02 Aug 2025

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:25):
It's just gone 5:00 and the horse is having birthday's
in August the 1st. It's not nice, but a big
yay to leisurely here on Vision Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m.
in Adelaide. Online at radio, radio Digital Adelaide and Darwin
through the Community Radio Plus app. Look for Vision Australia.
Radio Adelaide, also through the Reading Radio Network. Our friends

(00:49):
listening through 103.9 FM in Esperance in Western Australia. A
big hello to you and tremendous support from the Disability
Media Australia organisation. You can find out much more about
them including Leisure Link at Powered Media. Peter Greco, thank
you so much for making time to tune in today.

(01:11):
This program coming to you from Ghana and come to
you very shortly. We'll speak to Minister Nat Cook, Minister
for Human Services, talking about Bedfords and also the state budget. Lovely.
Baxter Noonan will join us. We've spoken to Baxter before.
Baxter is at Bedfords house the last week. Mean for Bedford.
And how has the last week been for Baxter? We'll

(01:31):
find out shortly. Michelle Spagnoletti will join us from Adelaide Metro.
Changes happening to the trams this weekend and ongoing. We'll
find out more. We'll catch up with David Mitchell, our
health commentator, talking about dry eyes. What can you do
about it? Linda Hellyer from Brood by Belinda. The Brew
that is true will join us to talk about matcha tea.

(01:52):
Also catch up with Catherine Kerry, a very important workability
expo at Homebush Friday and Saturday, the eighth and 9th
of August. You might like to attend. We'll also catch
up with Emily Granlund from lifeblood. Some changes as far
as blood donations go. Some good news. We'll will share
that with you. And David Gilkey will join us from three.

(02:13):
Come from away is the show that the state of
dramatic society are putting on. Your invitation to attend is
coming up via the radio. It's always great catching up

(02:34):
with that cook, the Minister for Human Services here in
South Australia. That welcome. Always good to speak to you.
Thank you.

S2 (02:40):
Thank you Peter. It feels like it's been a long time.

S1 (02:42):
It has been a bit longer than normal. But you've
had holidays and we'll let you do that.

S2 (02:46):
Yeah a couple of weeks, but also did some really good, um, work, uh,
traveling for work, looking into a whole range of things
around some of the, um, policies that we deal with
outside of disability, uh, homelessness and inclusion and, um, youth
justice and all of that. And I've also been, um,

(03:06):
for a visit up to the APY lands to. Wonderful.

S1 (03:10):
Terrific. Well, they certainly need a lot of attention. And
it's good that they're getting it and support it in
the right sort of areas. Now, before we talk about
to the state budget, because that's what we originally we
got you on to talk about. Of course, the news
around Bedford's over the last few days. From the minister's
point of view, we've heard the premier. What about from
the minister's point of view, how do you feel? It's

(03:30):
all kind of resolving itself.

S2 (03:32):
Yeah. I think, um, the priority right from the start,
from my point of view, was to absolutely, 100% make
sure that we could provide confidence to the people who
rely on Bedford services now and as far into the
future as we possibly could. So that's the summary of

(03:54):
the action target, and that is to deliver that confidence
and reassurance. I was pretty shocked, actually. I'd have to
say we'd heard things were bubbling along and there was
some decisions that were being made and some need for
some financial assistance to get through some difficult times. So
we knew about that. And as a government, we'd been

(04:15):
talking with the administration of Bedford for a few months. But, um,
you know, every meeting uncovered new things. And so we
were still in an, you know, evolving phase or period,
should I say. And, um, then I was away, as
I said, in the APY lands, and my office started

(04:37):
getting many, uh, emails, phone calls, range of ways to
cool my office about the fact that Bedford had delivered
news to employees, both supported employees and, um, supporting employees,
shall we say that they were going to have to

(04:59):
go into administration on Sunday and people wouldn't have work
this week. So that was done in, you know, various
forms in tea rooms and, um, staff rooms and such
and meeting rooms. The reports we got, and they were
given a letter outlining this and sent on their way.
And look, over many years I've had friends and contacts and, um,

(05:23):
people in the community that I knew worked, um, at Bedford.
And there's people doing good work supporting people. And then
there's also many people who are needing support at work.
And these people have a lot of difficulty navigating that
sort of information. And to have that delivered in that
way to them. I was pretty, um, annoyed and horrified and, um,

(05:45):
I don't know all the emotions that you get, but
the government's done as best as we can to provide
some sort of a reprieve. It's an incredibly difficult situation. Um,
I think if they had gone into administration on Sunday
without our support, they were going to, I think not
only that, they would have ended up in liquidation this week,

(06:07):
and there would have been no jobs and nothing to
salvage going into the future. So we've, um, been able
to pull this long story short alone together as a
support package, and that means that people keep their jobs
for now, and services continue to carry on while work
is being done on the long term plan, which may

(06:29):
include all of those things or some. I think Bedford
needs to work out their business and their core business
and what they're going to do, and I think there's
been plenty of other things done at a federal level
and globally to say there's a change in the expectation
around supported employment. And I think I've spoken on your
show to your listeners, Peter, and said, look, we give

(06:52):
a young man with Down's syndrome a job. He's successfully
asked for that job, I have to say. And, um, he, um,
he works for a morning a week, earning, um, good
award wages, doing, um, various tasks around my office. And
he lifts our spirits, and he provides more to us
than we provide to him, I can tell you, and

(07:13):
there are many other places in our community that could
provide that sort of work. And, um, I don't think
it's much to ask that our, um, community does better
for people with disability than, um, a few bucks an hour.
And so I think there is a strategy that has
been put out by the federal government around employment, and
there are disability strategies, and all of those spell these

(07:36):
things out. And we've got in our work with Bedford
because they've had some time bought, and we need to
see what's going on in the long term there.

S1 (07:44):
And that we need more than just one minister to
kind of show the way as well. I mean, yes, uh,
community and uh, private employment could jump on board as well. But,
you know, we need more than just you to be
showing the way.

S2 (07:54):
Yeah. And I think, you know, people have got an
appetite to do that. But sometimes the the journey there is, um,
challenging and complex and people just need a bit of help.
So I undertake to try and provide some information to
my colleagues around how we've gone about, um, providing a
job and, um, see if we can set up a
bit of a momentum.

S1 (08:16):
All right. Well, what about the situation regarding Bojana and
the people that are living there? I mean, that kind
of worries me a little bit that I think the
Premier described it as, uh, you know, not the best
of conditions. I mean, they're kind of guaranteed, uh, residency
for a fair while, aren't they? Surely they're not going
to be sort of left homeless?

S2 (08:32):
No. Absolutely not. And that was part of this deal
as well. Um, we take ownership of the site, but
we're not taking responsibility of the supports. And that is
really squarely in the hands of the federal government to,
to fund, um, NDIS and other supports for people. Now,
I've visited Ballina, there's a couple of different types of
accommodation up there, but the um main group accommodation, shall

(08:57):
we say, with individual bedrooms. But um, the group, um,
structure and dining room and what have you. Um, yeah,
it's pretty old and basic and definitely for a long
time has really needed a good going over or um,
in fact, um, demolition and rebuilding or whatever is going
to happen. But, um, that plan, um, I'm not sure where, uh,

(09:23):
the conversations have gone this week, but I would expect
that the federal government will be reached out to through
the Ndia around setting up a plan to move into
the future on whatever accommodation that is and wherever that is.
I know there's there used to be more people living there,
and I have spoken to support coordinator in the past

(09:45):
couple of days, uh, who tells me that they have
managed to, um, secure alternative accommodation? Um, yeah. Previous, um,
residents who are doing very well out in the community
in different types of housing. So there are other options and,
you know, for people want to criticize the NDIS. Well,
you know, it is challenging for some people, but it

(10:05):
gives great outcomes to others. So I think that that
is an option for people to look at different accommodation
and look at a newer future, uh, outside of that
type of congregate living. So I'll be, um, happy to
participate in conversations and how that goes forward. But I'll
certainly be keeping my ear to the ground as well.

S1 (10:25):
Now we're going to run out of time. What about
as far as the state budget goes? So that was
almost making history now. But can you remember anything that
was in it that might help people with disabilities at
such a long time ago?

S2 (10:36):
Yeah. Look, honestly, it wasn't a, um, a really, um, big,
loud budget. It was just a good working class budget,
I think, for us to get on and continue to
do good work in terms of specifically around people with disability.
And what it did was ensure that we had the
staff on board to continue for us to keep working
on the NDIS reforms and recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission,

(10:59):
so that unit within DHS continues to be funded. And
I think one little program I just want to mention
is our child diversion program. And many young people who
find themselves in trouble with the law have got disability
and haven't had adequate supports or plans put in place.
And we've got the child diversion program funded, which ensures

(11:20):
that real young kids under the age of 14 have
got an option to be diverted, particularly Aboriginal young children,
out of custodial situations and into the pathway of other
accommodation so that they're not in, so to speak. And
we've done dozens of diversions for young people and more
than half of those don't reoffend once they've been, you know,

(11:45):
referred out through other pathways. They do a lot better.
So that's really good cost of living stuff, all that.
And there's there's still more things going on in the
autism space. So bits and pieces, um, oh, the partnership
with um, Challenging Places, which is, uh, under the um,
Commonwealth Accessible Australia program, continues. An interesting thing for your

(12:05):
listeners is that it's not just about changing places now.
It's about accessible beaches, accessible parks and other funded partnerships.
And it requires less money from local government who haven't
had a lot of money to put into these programs.
So hopefully we'll see more of those accessible projects rolling out.

S1 (12:22):
That work with youth at risk. I mean, they are so,
so overrepresented when it comes to prison and people with
disabilities or indeed our first Australians. Yes. Well, pardon the pun,
but it's kind of criminal.

S2 (12:31):
It is well done. You, um, look, it is. And, um,
this is a really important piece of work that DHS does,
and that's trying to ensure that people have got better choices,
better pathways, better options. And I've got some funding to
continue the unit, um, to help to do both of
those things. So, um, it's really great.

S1 (12:50):
And with your other hat on the golden oldies. Uh,
what what about for them?

S2 (12:53):
Well, we've got the aging wheel strategy, um, kicking around.
We'll get that out for in the next few months.
So probably just at the end of the year to
set out a plan for aging. Well, um, that we've
done in conjunction with our fellow South Australians, um, we've
got the Retirement Villages Act that we've been, um, negotiating

(13:13):
the rollout of that new legislation and the regulations around
that that's been kicked out just a little bit so
that we can get those things right after doing further consultation.
But that new legislation will be in place next year.
We're continuing to work on, um, housing and accommodation for
all ages in different ways, and I think people will

(13:33):
have probably heard about a whole range of new housing
projects that are being either shovel turned, announced or moved
into in all those different variations in the media. Um,
you know, we keep talking about it and talking about
it and it is a thing. There'll be thousands of
more social housing, homes and other homes because of the
money that's going in. So I'm pretty stoked about that.

S1 (13:56):
Yeah, a little bit tongue in cheek. Were you okay
with the Premier's little go at Frank Pangallo and being
70 and not looking into the future? There's a lot
of people that are 70, 80 and 90 that think
they've got a future in that.

S2 (14:06):
Well, I and I agree with you.

S1 (14:08):
Did you ever get to the Premier about it?

S2 (14:10):
I actually I actually haven't had the chance to. But
now you've reminded me, you know, I think we're.

S1 (14:16):
All we're all only young once reminded him of.

S2 (14:18):
That. Yeah. It was very tongue in cheek, but can
I say to the community, you can't have it. You
can't have it one like, only, you know, um, that
way we've got to think about young people as well
as you, the voting thing overseas and see how that goes,
you know, uh.

S1 (14:34):
Fair enough.

S2 (14:35):
If they can drive, they can make a choice.

S1 (14:37):
Well, you got to be equal about everything. Alright, well,
I'll look, I'll look for maybe we could broadcast the
chat that you have with the Premier.

S2 (14:44):
You're hilarious.

S1 (14:46):
Matt. Seriously? That's great.

S2 (14:48):
Yeah. Thanks. Have a good weekend.

S1 (14:50):
Did that cook there? The Minister for Human Services and
for the office for ageing. Well. Always great of that
to give up a time.

S3 (14:58):
Hi. My name is Natalie Wade from Equality Lawyers. And
you're listening to leisure link with Peter Greco on the
Vision Australia radio network.

S4 (15:11):
You better get real good one.

S1 (15:15):
Exactly. This time last year we caught up with Dexter Noonan,
who was in the Bedford sale exhibition with her work
since then. Dexter also took part in the Transplant Games
and a few other things have been happening. Thanks. Lovely
to speak to you again. Thank you for your time.

S5 (15:30):
G'day, Peter. How are you?

S1 (15:31):
I'm probably better than you are, or certainly better than
you were this time last week. Uh, just about last week.
How's it been for you?

S5 (15:38):
Yeah, it was, uh, it was a a week ago. Yeah.
Last Thursday. Um, it's been a roller coaster, but, uh,
thank you, Peter Malinauskas, for helping us out and all
of South Australia for getting behind us and just realizing
and noticing how important it is to everyone.

S1 (15:57):
Did you kind of sense that? I mean, yes, the
the government stepped in, which is great, but did you
kind of sense the the empathy and the real love
that people had for Bedfords and the people that are there?

S5 (16:08):
I really did I felt it like statewide too, because
I'm from the country and I, I know a lot
of the, uh, clients that go to the Port Pirie,
Bedford and it just affects so many people. And I've
made so many friends and I've met their parents and yeah,
it it wasn't just as simple as closing because that
sort of ends our life a little bit because Bedford

(16:28):
is a lot for us. So yeah, we are all
very relieved and have taken a big sigh for the moment.

S1 (16:36):
So I think the news came out late on Thursday.
And then what was Friday like at work? worked.

S5 (16:41):
It was a weird thought. It was a weird day.
It was? Yeah. How do I explain it? Um, some
of the clients weren't really aware what was happening, and.
But that even, even those clients could pick up a vibe,
that something was happening and something was different. And, yeah, people,
the staff, we sort of started cleaning up, and then
we were like, yeah, it was just really, really hard

(17:03):
because he just he kind of like, okay, what do
we do next? What happens next? Where do we go
from here? Or do we not overreact because we're going
to be back Monday?

S1 (17:12):
Yeah, that's the thing. Like not not knowing sometimes is
worse than knowing the bad news in a way, isn't it?

S5 (17:16):
It really is. Yeah.

S1 (17:18):
Yeah. So what about where the good news came through?
When did you kind of think that? Oh, hang on,
we might be in with a chance here.

S5 (17:25):
That was. Well, I talked to my mum and she
rang her. Her. She has a lot of ex students
at Bedford and yeah, as I said, it affects everyone.
And everyone was talking about it and it was a
lot over social media a lot. So I guess I well,
I try to distract myself and sometimes it was all right.
But then when you really thought about it actually not

(17:48):
being there, I was like, what does Monday look like
for me? Because I have friends that that are Bedford
five days a week, and then they do social sad days.
They also do bowling on a Wednesday afternoon and cooking
on a Friday afternoon. So that's like also their it's
their community too, and their social life and their interests
and everything all rolled into one just gone. And yes.

(18:10):
So I saw something on Facebook of all good places
that Peter Malinauskas put up, and I didn't understand it
exactly what it meant. So I got mum to explain
it to me and it sounded pretty good. So I
was like, well, you know, we can get through. At

(18:31):
least I know what I'm doing Monday because I was like,
do I need to pack my lunch on Sunday? Yeah,
my routine is Bedford, and without that my health and
everything was scared of going downhill because I felt like
if I don't, you know, if I'm not going to
be at Bedford on Monday, I don't really need to
have my lunch and stuff. So it's been a it's
been a very big savior. But also, Peter, it also

(18:52):
makes you realize what you know, how good things are when,
you know, appreciate the things you have really.

S1 (18:57):
Well, yeah, it's funny you say that because I was
talking to someone the other day after some of the
stuff that came out of the news, the Friday, Saturday, etc.
and they said, you know, this is a really good
lesson for all of us to kind of be a
bit more appreciative of the job we've got because everyone
complains about, oh, I've got to go to work now.
I can't wait for holidays. Wah wah wah. And you're thinking, well, look,
look at these people here. There's 1400. They love their work.

(19:19):
They love what they do. They love the environment. They
love the community. We should take a lesson from that.

S5 (19:24):
Yeah, I agree. Like, we all wake up every day
and they say like it's not work to us. Well,
definitely the people in the factory I go to day
auctions and it's it's life. But they wake up and
they're excited because they're with their friends and they're achieving things,
and they're doing things and they feel like they have
a purpose. So yeah, it made me just sort of,
you know, shake myself up a bit and be like,

(19:45):
because sometimes I get frustrated and whatnot, and everyone does.
But I love this place and I wouldn't be without it.
And yeah, it's sort of a good way to look
at life in general about the things that we should
appreciate more.

S1 (19:56):
Terrific. Well, let's hope it's onwards and upwards from here.
I think things are looking okay, and I think the
federal government hopefully will be helping out a bit more
in the weeks and months to come, so we'll stay
tuned for that. What have you been up? What have
you been up to? Apart from that, a little bit
of excitement that you didn't need.

S6 (20:12):
Oh.

S5 (20:13):
Um, what have I been up to? Lots of things, Peter. Yeah.
I've been strangely doing a bit of modelling.

S7 (20:19):
Oh, okay. So about that.

S5 (20:21):
Yeah, that just sort of happened randomly, but that's been cool.
I've been to Melbourne and Sydney and the Gold Coast
for a few things.

S7 (20:27):
And what are you modelling clothing like?

S5 (20:30):
Just sort of streetwear clothing. And then the barbers do things.
Crazy things in my hair.

S7 (20:36):
So that's true. I love that.

S1 (20:38):
I reckon you'd love that, wouldn't you?

S5 (20:40):
I do, I do.

S7 (20:41):
Yeah.

S1 (20:41):
You love the attention, don't you, Baxter?

S5 (20:43):
Just a little bit.

S7 (20:44):
Oh, no.

S5 (20:45):
Yeah. We did, like, an eight hour filming in the
Gold Coast for a 32nd clip. So that says how
much goes behind all the social media stuff?

S1 (20:53):
Did you? Seriously? Is it good.

S7 (20:54):
Fun?

S5 (20:55):
If it aligns with me and I feel comfortable, then. Yes.
If it doesn't, then I just have learnt to just
say no thank you now. So my point in doing
things that don't feel right.

S1 (21:03):
Yeah, well, it's important to say no thank you. And
it's also good, as you say, there, to do things
that feel right. What about the Transplant Games? Any news
in that area?

S5 (21:11):
Kevin, my kidney had his birthday on the seventh, so
a few weeks ago. That was his third birthday.

S7 (21:15):
So July.

S5 (21:17):
7th of July?

S7 (21:17):
Yes. Okay.

S5 (21:18):
He's having a bit of a struggle, but we're just
changing medications and working on it.

S7 (21:22):
Yeah.

S5 (21:22):
The games was in in Germany this year, the World Games.
So I didn't make it to that.

S7 (21:28):
Yeah.

S5 (21:28):
But I hopefully next year I'll make it. To which
I think it is in the Sunshine Coast. So yeah,
start training them on the table tennis and all that
and hopefully get along and yeah, get around that.

S7 (21:38):
What about your.

S1 (21:38):
Artwork back there? Any news there?

S7 (21:40):
Yeah we have.

S5 (21:42):
We've just recently finished sila again and this year they
wanted a set of more. They wanted more quality instead
of quantity, which was good. And we all sort of
did our individual pieces. And then we did a joint
piece and it's not going to be displayed like it
was last year, but it is being displayed somewhere. And
I think tonight, tomorrow night is a disco sort of

(22:03):
celebration of the Bedford sila as well.

S7 (22:05):
Terrific.

S1 (22:06):
If you work for sale, have you sold anything?

S5 (22:07):
No. I, um, my salad wasn't that great this year,
which is also a good learning point. I, um, I
tried to hard on it, and then I ended up
throwing it in the bin, but, okay, I was there
to support my friends and encouraged them. I was very
proud of them.

S1 (22:22):
Great attitude. Hey, Baxter. Thank you. You. You lift the
spirit of everyone. Just the way you talk. Just with
your modelling modeling work. Can we check that anywhere? Anywhere?

S5 (22:31):
Yes, please. My Instagram is Baxter. Noonan.

S1 (22:34):
All right. Simple as that.

S7 (22:35):
Be.

S1 (22:37):
Noonan N00NAN.

S5 (22:39):
That's it. And I do have a documentary. Just came
out yesterday that has been put into the South Australian
Film Festival for Disability Inclusion. If you want to check
that out and vote for my documentary that's done by yogis.
The director and V from Mingle Co was the producer.

S7 (22:55):
Where do we.

S1 (22:56):
Go to.

S7 (22:56):
For that.

S5 (22:57):
That'll be on my Instagram.

S7 (22:58):
Okay. All right.

S1 (22:59):
We'll put those details up with our show notes and
um keep us posted. So there's voting on that. And
when does that come through. Do you.

S7 (23:06):
Know the.

S5 (23:07):
Voting started yesterday and it'll finish in a week and
then so you can watch it and vote. And then
September will be having a bit of a filming. Uh,
what's it called? Screening party thing.

S7 (23:17):
Beautiful. Well, also.

S5 (23:18):
Before you go, sad news about, um, Barry Robson.

S7 (23:22):
Oh.

S1 (23:22):
Terrible news. Yeah. He'll be he's been a great supporter
of this radio station for many, many years. And you
know that that was very, very sad. It was, um,
very unexpected.

S5 (23:34):
Yes, it was my dad. We were only like I
told you in the first interview, we don't have a choice.
We have to go for North Adelaide because.

S1 (23:40):
You know that. Yeah.

S5 (23:41):
He hit my dad pretty hard. And. Yeah, I love that.
Dad taught me all about him because I can respect
him as well.

S1 (23:47):
Yeah, well, I tell you what, he was a great footballer.
He was even better person. Yeah, I got to know
him a little bit. I can't brag too much, but
I got to know him a little bit. And he was, uh,
the nicest person you could meet, so.

S5 (23:59):
Yeah, I got to meet him once, and I totally agree, Baxter.

S1 (24:02):
You take care. We'll catch up soon. I'll keep in
touch with you regarding that film. We'd like to find
out more about that. Uh, so, uh, we'll keep in touch.

S5 (24:10):
Sounds good. Peter.

S1 (24:10):
Okay. Baxter. Noonan there. Tell us a bit about Bedford.
So that gives you great insight into how important the
organization is. So well done to all those that have
chipped in at the moment. Let's hope there's, uh, many,
many good years ahead.

S8 (24:24):
You're in elite company Listening to Leslie here on Vision
Australia Radio, radio, digital radio.org and through the TuneIn radio app.

S1 (24:34):
Well, you may have experienced or heard about some changes
as far as the trams go. Let's chat about it
with um from Adelaide Metro Michelle Spagnoletti who looks after
the customer experience. Michelle, lovely to meet you. Thank you
for your time.

S9 (24:46):
Thank you. Happy to be here.

S1 (24:48):
Now. Uh, some changes started from today.

S9 (24:50):
They did go. The tram line closed is closed from
today and tomorrow. Full line closure to allow for preliminary
work for the tram grade separation, where we'll be removing
three level crossings and upgrading intersections. So there's statutes in
place for this weekend from Monday before, um, the section

(25:12):
between South Terrace and Adelaide Entertainment Centre will be open. However,
the section between Glenelg and South Terrace will remain closed
and will have bus substitutes in place again for that
period right up until the end of January.

S1 (25:25):
Okay. Now, this is obviously very, very important for people
to catch a tram regularly. I guess doing things like
this kind of makes people aware of it, just in case. Um,
you know, people might have missed it through social media
or other channels.

S9 (25:36):
Definitely. So we've we've got lots of information out there
for people. We've got signs on all the tram stops,
but we've also got information on our website. So. All
of our bus timetables and maps are on the website.
So just to get people to understand, we'll have all

(25:57):
stops semi-express and express services running with the frequency of
about 10 to 20 minutes during the day, and then
increasing every five minutes during weekday peak periods. The express
and the Semi-express are operating on weekdays only, um and
the express service only in the peaks. However, we've got
a service that will run ten minutes all day, replacing

(26:18):
every tram and connecting with trams at South Terrace as well.

S1 (26:22):
There are no excuses being late for work or school. Michelle.

S9 (26:25):
Correct. We do encourage people just to plan ahead, because
sometimes the the bus can take a little bit longer
than the tram. So plan ahead. But there's plenty of
services out there. Um, so we'll get people to where
they need to go.

S1 (26:37):
Obviously, you know, people catch a tram regularly. They know
where those particular stops are. So how close are that
particular stop? I mean, given the fact that they're in
different positions, how close are the stops? Are the bus
replacements compared to the tram stops?

S9 (26:52):
So the majority of stops are very close to tram stops.
There is a map on our website, so I'd encourage
people to have a look on the map or if
you need. If anyone needs help with planning their journey,
contact the info line which is 1300 311 108 and our friendly
staff will help plan their journey for them.

S1 (27:11):
Okay, repeat those details before we wrap up, because obviously
some people do prefer the telephone or find that more
accessible than the website. So these are obviously important changes.
And I guess, you know, long term and kind of
city wise, state wise or state wide, these are important
changes are important develops that are going to make things
better for particularly motorists. I guess, you know, from January

(27:32):
next year.

S9 (27:33):
Definitely. So approximately 50,000 vehicles pass through these crossings every day. Um,
and so removing these level crossings will provide a much safer,
much more reliable journey for the general network.

S1 (27:44):
Amazing, isn't it? 50,000 a day. It's hard to hard
to get your head around those sort of figures, but
I guess 24 hours is a fair amount of time.
So when you work it out that way, it's probably
not that many. What about in terms of the pain
that goes into it? Um, of course, we're sort of
in the middle of winter at the moment. Coming out
of winter, we'll have the show and, um, school holidays

(28:05):
coming up reasonably soon. I guess all these things are
taken into account.

S9 (28:08):
Definitely. So we've been planning this for a long time
and making sure that particularly with the bus substitute services,
that we've got enough to make sure that we can
carry everyone for those special events, such as the Royal Show,
will put additional bus substitute services on to make sure
that people can still access those special events.

S1 (28:26):
Because I know there was a bit of controversy back
a while ago when the tram was being extended and
so on and so forth. But I mean, you're probably
going to say, of course, but the, um, the, the
popularity of the tram. Yeah. Can't be denied, can it?
I mean, I'm sure numbers would back that up.

S9 (28:41):
Definitely. Very, very popular mode of travel for, for our passengers.
So it's a really quick and easy way to get
from Glenelg into the city. And many, many people use
it every day.

S1 (28:51):
And of course, in terms of um, it's it's accessibility
and safety, it's pretty well set up in those areas
as well. And of course, with things like, um, you know,
the discount for school students and, you know, people that
carry seniors cards, etc.. It's, uh, it's a very economical
way of travelling in this cost of living times.

S9 (29:10):
Definitely. So we've just introduced our $10.20 student pass and
free travel for seniors. Um, it has been in place
for a little while. And of course we've got all
of our other concessions, so it certainly is a cost
effective way to travel for sure.

S1 (29:23):
And as a community, we're pretty quick to, you know,
jump on the government for whatever they do, almost good,
bad or indifferent. But I read the other day, Tom
Koutsantonis comments regarding the amount of buses that were kind
of being put into service. So obviously this has been
quite well planned, and you're doing a lot of work
to sort of minimize any disruptions.

S9 (29:41):
Yeah. So we've got a 44 buses required for disclosure,
which is quite a lot. So we've really needed to
make sure that we've catered for everyone who currently travels
on the train. And obviously we'll be monitoring the services
really closely just to make sure that we've got all
of that right.

S1 (29:58):
That's good. And just get back to the staff on
the telephones again. I'm going to assume that they've been
well trained in kind of, uh, letting people know that
the changes and, you know, the sort of substitute buses
or that information. So when you ring, you know, you'll
get someone that kind of knows what's going on?

S9 (30:14):
Definitely. So they've all been briefed and they're very, very
knowledgeable about public transport and will be able to help
people if they give them where they're starting their journey
and where they need to get to, and then they'll
be able to help them plan that journey for them.

S1 (30:27):
So let's just repeat those details. So today and for
the rest of tomorrow, Sunday, what's happening. And then from
Monday it's a different setup again isn't it.

S9 (30:36):
Sure. So for today and tomorrow it's a full closure.
So the whole tram line is closed just to get
us ready for Monday. And then from Monday, the Glenelg
to South Terrace will remain closed and then South Terrace
Adelaide Entertainment Centre will open. And then for that closed portion,
we've got a number of different bus substitute services that

(30:57):
will replace every tram and provide at least a ten
minute frequency all day. Yeah.

S1 (31:02):
So, so if you catch the tram, it just in
the city, you know, from South Terrace northwards, if I
can put it that way. Really from Monday there's pretty
much back to normal transmission?

S9 (31:13):
Yes. And so for the bus substitute service, there will
be some opportunities for people to transfer onto a tram itself. Carers. Okay.
Or the buses will continue to Victoria Square if people
just want to go that little bit extra. So there's
a couple of options there for people.

S1 (31:27):
All right. Now as you said people can find out
more from the website which is Adelaide Metro. Pretty straightforward.
And you've also got that one free. But how um
how often is that one 300 number. Uh, got people
answering Michelle.

S9 (31:42):
So that one 300 numbers, it's 1300 311 108. And it's open
from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.

S1 (31:49):
All right. There's some weekends as well.

S9 (31:50):
Correct? Yes.

S1 (31:51):
Terrific. One 303, 11108.

S9 (31:54):
That's right.

S1 (31:55):
We'll put that information up with our show notes. Michelle,
really appreciate that. Obviously it's a busy time. And let's
hope that everyone kind of keeps their cool. And this
understanding of, uh, either whether you're ringing up or whether
you're catching a substitute bus or whatever, I'm sure everyone
is doing their best, so a bit of common courtesy
probably will go a long way and sort of take
a breath and just to chill.

S9 (32:15):
Yes, and we'll make sure we try and get you
to wherever everyone needs to go.

S1 (32:19):
Alright. And then, uh, as you say, after when the
school resumed in late January, things should be back to normal.

S9 (32:25):
That's right. So we're planning to have the full line
open ready for school year next year.

S1 (32:29):
Alright. Gosh, we're talking about next year already Michelle, appreciate.

S9 (32:33):
Your.

S1 (32:33):
Time. Thank you so much for that. We appreciate.

S9 (32:36):
It. Thank you.

S1 (32:37):
For sure. Thank you. Michelle is from the Customer Experience
team at the Adelaide Metro. All those details up on
our show notes. But that phone number again if you
want to take it down 1300 311 108. And those changes today
and tomorrow. And then from Monday from South Terrace to
Glenelg there'll be substitute buses. But it sounds like there's
been a lot of planning that's going into it. So

(32:59):
inconvenience at a minimum. Can't catch up with a health commentator,
our health expert, David Mitchell. David, welcome. Hello. Hello, everyone. Yeah, David,

(33:21):
we've had an email from Janine who would like you
to talk about dry eyes.

S10 (33:26):
Indeed, indeed. Yep.

S1 (33:28):
Go ahead.

S10 (33:29):
Thank you very much. The thing about dry eyes is
that there's a good. Probably 50% of us are going
to get dry eyes as we get older because we
run out of or don't make enough of tears. And
tears are not just for for crying and weeping are
for being sad or for being happy. They are there

(33:51):
to actually provide a layer over the eyes and stop
them drying out, and stop them from scraping the eyelids,
scraping the outsides which then damage the eye and affect
the vision and so on. And it means that we
need to look at tears themselves. And tears are a
mixture of oil, of water and of mucus. And that
combination that mix, that Wiseau kit or smoothie is exactly

(34:19):
what the The Body makes with a mixture of those
three constituents. And the tears themselves are either released from
the the tear ducts or they're released from special glands
called meibomian glands, which produce the oil in it's now
our dry eyes can come about as a result of age,

(34:40):
but they can be a result of some drugs like
diuretics or old fashioned, the old fashioned antidepressants, thyroid disease,
a number of autoimmune diseases like Covid syndrome that such
that if we're noticing it, we can probably try and
get away with doing something about it just by getting

(35:02):
some artificial tears From the chemists. There are a whole
range of different types, but it's worthwhile knowing that there
are essentially two different types of dry eye. One is
that there is is the lack of the oiliness coming
from the Babylonian glands, and they would need the oilier
type of drops. And the other is the one where

(35:23):
it's called evaporative dry eyes, whereby the tears themselves are
of very poor quality and they actually evaporate just from
having your eyes open. So they require a different set
of drops. So it's worth doing those first, just in
case there's something else happening. And if it doesn't work

(35:44):
and you've tried several different brands, then it's off to
the dock and to have a chat and have a check.
Now that the doc will look at your eyelids and
see if there's any tiny infection or any inflammation along
the edges of the eyelids, around the eyelashes, and along there,
because there are a couple of conditions that can be
easily removed with antibiotic ointment. And if that's not the case,

(36:07):
then he can have a look and see if there's
any any scraping type activity that might be affecting the
outside of the eye and suggest some other drops. Now
we'll keep coming back to to drops, because in the end,
there they are. Probably the major thing that you'll be using,
because once you've got this sort of condition, you've probably

(36:27):
got it for life, unless it's something like an infection
can be found or some sort of treatable condition like
a thyroid or thyroid, otherwise that you are on to
some sort of drops. Now some people find that they
get an irritation from the standard sort of eye drops,
and that's because they have these these drops have a

(36:48):
preservative in them to make them last longer. But that
preservative is a chemical that can cause irritation. So if
you're putting drops in and they're making you worse, or
they feel each year or scrape year or drier, then
you need to switch to the preservative free ones at.
Some of those are expensive, and require a prescription from

(37:09):
the doctor to bring it down to a more realistic price.
So again, that's where the doc could also come in handy.
As well as that, the doc can then send you
on to the ophthalmologist, and they could do a whole
range of tests on the quality and quantity of the
tears that you're making, to also get an idea of
which which way to go. Do we go the orderly way,

(37:29):
or do we go the evaporative way? They could see
whether there's any other eye issue that may also be
part and parcel of the whole deal. And I know
this all sounds a bit complicated. It's not, but it
is a progressive thing and you can take control of it,
at least in the first stages by your trial and
error of different brands of drops and beyond. But it

(37:52):
may well be in going to see the ophthalmologist if
they find something that is treatable in some way, shape
or form, and there are a few little tricks that
they can do that are above and beyond the the
GP type area. If that's the case, then you may
have to just accept that you're with these drops forever
and a day and I'm in that bracket. So since

(38:15):
I had my heart condition, the diuretics dry me out,
not only dry out the skin and the bladder, but
they also dry out the eyes so that that too
could be something for me. Some of the old fashioned
earlier anti blood pressure pills called beta blockers, they too
could do it. And guess what. I'm on beta blockers

(38:36):
and had big reactions and went off. And thank goodness
the day two contributed to my dry eyes. And so
it goes on. Now, there are no specific pills at
this stage unless they've found some sort of weird and
wonderful autoimmune disease that might be treatable and in so doing,
help them to dry. It is primarily just that, that

(38:59):
local treatment. Now some people would say, right, well, there
are very special forms of contact lenses that you could
put in that actually keep the eyes moist. It's like
putting putting on a raincoat and sweating underneath a raincoat.
It keeps the eyes making more tears along the way.

(39:20):
That's when it's expensive and it's tedious, obviously. Put him in,
taking them out. There are a couple of weird and
wonderful operations ophthalmologists will do, but they are expensive and
a bit tricky. So it's not something you'd go straight down.
It keeps coming back to drops. They also reckon that
because of the lack of oiliness, you may find that

(39:43):
some omega three or fish oils could be useful. Now
fish these days is so expensive you. Inevitably you're going
to come back to a capsule of some sort. But
it's the omega three fish oils that you're looking for
that maybe will help you make a little bit more
oily stuff to run across the the outside of the eye.

(40:03):
That would make it. The tea is thicker and slipperier,
for want of a better word. So the eyelids can
run up and down, open and close without causing any problems.

S1 (40:12):
Not that there are a couple of quick ones. We
talked about trialing drops. How long would you trial them
for before saying, oh, this one's not going to work?
I might have to change.

S10 (40:23):
You should notice it in within the week.

S1 (40:26):
Okay.

S10 (40:27):
And often from the day are inevitably most people will
try and do it once a day in the mornings,
and they'll wake up with dry eyes, but it often
doesn't last the whole day, so you may need me
to repeat it 2 or 3 times a day. Or
you may find that if you're waking with with very
dry eyes, then you need to put some in at
night as well. So it's twice a day. What's more
exciting is that it flows on from a talk that

(40:50):
we had many months ago about red light therapy, which
is sort of a spin off out of acupuncture, and
I might mention it in some people, acupuncture does seem
to help a bit. Now it's really too interested about
putting needles in and around the eye, but there are
needles positions you can find in the body that can
help the eye that are well away from the eye.

(41:11):
But the the trend has been to move to a
mixture of two red lights, the visible red light and
near invisible, or what I call infrared invisible red light.
That combination of the two red lights have been found
to be not only really, really useful for musculoskeletal conditions,
but guess what? They're also useful for the eyes because

(41:34):
they stimulate the mitochondria, which are the little batteries that
are in every cell on the body. And if we
focus the red lights on the outside of the eyes,
so we sit there with our eyes closed, and we
have this little, little lamp that looks very much like
a mini version. The old fashioned infrared lights that we
used to use when we were kids, when we had

(41:56):
any sorts of injuries. Well, they've now refined that to
these mixture of the two red light frequencies. The one
at 650 and one at 850 nanograms. In using those
you can make quite a dramatic difference. And I've certainly
found for me that doing that once a day and
initially every day for a week or two, and then

(42:19):
2 or 3 times a week, it's sometimes just once
a week, I've found that it actually makes a dramatic difference.
Then it tests have been done. Small studies have been
done showing that this is possible. Some have suggested, oh,
it's only going to last for six months. But I've
got to tell you that having lovely slippery eyes, even

(42:40):
for six months, is well worth it. If you can
buy these these lights from AliExpress on the internet. It's
a big Chinese trading company and it has brilliant, high
quality stuff. And you just type in red light therapy,
eye mask or red light therapy for eyes. And it's

(43:01):
about 20, $25 to to send a send little globe
with its in its little thing with a with a
plug on the end. You plug in and away you
go for about ten minutes, remembering that you need to
keep your eyes closed while you're doing it. Otherwise the
eyes themselves will be a bit stirred up because of
the bright redness. You'll have some light perception through closed eyes,

(43:25):
but it's quite safe.

S1 (43:27):
So you plug the red lights into the wall. Uh,
wall plug? Yeah, it runs off electricity.

S10 (43:32):
Some of them also run off a USB power point. Yeah,
run off the side of your computer as you do it.
So you laugh and head along the way. So people
that have the dry eyes related to the evaporative can
also find the humidifiers and get little. You can get
little ones through the big ones that can be quite inexpensive.

(43:53):
And you have those next year armchair where you put
your glass of wine and your and your nibbles, and
also what is right, what are you doing? Whatever you do, uh,
or stick it on the end of the ironing board
while you're doing the ironing or or stick it on
the desk when you're doing something with the computer or whatever.
And they just provide that, that sort of liquid moisture

(44:14):
in the air that drops onto the ice quite safely.

S1 (44:18):
David, we'll have to leave it there. We might have
to come back to it another time because we're at
a time this time. But thank you so much for that. Fantastic.
As always. We'll catch up next month.

S10 (44:27):
Bye. See you everyone, and good luck.

S1 (44:30):
David, with you there. Our health commentator. Thanks, Janine, for
sending your email through with the question. If there's something
you'd like David to tackle, be like Janine, do the
same thing and David will answer your question.

S11 (44:46):
Welcome aboard the leisure lift. Please select your floor.

S1 (45:15):
Oh, that's everyone's favorite sound. Thank you. Polly, put the
kettle on. Every month, around about this time. So we
can welcome Belinda Henley to the program from Brood by
Belinda the brood. That is true. Find out more. Brood
by Belinda. Hello, Belinda.

S12 (45:29):
Hello, Peter.

S1 (45:30):
You're going to talk about, uh, a team that maybe
isn't as well known as some others, but it is
kind of, um, I don't know. Is it kind of
trending at the moment or people are finding out a
bit more about it at the moment?

S12 (45:40):
Absolutely. It's totally trending at the moment. And a tea
called matcha.

S1 (45:46):
Okay, tell us about it.

S12 (45:48):
Well, it's different from other teas in that it is
green tea that has been, uh, where the leaves have
been ground down into a powder. And when we brew it,
we we we skid, um, with warm water, and then
we can make all sorts of things with that. But, yeah,
it's different in that you're drinking the entire leaf of

(46:10):
the plant, rather than just infusing leaves in water and
then removing them. So yeah, I guess that's the main difference.
It's a powdered tea and you're drinking the entire leaf
rather than infusing it. And so because of this, uh,
there's lots of different kind of health benefits to other
styles of tea. And this is why it's really, really

(46:33):
popular at the moment. Matcha green tea is having like,
you know, its time in the spotlight because it has
incredible health benefits, and a lot of people are really
focused on their health. And and it's also the most
amazing color when you brew it up. So it's also
visually striking as well.

S1 (46:53):
So I guess it's kind of along the lines of
it is good for you. This is a bit more
sort of concentrated, so maybe the nutrients are more plentiful
in the cup, if I can put it that way.

S12 (47:03):
Yeah. I think like out of all of the teas,
green tea has like really amazing health benefits. So green
tea in itself is a super healthy. But as you say,
when you're then drinking the entire leaf, you're sort of
getting that big time. So matcha is known to be, um,
like an antioxidant powerhouse. So, you know, supporting glowing skin

(47:26):
and healthy aging and immune health as well as that,
one of the things that it's, um, really popular for
is its high content of l-theanine and natural caffeine, which
kind of provides this really smooth energy boost without a crash.
So people are moving from coffee, you know, to matcha
in the mornings because of the way that it kind

(47:49):
of lifts you without any crashing. It also is also
great for like your mental cognition. So really great for
focus and clarity because it enhances your concentration and and
said to enhance then in turn like your creativity.

S1 (48:05):
Okay. Now when we're talking during the week, you were
telling me a very interesting fact about the way kind
of matcha is prepared or even assessed before it's prepared.

S12 (48:15):
Oh yeah. I mentioned to you that, um, another difference
is that before the green tea leaves are picked to
make matcha, they are actually, uh, shaded in the tea fields.
So the tea fields are shaded. And what that does
is that, um, cutting out that light, shading the, the
leaf kind of locks in a lot of those really

(48:37):
crazy health benefits. The vibrancy of the green leaves, the, uh, chlorophyll.
So it's, um, yeah, different in the way that it's
kind of the last few weeks of its growth that
fields are shaded, and then the leaves are hand-picked and
they're steamed dry, and then they're stone ground into a

(49:00):
really fine, vibrant green powder. Um, using this, the most
amazing kind of stone grinders that, yeah, grind in a
super fine way. And yeah. So, like, unlike other teas,
you're drinking the whole leaf in that powder, which means
all of the goodness comes comes with it.

S1 (49:19):
You talked about it trending at the moment, I believe. Yeah.
Kind of. It's caused a bit of a short supply worldwide.

S12 (49:25):
Yeah. It's all over the news if you're, if you're interested. Um,
but yeah, there is like a worldwide like global shortage
of matcha that's, that has just had this huge resurgence
and sudden, um, you know, sudden surge in popularity because
of these health benefits. So, yeah, they can't keep up
with demand. Um, this is a Japanese, mostly Japanese grown

(49:49):
style of tea. And, you know, it does have this,
you know, this careful shading. And they, you know, this grinding.
So there's lots of different, um, parts of the process that,
you know, take a lot of time with a lot
of precision and care and, you know, they just don't
have the workforce and the actual, um, you know, tea and,

(50:11):
and enough fields to kind of keep up with the
demand at the moment. So intimate. You may hit times
when you can't get it or you have to change supplier,
or you may just have to wait until you know
the new growth, um, the following season and the new
batches come through.

S1 (50:27):
An impossible question, I know, but what does it taste
like for those that haven't tried it? Can you kind
of explain it? It's probably pretty hard, isn't it?

S12 (50:34):
So generally it you know, there is a sort of
sort of grassiness to it. There's lots of different grades
of matcha. Um, you can have, you know, matcha that's
kind of low grade. And then the one that I'm
about to introduce to my range is called ceremonial grade matcha. Um,
and that is kind of, you know, the highest grade.

(50:54):
And that also brings the most beautiful kind of flavors.
So personally, I'm looking for, like, a smooth, vegetal taste
with like, some nuttiness rather than, like that real sort
of grassy bitterness which you might get in sort of
cheaper supermarket styles of this tea. And you're really looking
for a powder that is bright, vibrant jade green. If

(51:18):
it's a kind of, um, dirty army green, then that's
going to tell you that it's, you know, not the best.

S5 (51:26):
All right.

S12 (51:26):
So yeah. You want. Right. Um, and. Yeah, but high
quality matcha comes with a high price because it is,
you know, it is, um, a premium style of tea.
But this is a, you know, beautiful tea that's been
treasured for centuries in Japan. And it's more than just tea.
It's a ceremonial kind of practice steeped in mindfulness. So

(51:48):
a big part of culture and ceremony in Japan. So yeah,
it's a very beautiful thing. And the way you prepare
it is really interesting too, with kind of specialized pieces
of equipment or teaware that you use to make matcha.
So you'll have a beautiful matcha bowl which you prepare
the tea in, and it may have a spout or not.

(52:09):
And you'll use a whisk like a beautiful bamboo whisk,
which is also called a chazen. There's also usually a
bamboo scoop to scoop the tea into the bowl. But yeah,
you you you scoop the tea powder into your matcha bowl.
You add some warm water around 80 degrees, and then
you use the bamboo whisk the chosen to prop up

(52:31):
the the team to a sort of creamy froth, and
you use like a W motion when you're whisking. So yeah.

S1 (52:40):
Yeah, that's a good explanation. Yeah. All right. Well I,
I've had it, but I normally just use a cheap
old spoon Belinda but I I'll try the W motion
see if that makes any difference. Yeah. That's fascinating. Now um,
I normally say, where can we find you? Where can
we find you? But it's only going to be for
a little while because you're you're pretty much moving to

(53:00):
online shortly, aren't you? Just online.

S12 (53:03):
That's right. We often tell people to come by my studio,
which I will be here until the end of August
at 97, a old port road. But yes, we are
moving to a dedicated home studio after that, which is
going to, you know, just be really great for me
in the way I run my business. So you'll be
able to find me online at Brewed by Belinda. And

(53:25):
you can also contact me via email or on my
mobile if you ever need anything. 0419 839 702.

S1 (53:34):
Alright, so there till the end of August. So. Well actually,
the next time we speak to you, you you won't
be there. You'll be in your online store if you like,
but you'll still speak to us as well, which is
important for us.

S12 (53:45):
Of course. I love that.

S5 (53:47):
That every.

S12 (53:47):
Month.

S1 (53:48):
Great, Belinda. Take care. Actually, I know you're doing something
very special. September 2nd, which we might talk to you
about a bit closer to the time. 0419 839 702 Brewed by Belinda.
Com.au we'll catch up again soon and happy moving.

S12 (54:02):
Thank you Peter I'll look forward to getting you to
help me lift everything.

S1 (54:07):
I think I'm busy that day. Belinda. Hell, yeah. They're
from Brunei. Belinda. The brew. That is true. And what
a wonderful thing. But they're about matcha. Maybe you could
try it. See what you think.

S8 (54:20):
On the Vision Australia network through your favorite podcast service
on 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide. You're listening to leisurely.

S1 (54:30):
Well, some interesting and I think exciting news as far
as donating blood goes, particularly if you've had cancer in
the past. Let's find out a bit more about it.
From lifeblood, we speak to Emory Grandin and we love
to catch up again.

S13 (54:41):
Hi Peter, thanks for having me.

S1 (54:43):
Now you've made some changes regarding who you're accepting blood
and plasma from now.

S13 (54:47):
Yes we have. It's good news. People who have fully
recovered from many different types of cancer can now donate
blood and plasma 12 months after finishing their treatment under
a new rule change. And that's provided that they're in
remission and they meet all of the other health criteria.
And it's quite a big change because the previous rule
was a five year wait. So it really opens the

(55:10):
door for thousands of Australians who are eager to give
back after their own cancer journey.

S1 (55:15):
I reckon there might be a lot of people. In fact,
I reckon there would be a lot of people that
would be really grateful of this opportunity to be able
to give back.

S13 (55:21):
Yes, I think so. Look, on average, more than 5000
potential donors are asked to wait to donate every single
year because they haven't been able to. But this will
certainly open the door for more people to donate earlier.
So that's really good news. And we know that a
lot of people who have had cancer treatment themselves really

(55:43):
know the true value of blood and plasma donations, because
they are used so much during cancer treatment. In fact,
cancer patients are Australia's largest users of blood and 11,000
donations are needed every single week for cancer treatments.

S1 (56:01):
And now, when we've spoken to you and your colleagues
in the past, it's one of the points that they make. And,
you know, you just never know when you or someone
you love might be diagnosed or indeed may have been
diagnosed and are going through that treatment situation.

S13 (56:13):
Yes, that's right, 1 in 3 of us will need
blood or blood products in our lifetime, but just 1
in 30 people actually donate, so it works out to
be around 3% of the population, which is pretty low.
When you see that these people are really propping up
the blood supply for the health system. So this is
why these kind of changes that we're seeing around the, um,

(56:35):
cancer survivors and also the recent changes that we made
around sexual activity for bisexual and gay men and transgender
people to be able to donate plasma without a wait.
These are all really encouraging. It means that we're opening
the doors for more people to be able to to donate,
which is just fantastic, and we want to be able

(56:57):
to do that. We're constantly reviewing our eligibility criteria. And
of course, patient safety is always at the top of
our priority, and our blood supply is one of the
safest in the world. So yeah, we're really pleased to
be able to make these changes.

S1 (57:11):
And of course, it wasn't that long ago that people
had been in the UK weren't allowed to, and now
they can. That that change has also been made in
fairly recent times.

S13 (57:19):
That's right. That was a couple of years ago now.
So people that lived through the, uh, mad cow outbreak
in the UK between 1980 and 1996 were not able
to donate, but we found that it was safe to
do so and change that rule and welcomed those people
into donate after that. And the number of people that
did actually donate was, you know, well above expectations now

(57:44):
really helped, you know, boost the blood supply. So that
was yeah, that was a really encouraging change.

S1 (57:50):
Emily made an interesting point about the South. Is that
sort of the reasons behind this change being made now?
I guess you just wonder, sort of dotting the i's
and cross all the T's to make sure that this
supply coming in was going to be safe for for
both parties, if I can put it that way.

S13 (58:04):
Yeah. Look. That's right. Um, any changes that we make
are based on the latest medical research, and we do
need to make sure that that the blood is as
safe as possible for patients. And in this particular case,
there were some large scale studies that confirmed that cancer
was not transmissible through blood transfusion. And so with all

(58:24):
changes to blood rules, this one also had to be
approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. It's quite a long process, but,
you know, worthwhile obviously.

S1 (58:34):
Yeah. For people's health is so, so important. Are these
changes taking effect as in now or from a certain date?
How does that work?

S13 (58:41):
Yes, they are taking effect now which is good. So if, um,
you have had cancer and are in remission and this
is something that you would really like to do, what
we want people to do is make sure that they
get a letter from their doctor to confirm that they
are one year at our post treatment, and that they
are in remission. And, um, that's important not only for

(59:05):
us to be able to keep track of, but also
for the doctor to know that, you know, that's what
the their patient intends to do. So just good to
keep everyone across that.

S1 (59:16):
Despite having a good relationship with the GP, isn't it?
I don't know what what you're wanting to do and
what you're doing and that the doctors sort of tell
you tick off on it as well. That's right. And
this is anywhere in Australia, Emily. This is for anyone
living anywhere in Australia.

S13 (59:30):
The rules being changed are nationwide. Yeah. So we welcome
people who may fit into this category to roll up
a sleeve and donate. And as I mentioned, um, they
will need to to tick the boxes in terms of
other eligibility criteria. So that means, you know, our donors
have to be between the ages of 18 to 75

(59:53):
for their first donation. Also need to be feeling fit
and well. There are some things that may cause another weight,
such as, you know, overseas travel to certain countries where
there may have been diseases like malaria, or there might
be certain medications that might rule you out. But, um,
but generally speaking, if you want to check out eligibility

(01:00:15):
criteria on our website, that's a really good way to start.
It's a nice, quick and easy survey that you do.
And of course, when you do donate blood, the process
is that you go in and you fill in a
questionnaire and then have a health check as well. So, um,
we'll check your, um, iron levels and also check your
blood pressure and make sure that you are feeling fit

(01:00:36):
and well and ready to donate. So, um, yeah, we're
always looking after our donors and our patients.

S1 (01:00:43):
Love me being a little bit cheeky, Emily, but, uh, no, uh,
bulk billing, as far as that goes. Or no need
to pay as far as that goes, you're always getting
a free checkup. Uh, and also giving blood. So a
win win.

S13 (01:00:52):
Yeah. That's right. I mean, unless you donate plasma, you
can donate every two weeks. So you're keeping a really
good check on, uh, on your personal health. And we
do have an app which will tell you each time
that you've visited and you can, you know, check your
own health stats. So it's, um, it's a good way
of keeping on top of things.

S1 (01:01:11):
Fantastic. How can we find out more? What's your website?

S13 (01:01:14):
So the website is lifeblood.com and our phone number is
13 1495. So if you do have any questions, uh,
by all means give us a call.

S1 (01:01:24):
Emily, keep up the fabulous work.

S13 (01:01:26):
Thank you so much.

S1 (01:01:27):
Emily Granlund there from lifeboat. With that good news, particularly
for you or someone you love has had cancer in
the past. Some good news there that it looks like
you can now donate your blood.

S14 (01:01:39):
Hi, I'm Pam Mitchell. You're a resident counsellor. And you're
listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on the Vision
Australia radio network. Peter Greco in tune with the heartbeat
of his listeners, linking people together through a program packed
with diverse news and up to the minute information all presented,

(01:02:00):
of course, with his warm heart and vibrant personality.

S1 (01:02:10):
It's been fabulous over the last few months, catching up
with Catherine Carey, doing some great work as far as
touring Australia and getting more people involved with employment. Catherine.
Great to catch up with you again from Impact Institute.

S13 (01:02:22):
Good morning Peter.

S15 (01:02:23):
Great to be back again.

S1 (01:02:24):
Now you're going where now you've been almost all around Australia.

S9 (01:02:28):
Yes.

S15 (01:02:29):
The this next week we're actually back in, in my
home town in uh, in Sydney.

S1 (01:02:34):
And, uh, when and where.

S15 (01:02:35):
Okay. Friday and Saturday, the eighth and 9th of August.
And we will be out at the Sydney Showground.

S1 (01:02:42):
Have you been there before?

S15 (01:02:43):
We have. Yes. That's a regular, um, occurrence. We're always
there in early August. Um, and we're thrilled to be
back there again. But this time we have a much
greater emphasis, as you said, on getting people with disability
into employment. Um, with our Workability Expo. Now joining our
regular Sydney Disability Expo.

S1 (01:03:04):
Fantastic. So, um, I mean, it's kind of a, you know,
a two sided coin, if you like. They've got the
employers and the potential employees are both welcome.

S15 (01:03:14):
Absolutely. Yeah. We've got an absolutely fantastic lineup of employers
joining us in Sydney. Um, if I can give you
some some names. Yeah, we have we have McDonald's with us,
we have Nestlé, we have Medibank, we have Hotel Etico.
We have, um. Oh, gosh, I'm just trying to think Danone. Oh,

(01:03:37):
there's so many, um, that I've sort of lost track now,
but yeah, it's an absolutely fantastic lineup that we've got.

S1 (01:03:43):
And how has that happened? Is it just through osmosis? Uh,
you know, word gets out there and people find out
and sort of say, well, this sounds like the sort
of thing I'd like to get involved with as well.

S15 (01:03:53):
Oh, look, that would be lovely. But, uh, no, we've
got a really dedicated team of reaching out to employers and, uh,
you know, talking to them about what their employment practices are, um, and,
and inviting them to come along to the events.

S1 (01:04:07):
And they're pretty keen to say yes, I guess. You know,
if McDonald's know that Medibank Private is going to be there,
that kind of. Gives a bit of gravitas to the
whole thing. What I'm saying is, you know, not necessarily.
Those two companies, but if if major corporations are getting involved, then,
I mean, almost like the competitive spirit comes out and says, well,
if they're involved, we better be involved too.

S15 (01:04:26):
Yeah, absolutely. Look, um, other organisations we've got with us
are Amazon, um, Busways, Cater Care also PwC. So there's
everything really from sort of, you know, new graduate type work, um,
in the professional fields and right down through through catering.
So it's not just one segment of the market that we, um,

(01:04:48):
have opportunities for. There's there's a whole range of opportunities
for everyone from school leavers right through to, um, you know,
adults and across all different types of fields. So definitely
come along. There's lots of employers waiting to talk to you.
Those employers will only be there on the Friday. I
do have to make that clear. The whole event is

(01:05:11):
goes for two days, the Friday and the Saturday, but
our employers will only be with us on the Friday.
So if you want to come and speak to McDonald's
or to Amazon or any of our other employers, you
need to come on the Friday.

S1 (01:05:22):
I guess the fact that there's that wide range of
industries that are being covered, that is kind of reflective of, well,
you know, you might want to work in this area
rather than that area. You're kind of, um, kind of
tailor the the type of work that you might like
to do or the industry you'd like to be involved
with by giving people a wide choice.

S15 (01:05:41):
Yeah. Look, it's it's no real different to, to sort
of broader society. Of course, you know, not everyone is
going to work at McDonald's. There are there are lawyers,
there are accountants, there are, you know, people in warehouses
there there are jobs everywhere. And people with disability are
really no different to that. They they have their own, um,

(01:06:01):
you know, areas of speciality or things that they're interested in.
So sort of, you know, gone are the days when
people were sort of really the only options for them
were the supported environment, supported employment, environment in sort of
warehouse and packing and things like that. These days a
lot of organisations are very open and they are inclusive

(01:06:23):
employers and they do have these positions available, which is fantastic.

S1 (01:06:28):
Tremendous. What about Sunday then? What happens Saturday?

S15 (01:06:31):
So on Saturday we still have the expo running. So
all of our disability employment service providers are supported. Employers
will all be there. So there is still lots to
come down and see and do at the expo. The
expo is for all people with disability, all ages, all interests.
So it's everything from not just employment, but everything for

(01:06:53):
a person with a disability. So that's products and services.
You know, government agencies, advocacy groups, you know, sports programs
will have basketball wheelchair basketball set. You know, set up.
You can come and, you know, give it a try.
So it's actually a fantastic day out. Uh, you can
come down to Sydney Olympic Park, you know, stay for

(01:07:14):
the day. It's such a big event. There are sort
of 200 odd exhibitors. Lots of people actually come for
the day. They stop and have lunch and then keep
going and going and seeing the services and providers that
they want to see. So lots, lots and lots happening
on both days. But it's just those in our open employers.
So McDonald's, Amazon, you know even Inner West Council, Medibank

(01:07:36):
those type of organisations, they can only get there on
the Friday. So if you want to see them come
on a Friday, but it is a two day event.
Lots happening.

S1 (01:07:43):
Turn up or you need to book.

S15 (01:07:44):
You don't need to book if you want to. You
can go just if you just google Sydney Disability Expo,
that's the easiest way to find it. You can register
online there, but no, just turn up. If you haven't
had the chance to get on to the tech or
you're not comfortable to do that? Not a problem. We've
got a whole team of friendly volunteers. Many of them
themselves have disability that are joining us, and they can

(01:08:07):
register you in on the day.

S1 (01:08:08):
Terrific. Catherine, good to catch up. We'll keep in touch.
You're doing a wonderful job. And, um, well, for every
person that gets a job, that's one success, isn't it?
So that's a great thing.

S15 (01:08:16):
Alright. Yes. Thanks, Peter. Lovely to chat. And, uh. Yeah,
Canberra's next after that. So come and see us in
Canberra if you can't get to Sydney.

S1 (01:08:23):
Alright. We might see if we can catch up with
you before that. And well done to the employers for
getting involved as well, because if they kind of set
the standard then um, as I say, we're kind of
changing the world one job at a time.

S15 (01:08:34):
Absolutely. Thanks so much, Peter. Lovely to chat.

S1 (01:08:36):
Catherine. Kerry, they're done some wonderful work with the Impact Institute.
Talk about the workability exercise, the eighth and then the
ninth as well at Homebush in Sydney. We'll put those
details up with our show notes. So if you'd like
to go along, do that because they've been very successful
in the past. Fixation starts very, very soon. In fact,

(01:09:01):
this Thursday, let's chat about it with one of the
stars of our next show. David. David, great to catch up.
Thanks for your time.

S16 (01:09:08):
It's wonderful to catch up with you too, Peter. Thank
you for making the time.

S1 (01:09:11):
Come from Hawaii. Uh, is this based on a true story?

S16 (01:09:15):
Look, it is, um, so come from away is. It's
an interesting story because it it looks at the whole, um,
nine over 11 incident, but from a very different point
of view, because when the airplanes hit both the World
Trade Center and landed in the cornfield and also hit
the Pentagon, the American air space was closed almost instantaneously,

(01:09:40):
and planes that were supposedly traveling on their way to
America had to be diverted. So this musical actually focuses
on 38 planes that landed at Gander Airport, Newfoundland, and
how basically the population of Newfoundland went from about 9000

(01:10:03):
people to 16,000 people overnight.

S1 (01:10:06):
Wow. And you play the mayor of gander?

S17 (01:10:09):
I do, I play Claude, who is such a wonderful character.

S16 (01:10:13):
He, um, you know, uh, as a lot of these
smaller communities are, they're very practical people and, uh, they're, uh. Well,
we've got things to do. Let's make things happen. The
community is, uh, really celebrated in this. And, you know,
the whole triumph over adversity, it plays out amazingly. And

(01:10:36):
and the triumph of the human spirit, it's, uh, you know,
the moment you say it's a nine over 11 show,
people think, oh, it's going to be this is actually
anything but that. I defy anyone not to walk out
and think, wow, we can do that. We we we're
amazing people when we want to be and can be.

S1 (01:10:54):
I was just reading the note from the show and
I was thinking, you know, it's kind of a feel
good time, but a time where we can certainly use
a bit of feeling good.

S17 (01:11:01):
Yeah. Look.

S16 (01:11:02):
Absolutely. Um, you know, uh, it's, uh, it's very, very interesting. Um,
we're we're kind of living a world at the moment,
which is not unlike the world that we were looking at,
you know, prior to, uh, those events. We do, of course,
you know, always hope and pray that we never get
to that point again. But, you know, uh, sometimes, uh,

(01:11:25):
in a, in a world that sometimes lacks welcome, this
show is actually all about welcome and, and community spirit
and people who, uh, would otherwise, you know, really have, uh,
been put in a position where either they, they would
have been displaced and perhaps left for naught, were really

(01:11:49):
embraced by a small community and and, you know, for
five days they fed, housed, clothed, um, because, you know, um,
when the planes landed, they couldn't offload what was on
the planes because at that stage, every plane was considered
a threat. So this community fed, housed, clothed, cleaned, you know,

(01:12:11):
bedded them. And and it's really, really, uh, yeah. Amazing story.

S1 (01:12:16):
But I guess, you know, 20 plus years later, we
can all kind of get a bit of a different
historical perspective on it. I mean, at the time it
was then. But, you know, in a sense, time heals
all wounds or you tend to forget a bit. So
this is kind of a a gentle but good reminder
as well.

S16 (01:12:30):
Oh, absolutely. You know, there is a there is a saying,
of course, those who forget history are destined to repeat it. Um,
the beauty of this is it looks at history from
a different perspective, but of course does shine light on
on the events of nine over 11. It doesn't it
doesn't ignore it or suggest that those events didn't happen.

(01:12:50):
And of course, like you say, there's been 20 years.
There's been a lot of news and history since that time.
But this is a really interesting way of of, you know,
talking about it. And what what is interesting is the
cast is made up of people of, uh, you know, uh,
varying ages, some who knew the world prior to nine

(01:13:14):
over 11. So who only have got to know the
world post 911 or are too young to know?

S1 (01:13:21):
That's a.

S16 (01:13:21):
Good point. 11.

S1 (01:13:22):
Yeah, it's a great point. Um, it's a musical. Any
music from it that we might recognize? What? What's the
sort of, uh, soundtrack?

S16 (01:13:29):
It isn't, but it's it's not a I mean, there
are there's probably a couple of beautiful numbers. There's an
amazing song called I Am Here. Um, and another, a
wonderful song called me and the Sky that people may know,
but it isn't. It's it's a when when we say
it's a musical, it really is a musical. It it

(01:13:51):
basically the music starts from beat one. And, uh, at
the end of bows, the music stops. It's not necessarily
sung through. There is dialogue. And in fact, there are
moments where we have, you know, conversations between and and
and some very funny conversations and some serious conversations. And
what is also very interesting in this is basically it

(01:14:14):
is a cast of 12. And those 12 play about
45 different characters in.

S1 (01:14:21):
Wow. Is that part of the fun of it that, uh,
it's challenging. I mean, that's kind.

S16 (01:14:25):
Of I love that you say the fun. I'm going
to say that the the the terror. But but also
joy like and you know, some of the character changes
are literally seconds apart. And that, you know what's wonderful
about the show, it is such a very cleverly, brilliantly
written and beautiful music. You mentioned music before. I think

(01:14:47):
if anyone is a fan of Irish Celtic music, because
Newfoundland is actually a Canadian um, area is part of
Canada northeast tip of North America. And, you know, it's
it's closest connection to Europe is Ireland. So yeah, you
get a very Irish sounding. So if you love Irish music,

(01:15:08):
you're going to love this, but very celebratory. Um, I
love it. Um, yeah. So, uh, the 12 player number
of different characters and, uh, look, it is, uh, you know,
between that, that basically it is what we call a
static set which has, you know, about 13 or 14 chairs,

(01:15:29):
three tables, and the cast actually move everything on stage
as the show progresses. So we go from being on
a plane to another plane to a bus, to a
different bus, to the council chambers, to a pub, to
a local inn. Um, it just constantly changes. So you're

(01:15:51):
actually watching an evolving stage show? It's really. It's really amazing.

S1 (01:15:56):
It gets underway this Thursday at the Arts Theatre.

S16 (01:15:58):
It does. It opens this Thursday the seventh. There are, uh,
how many in total? 15 performances.

S18 (01:16:06):
So you you said you were terrified. Only 15 shows
won't go. Won't take long to go?

S16 (01:16:10):
No. And and that'll be sad. I, I promise you,
I've got a line at the end of the show
where he says, uh, today we honor what we lost,
but we we commemorate what we found. And I think
on that performance on the 23rd of August, it'll be
the hardest slide I've ever had to, uh, say on stage. Uh, yeah,

(01:16:31):
we have we have, uh, ten evening performances and five
matinees and and that really is fantastic. You know, that that, um,
the fact that, uh, you know, Saturdays and Sundays. There
was a Sundays matinees as well, which is fantastic. So
we've got a Saturday, Sunday matinee for the first two
weeks and then a Saturday matinee on the final weekend.

(01:16:52):
So it's over three weekends, basically runs, um, Wednesdays to
Sundays and, um. Yeah. Look, uh, I'm really, really looking
forward to, uh, um, taking, uh, the audience, uh, on
a on a wonderful, uh, memory journey as, as is
the rest of the cast. And it's a stellar cast, like,

(01:17:15):
it's amazing. They're also very, very committed to this show,
and many of them have done professional work and, uh,
have stepped into this, um, with such, um, commitment and,
and wanting to not just do it right, not just
perform it right, but really, you know, pay homage and,

(01:17:37):
and justice and, um, you know, do do the people
of gander proud?

S1 (01:17:42):
David, do you know how to book? Of course. You
don't have a book. You got the details book?

S16 (01:17:45):
Absolutely. So.

S18 (01:17:47):
So the question I'll ask this.

S1 (01:17:48):
Week.

S16 (01:17:49):
So people can book through, try Bookings.com, or they can phone, um,
there is a booking phone number and I'll give that
to you if you like. Yep. It's 0411 924 566. And they
can ring any time, um, Monday to Friday from 10

(01:18:09):
to 5. So that number again is 0411 924 566. Otherwise try
bookings 24 over seven for the.

S1 (01:18:22):
All right. We'll put those details up there. Shout out
David break a leg. And thanks for speaking to us Peter.

S16 (01:18:27):
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak
to us. It really means a lot that you support
our local theatre the way you do.

S1 (01:18:33):
You're very kind. That's David Goetsch there, playing the mayor
of gander, clawed for their show. Coming up from this Thursday.
You've got those details. If you've missed them on our
show notes. A couple of tidbits or quotes before we go. Henry,
the English teacher who is from England at Prospect, has

(01:18:57):
sent this through. I think he picked this up from
a letter to the editor to the state government, Premier Malinauskas,
and the letter went something like it's not the golf, golf,
it's the golf G that matters. So thanks, Henry for that.
And a lovely one from Meredith. Good to hear from you, Meredith.
Meredith says a smile is the shortest distance between friends.

(01:19:21):
Meredith a lovely quote. Thank you for sending that through.
Some birthdays before we go three in fact, NASA Erdem
Owen is having a birthday champion. Steeler wheelchair rugby player,
gold medalist twice over. Happy birthday to you. As always,
happy birthday to Cameron. Reid does tremendous work in the
area of golf, particularly for people blind or low vision,
and a good golfer as well. Happy birthday Cameron and

(01:19:44):
Nathan Pepper having a birthday from the sand for the NFL.
Wonderful promoter of Aussie Rules for all people. So happy
birthday to you, Nathan. I think we might be catching
up with Nathan on the program next week as the
finals draw ever closer. So Nathan, happy birthday to you.
Thanks for all you do. Sam Rickard, thanks for all
you do. Pam Green. Thank you for all you do.

(01:20:04):
Thanks to the team for helping us put the program
to where. Reminding you that Lash Link is available on
your favorite podcast platform. Please tell a friend about the
show coming up very soon. If you're listening through 1190
7 a.m. is Vikki Cousins with Australian Geographic or Being? Well,
let's link back at the same time next week. Be

(01:20:25):
kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for others
on Vision Australia Radio and the Reading Radio Network. This
is leisure.

S19 (01:20:34):
Link.

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