May 6, 2025 • 28 mins
Sam speaks with Cr Anthony Aitken, access and inclusion committee chair from the City of Greater Geelong, about the council's call for community feedback to make parks, streets and public spaces safer and more accessible for residents with disabilities.
You'll also hear from CEO of Assistive Technology Services Australia, Serena Ovens. She's here to tell us about a pair of expos ATSA will be running in the next couple of weeks in Perth and Melbourne.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:13):
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:23):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:30):
Most of the feedbacks come from able people are really
good to get some targeted feedback from people living with
a disability, and in particular people with low vision who
can try and assist the Council to improve its urban
design principles so that it can enable people with low
vision to access both our public realm areas and our
open space areas.
S2 (00:50):
Welcome to the program. This week we chat with Councillor
Anthony Aitken from the City of Greater Geelong, who's here
to chat to me about a series of drop in
sessions and a survey which is open until the 12th
of May for people to have their say about how
(01:11):
to make the streets of Geelong that bit more safe
and accessible for people with disabilities. That conversation's coming up
very shortly, so make sure to stick around. And then
after my chat with Anthony, I catch up with Sarina Ovens,
CEO of Assistive Technology Services Australia, who tells us about
(01:34):
a couple of expos that ATS is holding in Perth
and Melbourne over the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy
this week's episode of Talking Vision. Are you a Geelong
resident with lived experience of disability or just an interest
in accessibility? Well, the City of Greater Geelong would love
(01:59):
to hear from you. They're currently holding a survey and
a number of drop in sessions to help shape their parks,
streets and public places to create more accessible spaces for
people with disabilities. And to chat with me all about this.
It's my great pleasure to welcome City of Greater Geelong
(02:22):
councillor Anthony Aitken to Talking Vision. Anthony, welcome to Talking Vision.
Thank you very much for your time today.
S3 (02:30):
I'm very pleased to be here and thank you for
showing interest in Geelong.
S2 (02:34):
No problem at all. Now firstly, Anthony, we're here to
discuss a bit of community engagement that the City of
Greater Geelong is seeking from local residents in regards to accessibility.
But before we get into the details of the survey
and feedback themselves, I'm keen to hear a little bit
(02:57):
more about your disability access and inclusion portfolio, as well
as the committee that you belong to, the Access and
Inclusion Advisory Committee.
S3 (03:08):
Well, Sam, the first thing I'd like to disclose to
the listeners is I am an elected official with the
City of Greater Geelong, and I've been there since 2017.
But I'm also a person living with a disability. I'm
actually deaf. And I'm very fortunate that cochlear implants, um,
have given me hearing capacity. Um, and that's why I'm
(03:30):
able to be able to listen to you today and
also represent my community. And I think that's part of
the reason why, um, I'm involved with our access and
disability portfolio that we have in the city of Geelong.
And I chair the Access and Inclusion Committee. That committee
is an advisory committee to council, and it's made up
(03:51):
of other members of the community who are living with disabilities. Um,
it may be mobility issues, it may be hearing issues,
it may be sight side issues. Um, it may be, um,
mental health issues and it may be acquired disabilities. We
have had a number of people who have had accidents
that have had acquired brain injuries that sit on that
(04:12):
committee as well to the whole purpose of the portfolio.
And the committee is to elevate advocacy and issues associated
with people living with a disability in the community. And
I'm proud to say that I think we've done very
well with that community and also with the representation, by
giving a stronger voice to people living with a disability.
S2 (04:33):
Fantastic. And that's also what we're, of course, here to
chat a bit further about. The City of Greater Geelong
is looking for public feedback to help shape your parks,
streets and public spaces. And as I understand it, that
covers two main projects, namely Public Realm and Open Space.
(04:55):
So could you tell us a little bit more about
Public realm and open space.
S3 (04:59):
Look, there are two major strategies that the city's announced
public engagement in at the present time. Public realm is
actually spaces outside of our buildings. And what we're attempting
to do there is to identify spaces where people may
come and congregate to and actually how we can try
and improve them. And public open space is where we
(05:22):
have either organized sports or community activities. So it might
be like where there's a local program, where there's a
sporting field or where there's just public open space, which
is just available for people to come and use at
any particular time. The two strategies are separate, and what
we're engaging at the present time is the communities to
get feedback about both of them. An example is we've
(05:46):
got significant building structures in Geelong, but we've got these
public areas outside of them, and we really would like
to hear from the community how we could make those
spaces better and with our public open space, we really
want to try and make them as accessible as possible
for all members of the community, that they can feel
safe and access them and enjoy them. But I personally
(06:09):
have a very strong commitment to try to make sure
that our public spaces, both public realm and open space,
do meet accessibility requirements for people living with a disability.
Whether it is sight, as most Vision Australia people would
be who are listening to the broadcast today. But it
also includes people living with hearing loss or mobility issues.
(06:30):
And of course, you know those people that need access
to a wheelchair or something for movement. The design and
accessibility of our public spaces and public realm is really important.
And that includes like having pathways that go towards our buildings,
creating opportunities where there is existing tree canopy and mature
tree canopy that someone can access the shade under those trees.
(06:54):
And in public open spaces. It really is about how
we can bring everyone's needs together in the future to
make it an enjoyable space for them.
S2 (07:03):
And Anthony, as I understand the public community feedback has
been open for just over a month now. What are
the sort of things you've already heard from the community,
especially in regards to accessibility?
S3 (07:18):
Well, look, the first thing that's come back is people
said they want more public open space, and that probably
reflects what we all experienced during Covid, where our local
park actually became really important during that lockdown period because
we needed some space to actually meet and congregate in.
One of the challenges that we've got in Geelong is
(07:39):
that over the next 17 years, our population is actually
going to grow from 289,000 to an estimated 400,000 people,
and it means our public open spaces have become even
more important as more and more people are living in
our urban areas and high density areas means that they
will need public open space. So what the initial feedback
(08:00):
that we received is predominantly been about people saying we
actually need more public open space, but there's been some
really good feedback as well, too, about what type of
design materials we use for our footpaths, whether we should
be using concrete because it's much more accessible than gravel,
how we transition from grassed areas to public areas as
(08:22):
well too. And that discussion has certainly been taken by
the Council to consider it as well too. And what
we're also it's not part of this particular strategy, but
we are getting feedback as well too, about dogs and
animals in public spaces as well too. So we're trying
to channel that engagement. We actually have got a major
dog management project that's going on underway as well to
(08:44):
at the present time with engagement, but most people are
actually being really good to think about ideas about how
they can improve the public spaces and even simple things
like people saying that they do need water fountains in
public open spaces and even going back to that dog issue.
People are saying we do need to have more dog
bags for areas that the city is actually creating new
(09:07):
public open spaces as well too. The engagement process is
actually still open till the 12th of May, and we've
actually got a major drop in. People can actually access
it now online. And look at the council website and
we may talk about that a little bit later as
well too.
S2 (09:22):
That's right.
S3 (09:23):
But yeah, we really would encourage more feedback from people
living with a disability so that we can try to
target towards more accessibility. Most of the feedback has come
from able people are really good to get some targeted
feedback from people living with a disability, and in particular,
people with low vision who can try and assist the
Council to improve its urban design principles so that it
(09:45):
can enable people with low vision to access both our
public realm areas and our open space areas.
S2 (09:52):
As you've mentioned there, the drop in sessions are very
quickly upon us. In fact, one of them's already just
happened as of this week. It was on the 30th
of April for people to head along then, but if
people have missed out, there's still time. They can head
along to a couple more. So let's get the details
about those two sessions on the seventh and 8th of May.
S3 (10:15):
Well, what they are, um, Sam, is we recognize that
not everybody can just fill out forms through the online internet.
So there were three traditional face to face opportunities for
people to go and be interviewed for public engagement. The
second one was to occur at Drysdale, at the library there,
at the new library on Wednesday the 7th of May,
(10:38):
between 4 and 6 p.m., and the last one is
actually scheduled to occur out in North Lane at the
new Norlin Arc on Thursday the 8th of May, between
4 and 6 p.m. and we have missed the one
that was, of course, on the 30th of April, which
was at Wiki Niall, which is the civic administration building
in the centre of Geelong.
S2 (10:59):
But that's okay, because as you've said, there's still opportunities
for people to have their say either in those drop
in sessions or through the survey itself. So let's get
the details of that survey in particular.
S3 (11:14):
If people go to Geelong Australia.com. So all one word
Geelong Australia.com. There's a section called have Your Say. And
there is the opportunity to click on that section to
help shape our parks, streets and public spaces. There are
some accessibility. So if you need hearing or speech support
(11:38):
you can click on that. And it will actually read
out what is actually on the page. And there is
translation support as well too, if people have non-English speaking background.
but I suspect the hearing and speech support would be
really important for people with low vision. That can be
accessed through the council's website, and you are encouraged to
fill out that survey before the 12th of May at
(12:02):
5 p.m., when it will formally close.
S2 (12:05):
But um, given the timing of everything and people may
not be able to get in touch during session one,
don't stress because as I understand it, Anthony, there will
be a second phase of community engagement happening later on
in the year for people around September. October? Isn't that right?
S3 (12:28):
Yeah. Look, the way our engagement processes work is we
do our initial community engagement, which is what's occurring at
the moment. So that was between the 28th of March
and the 12th of May. And that's where we initial
get our initial feedback. And then the officers will actually
collate that information and collate other data as well to
to develop the draft strategies. And because this we have
(12:52):
so much public realm and also public open space in Geelong,
it's quite a big task. So that's actually occurring between
March and October of this year. And then there will
be a draft of each of the strategies will come
out and we will re seek public engagement. So you
are right for those people who are thinking that they
may have missed an opportunity to influence that, the draft
(13:13):
strategies will be released and we will seek feedback on
those draft strategies. So if there's some really important things
that have been missed that people want to present, they
will get that opportunity between October and November of this year.
S2 (13:26):
Okay, wonderful. Well, in that case, Anthony, I think we
might get in touch in 4 or 5 months time
and let people know about how those phases have gone already,
but also, of course, invite people to take part in
phase two of the community engagement for open space and
(13:47):
public realm, and the strategies the City of Greater Geelong
is putting together to make the city more accessible for
all constituents out there. I've been speaking today with the
City of Geelong's Disability Access and Inclusion portfolio chair and
chair of the Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Councillor Anthony Aitken,
(14:09):
about the community engagement the City of Greater Geelong is
currently undertaking to improve the accessibility of parks, roads and
public spaces in the Greater Geelong region. Anthony, thank you
so much for your time today. It was a pleasure
to catch up with you.
S3 (14:26):
Thanks, Sam, and thank you to all your listeners and
I wish everyone a great 2025. And it sounds like
we may have the opportunity to speak again towards the
end of the year, and I would welcome that opportunity
to come back and discuss some of the draft ideas
that have come out, and I'm pleased I encourage anybody
living with a disability Ability to be an active member
of our community and try and make sure that everything
(14:48):
is more accessible. And those people who are making the
decisions listen and you are heard and we influence outcomes.
So thank you, Sam.
S2 (15:02):
I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading Radio and the
Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there
with Anthony Aiken. If you missed any part of that
chat with Anthony or you'd love to hear it again.
(15:22):
Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website.
Simply head to radio Dot. That's V radio Dot or
you can find the program on the podcast app of
your choice or through the Vision Australia library. Our next
guest is the CEO of Assistive Technology Services Australia or
(15:47):
Atsa for short, which is bringing their expos around the
country in particular over the next couple of weeks in
Perth and then Melbourne the week later. Her name is
Serena Ovens and it's my great pleasure to welcome her
right now. Serena, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very
(16:08):
much for your time.
S4 (16:09):
Thanks for having me, Sam.
S2 (16:11):
We're here to have a bit of a chat about
some upcoming expos that Azhar is involved with this month,
but before we do that, let's get a bit of
an overview of Azza itself and the work they do.
S4 (16:24):
Thanks. So at the peak industry body for the whole
of Australia, for all of the organisations, be they manufacturers, distributors, suppliers,
retailers of a massively broader range of assistive technology for
people with disability and older people. We're also though a
(16:45):
registered charity. So as well as supporting the industry and
making sure that they're doing the right thing and selling
product accordingly and bringing in things that are legal and
fit Australia's standards, we also ensure that they ethically and
equitably cater for their end users. The people that use
that at and need to have it properly scripted, well
(17:08):
looked after, maintained, repaired and supported all the way through
their independence journey.
S2 (17:14):
And following on from that, Serena, there's a couple of
expos coming up that we'd love to have a chat about.
Let's start off with the expo happening in Perth in
just over a week's time. That's pretty exciting.
S4 (17:30):
It is fam. It makes for a busy time for us.
But we do have the Perth Expo, as you say,
on the 14th and 15th of May at the Perth Showgrounds. Grants,
and that's the first of 2 in 2 weeks, so
it'll keep us fairly busy. Perth, of course, is a
great place for us to be able to bring across
the country a lot of both local at suppliers and
(17:53):
of course, some of our suppliers come across from the
other side of the country to be able to display
and exhibit a broad range of assistive technology for people
to come and try to view and see what's out
in the market, to look at all the new technology
also for allied health professionals as well, to be able
to again understand what's out in the market so they
(18:15):
can support people with disability in terms of any of
the assistive technology that they need. So for, um, your
cohort in particular, there will be exhibitors. In fact, Vision
Australia themselves will be at I'm not sure if they're
at Perth or they're definitely at Melbourne. We've got different
organisations that will have things like pens that can read
(18:39):
text on a page. We've got blind spots coming along
to show people the different sporting activities that they can do.
Things like vision tech that have amazing magnifiers for people
with low vision and need different types of equipment to
help them actually read lots of different activities. Our expos
are the biggest at expos in Australia, and it's really
(19:03):
great to be able to get along and see what's
out there, because you would be blown away by the
amount of new technology in the market, certainly.
S2 (19:11):
Yeah, those text to speech pens are incredible. I've heard
quite a lot about them now. Serena, what else can
people in Perth expect if they head along to the
Perth Expo? That would be unique perhaps to the Perth
event over the Melbourne one.
S4 (19:29):
Are now they would see an adaptive fashion show which
will happen on the Thursday afternoon. It's free to attend,
and I should say that so that everyone knows that
they can walk in the door. And if they pre-register,
they'll be entitled to get a free coffee when they
come in as well. Not unique, but really good to
know because everyone loves the tea or coffee halfway through
(19:51):
the day when they're getting tired and walking around. The
other thing I should let you know too, is that
I believe there are limited trains to the event as well,
so public transport is on hand for you to get there.
Unique to Perth will be quite a number of your
local suppliers and supports. So what we try to do
with all our expos is, as well as bringing together
(20:12):
the industry, is ensure that we can capture as many
of the local supports, the local market so that you
can link with people that you may not know but
are locally on the ground, can support you both at
the expo, but of course in your daily needs as well.
S2 (20:30):
Okay, wonderful. Now, Serena, let's have a bit of a
chat about the Melbourne Expo, which is taking place the
week after the Perth event.
S4 (20:41):
Yep. So Melbourne is happening on the 20th and 21st
of May. The Tuesday and Wednesday of the following week.
It's also at the Showgrounds, the Flemington Showgrounds in Melbourne.
It is our biggest expo of all the expos we
do across Australia. It is absolutely massive and we sell
out really quickly. We keep taking more and more space
(21:03):
and more and more exhibitors want space and it just
keeps getting bigger and bigger. So in Melbourne you can
expect to see the broadest range of equipment, home modifications online,
it um, automated information, pretty much anything and everything that
our industry provides.
S2 (21:24):
And I suppose similar to the Perth event, there's quite
a few unique businesses and organisations specific to Melbourne and
Victoria that will be appearing at the Melbourne Expo, but
what else can people expect if they head along?
S4 (21:42):
Yeah, there's a really big sports area in Melbourne, so
what they can see, there is a massive range of
different options for people that want to try out different
sporting events and activities. So things like pickleball, which has
become really popular again, I believe we'll have blind spots
(22:03):
on hand as well. I know that some of our expos,
and I have to be honest, I'm not 100% sure
of absolutely every different sporting event or group that will
be there. But we've seen things from basketball to rock
climbing to sailing to give people just the broadest range
of come and try events. So it's not only just
(22:23):
come and watch, but it's actually get in and give
things a go yourself as well.
S2 (22:27):
And Serena, I understand both expos will be featuring a
seminar program to educate the wider public about the various
assistive technologies that are available.
S4 (22:41):
Absolutely, Sam. Across all our expos, we run seminars throughout
both days at set times. Some of them are quite
focused for allied health and other professionals, but broadly, there'd
be quite a bit of interest for people to attend
any of those seminars. They're welcome to do so. Again,
(23:01):
they are also free, and you can find out what's
on by looking at either the programme on the day
when you get there, or by checking out the information
on the website that'll tell you about the different sessions
when they're running, where to find them, and decide whether
it's something you're interested in getting some understanding about.
S2 (23:19):
Just to wrap up, if people would like to find
out a bit more about assistive technology suppliers Australia, or
perhaps sign up to or register or pick up a
ticket to head along to these expos. What's the best
way for them to do that?
S4 (23:39):
Absolutely. So they can either go directly to our website
which is at dot org and that's at org, and
you can from there get into the ASA Independent Living
Expos via the events tab. And that will allow you
to jump on and register your attendance at any of
(24:02):
the events that we have. That registration, as I said,
is free for anybody to attend any of our expos.
And if you pre-register, gives you that free coffee or tea.
So recommend people doing that. Again our website is a.
S2 (24:20):
Perfect. I've been speaking today with Serena Ovens, CEO of
Assistive Technology Suppliers Australia. Here to chat to me about
the upcoming expos that will be involved with over the
month of May. Serena, thank you so much for your
time today. It was a pleasure to catch up with
(24:42):
you and chat about the Expos.
S4 (24:45):
Thanks, Sam. Really appreciate it and look forward to seeing
yourself and your Vision Australia members there.
S2 (24:56):
And now here's Frances Kalen with a radar recommended.
S5 (25:00):
Thank you Sam. Today's reader recommended is about a city.
It's a love song to a city and a memoir.
It's called Perth and it's by David Whish-wilson. David Whish-wilson.
Perth is a place of surprising beauty, of sand swept
peace and brilliant light, yet a place where the deeper
historical currents are never too far beneath the surface. Like
(25:21):
the Swan River that flows in two directions at once
at certain times, with the fresh water flowing seawards above
the salty water flowing in beneath it, Perth strikes perfect
harmony with the city's contradictions and eccentricities. We look beyond
the shiny glass facades, the boosterish talk of mining booms
to the richness of the natural world and the trailblazers,
(25:43):
the rebels, the occasional ghost and the ordinary people that
bring Australia's remotest city to life. Let's hear a sample
of David Whish-wilson book, Perth.
S6 (25:53):
Twice a Day. The skin of the Swan River rises
in a small ripple as the tidal surge makes its
way from the river mouth at Fremantle, through Perth Water,
and up into the higher reaches of the river near
the fast growing suburb of Ellenbrook. Just over 20km northeast
of Perth in winter, when a layer of brackish water
(26:14):
runs off the scarp towards the ocean, the river flows
in two directions, with the freshwater flowing seawards above the
saline water flowing in beneath it. Today, the diurnal bulge
of water that reveals the incoming tide is invisible. It's
a Sunday morning, and I'm out on the river in
an open kayak with my Uncle Scott. My father's youngest brother, Scott,
(26:40):
moved from Tasmania to Perth as a teenager in the 1970s.
Like so many others, he stayed for the climate and
the lifestyle and the opportunity to work.
S5 (26:50):
So that was Perth by David Whish-wilson. There was a
series of books by writers that wrote about the city
that they grew up in, and so there's ones for
all of the capital cities around Australia. If you would
like that book, or if you would like to find
out more about how the Vision Australia Library can work
for you. If you have a print disability, give the
(27:11):
library a call on 130654656. That's 1300Â 654Â 656. Or you can
email library at Vision Australia. Org. That's library at Vision Australia.
S2 (27:26):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
So please get in touch anytime on our email at
Talking Vision at Vision Australia. That's talking vision all. One
(27:51):
word at Vision Australia dot. But until next week it's
Sam Corley saying bye for now.
S1 (28:01):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 74
six or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:23):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:30):
Most of the feedbacks come from able people are really
good to get some targeted feedback from people living with
a disability, and in particular people with low vision who
can try and assist the Council to improve its urban
design principles so that it can enable people with low
vision to access both our public realm areas and our
open space areas.
S2 (00:50):
Welcome to the program. This week we chat with Councillor
Anthony Aitken from the City of Greater Geelong, who's here
to chat to me about a series of drop in
sessions and a survey which is open until the 12th
of May for people to have their say about how
(01:11):
to make the streets of Geelong that bit more safe
and accessible for people with disabilities. That conversation's coming up
very shortly, so make sure to stick around. And then
after my chat with Anthony, I catch up with Sarina Ovens,
CEO of Assistive Technology Services Australia, who tells us about
(01:34):
a couple of expos that ATS is holding in Perth
and Melbourne over the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy
this week's episode of Talking Vision. Are you a Geelong
resident with lived experience of disability or just an interest
in accessibility? Well, the City of Greater Geelong would love
(01:59):
to hear from you. They're currently holding a survey and
a number of drop in sessions to help shape their parks,
streets and public places to create more accessible spaces for
people with disabilities. And to chat with me all about this.
It's my great pleasure to welcome City of Greater Geelong
(02:22):
councillor Anthony Aitken to Talking Vision. Anthony, welcome to Talking Vision.
Thank you very much for your time today.
S3 (02:30):
I'm very pleased to be here and thank you for
showing interest in Geelong.
S2 (02:34):
No problem at all. Now firstly, Anthony, we're here to
discuss a bit of community engagement that the City of
Greater Geelong is seeking from local residents in regards to accessibility.
But before we get into the details of the survey
and feedback themselves, I'm keen to hear a little bit
(02:57):
more about your disability access and inclusion portfolio, as well
as the committee that you belong to, the Access and
Inclusion Advisory Committee.
S3 (03:08):
Well, Sam, the first thing I'd like to disclose to
the listeners is I am an elected official with the
City of Greater Geelong, and I've been there since 2017.
But I'm also a person living with a disability. I'm
actually deaf. And I'm very fortunate that cochlear implants, um,
have given me hearing capacity. Um, and that's why I'm
(03:30):
able to be able to listen to you today and
also represent my community. And I think that's part of
the reason why, um, I'm involved with our access and
disability portfolio that we have in the city of Geelong.
And I chair the Access and Inclusion Committee. That committee
is an advisory committee to council, and it's made up
(03:51):
of other members of the community who are living with disabilities. Um,
it may be mobility issues, it may be hearing issues,
it may be sight side issues. Um, it may be, um,
mental health issues and it may be acquired disabilities. We
have had a number of people who have had accidents
that have had acquired brain injuries that sit on that
(04:12):
committee as well to the whole purpose of the portfolio.
And the committee is to elevate advocacy and issues associated
with people living with a disability in the community. And
I'm proud to say that I think we've done very
well with that community and also with the representation, by
giving a stronger voice to people living with a disability.
S2 (04:33):
Fantastic. And that's also what we're, of course, here to
chat a bit further about. The City of Greater Geelong
is looking for public feedback to help shape your parks,
streets and public spaces. And as I understand it, that
covers two main projects, namely Public Realm and Open Space.
(04:55):
So could you tell us a little bit more about
Public realm and open space.
S3 (04:59):
Look, there are two major strategies that the city's announced
public engagement in at the present time. Public realm is
actually spaces outside of our buildings. And what we're attempting
to do there is to identify spaces where people may
come and congregate to and actually how we can try
and improve them. And public open space is where we
(05:22):
have either organized sports or community activities. So it might
be like where there's a local program, where there's a
sporting field or where there's just public open space, which
is just available for people to come and use at
any particular time. The two strategies are separate, and what
we're engaging at the present time is the communities to
get feedback about both of them. An example is we've
(05:46):
got significant building structures in Geelong, but we've got these
public areas outside of them, and we really would like
to hear from the community how we could make those
spaces better and with our public open space, we really
want to try and make them as accessible as possible
for all members of the community, that they can feel
safe and access them and enjoy them. But I personally
(06:09):
have a very strong commitment to try to make sure
that our public spaces, both public realm and open space,
do meet accessibility requirements for people living with a disability.
Whether it is sight, as most Vision Australia people would
be who are listening to the broadcast today. But it
also includes people living with hearing loss or mobility issues.
(06:30):
And of course, you know those people that need access
to a wheelchair or something for movement. The design and
accessibility of our public spaces and public realm is really important.
And that includes like having pathways that go towards our buildings,
creating opportunities where there is existing tree canopy and mature
tree canopy that someone can access the shade under those trees.
(06:54):
And in public open spaces. It really is about how
we can bring everyone's needs together in the future to
make it an enjoyable space for them.
S2 (07:03):
And Anthony, as I understand the public community feedback has
been open for just over a month now. What are
the sort of things you've already heard from the community,
especially in regards to accessibility?
S3 (07:18):
Well, look, the first thing that's come back is people
said they want more public open space, and that probably
reflects what we all experienced during Covid, where our local
park actually became really important during that lockdown period because
we needed some space to actually meet and congregate in.
One of the challenges that we've got in Geelong is
(07:39):
that over the next 17 years, our population is actually
going to grow from 289,000 to an estimated 400,000 people,
and it means our public open spaces have become even
more important as more and more people are living in
our urban areas and high density areas means that they
will need public open space. So what the initial feedback
(08:00):
that we received is predominantly been about people saying we
actually need more public open space, but there's been some
really good feedback as well, too, about what type of
design materials we use for our footpaths, whether we should
be using concrete because it's much more accessible than gravel,
how we transition from grassed areas to public areas as
(08:22):
well too. And that discussion has certainly been taken by
the Council to consider it as well too. And what
we're also it's not part of this particular strategy, but
we are getting feedback as well too, about dogs and
animals in public spaces as well too. So we're trying
to channel that engagement. We actually have got a major
dog management project that's going on underway as well to
(08:44):
at the present time with engagement, but most people are
actually being really good to think about ideas about how
they can improve the public spaces and even simple things
like people saying that they do need water fountains in
public open spaces and even going back to that dog issue.
People are saying we do need to have more dog
bags for areas that the city is actually creating new
(09:07):
public open spaces as well too. The engagement process is
actually still open till the 12th of May, and we've
actually got a major drop in. People can actually access
it now online. And look at the council website and
we may talk about that a little bit later as
well too.
S2 (09:22):
That's right.
S3 (09:23):
But yeah, we really would encourage more feedback from people
living with a disability so that we can try to
target towards more accessibility. Most of the feedback has come
from able people are really good to get some targeted
feedback from people living with a disability, and in particular,
people with low vision who can try and assist the
Council to improve its urban design principles so that it
(09:45):
can enable people with low vision to access both our
public realm areas and our open space areas.
S2 (09:52):
As you've mentioned there, the drop in sessions are very
quickly upon us. In fact, one of them's already just
happened as of this week. It was on the 30th
of April for people to head along then, but if
people have missed out, there's still time. They can head
along to a couple more. So let's get the details
about those two sessions on the seventh and 8th of May.
S3 (10:15):
Well, what they are, um, Sam, is we recognize that
not everybody can just fill out forms through the online internet.
So there were three traditional face to face opportunities for
people to go and be interviewed for public engagement. The
second one was to occur at Drysdale, at the library there,
at the new library on Wednesday the 7th of May,
(10:38):
between 4 and 6 p.m., and the last one is
actually scheduled to occur out in North Lane at the
new Norlin Arc on Thursday the 8th of May, between
4 and 6 p.m. and we have missed the one
that was, of course, on the 30th of April, which
was at Wiki Niall, which is the civic administration building
in the centre of Geelong.
S2 (10:59):
But that's okay, because as you've said, there's still opportunities
for people to have their say either in those drop
in sessions or through the survey itself. So let's get
the details of that survey in particular.
S3 (11:14):
If people go to Geelong Australia.com. So all one word
Geelong Australia.com. There's a section called have Your Say. And
there is the opportunity to click on that section to
help shape our parks, streets and public spaces. There are
some accessibility. So if you need hearing or speech support
(11:38):
you can click on that. And it will actually read
out what is actually on the page. And there is
translation support as well too, if people have non-English speaking background.
but I suspect the hearing and speech support would be
really important for people with low vision. That can be
accessed through the council's website, and you are encouraged to
fill out that survey before the 12th of May at
(12:02):
5 p.m., when it will formally close.
S2 (12:05):
But um, given the timing of everything and people may
not be able to get in touch during session one,
don't stress because as I understand it, Anthony, there will
be a second phase of community engagement happening later on
in the year for people around September. October? Isn't that right?
S3 (12:28):
Yeah. Look, the way our engagement processes work is we
do our initial community engagement, which is what's occurring at
the moment. So that was between the 28th of March
and the 12th of May. And that's where we initial
get our initial feedback. And then the officers will actually
collate that information and collate other data as well to
to develop the draft strategies. And because this we have
(12:52):
so much public realm and also public open space in Geelong,
it's quite a big task. So that's actually occurring between
March and October of this year. And then there will
be a draft of each of the strategies will come
out and we will re seek public engagement. So you
are right for those people who are thinking that they
may have missed an opportunity to influence that, the draft
(13:13):
strategies will be released and we will seek feedback on
those draft strategies. So if there's some really important things
that have been missed that people want to present, they
will get that opportunity between October and November of this year.
S2 (13:26):
Okay, wonderful. Well, in that case, Anthony, I think we
might get in touch in 4 or 5 months time
and let people know about how those phases have gone already,
but also, of course, invite people to take part in
phase two of the community engagement for open space and
(13:47):
public realm, and the strategies the City of Greater Geelong
is putting together to make the city more accessible for
all constituents out there. I've been speaking today with the
City of Geelong's Disability Access and Inclusion portfolio chair and
chair of the Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Councillor Anthony Aitken,
(14:09):
about the community engagement the City of Greater Geelong is
currently undertaking to improve the accessibility of parks, roads and
public spaces in the Greater Geelong region. Anthony, thank you
so much for your time today. It was a pleasure
to catch up with you.
S3 (14:26):
Thanks, Sam, and thank you to all your listeners and
I wish everyone a great 2025. And it sounds like
we may have the opportunity to speak again towards the
end of the year, and I would welcome that opportunity
to come back and discuss some of the draft ideas
that have come out, and I'm pleased I encourage anybody
living with a disability Ability to be an active member
of our community and try and make sure that everything
(14:48):
is more accessible. And those people who are making the
decisions listen and you are heard and we influence outcomes.
So thank you, Sam.
S2 (15:02):
I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
Vision Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading Radio and the
Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there
with Anthony Aiken. If you missed any part of that
chat with Anthony or you'd love to hear it again.
(15:22):
Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website.
Simply head to radio Dot. That's V radio Dot or
you can find the program on the podcast app of
your choice or through the Vision Australia library. Our next
guest is the CEO of Assistive Technology Services Australia or
(15:47):
Atsa for short, which is bringing their expos around the
country in particular over the next couple of weeks in
Perth and then Melbourne the week later. Her name is
Serena Ovens and it's my great pleasure to welcome her
right now. Serena, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very
(16:08):
much for your time.
S4 (16:09):
Thanks for having me, Sam.
S2 (16:11):
We're here to have a bit of a chat about
some upcoming expos that Azhar is involved with this month,
but before we do that, let's get a bit of
an overview of Azza itself and the work they do.
S4 (16:24):
Thanks. So at the peak industry body for the whole
of Australia, for all of the organisations, be they manufacturers, distributors, suppliers,
retailers of a massively broader range of assistive technology for
people with disability and older people. We're also though a
(16:45):
registered charity. So as well as supporting the industry and
making sure that they're doing the right thing and selling
product accordingly and bringing in things that are legal and
fit Australia's standards, we also ensure that they ethically and
equitably cater for their end users. The people that use
that at and need to have it properly scripted, well
(17:08):
looked after, maintained, repaired and supported all the way through
their independence journey.
S2 (17:14):
And following on from that, Serena, there's a couple of
expos coming up that we'd love to have a chat about.
Let's start off with the expo happening in Perth in
just over a week's time. That's pretty exciting.
S4 (17:30):
It is fam. It makes for a busy time for us.
But we do have the Perth Expo, as you say,
on the 14th and 15th of May at the Perth Showgrounds. Grants,
and that's the first of 2 in 2 weeks, so
it'll keep us fairly busy. Perth, of course, is a
great place for us to be able to bring across
the country a lot of both local at suppliers and
(17:53):
of course, some of our suppliers come across from the
other side of the country to be able to display
and exhibit a broad range of assistive technology for people
to come and try to view and see what's out
in the market, to look at all the new technology
also for allied health professionals as well, to be able
to again understand what's out in the market so they
(18:15):
can support people with disability in terms of any of
the assistive technology that they need. So for, um, your
cohort in particular, there will be exhibitors. In fact, Vision
Australia themselves will be at I'm not sure if they're
at Perth or they're definitely at Melbourne. We've got different
organisations that will have things like pens that can read
(18:39):
text on a page. We've got blind spots coming along
to show people the different sporting activities that they can do.
Things like vision tech that have amazing magnifiers for people
with low vision and need different types of equipment to
help them actually read lots of different activities. Our expos
are the biggest at expos in Australia, and it's really
(19:03):
great to be able to get along and see what's
out there, because you would be blown away by the
amount of new technology in the market, certainly.
S2 (19:11):
Yeah, those text to speech pens are incredible. I've heard
quite a lot about them now. Serena, what else can
people in Perth expect if they head along to the
Perth Expo? That would be unique perhaps to the Perth
event over the Melbourne one.
S4 (19:29):
Are now they would see an adaptive fashion show which
will happen on the Thursday afternoon. It's free to attend,
and I should say that so that everyone knows that
they can walk in the door. And if they pre-register,
they'll be entitled to get a free coffee when they
come in as well. Not unique, but really good to
know because everyone loves the tea or coffee halfway through
(19:51):
the day when they're getting tired and walking around. The
other thing I should let you know too, is that
I believe there are limited trains to the event as well,
so public transport is on hand for you to get there.
Unique to Perth will be quite a number of your
local suppliers and supports. So what we try to do
with all our expos is, as well as bringing together
(20:12):
the industry, is ensure that we can capture as many
of the local supports, the local market so that you
can link with people that you may not know but
are locally on the ground, can support you both at
the expo, but of course in your daily needs as well.
S2 (20:30):
Okay, wonderful. Now, Serena, let's have a bit of a
chat about the Melbourne Expo, which is taking place the
week after the Perth event.
S4 (20:41):
Yep. So Melbourne is happening on the 20th and 21st
of May. The Tuesday and Wednesday of the following week.
It's also at the Showgrounds, the Flemington Showgrounds in Melbourne.
It is our biggest expo of all the expos we
do across Australia. It is absolutely massive and we sell
out really quickly. We keep taking more and more space
(21:03):
and more and more exhibitors want space and it just
keeps getting bigger and bigger. So in Melbourne you can
expect to see the broadest range of equipment, home modifications online,
it um, automated information, pretty much anything and everything that
our industry provides.
S2 (21:24):
And I suppose similar to the Perth event, there's quite
a few unique businesses and organisations specific to Melbourne and
Victoria that will be appearing at the Melbourne Expo, but
what else can people expect if they head along?
S4 (21:42):
Yeah, there's a really big sports area in Melbourne, so
what they can see, there is a massive range of
different options for people that want to try out different
sporting events and activities. So things like pickleball, which has
become really popular again, I believe we'll have blind spots
(22:03):
on hand as well. I know that some of our expos,
and I have to be honest, I'm not 100% sure
of absolutely every different sporting event or group that will
be there. But we've seen things from basketball to rock
climbing to sailing to give people just the broadest range
of come and try events. So it's not only just
(22:23):
come and watch, but it's actually get in and give
things a go yourself as well.
S2 (22:27):
And Serena, I understand both expos will be featuring a
seminar program to educate the wider public about the various
assistive technologies that are available.
S4 (22:41):
Absolutely, Sam. Across all our expos, we run seminars throughout
both days at set times. Some of them are quite
focused for allied health and other professionals, but broadly, there'd
be quite a bit of interest for people to attend
any of those seminars. They're welcome to do so. Again,
(23:01):
they are also free, and you can find out what's
on by looking at either the programme on the day
when you get there, or by checking out the information
on the website that'll tell you about the different sessions
when they're running, where to find them, and decide whether
it's something you're interested in getting some understanding about.
S2 (23:19):
Just to wrap up, if people would like to find
out a bit more about assistive technology suppliers Australia, or
perhaps sign up to or register or pick up a
ticket to head along to these expos. What's the best
way for them to do that?
S4 (23:39):
Absolutely. So they can either go directly to our website
which is at dot org and that's at org, and
you can from there get into the ASA Independent Living
Expos via the events tab. And that will allow you
to jump on and register your attendance at any of
(24:02):
the events that we have. That registration, as I said,
is free for anybody to attend any of our expos.
And if you pre-register, gives you that free coffee or tea.
So recommend people doing that. Again our website is a.
S2 (24:20):
Perfect. I've been speaking today with Serena Ovens, CEO of
Assistive Technology Suppliers Australia. Here to chat to me about
the upcoming expos that will be involved with over the
month of May. Serena, thank you so much for your
time today. It was a pleasure to catch up with
(24:42):
you and chat about the Expos.
S4 (24:45):
Thanks, Sam. Really appreciate it and look forward to seeing
yourself and your Vision Australia members there.
S2 (24:56):
And now here's Frances Kalen with a radar recommended.
S5 (25:00):
Thank you Sam. Today's reader recommended is about a city.
It's a love song to a city and a memoir.
It's called Perth and it's by David Whish-wilson. David Whish-wilson.
Perth is a place of surprising beauty, of sand swept
peace and brilliant light, yet a place where the deeper
historical currents are never too far beneath the surface. Like
(25:21):
the Swan River that flows in two directions at once
at certain times, with the fresh water flowing seawards above
the salty water flowing in beneath it, Perth strikes perfect
harmony with the city's contradictions and eccentricities. We look beyond
the shiny glass facades, the boosterish talk of mining booms
to the richness of the natural world and the trailblazers,
(25:43):
the rebels, the occasional ghost and the ordinary people that
bring Australia's remotest city to life. Let's hear a sample
of David Whish-wilson book, Perth.
S6 (25:53):
Twice a Day. The skin of the Swan River rises
in a small ripple as the tidal surge makes its
way from the river mouth at Fremantle, through Perth Water,
and up into the higher reaches of the river near
the fast growing suburb of Ellenbrook. Just over 20km northeast
of Perth in winter, when a layer of brackish water
(26:14):
runs off the scarp towards the ocean, the river flows
in two directions, with the freshwater flowing seawards above the
saline water flowing in beneath it. Today, the diurnal bulge
of water that reveals the incoming tide is invisible. It's
a Sunday morning, and I'm out on the river in
an open kayak with my Uncle Scott. My father's youngest brother, Scott,
(26:40):
moved from Tasmania to Perth as a teenager in the 1970s.
Like so many others, he stayed for the climate and
the lifestyle and the opportunity to work.
S5 (26:50):
So that was Perth by David Whish-wilson. There was a
series of books by writers that wrote about the city
that they grew up in, and so there's ones for
all of the capital cities around Australia. If you would
like that book, or if you would like to find
out more about how the Vision Australia Library can work
for you. If you have a print disability, give the
(27:11):
library a call on 130654656. That's 1300Â 654Â 656. Or you can
email library at Vision Australia. Org. That's library at Vision Australia.
S2 (27:26):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
So please get in touch anytime on our email at
Talking Vision at Vision Australia. That's talking vision all. One
(27:51):
word at Vision Australia dot. But until next week it's
Sam Corley saying bye for now.
S1 (28:01):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 74
six or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
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