Powerd NewsWrap 28th January 2026

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on the Vision Australia and reading Radio Network. This is the Powerd media throughout. Well done, Emma, worth your first introduction. It's the 28th of January. We're almost at the end of the first month of the year. And for a change, this is a we're reading articles from the Powerd dot media website. And of course, joining me is our fantastic introductory presenter, Emma Myers, G'day, Emma, are you? So it's a sort of a week that's been squeezed into four days, because normally I get someone to read out your articles on a Monday. And of course, I didn't have time to do that. Friday was absolutely insane. We had a email outage at Vision Australia, and things were twice as busy there as well. So it's yours truly reading them for a change, which, well, should be interesting. Let's just be honest here, Sam, you just like hearing the sound of your own voice, don't you? Yes, I do, but not when I'm reading long articles or even short articles. I prefer, I prefer to riff. And if I'm, if I'm going to be reading anything as my own scripts, that's just the way it goes. But anyway, it was got two diverse and somewhat unrelated topics here. So we're first going to be dealing with, well, something I'm quite familiar with now, and that is a new Barbie doll released. Yes, then, so the new Barbie was released earlier this month, and she has autism, and it's the latest doll released in their diversity range. So they've got all kinds of disabled Barbie dolls, which, as a kid, and I've spoken about this before, but as a kid, I was given the first rendition of

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disabled Barbie, which was Becky, the wheelchair user, back in 1997

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Yeah. Yeah. And, well, I mean, since then, we've had, well, blind Barbie is the one that I would recognize the most, because on one of my other programs, Studio One, we did an entire show about it. One of the big things that seems to always accompany these releases rather insensitive notes on social media, when people then suddenly see it's like, oh, dear, what's next in continents, Barbie and things like that, that's one thing that shows up. But I feel main concerns seem to be that, yes, the doll came with a whole bunch of accessories, but it wasn't really explained what those accessories were. Yeah, and

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I will say, just to add on the comments that people make. One that stood out to me was, what's the next the little mite Barbie?

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And not to be disrespectful to people with the little mine, or people

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you can pretty much make any Barbie. It's all under my Barbie. Pretty much make your own. Yes, yeah.

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In reference to the accessories that the dog came with, the accessories that the dog came with, you know, it came with a fidget spinner, some big headphones, and what looked like to many people an iPad, which isn't exactly what it was. People were calling it an iPad or a calculator, but it's actually a dedicated communicative device, which can be anything from a simple board with pictures on it to an interactive communication device that speaks for people with autism who are non verbal. The autumn spectrum is a spectrum. It covers a whole lot of different things, and not everybody needs those devices here. So I suppose Mattel was sort of taking a bob each way and giving the doll everything it may need as it were, much like the blind Barbie came with a white cane, and some of us don't use a white cane, but yeah. One other problem, though, was it didn't seem to explain anywhere on the box what these things were, therefore people were rushing to their own conclusions. Yeah, and with the people who were rushing to their own conclusions, then were avid Barbie collectors. And you'd think that if you're an avid collector of of something, you do a bit more research.

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Into what your item of choice comes with anyway, because it's been an interesting week. Your news reader for this week is highly talented in what he does. He's with me so dear listener. I do apologize in advance, and we'll be back on the other side of the news to talk about hate speech.

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Many among the Autistic community have been making their criticisms known online following the recent release of a new doll depicting elements of the condition released on the 12th of January by global giant Mattel. Autistic Barbie is the latest doll in the brand's disability range, but many are debating whether the doll is an accurate reflection of what the disability represents. Developmental scientist, vlogger and person with autism, Dr Kristin summer explains that some of the concerns surrounding the doll are due to current social representation and the kind of palatability that the toy presents, she says, a prime example of this is the lack of labeling on the box to inform owners of what what each accessory item represents, pointing to the confusion surrounding the augmentative and alternative communications AAC device, which can consist of simple picture boards to high tech tablets that help people who have difficulty with speech or language to communicate. The Reddit and Instagram discussions were very quick to make an incorrect label of it these Barbie fanatics just calling it basically headphones, a calculator and a fidget spinner. It felt like the point was missed instantly, and the value of that representation lost, that is a really missed opportunity, particularly for autistic parents of non verbal children who don't yet know what an AAC device is or that it might help their children. When asked about the general response to the doll itself, the development scientist explains there was a quote, quick tide shift. UNQUOTE I saw it was a language shift from, yeah, I am concerned about this, to, it's not about you. Autism doesn't have to look like you to be a good representation of you. Dr summer says, upon the dolls release Autism Awareness Australia. CEO Nicole Rogerson pointed out the previous attempts of authentic media representation in her blog, citing Sesame Street character Julia Thomas and friend Bruno the brake car and Lego's hidden disabilities mini figures for many autistic people and autism families, that kind of thoughtful, visible inclusion has helped build understanding and reduce stigma. However, Ms Rogerson was critical of the amount of attention being paid to the doll, while autism continues to be surrounded by a global ecosystem of misinformation. Families are trying to make decisions in an environment that is often noisy, confusing and emotionally charged. Against that backdrop, it is understandable that most people view the public attention given to an artistic Barbie as trivial for now Miss summer believes the significant milestone deserves to be celebrated despite its initial imperfections, the criticism of Mattel and how they have rolled out this Barbie, as well as all disability Barbies prior to this should not have outweighed the joy and considerable win for the global autistic community.

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Many Australians have been following the government's racial hate speech Law Reform saga over the past few weeks, in the wake of last month's Bondi Beach attack, raising a question of whether the federal government should seek to extend its protections for the L, G, B, T, Q, I, A, plus and disability communities as well the Combating anti semitism, hate and extremism bill, which passed through parliament on Tuesday, includes includes increased penalties for hate crime offenses and creates a new offense for publicly promoting or inciting hatred or disseminating ideas of racial superiority. However, people with disability, Australia, pwda, President Jeremy hope argues other minority groups also deserve to feel safe under the improved, cohesive, protective legislation. Our laws cannot split protections into silos. Hatred does not work that way, and neither should our legal framework. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has publicly supported extending serious vilification protections to people with a disability and LGBTIQ A plus communities. The president of pwda says people with disability need protection, not just from physical violence, but from hatred. Vilification is part of everyday life for many of our community. It is abuse online. It is comments yelled.

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From cars. It is withholding of essential daily living supports. It is being spoken to with contempt or threatened in places that are meant to be safe. Leader of the greens, Senator Larissa Waters, says the party did its best to fight for the inclusion of all minorities, but claims the arbitrary timeframe that the government put on the hate speech issue signifies little more than a political fix that's robbed us of the ability to deliver protection for people in the disabled community, the career community, women, anybody who could have been affected and is affected by hate speech and the actions that can flow from it. What a bungle. What a frightful and dangerous path this government, with the full support of the opposition, is putting this country on. At a recent press conference, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked whether he believed the hate speech law should cover other elements such as religion and sexual orientation to create a broader protection. In response, Mr. Albanese referred to existing legislation.

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The focus is very much on the aftermath of December 14. It is on what was an anti semitic terrorist attack on broader issues. What we intend to do is have a process to look at other areas of hate speech. If the legislation is carried by the Parliament, that will be referred to a process going forward. Currently, the Criminal Code act 1995 contains a number of criminal offenses that protect all Australians from threats of violence. According to the Department of the Attorney General, according to the Criminal Code act 1995 it is a criminal offense to advocate or threaten violence against groups, members of groups or their close associates. P, W, da's Jeremy, hope believes leaving disability out of the serious vilification offense does not provide protection against the harm people with disability experience every day across Australia. He is calling for urgent reform, and says the government needs to commit to clear and genuinely co designed protective legislation for the disability community. The harm is real. Our laws must recognize and protect against it. The Australian Government needs to commit So Australia's hate speech laws are clear, consistent and rights affirming for the groups most at risk of harm, which includes people with a disability.

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All right, so where are we going to start on this particular subject? We sort of gone from, I don't know, light and fluffy Well, not quite light and fluffy, but sort of positive, to hate speech. I mean, that's the only way to describe it. Yeah, and look that this story came off the back of the hate speech debate and the hate speech laws that were passed last week, and many Australians who identify as part of a minority have really been voicing their concerns that there aren't actually any laws specific to that group that they identify with that protects them from being vilified. It's again, amazing that there has to be laws encouraging people to be treated like human beings. That's what it comes down to. I mean, why do people need to be told? You know, don't just randomly yell abuse at people just because they happen to be different to you. It's, it's a sort of a shocking kind of reflection on our own society in that way. And it's, I mean, some out there might think it's a bit of an overreaction, but I don't know about you, but I faced abuse for having a disability. Oh, definitely, definitely. You kind of, you know, there was a time where I was getting it every day and I didn't even want to leave the house. And, you know, using a wheelchair and taking up the space of two people. It's really not fun, especially when

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you are trying to get for me to be

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in a public place, and there are people on two legs who can sidestep you, and yet they stop to wait for me to go around them and then, or they'll say, you know, Kate came to the left really aggressively and and it's like, I can't because, um, we're in a tiny, tiny space, and people are taking up the entire profile. Would a law like this change that behavior, though, that's the thing. Is it? I mean, I mean, but that example isn't exactly hate speech, but it's definitely bordering on aggression and targeting some.

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Someone who can't help that situation. Well, the beauty of the law is it is always a living thing, and so hopefully things will change. In the meantime, we are rapidly running out of time once more anything to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. Well, speaking of human rights, I am looking at covering another angle on human rights and coming up to Mardi Gras. I'm also looking at accessibility increased spaces. So that's a lot to look forward and we look forward to as we are also putting a few stories under our sleeves here for future use as well stories that may not be as urgent to tell right now. So that is a wrap for this rap. Powerd news rap was produced in the Adelaide studios of vision, Australia radio. It was produced by myself, and the presenters were Sam Rickard and Emma Myers. You can find the podcast of this program by going to Powerd, and that's spelled P, O, W, E, R, D, is that I got that right, didn't I? Yep, got media. If you spell Powerd correctly, you'll go to a completely different site. That is it for tonight. Bye, bye.