23 Apr 2025

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:15):
Good evening and welcome to Focal Point here on Vision
Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide, online at Vo radio,
the Radio Digital in Adelaide and Darwin, also through the
Reading Radio Service. And you can also catch us through
the Community Radio Plus app. Peter Greco, on behalf of
Phillip Vandepeer, saying thank you so much for joining us.

(00:36):
A big cheerio to Wendy McDougall listening in this program.
Coming to you from Garner Land. Come to you very shortly.
We'll meet John Paul Kruse, a PhD candidate from the
University of Melbourne. He's doing research into the accessibility of
digital health platforms. A chance for you to maybe get involved.
Rex Patrick will join us. Rex is a candidate for

(00:58):
the Senate for the Jacqui Lambie Network and the upcoming election.
Rex was down in Mount Gambier, the south east of
South Australia, last week, getting some feedback regarding the NDIS.
Look forward to catching up with Rex. Sophie Slattery will
join us from See Differently at the RSV talking about
Operation Canine. Very relevant. With Anzac Day coming up. We'll

(01:19):
find out much more about that from Sophie and Mahesh
Nath will join us. Mahesh is from Pacific Vision. They've
had a little bit of a change, particularly with their
website Pacific Vision. Com.au will find out more about that.
And Mahesh has got a little special for us. If
you'd like to pay to something in the next little while.
From the new website, a 10% discount. Mahesh will give

(01:43):
us those details. If you're listening through 1190 7 a.m.
in Adelaide. I'd add a clock for your listening pleasure.
Lucy and Sam are here with Studio One just before
we hear what's on their program. Early voting has started
as far as the 2025 election goes, the federal election
goes and you can also now register and vote by telephone.

(02:04):
If you're blind or have low vision, you can register
by calling 1800 913 993. 1800 913 993. You ring. Once you register, you
get your ID, etc. then you ring back again with
those ID details and vote independently, secretly and verifiably. 1800 913 993.

(02:29):
If you've done it before, you know what to do.
Maybe if you haven't done it before, try it out.
See what you think of it. Let's find out what's
on studio one tonight.

S2 (02:38):
Despite the fact that it's highly unlikely, we still fantasize
about what it would be like to wake up without
a disability.

S3 (02:45):
In this age of miracles and wonders, what would you
do if that miracle did happen?

S2 (02:50):
And what does that say about us?

S3 (02:52):
So join us at eight for studio one.

S1 (02:55):
John Paul Cruz is our guest. He's doing some really
interesting research into how people blind or visually impaired handle, um, technology,
particularly in the area of health. John Paul Cruz, thanks
so much for your time. Welcome and thank you for
speaking to us.

S4 (03:10):
Thank you so much, Peter, for inviting me and for
allowing me to share about our research.

S5 (03:14):
Tell us a bit about the background to this, our project.

S4 (03:17):
So we're now conducting a research at the University of Melbourne,
and it's called Making Accessible and Usable Public Health Platforms.
This is part of my PhD research where I'm doing
this under the guidance of my advisors, Professor Chetan Chang
and Doctor Simon Coughlan from the School of Computing Information
Systems at the University of Melbourne, and doctor Pierce Gooding

(03:41):
from the Trobe Law School at La Trobe University. This
has received human research ethics approval at the University of Melbourne,
and also funded by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, or MCI.
MCI is an interdisciplinary research institute that's focusing on promoting

(04:03):
social equity through research.

S1 (04:05):
Okay. Now, do you think there's perhaps a need for
something like this or there's an accessibility in this area?
Hence you're doing this research to kind of prove your point.
Can you kind of explain a bit about why you've
chosen this yourself?

S4 (04:19):
There are a couple of reasons that we've started doing this.
Number one, we've seen through our review of the literature
in the academic field that there's a growing number of
people with disabilities around the world. Number one, you have
2.2 billion people, according to the World Health Organization. In Australia,
we have seen a growing number of people with disabilities

(04:41):
based on the Vision Australia, for example, data, we have
a projection of about 560,000 people with visual impairment by 2030.
And we've seen also reports from the Australian Institute of
Health and Wellbeing, and that people with visual impairment in
Australia have been growing, with about 13 million people who

(05:03):
have chronic eye conditions which could lead to, uh, visual impairment.
We've also seen in relation to this growing number of
people with visual impairment that many public health services are transforming,
moving from in-person services to a more online platform or
digital platforms. And so we've seen that even with this transformation,

(05:28):
digital transformation, many people with visual impairment are still having
some challenges in terms of accessing public health information. And
that's primarily the main reason we've, uh, started conducting a
research on how accessible is public health information for people

(05:49):
with visual impairment in Australia.

S1 (05:51):
It's almost the perfect storm. John Paul, we've got an
ageing population with these sort of conditions becoming more prevalent
and a move in inexorably towards a more digital, uh,
sort of, uh, projects, if you like, or more digital
ways to access information.

S4 (06:07):
That's correct.

S1 (06:09):
So what, you've started your research. What what are you
getting people to do? Or how are you kind of
working out how accessible or inaccessible some of these platforms are?

S4 (06:18):
So we've we've had several phases within within this research.
The first phase is testing the accessibility of public health
platforms in Australia. And then we rank them according to
their level of accessibility. And that's using automated tools for testing, um,
the accessibility of websites based on the web content Accessibility guidelines.

(06:39):
Now we're in the second phase where we're asking going
to the users themselves and asking them, what is your
experience when you go through or navigate a public health
platform in Australia, do you find them accessible or do
you find them inaccessible, and that's what we're trying to
learn from our interviewees. Often the literature would say that

(07:02):
some people, designers, developers, or even government or public health
service providers, they think that the visual disability community is homogeneous,
meaning we're all the same and the experience that we
provide to them. You just follow a standard and they'll
be fine. But we know that everybody is unique. They

(07:26):
have different experiences. They have different experiences also in using
assistive technologies. I myself am a person using assistive technology
for more than almost two decades, and I use screen magnifier,
screen reader as well. And I moved from one device
from a windows machine to a mac machine. And there's
a lot of differences. And so that experience alone, for me,

(07:50):
I understand how many visually impaired people would have different
experiences based on their circumstances, based on their context and
their skills in using assistive technologies. And that's what we
want to find out in this research.

S1 (08:03):
John Paul, that is such a cool point you make,
because we are all different and we all use technology
differently and we all use different technology. I mean, even
amongst the different screen readers, there's different types and their
different quirks, if you like. So in a sense, I
feel a bit sorry for those providing that the platforms that,
you know, they're trying to scratch their head and think,
hang on, it worked for that person. Why doesn't it

(08:26):
work for this person? But it you know, it's obviously
a challenge and certainly to find a sort of happy
medium if you like, or a middle ground for everyone is,
is is a big is a big job.

S4 (08:37):
Yes. That's correct.

S1 (08:39):
So what are people doing at the moment. And have
you got some sort of early, um, early findings at
this stage?

S4 (08:45):
So because I have my own lived experience, I do
have some perception on what to expect. And based on
the initial research, what we're finding is that every person
who we interviewed and asked to navigate public health platform
have something valuable that can they can they can contribute

(09:05):
to their research. And each of them would have different
ways of using, for example, screen magnifier or a combination
of screen magnifier, screen reader, or sometimes they have their
own way of using or navigating a platform, which is,
for us, something that's somehow new because you're looking at
an environment where you have a developed country with very

(09:28):
high technological advancement, and you see that people within even
with this, in this context, some people would have struggles
in finding public health information and some people would have
it easy. So that's what we're we're finding so far
and hopefully by the end of our research. When we've

(09:50):
completed the interview and usability testing process, we'll be able
to have a better sense of how people with visual
impairment in Australia are finding the level of accessibility of
public health platforms in Australia.

S1 (10:07):
What about the kind of other side of the equation?
Are the public health platform providers? Are they kind of
keen to hear from people like you? I mean, no,
I don't think anyone goes out there to make things
intensely inaccessible. I don't think that's kind of in their nature.
But I guess the other thing is they've got to
then be receptive to, oh, look, you know, this could
be done better this way or this part isn't as

(10:27):
accessible as it could be. Have you thought about this? Uh,
they got sort of, um, acceptance or receptivity on, on
their part at this stage. Was it a bit too
early to tell?

S4 (10:36):
It might be too early to say, but this is
what we've seen so far. We have public policies in
place on, for example, uh, we have the digital inclusion
standard in in Australia, which is being implemented by January 2025.
And we've seen that that's one good indicator that public officials,

(10:57):
governments and those providing public health services are gearing towards
making public health information accessible. There is some uptake, and
we want to use the research findings as a tool
to influence and to encourage public health service providers to

(11:20):
make their services more accessible, and consider that you have
this growing number of people who will be using these
services more and more, and we would like them to
consider the different unique circumstances that they might encounter. Probably
that could help them develop better policies, better design in

(11:41):
terms of public health platforms and a better experience for
people with visual impairment.

S1 (11:47):
Now you're doing a research in this area. You're looking
for people to participate in it. Is this at this stage?
Only in Melbourne?

S4 (11:54):
Ah, yes. The goal is as much as possible. We
would like to get participants who are within Victoria. And
that's also because we know that for some users, they
prefer to use their own devices. And also for me
as a researcher, it's easier for me to also navigate
and see in person the user. We usually get in

(12:18):
touch with with participants who are within Victoria or who
will be in Victoria around the time of the interview,
and usability testing. And that also helps us with the
logistics and finding a diverse set of interviewees, because we
know that Melbourne is a place where you have diverse culture,
and we know that somehow maybe some people will be

(12:42):
coming from another part of Australia. We would welcome everybody
who would be able to be here at that time.

S1 (12:49):
So people would kind of bring their own device, if
you like, what they use every day. So they're kind
of comfortable with that. And then you say, try this website,
try this app. Is that how kind of how it works?

S4 (12:58):
Yes, exactly. So what we do, the first part of
our research is we we do an interview where we
try to learn and ask our interviewees, what is your
perception on, for example, concepts like accessibility, usability, public health
platforms and public health information. And then we moved to

(13:19):
asking them, can you show us, illustrate to us how
do you use your assistive technology and your device when
you're navigating public health platforms? And that way, we're also
making sure that the process of conducting the usability testing
and the interview are accessible and inclusive, because we know.

(13:42):
I know for a fact that it's when you're using
assistive technology, you have your own way of even mapping
the keyboard keystrokes. And so you cannot just give them
a different set of tools, a set of devices, and
ask them to navigate the platform, because that would make
it harder. So we asked them to use their own devices,

(14:03):
their own assistive technology, and from there learn from their
own experience in using these devices and navigating public health platforms.

S1 (14:12):
You're talking about people that use tablets, laptops, phones, even
people that use braille displays as well.

S4 (14:20):
Yes, for as long as this is the device that
they commonly use on a daily basis.

S1 (14:25):
And what about in terms of the timing of this?
I guess, you know, you kind of want it done yesterday. Yes.
What about the timing.

S4 (14:32):
So the interview itself and the usability testing would last
for about an average of an hour and a half.
And we're continuously recruiting participants until we reach the maximum
number of people we have a maximum. We're trying to
reach at least 20 participants. And hopefully by the second

(14:56):
quarter of this year, we'll be done with data analysis
as well and come up with a research paper that
will be submitted to journal book chapter or a conference proceeding.
And part of my PhD thesis.

S1 (15:13):
So is it basic at the University of Melbourne that
they come to or do you go out and see them?
How does that work?

S4 (15:18):
Yes, there are two ways that we're doing it as
much as possible. We want it to be in a
private area, like a meeting room, and it could be
either in, let's say, a public library. And we usually, um,
facilitate the organization. We, um, coordinate with the public library

(15:39):
and ask them, do you have a meeting room? And
it should be private as much as possible. That's our goal.
And also, if they're near the University of Melbourne, we
could also be set up a meeting room at the
University of Melbourne. Um, so it's either whichever is more
convenient for our participants because we want to reduce as

(16:00):
well the cognitive load of moving from one place to another.
Of course, we know that's that's a lot of cognitive load.
Just trying to figure out where to go, how to
go to that place. And so we're doing it either
near a public library, near them, or even in a
workplace or at the University of Melbourne.

S1 (16:21):
How can we get in touch with you, John-Paul?

S4 (16:23):
Yes. So they can reach out to me, uh, through
my email. John Paul at student edu. That's j o
p a u l c At student s t u
d e n t dot up. I'm e b.edu e

(16:49):
dot John Paul.

S1 (16:50):
We'll keep the details and we'll put them up with
our show notes. I'd love to keep in touch with
you on this. This sounds like a wonderful project, and
I think it's really great that someone with lived experiences
doing this, because just some of the things that you
said in the last ten or so minutes, uh, knows
that you kind of get where this is at. So
thank you for spending some time with us.

S4 (17:06):
Thank you so much, Peter. And I would love to
come back here later when we're done with the data analysis. Um,
and have a paper and share with you the findings.

S1 (17:17):
It's a guide.

S4 (17:18):
Yes. Thank you so much.

S1 (17:20):
John Paul Cruz there from the University of Melbourne. Rex
Patrick is a Senate candidate for the Jacqui Lambie Network
in South Australia. And I'm really pleased to welcome to
the program. Rick, thanks for your time.

S6 (17:36):
Hey, great to be on.

S1 (17:38):
How are things going? Rex, what's your feeling of the, uh,
election situation at the moment?

S7 (17:42):
Well, it's always really hard to tell. What happens is
you go out and you campaign, and you might put
your name on a billboard or on a TV ad
or a radio ad or a or on social media.
But unlike when a business does that and the next
week they see their sales figures go up, we just
have one day where there's where there's a sale. And

(18:04):
so we never really know. Look, yeah, there's there's logic
in my running. You know, I'm well known in South Australia.
I'm running with Jacqui Lambie, who's actually, uh, perhaps more, uh,
more known than, than what I am. And it's a
good combination in terms of, uh, the way she does business,
the way I do business. She's army on Navy. We

(18:25):
do things slightly differently, but I think together we actually
make a pretty good team.

S1 (18:30):
Rex, there seems to be a lot of, uh. I
don't know what the word is. Maybe dissatisfaction with both
major political parties that kind of plays into your space,
do you think?

S7 (18:39):
Oh, absolutely. Um, people who are disgruntled with their traditional, um, party,
whether it be they looking at the Liberal Party and
seeing it shift further to the right, uh, and wanting
to stay more in the middle, or whether it's, uh,
you know, labor and you get frustrated because of the
lack of transparency or lack of whistleblower protection, or you

(19:03):
just feel that they they may have lost their way. Uh,
that's when people look to typically the center, uh, and
sitting there are people like, uh, like myself.

S1 (19:14):
And particularly in the Senate, I guess that's where we're
kind of almost, uh, if you like, put our protest vote,
if you like, we might vote for one of the
major parties in the lower house because they're going to
form government. But the Senate can play a very important
role as that sort of whistleblower, that watchdog, that House
of review.

S8 (19:29):
Yeah. Look, a lot of people.

S7 (19:30):
Don't understand, And, um, the sort of House and the
Senate very well. And just very, very briefly explained what
happened is that we take the entire population of Australia
and we divide that population up into groups of about 160,000.
So each electorate has about that many people. Uh, in

(19:52):
Sydney there are, you know, 20 electorates in South Australia, uh,
there are ten electorates, and some of them are really big,
like grey that covers most of the state. Then we'll
have Barker and Mayo, uh, which cover the southern part
of the state. And then we've got about seven in
the Adelaide sector, but ultimately we only have, uh, we

(20:14):
only have ten representatives in a very dark lower house.
And I say stack, meaning it's the it's the eastern
states that dominate the Senate. Very different. The Senate. Um,
there are 12 senators for South Australia, and there are
12 candidates for New South Wales and there are 12
senators for Queensland and 12 senators for Tasmania. So that's

(20:35):
the House where we're supposed to have the sort of
balance that sort of looks away from, you know, the
the dominance of the East Coast. And that's why it's
actually really important for South Australia to make sure we
have a good team in the Senate. And, you know,
the other the other thing about the Senate is it
plays a slightly different role normally in the House of Representatives.

(20:59):
The government generally dominate. They can pretty much do what
they like. They can put a bill in some sort
of law, and then when they pass it to the Senate,
the Senate often where they don't have complete control. The
Senate looked at it, says, well, this is a bit controversial.
We're going to have to do an inquiry into this bill.
We're going to have to look into this bill and
hear what other people have to say about it before

(21:21):
we either pass it, amend it, or reject it. So
the Senate does have this really important role, and we
want to make sure that this is the place where
South Australians can get their sort of influence against perhaps
the eastern states by having the right people in the Senate.

S1 (21:38):
So a few days ago, you were down in the
south east of South Australia, the Mount Gambier area, and
getting a bit of feedback about the NDIS and how
it is or isn't working. What's your kind of take
away from that?

S8 (21:49):
Well, the NDIS.

S7 (21:50):
Is obviously a really important program. It's also a program
that involves a lot of money. And we've seen throughout
this Parliament where there's been cuts in terms of, you know,
the money being spent, you know, the government looking to
save about $14 billion. Now, I don't object to the idea.
And everyone who's got some association with the NDIS will

(22:13):
know that there are some people rorting the system, either
people who don't require the level of assistance they're getting,
or they're a provider who are who is doing the
wrong thing and perhaps gouging or perhaps, um, providing or
billing for services they're not providing and so forth, but
they are the exceptions. What we've got to make sure is,

(22:35):
as those cuts are occurring or as, as we look
for efficiencies in the system, that we don't end up
not supporting the people that really do need support and
not supporting the really good suppliers. And that's where the
problem lies. All of the feedback I got down in
Mount Gambier and with other people I talked to really is, um,

(22:59):
you know, the the negative feedback is that they're hitting
the wrong areas. They're not the policy's not right. The
settings are wrong. And that's something I'm very, quite interested in.
And I talked to you before about Jackie and myself.
Jackie's really empathetic and I'm very forensic. And together that

(23:21):
is a that's a quite a strong combination because we
can you know, I tend to look into things. I'm
a nerdy engineering type of person, and, uh, you know,
Jack is a more of a grassroots politician. Uh, but collectively,
the we've got a different set of skills that we
can bring to, uh, the, the NDIS. And, you know,
Jackie's had a whole range of, uh, issues in her

(23:43):
life that have been quite challenging and really has punched through, uh,
some of those issues. And she stays well connected to
other people, very sympathetic and empathetic towards, you know, towards people. Um, I'm,
I'm also very interested in making sure people are looked after,
but I've got I tend to have this. Okay, let's

(24:05):
go to the detail of what's going on here to
try and find the right fix. So again, it's a
good combination.

S1 (24:11):
And that detail is often the thing that gets missed.
I mean we hear the overall picture. But that detail
is important. And I guess particularly going forward if there's
any tweaks that are going to be made.

S7 (24:20):
Well yeah. The devil that's the the detail. That's where
the devil lies. And that's again where I'm pretty good
at these things. And and look, I remember when we
were looking at things like the cashless debit card, you know,
that was a that was a decision that really tore
me apart. Um, again, being a details person, I flew

(24:40):
up to, uh, the Northern Territories to talk to indigenous people.
I then went to to Juneau and talked to a
bunch of people. And this is all between, fittingly, you know,
and I was taking calls from people in the Adelaide
Hills who had, you know, children who were disabled and, and,
you know, things were really going to affect them. And,
you know, and, you know, I also went and had

(25:01):
a look at, uh, injured card technology as well. I
really wanted to understand both sides of the question. Um,
but that was, you know, I just think back to
that and, uh, the many sleepless nights.

S1 (25:13):
That's very empathetic as well. Rick's with the Senate. I mean,
often we hear about people say, oh, you know, contact
your local member if you're not happy about this or that.
I mean, can you contact the senator and kind of
get that kind of cut through as well? I mean,
particularly if it's a more global issue rather than sort
of a local issue that might be in your backyard,
as it were.

S8 (25:31):
Yeah. Look, the interesting.

S7 (25:32):
Thing is most people don't understand that if they live
in the in the electorate of Barker, for example, down
Mount Gambier Way, and it actually extends right across the
south east of, of South Australia, you know, the current
member there is Tony Parfum. Okay. So he can go
and knock on his door and say, I've got a
problem with a federal agency, I've got a problem with

(25:53):
a federal policy. Um, but you actually people in Barker
also have 12 senators that represent them, and they can
go to any single one of those, and they should
do the proper job of, of, uh, representing them so
that so MPs look after their electorate, senators look after

(26:16):
their state. Every South Australian has 12 senators to knock
on their door. And look, I'm not saying that when
you knock on the door, you're going to get a
positive response, but what that does is give you some choice.
You can look at who the 12 senators are. Look
through the Hansard, do a little bit of research to
see which issues they're sympathetic to. And then, you know,

(26:38):
you can eliminate it down to maybe 2 or 3
senators and then go and knock on their door and say,
I want some help. So that's the nice thing. Every
person in South Australia has, um, has 13 representatives, as
does every person in New South Wales and every person
in Tasmania, etc..

S1 (26:55):
And with the NDIS, that's very much a federal issue.
So the Senate is very much in your wheelhouse as
well because it is a national disability insurance scheme.

S7 (27:03):
It is, although it does intersect with the states. And,
you know, part of the toing and froing that's going
on at the moment. And I've, I spoke to a
woman in Tasmania this morning who, you know, when confronted
by the NDIS, If they say, well, that service, you
need to go and get that from the state government.

(27:24):
And it turns out in Tasmania, the state government doesn't
provide that service. So you do sometimes have this toing
and froing, uh, and complexity as they, as the state
and the federal governments try to divvy up the, uh,
the help pie.

S1 (27:40):
That is a bit of a state of flux at
the moment, isn't it? That kind of, uh handballing to
and from, uh, you know, the states have said they'll
take on that foundational support a little bit more, but
I guess it's kind of kind of finding exactly what
and where. And then you've got the situation where Western
Australia have got oodles of cash. Their, their budgets, uh,
runneth over. And, you know, a place like Victoria, uh,

(28:01):
are in huge deficit. So all states aren't created equal
in that area as well.

S7 (28:05):
Yeah. So that's a an equalization a fiscal equalization issue
with the GST actually. And I funnily enough, I was
in the Senate when, when that law was Is passed.
And we had a situation where we had a federal
Liberal government. Unsurprisingly, the finance minister was the West Australian
Mathias Cormann. And then we also had a Liberal government

(28:27):
in South Australia, the the Marshall government. Now, as a
senator I was very concerned about this particular vote. And
I rang the South Australian Treasurer and I said, I'm
in your hands, tell me how I should vote. Yeah. Basically,
knowing that the South Australian Treasurer should have been one
of the best persons to know how the galore was

(28:49):
going to affect things. And I was advised to vote
with the with the federal government. I now look back
and say wasn't a smart move because they were both
Liberal governments, and the state treasurer didn't want to interfere
in any way with the plans of the federal government. So,
you know, that was early on in my days. I

(29:11):
learned a lesson out of that. And, you know, actually,
when I left the Senate in 2022, I was much
more experienced than I was when I entered in 2017.
I was a seasoned player. I knew how to muck
up the Senate to basically stand up for SA. You know,
I often disrupted it and I knew also how to

(29:31):
work the numbers. And that's one of the nice things
about having people who are in the Senate who have
got some experience and are independent. One of the problems
with if you're in in a major party and I
tell this to people, they almost don't believe, you know,
they they get shocked by it. Whenever the bells would
ring in the Senate, I would wander into the Senate

(29:53):
and sometimes sit on the no side or the yes
side with Labour or Liberal, because again, I was an independent.
I made up my own mind and I'd say to my,
my colleague, my Labour colleague or my Liberal colleague, do
you know what we're voting on? And they'd say, no, no,
they simply walk and they simply walk into the chamber.
They look to see where their whip is sitting, where their, um,

(30:16):
the corralling member is sitting and they sit on the
same side, and that the broken things about the party system, uh, that, uh,
you know, most people really don't appreciate that's the the
beauty of having an independent or someone who he doesn't
have to vote according to the party is, you know,
I always knew that if someone wanted to ring me,
ring me up, or ring my office and say, why

(30:38):
did you vote? That way I could explain myself.

S1 (30:41):
The great insight. Rex, we're out of time. Good luck.
It's only a few days to go, so we wish
you well. Thanks for speaking to us.

S7 (30:48):
Good on you. Thank you very much.

S1 (30:49):
That's Rex Patrick there, who's a candidate for the Jacqui
Lambie Network, a candidate for the Senate that election May 3rd.
And of course, as we've talked about, if you're blind
or low vision, you can now register to vote by
telephone 1800 913 993. You're listening to.

S9 (31:06):
Focal Point on Vision Australia Radio, on.

S1 (31:09):
VA radio.

S9 (31:09):
Digital and online at Radio.com.

S1 (31:12):
Hope you're enjoying the program. Well, of course, a very
solemn day. A very important day. Anzac day coming up.
Let's chat about some of the work that we definitely do,
kind of helping out veterans in this area, as well
as a few other things, and speak to, um, assistant
dog instructor from mercy. Definitely. Sophie. Sophie, great to talk
to you. Thanks for your time.

S10 (31:32):
Thank you for having me. Peter.

S1 (31:33):
I guess things like, uh, Anzac Day and, uh, International
Guide Dog Day these days, the kind of good, uh,
kind of profile of the work that you do, not
just you personally, but, uh, see differently overall.

S10 (31:43):
Oh, absolutely. Peter, you know, see differently for, uh, for
a very long time have, um, been pivotal in South
Australia supporting blind and visually impaired clients with our guide dogs.
And we're very well known for that. And we're also
in the veteran space as well. So in 2014, we
did start another program called Operation Canine. And OP canine
provides assistance dogs to veterans with PTSD. So, you know,

(32:06):
we are having a very big impact in the veteran
community as well.

S1 (32:09):
It's a very good name, isn't it? Operation K-9, it's
called the double entendre, which, uh, you know, makes people
sort of, uh, you know, have a double take.

S10 (32:18):
That's right.

S1 (32:18):
Just a bit about the program. So 2014, when it
first started. Gosh, I didn't think it was quite that
long ago. But, um, tell us about kind of, you know,
what led to it starting and then kind of what
the project does.

S10 (32:30):
Yeah. Look, we've been around ten years now, so it's
really a pivotal moment for our program as well. Oh, K9,
when that originally started, it was a, uh, a program
that ran through donations and fundraising and obviously providing assistance
dogs for veterans with PTSD. In 2019, we were very
fortunate in that we did receive Department of Veterans Affairs funding.

(32:51):
So our dogs are funded through that Means now, which
is wonderful. And DVA play a pivotal role in allowing
these assistance dogs to go out. Something that we have
been really involved in over the years is the research aspect.
So we've worked very closely in the early days with
researchers from Adelaide Uni and Meta, which is the Military
Emergency Services Health Australia, to really look at the impact

(33:14):
of these dogs. And that initial work we did really
allowed us to get over the line in terms of
that Department of Veterans Affairs funding. And we've got some
some great findings from the research as well.

S1 (33:24):
I was going to make that point that when you
get DVA kind of backing you, if I can put
it that way, that's kind of Frank's the importance and
the the validity of the work that you're doing.

S10 (33:33):
It does. And, you know, there are a number of
providers in Australia that do support veterans with assistance dogs.
And we are obviously that based in South Australia. And
and what we have found with these dogs working in
the assistance role with veterans is that, you know, there
is an increase in that social connection, which is, you know,
we're working with people that are being very deprived of
social connection, that exercise, mobility, sense of purpose, you know,

(33:57):
they're all lifted and increased. So there is a huge
impact that it does make to the individual.

S1 (34:02):
I was going to say a bit sort of cheekily
and all all due to a mere dog. But you
know what I mean. I don't mean a mere dog,
but you know what I mean.

S10 (34:10):
I know what you mean. And my life. What I
found working in this space is that people will do
something for a dog that they wouldn't do for other people.
It's incredibly impactful.

S1 (34:19):
So tell us a bit about your role then and
how that kind of plays into this. Because, I mean,
these dogs are, you know, they're not guide dogs. So
we should make that point right from the start.

S10 (34:29):
Yeah, absolutely. So they're not guide dogs. Um, again, we're
not working with vision impairment in this space. We're working
with PTSD. So my role as an assistant dog instructor,
you know, I have the pleasure of working with the
dogs in that more formal training and also working with
the clients as they are referred from DVA as we,
you know, assess clients for our program and then working

(34:50):
with them from getting their dog right up until the
retirement of their dog. And in the end of that cycle,
and dogs are trained to do specific task work. And
that task work does have to be, you know, in
relation to PTSD and to mitigate symptoms of PTSD. So,
you know, you could train a dog to do all
sorts of tricks. But unless it is helping to alleviate symptoms,

(35:12):
it's not considered a task. And when we talk about tasks,
you know, much of that may be interruption of stress
or nightmares and the dog coming and interrupting when someone
starts to give off a physical cue, which means stress
is rising. It could be in, in in relation to
social engagement and that catalyst for greetings and social engagement

(35:33):
and reintegration. And there are many different things we can
train these dogs to do to help, help to mitigate
symptoms of PTSD.

S1 (35:40):
Where to get your dogs from.

S10 (35:41):
We have our own breeding program, Peter, so we breed
dogs for obviously our guide and assistance dog programs. Um,
and the breeds we use are the typical dogs you
see as the guard dog. You know that Labrador golden
retriever or the cross of the two. So same breeding
stock comes through for this program as well, which is wonderful.

S1 (35:57):
And the kind of amount of time that that the
dogs spend in the training program, how does that compare to, say,
a guide dog?

S10 (36:04):
Yeah.

S11 (36:04):
Look, our dogs.

S10 (36:05):
Um, you know, we obviously have our puppy program, which
is that first 12 months, that socialization aspect. And then
they do come in for formal training. So there may
be informal training for up to 4 or 5 months
before they are matched. And all that time we're also,
you know, assessing clients. We are engaging with clients and
building up their skills, seeing what kind of dog that

(36:26):
person needs and the dog that can, you know, that
has the ability to assist that guide and then that
matching process. So there's almost two parallels going at the
same time.

S1 (36:35):
And how do you go in terms of demand and supply.
Sophie are there more veterans kind of, you know, wanting
to get into the program or do you have spare dogs?
How does that all work?

S10 (36:44):
Look, there is a huge demand for dogs in this,
in this role. And I think that comes down to
that recognition.

S9 (36:49):
Yeah.

S10 (36:50):
Ah, really. And that social impact the dogs do have,
we've put about 70 teams that we have placed up
to now, and that's only increasing as, as there's more
awareness around PTSD as well.

S1 (37:01):
And I guess it's much more accepted these days. I mean,
I go back a long way, Sophie. You know, there
were times when, you know, sadly, some of our return
service people were almost shunned by the community or, you know,
they were protest against wars, etc., which is all well
and good, but the impact that has on the individual,
we kind of can't understand as well. And I guess
as I say these days, it's much more understanding of it,

(37:22):
much more preparedness to speak openly about it, which I
got to be a good thing as well.

S10 (37:26):
Yeah, that evolution, as you say. And you know, we
we do have clients from a very broad range of backgrounds.
We've got clients that are, you know, we're Vietnam veterans.
We have got those that are in their early 30s,
males and females. So we do have a really a
really big cross section that we support. Every client, you know,
PTSD does present differently in different people. So that's where

(37:48):
we need these specific dogs with specific traits that are
going to help that individual person. There's no one size
fits all as such.

S1 (37:55):
And that's a very powerful thing, that individual individuality of
the whole program. So if you talked about the first
12 months, I guess along those lines, that's probably a
component that's filled by volunteers.

S10 (38:06):
Absolutely. Our gardener assistance programs could not could not run
without volunteers. You know, we have over 180 volunteers and
we've had 180, but a lot. Yeah, we have volunteers
that are used at all different times of the dogs training. And,
you know, it's one of those things people are getting busier.
What we're wanting is people's time. So we are always
calling out for volunteers and and people to assist in

(38:28):
this space. And we do have a range of different
volunteering options that people you know, can, can look into.

S9 (38:34):
That's a great.

S1 (38:34):
Point you make. You know, you're not after donations or
I guess you take them as well. But it is
people's time. And sometimes that can be the most precious thing. Or,
you know, I can't find time to fit that in.
But I guess that that's the sort of stuff that
you go through through the interview process.

S10 (38:48):
Yeah, absolutely. So we have, you know, volunteers right from
the puppy's birth and that is the, um, you know, the, the,
the helpers that have the, the broodstock in their home,
and they have those little puppies in their home for
that first eight weeks. Then we've got what we call
puppy educators and puppy educators have that have that part
from eight weeks of age to about 12 months. And

(39:08):
all the while, you know, they're taking that dog everywhere
with them and teaching that dog or that puppy the
normalities of life. And that might be the school run,
you know, at work, in the office. It could be
public transport when you're going to work. So that dog
gets really well socialized. You know, it gets out into
that community. And that's a very supportive role. A puppy star,

(39:29):
puppy education supervisor staff support that. There's puppy classes. There's
a great deal of input to help. So you don't
have the pup and have to work it out yourself.
You know, we are shaping that puppy for a working role,
so there's a huge amount of support there. Other volunteering
options we have, Peter, are what we call emergency boarders. Um,
emergency boarders. You could say it's like babysitting. A client

(39:49):
might go away and they often are unable to take
their dog. And we will speak to an emergency boarder
that may have the dog for that period. And another
really pivotal volunteering option that we're always really calling for
is what we call bed and breakfast boarders. So when
we talk about our dogs in formal training, that's that's
from that 12 months of age, you could say to
18 months when they're doing their intensive training for their role.

(40:13):
And let's say that's like going to college. So those
dogs are coming to work. They come into training from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. They work with guide dog trainers,
assistance dog trainers for that period, and then they go
home with those families for that normality of life overnight
and the weekends. And we are always looking for people,
you know, in that capacity to bed and breakfast boarding.

S1 (40:34):
You talked about the support that the staff give, which
is great. What about in terms of the financial support.
Because puppies do like to eat.

S10 (40:41):
Yes, yes, puppies do like to eat. And there is
a we you know, obviously being a non-for-profit and a charity,
donations form a huge part of, um, how we are
able to do our role and get our dogs out
in that working capacity.

S1 (40:54):
And of course, as I said, Anzac Day kind of, um,
you know, profiles that, uh, in a sense even that
might be a little bit kind of remotely. But, you know,
when we see, uh, the return to people's march, etcetera,
you know, we kind of kind of identify with the
fact that, you know, PTSD may be amongst the those
that are marching. I guess that the work that you
do is kind of, um, highlighted even more.

S10 (41:17):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. No, it's a very, um, significant day
for many of those clients that we support.

S1 (41:23):
We'll give you details at the end. But in terms of, uh,
potential volunteers, what's the kind of first point of call
for them? They're going to connect with you.

S10 (41:31):
Yeah. You know, get in touch with see differently at
WW differently or phone one 309 4306. And from that point,
you know, we do have information sessions where people can
come along. They can listen to all of the information,
look at what volunteering aspect would be, um, best for

(41:52):
them and speak to staff about it.

S1 (41:54):
We're rapidly running out of time. Can it be individuals
or families?

S10 (41:58):
Couples with individuals? Families. You know, families with children? Um, yeah.
Our dogs go as we're in a working capacity. They're
all different families of all different shapes. So yeah, like
we we love to talk to anyone about it.

S9 (42:10):
Alright.

S1 (42:10):
We'll give you details, as I say before we wrap up.
And then that's the Anzac day. And then April finished
up with International Guide Dog Day 30th of April.

S10 (42:18):
Yeah, absolutely. So International Guide Dog Day is a big
day on our calendar. And that's a day that we
really recognize the the work that that guide dogs do in, um,
in society and, and celebrate the work of the, you know,
the working guide dogs. Um, and we will have a
stand in Rundle Mall with pups and training dogs. We'll
also have some of our K9 dogs present on the day.
But it's a wonderful education to bring the family and

(42:41):
the kids down to see the work that these amazing
animals do.

S1 (42:44):
And again, uh, you'd be looking for volunteers in that
area as well for for people who want to sort of, uh,
be volunteering in that guide dog area, Yeah.

S10 (42:51):
Look, we are we're always looking for volunteers. And, you know,
if people do pop down for the Stem on that day,
great chance to have those initial conversations about volunteering options
at the service.

S1 (43:00):
So for Wednesday the 30th of April. That's right. And uh,
and uh, sort of the place where everyone tends to
gather the more all these events are kind of held
that that's the area that will be.

S10 (43:10):
It is it's hard to miss a stand with dogs
and puppies. I think we, um, we will stand out.

S1 (43:15):
To take over them all. What time does that get underway?
Do you know, at this stage.

S10 (43:19):
I believe that will be, uh, closer to lunchtime and
we will have presence there for quite a lot of
the day, so we'll put some more information about that out.

S1 (43:27):
Yeah, well, I can certainly recommend people either a sign
up for newsletters or, um, your text messaging, but I
know the clients etc. that you send out, you send
out some really important information. Also with that, it's very
timely as well as something's changed or if something happens
at a late notice as well, you can be across
those details if you sign up to them.

S10 (43:47):
So we have our social media channels, you know, which
you which always have those live updates to um, so
great to keep an eye and follow those as well
for up to date information.

S1 (43:56):
Well, Sophie, if people do want to get in touch,
give us your contact details again and we'll put that
up with our show notes. So if people have missed
it now, they can go to our show notes and
get those details. And uh, we'll uh, we'll also wrap
up our international guide Dog Day the week after. We'll,
we'll chat to one of your people to talk about
how the day went, too. But in the meantime, how
can we get in touch?

S10 (44:15):
Fantastic. Yeah. Get in touch on WW differently. There are,
you know, obviously different tabs on our website. And you
can look directly at that volunteering aspect or, you know,
find and have a chat to someone on one 309 4306.

S5 (44:29):
Sophie great to catch up. Keep up the great work.

S1 (44:31):
We'll speak again soon, I'm sure.

S10 (44:33):
Thanks, Peter. Pleasure chatting to you.

S1 (44:34):
So Sophie Slattery, who's the assistant to dog instructor at
Think Differently. Talk about both Operation Canine with Anzac Day
coming up and then International Guide Dog Day on the
30th of April. Let's talk a bit of technology. It's
been a little while since we caught up with Mahaney

(44:56):
from Pacific Vision, and they've got a new website. Mahesh.
Always great to catch up. Thanks for your time.

S12 (45:02):
Thank you Peter. It's great. Always great to catch up
with you.

S1 (45:06):
You've got a new website.

S12 (45:07):
Yes, yes, yeah, we've got a new website. I'm very
excited about it. And we want everybody to go and
have a look in the community, and we are happy
to take any feedback. If you find there's something we
could do better, we'll try and make it better. And, uh, just, uh,
for your information and for your listeners, uh, we have
just introduced a new website launch, uh, discount kind of

(45:30):
a thing. So it's 10% off everything on the website. Yeah,
but everybody, anybody who's interested or waiting for to buy something,
you know, they can go ahead and use the code
welcome ten at the checkout and they will get 10% discount.

S1 (45:46):
Alright, well, I mentioned that again before we wrap up. What?
Why has this come about? Is there a reason for
doing this?

S12 (45:53):
Peter, it was a long time. Do you have spoken
to last? I think when you spoke to Barry, he
was kind of semi-retired, and he. He wanted to, you know,
take some time off and not some time off, actually,
a good time off. So. So he asked me, Mahesh,
would you like to take over the things in Australia? No,
I just want to take it easy. Just slow down.

(46:16):
So I said, yeah, I think I'll be a good opportunity.
Luckily I have been in this industry for almost ten
years now and known people, and I'm actually thankful to
everyone who has helped me, you know, grow in this industry.
So I thought, why not, uh, take this opportunity and, uh,

(46:37):
do something more for the community? Yes.

S1 (46:39):
Fantastic. So you've got a new website. It's similar, but
different as in that the web address?

S12 (46:44):
Yes, yes. It's, uh, you know, the everything is same.
The products are still the same. You know, we still
selling the Hims products. Rihan products. Uh, you plus, uh,
all those, uh, you know, softwares. Everything is available there.
There are a couple of, uh, new things, new additions, uh,
the new tableau, the, you know, learning braille device. And, uh, there's, uh,

(47:07):
a couple of new accessories we have, uh, just trying to,
you know, introduce. So go and check it out.

S1 (47:12):
Now, tell us about the new learning device. Tell us
a bit about that. I think we we spoke so
much about that before.

S12 (47:18):
Uh, you're talking about the braille display. The braille emotion.

S1 (47:20):
Oh, the emotion.

S12 (47:21):
Yeah, yeah, the braille emotion. It's, uh, it's, uh, one
of the best braille displays available at the moment. I
would like people to, you know, uh, if they want
to try it out, just let us know, and, uh,
we can organise, uh, to be, you know, either organise
it remotely or send the device to, for them to
try it out. So it's a very powerful braille display

(47:41):
with the option of internet as well. There's limited options. Uh,
similar to, uh, what we have in, uh, square. So, yeah, it's, uh,
it's a device to look into. Yes.

S1 (47:55):
Now, I know that, uh, a number of very, uh,
shall we say, power users of Braille devices are very,
very impressed with the braille of motion. It's kind of, uh,
probably the newest product that hims have put out, I think.

S12 (48:05):
Yes, yes, it is the latest one on their, uh, portfolio. Yeah.

S1 (48:09):
So it's one of those things where if you've got
a tablet or a computer or a phone and you
like Braille. You can have the best of both worlds
because you pair this, uh, Braille of motion, uh, Braille
display with your other device.

S12 (48:21):
Yes, yes, yes. You can just, um, you know, use
this display as a keyboard and, uh, you can just, uh,
you know, do, uh, multifunctional things.

S1 (48:31):
But have you talked about, uh, Barry, one of the
kind of, uh, you know, uh, step back a bit
from the, uh, situation, which we tried to understand. So
you certainly giving it his heart and soul for a
long time. What about trying to keep on top of everything? Uh,
I know you're kind of, uh, stepping into the big
shoes now. How hard is it to kind of keep
on top of everything? Because technology moves so quickly these days?

S12 (48:53):
I know that's true. Uh, you know, uh, there's always,
you know, uh, big shoes to fill in when somebody's
there for so long. And, uh, he, he is still around.
He he is my mentor. So he will be still,
you know, uh, helping me sorting out things. And I
can always go back and ask him if, uh, if
I have to, you know, uh, so he's still around.

(49:16):
He's not completely gone. So he is still, you know,
backing me up. Uh, so. And, uh, I'm sure, uh,
not only him like the whole industry, I think he'll have, uh,
got a very good response. Everybody was in Australia. Guide
dogs see differently. You know, all these, uh, education department, uh,
they've shown a very, very positive, uh, interest, and they're

(49:40):
very happy for me, so I'm glad I'm actually feeling lucky,
you know? Yeah, but this opportunity.

S1 (49:46):
What about kind of keeping on top of all the
newest stuff that comes out? How challenging is that?

S12 (49:51):
So this is my first visit to the village in Frankfurt.
So I'm going to Wright City this year and, uh,
will have an update once I return. So there are
a couple of things, uh, on the, on the cards, uh,
there are new products, and I'm going to go and
see if there is something, you know, the new technology,
which is all AI based these days. So let's see

(50:14):
what what what we got there. So I'm looking forward
to that. And I will love to catch up again
after I return and share my thoughts.

S1 (50:22):
We'll make sure we do that. I guess that's one
of the exciting things is the AI movement, isn't it?
So many possibilities with it.

S12 (50:29):
Absolutely, absolutely. You know, these days every the good thing
is we have devices which are, uh, upgradable. You know,
they every time they get an update, bad like envision glasses.
You always have some new features added to them with
the new, you know, Ali virtual, uh, assistant. Uh, it's
an amazing it's a it's a it's a game changer, actually.

(50:49):
You know, I've tried so many things now and, uh,
it's just, uh, kind of surprises you with the results. Uh,
so I am actually, uh, looking forward to how best
they can integrate and make it better.

S1 (51:03):
And, of course, uh, you've also got a lot of
stuff in the low vision area. I mean, you know,
people talk about, you know, people are blind or have
low vision. The vast majority have some vision. So I
guess it's getting a device that, uh, maximizes the useful
vision that you've got to be able to get the
most out of your device.

S12 (51:19):
Absolutely. Now, multi multitasking is the way to go these days.
And uh, people are looking for devices which can do multitasking.
You know they can do magnification. They can do speech.
They can do, you know 360 camera especially education department.
They're always after something which is portable, very, very handy. So, uh,

(51:41):
there are a couple of things which, uh, you know, uh,
I myself has to go and see. I've heard about them. Uh,
the fan is coming out with some amazing stuff. So
after the side city, I will be able to, you know,
give more, uh, more into that. But already we have
a few things at the moment, like, you know, our
equity speech and without speech. They are amazing magnifiers, desktop magnifiers.

(52:05):
Then we have the Hymns Pro, which is the 360 magnifier,
and it can connect to your computer or a laptop.
And in this use one screen to do things. So
we already have a very strong portfolio, but it's always,
you know, good to add something new, which is uh,
more convenient. And uh, as I said, very, very portable and, uh, multitasking.

S1 (52:28):
Where she talked about the envision glasses, that wearable technology
is the big thing, isn't it? We talked about AI,
but kind of combined with wearable technology, I think that
is kind of the way the future, isn't it?

S12 (52:39):
Oh, absolutely. Yes. I think the wearable is the future
of this industry and the community. So people don't want
to carry too many things around with them. So just
wear something like glasses, go out and do your everyday thing.
And with the AI and virtual assistants, they are just amazing.

(52:59):
I just wonder, you know, if those things would have
been here when we were growing up or when we
were young. So life is so simple and easy.

S1 (53:07):
You start to sound like me, man. You're starting to
sound like a grumpy old man.

S12 (53:13):
Oh, I think I'm getting a bit better. All right.
I like the way you always are. You always on
the other side.

S1 (53:20):
So.

S12 (53:21):
Yeah, it's a long way to go, but, uh. Yes. Uh,
you just get amazed with the technology and, uh, you
always think, uh, what else we can do?

S1 (53:31):
Isn't it amazing with this wearable stuff? It's also becoming, well,
I won't say fashion pieces, but much more. Kind of, um,
easy on the eye or it's more sort of blending
in rather than being something that stands out as, you know,
a bit of assistive technology. That's the other thing that's
happening too, isn't it?

S12 (53:48):
Exactly. And I think that's that's where it is winning,
you know, with the now, if you see how people,
people don't want anything which could look, uh, peculiar or
which could look a bit, uh, you know, something extra
on their, on themselves or getting something, so they just
want to look normal, which is absolutely the way it

(54:09):
should be. And I think now the competition has started thinking,
which they were, you know, kind of sleeping for some time, but, uh,
the metal glass is also in the frame and uh,
the other, other competitors are also there. So I think, uh,
things are getting better. And, uh, I've heard I'm not sure,
but I've heard that, uh, very soon, envision will be

(54:32):
coming out with a new hardware which will be integrated hardware.
There won't be anything. So by end of this year
or early next year, there will be, you know, the hardware,
which will, uh, be even better.

S1 (54:42):
Well, things are moving very quickly. Getting back to your website, Mahesh. Uh,
so it's kind of been launched, but in terms of
the feedback, the kind of tweak it to make it
more accessible, you're kind of all ears.

S12 (54:54):
Yes. That's what we have tried, you know, try to
make it as accessible as possible for our community. So,
you know, so that's why, you know, we've been, uh,
telling everyone whosoever, you know, get a chance, go and
have a look. If there is a feedback, feel free
to just, uh, you know, give us your feedback and
how we can make it better. So we have we
are very open to any kind of feedback. So yeah. Um,

(55:17):
I've tried my level best to make it as accessible
as possible. That's what the idea was. Uh, and I
would like you also, Peter, to go and have a
look at it and, uh, share your feedback.

S1 (55:28):
First impressions are good. I've spent a lot of time,
but first impressions were good after I saw it the
other day. And I mean, that's a great point you
make about the fact that you've done your best to
make it accessible, but you don't know what you don't know.
And if someone discovers something that isn't quite to their liking,
then it's up to them to report it to you
so you can then act upon it.

S12 (55:47):
Exactly. You know, because, uh, going and, uh, you know, uh,
browsing the website is different from, you know, doing a transaction,
you know, the whole complete.

S1 (55:56):
Yeah.

S12 (55:56):
Good point. You know, going there, seeing products and choosing
a product. And, you know, if there is something else
you have to add on to it, then making sure
the the checking out process is absolutely, you know, smooth.
That's that's the whole thing. You know, you want make
it as smooth as possible. So. Yeah we have given
the payment option as well there. So which were not

(56:16):
there earlier. So we have tried you know people used
to always uh, wanted, you know, something like uh PayPal
or something. They don't want, they want to pay it
at one shot. They have the option of using PayPal
so they can pay in for individual payments. So yeah,
so those options are there as well. Black thought was good.
We can always make it better. So we are open

(56:38):
to that.

S1 (56:39):
A lot of people that listen to this obviously love
the radio, love the audio medium and G the uh,
the sense play has been a bit of a hit,
hasn't it? Uh, it's a very cute, compact, uh, effective little, uh,
what I was going to say toy. But it's more
than a toy. But it's a very good little unit
to have the sense player.

S12 (56:54):
Absolutely. And, uh, there's a new patch. Could you talk
about the, uh, beta? So for the community, there's a
new patch which has come in the upgrade in the
new update. So if you guys have it, please update
your sense player. And if there is any trouble, let
me know. I can send you the, you know, the
link or the, you know, the, the manual, how to

(57:18):
how to go about it. And as you said, this
is a wonderful device that got so many features onto
it with the small device, you know it is. It
is amazing, actually. How much, uh, you know, uh, one
thing can can actually.

S1 (57:33):
It's so.

S12 (57:33):
True. Software of connecting your smart connect, connecting your even
phone people, those who are not very convenient, using those,
you know, gestures on the phone, accessibility features, they can
use the power. And it's a it's a very easy
to use device. And uh, people those have been using
old phones. They they'll love it.

S1 (57:52):
Yeah. And you can get, uh, books on it. You
can read books on it, podcasts on it. You actually
listen to the radio. You can listen to Vision Australia
Radio on it, which is great, a lovely feature that
Vision Australia Radio. Mahesh. It's a very good feature. Yes, yes. Uh,
just quickly getting back to your website. So you've got
a kind of a beginner's style or an opening style.
So if people buy any, any product that's on the website,

(58:16):
they get a 10% discount.

S12 (58:18):
Yes. They just have to use the welcome ten code
in the end, uh, while checking out so they can
get a 10% discount. And if somebody has any problem,
just feel free to call us on 1300 756 849 or directly.
They can call me on 0451 332 885 or email it to us. Uh,

(58:41):
office at Pacific Vision. Com.au.

S1 (58:43):
So the new website is Pacific Vision AOS. Com.au. Yes. Yes. Welcome.
Congratulations on that. Well, I guess on the initiative to
kind of step into those bigger shoes of Pacific Vision. Uh,
we'll certainly catch up with you after you go to
Site Settings. That's a big conference and worth, uh, reporting
on afterwards. So when you get back, we'll catch up
with you and you can give us your impressions.

S12 (59:04):
Absolutely. Uh, I'm looking forward to it. And I'll definitely
come and come back and share my feedback and my observations. Yes.

S1 (59:12):
Look forward to it. All the best, Mahesh.

S12 (59:14):
Thank you very much, Peter.

S1 (59:15):
Nice there. We're just taking over, I guess, in a more, uh. Uh, well,
in a bigger shoe sense, if we can put it
that way. Pacific vision. Sorry. Pacific vision. Also check out
the website if you're not happy with it. Get in touch,
because mesh will certainly act upon it and make it
even more accessible than it is now. How would you

(59:36):
describe show of the week? It's coming up this Sunday afternoon,
2 p.m., SBS Main Channel 1945 the year that changed history.
You can relive some of the events of this particular year,
the end of the World War, with some rarely shown
archive footage with renowned experts. It's rated PG. It's with

(59:59):
audio description. It's at 2 p.m. this Sunday afternoon on
SBS Main Channel. 1945 the year that changed history. Birthdays.
Julie Dunn having a birthday. Accountant. Old scholar. Happy birthday
to you, Julie. Eric Birley, a Paralympic triathlete. Also having
a birthday. Happy birthday to you, Erica. I should say

(01:00:22):
very happy birthday to Brittany Watson. A bit of a fashionista.
Very much involved with fashion and makeup for particularly people
who are blind or have low vision. Happy birthday to you, Brittany. Also,
I say a very big happy birthday to Ricki Chaplin,
a wonderful advocate, worked at BCA for a number of years.
Fine musician as well. Jodi Willis Roberts having a birthday.

(01:00:45):
Another fine Paralympic athlete. Gold medallist from the 1990s and beyond.
Happy birthday to you, Jodi. Willis Roberts and Jenny Stokes
involved for more than half a life with Leslie back
in the 90s and early noughties. So, uh, Jenny, Jenny Stokes,
a very big happy birthday to you. A very big

(01:01:07):
thank you for all you've done. That's it for the program. Sam, Richard,
thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so
much for yours. Reminding you that Focal Point is available
on your favorite podcast platform. If you like the program,
please tell a friend. We always like to have more listeners.
On behalf of Philip Napier and a big show to

(01:01:27):
Wendy McDougall listening in. This is Peter Greco saying all
being well. Focal point back at the same time next week.
Be kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for others.
Anzac day coming up. Of course, a very significant day
on the Australian calendar. We pause, we reflect. We commemorate.

(01:01:49):
We respect. We will remember them, lest we forget.

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