framework. That may... or may not have been over-optimistic in terms of remembering that the NDIS is for the people with the most substantial support needs, and there are some people with very high support needs who are a long way from the labour market at this point in time. They've certainly increased carer, you know, family and carer employment in the meantime.
But I absolutely agree with you that despite all the money that the government has put into disability employment, the dial hasn't changed significantly through the DES program or through the advent of the NDIS. And so the Centre of Excellence is an effort by the government to see if they can, you know, to see whether this is something that will actually make a difference. And obviously, those of us that are involved in it are very, very keen for that to be the case. And we think this structure in terms of a consortium that's come together, trying to make sure that all voices are in the room, that there is really good governance in terms of leadership with people with disability that we can really, you know, get into the nitty gritty and... make a difference.
28:33 Peter
You've mentioned a couple of times people kind of a long way off employment, or down the... order, if you like. I mean, that's both kind of physical and also geographical, isn't it? Because people in country areas, people in remote areas are probably underrepresented as far as being employed goes for, I guess, reasons that we can all understand. But if someone chooses to live in that area or if that's, you know, best for them, then they shouldn't be denied opportunities in employment either.
28:59 Catherine
That's right. No, you're absolutely right. You've got, you know, well known marginal groups, including, you know, for me, people with an intellectual disability and First Nations people with disability - because we're all in this case, we're all talking about people with disability. But you're right. Remote, regional and remote is really problematic. I mean, one of the things is really thinking about who the employers are as well. And, you know, we would say, for example, that - and this is not necessarily completely in scope - but, for the Centre of Excellence in that, that's not going to be part of finding employers, but certainly looking at the evidence and looking at where efforts could be made.
You know, you would think, for example, that local government is something that is in every area of Australia. Local governments employ a lot of people. And so asking local government what's their role in terms of making sure there's more employment - I think that's the sort of thing that's interesting to ask, where that comes into scope, for this particular centre - I think is yet to be determined.
29:58 Peter
Alright. Can I just ask you a question?
Catherine
Totally.
Peter
Wanted to ask you... if you don't want to answer, I totally understand... if you have any comments regarding some of the recent developments in the US and the area of equity and inclusion.
30:09 Catherine
Oh, I can really only make some personal comments there, Peter, in terms of how... devastatingly awful they are. Yeah, I think I struggled to have... any sort of prepared statement at all. But it is really so misinformed. And, you know, discriminatory. What were you... yes, indeed. To... suggest that people with disability are not... fully qualified to do a whole lot of roles... and to... Let's blame all the bad things that happen, you know, on people who aren't rich white men is really... problematic.
So it's such a hard decision at the moment to make about whether you speak out, or what we see is a President who delights in shocking everyone and then sort of dialling, you know, the rhetoric, you know, there's the rhetoric and then there's the behavior. And the two don't always match, you know. So see how we go.
31:09 Peter
What did someone say the other day? Something along the lines of... Don't believe what he says, or don't take him literally, I think was what they said.
31:17 Catherine
Yeah, yeah, take him seriously, but not literally.
31:19 Peter
Yeah.
31:20 Catherine
Yeah, it was a good, it was a good line. And yeah, it was a really good line, and I think important. But also, it's the... really awful thing is the license that gives to other people to behave badly, you know.
31:33 Peter
Exactly. You need to set the example, set the good example, the right example.
31:37 Catherine
Yes.
31:38 Peter
Anyway. All right. We're... shouting into the wind or shouting into the echo... chamber because you and I are on the same page, but, yeah. And yeah, all right. I think we better leave it there before we say something. We might not be here.
31:51 Catherine
I know, we'll both get ourselves upset, won't we, Peter?
31:54 Peter
Well, I'm... we're upset as it is, but even more upset. Catherine, great to catch up. This sounds like a wonderful initiative. We'll check out with both parties just to see that... it is all... going forward, regardless of what happens. But always great to catch up with you. Keep up your fabulous work.
32:07 Catherine
Thanks, Peter. Thanks for the opportunity and I appreciate that follow up. That's... really helpful.
32:12 Peter
We'll let you know what they say.
32:14 Catherine
Thank you.
32:14 S2
Catherine McAlpine there, the, CEO for... Inclusion Australia. Yes. Inclusion Australia. That's a couple of nice words, aren't they? And that Disability Employment Centre of Excellence being set up thanks to... Swinburne and federal government funding and a number of other peak organisations.
Well, what a splash. Chelsea Marchetti from the Flipper Academy right out of the program last year, first year with us as our resident physiotherapist. Chelsea's back for 2025. Chelsea, Happy New Year - a little late, but Happy New Year.
32:48 Chelsea
Happy New Year Peter to you too. What a pleasure to be back.
32:52 Peter
Thank you. I hope you had a nice Christmas and... we had a bit of time off, but, you're back into your... classes, in a bit of a different fashion.
32:59 Chelsea
Yeah. So we just had three weeks off over the... Christmas New Year period, and then we came straight back in on the 13th of January and added in some school holiday classes into our programming, so we just had those running for the first two weeks back in the lead-up to school, going back last week, and they were on Friday the 17th and Friday the 24th of January. So yeah.
33:24 Peter
How were they different to what you do kind of day to day, week to week?
33:27 Chelsea
So on a day to day, week to week basis, we offer 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 hydrotherapy services that do a bit of a learn to swim type of element in them. For our school holiday program, we change that up and we had five kids in a group for 45 minutes, and the main kind of basis around that was to try and get the kids having a little bit of fun over the break, using some of their therapy exercises they do in their regular sessions in a big group setting, develop some of their social skills, communication skills, and just really have a really good time. So it wasn't as targeted as what they normally get, but it just had elements of those things they could practice in their school holidays while they were off having a bit of a break.
34:10 Peter
Were these kids that you had through before? So you kind of knew them and knew their abilities and kind of their levels of confidence, etc.?
34:17 Chelsea
Yeah. So everyone who did the program this year were already on the Academy program, and this was an additional service that they all chose to be a part of. We did offer, we do offer it out to the public, but this year we got so full straight away with our current clientele that we actually didn't have any room for our non-Flipper clients, but we are going to be offering it to kind of groups in the next school holidays and more sessions. So there should be more opportunity for people to join in over the Easter holiday break.
34:49 Peter
Alright, we might chat to you close to the time. Now, one of the things that you did want to kind of set out to do was to kind of get more of the sort of social interaction, as you say, with your regular classes, is kids have either 1 to 1 or 1 to 2. So how did... that go? I guess maybe some kids kind of adjusted better than others, you know, some were maybe a little bit more shy...
35:08 Chelsea
Absolutely. We had some kids that didn't really want to share... the therapists with other kids, and were quite introverted when they're normally really outgoing in their 1 to 1 sessions. So that was a big challenge for some of them. And we had other kids that actually made friends with the kids in their class. And because we did our sessions at the Ark at Campbelltown this year, there's a lot of area around there after the session to go and play. So a lot of them had a great opportunity to meet a friend in the class, and they'd spend another hour at the facility playing with their friend that they had just met. So that was really, really nice to see, especially when making friends is such a challenge for a lot of the kids that we see. So that was a really, really strong benefit of the program that I'd seen.
35:51 Peter
That was one of the points I was going to make. I mean, often we hear about, you know, it's good for you to get out of your comfort zone. Kind of doesn't matter how old or what abilities you have. But sometimes that's easier said than done, particularly depending on, you know, the person and the individual characteristics.
36:07 Chelsea
Absolutely. And it is a big step out of the comfort zone for a lot of our kids. One of the things I will say is we had had it in certain groups. So we started with... we had a Dolphin group, which was like beginner level. We had rough ages for it, but we tend to not like doing ages because a lot of our kids aren't really... on top of the age, quote unquote, normative data for what their abilities are. So we tried not to, we tried to steer away from that, but it was more around, What can your child do from a swimming point of view, and what are they working on? And that was kind of where they fell in each of our groups. So we had Dolphin, Whale and Shark.
So that was kind of helpful in the sense that not... I would put most of the kids on the program, all of them I know... what their abilities are. And if I didn't, I'd speak to their therapist anyway, and that would help us allocate them to the appropriate group so that they could actually be in a thriving learning environment rather than feeling like they're struggling or they're not in the right area. So I think that was a really strong benefit. Again, being physios we're able to have that clinical knowledge to be able to group the kids appropriately and then also say if we had a parent that wanted their child to do the program. So and we weren't quite sure if that would be the right fit for them, providing them with the right type of support that they might need so that their child could participate in that program.
So, for example, we had we didn't have any anyone do it this round. But we did say if you wanted your child to be in the program and you weren't sure if they would do well in it, or for lack of a better term, you know, thrive. We would offer the chance for parents to get in and help their child be able to thrive in that environment if that was something they wanted to do. And I also did the classes with an allied health assistant who works with us and takes her classes as well. So that was also good because we were able to kind of separate and divide and conquer in certain activities. That allowed the kids to really explore what they needed to physically and socially.
38:06 Peter
I guess from a personal point of view or kind of a professional point of view, how did it turn out compared to what you might have expected? Were you kind of surprised, or are there learnings you take from that and you think, Okay, next time we might do a little bit differently, or we might add this or not do that?
38:21 Chelsea
Yeah, I think it went exceptionally well. Really, I wasn't sure. Whenever you start something new, it always ends up being a little bit clunky. But this actually flew by really smoothly. The kids had a really great time. We programmed it really well. I don't think there's anything I would change. I think the only thing I would change is providing more spots so that more kids can do it. Because I think our biggest issue when doing this was having to turn people away because we didn't have the availability.
So I think that'll be a key thing for us going into the next school holidays will be trying to make sure make sure that everyone has access to it across our different locations, because we only did it out of the arc this time around, and we got really good feedback from all our parents as well. I sent out a bit of a email to them all and said, Can you give us any feedback for next round? And they all kind of said, We don't really have any. So that was always a good sign. Yeah, yeah. So it actually surprisingly went a bit better than I thought it would go. So that's always a bonus.
39:20 Peter
That involvement of the parent or the carer? Maybe sometimes the grandparent. I don't know how you operate, but that's so important as well because you know that is such an important connection that they can have and, and maybe kind of improve on with something like this.
39:33 Chelsea
Absolutely, definitely. And it gives them a chance to see how their child goes or their grandchild goes in that environment too. So we did have a lot of our students over the break come with their grandparents, because that's who they were with in their care over the time. And a lot of those grandparents don't see them in their normal hydro sessions. So to be able to see them in the pool and see their ability to progress in the pool, but then also their social skills in a group. I think for a lot of them, they were just so impressed and they'd often come and speak to me about it afterwards.
So that was really nice as well, because you always see some of the kids all the time. I would always see them myself or Chloe would. So you kind of know where they're at, but you forget sometimes that it is actually a really big progression and a big deal for a lot of the family members around the child. So that was really special.
40:22 Peter
That's a great point, isn't it? Because like with anything, if you see someone every day, you kind of don't see them getting older or their hair growing or anything that does kind of change in that area. But if you leave it a little bit of time, you kind of pick up on those things. I was being a bit flippant with those examples, but you know what I mean? I guess from a physios point of view, your eye, if I can put it that way, is probably different to, you know, maybe how a grandparent would see it as well.
40:45 Chelsea
Definitely, definitely. And we kind of obviously have more of the clinical eye, but the progressions that we see um, a bit smaller because we see some of these kids fortnightly or weekly. Whereas like I said before, they haven't seen them in the pool, at the very least for an extended period of time. So it is nice to kind of step back yourself and go, Oh yeah, they really have progressed a lot. So that was really, really nice to see as well.
41:12 Peter
And I guess, you know, they're all humble and modest. It's kind of good to for you that you kind of know you're doing something that's really positive as well.
41:19 Chelsea
Yeah. Yeah. It's nice for us to know that what we're doing is working. Yeah. And it's having a positive impact on the kids. And that's really special too, because you're right, when you're doing it yourself, you do reflect. You do try and do the best you can. But that external validation from families is always, always nice to hear. And it's also nice to see it from not just a physio point of view. When they talk about their social skills and those sorts of things, it just adds to what we're doing as well, which is really, really good.
41:45 Peter
Are you taking bookings for Easter holidays at this stage or not quite yet?
41:49 Chelsea
We're not quite yet, but maybe a couple of weeks. Just trying to work out the specific times and staffing around that. But if you are interested, please do email us regardless, because we'll definitely hold on to your details and let you know when we have the final details on that. So there isn't really a set time that you have to inquire. You're more than welcome to do so, and we can always touch base with you when we know a bit more about our Easter program, but it will be very...
42:17 Peter
How can we find you?
42:17 Chelsea
So you can find us at our website at www.flipperacademy.com.au - or you can email us at inquiries at flipper academy dot com [dot AU].
42:29 Peter
All that information up with our show notes. Chelsea, welcome back for 2025. Look forward to lots of interesting topics throughout the year and congratulations on that excellent initiative. Sounds like it was a double thumbs up all round.
42:40 Chelsea
Thank you Peter. Really keen to come back in 2025 and talk all things physio.
42:44 Peter
Okay there she goes. That's our resident physiotherapist Chelsea Marchetti from the Flipper Academy - flipperacademy.com.au ... On the Vision Australia Network through your favorite podcast service on 1197 AM in Adelaide, you're listening to Leisure Link.
Brooke Carter is a program coordinator for the Australian Disability Network for their mentoring program. Brooke's on the line. Brooke, how are you?
43:12 Brooke
Hi, Peter. How are you?
43:14 Peter
I'm very well. You're open for business or you're ready for applications?
43:18 Brooke
We absolutely are ready for applications for mentees that want to participate in the Career Mentoring Program.
43:24 Peter
Tell us about how it all works.
43:26 Brooke
Yeah. So, Peter, the Career Mentoring Program, just a quick overview. It's... matches a one on one mentor with a with a mentee. So there's mentees that... have a disability or identify as having a disability. And they can be either a student, a graduate, or just a job seeker. Many, many reasons for why they might be wanting to get back into the workforce or start in the workforce, and they are matched together for about a four month period, where they meet together to work on all sorts of career goals. And our mentors are from leading organisations around Australia, so the mentees get a lot out of it in terms of building their employability skills, but it's also designed so that our mentors can build what we call their disability confidence as well.
44:19 Peter
We have two way street, the old win win. What about as far as timing goes. So there's a little bit of time for people to kind of get their applications in. So I guess you've got to kind of apply. So it's just a matter of Here I am - when do I start? You've got to go through a process.
44:33 Brooke
Yeah, absolutely. So the applications are done through our website, which directs you to a brand new platform that we're using called Mentor Loop. And we collect a lot of... details about the applicant, and we use all of that to match people with their... mentor so that we can get the best match possible. You know, things that they have in common as well as their studies and goals, but their... hobbies... as well. And our applications are still open for another couple of months as well. So there's a little bit of time. So we match in about April. So I think that's roughly sometime in... March that they... do close. So there's still a bit of time for those that want to apply.
45:19 Peter
Alright, [?slightly]. Now for people who might be aware, this has been going for a while, hasn't it? I guess you kind of can learn from previous experiences. So the program kind of keeps improving as you go along.
45:30 Brooke
Absolutely. Peter. Yeah. Each each each cohort, our team comes together. So we run, I should say that we run two cohorts a year. So at the moment we are in what we call our autumn cohort, which... when people are matched. That goes from April to August, and then our next cohort goes from August to December. But at the end of each of those cohorts, our team do come together. We get a lot of feedback from the mentees throughout the program and also our own side as well of how we can provide the best experience and improve the program. But it has been going for, I believe, just over a decade. I think it's in about its 12th year, possibly even longer.
46:14 Peter
Yeah, fantastic. What about in terms of where people live, Brooke? Does that matter?
46:17 Brooke
Absolutely not. So, we do it is run across the country. But the great thing about the career mentoring program is that, you have the option - and we do collect this when you are applying - you have the option to select whether you'd like to meet your mentee in person. So obviously that requires people to be in the same states. But we also have the option for... people to participate virtually in the program as well, meaning that sometimes we do have people from different states matched together and different areas as well, but that allows us to do a bit of a further reach as well. So absolutely no problem where you're based in Australia.
46:58 Peter
It's so important, isn't it, because there are people with disabilities that live in country areas and it's great if they can get the same opportunity. And Brooke, what about the other kind of end of the seesaw, if I can put it? So you look for mentees, which is great. How do you go for finding mentors?
47:12 Brooke
So our mentors are a little bit different. So the Australian Disability Network is a member-based organisation. We have around about 450 different organisations that are members of us, and they get access to the program by being a member and choosing to do the program. And that's where our mentors come through. So they opt to do it, and then they go off and put an expression of interest in their organisation. And that's how we get we get our mentors for the program.
47:44 Peter
That's such a great point. You made pretty much at the beginning regarding mentors and what they can get out of it. That is so important as well, because it's kind of not just this particular intake, but it kind of the long term benefits of something like this as well.
47:58 Brooke
Yeah, absolutely. You know, our mission is really to, um, you know, create a disability confident Australia. You know, the the unemployment rates are not moving the way that we'd like them to, but we're out there. We're trying. And the way to do that is one, give mentees the opportunity to gain... their employability skills, but also to be out there within our organisations and helping them improve to so that they are able to support people when they are meeting with them, or if they do have people with a disability in their organisation as well.
48:29 Peter
Yeah, that is such a great point, Brooke. And without getting on my hobbyhorse, it's your interview... but, you know, often when I hear the unemployment figures, you know, 0.4% you know, virtually full employment, if you like, saying, Well, yeah, sort of, but not really. And, you know, you make that point so clearly there with the fact that people with the disability are very much underemployed compared to what they'd like to be.
48:50 Brooke
Yeah. And they're talented people as well, Peter, you know, we know there they are. People with disability are talented people with lots of skills and a lot to offer, and they're generally more committed and more devoted to their organisation if they get the opportunity. So obviously, the idea of the program, I'll make very clear, is not to get a job within the mentor's organisation, but we're certainly there to help build all of those wonderful skills that people either do have and just need a bit of refining or helping them gain those skills so that they can go off into the big wide world and show that they are talented and impress... organisations out there.
49:31 Peter
And if someone has worked in a sort of coming back from whatever, be it an injury or an illness or, you know, develop a disability since they worked or indeed has time off and then coming back, that's okay too. You don't, doesn't have to be your kind of first job that you're looking for.
49:44 Brooke
Absolutely. The... only conditions, like so the only, if we talk eligibility of the program, there's only two points. So one, you must identify as having a disability, mental health condition or chronic health condition. And then the other bit is that you just have to be over the age of 18 years old. It doesn't matter whether you're at uni starting to look at what's after uni, whether you've got a job and you just want to develop or like you said, sometimes life throws us curveballs and some people do develop a disability and that does require them to change careers and professions as well. And we've certainly seen all of those factors in, in our applicants. So it doesn't matter what stage in the career cycle that you're in, you're welcome to apply.
50:34 Peter
All right. What's the kind of first step? People have heard this is thinking, Yes, that's me or I know someone that could benefit from this... what do we do from here?
50:42 Brooke
Applications will close on the 16th of March. They are open now. The best thing to do is to jump on our website, Australian Disability Network. And if people were just to Google Career Mentoring as well, that will help them find the actual mentoring page and literally everything they need to know is is on our website, all the frequently asked questions how to apply. If people are stuck, they are welcome to contact our team. So we have an email which is applications at AWS. So AWS, DNA dot AU... or our phone number's 1 300 363 645. If people are unsure where to go to get the information, they are welcome to reach out to our team and we're happy to help as well.
51:34 Peter
All right. And if people missed any of that or some of that, they can certainly go to our show notes and all that information, links, phone numbers and email addresses will all be there. Brooke good luck. It sounds like a really fantastic opportunity. I'm sure many people will avail themselves of that and will benefit from it as well in the long term, which would be fantastic.
51:52 Brooke
Thanks so much for having me, Peter.
51:53 Peter
That's Brooke Carter - Brooke is the program coordinator for the mentoring program at the Australian Disability Network. A chance for you to get involved. Or if you know someone, get in touch and I'm sure you'll be very pleased.
February the 13th is World Radio Day. One of the focuses is the environment, climate change. Let's find out some fantastic work that's going on at Bedfords, who have been a great supporter of this program for many years. To speak to the manager for ERA, Graham Hartland. Graham, great to meet you and thanks for your time.
52:24 Graham
Oh, thanks for having us today, Peter.
52:25 Peter
And one of your staff - James? James, how are you? Good to meet you, too.
52:29 James
Nice to meet you too.
52:30 Peter
And of course, Bedford is celebrating 80 years this year. So congratulations to all those involved. Graham, tell us a bit about ERA, Electronic Recycling Australia. Who are you and what do you do?
52:40 Graham
Okay, so Electronic Recycling Australia is one of the Bedford Company groups. Um, what we do is, we were initially set up to recycle e-waste. So electronic waste, under a federal scheme. That's now grown more and more. So we're doing things that are within the federal scheme and also with our the scheme, we run a program outside the scheme, which is Unplug and Drop, which you'll see at Bunnings stores and other stores and locations around where people can drop in their electrical... waste items, whether it be a TV vacuum cleaner and so forth, for it to come into our facility to be processed. And when we say process, we reverse... manufacture. So we take everything apart and separate it into its commodity values.
53:32 Peter
Okay. How long have you been around?
53:33 James
ERA's been around approximately 16 years now. Okay. So quite some time. It started off as a private enterprise, in a little shed, and then grew to a larger premises. And initially the business actually started as a refurbishment business where they just refurbished electronics and recycling was a little bit of a side venture. Nowadays we are in a building that is approximately 19,000m², where the electronic recycling occupies about 7000m² of space.
54:08 Peter
Why... aren't you in Ottaway? [South Australia]
54:11 Graham
301 Grand Junction Road at Ottaway Chase.
54:13 Peter
James, how long have you been at Bedfords and how long have you been with the ERA?
54:18 James
Oh, that's more of a trick question.
54:21 Peter
Sorry about that.
54:23 James
Because we... before we changed our name, we used to be known as Asthetik. Okay. But that was back in the years that's gone past, it's eight grand total, 13 years.
54:37 Peter
Some of the things that you do, what's your kind of role there?
54:40 James
It goes somewhere between, say it used to be dismantling on the line record to say, making computers to send out to customers or running around to pick up, say stuff from Bunnings locations to empty out the cages once upon a time.
55:03 Peter
How much is James? What are you predominantly doing? It's a little bit more detailed now. Yeah. It's technical.
55:09 James
It's much more technical. Like Ryan said, it's like I have a list of items, but let's just say it's longer than a talk show would go for.
55:22 Peter
Can you give us what are some of the main ones, what are some of the most important ones or of the most predominant ones?
55:27 James
Oh, computer refreshments... but basically what we start off with is I, we computer input software, new software, new parts in it, and then we set sell off to the customer at a good price.
55:46 Peter
Yeah. It'll be a lot cheaper than buying a new one, I'd imagine.
55:49 James
Okay. Because like, it depends on what you want. It's like it could be a silly amount at the shops.
55:57 Graham
And like other things that James does, which is heaps underselling himself. He's really brilliant. He also does secure data destruction on laptops, mobile phones and big printers that are generally in offices.
56:13 James
It's like photocopiers in the offices. It's got all of your secure data still sitting on those photocopiers... once they get end of life and other things. Now with... the development of IT, your TV at home has us connected to the internet. Now stores your bank details, your passwords, your Netflix accounts, and all your streaming data. Every single password that you have that's on that TV.
56:38 Peter
Yay! I'm not sure whether to be scared or happy about the fact that you can get rid of it.
56:43 Graham
Yeah. Oh, we pride ourselves in being able to ensure that people's data is... safe, that it's all been destroyed, and that information is no longer available. And we offer that as a value add service at ERA to people.
56:58 Peter
How busy are you? Because I must admit, I wasn't aware of you doing a lot of this sort of stuff, which is obviously fantastic that we can let the the world know. Are you busy? How do you kind of get the word out there about what you do?
57:10 James
We go the old fashioned route. Actually, how we started off is not getting word of mouth.
57:16 Graham
Yeah, that's very important, isn't it? Yeah. Look, we'll be signing a major, more advertising campaigns throughout this year. But when you say busy, we've got about 60 people doing dismantling work at the moment. You're kidding. And we need, we're in the process of bringing in another 14 to 20 people in to do the work. Because of the amount of volume that we get on an average day, we will probably get up to, I think the busiest day I've seen in the last couple of weeks is, um, 28 tonnes of e-waste come in for the day, a typical week, or it ranges between 80 and 130 tonnes a week.
58:01 Peter
That's amazing, isn't it? Because, you know, I reckon most people want to do the right thing, but we don't know what to do. You know, I'm going to throw out my phone. I'm going to throw out my computer. What do I do with it? You know, you wait for hard rubbish. I mean, I think most people do want to do the right thing. Do you reckon that's true, James?
58:17 James
Some people would like to do the right thing, but like you said.
58:22 Peter
Where do I start?
58:23 James
Information. How to do it?
58:24 Peter
How long did it take you to learn... the sort of dismantling stuff and then refurbishing computers? How long it's taking to learn that, James?
58:32 James
So the dismantling side... I just had a person next to me telling me what to do. And then, like within, I'd say operating procedures. We just did however you want. However we want to do it. We just figured out straight away all those cases, we just have someone letting us know how to do it right next to us.
58:55 Peter
And with the computers that you resell, how do you go about doing that? How do you choose who who can buy it from you?
59:02 Graham
Anyone can buy it from us. We do have them online. We've got a lot of repeat customers and actually a lot of second hand stores or computer stores that come and buy parts off of us or refurbish computers, but anyone can do it. We also started a program in... late October, early November, of refurbishing items for backpack for kids. So we're supplying them... laptops, tablets, mobile phones and calculators for people who are fleeing domestic violence situations.
59:36 Peter
Oh, what a fabulous idea.
59:37 Graham
And, yeah, the team's been really, really good. We get roughly about... 40 to 50 items out every month to them, where they take it straight out to... families in need.
59:49 Peter
Surely that's a very powerful message, isn't it? I mean, we can only imagine the kind of difference that would make to to someone like that, because I was thinking about who can buy computers. Obviously, kids going back to school, there might be families who might be struggling financially if they can get... a good quality refurbished computer at a sort of a good price. That would be very, very appealing as well.
1:00:10 Graham
And that's what we're here to do. You know, a lot of our business is not just about recycling. It's about refurbishment, reuse in the circular economy. We've also got some really great initiatives that we're working with, a really good South Australian company as a JV arrangement, where we've got some innovative new products that we undertake. The the waste plastic, which has got lots of toxic chemicals in it for TVs and everything like that, and turn it to a high value new building product. And we're currently working on what the patents look like for that, and hopefully we'll get that to market sometime this year.
1:00:49 Peter
James, what's it like when you catch up with friends or talk about what you've been doing at work? You know, this this day, this week? It must be a very satisfying job that you have. You're... making a real difference.
1:01:01 James
That's the thing. They're all in this workplace.
1:01:04 Graham
All the friends are here.
1:01:06 Peter
But, I mean, you know, you must feel very satisfied with the job that you're doing. I mean, there's enough of us polluting the place. You're trying to clean it up.
1:01:14 James
Well, to the best degree I can. Even when I say travel off home, I see say a lot of say electronic stuff on the way home and even say, thinking of I know that far from the place. They could, they can just drop the damn thing off at home...
1:01:31 Graham
To expand a lot of our services this year, we're going to make all of our sites available to accept secure destruction services - so we can add value, add to our regional communities as well, and also look at how we can get refurbished items out to the regional communities.
1:01:50 Peter
Well, you've done a great job telling us about it today. You've certainly informed us with some staggering figures, which is really, really impressive. Over 60 people working there at $28 a day, and the amount of landfill that you're saving is extraordinary. We've got some information regarding the work that you do. We'll put that up on our show notes when we put information up about the show. But if people do have stuff, they'd like to, well, kind of... declutter. What's the best place they go to? Bunnings?
1:02:20 Graham
Oh, look, they can go to Bunnings. Unfortunately, not all the Bunnings stores offer the service. But if you can't go to Bunnings, we've also have cages here where you can drop off at any time. We also accept... polystyrene for recycling as a fee, for a fee. And we also recycle mattresses as well for a fee. And we do that for quite a large number of the metropolitan councils. In fact, we're probably around 24,000 mattresses a year of recycled here. And with the majority... components, like the foam will be made into underlay for carpets. The scheme failed to go off to be processed into new steel products. The wood will be turned in from the ensemble bases and that into compost. And so the majority of your mattress is also recycled.
1:03:15 Peter
What's your address?
1:03:16 S8
301 Grand Junction Road, Ottaway.
1:03:18 Peter
Terrific. Graham Bartlett, manager for Electronic Recycling Australia. And a very valued employee, James - thanks for speaking to us.
1:03:25 Graham
Thank you very much, Peter.
1:03:27 Peter
James, thank you. That's a great message, isn't it? Particularly with the World Radio [Day] emphasis on the environment and the ecology, the great work being done there by Bedford's.
1:03:43 (Bedfords CSA)
Come on in. We open our doors to people we trust and care about. And for over 85 years, South Australians have been opening their doors to Resthaven. In turn, we've been opening doors to an easier, better life at home from personal care to help with the shopping and social outings. You'll welcome the care that Resthaven brings.
1:04:05 Peter
Well, if you're listening carefully, you would have heard our intro there. And it's actually their 90th year of Resthaven. And to kick the year off, we've got the manager for community wellness, Jacinta Robertson. Jacinta, lovely to meet you and thank you for your time.
1:04:18 Jacinta
Thank you Peter. Lovely to meet you too. And hi to all the listeners.
1:04:22 Peter
And congratulations to all at rest on your 90th anniversary. That's a wonderful year. Now you've got lots of things planned, and we'll be checking in throughout the year to see how it's all going.
1:04:31 Jacinta
There's some amazing functions already planned, and I'm really excited that I'll be able to get to quite a few of them. And it's a great thing to be celebrating.
1:04:40 Peter
Yeah, you've got a very impressive title, Community Wellness Manager. That's such an important thing, isn't it?
1:04:46 Jacinta
It is. It's an absolute honour to be in the role, and I've only been with Resthaven since October, and it's a really forward thinking role and I get to do all the fun stuff. I tell people I'm working in the community space and looking at respite services that we can offer people in the community, the allied health services, playing with the the registered nurses in that space as well, and starting to look at the social programs and the fun things in people's lives that we can offer and, and how we can do that better and really have a strong offering.
1:05:20 Peter
So this is kind of for both our clients and our residents, I guess, more for clients because they're community, but also their carers or their support people as well.
1:05:30 Jacinta
Very much so. It is, for our community people, so not residents in our homes, but my space is very much looking at how we can support carers to look after their loved one and together, both have a really good life where they can really maintain their wellbeing and stay very much a part of their community and doing what they want to do every day.
1:05:53 Peter
I know you said you're only new, but I guess in a way, often, maybe not often, people maybe kind of think I can soldier on. I can keep going. You know, it's my kind of duty to care for my partner, my wife, my husband, etc. and I guess you've got to kind of say, Well, it's okay that kind of a break. And also if you do that, you're going to be able to do what you do longer and better.
1:06:11 Jacinta
Definitely. You know, and you're so right that people are very stoic, and especially when there's a couple that have been together for many, many years, they they feel that they should do this, but we want them to to be carers and to continue to look after their loved one, but also to understand, to keep going. We sometimes need to reach out and get a little bit of assistance more. So have a break, find some ways to support and peers that you know, sometimes easier to talk with peers that are going through similar things rather than the kids or the the neighbour and, you know, find ways to let them keep going and do their things as well as looking after their loved ones.
1:06:50 Peter
That's such a great point, isn't it? Because it doesn't matter what walk of life you talk about that lived experience, sharing that lived experience is such a powerful message.
1:06:59 Jacinta
Very much so. We we all need a reason to get out of bed and to have meaningful, full and purposeful engagement in life. That's what gives us a smile and the bounce, you know, bounce out of bed every day. And everyone deserves that, irrespective of their age or what's going on in their life. So yeah, we're looking at programs that can really help people to do that.
1:07:21 Peter
This is this kind of a a live document that like things are in place or it's kind of changing and progressing all the time, that the sort of things that people can do and the sort of way you can help.
1:07:31 Jacinta
Yeah. No, it is changing and growing and we're actually doing some really fun stuff with a new program. It's been going for about 12 months, which is a great example of new things that are coming in. And the Staying at Home program is a retreat that is offered to carers as well as their loved ones, to have a holiday, have a break and to build up some of that resilience. And it's a great way of where the government has worked with organisations to do things a little bit differently, because we want things differently to what we did 20 years ago.
1:08:01 Peter
So it's called Staying at Home because it enables the enables the people, particularly the clients, to stay at home longer.
1:08:06 Jacinta
That's the aim. If we want to help people to achieve their goals and stay at home with their family for as long as they can, especially looking at people with dementia and, you know, the earlier stages that when things are starting to probably get a little bit more complex and there are changes happening. If we can help a carer to build up their knowledge and their skill about what dementia is and how they might see changes in their loved one, we can then help them to actually cope better with that, understand that better and therefore keep on their journey together at home.
So the program offers that education and information for carers, while also offering engagement and connecting with others for the loved one with a diagnosis of dementia. So a holiday with a bit of a twist. Really so good.
1:08:57 Peter
Yeah, yeah. And I guess there's so much research going into dementia these days that, you know, we're finding better and better ways to kind of live with it for both the individual and those caring.
1:09:07 Jacinta
Yes, very much so. It's very much about understanding what we know. There are a lot of things that we don't know about dementia, for example. And what we do know that every person with a journey of dementia has a very different journey. So we can't. It's not a cookie cutter. Everyone has a different path, and we need to find ways to help people feel comfortable as they manage that and go through that journey together with their loved ones and families. When we talk about loved ones, it could be a daughter or a son or a significant friend if there isn't a married partner, for example. So it reaches a lot of people.
1:09:46 Peter
That's a great point. Jacinta, what about in terms of respite? What's in place for in that sort of area?
1:09:52 Jacinta
Yeah, we have a wonderful respite offering across the community. A lot of people think about respite as being within residential homes. But we've got a great program where we've got cottages, homes that are within the community in the same the street scape that you may live in from Aldinga all the way over to Toorak. And we've got these homes where we call our cottages, and our guests can come and stay for a couple of hours through the day or for, you know, short stays for a couple of nights to a couple of weeks.
The idea is that we can help them to stay living at home by giving the carer a break. It may be so they can attend a special event, or they need to have some surgery, or they just need a break and um, together we can then help them continue on that, you know, life at home and doing what they want to do.
1:10:43 Peter
What sort of things are in place at the cottages to kind of, you know, keep the person that's there, you know, sort of happy or comfortable.
1:10:51 Jacinta
Yeah. A very good point. It's really important that it's meaningful. And they're engaged, and we want them to be part of part of the rhythm of the day, of the cottage and the home, and to be connected and meet others if they come for our day cottage programs. They can actually get to know a group of people that are there on a regular basis. So they build up a new friendship group, and we're working to make sure that the the offerings on the days that they're there are things that are of interest to them.
You know, if somebody has never knitted in their life and I'm one of those, we wouldn't want them to be to be to be in a group where there was knitting, for example. But if it was gardening, I'd be in. So it's very much understanding who is there at the time and how we then have offerings that are of interest to them. That's really important for all of us.
1:11:40 Peter
Well, again, we talked about the lived experience the same as making choices or individualising the service that people are accessing, that it's so important to kind of have it tailored that way.
1:11:50 Jacinta
Very much so. I often say that we need to know everyone's story if we're going to school. And if we know this story, we need to respect it. We need to hear it, and we need to know it so that then we can tailor it to to achieve the offering that they find of interest.
1:12:07 Peter
And in terms of accessing the services... is there a waiting time be you know, do you get what you want sort of straight away? What's that kind of a process like?
1:12:18 Jacinta
Yeah. For the retreats, we have a number of retreats, being offered over the next couple of months. So it depends on which one was of interest to you. For our community respite offerings, there is the need to go through the, um, my aged care portal and work through that. But if you're not, don't worry. Give our guys a call and they can work through things with you. And you know, if someone chooses not to go through my aged care, then we also have different offerings that people can access independently if they choose to.
So, you know, there's unfortunately it's a bit like the journey that I spoke about earlier. There's not one really clear, defined path. We have different ways, which is because we work with different people and different needs and choices. So speaking to the team is the best way to find out how we can help you.
1:13:05 Peter
Well, I think we've learnt over the 27 or 28 years that we've been having people from resthaven on, if you can make that initial contact, then you can kind of, you know, either dip your toe in the water or get into the system or call it whatever you like. And then all of a sudden these other things can open up and you can be made more aware of it, because no one can be expected to know everything about everything.
1:13:25 Jacinta
That's it. Very much so. And we we really are happy to offer people to come and have a look at the cottages and get a feel for it, because, you know, when you've got your loved one that is going to be spending some time with us, you need to be comfortable and we want to make sure that both are comfortable and, you know, happy with the decision. And then we can get some really good outcomes. But come give the guys a call and come and have a look and we can go from there.
1:13:50 Peter
How can we give you a call, or what number do we call?
1:13:52 Jacinta
Yeah. It's if you want to call [08] 8198 2088. That will take you through to the Respite team. And they will be able to connect you with the right person to you to have that discussion.
1:14:06 Peter
[08] 8198 2088 - and of course people can always check out the Resthaven website.
1:14:11 Jacinta
Very much so and so. Resthaven website is there with a lot of information. If you were looking for the the retreats, the there is a page for that and it's at S A R S A at Resthaven dot ASN dot AU.
1:14:28 Peter
We'll put that information up with our show notes. Just love to meet you for the first time. Welcome. You've only been there a short time. You certainly sounds like you know your stuff, so thank you for that. And as I said earlier, we look forward to catching up with people throughout the year. As far as Resthaven goes and hearing about some of the 90th year celebrations, it's a wonderful achievement.
1:14:48 Jacinta
Fantastic. Thank you so much, Peter, and thank you to all the listeners for tuning in today.
1:14:52 Peter
Indeed, that's Jacinta Robertson there. Sounds like a delightful person, and, certainly well worth getting to know as far as if you're in the area where you might need some community help. You got those details there. We'll put them up in our show notes. And again, congratulations to Resthaven on their 90th anniversary.
1:15:11 Emma
Hi, I'm Emma Merritt, a member of the Australian Gliders, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia Radio network.
1:15:22 Peter
It's Red February. Lots of important messages, including the heart and memory. Let's talk a bit about it with the neuropsychologist, Doctor Miranda. Miranda, lovely to meet you. Thank you for your time.
1:15:32 Miranda
Oh, thank you so much for having me to talk about something I'm very passionate about.
1:15:37 Peter
It's about some of your work. And the clients. The patients you work with.
1:15:40 Miranda
Yeah, so I work with patients. I work in public and private. So I see a lot of different people. And I work with patients who Patients who are adults who have been healthy but then have the onset of a neurological condition. So I work mostly in dementia, but I do see patients with other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune neurological conditions or strokes, a variety of different patients, but mainly in dementia.
1:16:12 Peter
And when you say adults, this is obviously, you know, defined by... different ages. Not one age common to all.
1:16:19 Miranda
No. So technically I see people over 18, but by by nature, obviously dementia is more common in older adults. I actually work in the New South Wales... Early Onset Dementia Clinic. So a lot of my patients are actually in their 40s and 50 and 60. So the earliest stage of life in terms of thinking about dementia.
1:16:44 Peter
Sure. What about the approach then. Because obviously, you know, 40 or 50 or 60. One would think, well, I've got a lot of years ahead of me and their families would think, We've got a lot of years ahead of us together. What are some of the things that can be put in place to kind of make the... rest of your life as comfortable and as fulfilling as it can be?
1:17:02 Miranda
In terms of dementia? Yeah. Yeah. I think what you've just asked has literally hit the nail on the head. When someone gets a diagnosis of dementia at 75 or 80, even if it's technically the same disease process, it's a whole different experience for someone in their 40s and 50. And you've mentioned families and people around them. So people often, you know, in their 40s or 50s often have children under 18 time jobs, a whole host of responsibilities, let alone the stigma. People aren't aware of dementia happening so, so young and so often people feel very alone, very judged, you know, in public. And there's a lot of financial stress because there's a loss of income if you can't work.
So my work with people with this sort of the earlier onset dementia is very different to later stage. A lot of it's education. A lot of it's supporting people to adjust to very significant losses, you know, loss of role, loss of capability to do other things. 35 and 40 year olds are doing, so there's a lot of grief there. But ultimately, what I work to do with people is to help them find, despite the diagnosis, it takes, it certainly takes a lot of work, but helping people find meaning and joy in their life despite the diagnosis. That's kind of the ultimate goal.
1:18:30 Peter
And is there meaning in joy? Can you find it?
1:18:33 Miranda
Certainly. I think, you know, the first step is coming to terms with the tremendous loss, the whole why me and patients sit in the room with me, and I look at them and sometimes they're younger than me and there is no answer. Life simply isn't fair. But that said, you can't magic away the hardship, the the loss and the grief. But I still do see patients find a point where they can engage in life, where they do have meaning. You know, it's it's too simplistic to say, Oh, they're happy again. No, it's not about that. But it's about them working out what they want to make of the rest of their life. They're still alive. They still have got relationships.
So a lot of it is working with loved ones and just looking for points of connection between the patient and their loved ones. Helping people still find a sense of of me despite the diagnosis. So it's it's hard work and it's not an easy journey for people who get dementia, certainly early onset dementia. But I do see people still able to find some sense of meaning and joy.
1:19:51 Peter
Where do they rate at which dementia develops? Is that kind of faster the younger you are, or is that too general a rule to make?
1:19:58 Miranda
It's a good question. It's probably a little bit too general. It certainly depends on the type of dementia and various other factors. So when people ask, How long do I have? Because that's obviously one of the first questions we want to know. It's how long is a piece of string - it's not possible to to give a definitive answer. Some dementias do tend to decline faster than others. That said, there are patients who might get a diagnosis ten years ago and ten years passed and they're still, you know, have got the capacity to live a fairly meaningful life. Whereas other people, it does decline very quickly. So sadly, there's no clear-cut answer to that.
1:20:35 Peter
What about the message of Red Feb kind of connecting it to heart health. What's the What's the kind of link there? And also, are there things that we can do for ourselves and for in that position, or indeed for our loved ones? If they're in that sort of position, they can kind of help the kind of, shall we say, supplementary or ancillary things that we might be able to do to kind of help or maybe just slow down that little bit or add to that joint meeting that you talked about at the beginning.
1:20:59 Miranda
Yes. So your question starting with the the first part, um, if the listeners are aware of what Red Feb is, Red Feb is a campaign driven by Heart Research Australia. And so people would wonder how is brain health and dementia and memory, how is that relevant to the heart? And I think traditionally in medicine, many, many years ago, people would think of each body organ in isolation. But increasingly people are understanding how the human body is obviously all connected. And the heart and the brain in particular are very intimately connected. And so a lot of the work I do with my patients is talking about to them about the importance of managing heart health to optimise the brain health.
And some people have a good understanding of this. Some of my patients really don't appreciate how connected the two are. So Red Feb talks about making really simple, tangible changes in your life that benefit not just your heart, but your brain and things like just knowing if your cholesterol is high and keeping a check on your cholesterol, your blood pressure, your blood sugar levels. People don't always realise that what is good for the heart is also very good for the brain. And a lot of research has shown that managing heart health can help postpone the onset of cognitive symptoms or slow the progression.
1:22:35 Peter
I don't want to be too trite, but that's kind of good. Good in the sense that, you know, you can be doing good things for one, and it can be helping the other or vice versa. So, you know, they're sort of double benefits from... some of the things you just mentioned there.
1:22:48 Miranda
Yeah, very much so. And interestingly, potentially for the the listeners, my husband is an ophthalmologist, and he also talks to his patients about the importance of looking after your heart health, because the heart obviously pumps blood to the different organs. And if you're not getting sufficient, you know, the cardiovascular system, if you're getting damage to the cardiovascular system, you're not getting sufficient blood supply to the eyes or to the brain. You can have a small stroke or a larger stroke, and that can impact vision and obviously your memory and cognitive function. So there's a lot of overlap in terms of heart health with other organs.
1:23:34 Peter
Yeah, I've spoken to a few people over the years, Miranda, who at a fairly young age had had a stroke and impacted the right side, has been impacted by that.
1:23:42 Miranda
Yeah, so we see our vision disturbance in quite a number of our neurological conditions. So certainly in dementia you can get visual changes. And obviously as you said in a stroke in multiple sclerosis vision problems are quite common in the patients I see.
1:24:01 Peter
It's kind of cool in a way that the body is kind of linked up. I mean, we kind of know it, but as you said, maybe a few years ago, it was like, well, you see the heart specialist, you see the brain specialist, but there's a lot more collaboration between the different... specialists in terms of working for the benefit of the the one patient.
1:24:17 Miranda
Definitely. I remember sitting in on a consultation with a fairly newly qualified neurologist talking to a patient with multiple sclerosis who actually was having some vision symptoms, and the neurologist asked about the patient's relationships, their mood, their vision, you know, all aspects of their functioning, how they're going at work. And I just thought it was such a refreshing approach to think of people in their whole. And I think that's very much what the approach of heart research is. Even though they're a charity that does focus predominantly on heart, they're aware that the heart is central to so many other aspects of our health and our wellbeing. And I really that's very much aligned with my approach to health, a holistic approach.
1:25:05 Peter
Well, there's so much more we could have covered. We'll have to leave that for another day. But I'm sure Red Feb will be very successful in spreading the message. In a sense, the message that can be utilised and spread all year round.
1:25:17 Miranda
Thank you, and I'd love the listeners to have a think about a tiny change that they can make, either just going for a little walk three times a week. It doesn't have to be a huge change, just a small change to benefit their heart health. It's just so good for you.
1:25:33 Peter
Miranda, love to talk to you. Thank you for your time and keep up your fabulous work.
1:25:36 Miranda
Thank you so much. Take care.
1:25:38 S2
So, Dr Miranda Say there who's a neuropsychologist, talked about Red Feb - and we'll put some information up on our show notes regarding both Red Feb and also with the sort of work that they're doing as far as this particular month goes.
A couple of quotes before we go. Steve sends one through what's kind of a quote from the Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan, who quipped when Victoria won the rights to host a couple of NFL games in the next couple of years... This now scores the touchdown for Victoria being the sporting capital of the world. Don't politicians like to use that cool language? Doesn't matter what flavour the politician is, they all think they're pretty cool. Thanks, Steve, for sending that through. And one a little more serious from Gail, who says.. You can achieve anything if you set your mind to it. With the wrong mindset, you descend into the world of blame and excuses. So thank you very much Gao for your quote.
Some birthdays before we go. Annabel Lindsey having a birthday. That fine, fine glider wheelchair basketballer from Australia. Also, happy birthday to Josh Teague, member for Heysen, the shadow Attorney General. Played blind cricket at the Adelaide Oval the other week, I think. Leon Bignall called him the Tiger. Happy birthday to you, Josh. Karen Martin, long time guest on Leisure Link having a birthday as well. I hope life is going well for you. Karen and Phil Menzie having a birthday. A fine massage therapist in the epilogue. So Phil, a very happy birthday to you too.
That's it for the program. Sam. Richard, thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so much for yours as always, fantastic. Reminding you that Link is available on that favourite podcast platform of yours. If you like the program, please tell a friend or two. Always room for one more listener. Speaking about listening. If you're listening through 1197 AM in Adelaide, keep that radio switched on because coming up very soon is Vicki Cousins with the world acclaimed Australian Geographic.
Happy World Radio Day coming up on Thursday at all. Be kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for others. All being well, let's look back at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio. This is Leisure Link.
1:28:16 (song)
Woo hoo! Woo hoo!
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