26 Jul 2025

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:13):
Hi guys, my name is Nathan Jason, recently selected for
the World Para Athletics Championships over in India representing Australia.
And this is leisure link with Peter Greco on the
Vision Australia radio network.

S2 (00:36):
It's just gone 5:00 and with the 48th Parliament of
Australia sitting this week I welcome you to Leisure link. Enjoyable.
Excellent information. No hot air here on Vision Australia Radio
1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide. Online at Radio No. Radio
Digital Adelaide and Darwin to the community radio look for

(00:58):
Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide your favourite podcast or streaming service.
Also find us a big cheerio to our friends listening
to our program through 103.9 FM in Esperance in Western Australia.
A big hello to our friends listening to the Reading
Radio Network around Australia as well. And tremendous support and
thank you to Disability Media Australia. You can find out

(01:20):
much more about them at Powered Media. Peter Greco saying
thank you so, so much for joining us. This program
coming to you from Wonderland come to you very shortly.
We'll speak to Nathan Johnson, who's represented Australia swimming. He's
now running, sprinting for Australia. Very soon after, India will

(01:40):
catch up with Nathan very soon. Luke Piper will join us,
he said. Just back from China and off to South
Africa playing wheelchair basketball will catch up with Luke. Peter
Voss will join us. Very talented musician, artist. He's got
a song out, he's got a movie out which is
going to be for the Focus on Ability Film Festival

(02:01):
doing it in the dark. We'll find out much more
about that. Alison Davies from Alison Davies. Com.au will talk
to us about misophonia. What is it? What can you
do about it? We'll find out very soon. Alex Morris
from the Australian Electoral Commission will join us. How did
it go as far as blind and low vision voting
at the federal election? We'll find out very soon from Alex.

(02:24):
We'll also have our regular yoga segment from Reva Bryce
and Adjunct Professor Denise Wood will be here from USC
talking all the latest news in technology. If you're a
fan of Samsung and a fan of Android, I think
Denise has got a lot of news for you. Athletics

(02:44):
team is getting ready for a trip to India. The
squad has been named. Nathan Johnson is amongst them. Nathan,
great to meet you and thanks for your time and congratulations.

S1 (02:52):
Thank you very much, Peter. Such a awesome opportunity to
be able to chat with you today.

S2 (02:57):
Oh, you're too kind. What about the selection? Obviously you
must be excited to be selected.

S1 (03:02):
Yeah, very much so. It's been a it's been a
long time that I've been trying to make my first
senior team. So it was a pretty awesome news to get.
So yeah, just keen to represent us, I guess.

S2 (03:13):
How did this happen? Because of course, we're right in
the middle of winter. Uh, it's not kind of the
peak of our athletic season, you know, as far as
the Australian athletes go.

S1 (03:21):
Yeah. So, um, we had our nationals at the start
of April in WA, so we had pretty much our
racing season was from January 1st pretty much till nationals.
And then our team selection period was from the end
of Paris Paralympics last year till June 28th. So pretty
much if we wanted to get selected for the team,

(03:43):
we just had to put as many races down as
fast as we sort of could up until June 28th
to sort of put our best foot forward for the team.
And then yeah, so most of my racing was up
until nationals, and then after that I just sort of thought,
if it's good enough to make worlds, then I'll come
back and train. And then if I get selected peak
again for worlds pretty much. So yeah, that's sort of

(04:04):
how that turned out.

S2 (04:05):
And I said to athletes, so, you know, it's always
a bit, uh, skating on thin ice when you talk
about selectors. But were you comfortable, were you happy with
the way that you've been going and the times you've
been putting up?

S1 (04:15):
Um, yeah, obviously, like you said, it is a very
it's skating on thin ice for sure. You don't want
to get too ahead of yourself or too excited too early, but, um,
pretty much I just sort of knew that what I
did at nationals and leading internationals was the best I
could have done, to be honest. Like, obviously I've only
started doing athletics three years ago now, so like this

(04:36):
season took a huge step in just developing and everything.
So like I sort of just said with my sports
psych and my coach and everyone, like, if this doesn't
put me on a team, then like Commonwealth Games next
year is an awesome opportunity. So I couldn't be too upset.
But obviously after nationals with running as well as I did,
I was sort of pretty excited. So yeah, fingers. Fingers

(04:58):
were definitely crossed.

S2 (04:59):
What turned you to athletics?

S1 (05:01):
Um, well, I've been a swimmer since ever since I
was about like six years old, so it's pretty much
all I ever did. I was doing surf life saving
and I was doing soccer and like pretty much all
the sports you could sort of do. But I was
just always like very much a swimmer. My older brother
was also a two time Paralympian for on the swimming team.
So like I was brought into a senior squad with
him and other Paralympians and world record holders. So I

(05:23):
was brought into a very senior, very professional squad when
I was about like 15. So I was sort of
thrown into the deep end very young and then just
kept swimming, kept swimming and kept missing. Teams just hit
a few qualifying times to make teams, but just wasn't
quite selected for senior teams. And then after Paris, seeing
my older brother go to Paris, I mean, not Paris,

(05:44):
Tokyo seeing my older brother, then pretty much every single
one of my teammates go to Tokyo. I was just
sort of training like a buttload for lack of better words. Like,
you train so much as just like you're training 11
times in the pool, three gym sessions, all your cardio stuff,
and if you're not enjoying it as much. And yeah,
it's a pretty tough slog to sort of keep doing.
And then, yeah, three years ago I just sort of

(06:06):
thought I might give up the goggles. And then my
dad was happened to be a sprint coach with his squad,
and he just said, why don't you come and do
a few sessions and put some spikes on? And then
ever since then I've just loved it. And then yeah,
to today, I guess.

S2 (06:20):
To get here in three years. In three years. That's
pretty good.

S1 (06:23):
Yeah, yeah, it's definitely it's been a long learning process.
We've sort of said like, I'm one of our first
sessions I'd ever been in, like running blocks before or
spikes as well. Like, there was a few sessions where
I was for the first time, like falling on my
face out of the blocks, thinking that I was going
to jump on and be an absolute unit and run
really fast. But it was sort of like a humbling

(06:45):
experience where I was like, okay, this is going to
take a few years to get the glutes and the
hammies and all that ready to actually, like, get me
going and get rid of the swimming body and get
some of the big sprinter muscles. So yeah, it took
a few years, but it's starting to fall back into
place now.

S2 (07:00):
Because swim is completely different, obviously. I mean, you know,
it goes without saying, but I mean, in terms of
the muscle groups that just your whole approach to training
and the training that you do, you probably don't do
much running in the as a swimmer.

S1 (07:12):
Uh, definitely not as a swimmer. We did a lot
of like, um, like, I'd say distance running purely just for, like, cardio,
like most mornings. Like, I think it was a Monday, Wednesday,
Friday morning before we even got in the pool, we
were on spin bikes and treadmills for 45 minutes before
we got in the pool. So that was the extent
of any of the running. I sort of did. But yeah,
it's completely different bodies. Pretty much.

S2 (07:34):
You're a sprinter, right?

S1 (07:35):
Yeah. Yes. Yes 100.

S2 (07:36):
Which is even kind of, uh, a greater, uh, you know,
adjustment in effect, because it's all about fast twitch and
all that sort of stuff we kind of know nothing about.

S1 (07:47):
Yeah. No, it's definitely like the most explosive, the most
high pressure, high skill. Like, it's the smallest little functional
or like technical mistake and sort of cost you a lot.
So yeah, it's been a huge learning curve to say
the least.

S2 (08:03):
Buffoons like me would say, well, 100m. You haven't got
much time to think, but that's probably not the case.
Or there's a lot of planning beforehand and then, yeah, yeah,
just let it all go.

S1 (08:11):
Yeah, definitely. There's not a lot of time to think.
There's like, well, yeah. Like a race can be between
10s to 11 seconds. So it's like a lot of
the time it's like there's no time to think. It's
a lot of like mental preparation and visualizing stuff. Because
when you're in the box, you don't want to be
thinking about anything like you want to be. You don't
want to be thinking about what your feet are doing,

(08:31):
what your toes are doing, the angles, the different things.
You just gotta hope that your training sort of sticks
and what you're sort of visualizing before sort of hangs on.

S2 (08:39):
Is the attitude on the swimming blocks any different to
the attitudes on the running blocks?

S1 (08:43):
Um, I think definitely, yes. I think being such a
young athlete put into such a senior environment, I don't
think looking back now, I was quite ready for it. Like,
I think I took my swimming way too serious for
someone that was so young and like.

S2 (08:58):
Okay.

S1 (08:59):
I think that's definitely the biggest takeaway that I've had. Like,
I think I've took things too serious and tried too
hard and was too hard on myself. And then coming
back to track the last year, especially like I've had
to learn, like you can work really, really hard, but
sometimes working really hard doesn't quite cut it. You have
to work smarter sometimes. And when you think you're working harder,
sometimes you're digging yourself into a hole. So yeah, I

(09:22):
think I've had to learn a lot of different skills
and learn that there's better ways to do things than
just putting your head down and swimming or putting your
head down and running. So yeah, definitely a different attitude
when it comes to racing.

S2 (09:34):
Is that where the sports site comes into his own
or her own?

S1 (09:37):
100%, yeah. Wendy's helped me so much. She's changed my like,
sporting career 100% by a lot.

S2 (09:44):
Yeah I know what's it like? I mean with an
older brother, I guess, you know, when you get a
mate that gets elected to the team, it's not you.
I guess you can kind of, uh, uh, deal with
that in a sense. But when it's your older brother
and you don't make it, is it kind of a. Well,
it's a kind of a different disappointment. I mean, are
you happy for him? But how about me? I mean,
I'm thinking about the Warner Brothers in cricket.

S1 (10:05):
Yeah. No, it is definitely different. Like, obviously like my
older brother when I was swimming, like we were with
each other 24 over seven, we were training everything together.
So we were like, I mean, we still are. We
were like best friends hanging out with each other 24
over seven. We still have like really, really close. But yeah, obviously,
I think the disappointment of seeing someone as close to
you make a team and do so well, I think

(10:27):
is outweighed by how much you like to see them
achieve as well. Like seeing like my older brother achieve
everything he sort of wanted and making an Australian, like
so many Australian teams, I think outweighed the disappointment of
me being like, oh bugger, I missed out. I think, yeah,
it is. It is a tough line though, like a
lot of people would think, like, are you sort of jealous?
But it's like, no, I think I always sort of

(10:48):
knew that I would get my time eventually. And yeah,
now he's the jealous one. He wants to come and
watch Commonwealth Games next year. He's he's out here like
my biggest supporter now. When I told him I made
the team, he was more stoked than anybody.

S2 (10:59):
So that's fantastic. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it shows a
bit of resilience as well on your part. I mean,
you probably figured I could be a swimmer, I could
swim for Australia and then you don't make it. And
then to make the monumental change to athletics and then
to make it, I mean, it shows a bit of resilience,
because there would have been times when I'm sure you
would have had some self doubt 100%.

S1 (11:18):
Yeah. That was a lot of a lot of negative
self-talk when it comes to swimming and like making such
a big life change as well. But I think I
just always sort of knew that eventually I would get
my time. And yeah, so it's all come out on
the other side and really, really blessed.

S2 (11:33):
To have you talk a bit about your disability.

S1 (11:35):
100%. Yeah of course.

S2 (11:36):
So. Well, you got a vision impairment.

S1 (11:38):
Yes, yes I do.

S2 (11:39):
So is it a familial thing?

S1 (11:41):
Um, I'm not sure how many people would know it, but, um,
it's called cone rod dystrophy, so I have that's my
main one. And then I also have stargardt's. So cone
rod dystrophy pretty much affects my light receptors called the
cones and the rods in my eyes. So like the
best way that I can sort of explain it explain.
It is like everything I can see everything, I guess,
but like, everything is just ridiculously blurry. So obviously the

(12:03):
further away the things are like, the blur is gonna
make it non-existent to see. But then like, obviously things
are a little closer. Like, I can get the gist
of what I'm sort of looking at, but everything's just
really blurry and the light really affects my eyes. And
then my stargardt's condition is just a few little blind
spots that are on my eyes. So naturally, my eyes
tend to look away from those blind spots, because if

(12:25):
I look through it, I'm not going to see a
whole bunch. So yeah, they're the two ones. They're a
bit unconvinced. Like, not a lot of people know about it,
but yeah, they're the two that I have.

S2 (12:34):
And you compete with the B2 athlete.

S1 (12:36):
Uh, I'm a T12.

S2 (12:37):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So equivalent B2, I guess you know
the other sports.

S1 (12:42):
Of course. Of course. Yes, I'm a T12. Yeah.

S2 (12:45):
Now what about as far as India goes? Do you
know much about it? Uh, I guess it probably wasn't
on your bingo card as far as places you wanted
to go to.

S1 (12:52):
I don't know much about, uh, about India. I definitely
had my eyes set on Commonwealth Games next year, so
leading into this year I wasn't really expecting worlds. But
then obviously once we started getting some of the long
list emails and some of the zoom calls got a
bit more real. So I've had a look at a
few things while I'm over there. I've gotten a lot
of the info about the racing and where we'll be

(13:13):
staying and all that, so that's been a huge blessing.
But like, I'm not sure if I'll be staying on
and doing a bunch of traveling around there. I think.
I think health is such a big thing, like our
team has been really looking at us and trying to
look after us with health and everything. So I don't
know how much traveling and sightseeing I'll be doing, but
I mean, I'm never gonna turn down an opportunity like this.

(13:34):
So I think being over in wherever they take us
for a team is going to be amazing either way.

S2 (13:39):
Well, now, having spoken and heard many cricketers who went
to India in the 60s and 70s, it's probably a
lot more improved since then, but probably the whole.

S1 (13:48):
Yes, I think 100%. I'm sure Australian athletics will look
after us either way.

S2 (13:53):
I think the interesting about the Commonwealth Games. Of course,
there's a bit of doubt as to what was going
to happen, whether they're even going to go ahead. So
what's the situation? There's obviously only a few selected events
for athletes with disabilities, and you've kind of locked in
on this occasion, have you?

S1 (14:05):
Yeah, very much so. So I'm not fully sure about
all the different events that are in the games, but
I just saw that when we got the email that
the T12 100 meter sprint was going to be on
the on the schedule for it, I was I was
pretty excited to say, say the least for sure.

S2 (14:20):
We've got a few where young, uh, and visually impaired
sprinters over the years that we've had, uh, do you
have much to do with them or had much to
do with them?

S1 (14:28):
I have a fair bit to do with, uh, Chad Paris. Oh,
they're called the White Tiger. Yeah. Like he's he's been really,
really good, definitely the last year. And he's seen some
of my improvement, obviously being in different classes like there's
not a huge rivalry. So we have a really good relationship. Yeah.
So we did our we did our training camp last
week and we raced against each other twice. And he's
seen some of the improvements and he's always checking in.

(14:50):
So yeah he's a he's an awesome an awesome guy
to have contacted.

S2 (14:54):
Chat to chat a few times now. In fact, I
think we in fact I know we spoke to him
when he was in Paris just before he competed, which
was great. Uh, Nathan, what did you as far as, uh,
calling goes or you use a guide runner? What's your
situation there?

S1 (15:06):
Our class is technically allowed to have a guide runner,
but obviously I'm still learning to run fast and run
stream all that as in general. So, yeah, I think
as my eyes deteriorate more, I may end up looking
at a guide runner. But right now it's like, I
think for my first year on an international stage, I
think I would just stick with what I can sort

(15:28):
of do, and then down the line, I might be
able to look at that. But yeah, we'll see. Right
now I'm just trying to be as good as I
can sort of be. And then if that's going to
help later down the road once I'm a bit more experienced, um,
we'll see what sort of happens.

S2 (15:41):
So not the black line of swimming you're not looking at.
You're looking at the what are you looking at then
the the ground or the finish. How far? How far
can you stay?

S1 (15:49):
Not a whole lot. Everything. Like I sort of said,
everything sort of blurs into each other. Like, obviously if
I'm on a blue or a red track, I see
a lot of blue or red. So a lot of
the time it's like for the first 30 or so meters,
you're looking down at the track for the most part,
and then once you get into the main strides of
the race, you're looking up forward. And I'm sort of
just seeing a bunch of colors merged into one. So yeah,

(16:12):
not seeing a whole lot or I'm hopefully not seeing
people in front of me. That's what I'm not trying
to say right now.

S2 (16:18):
You preempted my question. I was going to say, what
about those around you? How much notice you take of
those or.

S1 (16:23):
Yes. So my vision is like majority of my vision
that's been affected is my central. So really far back
of my peripheral, I can see a little better compared
to my central. So I can see the people next
to me relatively like they're still blurred, obviously, but I
can see them there. But a lot of the time
when you're racing next to people, you can sort of
feel that they're like, right there. Maybe it's just because

(16:46):
I've lived with a vision impairment. But yeah, I can
sort of just like feel when they're there. Yeah. You
don't want to let them hunt me down?

S2 (16:53):
No, I think I can. I think a lot of
people could probably identify with that. You kind of sense
it's the heightened and I guess.

S1 (16:58):
But yeah.

S2 (16:59):
As long as you do it, the more your sense
is going to be heightened.

S1 (17:01):
100%. Yeah, that's for sure.

S2 (17:03):
Well, Nathan good luck. Congratulations. It's a great story. And
certainly I know the word is much overused but certainly
showing a lot of resilience to get there. And really
interesting to kind of get that relationship with your brother.
And great that he's been excited about the fact that
you've been selected. We've been excited about the fact that
you tell it to us. We'll keep following your progress.
And thanks again for your time.

S1 (17:22):
Thanks so much, Peter. That was an awesome chat. Appreciate
the time.

S2 (17:25):
I think actually our name, we're right down as far
as sprinting goes from the pool to the track. Let's
see how it goes in India in a few months time.
It's great to catch up with Commonwealth Games gold medalist
and a man who's just back from a tournament playing basketball,

(17:45):
Luke Popal. Luke, great to catch up. Thanks for your time.

S3 (17:48):
No worries at all. Thanks for having me.

S2 (17:49):
How was it you've been overseas? Well, actually been overseas
with three, uh, basketball teams from Australia. Haven't you?

S3 (17:54):
Yeah. Um, been part of the world championship team, the
Commonwealth Games team and the Paralympic team recently. Um, but
most recently, we just come back from China playing three
on three.

S2 (18:05):
What was it.

S3 (18:05):
Like? Um, it was good. I hadn't really played three
on three since the Commonwealth Games. So it was, um,
it took a little bit of time to get used
to it. And, you know, they use a smaller ball
in three on three, so, um, different style of play, but, um, yeah,
it was really fun.

S2 (18:19):
Would it be fair to say that that's probably your forte,
that the three on three. That's probably where your best
results have been.

S3 (18:24):
Yeah. I mean, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games. Yeah. Um, probably, uh,
shows that a bit, but, um, yeah, this is a
really quick, fun style of basketball to play. And, you know, you,
you got to go hard for ten minutes and then, um, yeah,
it's not as up and down as five and five basketball.
But like I said, it's just a really, really fun format.

S2 (18:44):
Over the last couple of months or so, we've spoken
to a number of athletes who went to Astana in
Kazakhstan playing, uh, or both, uh, five on five and
three on three basketball for athletes with an intellectual disability.
And it seems like the three on three is really
catching on or that's the sport, if you like, that
they're trying to promote to get more people with intellectual
disabilities involved and maybe hopefully back into the the Paralympic Games.

(19:08):
Would it be the same for wheelchair basketball that three
on three is kind of, um, looking to sort of
have a bigger presence? Or do you think that the
traditional way is still the way?

S3 (19:17):
I think the traditional way is still the way, but
I see it as a three on three, you know,
we want to do well and have the best team
we can at big tournaments. But I think the tournaments
that are kind of parallel to the Paralympics and World
Championships and Commonwealth Games, it's kind of a good stepping
stone for younger players to just get a feel of
wheelchair basketball or just a different style and, um, way

(19:39):
to get into the into the main squads. Yeah, I
can see it getting a lot bigger. And, um, as
it has in the three on three for, um, able bodied. So, um,
it's definitely very exciting.

S2 (19:50):
Yeah, quite right there. Because the able bodied, uh, is
coming into that area of sport as well as the
three on three basketball.

S3 (19:56):
Yeah. And in Australia, our Australian teams have done really well. Um,
and you know, there's a, a three on three league
in the US for able bodied. So yeah three on
three basketball is definitely taking off.

S2 (20:08):
Look I'm not sure if you're a cricket fan, but
with the three on three and also the fact that it's,
you know, getting younger people involved or, you know, people
coming through the system is a little bit of a,
a little bit like how the, the T20 maybe is
a bit of an introduction to cricket. And then maybe
you play, you know, 50 over cricket or, or test cricket.
Is that a bit of a, a, a uh, a
wild comparison.

S3 (20:28):
Yeah, I think I think it's pretty accurate. I think
it's very similar to the, um, to the big bash
here that we have, um, just that kind of quick,
fun format. Yeah, I can see the comparisons there for sure.
And definitely a good stepping stone for people wanting to
get into the five and five team as well.

S2 (20:44):
As I said, we took three teams away. Tell us
a bit about that, because I guess, again, it's trying
to bring people through the through the system.

S3 (20:49):
Yeah. So we we had two, um, female teams and
one men's team. You know, it was really just about
getting people on court and, um, seeing how they play
and kind of a good guide for our coaches. And
we were able to keep two of the, the boys
in the, in the squad for the world champs, um,
which was good. And um, the other two guys were
unfortunately unavailable, but, um, we've got two. Um, we brought

(21:12):
two guys in that were actually in the, uh, the
Commonwealth Games team where we won gold. So it won't be, um,
too foreign to them, which would be good.

S2 (21:18):
What about your performance personally? Like, how do you think
it went?

S3 (21:21):
Yeah. Good. There's only one of the guys there that
I hadn't really played with before, but I think we
gelled pretty well. Um, we came fourth, but all the
games leading up to the to the finals were very close.
And yeah, I thought I played really well and hopefully
that'll translate into the World Championships in South Africa.

S2 (21:38):
When are they?

S3 (21:39):
Um, we actually leave on Monday next week.

S2 (21:41):
Okay, well, it's not too far away.

S3 (21:43):
No. Definitely not. So. Yeah, we we've got three games
this weekend. Um, for the Wollongong Roller Hawks here and
you know, National League and then yeah Monday afternoon will
be we flying off to South Africa.

S2 (21:55):
How's that going. The National League we spoke to uh
a couple of weeks ago just when the season was
getting underway. And as it's turning out, it's it's sort
of doing what it's hoping to do, sort of, uh,
get the standard of wheelchair basketball, uh, higher and higher.

S3 (22:07):
Yeah. For sure. You know, the teams that we have
here are really good. And to be able to have
imports come into our league as well. Yeah. Has definitely
helped the the league step up a bit. So you
know I don't see our, our um, our National League
going backwards anytime soon. We got some great people organising
it and taking control of of how it looks and
how it works. So it's yeah, definitely exciting.

S2 (22:28):
And of course the women kind of alongside it as well,
which has got to be a good thing because I guess,
you know, uh, Paralympic level gliders maybe have been a
little bit underrepresented in in more recent times, the roles
have been more So I'd say a good way for
the women to kind of hopefully establish themselves. Onwards and
upwards to bigger and better things.

S3 (22:47):
Definitely. And they'll be looking to to qualify at the
end of the year to for for world championships for
the five and five next year. So a big year
for them and to be able to have quality games
every weekend. Um, that's all you can ask for.

S2 (23:00):
Look, what about your career, how you look back on
it so far? Are you still young? Um, you've played internationally. Uh,
and uh, as you said, Commonwealth Games gold medallist. You
must be pretty happy with what you've achieved, for sure.

S3 (23:11):
And, you know, basketball to be able to take you
all around the world and, um, live in different countries
and play in different leagues is definitely very cool and
not something I really, really thought I'd be able to do. So, um,
you say I'm young, but I don't feel it sometimes
with early wake ups and and all that kind of stuff.
But no, I, I love it and yeah, I think

(23:32):
it does keep you young and obviously keeps you fit.
And yeah, I just really enjoyed it, um, so far
and hopefully plenty more to come.

S2 (23:40):
And I guess with your experience, not your age, your experience, Luke,
go note the difference. So with your experience, I guess
going away with younger players to a place like China,
it's great for you to kind of impart your knowledge
and your experience.

S3 (23:53):
Yeah, for sure. And you know, I've got that from, um,
past players that I've. Yeah. Um, played with and kind
of grew up with throughout my career. So, you know,
if I, if I can, uh, lend any kind of
knowledge or wisdom, I guess, onto the younger players. Um, yeah,
I'm happy to do so.

S2 (24:09):
Would you call it cultural dynasty or whatever? But it's
kind of important. And, I mean, I've been doing this
program a while and we can go back to, you know,
years and years ago when Australia won the gold in
Atlanta at the with the rollers. And, you know, it
kind of establishes that lineage that then comes down through
the generations for sure.

S3 (24:28):
And, you know, that's something that I kind of came
through with as well, especially coming off the back of
the gold medal game in Beijing. You know, we kind
of set a standard then, and that's something we want
to want to live by. So it's definitely something that
I want to help, you know, show the the younger,
younger players coming through. And um, hopefully it's something that
they want to, you know, be a part of.

S2 (24:48):
Yeah. Great. Thank you. In part. Lucas, you said the
Commonwealth Games gold medallist. It's hard to believe it's three
years ago. In fact, just this week, we've ticked past, uh,
one year to the games next year. What's the situation for? Um,
three on three wheelchair basketball for next year? Are they
in the games? Because there's been so much controversy about
the Games in Victoria? They're not in Victoria. They're maybe

(25:09):
not on. And and now finally going to to Scotland.
What do you know about the sports that will be
contested there, particularly for athletes with disabilities?

S3 (25:17):
As far as I know wheelchair basketball will be there
and I'm not too sure about the other sports that'll
be that'll be on. But um, yeah, three on three
basketball will definitely be there. And uh, fingers crossed I'll
be able to get the nod for that and, uh,
go there and defend the gold medal.

S2 (25:33):
I was going to say it'd be a nice thing
to be able to defend, wouldn't it?

S1 (25:36):
Absolutely.

S2 (25:36):
Absolutely. Has that been a little bit unnerving that the
sort of uncertainty over the games for a number of
years wasn't after Victoria pulled out? There was a bit
of uncertainty for a bit of time. Was that a
bit sort of unnerving?

S3 (25:49):
Yeah, I think everyone was looking forward to it being
in our home country. Yeah. You know, not something that
you get to do every day. And we haven't had
anything like that for a long time in Australia, especially
in our sport. So it would have been amazing to
play on home soil. But you know, if we had
to go somewhere else to, to play, that's what we'll do.
You never say no to representing Australia, so I'll do

(26:10):
that anyway.

S2 (26:10):
When the UK so almost home ground for us. That's
where we won gold. So we're almost going home to
defend it if we put it that way.

S3 (26:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.

S2 (26:18):
I mean great to catch up. I know you're not
long back and you've got plenty on. So appreciate you
making the time. Congratulations to all the players that went
and good luck as you jet off to South Africa.
We'll certainly keep a very close eye on how the
team goes.

S3 (26:30):
Great. Thank you very much.

S2 (26:31):
That's Luke Piper there one of our champion wheelchair basketball
the sport now listen to Commonwealth Games gold medallist and
played overseas a wonderful CV and off to South Africa
early next week.

S4 (26:44):
Hi, I'm Melissa Perin, four time winter Paralympian, bronze medallist
and co-captain, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter
Greco on the Vision Australia radio network.

S5 (26:54):
I spend most of my life. Walking beside or through
a local park, but sometimes I step out into the light.
Performing music on stage is my true delight.

S2 (27:13):
The founder of Peter Vance, who we spoken to over
the years. Very talented musician and songwriter performer. And now
he's also a movie star. Peter, welcome. Great to catch
up again. Well.

S6 (27:25):
Peter, I sort of know. That's exciting. It's lovely to
catch up with you again to Peter. And thanks for
your support over the years.

S2 (27:32):
Is, I was like, I like to be a bit understated, Peter,
to build things up too much. You know, I played it,
as I said. Thanks for sitting through the song, but
you've got some great news. You've, um, entered into the, uh,
as a focus on ability short film festival.

S6 (27:47):
Yeah. Yes. It's, uh, it's my fourth year in a, uh,
a beer. And I know you've followed me over the years,
and I did the first, first couple of years we had, uh,
had Cambridge Travel focusing on my journey with White Cane,
and then we had, uh, bipolar in order, which was
focusing on my, my bipolar in order, of course. And then, uh,

(28:08):
we had ripple in the sand looking at climate change.
And this year we're doing it in the dark.

S2 (28:13):
Okay. Well, I guess that's very appropriate, given your eye condition.

S6 (28:17):
It is because we started, you know, the journey with
retinitis pigmentosa is night blindness. And that that can occur
very early in the piece. And, uh, being the most
common cause of blindness in teenagers and young adults, where
it's sort of really reaching out to try and find
a treatment or cure for this. But with so many
genes and backhands and balls everywhere. But that's still, still

(28:41):
a way. And I guess retina Australia themselves, you know,
have a vision about having a treatment or cure for
these inherited eye conditions. So it was great to be
part of, of their celebration back in a World Vision
Month back in February. Yeah, just.

S2 (28:56):
A bit about the film there. Sorry. Doing it in
the dark. I was going to say dancing in the dark.
That was that less famous person, Bruce Springsteen. He's not
as famous as you are. You're doing it in the dark.
Tell us a bit about it.

S6 (29:08):
Yeah. Well, it's it incorporates the song, which is just
played by Bob Peter and uh, in in between. Uh, yeah.
It was quite interesting because I, I do perform, uh, well,
I lip sync, you know, what it's like when you've,
when you've done it, you can't can't. And I recorded on,
on my mobile while on. Um. yeah. And so I'm

(29:30):
actually doing it in the dark. And then it comes
up today. Sometimes I see myself lighting up a spark.
I got the red light flashing and they're all happening.
And then, uh, in breaking through, there's a couple of, uh,
life hits. So one is, um, one is with my
big band. Uh, there have been a big supporter of
me doing it in the dark, and, uh, I've got, um,

(29:52):
they're doing the song world on a stream, in which
my long white cane always takes pride of joy and popularity,
because my cane sort of takes off and twirls around
my head. And, uh, that's a that's featured in this
with me singing world on a stream with my big band,
Bastard Fly. And then, uh, we have the second verse

(30:13):
of the song. Talking about acceptance is the first step,
because we know, know once you have a condition or something,
it's a little bit different. Once you accept it, then
you can trust yourself and move forward. And certainly I've
found doing it in the dark when I was out
and about in February, and I used to carry my
television glasses and my little, little, uh, little card. And people,

(30:36):
you know, when you when you're out and about with
a white cane, people often ask you and also you're
offering help, but also it it creates they want to
know what's what's your life like? You know, how blind
are you and this sort of thing. So I was
able to share these glasses with these people and the
little story. And to me, it really helped me gain confidence.

(30:59):
I guess what they say. Are you coming out about
my condition? So I was able to more confidently speak
about it. And then with focus on ability, where you're
focusing on your ability. And I guess my ability, this
at this point was to able to talk confidently and

(31:19):
other people would understand more about my blindness. I'm not
totally blind, but I still have a tiny bit of
vision which gets me into trouble more often than not. But, uh,
the word. The word Cain is the hive is, uh, thing,
you know? And, um, it's such a such a magic wand. And, uh,
the second part of the song, I had the second

(31:41):
verse talking about acceptance. And then, uh, I take a
note from my first song I ever recorded, welcome to
my Day. Uh, and, uh, that was with Access Arts
back in 1907. And, uh, we took that to, uh, what,
a Boston music festival, Asia Pacific Music Festival in the
ancient capital of Japan. And, uh, of course, at that festival,

(32:06):
people got very excited and, you know, and I said
to our, our manager, I said, oh, it must have
sounded like, well, the people got so excited. He said, oh, no.
The reason I got excited, I thought you were Kenny Rogers.
But anyway. And then the final verse of the song
Do It in the dark, then talks about the celebration

(32:29):
of Australia funding research but also focus on ability, the
film festival enabling us to tell our story, to share
our ability and our joy of life with our ability,
you know, and minds with songwriting and just living, living
with my, my IP and just talking to people like you.

S2 (32:51):
Yeah, it's such a powerful message, Peter, but a positive message.
But an educational message, particularly for those that don't live
with blindness or don't know anyone blind or low vision. Because,
you know, sometimes we can get caught up in our
own world, I think, well, of course everyone knows about this,
but not everyone does. So it's a great way to
kind of educate or spread the message. And people almost, uh,

(33:11):
sort of, um, you know, learning by osmosis.

S6 (33:14):
That's right. And it's a very positive osmosis. And I
found that, you know, the cane just being so high.
And I think, you know, the last 5 or 10 years,
I've found that people have been so much more responsive.
How can I help you? You know, can you? And
I know I'm traveling probably the same way you are.

(33:36):
But for me, traveling on the train, you know, the
guys at Sandgate railway station. They know me. Can I
help you? Can I put you down? Helping you. Then
they ring ahead. And at Central Station. Someone's there to
meet me. Walks me through. Oh, platform and wall. And
when I was down in Melbourne recently, exactly the same
thing happened. People just go out of their way to, um.

(33:56):
As long as they don't grab the cane and get
carried away and think they can eat.

S2 (34:00):
Well, that I'm sure, I'm sure. Anyone listening that's got
a long cane has had that happen to them. Someone
literally being led by the cane and you feel pretty vulnerable.
I guess that's part of the education process as well.
Not to not to do that.

S6 (34:13):
And then also it's part of the training of, you know,
the way you be a good sighted guide is to
offer someone your elbow. And just because the elbow is
a constant height above the ground, we can read. We
just walk a step behind them. Just tell us when
to duck. If they're a bit shorter than they like, then.

(34:34):
But no focus on ability is is certainly it's been
going for 15 years and no over employment have been
running this and you know Ryan Goodwin such a such
a champ. And I'm really looking forward to uh, the
Brisbane screening to the law, the the release and the
viewing and voting on the 30th of uh, of July. And, uh, no,

(34:59):
it's exciting, very exciting.

S2 (35:00):
Peter, that's the exciting thing about this, as you say, Peter, that, um, uh,
the film is up now and people can vote on it. So, uh,
people listening tonight can vote for it.

S6 (35:09):
Yeah. That's right. Yeah. So the 30th of July till
the till the 5th of August is when viewing and
voting takes place. But, uh, I've had special permission from,
from Brian to actually have the song played on air.

S2 (35:25):
Right, right. The good man. So I'm sure that that
will be, uh, received in a very positive way. Uh, Peter,
you've also, as you said, got a screening coming up
in Brisbane in September. Yeah.

S6 (35:36):
September. September the 2nd, uh, Tuesday night at, uh, Pick
Theater at Milton. And, uh, there's a screening of both
at lunchtime and the evening. I will be attending the
evening one. And the way it works is that when
you know, they know you and friends are coming along
to that particular screening, uh, then your film will be shown.
And if they tell me the screen is so big. Yeah,

(35:58):
I look small, but the theater is a lovely, a lovely,
intimate sort of setting. Um, it probably seats about 100 and, uh,
tiered seating. And they always have a lovely, lovely reception
beforehand with, uh, you know, with drinks and stuff. And, uh,
it's a really it was a, it's a beautiful old

(36:19):
sort of has an old, old English feel about it,
you know, furniture and everything. It's a lovely place to
be and it's one where, you know, celebrated many, many
times over the years and just loved being part of
it again. Yeah. Wow.

S2 (36:35):
We'll put those details up with our show notes. Now
this focus on ability and you've got a lot of ability.
We've kind of just touched on it in our interview.
But what about in terms of getting some help or
support or some advice with the film. Because it's a
visual media. And obviously if you've got a visual impairment,
maybe you're not as well placed to maybe work out
how to do the best, uh, film. Did you get

(36:58):
some support or help in that area?

S6 (36:59):
I have had, uh, not not so much, because I
guess I was when I, when I worked in agriculture
back in the early 80s, I was one of the
first to receive a laptop computer. And so we used
to take that on farm and do budgets with farmers
and stuff. So I've sort of fairly computer literate so
I can find my way around. But also I've been.

(37:20):
I work with Guide Dogs Queensland who who? I've been
with them for 30 years. They trained me with McCain
way back then, and I now work with Nardoo, one
of their occupational therapists, and Nardoo brings me right up
to date with all the IT stuff. And so I
know where to, you know, zoom on the on the
computer or phone and all integrated. So that sort of

(37:43):
there's nothing uh, I'm sort of familiar enough with it.
And with my tiny bit of vision left, I can
still still make headway and make sense. And it's it's
it's fun. And when it's a bit messy, it's fun to.
That's me in the back there.

S2 (37:59):
Like I often say about this paper, with my vision,
you're one of these people that haven't got a lot
of vision, but you get the very most out of
the vision that you've got.

S6 (38:09):
I do try, yeah, yeah. And certainly, certainly at, uh,
we're very fortunate with our family. I mean PP is
the most common cause of blindness in teenagers and young adults.
And you have diabetes in the middle. Then macular and
glaucoma are for the older generation. But we are very
fortunate with our family that the whole progression was very

(38:29):
slow and, uh, that was a fortune or misfortune or whatever. But, uh,
within my family, one of my children has inherited the condition. Um, and, uh,
on the female side, it's a bit slower. So. Yeah, it's, uh,
we we we carry the genes, carry the love, uh,
try and reach out and support wherever we can. And
I guess that's where our focus on Billy gives us

(38:52):
that opportunity to to reach out, uh, to care, to share.
And I know my own work with, um, Access Arts. Uh,
I'm a member there, and, uh, that's been been the joy,
you know, with the singing group. You know, we have
people who can't sleep. They sing, they join in the choir.
It's just amazing, you know, the whole the Behold an

(39:15):
ability or thing just given the opportunity, given the time,
given the patience. It can happen. It's amazing. Yeah.

S2 (39:23):
Peter. Good luck. Great to catch up. We'll put the
details up by for the focus on ability film festival,
for people to vote there, and also to come along
to your screening on September the 2nd. We'll put them
up on our show notes. Good luck with the competition
because it is a competition. You're doing so much great work.
Keep up the talent and we'll go out with a
little bit more of your song and doing it in

(39:44):
the dark.

S6 (39:44):
Thank you so much, Peter. Thanks for your support and
love your work, mate. And take care.

S5 (39:50):
In the dark.

S2 (40:05):
It might be cold outside. It might have snowed in
Tasmania last weekend, but the ray of sunshine is always
on the program this time of the month. Alison Davies
from Alison Davies. Com. Oh, really?

S7 (40:17):
Oh, hi, Peter. How are you?

S2 (40:18):
I'm very well. You know, actually, I'm a little ray
of sunshine.

S7 (40:21):
Yes.

S2 (40:22):
Okay. Well, that's that's that should be your theme song,
I think.

S7 (40:25):
Oh.

S2 (40:26):
Thanks.

S8 (40:26):
Can I get a theme song? I've been here five years.
It's probably time.

S2 (40:30):
I gave you a silly thing beforehand, which I don't
particularly approve of, but, uh. Yeah, it's it's beyond my
pay grade.

S8 (40:38):
Okay.

S2 (40:38):
That's all right. I might add a word to those
people about it. Hey, Ali, um, we're going to talk
about a topic that, um, I'm sure a number of
people can identify with. Uh. Mr.. Is it? Mr.. Phobia
said I pronounce it, yes.

S8 (40:51):
Misophonia.

S2 (40:52):
Yeah. What is it? For those that might know.

S8 (40:55):
I'm Mr. Phonic. Uh, look, I don't actually know because
I didn't know what we were going to talk about
until right now. Um, because I'm like that. Yeah. Again, early,
I could I don't can't tell you the exact textbook
definition of misophonia, but let me tell you what it is.

S2 (41:13):
What how it plays out in their real life.

S8 (41:15):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The real experience. Yeah, yeah. When little noises,
like someone sipping their cup of tea or just the
movement of their clothes, or the sound of their mouth
moving as they talk. Little sounds like that. It fills
you with disgust and rage. Right. So, so much so
that it's a real aversion. It's it's a sensory overwhelm.

(41:37):
It's a very extreme sensory overwhelm. Because as soon as
you hear these tiny, tiny sounds, it just fills you
with such repulsion that either you project your rage at
the person making the sound, or you just feel utterly
disgusted by it. So often, the person who makes the

(41:59):
sounds that impacts our misophonia is our closest partner or
the person we are with in like the person we're
sharing breakfast with. Or like if I'm lying in bed
with my husband and I can hear him breathe sometimes.

S2 (42:13):
That's not good, Ellie.

S8 (42:14):
No, I know.

S2 (42:15):
Sorry. That's not good. If you don't want to hear
him breathe.

S8 (42:17):
I know it kind of sounds funny, but it's really hard.
People with people listening in with misophonia will understand how
hard it can be to manage. Um, I think the
hardest thing to manage is just how you respond, because
of course, there is no reason to be repulsed or
disgusted by the person. But the feeling, the sound, the

(42:40):
auditory impact of it impacts us in such a way
that the feeling is very big. And so then we
have to either move ourself out of the situation, say
please stop drinking your cup of tea, or put our
noise cancelling headphones on, or do something rational to remove
ourselves from the situation because the feeling is really big.

S2 (43:00):
Things like say, um, you know, people eating apples can
be a trigger or kind of loud crunching.

S8 (43:06):
Yeah. And so some people love listening to sounds like that.
Some people listen sounds like that, and it gives them
all these beautiful tingles, and it feels really comforting and gentle,
like someone stroking their skin, like it impacts their sensory
receptors differently. Yeah, but misophonia or people with misophonia, we

(43:27):
have the opposite experience where those kinds of sounds just
flare us up into a moment of just rage and disgust.
It's it's quite extreme.

S2 (43:39):
Can it be better or worse at different times?

S8 (43:41):
Oh, absolutely. So everything to do with our sensory systems
and how we respond fluctuates. If we are tired, if
we're anxious, if we're already annoyed, if we're, you know,
if our window of tolerance is lower or less and
we don't have as much capacity to just sort of
remain regulated or have as much capacity to cope with

(44:04):
the little triggers, then it's going to be much harder
because there are times where I will hear someone sipping
their cup of tea or chewing their toast. See, that
one's a big trigger for me. If I'm sitting with
someone in the morning and everything's quiet and I can
hear them chewing their toast or their breakfast or whatever
it might be, that's when I find it really tricky,
because in the morning our brain hasn't really fully woken

(44:26):
up yet. So we're not switched on, we're not functioning.
So I find that misophonia is much harder earlier in
the morning and at night, because by night time again,
we're tired out. We've used up all our energy. We
have less capacity. So I find that I personally have
more capacity to cope with misophonia, or don't even notice
it during the day, or at times when I'm functioning well,

(44:48):
or feeling really highly connected with someone, or just feeling
really regulated, then I'm less likely to be impacted by it.
But that doesn't mean it's it's not happening. It's just
that I might not be aware of it because my
nervous system is really in flow.

S2 (45:07):
So I guess different people can do different things to it.
I mean, you talked about noise canceling headphones. I mean,
that's a little bit kind of extreme in terms of,
you know, if you want to have conversations with other people, etc..
I guess a bit of background noise can help. I mean,
if you got the radio on, you got Vision Australia
Radio on in the background, that can maybe kind of help.
It is it, is it partly noise? Is it partly distraction?

(45:28):
If they can be two different things.

S8 (45:30):
Uh, yeah. I find that white noise really helps for
that exact reason. So auditory overwhelm or or noise aversion
is also a slightly a different thing to misophonia. So
if you're sensitive to too much noise this might not
be a good solution for you. And I am sensitive
to noise. However, I do work and focus quite well

(45:53):
in white noise. So when there is white noise around me,
if I'm sitting in a cafe, for example, and there's
just noises going on around people talking, I'm not tuning
in to it. But that blocks out for me it's
the noises that would otherwise be horrible. So for me,
it's the really soft noises that are the most horrible.
The ones that you only hear when you're sitting in

(46:14):
quiet with someone.

S2 (46:15):
Yeah. So recognizing it is kind of something. And I
guess if you do recognize it and in a sense,
in a way, even if there's if you know, there's
a name for it that probably gives you some level
of comfort that you know that there are other people
going through it. Is it would that be fair?

S8 (46:30):
So just knowing that it's a thing and having a
name for it makes you go, oh, it's not just me.
It's like it's and it's also it's not uncommon. It's
quite common. There are a lot of people I know
that there will be a lot of people listening in
who will go, ah, that is absolutely me and might
not have known the name for it or might have,
but just know it's not uncommon. There are a lot

(46:52):
of us around. And yeah, I think just having that
validated is very helpful because sometimes we feel like we're
having a irrational Rational response sometimes because the feeling of
disgust or rage can be so strong. Then we can
turn it back on ourselves and go, oh, I'm emotionally dysregulated,

(47:13):
or I'm this, or I'm this or I'm this. And
give ourselves a whole bunch of other words like, I
have anger issues or I'm.

S2 (47:20):
I'm.

S8 (47:20):
Intolerant or things like that, where actually we're just misophonia.
And that's a much nicer word because it's not a
personal insult.

S2 (47:29):
Ali, you talked about, for example, someone eating toast. What
if it's just you eating toast that that doesn't impact
on you?

S8 (47:35):
It doesn't tend to. No. I think part of that
is like a control. I can control my own sound,
but I can't control someone else's sound. So it's all
tied in with the nervous system. It's tied in with
sensory systems. It's one of those things that's very layered
and there's no clear reason as to. And it's not

(47:55):
the same experience for every person, but because it is
impacted by our nervous system. So if our nervous system
is dysregulated, we're more likely to find a misophonia hard
to handle when we're dysregulated. We seek control, and so
it's another person making a sound. We're not controlling that.

(48:17):
That adds to the almost, I would say pain of it.

S2 (48:21):
Yeah. So and I mean, I guess that's the point.
And you've kind of made it anyway. But I it's
a real thing and be you know, you can understand
if people do react well to say almost irrationally and,
and then you start to question your own, I guess,
you know, dare I say, your own sanity.

S8 (48:36):
Yeah. And so that's the beauty of knowing that that's
a real thing.

S2 (48:40):
Yeah.

S8 (48:41):
Word for it. And you can look it up and
you can research and you'll find out how common it is.
And it's also it's not like for most people it's
not super impacting in terms of if you have difficulties
with noise all day long and you're finding that misophonia
is constantly impacting you, then you're probably looking more at
a whole sensory profile difference, and I would look beyond

(49:04):
misophonia and look towards auditory overwhelm and or auditory sensitivity
or defensiveness and things like that. But for most people,
misophonia is something that just sort of happens in the
quiet moments, and it's not constant all day long. Yeah.
So it's also the feeling comes and goes like it's

(49:24):
feeling as soon as you hear the sound and you
get the feeling of disgust, uh, if you can remove
yourself or stop the sound, it goes away. It's not
like you're filled with disgust all day long. It's quite
a fast and furious feeling.

S2 (49:40):
Transient, but nevertheless impactful. And you talked about, you know,
for example, when your husband's eating toast. But if if
it was someone else, as in or you talked about
also the fact that it's often it's someone that's really
close to you that, you know, sort of gets under
your skin. If it's someone else that you don't know
as well. if does that, is it less impactful then?

S8 (50:00):
No, that's still as impactful for me and everyone might
experience it differently. But the thing is, you really only
sitting in quiet with people that are the people. For example,
like if I was having a coffee or a luncheon
or something with someone, I don't really know, it would
usually be in public and then it wouldn't be as

(50:22):
quiet an environment. And here they're actual sipping noises. Yeah.

S2 (50:27):
Fascinating. Fascinating. It's a failure. All right. Well, because I
was going to say kind of your. Yeah. Uh, we
talked about people that, uh. Um, it doesn't impact. Would
they be dismissed?

S8 (50:40):
Uh, uh, that's such a good question, and I have
no idea.

S2 (50:45):
Or just find it.

S8 (50:46):
Yeah. Or just miss her?

S2 (50:48):
Yeah.

S8 (50:49):
Um, I would be so interested to know how this
impacts the listeners, because I just know that this is very,
very common, and everyone will have their own stories. Often
it's it's those early morning because you're often still so
quiet when you first get up. And so it's the
cup of tea and the chewing of the toast and
the the sound of the newspaper turning the page. If

(51:09):
people still, you know, just those kinds of very subtle sounds. Oh,
it's even thinking about it now makes me feel a
bit sick.

S2 (51:18):
Oh, we'd better stop. We'd better stop because we love
you too much to upset you too much that you
won't come back. Ellie, that was wonderful. Now people can
find out a lot more about you. We found out
a little about you in the last ten minutes. Yeah,
we'll find out more about you. Uh, Alison Davies. Com.au
also on all the social media channels as well. Really interesting.
And thank you for yeah, thank you for sharing personal

(51:38):
stuff because you've done it before. We really appreciate it.
We'll catch up again next month.

S8 (51:42):
Thank you so much.

S2 (51:43):
Alison Davies there from Alison Davies. Com. Well the federal
election has been run and won. Well almost anyway. Let's
find out how it went, particularly as far as the
blind and low vision voting and catch up with Alex
Morris from the AEC. Alex, great to catch up again.
Thanks for your time.

S9 (52:02):
G'day, Peter. Great to be here.

S2 (52:03):
Yeah. Well, what about, uh, the sort of initial results?
So you've got some numbers for us in terms of
those that took up the opportunity.

S9 (52:09):
I certainly do. So, uh, it was a really, really successful, uh,
election from the Ice Age perspective. We saw around 2300
people take up blind and low vision voting, uh, through
our telephone voting service, uh, which is a slight increase
over the number of people who did it at the referendum,
which is a really positive sign for us.

S2 (52:28):
So you're happy with that? I mean, I guess, you know,
you'd like more. We'd all like more, but I guess it's, uh,
it's a bit of an increase compared to the, uh,
voice referendum back in 2022.

S9 (52:37):
Exactly right. Uh, it's it's always good to get, uh,
people involved in this. And, of course, uh, we discussed
it before the election. There were a range of, um,
accessibility options at polling places as well, uh, including, uh,
a virtual Auslan, uh, service for the first time, which, uh,
may very well have had some flow on effects there
as well. So there were a range of ways for

(52:58):
people to get involved, and we're really glad to see
such strong take up of all of our accessibility options
for voting at the federal election. It's really important.

S2 (53:06):
Now what happens after something like this? I mean, we vote,
you know, we find out the results, etc.. And then
what happens from here from your point of view? I
guess we kind of get on with our lives and
wait for the next three years. But what about you guys?

S9 (53:18):
Yeah, we, uh, start a bit of a rebuilding period now.
So obviously the new parliament has now set, uh, in fact,
I was there yesterday. We have a graduate, and I was, uh,
taking her to Question Time just to sort of, uh,
get used to the experience. Um, so the AEC is
going to focus. We're already starting planning for the 2028
federal election. And, uh, that will include, uh, looking at

(53:40):
things like the blind, low vision telephone voting service, uh,
seeing how we can improve that, getting feedback from the
people who used it. We'll also be working very closely
with the Parliament's joint standing committee on electoral That is
a parliamentary committee that was actually formally created yesterday for
this parliament. And that committee is the committee that does

(54:00):
a review after every federal election to see what went well,
what could be improved, that sort of thing. The AEC
always works really closely with Jscem, we call them. So
you can expect to see us making submissions to that
inquiry as it kick off into the federal election, but
also appearing at hearings with me as well, and answering
questions from the Aec's top brass about, you know, how

(54:24):
things went, where we think things can be proved, that
sort of thing. Now, if your listeners are interested and
want to relay the experiences they've had or thoughts they
have on improving the federal election or improving the next
federal election is not just open to, you know, Canberra bubble. Uh,
it's open to anyone, uh, anyone that can watch the hearings, uh,

(54:45):
from the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. Uh, anyone
can make a submission. And there is no set format
to making a submission to a parliamentary inquiry either. So, uh,
whatever format works for you, it doesn't need to be
a letter or anything like that. So definitely get involved.
Democracy doesn't just happen once every three years. It happens
all the way through the life of a parliament, and
we really encourage people to get involved.

S2 (55:06):
Have you got the details for that at this stage
or something that is still being formulated?

S9 (55:10):
So the inquiry hasn't kicked off yet. So I don't
have dates for you. Uh, but if you visit the
Parliament's website, in fact, if you go to Apha. Then
you will be able to visit Json's website. You can
even subscribe, uh, to the committee so you'll get updates, uh,
when that, uh, when that inquiry kicks off.

S2 (55:30):
Right. Well, you might have a right here and now,
Alex I'll get on to that as soon as we
get off the phone. Hey, Alex. That that that that
committee is, uh, is that, like, uh, being formulated now?
But of course, uh, the members have been. But the
committee itself has been around for a while, hasn't it?

S9 (55:46):
Yeah. James Kim, uh, happens at every parliament. Yeah. Um,
so there's there's basically a new version has been created
for this parliament now that a new parliament has been
sworn in. But we always participate with Jscem. It is
one of our key bits of work between elections. It's
how we plan for. It's a really big part of
our planning process for upcoming elections as well. It helps us, uh,
get feedback from the public, get feedback from the Parliament

(56:08):
as well, from members that recently went through elections. And
it also helps us, uh, advocate for occasionally, but more
often than not, uh, help discuss potential changes to electoral
laws with Parliament as well.

S2 (56:20):
Fantastic. Now, I know we spoke to Kelly Schultz from me.
I don't know if you know about Kelly, but she
runs a marketing company and they do all sorts of surveys, etc.
one of the things that they found was that the process,
as far as getting information from the website, was okay
once you got to the candidates, but finally the candidates
was a little bit difficult. I don't know if you've
had any feedback in that area.

S9 (56:41):
I haven't seen that feedback, but I'd be interested to, uh,
to sort of hear more about that. And, um, I'd
be more than happy to have a chat with Kelly.
If you can pass the details on. Everything we do
over the next couple of years is going to be
looking at ways to improve, uh, the way that we
do things at the next federal election. So this is
the sort of feedback that would be really, really helpful
for us. Alright.

S2 (57:01):
Just a couple of other things, just from email lists
and sort of anecdotal stuff. I've picked up the telephone
voting that was done that was all in Australia, that
that wasn't kind of, um, hived out to, uh, international or, um,
you know, sort of, um, outsourced.

S9 (57:15):
No, definitely not outsourced or offshored, I should say, uh,
all happened within Australia, in Australia, uh, and in fact,
all telephone voting is open to scrutineers as well. Um,
who can, uh, plug in their headsets and listen to
a call, just like a supervisor in a call centre.

S2 (57:31):
Alright, that's good to know. Now, of course. Also, uh, well,
since the election in May, we've had the Tasmanian election,
I think next. In fact, I know next year there's
a South Australian election. I think later on the year
there's one in Victoria. Does the AEC have much to
do with the other state bodies, and you kind of
collaborate and work together and sort of try and get
the the best system between all of us, if I

(57:52):
can put it that way.

S9 (57:53):
Yeah, we do have a fair bit to do with
the other electoral commissions. So the most important thing that
we do for all of those elections, of course, is
we maintain the national electoral roll. Um, so we share
that data with state electoral commissions. It means they don't
have to run their own separate lives. So we are
the custodian of all of that data, and we put
a lot of work into making sure it's as up
to date as it can possibly be. We also, uh,

(58:16):
liaise with uh, state electoral commissions, territory electoral commissions and
even the Electoral Commission of New Zealand. We have a
peak body called ICANN's, the electoral commissions of uh Australia
and New Zealand. And we meet regularly to discuss, uh,
all sorts of pressing matters, uh, that are of interest
to electoral administrators and probably less of interest to other people.

S2 (58:35):
If there's one thing I love, it's an acronym. I mean,
there's so many of them out there, you got to
be pretty good to keep up with them. So all
in all, the elections seem to have gone pretty well,
sort of In all sorts of areas, if I could
put it that way. And I think there's still an
outstanding seat, which is what, uh, two and a bit
months afterwards. But I guess that's not really in your wheelhouse.

S9 (58:53):
Yeah. No. So, I mean, the, uh, the outstanding seat
Bradfield in New South Wales, uh, has actually been declared
by us. There's, uh, there is a, uh, a federal
member for Bradfield who was sworn into her seat this week.
What's happened now is there was a window for that
result to be challenged. It is going to be challenged
through the Court of Disputed Returns. Uh, and that process, uh,

(59:14):
is a bit external to the AEC. We, uh, may
appear at that hearing, but, uh, we expect that to happen, uh, largely, uh,
away from us. It, uh, it's a court process now,
so it'll, uh, go through the courts and the Court
of Disputed Returns will ultimately make a decision about that.

S2 (59:29):
Alright. That all sounds pretty positive. So just in terms
of from here, uh, both organisations and individuals can get
in touch and, and, uh, give some feedback.

S9 (59:38):
Absolutely. We're hoping to work with as many people as
possible to, uh, prove what we think has already been
a fairly successful outreach at this election and make it
even better for 2028 or even earlier.

S2 (59:48):
Just one quick one. I is probably, again, not sure
if it's in your area of purview, but some people
have said, look, you know, I'd be really happy when
we can vote over the internet. I sense that's still
some way off. I don't think, for example, in 2028
that'll be happening. Can you comment on that?

S9 (01:00:03):
Yeah, extremely unlikely for 2028. I will say I'm a
bit of a Luddite when it comes to things like
online voting. Uh, there's uh, quite a few sort of cryptographic, uh,
so say, you know, you can have the secret ballot
like we do in Australia, or you can have online voting.
You can't really have both. So it's, uh, a very,
very difficult thing, uh, to enact. It's ultimately up to

(01:00:24):
the Parliament to make that decision about how the voting
laws in Australia work. But I'm not aware of that
being on anyone's radar right now.

S2 (01:00:30):
Well, I guess with some of the things that have
happened in the last well, whatever time you want to
choose some of the big organizations that have been hacked,
I guess that's always the worry, isn't it, that if
it was to happen in an election, then, uh, you know,
the ramifications, you know, almost aren't worth thinking about.

S9 (01:00:44):
Exactly right. I'll stick with pen and paper every day.

S2 (01:00:46):
All right, Alex, just give us that website again or
that deal. As far as the feedback goes for that
wonderful committee whose name is rather long and hard to remember.

S9 (01:00:57):
Yeah, definitely. If you're interested in, uh, looking at the
review of this federal election, which will be kicking off shortly,
you can check out the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. Uh,
they have a sub website on the Parliament's website, and
you can find it by visiting AFP.

S2 (01:01:15):
Alright. We'll put that up with our show notes and
we'll keep that. And as I said, I'll be sure
to be one of your early takers. Alex, great to
catch up. You've done a great job beforehand. You've done
a great job afterwards. I'm sure it won't be three
years before we speak again, but we appreciate your time,
I'm sure.

S9 (01:01:30):
Thank you so much, Peter. I've loved chatting with you.

S2 (01:01:32):
Thanks from the ISC. Certainly a bit of energy about Alex.
Nothing wrong with being a Luddite either. Alex. So thanks
for speaking to us. We'll put those details up on
our And yeah, please take advantage of it. Because the
more people that give feedback, the better the breadth of
the information that they have. It's that time of the month.

(01:01:52):
It's time for yoga on the radio. And the only
person to do yoga on the radio with is Reva Bryce,
our yoga expert. Reva, I'd love to have you back
with us. How are you?

S10 (01:02:03):
Oh, thank you, Peter, I'm just having a little laugh
to myself at your description of my of me there,
you know. Well, uh, thank you for that.

S2 (01:02:13):
It probably doesn't do it justice. You're even better than that. But,
you know, only words can only portray so much. But
we really appreciate all you do.

S10 (01:02:20):
Well, I it's been a number of years now.

S2 (01:02:23):
It has indeed. Yeah. I reckon, I reckon two decades,
I reckon. Reva.

S10 (01:02:27):
Yeah. I would say you're right there. You'd be. Let's see. Uh, yeah.
About 25 years.

S2 (01:02:34):
Yeah. That's right. What have you got for us this evening?

S10 (01:02:37):
This one is, um. Well, it's called Bret. Bret. It's
known as a celibate post. Yeah. And, um, many spiritual
traditions embrace celibacy as a tool for diverting energies away
from sexuality and towards spiritual growth. It can also be
interpreted as moderation of our search to fulfill our sensual craving.

(01:03:00):
This means avoiding the indulgence of the senses, choosing sexual
partners with care, and ensuring that our sexuality comes from
a basis of love rather than inappropriate flirtation or manipulation.
On a deeper level, it encompasses a commitment to and
merging with the divine. Yeah, people, sometimes young people just

(01:03:22):
sort of dive in, you know? Um, but anyway, that's
that's their power there. Now, precautions. Shoulders, um, wrist, hands
that are the main ones here. And be careful if
you've had any injuries or conditions with the arms and hands, etc.

(01:03:44):
in the past, because they can flare up as we age,
and sometimes we don't really notice it until we do
something or we put, you know, a bit of effort
into something, and the next day or that day you
sort of start to feel a bit of pain. So
always be careful there. We like to think we're nice
and healthy, but sometimes our body says, hey, you know.

S2 (01:04:07):
You're kicking.

S10 (01:04:08):
Ah, yes. Now there are two versions of this and
I'll go through the first one, and then the second
one is just a bit of a repeat. There's just
a slight change there. Now, this one is hardest to me,
at any rate, is hardest on the wrists and hands.
Sit on the floor with your legs together, straight in
front and make sure you won't slip on anything. Place

(01:04:30):
your palms on the floor near the hips with the
fingers facing forward so your arms are down there straight,
palms flat. Now you tense the whole body, straighten the
arms and lift the body off the floor. And that
means your you know your legs as well, not just
your buttocks. The legs should remain straight and horizontal. The

(01:04:52):
whole body should be supported and balanced by the arms.
Hands hold, but don't overdo. Repeat twice more and stay concentrated.
The breathing you inhale as you lift your body up,
and if you can, you retain the breath while balancing
and exhale while returning to the floor so you're not

(01:05:12):
holding very long. There, I said, it puts a lot
of tension into the palms of the hands in particular.
That's what I find. And your arms and all that.
So you might only be able to lift up the
buttocks and legs a little, but don't give up. With practice,
your arms, wrist and shoulders will strengthen over time. It's

(01:05:33):
you can do that one instead of push ups.

S2 (01:05:36):
Yeah. It's very good for you. Yeah.

S10 (01:05:39):
Now, the second one, we just changed the position of
the arms and hands. And again, I just go through it.
You sit on the floor, legs straight in front of you.
You place your arms behind you with the palms of
the hands flat and fingers pointing away. Now. Yeah. Back
a little from your buttocks. Um. Keep the trunk straight.

(01:06:00):
Don't lean back. Don't take your arms back that you
start to lean. You need the trunk, you know to
be nice and straight. And the arm. Arms. Just back
that little bit. Now again, you tense the whole body,
pressing palms of the hands down and lift the body
off the floor. And once again, of course, that includes
your legs. Hold, then slowly lower down and then repeat

(01:06:21):
twice more if you're able to, or if you'd like
to try it again. Again, the breathing in is as
you lift. You hold the breath and exhale as you
return to to your start position and after you're finished,
give your arms and fingers a good shake. Ease the
shoulders and give your legs a shake as well. So

(01:06:42):
that's the two variations there. Peter. It's just changing the arms. Yeah,
it is a strength one. And here the benefit strengthens
the abdominal muscles and organs, strengthens shoulders, arms, wrists and hands.
And again he would come to people wish to conserve
sexual energy should develop this asana.

S2 (01:07:02):
Mhm. All right. Interesting.

S10 (01:07:06):
It is isn't it.

S2 (01:07:07):
Yeah. Well I mean I guess we've got to be
open minded to all sorts of, uh, uh, interpretations and variations.
So thank you for bringing that to our attention. Would
you like to run through it again?

S10 (01:07:17):
Yes I will. Uh, now, the first one sit on
the floor with your legs together, straight in front of you,
and make sure you're not going to slip on anything.
Place the palms of the hands on the floor near
the hips with the fingers forward. Now That they say
it tends to whole body. And that's just getting ready here.
As you're breathing in, you straighten the arms and lift

(01:07:40):
the body off the floor. This includes your legs. The
legs should remain straight and horizontal. The whole body should
be supported and balanced by the arms. Hands hold, but
don't overdo. And if you can repeat twice more and
stay concentrated. Don't get sort of all upset if you,
you know, can't get your bottom off, or if you

(01:08:02):
can't get the legs off the floor, doesn't matter. And
I've got that here. You may only be able to
lift up the buttocks and legs a little, but don't
give up with practice, your arms race in the hands
and shoulders will strengthen over time. Now the second variation
is we're just moving the arms or hands into a
different position. So you're already sitting on the floor, legs

(01:08:23):
straight in front of you, and you place your arms
behind palms of the hand, flat on the floor, the
fingers pointing away, Way back a little from the barracks.
Not too much so that we keep the trunk of
the body straight. We don't want to lean back. Now, again,
you're starting to breathe in. So you're tensing your whole body.
Press the palms of the hands down and lift the

(01:08:44):
body legs off the floor. Hold, then slowly lower down
and you can repeat twice more. You're holding. Time is
only short. Yeah, some people, they can hold quite a
long time. But they've been practicing and practicing. And they're
doing others that are quite, um, strong ones as well.

(01:09:05):
But with learners, you know, our arms race, we've got
to take care there. Of course. Don't thump down just,
you know, and even if you can't, you might think
you're not getting your buttocks and your legs off the floor.
But it's a start. Yeah. And this might just be
a little movement that you can't feel. You see? We're

(01:09:27):
all set. Oh, yeah. We can get the buttocks off
the floor. We can get our calves and our legs up. Um,
but it might only just be teeny weeny little bit.
And it might only be the legs or might be
your buttocks, but it's a start, and you can continue
working on that. It takes time. I said don't, don't overdo.
But it definitely strengthens our shoulders and arms rest in

(01:09:49):
the hands and we need to keep the strength there
because we're using our arms all the time. And of course, yeah,
part of the benefits is the abdominal muscles as well.
And also working on our internal organs there. And that's, um,
you know, very good for us too.

S2 (01:10:08):
Well, it's the benefits.

S10 (01:10:09):
Yeah. The benefits there. And then again, I've already mentioned
the strengthening of the shoulders, arms, wrists and hands. And
then again, the people who wish to conserve sexual energy
should develop this asana.

S2 (01:10:23):
So people can contact you for some one on one advice.

S10 (01:10:26):
Yes. My mobile 041286096.

S2 (01:10:32):
Now, reader, before you go, I believe earlier this month
you had a birthday.

S10 (01:10:37):
Oh yes I did. Another year has gone by and
I'm getting older.

S2 (01:10:41):
I know you're getting better. You're not getting older. You're
getting better.

S10 (01:10:45):
But there's more. Doesn't matter what age you are. And look,
I tell you, I'm 85.

S2 (01:10:49):
Oh. Well done. Well, I tell you what. We hope
we can all be like you when we're 85. Riva.
You're a joy. Thank you so much for spending some
time with us. We'll catch up next month. And belatedly,
but very specially. Happy birthday to you.

S10 (01:11:03):
Thank you, Peter, and to all our listeners as well.

S2 (01:11:07):
Bye now. Good evening. Riva Bryce. Their hashtag Campbelltown Senior
Citizen of the year for yoga on the radio round
about this time the last week of each month. Well,
it's always absolutely fantastic catching up with adjunct professor from
the USA. Denise Wood or the latest in technology? Denise.

(01:11:29):
Welcome again.

S7 (01:11:30):
Hello, Peter. Good to be with you.

S2 (01:11:32):
Yeah, we've been around the world and, well, sort of
visiting all the big offices of the big companies. And, um,
you're going to continue for this particular month. Uh, we're
going to Samsung.

S7 (01:11:41):
That's right. Peter. Well, in the last couple of months,
you know, we've had the Google I o event and
then we had the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. So we'll
share the love. And this time we will go to
Brooklyn in the US early July for Samsung Electronics Galaxy
Unpacked 2025 event. Now under the theme of this event

(01:12:06):
was Unfold Ultra, which might give you a hint of
the products that were announced. So we have the line
up of the all new Galaxy Z fold Z, the
Galaxy Z flip Z seven and the Galaxy Z flip.

(01:12:30):
This is a tongue twister seven, a Galaxy Z fold seven,
the flip, and the flip four. And they also announced
the new Galaxy Watch eight series, uh, which showcases seamless
integration across all these devices with Galaxy I, which of

(01:12:51):
course is the theme of the year. And, uh, supposedly
lots of interesting changes in form factors to transform your experience.
So one of the, I guess, central, uh, aspects of
the new lineup is called one oh UI for the
user interface. Eight which is it? Samsung's next generation interface

(01:13:16):
for foldables. So it's optimized, as I mentioned, for AI
and apparently built on principles of multi-modal understanding and, of course, personalization.
So this device actually learns your user preferences, but you know,
that always gets has a plus and a minus because

(01:13:38):
we always worry about, you know, security, privacy when it's
learning all about you as you progress using the device.
But they assure us they've enhanced the encrypted protection through
something called Knox, which secures and isolates the information within
the app that it's used. So hopefully no more sharing
of your personal user information like your health information, etc.

(01:14:01):
with other apps. So these new phones feature writing assist
and drawing assist. Um, so you can, with the help
of AI, polish your ideas into visuals. And it has, uh,
little insights, display insights which pop up things like travel
advisor Weather updates, exchange rates depending on your context. It's

(01:14:25):
improved its circle to search, to recognize more elements. And, uh,
its graphics and responsiveness has been boosted because they're now
using Snapdragon eight elite for Galaxy, which is next level performance.
So it has a 200 megapixel. Well, this the the

(01:14:47):
Galaxy Z seven has a 200 megapixel wide angle camera. So,
you know, obviously that's really state of the art for cameras.
The flip, which is the really cute, uh, slim Z flip,
has a flex hinge and the largest battery in its history,

(01:15:08):
and it's 0.9in bar type display with vivid visuals through
an embedded, um, something called a polarizer. So the little
flip is really cute because it fits in your pocket.
And of course, with the AI integration, it's kind of
like a perfect pocket. Pocket AI assistants to help you,

(01:15:29):
you know, with your schedule, your playlist. Um, and it
integrates with Gemini Live. So it'll even do things like
with your camera, look at your what you're wearing for
the day and suggest whether that's a wise choice given
the weather. Uh, yeah. And the free version of that is, uh, apparently, uh,

(01:15:51):
less expensive and has a 50 megapixel camera that makes
it more affordable. Now, all these new foldable phones come
shipped with the new latest, greatest version, Android 16, which
features auto grouping to reduce cluttering of your icons, live
updates to track where you are and provide real time

(01:16:13):
information and notifications. You can get predictive back, which gives
you a preview of the last screen you were at
without having to go back to it. Uh, haptic sliders,
which for people with accessibility needs, gives you tactile feedback
to make it easier to adjust your volume and brightness.
And really cool desktop windowing so you can window to, uh,

(01:16:37):
to a computer device as custom keyboard shortcuts. Tusk uh overflow.
And of course Android is known for its accessibility features.
So all of the usual features that you've come to
love and expect in Android are still are still there.
Android 16 adds a phone as mic input for audio

(01:17:01):
hearing aids, and turns your smartphone into a microphone input
for other devices to amplify your voice without the need
for any extra equipment. And it has enhanced hearing device
support to control hearing devices. Switch your phone as input
for clearer calls in noisy environments. It's also added additional APIs,

(01:17:22):
which are known as application programming interfaces interfaces, which is
rules that allow different software applications to communicate and exchange data,
so that will enable app developers to utilize some of
the new features of Android 16 to make the user
interface more accessible. And that's just adding to all of

(01:17:44):
the features we know, like the screen reader Talkback. They're
changing the magnification, contrast, and color select to speak, uh,
switch access support for the Braille keyboard, live captioning, transcription,
sound notifications, real time text, sound amplification, and so on.

(01:18:04):
So some really cool features coming in Android 16 and
to the the new lineup of the flip series or
the foldable series, I should say, of Samsung devices. And
as I mentioned, Galaxy Watch eight series, it's the watch
is thinner, has a brighter screen and a bigger battery. Uh,

(01:18:25):
still got the round display, which we have come to
expect of the Samsung Galaxy Watch. Uh, but it has
a now a distinct, uh, metal cushion to give Samsung
watches a distinctive brand identity. Lots of new, useful updates.
And of course, as I mentioned, all these devices, including

(01:18:46):
the watch, have got on device Gemini now for AI integration. Uh,
so allowing you to complete really multi-step tasks with a
simple audio request, which of course is a great accessibility
feature for for many users. So, you know, you can
ask where the next facility is, the next coffee place

(01:19:06):
is nearby. And, uh, you know, send a message to
your friend to say, would you like to join me there?
Also has a running coach for those that like to jog. Um,
and it assesses your running performance during a 12 minute
test run and then gives you a personalized performance plan. Uh,
it's also got a new antioxidant index measures, um, which

(01:19:31):
will give you a sense of your overall health. Sleep
apnea detection as it has been embedded, which actually is, uh, joining, um,
what we we know as being added to the new
crop of Apple Watches. And it also has the usual features,
you know, the heart rate, sleep algorithms, body composition, etc.. So, uh,

(01:19:53):
if you're in the market for a new phone or
a Galaxy Watch, um, the lineup is, is, uh, been
announced and it's, uh, I believe, already available in, um,
many Australian stores. And as I said, you get the
benefit of the latest version of Android 16. Uh, in
any of those phones that that you might get your

(01:20:15):
hands on.

S2 (01:20:15):
Do they stay foldable phones? Is that just a personal preference,
you think in terms of performance or how they handle it?
It's just a, you know, personal preference, whether you like
them or not. Do you think.

S7 (01:20:25):
Oh, well, it gives you a, a much bigger screen
with a smaller footprint. Uh, I've got a foldable laptop.
One of the things I like about that is I
can split the screen on the laptop, but it's it's,
you know, it's the size of a small diary. When
I fold it up, it's it's so convenient. Mine was
one of the really early generations. And you know what

(01:20:45):
they say about version 1.1. So all the foldables, whether
it's the phones or the laptops have have really improved.
So there's less crease, you know when you you unfold
it but it gives you that big real estate um
screen which we all crave without the imposition of a
large phone. You know, I've always gone for a smaller

(01:21:08):
phone footprint, but because, you know, I want a pocket size.
But then with that goes the inconvenience of a touch screen.
And certainly if you've got vision impairment and you need
that larger screen, you know, especially if you're going to
use zoom magnification, that larger screen is really helpful without
the encumbrance of having a huge device to lug around.

(01:21:30):
So it's the best of all worlds really, isn't it?

S2 (01:21:33):
And I know we've talked about this before, but kind
of I always started way out in front with their accessibility, VoiceOver, etc.
But Android have done an enormous job catching up at least,
and maybe even surpassing some of the iOS stuff.

S7 (01:21:46):
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's a, you know, they
have to, to, to be competitive. They're a little bit
behind in the foldable market. So they've got a lot
of catching up to do. So I expect we will
see some more announcements coming from Apple. Because you know
these kinds of events where we see such an incredible
lineup of really sophisticated foldables really does put pressure on

(01:22:09):
the competition to lift their game, I think.

S2 (01:22:12):
Yeah. So I certainly know from different email lists and
people I speak to. There was a time when I
guess it was just iOS, but, you know, an increasing
number of people, sort of anecdotal, of course, but an
increasing number of people are blind or low vision, are
very much impressed with Android and its features. So they've
done a good job because, you know, it's probably not
a big market, but to be able to capture it

(01:22:32):
the way they have, I think is very impressive.

S7 (01:22:34):
Well, yes. And, you know, there are a lot of
users that just prefer a non-ios devices because iOS is
such an Apple generally has locked down so much of
its features, whereas, you know, traditionally Android is much more open,
which means that, you know, you've got more developers developing

(01:22:54):
apps and, you know, with some of the line up
here and in Android 16, the enhanced APIs, so that,
you know, Android can developers who are committed to accessibility
can can utilize those APIs to to really lift the
availability of accessible apps for people that need them, for sure.

S2 (01:23:16):
That's wonderful. I think we're being very fair. The companies
that we're covering, I look forward to seeing what happens
in August.

S7 (01:23:22):
Yeah, absolutely.

S2 (01:23:24):
Thanks, Denise.

S7 (01:23:24):
Thank you. Peter.

S2 (01:23:25):
By Jack, professor from USC. Denise, good with all of
the latest news. And certainly Samsung Android. Android being under
the microscope this afternoon. This evening. I'm sure you've all
caught up with the news regarding Bedford's. Lots of things
happening at the moment are very fluid situation. I think
it's fair to say. We weren't able to get anyone

(01:23:48):
on the program today. We'll see how things play out
in the next few days. Now, we often have people
like Nat Cook and Emily Burke and other politicians on
the program. They're very busy, so we normally have to
book them in a few weeks in advance. As it
so happens, we've actually got Nat Cook booked in for
next week, rather fortuitously, no planning, just the way it

(01:24:10):
turned out. So I'm sure Nat will have some views
and there'll be some more clear information regarding Bedfords. So
we'll speak to Nat Cook on the programme next week,
and we'll certainly be asking about Bedfords and the NDIS
and all those sort of things. Our first thoughts, of course,
are with the clients, with the employees, with the staff,

(01:24:31):
with people that volunteer at Bedford, anyone that's had anything
to do with Bedford, this radio programme, this radio station
has had an association with Bedford from the very, very
early days of this station. Of course, Bedford celebrating the
80th anniversary of chatted about that a couple of times
during the year already. And even last week we spoke
about their Sala exhibition that's happening. So we've certainly had

(01:24:54):
a great association with the organisation, so we very much
feel for the people that are there. We're hoping there'll
be a very happy and successful resolution. It's not just
the employment, it's not just the opportunities to, um, make
a few dollars and also get out of the house,
as it were. But the social interaction that is very,
very important. And over the years we've learned that the

(01:25:15):
IPM Employment League, the C6 Netball League, a number of
different sports. Um, also, um, people that play those sports
work at Bedford. So it does play a very, very
important role. We'll see what happens in the next few days.
As I said, it's going to be, um, a bit
of a moving feast, probably hard to pin down exactly
what's going to happen and when. That will certainly stand

(01:25:37):
by for much more news. The government having to juggle
a few balls, as they like to say at the
moment with Whyalla and of course other organisations like Um
Nyrstar at Port Pirie and a bit of pressure, we've
got the algal bloom situation. We've got the hospital situation,
so plenty for the government to keep them occupied. Um,

(01:25:58):
Bedford's employ something like 1400 people, which is a huge workforce.
And right around the state. We'll chat to Phil Vandepeer
on Wednesday night on Focal Point. Um, so Mount Gambier
Island and Bedford's got a big presence down there, so
we'll get a bit of an idea of how important
Bedford's is in that particular area. Another country area. So

(01:26:18):
and also we have spoken glowingly and understandably so about
the tremendous work that Bedford's do in the area of recycling.
Such an important thing. And surely there must be an
opportunity for, um, businesses and ventures like that to keep
operating when they do such a great job, not just
for the people that are there, but for the community

(01:26:40):
saving on landfill and all that sort of stuff. So
we'll find out much more about them. They have got
money from the NDIS. The NDIS has caused a few
issues for a number of different organisations. I'm sure as
time rolls out we'll probably hear more depending on what
the outcome of this Bedford situation is. And I mean,
one thought that I did have was could there be

(01:27:01):
an argument for nationalizing supported employment. The government takes it over.
They're putting money into the NDIS, which is out of
the government coffers. Maybe they can actually form an organisation
that employs supported employment, people with disabilities, and those employment
opportunities can be guaranteed and expanded under the government umbrella.

(01:27:24):
I know we don't like the government sticking their sticky
fingers onto too many things or their noses in too
many places, but that might be an opportunity for some consideration.
Certainly something that I'll be putting to Nat Cook next week.
Hopefully when we get Nat on the program, and I'm
sure that others will come up with other strategies and ideas.
But our thoughts at this stage very much with those

(01:27:46):
at Bedford's, hope that all goes well. We're thinking of you. We, um,
have a lot of time for the wonderful work that
you do. Hope there's a successful and amicable resolution to
this situation. Now, just to just a note through from
Alex Morris after we spoke to Alex earlier regarding the
Electoral Commission and also the feedback after the election, Alex

(01:28:10):
did give a web address. He's also phoned through with
an email address. If you'd like to send an email
and give feedback regarding the election. It's very simple email address.
It's email. It's m at AFP for electoral matters E
at Afro Australia. We'll put that information up in our

(01:28:35):
show notes. And we know that many of you like
the phone. So if you want to ring that particular
part of Parliament House, you can ring 026272374026272374 to get
through to the Standing Committee on Electoral matters. They've just

(01:28:58):
been formed and looking for feedback. So if you'd like
to get involved and I hope you do, let's see
how that goes. Now a couple of quotes before we go.
Emily has set one through m e m e r
l e y. A bit of a unique way of spelling, Emily.
Thank you for yours. Emily says anything that ever happens

(01:29:19):
to you is either a blessing or a lesson. So, Emily,
thank you so much for that and a bit of
a fun fact through from gender. The grinder stacks. The
driver in the world caught up with him during the week,
and he was making the point that Scottie Scheffler, who
won his fourth major last weekend in Ireland, the days
between him winning his first major and his fourth major

(01:29:42):
compared to the days of Tiger Woods winning his first
major and his fourth major. Not easy to say those
words first and fourth major. So the difference is zero,
and the amount of days between their winning their first
major and fourth major stand by 197, which is Vision

(01:30:03):
Australia's Am band. 1190 7 a.m. 1197 days between their
first and fourth major for both Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods.
So Linda, thank you so much for doing that. He's
now getting into the car. In fact, he's probably just
been driving around for a little while, picking up a
few fares and keeping the radio on. 1190 7 a.m.
because Vicki Cousins is coming up very shortly with Australian Geographic.

(01:30:28):
Did a great fan of Vicki's work. So birthdays before
we go. Tom Skelton having a birthday. That wonderful comedian
out of England, Jake Ballestrino having a birthday champion, para
table tennis player Kieran Murphy having a birthday, that Joe wonderful, uh,
tandem cyclist Sam Rizzo, that wheelchair racer that did so

(01:30:48):
well in the 10-K. Angus Hinxman, having a birthday from
South Australia, represented Australia at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
A track and field athlete and cheerleader are having a birthday.
Julie from Resthaven has been with the program right from
the start. I think Julie's had over 30 years at Resthaven,
and certainly 27 or 28 years helping with an interview

(01:31:11):
every month from resthaven. So Julie, happy birthday to you.
Hope you have a really great day. As I mentioned,
if you're listening through 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide, coming
up very soon, Vicki Cousins with Australian Geographics. Thank you
Sam Rickard for your help. Thank you Pam Green for yours.
Reminding you that late link is available on that favorite
podcast platform of yours. If you've tuned in for the

(01:31:33):
first time, thank you for doing that. Maybe tell a
friend about the program all being well, let's link back
at the same time next week. Be kind to yourselves,
be thoughtful, and look out for others. On Vision Australia
Radio and the Reading Radio Network. This is leisurely.

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