Audio
Paralympics, women's sport, creative therapies and Christmas goodwill
Leisure Link by
Vision Australia3 seasons
21 December 2024
1 hr 30 mins
Interviews on disability in sport, leisure, health and social justice.
This series is hosted by Peter Greco (pictured on this page) of Vision Australia Radio Adelaide. It features wide-ranging interviews on sport, leisure, health and social justice.
In this edition we hear from:
- Lauren Parker, who won two Gold and one Silver Medal in Paris and is 2024 Paralympian of the Year.
- Kelly Hamlyn, who has just completed the very inclusive Marjorie Jackson Nelson Centre for Women's Sport Program.
- Matt Cowdrey OAM, Member for Colton, Shadow Minister for Sport and the Environment in South Australia - on the possibility of awarding retrospective OAMs to Paralympic Gold Medallists, funding for events such as the National Transplant Game, and the progress of telephone voting for people who are blind or have low vision at the 2026 state election - and will Matt stand for election in 2026?
- Pam Mitchell, Counsellor delivers Pam's traditional Christmas Message. Contact Pam by phone on 0418 835 767.
- Alexandra Morse, Director for Creative Therapies Tasmania, who shares the total frustration of therapists, participants and their families being left in limbo regarding their therapy being accepted by the NDIS, as having evidence-based benefits.
- Tracy Adams, CEO of the Kids Helpline has news on a successful fundraiser, where calls to Santa from a public phone ensure continued vital services - phone 1800 551 800.
- Angie Randall, who was Angie Robertson in the 1980s, led the orchestra for a decade at Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight, and shares lovely memories of this event.
You and the world can stream the show at Vision Australia Radio Adelaide. Hit the play button - or through the Tune In radio app, or the Community Radio Plus app - look for Vision Australia Radio Adelaide... or in Adelaide on 1197AM.
Follow Peter Greco on X @sweettweetpeet
00:05 Lauren
Hi, I'm Lauren Parker. I won two gold medals in Paris and the 2024 Paralympian of the year. And you're listening to leisure link with Peter Greco on the Vision Australia radio network.
00:40 Peter
It's just gone 5:00 and it's almost Christmas. And all through the house everyone was just wanting to me. Welcome to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia, Radio 1197 AM and Adelaide online at VA radio, VA Radio Digital in Adelaide and Darwin. Through your favourite podcast or streaming service or the Community Radio Plus app. Also a big cheerio to our friends listening through 103.9 FM and Esperance in Western Australia, and even our better friends with all our good friends everywhere, Disability Media Australia for their support. You can find out more about them on their platform as well as catch this program. Powerd media... powerd.media - that's how you can find out more about them.
Peter Greco saying wonderful to be here. Hopefully you all were at Christmas. Plans are going well. If not, well, hopefully we can at least take your mind off things for the next 90 minutes. This program coming to you from Kaurna Land. Coming to you very, very shortly... we'll meet this year's Paralympian of the year, Lauren Parker. Looking forward to that. Kelly Hamlin will join us. Kelly has taken place in the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson the Women in Sport program. Will find out more about that. Matt Cowdrey will join us. OAM... who's the member for Coulton, also with the shadow spokesperson for sport and environment. I think Matt might have some good news regarding telephone voting. Stay tuned for that.
Pat Mitchell will be here, our resident councillor with her usual Christmas message at Christmas time. Of course, Alexandra Moss will join us talking a bit more about this situation regarding music therapy and creative therapy and visits are still going to be available on the NDIS. Tracy Adams will join us from the Kids Helpline. Really important event last weekend raising funds. And also we're talking a bit about what the Kids Helpline does. And we'll also be joined by Angie Randall. When Angie was Angie Robinson, she actually was the leader of the orchestra as part as the Vision Australia Carols go. We'll find out a bit about Angie and her time leading the orchestra. It's a lovely way to finish the program.
What a fantastic way to finish the year. We get to speak to the Paralympian of the Year for the 2024, Lauren Parker. Lauren, welcome and congratulations.
03:06 Lauren
Hi. Thank you very much.
03:06 Peter
What a year!
03:08 Lauren
I know. It's been amazing. I couldn't have asked for better results. You know, with two gold medals in Paris across two sports, plus a silver medal. I'm so happy.
03:17 Peter
And then Paralympian of the Year, just put an exclamation mark on it.
03:20 Lauren
Oh, yeah. I've had quite a few awards this past week and yeah, Paralympian of the Year and the AIS performance of the year tops it off... like I'm so honored.
03:32 Peter
Oh, congratulations. What about kind of at the beginning of the year could you have imagined for this? I mean, do you planned that carefully? How does it all... pan out compared to your planning?
03:44 Lauren
Yeah, I mean, at the start of the year, I planned out every week right up until Paris. And, you know, it changes throughout that time, the plan and the training program and things like that. But I tried to stick to it as best I could. I did a couple of races in there and won those. Uh, and then my training was just amazing. But I did have a setback with a bike accident back in March, which was right in the, you know, in the middle of my hard preparation. And it left me with a few injuries that I had to overcome mentally and physically. But, yeah, the foot pod on my bike that's supposed to hold my leg in place fell to the like, the force bolts came loose and my leg fell to the ground at 35 miles an hour on the bike with that force, with my leg into the into the road at, um, my leg flung back and put my pelvis and lumbar spine out.
So yeah, it was hard to get through, but... yeah, the injuries to my pelvis couldn't be reversed, so I just had to use my mind to get through it and make sure I got a good preparation done despite that for Paris. And I said to myself, I'll fix my body up after Paris once I get the gold medals.
05:02 Peter
I find that a bit more like putting your mind to it. I mean, us mere mortals probably don't really understand that.
05:08 Lauren
Yeah, I mean, it was really difficult, especially when I had big goals this year. To have that accident, especially when it changed my body to what it normally is like. My pelvis rotated, my sacrum is sticking out, and yeah, just my lumbar spine has twisted, but that couldn't be reversed. I saw specialists and I saw physios and they basically said, just get on with it. You know... it's too difficult to muck around with. And yeah, I just had to try and not focus on that, but focus on adapting my equipment. So I had to change the seating position on my bike. So put extra because my I've got a moulded seat on my bike which is made out of foam, so I had to adapt to that to suit my the changes of my body to give me more support.
So it probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's just something that I had to get through to get my preparation done. And I ended up getting a really good preparation done with, you know, I had to really focus in on what the job I had to do on the at Paris and not focus on the bike accident, basically. And that's what I did. And I went to Bordeaux for my pre Paris camp. I went to Bordeaux for three weeks of training right before Paris with the Australian cycling team, and I got an amazing preparation done there.
So thankfully it all worked out in the end and I actually chose to coach myself at the start of this year. I changed everything and I chose to be the leader of me and what I do, and that's hard as an athlete. But I really had the belief in myself, and I didn't doubt myself one bit that I could do it. And yeah, basically wrote all my training plan myself and uh, yeah, it definitely worked to my benefit.
07:02 Peter
You can say, look at the scoreboard.
07:04 Lauren
Yeah, definitely.
07:06 Peter
I learned I didn't totally understand the intricacies of the changes you had to make, but I do know that there's not a lot between winning and losing, not a lot between gold and silver. So, I mean, I guess that's the sort of things, when you say about the adjustments you had to make, that can kind of add up to a lot in an event. So that's a huge thing.
07:24 Lauren
Definitely - like all those changes... can definitely, you know, be... the difference between gold and silver and... but I didn't let that affect me. Obviously, I won the... triathlon and, you know, won by a minute and a half. And the road race, I won by a few minutes. And I'm really happy with my time trial. But yeah, it can come down to just seconds. And, you know, it could have been a replay of Tokyo, where I come second by less than a second. Yeah, I had to make sure that that didn't happen again. And yeah, it was....
08:00 Peter
Yeah, it was Tokyo somewhere in the back of your mind.
08:02 Lauren
It was in the back of my mind especially, you know, it crept in my mind during the race even. And I had to make sure that, you know, I had that vision of Tokyo and I had to make sure that didn't happen again. So that was really... helping me get through the race. And just I pushed much harder than I ever thought possible.
08:23 Peter
Amazing. You have to write a book. Or maybe I'm going to write a book. Are you?
08:27 Lauren
Yeah. That is on the cards. I do plan to write a book... fairly shortly. I'm just have to work out how I do that and get the right connections. But... yeah, that's definitely something I'd like to do.
08:40 Peter
I think you'd have a lot of people wanting to read that book and maybe get some even more inspiration from it. And Laurie, you won two gold and a silver in Paris. Was there one medal that gave you more joy than the other? Or even not... so much the fact that you won, but I guess what you had to go through to win it. I mean, to win both those gruelling events is an exceptional performance.
09:00 Lauren
Yeah, I mean, they're all very special to me. Even the silver medal that I won in Paris. But the... para-triathlon does top it off. I mean, the cycling was really special to me, too, but it meant just as much. But, you know, I've been working so hard for the paratriathlon victory and that gold medal for since Tokyo. And I just yeah, put so much hard work into it. And I'm so happy it paid off. But it was special crossing that finish line with my team around me with the emotions and words can't describe the feeling when I crossed that line in the paratriathlon.
But you know, the I work hard for that cycling. Those cycling events as well. And I'm happy that all the hard work has paid off. And, you know, I was the first person in 48 years to get two gold medals across two different sports at the same games. Um, so, um. Yeah. I'm stupid. I'm so proud of myself.
10:01 Peter
Yeah. I mean, that kind of puts it into perspective, doesn't it? You say two gold medals? Oh, yeah, that's pretty cool. But when you kind of... you know, isolate it down to something that only happens every 48 years, that kind of puts it right up there as far as the top shelf goes.
10:15 Lauren
Definitely. Like I love a challenge. And when I had the opportunity to do two sports and you know, I when I had that opportunity, I took it. And I just wanted to inspire as many people as I could out there to. If you've got big dreams and big goals that anything is possible, no matter what disability you have, no matter what you're going through that... yeah, if you really work hard at it, then you can have success.
10:41 Peter
You're listening to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio, radio 1197 AM in Adelaide and across the Australia Radio Network. And we're speaking to Lauren Parker. two gold and two silver in Paris, as well as this year's Paralympian of the year. Lauren, you've had quite a... well, not a quite, you've had a high profile for a long time. You've been on things like 60 Minutes. Does that kind of bring its own pressure to performances like this when you're kind of lining up? I guess you don't think immediately of those sort of things, but that kind of, you know, bring its own sort of unique pressure to... a performance.
11:12 Lauren
No, it doesn't necessarily bring pressure. I don't mind, you know, being on 60 Minutes and doing interviews or doing talks. I like getting out there and telling my story, because when I had my accident, I said that if I could just inspire one person, then it's all worthwhile. So I hope that by telling my story that it inspires many people in their own lives. And then, you know, the pressure for sport, you know, it's... I'm the only one that puts pressure on myself. Like, since Tokyo, I've said that I'm going to get that gold medal in Paris to everyone. And that puts a lot of pressure on.
11:48 Peter
Yeah.
11:49 Lauren
That put a lot of pressure on myself, especially when I was on that start line in Paris, knowing I had won every single race between Tokyo and Paris. So that's 16 straight races I'd won. And then I thought to myself on the start line, oh, I can't blow it this time. So yeah, even that, that was a lot of pressure. But, you know, I deal well with pressure. I like getting my, you know, my story out there and hopefully I can make a difference in the world.
12:14 Peter
And maybe with something like that, I mean, if I'm your opponent and I can only aspire to be your opponent, I'm thinking, well, gee, you know, Lauren's won 16 in a row. I doubt I could beat her today. There's that kind of come into your mind, but you've got it over me, or you've got it over your opponents because of your incredible form and your wonderful record.
12:31 Lauren
I hope they think that that... yeah, you know, they... that I'll be, you know, always beat them. But that's what I always strive to do. Obviously, I go out there and I'm in it to win it. And I when I was in Paris, I wanted to be ranked number one going into that race. And... I did that. And I liked being that person, and being that person that everyone chases and it makes good competition. I'm very thankful that in my race that there is a lot of competition. You know, all the other girls are great athletes and we have respect for each other.
13:10 Peter
What about the gold medal ceremonies? They're going to be special for a long, long time, maybe. Or dare I say forever.
13:17 Lauren
Oh, forever. 100%. I'll never forget, you know, those ceremonies and being presented with the gold medal. And I'm being up there, having represented Australia with the national anthem, playing, you know, you can't ask for anything, anything better. And I'm just super honored that I had the opportunity.
13:36 Peter
Well, we've had a bit of a sneak preview into the way your mind works, which is incredible. Maybe a bit of a silly question: do you think your mind is stronger than it was before your accident?
13:46 Lauren
100%. Yeah. I've become more resilient. You know, I've grown as a person since my accident, but before my accident. Yeah, I believe I had a strong mind from being an athlete, but that has definitely got better over over the last seven years because I've had to go through so much more. I've had to go through many hurdle hurdles and many setbacks and daily, daily struggles of just living life in a wheelchair, even. You know, that makes you more resilient because you have to keep going.
And well, for me, when seven years ago, I had to make the choice whether, you know, I go down the path of not doing anything with my life and, you know, being that victim or choosing the other path and making the most of what I still had, being grateful, gaining perspective and make the most of the opportunities that were ahead of me in a sense.
14:37 Peter
Was there no choice? You're going to make the most of it. You weren't going to feel sorry for yourself or did it cross your mind? And if it did... like you... are human after all. I mean, I think a lot of us might have thought, Geez, you know, life has handed me a real dirty deal.
14:52 Lauren
Well, of course it crossed my mind. Initially, I thought that life is over, that it wasn't possible to get back into my sport again. And what? I found out that it was possible. That's what created that point in my life. And I was able to set new goals. So I was always going down... when I found out that it was possible to get back into training, that's always the path that I was going to go down. And, you know, every week, every month, I just gained more knowledge and more opportunities arose. And I was able to see what platform I had. I guess rather than going the option of not doing anything with my life and feeling sorry for myself, I'm not... I've never been that sort of person. I've always chased the challenge and I've always wanted to get better at whatever it is that I'm going for.
15:42 Peter
I don't like asking people these questions when you've had such a high moment, but what about in the future? Do you think much about what you like to do? I mean, maybe a book. Are you going to keep competing? And indeed, what's what's your body like after that? The accident in March this year and in terms of recovery and kind of putting it back together.
16:00 Lauren
Yeah, I'm still trying to work out everything, work out my life and work out the plan. I've just had three months break since Paris, so I'm just getting back into training now. I'm definitely going to spend the next year or two still training and still competing, just not as much competing and focusing on other things in life, whatever that may be, that I've never had had time for. I've been solely focused on sport training and racing for 20 years, so I need a bit of balance, I think.
But... I definitely have the goal of going to the next Paralympics, so I'll focus in on that again... after I have a bit of a step back for a while. Still be on the racecourse, but yeah, just not. Yeah, not as much I guess... because the training is gruelling. It's... suffering every day, pretty much. And... yeah. And then after the bike accident in March, I've got to see some specialists, but I'm not too sure what can happen. It might be just something that I have to live with now. But, you know, getting back to what I was saying before, like getting into my sport is what saved my life and and getting back into training.
So I'll always be an athlete. I think I'll always be training. But life after actually competing, I haven't thought too much of it. I might get into more of the public speaking, go down that avenue a bit more... I'm not too sure. It's a bit... stressful thinking about life after competing because I've been an athlete all my life. It's like my identity and... yeah.
17:38 Peter
Now I get that. Yeah, well, happy birthday for Sunday. Before we go, thanks. is there one thing that... you talked about, sort of... maybe getting a bit of life balance back - is there one thing that you kind of either miss or haven't even experienced much of in the 20 years that you've been competing? I think I'd like to be able to do... dot, dot dot...?
17:59 Lauren
Oh, I'm trying to work it out. Maybe just like, just get up and do not have it, have to train and just go... I want to go and catch up with a friend. I will kind of, I want to do that for a little bit. And... I've always put sport first and training first. Yeah, to be... being an elite athlete, you know, you have to... you can't miss a training session, you can't miss anything. So I'd like to do that sort of stuff outside of outside of training. And maybe I want to when I have family in the future. So who knows what the what the future holds, really. But... yeah. I'll always have sport.
18:39 Peter
Terrific. Lauren, you've been really good to us. I remember you spoke to us once. It was really early in the morning. I think you were either about to catch a plane or changing planes or whatever, and I remember that vividly, you were speaking to us. Thank you again. I've had lots of requests. Thank you so much for saying yes to us again. Enjoy the moment. And whatever you do in the future, we'd love to keep in touch. And when that book comes out, we'll send love to have a chat to you, and I reckon it'll be a best seller.
19:04 Lauren
Thank you so much. I'm always. I'm also wanting to put a children's book out there. So... stay tuned.
19:10 Peter
People like you really annoy me. You've got too much talent. You should spread it around a bit. Good on you.
19:15 Lauren
Thank you. Thank you.
19:17 Peter
Lauren Parker there - this year's Paralympian of the Year. And two gold medals from Paris. And what an incredible story. What an incredible mind. You'd love to be able to tap into that and maybe share with it. And books and children's books and so much more to come. The life is just beginning and a birthday coming up soon too.
Let's hear about a very interesting program named after a wonderful athlete by sports SA, the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Women in Sport program. A person who's just graduated from it is Kelly Hamlyn. Kelly, welcome and thank you for your time and lovely to meet you.
19:56 Kelly
Thank you for having me.
19:58 Peter
Just how and why you got involved with this program?
20:00 Kelly
So I got involved with the program because I'm a sports trainer here in South Australia, and the program was for women involved in sport at all different levels. So I wanted to sort of develop my skills and it kind of expand the work that I do and make some more connections and develop myself personally. And so the program came up and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to sort of get a bit more involved.
20:26 Peter
What sort of things does the program involve or entail?
20:29 Kelly
So we had a number of modules where we would go through different topics. So around leadership, physical capabilities, disability equity, inclusion and the I guess the the thing that makes the program stand out is that while there's a topic, it's very interactive, which definitely I found to be of of a great benefit.
20:53 Peter
Fantastic. What about... mixing with other people? Did that sort of make it pretty special as well, getting to sort of interact with other people?
21:00 Kelly
Yeah. So I, the women that I did the program with, they're from a variety of different sports - which was, you know, fabulous in itself because we got to learn lots about other sports that we weren't involved in, both what's similar and what's different. But the women themselves are also amazing advocates for... their sports, and for themselves. So it was... lovely to to work with those participants. But we also had the opportunity to meet some amazing people involved in sport as well, so that... was very special.
21:32 Peter
How long did the program go for?
21:33 Kelly
It goes for about 12 months. It depends if you are able to attend all your modules. I know there's a couple of ladies that, um, missed a couple here and there, so they'll catch up as the program rolls through into its second year. But yeah, it's about 12 months.
21:49 Peter
And you had a graduation at Government House, not long ago.
21:51 Kelly
I did, not only did we get presented by the current Governor, but Marjorie Jackson-Nelson herself was there. So that was a incredible honor to to have both herself and the current Governor there and present us with our certificates.
22:06 Peter
Yeah, she's an incredible athlete. Well, what an incredible athlete and certainly a wonderful ambassador for women and for sport.
22:13 Kelly
Definitely.
22:14 Peter
Tell us a bit about yourself, Kelly... about how you got involved in the field that you're involved with now and how all that kind of happened.
22:21 Kelly
Wow, that's a long answer.
22:26 Peter
I guess we're happy to listen.
22:27 Kelly
The sports training component is as a result of my son playing sport and having a few injuries and just wanting to be the mum that knew how to take care of it. After a couple of trips to the hospital and a few broken thumbs and then that kind of developed into, I guess, wanting to know more and enjoying working with people. It also suits... so I'm neurodiverse and it suits me working in that capacity because I get to be social, but I don't... I guess I don't have to do the small talk. So the structure around my conversations is there. So I get to be involved with people and sports without having to be too far out of my own comfort zone, which I really enjoy. Yeah.
And then as a result of being part of the program, then I was employed in the Sport for All program, which is an Australian Sports Commission funded program around increasing the intersection of people with a disability in the sporting community, and that I'm absolutely just loving the learning, the safety of the people that I'm with. Just the, I don't know, I guess the non-corporate real person environment. And that flows so beautifully with... the program itself because I met some Paralympians through the program and you know, seeing them as real people and then you know, being able to take those learnings and those connections out broader into the community to, you know, encourage people to be involved whichever way they want, whether that's like me as a trainer or a coach or a player or a spectator, whatever it is.
But in Australia is a very sporting nation, and we want as many people involved and comfortably involved as we as we can. So yeah, without the program, I probably wouldn't have got that role. So I'm very indebted to the program as well.
24:15 Peter
The Sport for All program, a couple of rather good Paralympians involved with that, aren't there?
24:20 Kelly
Yes, there's a couple there and some up and comers as well. And then there's... mums like me who... you know, we played community sport and that's about as far as we went.
Peter
Well, you know that that kind of the important thing is that you get involved. I mean, you know, at the end of the day, there's probably only a few people that are going to be able to represent Australia at Paralympic level or Olympic level at sort of any national level. But, you know, the, the, the base is important as well as the apex, isn't it? It's important that those that get involved or do as well. And then if those can strive to be elite, then that's cool as well. But as you kind of touched on, the broader perspective of people getting involved is so important.
24:58 Kelly
Yes. And what I've, I've learnt in, you know, coming on board is there's a lot of sports that have elite disability pathways, but there's no grassroots to support them. Mm. And you're seeing that now with you know Brisbane 32 and the the big push that the Paralympics are doing to uncover new talent is because in a lot of cases we just don't have the pipeline. You know the the grassroots connections to facilitate and easily identify these these, you know, amazing potential athletes. So I'm hoping that we can start to see that change and that there is options for people to play sport at whatever level they're at.
25:40 Peter
I think some surveys kind of showed that a number of people with disabilities do want to get involved, but there's not always that opportunity, you know, either it's inaccessible for whatever reason. So if we can make it more accessible, it's got to be a good thing for everyone.
25:53 Kelly
That's right. I actually have a survey out at the moment trying to gather some data around in South Australia what people with a disability. And that's all kinds of disability, what they're interested in playing the times, the days, the locations, because it's so much it's so dynamic, the balancing of the various needs and times to, to truly be supportive of people. But you can't if you don't know what people want, you can't provide it. So it's... sometimes it's a bit difficult to make sure that you're on the right path Because, you know, I can represent my disability experience, but I'm one person. I don't represent everybody with a disability.
26:33 Peter
So that's a very mature attitude.
26:36 Kelly
Thank you.
26:37 Peter
Maybe, you know, more people should kind of display that rather than thinking, Oh, we know what's best. So do it this way. What about some of the things in the program that you can kind of take away that that have been important to you?
26:49 Kelly
Oh, there's quite a number. That's that's a tricky one. I think the connections and the, the positivity around sport and people that do want to make a difference, that's encouraging and uplifting. You know, it's hard to want to do good and make a change when you feel like you're the only one. And so being in the program with amazing participants, as well as those that were delivering the different modules, who are all, you know, championing for a better sporting environment for everybody, let's all develop, let's all, you know, make it as positive as we can. That's. Yeah, that's really encouraging. I think sometimes when you're involved in sport, you can get blocked by the politics or the results or things like that.
So it was lovely to be involved in something that was the whole time, you know, positive. And you know, we can make a change and how would we go about doing different things. So that was that was amazing. Getting out of my comfort zone. So we we did some media training and I had to speak in front of a camera, which was definitely not something that normally I would have done or even this interview without that component of the training. Yeah. Um, and the way that they not only went through how to go through that kind of media training, but also how to make sure that, you know, you're getting the message across that you want and not just being, you know, led in a particular way.
And I think you can often see that in sports interviews where they're trying to angle a... of this coming at somebody.
28:25 Peter
Or even in politics sometimes, you know, the politician is trying to stay on message and the interviewer is trying to get him or her to say something, but they don't really want to say so. It's all a bit of fun, but we're all friendly in this program, Kelly, so you can relax about that now. Well, you know, if you don't mind me asking, what about in terms of... you know, you being neurodivergent, did you think the course of the program was very inclusive and kind of accessible for you to sort of get the most out of?
28:54 Kelly
I'll answer that in two parts. So there were some sections that I struggled with, but I was able to speak to either my participants or the person presenting and work through those. Okay. Which was only like, you can only do that because the environment was safe. Without that safe environment, you can't be yourself and you're not going to get the most out of anything, any, any work that you're trying to to do or achieve if you're not being yourself. So at times when it was difficult, I guess it was as least difficult as it could be.
And personal growth sometimes involves being uncomfortable, but knowing that I could push myself and then pull out when I'd reached my limit, that that level of safety. Unfortunately, it's not as common as it should be. And that's. Yeah, it was one of the the things that I guess kept me coming back. You know, even if I'd had a tough session, I was like, but no, I've learnt so much about myself and I've grown and and this is amazing.
29:55 Peter
Good answer. And the other thing is, I guess in a situation like that where if you're comfortable with giving feedback and then the people that are receiving your feedback are also comfortable adjusting, I mean, maybe the next person that does it might be a little, you know, the course might be a little bit more accessible for them, or there might be things that the providers of the course can be more aware of as well. That can be a good thing. So okay, it might have been a bit tougher for you, but you might have helped someone else in the future.
30:21 Kelly
Definitely. And I did have one presenter in particular. I gave her some feedback just on her slides because the text was very small. Mm, and it was difficult for me from the back of the room to follow and sort of see what was going on. But yeah, I've caught up with her outside of the program because she's, you know, how can I make this better and, you know, support more people because she's passionate about what she's teaching. So she wants that to be as accessible as possible. So, you know, those kind of connections and feeling like I've also made a difference, you know, is just an amazing experience.
30:55 Peter
So in a way, also in a sense, you're a better advocate as well.
30:59 Kelly
Absolutely, absolutely.
31:01 Peter
What do you get after Government House? Do you get a certificate or something to kind of show for the work that you've done, what you've been through?
31:08 Kelly
Yes, I do. I have my certificate, which was presented by the Governor... so that's proudly displayed with my other... education qualifications. But I think this was very different from, you know, like a formal qualification as such, because this was real life. You know, we got to talk about, you know, the concept that was being explained, but we got to apply it in our own situations and, and talk about it with each other. And What would you do? And Oh, yes. And then when you come back, you know, for the next module you can follow up. And how did that go? And it's, it wasn't just what we did in class that allowed us to grow and develop as individuals. It was the way that we then formed a network and a group that continued to support each other.
31:56 Peter
Well, Kelly, thank you for giving us just a little snapshot of what this is about. We appreciate that. Congratulations on getting through. You've got through. So that's the important thing as well. And as you kind of touched on, maybe might be better for the next person who comes through and does it. We wish you well with the future. And thank you again for your time.
32:12 Kelly
Thank you very much for having me.
32:13 Peter
That's Kelly Hamlyn there, who... one of the graduates from [?the Or from Spotify]... the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Women in Sport program graduated at government House just a few days ago.
Well, it's always great catching up with Matt Cowdrey OAM, also Member for Carlton and the Shadow Minister for... Sport and Environment. Matt Cowdrey. Matt, great to catch up. Thanks for your time.
32:45 Matt
No worries Peter, good to be with you.
32:47 Peter
Been a pretty tough year, particularly from a party point of view.
32:50 S5
Oh, it's been one of those years in politics. It's like many things in life are difficult to predict, but I've just been focused on doing what I can each and every day out at the local level. At the end of the day, that's the. That's what politics is all about is grassroots... activism and... being as present and helpful as you can in your local community. So I've certainly been focused on that.
33:15 Peter
And I guess in terms of the results, if you like, the last election kind of proved that in terms of a very, very small swing against you compared to other seats. So, you know, if you can sort of, if everyone wins their seat, then there shouldn't be a problem.
33:31 Matt
Well, something like that. That's right.
33:34 Peter
Well, what about that then? I mean, it's probably been pretty tough. I mean, probably a lot of the circumstances, as you said, you couldn't really predict... a couple of by-elections that didn't go the right way, and then a leadership that resigns or a leader that resigns. It almost is the perfect storm that happened all in one year.
33:52 Matt
Yeah. I mean, I mean, by elections are always very tough. We obviously were successful in the first of the three by-elections that have been held so far this term, with Jack Batty coming in to replace Vicki Chapman in the seat of Bragg in the eastern suburbs. But... a very tough and close by-election in Dunstan that saw a very, very small swing, but unfortunately with the seat that was closely positioned, it was not quite enough to hold on to it. And then circumstances that are obviously significant in terms of the most recent one.
So... like all of those things, um, by elections are always an opportunity to sort of refocus and to work out and dissect what was helpful, what worked well and what didn't, and where we can improve into the future. So the a little bit similar, I guess, to how you would dissect the race performances and that sort of stuff in the swimming world in times gone by that... you're only as good as your last performance and you need to learn lessons from each of them.
34:51 Peter
What about your own personal situation, change of shadow portfolios? How did that come about?
34:57 Matt
Yeah, well, in the Liberal Party, which is a little bit different to the other side of the aisle, the portfolios are entirely the purview of the leader of the day to decide who does what. So... I'm very thankful to... have the opportunity to continue serving the Shadow Cabinet and two particular areas of passion. To be completely honest about sport, it's something that I've obviously been very close to for a long period of time, and it's certainly in my, in the time that I've had available to me to get out and meet with as many of those involved in the sporting community in South Australia. Since the change of portfolio of responsibility, it's been something that I've really enjoyed, and I think there's been some pretty positive feedback in terms of having somebody in the portfolio that's obviously well accustomed to the challenges and the issues involved with sport in South Australia.
On the other hand, the Environment portfolio is something that is very much front and centre with the area that I represent, with coastal management and river systems and a whole range of other reasons. So the two portfolios that are... really two areas of passion for me.
36:08 Peter
What about the sports side of things? I'm assuming you got a chance to catch the Olympics and in particular the Paralympics. Got caught up with a bit of that.
36:15 Matt
Yeah, I certainly watched a lot more of the Paralympics this year than I had in the last couple, to have the opportunity to... really get involved in it this year. I think it was the first time since the retirement that I had... well, given that the changes in time zone and all that sort of stuff, at times it can be difficult to to catch each and every part of it. But... certainly it was a Games where we saw some pretty significant performances from areas of the team that we may not necessarily have relied for miles upon previously. I think the cycling team and athletics team were both very, very strong. And then to have our first gold medal in in rowing with Australian and adopted South Australian with... Jed and his partner Nikki, in the rowing. We had some great performances that we should all be very proud of.
37:11 Peter
And we caught up with Jed last week. Of course, he scored a new role with SASI, which is also very exciting, and he was literally jumping out of his skin. I think he can't wait to... well, he just started I guess officially, but he can't wait to kind of see that roll out with '28 and '32 on his mind.
37:26 Matt
Yeah, and it is a very important thing for us to continue to... build on the the lack of a very... term that's difficult to sometimes comprehend, but that the funnel of athletes that we need to continue to get involved with the Paralympics and para sport more generally... we don't produce our athletes without having the right settings at grassroots and without actively going out and finding them. Some of our best athletes to ever perform at the Paralympic level, and many of whom that that make their way through to the Paralympic team, have been identified and nurtured through some of these grassroot programs. So Jed's got a big responsibility to basically go out and find the next generation of South Australian Paralympians, and one that I'm sure that he will do a great job at.
38:14 Peter
But I guess along those lines, the way that Channel 9 covered the Paralympics, I think can only help. That was extraordinary, I think the coverage that the Paralympics got there.
38:22 Matt
I think the coverage of broadly was very was very, very good this year, to have reached a point... and I know we've spoken about it previously, but you only have to sort of sit back and remember where we were 20 or so years ago, where we were lucky to get a half an hour highlights package at midnight... to have seen that transition to effectively a full commercial coverage, with each of the sports able to be dialled into through the digital and online app, that you can basically pick what you want to watch the Paralympics these days, which certainly wasn't the case in in years gone by.
So we're spoilt in some ways to to have that sort of coverage and to have that sort of platform to... feed into the work that Jed's doing that, uh, we have a generation of Paralympians that will be upcoming that, at least from the very start, get to see our athletes on the world stage performing right from a very young age.
39:19 Peter
And as you say, the grassroots are two or people just getting more active, you know, getting out and about and doing stuff from a young age. As a person with a disability, there's got to be a good thing for a their health and b the communities as a whole.
39:33 Matt
Absolutely. I mean, it's something that preventative health is something in a broader sense. That is really important. It goes without saying, but more so for that cohort of people with a disability as well. The more that we can get people active, the better. And... the additional challenges that come with people with a disability, the more that we're able to integrate into into sport through different programs or, or opportunities, the better. And that's no different to anybody else in the community.
40:04 Peter
But a couple of things that have come up on the program sort of in that area, if you like... is the situation where... a number of, or in fact, all our Paralympians who won gold medals before a certain time don't get an OAM. And I think almost now automatically if you win a gold medal you get an OAM. Have you got any thoughts about that? Because we spoke to Elizabeth Edmondson earlier this year. Actually it was 60 years since Elizabeth as a 14 year old won gold in Tokyo, won three gold actually, probably something you can identify with. And I said at the time, Well, you know Elizabeth Edmondson OAM and that was something that came in later. It's something like that. Be made retrospective, do you think?
40:40 Matt
Well, we certainly hope so. On the back of your advocacy and those that you've mentioned that it's certainly been raised on... this show before, we did recently write to the Governor-General to make that request that we have those Paralympians that have come before the generation that have had the opportunity to be recognised through the Order of Australia medal, that hopefully we can expand. that eligibility to those Paralympians that have come before us that have won gold medals. So we haven't received a response yet, but I hope that we get a positive response and that we can start to recognise that generation of Paralympians who haven't quite been in the same position in terms of that recognition previously.
41:24 Peter
So it sounds very promising. We stand by to hear more about it. And also a few weeks ago we spoke to Baxter Noonan, who was with Bradford Baxter, also as an artist and had work exhibited at Sala Baxter a couple of years ago, had a kidney transplant and for the first time this year competed at the Transplant Games, which is fantastic. And albeit in terms of elite sport, it's kind of a different approach or a different philosophy, which is all fair enough. But that kind of, you know, fork out of our own pocket to to get there and compete. And it was such a wonderful experience for him in terms of meeting other people who have received transplants and the awareness of organ donation, the thinking of families, of diners, that sort of thing. It's such a fabulous event.
What about that sort of thing? I mean, I don't know if you can kind of make an announcement on the program now in terms of possible future support. But, I mean, I guess even yourself, when you were younger, in terms of the amount of money you had to fork out to get to competition, it's a pretty tough road.
42:24 Matt
It is. It's not easy by any stretch. Firstly, the fact that our growing community of... artists with a disability is something that I've noticed over the last couple of years before I do get to the sporting side. And particularly the festival, I think has helped to... really promote that. There's a local Henley art. I just wanted to quickly give a shout out to Felicity Steer, who does a range of coastal... paintings and her collection, and her recognition in the local area has only grown out of the the festival and her participation in that.
But in terms of our ability to fund participation in games, it's something that needs to be worked on. I think that that goes without saying, and that starts right from the very basics of ensuring that we have the settings right and the recognition right around the requirements and guidelines for many of the grants that are available. There are grants, as odd as it is at county level, with some local councils supporting international sporting representation for their retina and some not even within the local area. There are at present there are one half of the electorate that would receive support through their local council and the other that wouldn't. And again, there's guidelines in regard to what competitions meet that.
And I think there's an opportunity for us to expand that to include more representative, uh, competitions in terms of disability sport. And then at the same time, there are numerous grants at the federal level to support elite participation and to cover travel costs, because none of those things are getting any cheaper, but certainly something that you've raised that is well and truly on my radar is ensuring that we have events like the Transplant Games that are covered by some of the existing grant avenues that are available, and making sure that we make representations to the right people to ensure that that is the case.
44:28 Peter
What's also an Olympic or Paralympic sport? To write a grant that's going to get you the funding rather than, you know, be a sort of very worthy recipient, if you know what I mean. You've got to be able to write the grant the right way. Correct?
44:40 Matt
Exactly right.
44:43 Peter
Matt, just before you go, also, the situation regarding another pet subject of mine, the situation regarding telephone voting at the state election. Yeah, I know there was, I know there was some discussion or in fact, there was some legislation passed regarding the political donations. Was that, or was telephone voting part of that?
45:05 Matt
No, but it was in a separate bill that was passed in the last week of the Parliament this year so that the Opposition, the Liberal Opposition, had a discrete bill to allow telephone voting to occur. And that was introduced in the Parliament in 2022. So more than more than two or nearly three years ago now, unfortunately, there were three by-elections that passed in the meantime. But we've touched on in earlier through this interview where telephone voting wasn't allowed. But as it stands, that state elections moving forward and by elections and those that are covered by the State Electoral Act, telephone voting will be an option for those visually impaired people that want to make use of telephone voting.
So that finally is a good win to finish off the year, to ensure that we have that technology in place for those that need it.
45:59 Peter
Well, that's fantastic news. Well, I can't wait for the 2026 election.
46:03 Matt
It's a lot easier for everybody to participate. And at the end of the day, that's what a democracy should be. Where while no different to anything else, you know, no different for those of us that have conditions on our licenses or drive in a slightly different way, or how we get about, we need to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to participate in our elections. And it's a shame it took this long to get that done, but I'm glad we've got there and no small way. Thanks for the advocacy that you've shown over the years in regards to that issue as well.
46:32 Peter
Well, I've just been [?divorced] for many... Matt, regarding 2026... any decision regarding yourself yet?
46:40 Matt
What I've thought... pre-election from the Liberal Party in the state of Colton. So for... well, well... that will all be finalised in the coming weeks. So, yeah... the gentleman certainly been done. And away we go after that.
46:58 Peter
Terrific, Matt. Always appreciate your time. You have a great Christmas. All the best for 2025. I can probably put some money on the fact that 2025 is going to be better than 2024.
47:09 Matt
Well, we always hope that things improve each and every year. But... and can you, Pete, and to your listeners, again, thank you for another great year and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. And hopefully everybody gets a chance to have a little bit of rest and recuperation and a chance to meet up with family and friends and enjoy the small amount of time that we get to to really chill out over this period.
47:31 Peter
There, on you Matt.
47:32 Matt
Thanks.
47:33 Peter
That's Matt Cowdrey OAM, the Member for Colton and the Shadow Minister for Sport and Environment, and there's some pretty good news there. We might spread the word about that. That is very, very exciting and good to hear a good Christmas present for us.
Well, every year round about this time we catch up with Pam Mitchell, our resident counsellor, for her Christmas message. Pam, welcome. And I think this is maybe about the 20th time.
48:04 Pam
Oh, gee, the years go by, don't they? But as always, my focus is always, as you know, on mental health. Just a few things in reflection. And they always are probably the more serious things. And then leading to be able to finish on a high note. So in our year of reflection this year, we've had all sorts of things that have affected us, especially, I'm thinking today of the farmers and their families, the changes in their what they can put in the bank or in their mortgage or in their field as they've gone through the travesty of what's happened to the poultry industry.
So, you know, incredible shortage of egg supply, etc. they've had to deal with some of that. And obviously as their main source of income, the fruit fly, the toxins destroying the tomato industry of late. And the cherries? The oranges that have got fruit fly or other diseases and just gone. Their whole well-being has just gone. Affecting the way they live and their job. And then we have the extreme drought in many of our rural areas affecting the crops, affecting the livestock, the market price that they can bring if they've got anything to take to market.
So thinking of those people all throughout Australia today, our weather patterns continue to fluctuate. Doesn't matter whether it's one side of politics or the other. The reality is that we have had some difference in our weather patterns, and that challenges the person on the land. It challenges people in everyday life, of course, but the threat of fires and storms are still looms with us as we come into some hotter weather we've been experiencing over the past week. Politically. My goodness me, the upheaval locally and nationally globally.
And that, of course, has been coloured with the travesty of war that just doesn't seem to go away as it sometimes often out of our control. But that doesn't mean it lessens that what we carry within us, of that dread and that fear of those of people, especially listening today that have been through those wars in earlier years themselves, or families of those who have been through those wars, just hoping that that is something that history doesn't repeat itself.
But certainly it is in many places over the continent, over the world, we think closer to one of our [?roto]. What on earth more can we do? Everybody trying as much as they can, but it continues to seem to grow the cost of human life, not just with roto, but in terms of how crime has risen, injuries, harm to self or other. The suicide rate that continues to soar. Domestic violence driven. Of course, with financial stress on people. Poverty of course, in the way that people are living in much lesser condition than they ever imagined they would. The food banks just really struggling to keep their doors open for these people that just won't have a Christmas meal this week.
And then there's those things on the other side of that that we have celebrated over the year, whether it be through Olympic Games, whether it be your favorite sports team, whether it be some scholastic ability, or from a child, a grandchild or a child or some means within the family. Knowing that this week we've had the release of the end of year ATAR scores for all those youth coming into our working environment, our universities, our trades, choosing what they will do from here, some of them just exultant in what they've achieved and others wondering whether that changes their initial choice of what they were going to do. Huge impacts on all of us with the challenges we face.
So bearing those things in mind. I also want to talk today about good belly laughs in our life, because there are a whole lot of serious topics and they're all real, but so is what we can do for ourselves to keep ourselves in good health. Being mindful of what other people's circumstances are. But if we ourselves can take more care of us, we're more likely to be able to take care of others and being aware of others and being helpful for them. So it's about what we can do with ourselves so we can help more, and what we can do in our land, in our way of living laughter. Believe it or not, says doctor Lee Berk, helps the brain-regulated stress the hormones of cortisol.
And it's one of the estimates, is that 10 to 15 minutes of laughter a day can burn up to 40 calories, so it can help your waistline, too. Maybe we should all try doing some laughter therapy after Christmas. Lunch is served. It relieves stress, lowers blood pressure, provides cardio benefits. It tightens our muscles, our abs. It boosts our T cells and releases endorphins. So the brain feels better and it fights off sickness and relief from pain. It improves our sense of well-being and gives a more positive outlook.
There are different ways we can laugh. It's the Christmas cracker that we might find that the jokes in the mere appalling, but somehow we find ourselves laughing. How many times did we do that at the Christmas table? How many times do we actually think, oh my heavens, who wrote that? That's ridiculous. But then we all fall about laughing. And laughing is a beautiful therapy and laughing in its good sense, not taking the Mickey out of somebody else. That's fun for five seconds, but not continual. So just being aware of a laughter deliberately placed, not misplaced is a wonderful thing to do.
And just feeling the energy. The changes in mood settings, if you're able to share something like something may be on the radio that has brightened your day, and you share that you have a laugh over the neighbor's fence about something that the grandchild did about something that happened at the Christmas table, about something in life that tickles your fancy on a program or whatever. Maybe listening to Peter Greco on this channel, if that brings laughter and and mirth to your, I'm sure, to your day every time you tune in about those wonderful things and experiences. My hope in this Christmas message is that we have a year that we actually make more sense of the things we choose to do, the more ways we can actually reach out.
And... that old cliche, Are you OK? Just asking the question can are you okay? Can I help staying close to loved ones? Maybe we can't be there with them, but we can in that hold those memories in our hearts, in our minds. A little phone call, a little text, whatever your way of communication is just finding that in ourselves that brings us actually memories and those things we choose to engage in so that we actually share those moments with ourselves and together.
And I want to finish with something that comes in this really battered little book of mine from Helen Keller. I think I've chosen something here before, but this is something that I hope some of the, some of our readers today may be touched with. And Helen Keller's life. Of course, being someone without sight, someone without hearing. And such a lot that she contended with in her life, but still finding beauty in life. And this is one of those little snippets, and it's a letter that she addressed to Dear Mr. Hale. And it was in the beginning of 1890...
The beautiful shells came last night. I thank you very much for them. I shall always keep them, and it will make me very happy to think about how you found them on a faraway island from which Columbus sailed to discover our dear country. When I am 11 years old, it would be 400 years since he started with the three small ships to cross the great strange ocean. He was very brave. The little girls were delighted to see these lovely shells. I told them all I knew about them.
Are you very glad that you could make so many people happy? I am, I should be very happy to come and teach you the Braille sometime if you have time to learn. But I'm afraid you're too busy. A few days ago, I received a little box of English violets from Lady Meath. The flowers were wilted, but the kind thought which came with them was as sweet and as fresh as newly pulled violets, with loving greeting to the little cousins and Mrs. Hale. And a sweet kiss for yourself from your little friend Helen Keller.
I just love that it's just about what we have got, what we make do with, what we notice, what we cherish, what we hold in our hearts, what touches us, how we connect with others in helping them to share the joy of what we've received ourselves. Beautiful messages this time of Christmas in this little book that was written and released, I think, in one of its earliest editions in 1958, raising my bookshelf, which I love to put down every now and again, and just find something in there that takes us beyond a sense of our worries and our woes, and connects us with all those things. Precious.
Merry Christmas, peace, joy and love to everybody listening. It's been a fabulous time experience to spend another year with you. Peace, Peter.
58:01 Peter
And that was wonderful. Thank you so, so much for all you've done throughout the year. We really appreciate that. All the best for Christmas and we look forward. We'll give you January off because we're very generous and bless you. Yeah we'll catch up with you in February.
58:14 Pam
Peter. Lovely. Be with you.
58:16 Peter
Pam Mitchell. They found a contact. Pam, a counsellor by profession. 0418 835 767.
Let's welcome to the program Alexandra Morse, who is the Director for Creative Therapies in Tasmania. And we're going to talk a bit more about the situation regarding music therapies and creative therapies. Alexandra, it's lovely to meet you. Thank you for your time.
58:42 Alexandra
Thanks for the opportunity.
58:43 Peter
Now you're quite concerned regarding... well, some of the things that are going on or maybe not going on or maybe more the way it's being done.
58:50 Alexandra
Yeah, it's confusing, isn't it? It's been a really traumatic time for our families. And there's lots of questions, we're really not sure... yeah, the outcome of what's going to happen at this stage.
59:00 Peter
We've chatted a little bit on the program, Alex. And... I mean, basically these therapies were kind of all okay. And then literally all of a sudden they've kind of... been put under a bit of a question mark.
59:11 Alexandra
Yeah. So music therapy and art therapy has been part of the NDIS therapeutic support since the NDIS began, at the time when they were developing the NDIS. They could recognise and understand the evidence base behind music therapy, and it was implemented as a, you know, valid therapeutic support. So until recently that they've decided that... you know, Minister Shorten announced that there was no evidence to support music therapy... and we've had an enormous amount of support from all sectors, all communities, all participants. And as a result, they've now announced a review into music therapy.
59:47 Peter
You would dispute the fact that there's no scientific evidence.
59:50 Alexandra
Absolutely I would. I mean, obviously it's been my profession for 17 years, but underpinning that is a profession of fifty years of evidence within Australia. We have a music therapy association. Everyone who registers with that association has... tertiary qualifications in music therapy. And they... at the moment you study music therapy at the University of Melbourne or Western Sydney University. And we work across all care sectors in Australia. And not just the NDIS. And underpinning that is an enormous body of evidence and research which supports best practice for our people, from the very young to the very old and in between.
1:00:32 Peter
Correct. All right. So one of the things that you said was the fact that there's no evidence. I mean, one of the things that kind of intrigued me, I think, well, actually, if there's university courses, I guess that doesn't necessarily automatically mean that there must be scientific evidence, but that kind of gives it a fair bit of clout, if I can put it that way.
1:00:48 Alexandra
That's correct. As a music therapist, we also have registration with Allied Health Professions Australia. So we are equally as qualified and as recognised as our other colleagues, such as occupational therapy or speech pathology.
1:01:01 Peter
It's not them versus us or A against B, but sometimes, you know, some therapies work better with with some people than others. I mean, I guess that's kind of life, isn't it? We don't all, you know, like like vanilla ice cream, as it were.
1:01:15 Alexandra
Well, that's that's correct. I always say we walk alongside other therapists and we often work on... similar things. However, the nuances of music make it incredibly powerful. We particularly work with a lot of neurodivergent children and families here at Creative Therapies Tasmania. And for those those children and adults, many of them are actually incredibly musical. It's... amazing to watch. We have a really high number of children who are non-speaking but have perfect pitch here. It is their way of communicating and understanding the world and connecting with others.
And that's why music is so successful. We work with a whole lot of theory and evidence to underpin what we're doing. Minister Shorten was recently interviewed saying that music therapy is simply a singalong, and I really argue completely against that assertion that we provide singalongs. Everything we do is we support the participants to achieve their goals within... their individual NDIS plans. It's just that music's a tool. And I think for, you know, centuries or for as long as humans have existed, music's been used as a health resource.
And I guess with the development of the NDIS, people have had more access and, you know, lots of amazing community programs that have developed and people are understanding the benefits of music as a health resource, and they want to access more and they want to do more. And unfortunately, as a result of that, there's more people that have fraudulently been claiming music therapy line item in the NDIS because they don't have the understanding around what actually is music therapists and how you become qualified. And I think that's, you know, been really the big issue here, is that too many people have been fraudulently claiming music therapy in the NDIS, and now we're in... a bit of strife.
1:03:13 Peter
So a few making it bad for the majority.
1:03:15 Alexandra
Yeah. Well actually it's not just... a few too many maybe. Yeah. We've been recently told that it's been up to actually up to 60% of our claim within the NDIS for music therapy line items have been from non qualified people.
1:03:30 Peter
I mean with due deference Alex, you probably don't want to enter it too much, but calling it a singalong... I mean, that's that's almost offensive, isn't it? I mean, that's insulting, really, because that's kind of belittling or making something very small, which isn't.
1:03:43 Alexandra
Yeah, it certainly made me... incredibly angry. And, you know, a profession that I've dedicated my entire life to just to be belittled in that way. It was, you know, incredibly offensive. And I guess the thing about music therapy, it is so diverse and so specialized to meet the participants need that often singing doesn't happen in music therapy. And I'll give you an example... if you're interested.
Peter
Of course.
Alexandra
Last week I was working with an adult, a neurodivergent adult ASD level three... with incredibly complex needs. And he came into therapy and I was, I said to his support worker, I said, Okay, what's going on with the hygiene issue? Because I can smell him today. And he said, Look, we're really struggling to shower him. And this is becoming a huge issue. And I said, What's the barrier for showering? And they said, Oh, it's actually because he can't, he won't put his arms up above his head. And I said, Oh, well, we can work on that in music. Really? Really.
So I actually just grabbed some drums that are on on sticks and we actually did some drumming crossing the middle line hand over hand to start with... with him, we put on his favourite piece of music. So we're using rhythmic cueing for him to connect with beat, and then we're able to move the drums right up above his head and up his arms went... and showed the support worker a routine that they could practice at home. So he was having a great time drumming. He was working on that skill.
And then this week, I've just recently received a video of him in the shower humming to his favourite piece of music, like, there's no no part of that. That wasn't singalong, and it was a really tangible, functional goal that we were able to work on. And he's just had the, you know, something that was not a pleasant experience of showering for this... young person is now something really not... it's almost enjoyable, but it's not a challenge for him now. And he's now having, you know, transferred skills where they're able to work on hygiene in a really tangible way.
1:05:43 Peter
And you experience your kind of... detective work in a sense, the kind of Work that out. I mean, you know, there's your... evidence, surely.
1:05:51 Alexandra
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, there's no part of that that involves, you know, group singing with other people and that's that's going to have lifelong effects for him if he can actually shower properly and really helpful for his team as well. There's nothing, you know, it's really hard as a support worker if you if you can't, you know, deliver those tasks like care, and be able to support them to be able to achieve that is, you know, a really great thing to be able to do.
1:06:19 Peter
Alex, I'm not going to try and offend you. I think you're, would it be fair to say Country Tasmania? The reason I ask that is because... I mean, sometimes for people who live in non-metropolitan areas, it's hard to find therapists or support in any sort of field. And if someone finds a music therapist or creative therapist like you and you're in the country, that's a godsend. So is that right? I got that part right?
1:06:42 Alexandra
Yeah. And yeah, no offensive at all... we are in regional Tasmania, in the Northwest.
1:06:47 Peter
Regional, probably. Right? Yep. Fair enough.
1:06:49 Alexandra
And we do have a severe lack of other allied health professionals. And many of our participants sit on waitlists for years, not months, years. I recently... one of my participants recently got into an OT and they've been on a waitlist for two years. Two years is a long time when they're four and that's half their life. They've been waiting to see an OT, but we've been able to support their same goals through music therapy. If we have to close creative therapies, it's going to have a huge detrimental effect to accessibility of, you know, quality allied health services in in northwest west Tasmania, and there are other music therapists around the country who work in remote communities. So, you know, there's a lot to consider through this analysis.
1:07:34 Peter
Obviously, your example there, I mean, that was kind of powerful for the young person, the support worker. And I guess in the area that you work in as well, you've got families that are impacted by this decision as well.
1:07:45 Alexandra
Yeah, I think it's been really it's been really challenging the last few weeks to be able to support them through that. A lot of our... people don't access any other therapy because it hasn't either because they've been on waitlists or other therapy hasn't been successful and they're now pulling away what is really successful to them. So there is lots of, you know, lots of fear and anxiety in our community about the loss of music therapy.
1:08:12 Peter
So is it kind of a bit of a Let's wait and see, or review in February? Is that the sort of status at the moment?
1:08:18 Alexandra
It is a Wait and see. So this Friday just gone the NDIS announced an independent review into music therapy, and that's going to be conducted by Dr Duckett, who is a health economist. He has announced that he will deliver a review and a report by the 14th of March, and no changes are to happen until the 14th of March. However, I have families that are having reviews for their families constantly until the 14th of March and they're told, Oh, there's no evidence for music therapy. So our families are being affected right now.
And yeah, we will just wait and see. I know that Dr Duckett will do his due diligence, and he will discover that we have the most amazing profession. We have the best evidence to support our work, and he will find that we have high value. We are low risk and good value for money. And he will also see that there is fraudulence happening, and it's not that hard to fix if we can show our AMTA registration number when we put in invoices, then we get paid. If there's no AMTA registration number, then people don't get paid. It's pretty clear. And hopefully when he finds that... you know, the NDIS can can announce that music therapy can continue as it has been.
1:09:38 Peter
Alex, you've put your case wonderfully well. Thank you for sharing that with us. We really appreciate that. We'd love to keep in touch. And obviously it's a stressful time for many people. We appreciate you spending some time with us. And as I said, it'd be good to get back to you, perhaps in the New Year and see what comes of all this.
1:09:54 Alexandra
Thanks for the opportunity.
1:09:55 Peter
That's Alexandra morse there from... Creative Therapies Tasmania, the director. Okay. Very powerfully put. And hopefully the right people hear it and the right decision gets made.
Well, a fantastic event... and at the same time, a rather sobering event... took place last weekend, where any calls to Santa from the Telstra payphones funds went towards the kids Helpline. Let's find out a bit more about and speak to Tracy Adams, the CEO for Kids Helpline. Tracy, lovely to meet you and thank you for your time.
1:10:36 Tracy
Thank you for having me.
1:10:37 Peter
As I said, it's kind of a good and bad news story, isn't it? Or a happy and sad news story in a way that... there is a need for this sort of thing to... be happening?
1:10:46 Tracy
Well, I think it's fantastic that Telstra have got on board to make sure that young people firstly know how to use a phone box, which is always a good thing, but also as part of that calling centre, that joyous ability that for kids to connect with Santa is also going to make a difference for children and young people who may not have the same happy Christmas that we would like all children to have now.
1:11:07 Peter
Rather interesting that the amount of calls from payphones has been going up, and I guess that's a reflection of the cost of living.
1:11:14 Tracy
Well, I think it is, but it's also a recognition that many smaller children or younger children, particularly under the age of ten. They may not have access to a mobile phone and so many of their homes today they don't have landlines anymore. So I think the payphones provide a great opportunity for those younger children to receive support that they might need.
1:11:34 Peter
So every call that was made on the weekend, a dollar goes to the Kids Helpline.
1:11:37 Tracy
That's right. So those calls to send to Telstra came on board and donated a dollar to Kids Helpline, and $50,000 has been raised over the weekend, which we are delighted by.
1:11:50 Peter
Oh, that's fantastic. Well, tell us a bit about the Kids Helpline. I guess we've all heard of it, but what do you do? What's kind of your main function if you like?
1:11:58 Tracy
Well, Kids Helpline is available 24 over seven at no cost for children and young people aged between 5 and 25 to receive professional counselling support or to have somebody to talk to. It might just be something that's sort of really a counselling issue, but maybe a child's lonely or just would like to know information about certain things, like bullying, for example. Because it's 24 over seven, we really are the safety net for children and young people nationally. We're the only service available that covers that span of hours every day of the year, every minute of every day. Its hotlines have been going for over 32 years now, and interestingly enough, payphones were one of the most important components when we kicked off Kids Helpline right at the very beginning.
1:12:44 Peter
Yeah, that's very interesting, isn't it? And I guess, you know, I kind of smile in the sense that, I mean, the payphone survives even though we've got social media and as you say, mobile phones, the internet, there's still a place for the payphone.
1:12:55 Tracy
Well, I think there's just over 14,000 of them nationally. So yes, they have survived and I think they've continued to evolve. I know today they provide a Wi-Fi access, but they really are still a critical point, as I've mentioned, for children and young people, to feel that they have a space to reach out if they need help. As we know, not every home is safe. Not every child is living in an environment where they feel safe. So having somewhere to go where they can reach somebody who can help them is critically important.
1:13:26 Peter
I think one of the stats, if you like, that made the biggest impression on me, was last Christmas Day. 200 calls were made to the kids hotline. This is on Christmas Day. I mean, that's kind of pretty revealing, isn't it?
1:13:37 Tracy
Well, it is. You know, as I've said, not every home is safe. Children can feel very lonely at this time of the year. I think last festive season, if we think about the weeks leading up to Christmas, there were 8000 contacts made to Kids Helpline just in that period of time. So we know it's a difficult time. We have families under stress and children worry about their parents, and they worry about what's going to happen to their family because of some of those stresses that are occurring. So having somebody that they can talk to can help them with strategies about how to cope. They're all positive signs that our young people are really leaning in to into health and safety.
1:14:15 Peter
Oh, that's a great point. Yeah. No. Well done. I like I like the way you make that point. Tracy, what about... the kids make the calls - what about who wants them and how they're trained to be able to answer them as best they can?
1:14:27 Tracy
Well, all of our counsellors are tertiary qualified professionals. So they're psychologists or social workers or tertiary qualified counsellors. They're paid. So this is something that's really important for us, that families can be very assured that children and young people are going to get really highly skilled support and help. Importantly as well, young people, if they need to, can repeat and come back to the same counsellor so they can establish a relationship. They can find that can have that sort of support that's ongoing in many young people do that. In fact, more than 30% of all of our contacts are young people who come back and want to continue that relationship.
1:15:07 Peter
This is something about it in itself, doesn't it?
1:15:09 Tracy
Well, it does, and I think nobody wants to have to tell their their story twice, and having the same counsellor available just means that they can be building up those coping strategies and putting in place what might be necessary in some cases, their safety plans, how to keep themselves safe and families that aren't safe. So these are all critical things. Last year, more than 4000 of those contacts were a young person in crisis, where a counsellor had to call an ambulance or call child protection services because they were at such risk of harm in the moment that they reached out to Kids Helpline.
1:15:46 Peter
That's incredible, isn't it? And what about the kids themselves? I guess they all come from different backgrounds. I'm thinking about different abilities, different disabilities, different cultures, et cetera, et cetera. I mean, I guess when the counsellor picks up the phone, they've got no idea... you know, who's calling and what the story is about.
1:16:03 Alexandra
Oh, no. That's right. They don't know. That's why it's important that they are skilled. I think it's helpful when we really put ourselves in the place where it's a universal service. There should be no barrier for any young person feeling that they can't seek that help and support. And so it's it's critical that we have multiple channels to telephone webchat. Young people can use our social channels. They can come online to our website that we continue to promote. It's free. We hear all the time about long waiting lists. Parents share with us how challenging it is to get a child to be seen by somebody who's a specialist. But Kids helpline can hold young people where those things are happening around them.
1:16:47 Peter
How can we find out more, Tracy?
1:16:48 Tracy
Oh well, the Kids Helpline website is a great resource, and Young People and Parents is a special place on the Kids Helpline website for information for parents as well and young people. We also have our Kids Helpline at School initiative, where schools can support and get counsellors zooming into classrooms to have great conversations with young people about things such as bullying, which has been really topical lately, of course. So all of these things are about how we equip our young people to be able to be as safe and be as confident that they need to be to be successful in life.
1:17:24 Peter
Tracy, it's been great talking to you. Congratulations on the initiative. And of course, well done to Telstra and their public phones as well for making those funds available last week. And $50,000 is not an insignificant amount of money. We wish you well and thanks again for speaking to us - and Merry Christmas.
1:17:39 Tracy
Thank you and Merry Christmas to you as well.
1:17:42 Peter
That's Tracy Adams there, the CEO for Kids Helpline. Was sort of a good and bad news story, happy and sad news story. But certainly some great positivity shined there by Tracy. And we'll put details up with our show notes if you'd like to find out more.
Well, it's almost here. The Vision Australia Carols. Let's chat about it with someone who's had a great deal to do with it, particularly in the 1980s - as you do, Angie Randall. Welcome, and thank you so much for your time.
1:18:16 Angie
Thank you. I was known as Angie Robertson then, Peter.
1:18:20 Peter
All right. Well, we're pointing that out.
1:18:23 Angie
Yeah. Randall is my married name. Nobody would know me as Randall. So it's Angie Robertson. And what happened in 1979? I was asked by Graham Lyle, who's the famous musician, jazz musician, would I be able to play for Carols? And I said I couldn't play because I had to go to Sydney to be with my mother for Christmas. So he asked me, could I recommend anybody else? And I said, Well, I've only got students at the moment I'm teaching. So he said, well, are the students any good? And I said, of course they're good. They're my students.
So anyway, he said, Well, would you like to try send some for me and see how they go? I said Yes, so I sent three students along to him for the Carols in 1979. And then I saw Graham in January in 1980. And he said to me, Angie, those students were terrific - have you got any more for next year? And I said, Well, how many do you want? And he said, How many have you got? And I said, Well, I've got a full string orchestra. So... he said, Oh wonderful, you're on. So I then led the orchestra with my... I was teaching at MLC at the time, and I had my MLC Strings on. We provided the whole string section for the orchestra.
1:19:46 Peter
Fantastic.
1:19:47 Angie
And the girls thought that was. It was a great carrot for me to dangle in front of my students all year, because I said, Only those girls who attend all my rehearsals are going to get to play for Carols. So yeah, it was very useful.
1:20:02 Peter
So what sort of age are we talking about the girls being, Angie?
1:20:05 Angie
The girls would have been from... oh, 13 to 18.
1:20:11 Peter
Wow. Yeah. Fantastic opportunity.
1:20:13 Angie
Oh, it was a wonderful opportunity. I mean, they loved it being on television and, you know, so it was excellent. And Geoff Harvey was the conductor, of course. And he was an amazing man. He was a great conductor and a great guy, you know, a great bloke, a lot of fun. And, Peter did... Peter Davies used to do a lot of the arranging. And he'd often... I'd rewrite parts because he might have written the violin parts a bit too high for my young students, so I would rewrite them an octave lower or something overnight. But anyway, it all worked out. And yes, so I led the orchestra from 1980 to 87.
1:20:59 Peter
Wonderful. So what sort of instruments were in the orchestra that you were leading?
1:21:03 Angie
Oh, violin, viola, cello and double bass.
1:21:07 Peter
And obviously in terms of... sort of supplementing and complementing the show, such an important part of it.
1:21:13 Angie
Oh, absolutely. Yes. Well, we were the whole string section and all the other musos were all professionals. So, you know, it was very exciting.
1:21:24 Peter
But I guess in terms of, you know, networking and the opportunity to meet other artists, that would have been a tremendous thing as well, not just playing in front of such a big audience, television and live wires, but meeting other artists as well.
1:21:38 Angie
Oh, yes, meeting the pop stars and yeah, things I can remember my Mum and Dad coming to... the first one in 1980, and I think my Mum was a great fan of... Colleen Hewett. Yes. Do you remember her?
1:21:55 Peter
Absolutely.
1:21:56 Angie
And... Mum met her backstage. My mother was absolutely thrilled, and she thought it was just wonderful. But yeah. No, it was it was exciting. And I got on very well with Geoff and... you know, it was it was just a great experience. I'm very proud of it.
1:22:15 Peter
And in a sense, almost... serendipitously coming about, the opportunity.
1:22:19 Angie
Yes, absolutely. It's just funny how things happen, isn't it? You don't know what's going to happen. You know, there I was with... this friend Graham Lyle and, you know, asking me for students. So...
1:22:34 Peter
And I believe you still watch the Carols these days.
1:22:37 Angie
Oh, absolutely. I watch it every year. Yes. I'll be away this year, but I'll certainly be watching. I'll be up in Noosa with my son. But my son said we'll make sure that we're watching.
1:22:49 Peter
You probably look at it and listen to it a little bit differently than us sort of mere mortals. Aren't you probably listening out with... the leader of an orchestra's ear, if you like.
1:22:59 Angie
Oh, well, look, I listen to the music, obviously, but something like ours, it's always so special and I'm not there to criticise. I'm there to to join in and encourage everybody who's playing.
1:23:10 Peter
Yeah. Have you got a favourite artist? It's probably an unfair question.
1:23:15 Angie
Oh, not at the moment. No I don't... no, I couldn't say that. I mean, John Farnham was brilliant. Yeah. And... but I can't even remember all the people I played for.
1:23:29 Peter
Yeah, well, someone like Dennis Walsh is sort of a... yeah, he's been there for a hundred years, or he's been...
1:23:36 Angie
He sang a lot of the carols. I play a lot of them.
1:23:40 Peter
And Marina Prior.
1:23:41 Angie
Yes. That's right. She played and, yeah. No, it was very exciting. And, you know, my girls just loved it. And so it was, yeah, very proud of having done that.
1:23:55 Peter
I'm just doing a bit of maths in my head, which is dangerous. And you said the girls would be in their 50s and 60s days now. Do you still keep in touch with any of them?
1:24:02 Angie
Just a couple of them, I still see... yeah. Yes. You know, a couple of them still send me Christmas cards, etc..
Peter
Oh, lovely.
Angie
And, yeah, but then I was at Scotch for 18 years, so I still see a lot of my Scotch boys. When I went to Scotch in 1988 and the principal of MLC begged me not to take the... you know, Carols by Candlelight Orchestra to Scotch, because I was going to use my Scotch boys, of course. So I got on very well with David Lauder, so I agreed that I'd leave it for MLC strings. So they played for a few more years. I don't know how many more years they played after that, but it wasn't long.
1:24:47 Peter
So were you the instigator, Angie? Yes. You set them on their way. So that was all that really mattered.
1:24:54 Angie
That's right. It's it's up to them to do what they wanted. Yes.
1:24:59 Peter
So it's a lovely story. Thank you for sharing it with us. Enjoy your time at Noosa. Hope the weather is nice for you. Yeah. Thank you for all you've done for Carols. And also give us a bit of a snapshot into what the orchestra was like back in the 80s. We will, and enjoy the Carols. We all will.
1:25:15 Angie
Yes. And thank you to Peter. I know you do so much work for Vision Australia. So well done to you too. And yeah, we will have a lovely Christmas now. So what time will this be on the radio you said?
1:25:29 Peter
So this will be probably let me do the maths. Probably about 6:40, 6:50 on Sunday afternoon. Our Australian time on an overtime. So Melbourne 6:50. Yes.
1:25:41 Angie
650 workstation, PM.
1:25:43 Peter
I'll send you those details. It's probably easier if you're okay with email. Yes, I'll... email you those details. Okay. So you can check them out. And if you have any issues, you've got my phone number. And, you know, just get back to me.
1:25:57 Angie
Thank you all. Thank you Peter.
1:25:59 Peter
All the best. All the best Angie. Bye. Thank you. Bye bye. What an absolute delight Angie Randall was. Angie Robinson back in the 19... late 1970s and 1980s with the Orchestra for the Carols night - and of course, this year on Channel 9, and also already described on Vision Australia Radio. So wherever you're listening right now, tune in Christmas Eve. You'll hear the carols and you'll hear them audio described.
A couple of quotes before we go. We've got some quotes left over for next year, so if we haven't got to yours yet, stand by. We'll get back to them next year. Archie sends one in, Archie says - very appropriate for Christmas time - Archie says... If you've bitten off more than you can chew, chew harder. All right. Thanks, Archie, for that. And one from Gail who says... We should all try and go through life leaving a mark rather than a stain. So Gail, thanks very much for your quote.
Three birthdays before we go. There's lots of birthdays coming up, so we're going to miss some of them or try and catch up in the new year. But three people I'd like to single out. Jenny Bell having a birthday. Jenny of course, produced for Leisure Link for a number of years. So happy birthday to you Jenny, hope life is going well. And two people who we've met vicariously through this program - young Skye. Skye has Sanfilippo syndrome, a form of childhood dementia. We've met Skye. Through where? Teghan Henderson, who does that to wonderful fundraising steps for Skye. So happy birthday to Skye on Christmas Day.
And also, as we heard last week, wasn't it all a couple of weeks ago from Belinda Hellyer from Brewed by Belinda, the Brew that is True? Belinda. Nana, Nana Noella is turning 100 on Christmas Day, so Nana Noella, a huge, huge huge happy birthday to you. May you have many more. We heard from Julia Henke last week from Resthaven. One of their clients is 107 and still drives a tractor. So. Nana. Nana, you've got so many, many years ahead of you.
A huge thanks to the regular guests throughout the program this year. Pam and David Mitchell, of course, have been with us for a long, long time. Julie Jahenny and the team from Resthaven. Thank you for their support. Chelsea Marchetti from the Flipper Academy, the physiotherapist that's made a great difference to the show this year. A huge thanks to you. Also Neville Horton, that character from the finance guru man. Always great to catch up with Neville and Alison Davies from alisondavies.com.au - music therapist. Great advocate for music also. Reva Bryce, wonderful yoga expert. Hashtag Campbelltown Senior Citizen of the year. And of course, the incredible Professor Denise Wood from USC with all her news. As far as technology goes, a big thanks to you.
And if you've sent an email, made a phone call, if you've contributed to any of our interviews throughout this year. Thank you. Your email, your phone call has turned into our interview, which has turned into a radio program. So thank you so, so much for that. We look forward to catching up again with you in the New Year. So as I say for the umpteenth time, condiments of the seasoning to you. Let's hope it's a great Christmas if it is a particularly tough time for you. Our thoughts are very much with you. We're here 24 over seven, so let us come into your home and keep you company on Vision Australia Radio.
Sam Rickard, thanks so much for your tremendous help throughout the year. Pam Green, your wonderful support. You're a wonderful person. Thank you so much, Pam. So what is left to be said? Merry Christmas, happy New Year. Be kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for others. On Vision Australia radio, this is Leisure Link.
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