Blind Australian of the Year

00:32

S1 (Speaker 1)

This is Studio One on Vision Australia Radio.

S2

Gidday, Sam here and welcome to Studio one, your weekly look at Live from a Low vision and blind point of view here on Vision Australia Radio. On this week's show, The Blind Australian of the Year Awards, I have a chat to the organiser, Murray Bampton and last year's winner, Callum Hawley. 

As we always say at this point, please do get in touch with the show, whether you have experience of any of the issues covered in this episode of Studio One or if you think there's something we should be talking about. You never know. Your story and your insight may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar. You can email us. Studio one at Vision Australia. Org. That's Studio one at Vision Australia. Org. 

With me today are two people who are on opposite ends of the country to even where I am. So I welcome Marie Bampton and Callum Hooley. How are you going, guys?

S3

Hello. Good to.

S4

I'm kind of I'm in Central Australia today in Alice Springs, so I'm kind of closest to everybody.

S2

What we tend to do at this stage, at this very start of the interview is say, all right, one, how are we all? And two, when you look out the window, what do you see?

S3

Oh, okay.

S4

Well, I'll go I'll go first. I'm really well, actually, I can see quite a lot of crack of dust at the moment on the ground. I'm just at a car park at the NPY Women's Council in Alice Springs. I've got a head to after this around some of my company based work. But yeah, I mean, Alice Springs is pretty beautiful this time of year.

S2

Generally it's the middle of the year sort of coming into sort of spring like the rest of us. So it's not not as exotic as as far as the far northern Territory, by the way, the North, because I mean we'd be heading into build up by now, but I mean Alice Springs is sort of beautiful in its own way.

S4

It's not bad now leaving Darwin yesterday afternoon, it was certainly a breath of fresh air without the humidity this morning.

S2

So Marie, what if you look out the window, what do you see in experience?

S3

Okay, well, I'm in Brisbane this morning, which is not where I live. I live on the Sunshine Coast normally, so I'm currently sitting in the spare bedroom of a very close friend and looking out the window is just fencing and the next door neighbors and a beautiful blue sky.

03:05

S2

It seems to be fantastic weather all around. How dull? Oh well, anyway, why we are here is coming at the end of October. We have the Blind Citizen of the Year awards. Now, this is probably one of the first times I've actually heard of these things. How long have these been going on for?

S3

This is our sixth year, 2023, and it was initially established by a small community group of people living with blindness and and very low vision. And it was just an opportunity to identify the a lot of people that are living with blindness just out there in the community, living life large but largely unrecognised. So it was really just to look at identifying all the different ways in which people with disability, particularly blindness, contribute to Australian society. 

So Blind Alliance established the awards and a couple of years ago Link Vision from Queensland came in and supported Blind Alliance as they were folding up their their operations. As we all know, community organisations can have an ebb and flow about them. People get really tired, just the same old people doing this, the management. So yeah, we came in and and worked with them to take on the Blind Australian of the Year awards and it's been growing year on year ever since.

S2

The organisation you do work for now, what do they do and, and how does it connect to these awards?

S3

So Link Vision is a Queensland based accommodation provider, so they receive no government funding whatsoever. They've been in operation since 1968 and they were initially established to support people living with blindness, to have secure and workable living arrangements. So and, and also to be able to get employment. So to really, really key issues for people with disability are employment and and housing. And so that's how vision came to be. So the focus has always been primarily on working with people living with blindness and low vision. And so we have a number of housing complexes and that they're specially designed for people living with low and no vision.

S2

How does that work? I'm trying to sort of think, how would a place built for a blind person be? It would all be neutral colors and nothing to trip over. How does that work?

S3

I guess we've still got a ways to go as far as nuances, the styles of accommodation, given that the different types of the blindness isn't one particular way, it's a it's a spectrum. And and because people with different vision related conditions need different things, I guess their living environments also need to reflect that. So for example, some people with some forms of of blindness need high contrast, a lot of lighting, that sort of thing. Other people are really impacted. By light. And so they need to have lower intensity lighting, but more diffuse so that all of these things have an impact on on the environments in which people live. 

So link vision is constantly expanding its model of, of accommodation service provision I guess. So yeah, at the moment we, we have and this has been built over the last 55 years, a large, a large complex of units over 40 in a fairly central location in Brisbane. And there's a number of other units that have been purchased to, to house. Our residents. Yes. So, so.

07:14

S2

Yeah, I mean, the fun thing about in dealing with people in the VI community really is, is that the one thing we've all got in common is we're all quite different from each other.

S5

Absolutely.

S2

So we're bringing bringing you into back into this. Callum, hopefully you haven't felt like you left out or anything like that. So I believe you won an award last year.

S4

Yeah, well, look at you mentioned people being different. Yeah, I'm pretty different from everybody, There's no doubt about that. I don't think anybody agree with that. Yeah, look, so last year I had a I had an email forwarded to me. I was a healthcare health liaison officer for the National Disability Insurance Agency. It happened to get forwarded to me that there was this award for the Blind Australian of the Year and you know, I fit into the category. I passed it over to my partner and said, you know, have a look at this and I might fit the bill. Let's let's look at putting together an application. So she so she did. And her being as well-spoken as she is, it it obviously struck a chord with a few people. And I was fortunate enough to be able to have a chat with Marie and a couple of other people along the way before the awards came through. And a panel got together and looked at all the nominations that were put through. And mine came out in in in the wash as being appropriate for the award. But notwithstanding that, there's the people that I was standing next to and some of the stories that get told in the process is pretty amazing. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure Marie would would expand quite well on some of the nominations that that would have been put through this year. But look, year on year it's it's quite intimidating to be honest to see the calibre of people that come through for the award. So yeah, I suppose that's where I came into it. It was a bit of a short entry into, into the whole thing. And then from there I've sort of just run with it and leveraged the the title to have some conversations at some relatively high levels and to move into some committees that have a bit of influence over what happens for people with disability in the Northern Territory and I guess the broader Australia as well. So it's yeah, it's been been quite a ride, right.

S2

So you have a I have a vision impairment yourself. What's your eye condition?

S4

So my condition would best be described as Best disease. There are some nuances to it that kind of fall outside of the typical individual with that particular condition. But it's macular degeneration or dystrophy.

S2

Yes. So so you've got a real centered view of the world as, as we might say, as opposed to.

S4

Yeah, very opposite peripheral. Look at the side.

09:55

S2

You're talking to a dominant who one of the reasons he's not living in Darwin anymore is because it's just way easier to get around in general in anywhere else in Australia. I've got to say I'm relying on the public transport system in Darwin is Well, you don't how do you get about I mean you're in central Australia now and you obviously do a lot of field work. So I mean how does all that work?

S4

Well, I walked for about an hour this morning to get where I needed to be, so there's definitely that factor. But, you know, that's kind of nice. I get to experience more of the world in a slower fashion and take in the beauty I do quite like nature itself. But yeah, look, I'm coming away from my employment. I was I was a development officer for baseball Northern Territory for quite a while. And, you know, things sort of centred around fields and I guess centralised activities and coming away from that and wanting to expand on my career. I looked at, you know, several, several other applications for jobs and office work and all of those sorts of things. And I kind of came to the decision that not having a license and some of the criteria that was in a lot of the applications I was looking at making it really cut me off.

Having having a visual impairment, it seems like quite a barrier for a lot of people and me wanting to work in the sports industry, it seemed like an insurmountable problem. So I did things in my fashion and decided to create a company which happens to travel around all parts of the remote. Central Australia and delivering sports programs and youth engagement. And yeah, now, now we're looking at other programs and expanding out from there as well.

S2

So you deliver services to people with a variety of different special needs, as it were. So what services exactly, I mean what we've been doing most recently. Yeah.

S4

So today I am going to do an induction to before get on a light plane tomorrow and I'll be heading out to a community called Yarra where we'll be doing youth engagement. So sports programs, even discos, all sorts of, you know, variety of engagement activities, if you will. But I suppose more generally, like we provide a lot of programs that are sports related to schools very recently went out to Borroloola and ran a softball baseball, T-ball program for them. We do basketball, football, soccer, basically multi sport programs for pretty much anywhere in Australia. That's kind of the idea. But we specialise in remote Indigenous community engagement. Outside of that look, we're looking for opportunities to deliver things in town, but when you have a particular set of skills and you're able to leverage on those, that's, you know, I'm sure we can all understand and appreciate that that's kind of the way to go and stick to what you're good at until you can expand and bring other people in that are good at other stuff. And that's kind of the kind of the spot that we're at now. I mean, opportunity.

S2

Opportunities in the Northern Territory, they are there, but I mean the the local locals in whichever part of the territory you do go to don't like these things being rammed down their throat. So you just basically got to wait until they're willing and ready to take what you're offering, I suppose. Yeah.

S4

Look, there's definitely a hunger for it. There's a there's a massive appetite for for engagement. It's just about doing it in the right way, you know, cultural appropriateness and all the rest is something that we plug pretty hard. There's a particular way that's, you know, trauma informed and better for engaging young kids who do go through relatively traumatic experiences in their younger ages and being conscious of that in dealing with them and engaging. So yeah, look, you're right in that Territorians definitely aren't big on having things brought brought to them without them having some level of input into whether or not it's appropriate. But I think for us in particular we do that quite well and that's something that makes us quite appealing to to our clients.

14:07

S3

It's quite useful to note that that was one of the things that the judging panel for the Blind Australian of the Year last year was really impressed by. In terms of Callum's nomination for the award is that the work that he does is all about inclusion, but it's not focused in any particular area. It's just social inclusion and social cohesiveness, like really developing that. So he's a, he's a wonderful representative of, of everything, inclusion, you know, So the work that Cal does is not limited by age group, by ethnicity or culture. And it's all about bringing together rather than separating apart. And, and he uses sport and, and just general community activities in order to make that happen. So he's an excellent exponent of community development. And that was one of the things that was really, really impressed. The judging panel.

S2

We've talked to a former recipient. So I mean, what's the sort of calibre of people that you've received nominations from this year?

S3

Oh, look, this this year has been again, extraordinaire three each year. It's just mind blowing who who shows up? Sam So we've had nominations from one of the founders of World Blind Golf, which is a fully inclusive they've developed a fully inclusive form of golf which enables people to the blind or visually impaired to play a game of golf just like anyone else does. And just by designing a few different things in terms of the way the ball operates and and, and an app to be able to find your way around a golf course and they're running, you know, major tournaments around the world now. So that's one of the nominees someone else who's been nominated. We've got we've got artists that have been nominated. We've we've got 2 or 3 inventors this year, someone from South Australia who has developed a. Extraordinary app for using public transport. 

One of the things that's often a challenge for people living with vision challenges is, you know, obviously public transport. And so if you, you know, can't find the bus stop, the bus is running late, you're running late, you're trying to work out which stop to get off off of. Not being able to find the bell to be able to indicate to the bus driver that you need to stop. All of these can be real challenges. So this app takes away all of those problems. And this particular person has received an international accolade for the development of the app, not just because it's really great technology it wise, but also because of its functional applications. So that's another one of our nominees for this year. Just extraordinary stuff, really.

S2

So, I mean, as we speak now, the nominations for this year's Blind Australian of the Year have closed. But you said that they never really do close.

S3

Do they know people are people are free to to put in a nomination at any time and and and they'll just be held over until next year. So yeah and look once the nominations put being put in doesn't mean that that's the the end of it either you can continue to like if because our lives never stop and you know high achievers never stop achieving it seems so you know those those nominations can be updated you know just by resubmitting a new nomination. The way that our nomination process works is that every single nomination is read by the judging panel. So if you put in a nomination and then you go, oh my gosh, I've forgot to put in whatever, you know, you just put in an, you know, a new nomination and everything gets considered. It's really important to note, though, Sam, this is this is not a popularity competition, so to speak.

S2

You know, like, damn.

S3

You know, it's not like it's not like the I don't know, what is it, the voice or one of those things where, you know, like people like, you know, people vote from, you know, around Australia there's no voting.

S2

I only had my bathing suit and he are picked out. I mean, come on.

S3

Oh, my goodness. Stop it. I don't even think there's magic wands involved. So, yeah, so people won. Really well crafted nomination can can make the world of difference because I think from like it's it's quite tricky to write a nomination. It's like writing a job application it's quite intense. You know, you want to really introduce the judging panel to who this person is that you're nominating and the extraordinary contribution that they make. And also leave the the judging panel with the idea that this person would be an amazing champion of everything that the Blind Australian of the Year awards stand for and that by this person being given the title of Blind Australian of the Year that they would be able to take that title and leverage it to make even bigger impact in whatever it is that they're doing in the world. And a nomination that really transfers that level of understanding to the judging panel is a really, really great nomination. And we're very lucky this year. There has been some extraordinarily high calibre nominations that have been written.

20:26

S4

If I could jump in there, I think one of the big things I've taken away from being in this position for the year is that it's it's an opportunity to fulfill an obligation. You know, I'm a relatively advocacy driven person, and having having the titles allowed me to take conversations that I see important to really high places. And, you know, right up to the top to the Minister for Disabilities and those sorts of things, it's it's it's more than a it's not a reward, it's a job. Um, I think yeah, being given the title is one thing and what you do with it is incredibly important.

S2

So one of the things you actually had mentioned before, Callum, was the interesting relationship we all tend to have with employment, and that's the other category within the awards, isn't it, The employer of choice. So maybe. Murray, you can tell us a bit more about that?

S3

Yeah, sure. And look, that's a an area of, I guess, focus and, and transfer. Nation whose time has come. Right? You know, so the Employer of Choice Award is conferred on a workplace and educational social environment that employs people living with low vision and blindness and other disabilities. And they demonstrate the attributes of an inclusive workplace. And there's a lot of attributes that go toward making somewhere a truly inclusive workplace. So it's not just about providing 80 like assistive technology and accessibility that's kind of just getting people to the to the starting line in the race, if you like. 

But inclusion is about ensuring that there's a negotiation with the person with disability around how they do the work that's required, you know, because disability poses some challenges in how we do things and all that's required to overcome that is a bit of innovation really. So the way that I would do something as a sighted person compared to the way that my husband, who is blind, would do something two different ways. So if I'm attached to having to look a particular way in, in how I do something, then that excludes him. But if we have a conversation about how how it's going to work for him to do something, then he's fully empowered and included and contribute powerfully. 

And that's what we're looking from in in a work, educational, social environment. It's not hard. It really does just require a change of mindset because the tools and the resources are already there and available to enable people with disability, including blindness and low vision, which a lot of society just balks at. You know, like, how would you overcome being blind? Well, you know, like ask the people that are living with with vision impairment, they're overcoming every single day. You know, So so that's what the Employer of Choice Award is about. It's about really creating inclusive workplaces and and being leaders, like demonstrating that leadership in the benefits of diversity within an employment or educational or social environment. So, you know, community organisations, that sort of thing.

23:51

S2

I mean, one of the one of the interesting things I've found, having gone out into the workplace myself a few times, is that, yes, sometimes a large organization will provide the opportunity for you to work for them, but they won't necessarily provide the opportunity for you to advance any further. So, I mean, I was in situations where, yes, so we'd be training somebody for a particular job and then all of a sudden they'd be getting promotions before I have as well. I mean, is this the sort of thing that also taken into account when you do look at the employer of choice, you know, something that actually allows people to thrive in a job but also advance 100%.

S3

And I think think you use the word "thriving", Sam. And that is like... absolutely. Yet, you know, people don't get to thrive unless they get to reach their full potential, unless they get the opportunity to advance, unless their contribution is recognised. And I think it's also really important, you know, one of the things in overcoming ableism is recognising that this is not just about the skill to be able to do a job. You know, like we have, you know, like amazingly skilled, like technically skilled people living with blindness. So, you know, lawyers and accountants and software programmers and all sorts of things, you know, but if that that person's the fullness of who that person is, is not just their skill set, it's also a lot of things that come from living with disability. 

You know, there's an innovation and a resilience and a creativity that comes with just having to like think creatively and modify how you be in a really vision centric world. These are unbelievable attributes, you know? So having a workplace that actually recognizes the whole person and provides pathways for that person to thrive and to contribute at the highest level at their their capacity and to a to a point that is, you know, through their choosing, not because there's some sort of a glass ceiling there. That's a really important aspect of this of this award.

S2

Now back to you, Callum. I did a bit of a Google search on you and found a lot of mentions with you and baseball. What's the go with that? Yeah.

S4

My life's mistress. No look, incredibly passionate about baseball. I started T-ball as a Korean cat in Perth as a young man and just fell in love with it. It was my life's passion until, well, till finishing my my run in college. Yeah. Look, baseball for me is just one of these things where it just has the opportunity to appeal to so many people. But sport look, sport in general is definitely a very healthy, amazing, brilliant pursuit for anybody I feel. I think that the sporting world could expand its ways of attracting people with disability. And look, I have conversations with people on a on a weekly basis around just how sport can be more inclusive. 

But look, for me. Baseball was something that taught me so many lessons in life about failure and perseverance and what opportunities come from from being that person and having that mindset. And so the time we have for this interview isn't enough for me to talk about baseball. But look, it is it is genuinely my life's passion. And it's something that I've that I've pursued and I think in it of in and of itself is something that really sparked something in me at a young age. And that's a big part of why I do what I do and run the company that I run is because I know the sport. Can somebody at a young age... and yeah, providing that opportunity to people can make a huge difference.

27:55

S2

So I'll ask this question. As a former middle distance runner, never thought of doing a real sport.

S4

I would argue that this... would argue the point that running isn't a sport. I think when you look at things across all sports, there's particular skill sets and particular requirements for people to perform at those at a high level. And, you know, I don't think that there's any activity that I would argue wasn't a real sport if it if it encourages teamwork or and or persevere, you know, even even to the point where I don't feel like a sport necessarily has to physically engage somebody. It could be mental.

S2

It's a lifestyle in itself. I mean, when you were involved with a sporting group, it doesn't matter what it is, really. It gets you out into the community. It gets you involved with something. And also, I mean, I found it actually does mean you're part of an elite of some sort anyway, so it gives you opportunities as well. Or at least that's what I've noticed. Yeah.

S4

Look, everybody's perception on sports definitely varies on their their experiences with it. I find an incredible amount of joy in just getting somebody to try something new and and achieve something and realise the feeling that comes from doing something that you didn't realise you could. That could be an example of which is a person with vision impairment, throwing a ball and hitting a glove for the first time. It could be a child with autism who hasn't engaged with mainstream sport on a meaningful level because of the issues they have with social inclusion and having somebody support them to understand and work through that, to be able to engage in a team sport for that person could be incredibly valuable. It could be somebody having the opportunity to come from their community and compete in a in a sporting tournament for the first time because of overcoming transport issues. There's so many things that it could be. 

But, you know, at the end of the day, I think it's that whole peripheral vision thing. You've got to look outside the box. And elite sport obviously has a huge hold on this country, which is so incredibly valuable and so incredibly motivating. But there's there's a big wide picture there. And I think that it can be something for everybody, no doubt about it.

S2

It's talking about things that can be for everybody. Marie, tell us about the awards themselves. When, where and can anybody go?

S7

Sure, absolutely.

S3

So in terms of the the awards themselves, we have those those two awards categories. So the Blind Australian of the Year Individual award and we have the Employer of Choice Award, which is for organisations, educational and workplaces and sort of community groups. So those are the two awards. We have an awards gala that is held to be able to make the grand announcement of who this year's recipient is. So at the moment we've had just had the awards closed, the nominations process closed. 

So next next job is to convene the judging panel and then we'll have the awards gala for the announcement. And that's happening on Saturday, the 28th of October in Brisbane at the Pullman King George Square. So quite a flashy establishment. And, you know, the the gala event is an opportunity for people from all walks of life. To come together and to celebrate inclusion. And we're just using blindness as the conduit, I suppose, to, you know, creating a more inclusive society, highlighting what's possible in life. So that's what the awards gala is all about. So Saturday, the 28th of October at the Pullman in Brisbane, people are anyone is welcome to to join us. It'll be a three course dinner and drinks and entertainment. Our entertainment is to award winning artists, all of whom are blind. 

So Blind Ambition is a band. They've just released some new music and they'll be playing as well as Steve Sparrow, who is a golden guitar winner, well known in this sort of local Queensland, New South Wales communities at any rate, and has quite a national profile. So we'll have great entertainment and an opportunity to to really mix with a really broad cross-section of people and, and discuss all things inclusion.

S2

And we'll of course provide links in the podcast notes and on our social media pages as well. I've got a little thing on my screen saying that we're running out of time. So I will say to Callum and Maree, thank you very much for giving your time today on this beautiful morning. And well, I'm not I don't tend to wish people good luck because luck doesn't come into it. But I think I have a great time.

S3

Thanks very much for saying thank you.

33:05

S2

That's it for this week. A big thank you to Marie and Callum. If you want to attend the awards or even nominate someone for next year, simply go to WW Blind Australian of the Year. We will, of course, provide other links to Callum and his activities in the podcast notes. Next week we head back to university or TAFE and look at how students who are blind or vision impaired get a handle on higher education. And hopefully Matthew is back from his Beefeater induction course. 

Between now and then, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered in this episode of Studio one or if you think there is something we should be talking about. You never know. Your story and your insight may help somebody else who is dealing with something similar. You can email Studio one at Vision Australia. Org. That's Studio one at Vision australia.org.

33:59

S1

Vision Australia Radio gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation or Studio One.