WEBVTT - For Simon, For the Ones Still Standing | Tracie Lund - 909 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:07.480 She said, it's now never I got fighting in my blood. 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.479 I'm tiff. This is Roll with the Punches and we're 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:17.119 turning life's hardest hits into wins. Nobody wants to go 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:21.120 to court, and don't. My friends are test Art Family Lawyers. 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:25.160 Know that they offer all forms of alternative dispute resolution. 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:29.240 Their team of Melbourne family lawyers have extensive experience in 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:32.960 all areas of family law to facto and same sex couples, 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:37.280 custody and children, family violence and intervention orders, property settlements 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:41.680 and financial agreements. Test Art is in your corner, so 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:45.440 reach out to Mark and the team at www dot 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:53.440 test Artfamilylawyers dot com dot au. Tracy Lund, welcome to 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:54.720 Roll with the Punches. 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:57.320 The're going Ticknye. It's good to be here. 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:01.240 Thank you for coming on. I appreciate it. I wish 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.240 that I could have my usual tone of excitement, and 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.600 I wish that I could say I've been excited about this, 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.200 I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to making 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:16.000 a difference. But you popped up on my LinkedIn feed 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:17.920 the other day with stuff I didn't want to have 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:18.560 to be reading. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:24.319 Yeah, and I am sorry that I did that to you. 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:33.000 Our family is facing some really significant trauma that the 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:38.560 news for us was catastrophic that my husband is has 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:42.039 been diagnosed with stage four esophagal cancer that has spread 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.760 throughout his body. So we are at the moment on 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:50.600 very very limited time, you know, maybe weeks left with Simon. 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:54.800 And I would just say to your listeners, you know, 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:59.320 I know there's so many people out there experiencing supporting 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:04.280 loved ones that are terminally ill, and I just my 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.440 heart goes out to them, and you know, it's a 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:14.120 big emotional rollercoaster. In our case. Simon has worked for 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:18.200 the CFA for over twenty five nearly twenty six years. 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:20.519 Actually I think it is twenty six years. I could 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:23.200 have that day slightly wrong. It's been a long time 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:27.840 and quord of a century, yeah, as sweet a long time. 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:32.760 And the reason you did see that post is not 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.639 because that we were wanting to make any announcements about 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.080 Simon's condition. In fact, for the last seven odd months, 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.200 we have kept it very close and very to us. 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:48.079 It's a deeply personal journey and the very last thing 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:51.120 that we wanted for our family and our children and 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:54.840 the limited time that we had together was to be 0:02:54.960 --> 0:03:02.320 discussing Simon's condition publicly. As we've moved through, I guess 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:07.519 the processes that are involved when somebody is exposed at 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:11.920 work and has a you know, I guess a workplace injury. 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.519 We you know, we've been working through quite a lot 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:19.000 of things and one of the things that has come up, 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.640 and I guess in some ways, we you know, we are, 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:26.359 we're aware, but not actually understanding the implications of the legislation. 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:30.200 And that's presumptive legislation that I'm talking about, and who 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:35.480 it does and who it doesn't cover. So what we 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:40.280 are the presumptive legislation as it stands now covers fire, 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.800 firefighters and dmos, and that means that the bitterment of 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.080 proof is already there that you know, if they have 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:50.200 one of those cancers that is under that legislation, that 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:55.280 it is given that they were they were exposed at 0:03:55.280 --> 0:04:00.320 work or during their their working time. Assimon's title isn't 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:05.680 firefighter or demo. He predominantly works in logistics and he 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.520 so you know, he is frontline. So CFA staff that 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:15.040 are given movement orders to get to attend incidents become frontline. 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:16.520 They are on the front line and they have the 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:22.640 same exposure as our firefighters and our demos. But and 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:23.560 they work as one. 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:26.520 So the what DMO stands for. 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:32.400 District Mechanical Officer so and they were added about two 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:36.280 years ago to the legislation. So what's become obvious is 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.880 that there is a glaring gap in the legislation that 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:44.440 doesn't cover CFA staff who are frontline, who are and 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:47.880 I'll use the term operational, who become operational during those 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:50.800 emergencies that we have and we know, you know, just 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:56.119 in Victoria, there's been so many that we have had 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:00.640 responding to fires and big incidents that us quite a 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:05.960 long time. So there's a number of staffing roles that 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:11.520 are there and that are required to support those incidents 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.719 to happen. Those you know, they're logistic pieces and we 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:18.160 can't do it, you know, you can't have those responses 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:23.440 without them. So a motto in the among the emergency 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:27.200 services is we work as one. So you know, we 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.880 work as one, and I keep reflecting on that. So 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:33.560 we do work as one, and they do, they absolutely do. 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.480 So the agencies all come together and all parts of 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.120 them come together to respond to incidents like we see 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:42.920 black Saturday Black. Some are you know, all of them, 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:48.120 but they're not covered as one under the legislation, and 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.480 that has been the I guess the take home piece 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:55.800 for us that we as a family feel really deeply 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:58.320 strongly about that needs to be addressed and needs to 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:02.880 be changed because it change the outcome for Simon and 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:06.599 myself and my family, but families that come after us 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:09.240 and staff that come after us, and there will be 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:13.120 people that will be exposed and will be find themselves 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:19.000 with terminal illnesses or lifelong health issues because of their work, 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:22.520 because of their frontline response, that will not be covered. 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.799 And so we want to change that. And Simon knows 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.640 that this is a legacy piece and it's a piece 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:34.800 that he's probably not going to see happen, but we 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.880 have committed as a family to raise awareness about it, 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.760 to ensure our community understands it, because even being in 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.880 the services as long as we have, we probably didn't 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:50.960 have that broader understanding of the implications of some being 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.719 covered and some not under the presumptive legislation. But we 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:59.640 do now. And when you know something's wrong, you know 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:02.960 you you know you do do what you can to 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:07.520 improve it or change that. So we're committed to raising 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:12.440 awareness and ultimately having the legislation amended to address this 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.440 gap so that frontline CFA. Sed UP are covered. 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:19.840 Ah okay, can we. 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:23.080 It's a lot soide. 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:29.240 Oh, so much running through my mind and so much 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:32.480 kind of emotion like this I'm processing so much, but 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:39.320 also processing perhaps for the sake of myself and those 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:44.480 of us who aren't familiar with one the legislation for 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:48.880 frontline workers and policies and people like even just like 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:52.160 part of me was going, what what you can be 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:54.920 a fight? You can go and be a the amazing 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:58.640 heroic fireman and you and you might get a terminal illness. 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.640 Like that's a thing, and that's the thing that people 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:03.800 know about. So that's a thing that has something in 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:07.520 place for some people, Like, so can you explain what's 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.640 in place and how it's protecting people and then who 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:11.480 it's leaving out. 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:16.200 So I think it was back in twenty nineteen we 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:20.080 had the introduction of presumptive legislation, and that means that 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:25.080 there's a number of cancers and illnesses that are considered 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:29.480 job related exposure. So if you know, if you if 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:34.120 you're a firefighter and you find yourself with one of 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:39.120 those diseases. You know, it's automatically covered. So what that 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:42.560 means is that you don't then have the burden of proof. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:44.800 And this is very you know, very much my simplified 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.760 version of this. I'm not a lawyer or anything, so 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:50.160 I just want to don't take I don't want any 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:53.240 of your viewers to think that that's what I'm speaking from, 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:56.560 because I'm not. It's just a wife's experience of this. 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:02.520 That means that the burden of proof is not on you. 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:07.160 It's just accepted that that was a result of the 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:10.240 exposure of the carcinogens that you've breathed in during your 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:16.360 time of responding to incidences, so a smoke related and 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:22.240 toxic because that's what happens. That's part of your role. 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:26.520 And if you are a DMO, a district mechanical officer, 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:29.360 and a firefighter, then you won't have that burden of 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.320 proof if you're not. And so in the case of 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:38.800 Simon his PTA staff IT technical support, he goes out 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:41.480 onto staging grounds and sets you know, sets up the 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:44.880 staging grounds and the it IT systems, things like that, 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:49.640 and he goes in and out of different exposures during 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:53.360 various incidents and when he gets a movement order. So 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.400 for example, when we had the mind fire here back 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.840 in twenty fourteen, Simon sent up the incident Control Center 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:03.760 at the mine and moved at two different times before 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:07.720 it was moved into to realganized CC in Church dreat 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:11.560 and Terraalgen, So there's significant exposure there for example. So 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.280 because he's not one of those two roles, what it 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:18.360 meant was that we have to work through a work 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:22.480 safe sorry, we have to work through a work cover 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:26.600 claim and that means the burden of proof is then 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:31.680 on Simon to prove that he during his employment he 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.920 has been exposed. So you know, it's things like getting 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.840 together like pay slips, movement orders like there's you know, 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:40.720 there's a body of information that has to be presented. 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:45.520 So that for us was something we worked through and 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:48.120 we were able to do, but it costs us precious 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.760 time and it meant when he was ADDIE's most vulnerable 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.240 and most done well, we were trying to pull together 0:10:55.360 --> 0:11:00.840 documentation that was required for the work cover process. So 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:04.600 what we would like to see is the CEFA staff 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:08.720 that are frontline, that have movement orders that go to 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:13.559 incidences and if there is exposure that is recorded, and 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.800 they do find themselves in a situation like you. We 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:20.439 are that the burden of proof is not on them 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.839 like that, because it's it's quite a lot of work 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:28.800 to backtrack through twenty five years of work to remember 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:30.960 we you know, the mean work out we were and 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:37.040 put all that information together and it's actually having gone 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:39.600 through it's a burden that you shouldn't have to carry 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:44.080 when you're already dealing with what is a life changing 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:48.160 event for your entire family and you are supporting somebody 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:53.439 that is terminally ill and will pass away. The enormity 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:56.959 of the emotions and the rollercoaster our family has been 0:11:56.960 --> 0:12:03.880 on cannot be underestimated. And it's such a like I 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:08.640 can't tell you when we found out you know, what 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:11.920 his illness was, and how sick he was going to get, 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.840 and how very little time that we had this is 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:20.880 a very aggressive cancer. It just took my breath away. 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:27.120 And the sense of helplessness around a diagnosis like this 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:32.840 is so compounding in your life. But then to have 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:40.000 to somehow manage yourself and your family and get all 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:43.920 these documents together and go through this process that you know, 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:46.000 and as we got through it. You know, we started, 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.559 I started to really look at that. You know, if 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:53.040 he was a firefighter, we wouldn't have to do all that, like, 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:56.160 we wouldn't have all this burden as well. And I 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:59.760 think the gap is dangerously out of step with community 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:04.320 expectations as well as people understand the role of our 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:09.080 frontline and emergency responders and the exposure they have in 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:13.240 their day to day jobs to protect us. And you know, 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:16.320 we're seeing more and more incidents happen with climate change. 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:20.920 You know, these fires and emergency situations that we are 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:25.040 having are lasting longer, are happening more often, so there's 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:29.880 more exposure than ever before. And I think that as 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:34.440 a whole, as a community, as a society, we need 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.000 our frontline workers, and we need every single one of them, 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.200 but we also need to ensure that they're valued equally 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:42.640 and they are supported equally. And I think for me, 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.440 that is a glaring gap, and it's something that we 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.480 can and we will fix. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.840 I don't even know how you are holding it together 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:58.280 right now in this moment talking about it and also 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.200 right now in your life dealing with it. 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:08.760 So I'm not really Tiffany. I'll tell you that I 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:11.880 I do have a public profile, and I do a 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.480 lot of frontline work and have for a very long time. 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:21.760 And over that decade or more, I've I've you know, 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.880 developed skills around speaking around what I'm probably not that 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:30.480 great today, pretty good our you know, issues that are 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:36.000 important to our community, social justice issues, and I've always 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.760 had that level of distance, if that makes sense, is 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.640 that you know, it's not always you know, apart from 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.400 this time, it's not necessarily happening to me or to 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:49.920 my family. So one of the reasons that has taken 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.840 us a while to I guess sort of bring this 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:57.240 to a more public light is because there was it 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.800 was such a heavy load for our entire family that 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.880 it took us a number of months to work through 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.080 and get to a point that we could publicly speak 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:14.560 about one what was happening, and to the legislation, you know, 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.360 the pieces around the legislation and what that looks like. 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:20.200 Because for us and for as a family, and that 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:24.360 you know, as you know Simon and I as life partners, 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:29.200 I'll just share something maybe funny, but you know it's 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:32.480 like when we first met all those years ago, we 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:36.520 probably shouldn't have stayed together. We were absolutely polar opposites, 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:38.880 So you know that song and it was around at 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:42.240 the time when we were dating. It was polar Abdul 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:44.600 opposites attract and it was you know, he liked to 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:47.400 smoke and she doesn't, and he likes he's noisy and 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:49.240 she's quite well that was us, and that was kind 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.000 of our It's like like this song was made about us. 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:58.120 You drive me crazy and very For such a long time, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.600 we were you know, as a very young you know, 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.520 early twenties, we were sort of we always you know, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:06.840 I guess we're sort of that pull and push of 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:11.360 you know, differences that we had, and I think many 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:14.880 couples experienced that. And then over time and I can't 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:19.280 tell you when, but at some point we started to 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:22.320 look at what we had in common rather than what 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:25.600 was what we didn't like about each other or how 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:29.640 we were opposite. And the one thing that I think 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:33.280 has made our relationship really strong, and certainly the work 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:38.600 that we've done across both of our careers was our 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:44.400 desire to respond to social justice issues in a service response. 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:48.000 So Simon has stayed and worked at the CFA, and 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.080 he's done an incredible amount of work. I can tell 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:54.040 you now, the CFA brothers and sisters that have reached 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:58.920 out from across the state has been like, yeah, it's 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.600 just been overwhelming. So many people know him, so many 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:07.280 people know his work. He's interacted with an enormous amount 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:13.200 of people and had really positive influence engagement in some 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:19.119 place change supported work. It's just been I actually knew 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:23.159 that he was well known and well supported, but you know, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:28.640 to find out how big that is, it's just blown 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.720 us all the way. And then support locally from our 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:36.479 local brigades and local people is you know, second tan 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.040 on it. It's been absolutely phenomenal. And then for me, 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.280 my work has been around grassroots response in the Enabled 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:49.240 House and I guess being quite vocal around what happened 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:53.320 at the mind Fire and escalating that as a health 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:57.400 disaster that was impacting our community. And we still see 0:17:57.400 --> 0:17:59.439 the legacy of you know, we see the legacy of 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:03.560 that today. So it ended up being the common ground 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:08.359 the service and the social justice responses and the need 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.280 to respond was what we had in common. It wasn't 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:13.239 the fact that he liked the TV loud and I 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:16.840 liked it low and he's you know, you know, it 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.840 was just you know, he liked to dance and I didn't. 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.159 And you know, he's far more of an extrovert and 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:24.320 I'm more of an introvert. I'm just thinking of the 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:26.159 words of the songs. There was a whole bunch in 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:29.119 that song. I'd have to play it again, but of opposites, 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:31.199 and I don't know. Over the years, and as you 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.000 get older and you start to appreciate different things about 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.760 your partner and then realize it's actually not the differences, 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.680 is my point. It's the you know, and you might 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.600 only have a few common threads, but they are the 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:46.440 powerful things that bring you back home to each other 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.080 each night, and that you open the bottle of wine 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.040 and you talk about your day, and you work out, 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.920 and you map out what's next, and you know that 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.680 person that's in your corner. And it's because of that 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:04.880 that rounding of you know, of that belief that we've 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:10.760 had around social justice issues being kinder, you know, there 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:12.480 has to be a kinder in a better way, and 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:18.080 our commitment to service and to serve. Yeah, so and 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:22.000 that's something you know, we've certainly been reflecting on a lot, 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:26.440 and we think we really both believe strongly that that 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:29.320 is what we'll get this legislation change because we are 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.959 committed to it, and we will just keep going, you know, 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:36.800 until we get it changed and we raise awareness around 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:41.479 what it actually looks like for staff that have movement 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:44.840 orders that are then out in the field and then 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:48.800 our front line at times when our state needs them 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:49.280 the most. 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:56.919 It's twenty nineteen feels so recent for a change like 0:19:57.000 --> 0:19:59.320 that as well. Like when you said twenty nineteen, I'm like, 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:00.600 that was you yesterday. 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:07.440 Look, look I guess I'm not really I won't. I 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:11.120 won't be across. I know that that was certainly a 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:15.400 push during the fire services reform. I'm not across you know, 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:20.800 the detail or and there would be reasons why that 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:25.600 it was firefighters to start with, and then later DMOS 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:30.240 the district mechanical offices have been added, but it falls 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:33.080 short in covering the people that are needed on the 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:36.879 front line to actually, you know, support our community, our 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.639 great state when it needs it the most. There are 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:43.520 so many pieces to those operational works, and like I 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.080 said that, we work as one. You know, we hear 0:20:46.119 --> 0:20:48.719 that a lot, and certainly am I work on the 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.040 fringes of this, you know, I've heard that a lot 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:54.280 over the last decade or more. And I couldn't help 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:57.399 but think, but we're not covered as one. You know, 0:20:57.520 --> 0:21:00.439 we work as one, we are needed, we're all needed 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:04.760 as one, but we're you know where the legislation treats 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:08.119 some workers differently, and we need to fix that. 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:11.320 It's a tough pill to swallow because, like as you 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:15.040 were describing it, I was processing and thinking about it, 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:19.600 and it's like it it's not like a work cover 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:22.240 thing where I'll make and break his leg in footy 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:24.560 and be like, oh, just wruck and I'll work cover. 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:29.800 You know, it's like and numbers I wouldn't imagine in 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:34.199 statistically are enormous that some bloody work cover place is 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:36.000 going to be out of pocket for the whole thing. Like, 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:40.679 but people are slipping through the cracks and it's not fair. 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:44.320 Oh no, they definitely are. And I think that's the thing. 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:48.080 You know, if you know, if we look at a 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:50.199 work cover claim and it isn't like you described that, 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:52.280 you may have broken a leg or you know, you 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:54.959 know and I don't, you know, it is there as 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:59.720 a safety net to support workers when injuries and accidents happen, 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:03.080 and you know, it's absolutely should be but what we're 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:07.479 talking about in terms of terminal illnesses and exposure to 0:22:07.600 --> 0:22:13.080 carcinogens and toxic smoke things like that. You know, it's 0:22:13.240 --> 0:22:15.160 very hard for me to wrap my head around how 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:20.000 that is. You know, how you navigate that well through 0:22:20.000 --> 0:22:22.720 a work cover claim as well. And it's been it's 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:26.600 been really tricky. So and I probably you know, am 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:29.320 not keen to sort of talk about or unpack that 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:31.280 too much because you know, it's a whole web that 0:22:31.320 --> 0:22:36.119 we you know, it's probably too complicated for me to 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:40.440 go into. So the safe that safety net is there, 0:22:40.640 --> 0:22:43.000 but you still have then the burden of proof. So 0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:45.760 it's then not like I fell off the ladder and 0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:47.360 broke my leg and do you know what I mean 0:22:47.359 --> 0:22:51.400 on Wednesday and this is what happened, and my coworker 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:55.760 called an ambulance and exposure like these and cancel cancers 0:22:55.800 --> 0:23:02.560 like these take a very long time you develop in 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:03.880 your body, do you know what I mean? Like it's 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:05.919 not like you were at an incident and then the 0:23:05.960 --> 0:23:09.199 next day you have a cancer, and you know, like 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:12.639 they take such a long time to come out. So 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:16.960 being able to track all your records and where you've 0:23:16.960 --> 0:23:19.960 been and you know we I mean, I'm guilty of it. 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:21.280 You know, you just go to work and you do 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:26.840 your thing. I don't necessarily track every thing I've got 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:29.600 to do in the day, eat like that, and certainly 0:23:29.640 --> 0:23:32.320 with my you know, I wouldn't be looking at it going, oh, 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:34.000 I must you know, I must make sure I write 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:35.840 that down and where I've been and you know, and 0:23:36.200 --> 0:23:37.600 do all that in case I need it in ten 0:23:37.680 --> 0:23:42.000 years time, you know, because you're off doing your work, 0:23:42.040 --> 0:23:45.000 like there's an assumption that you are covered and looked after. 0:23:47.200 --> 0:23:49.240 But you know, it's a different I guess it's you know, 0:23:49.720 --> 0:23:52.439 it's it's a very different process to then have to 0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:55.560 track that amount of time and work to prove exposure 0:23:56.480 --> 0:24:00.920 as opposed to a single incident. Yeah that has happened. 0:24:00.960 --> 0:24:07.080 So it's I think, you know, for us, we're really 0:24:07.359 --> 0:24:09.879 we're really committed to raising the awareness and it has 0:24:09.960 --> 0:24:14.600 given us a purpose, if that makes any sense. Sometimes 0:24:14.600 --> 0:24:19.199 when I say it to go as then like we 0:24:19.320 --> 0:24:22.399 have no control over what is happening to us and 0:24:22.440 --> 0:24:26.840 what will happen. Simon will lose this battle, and he 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:31.879 will lose it soon, you know, in weeks, maybe maybe 0:24:32.040 --> 0:24:34.080 a month or two, if we're lucky, but you know, 0:24:34.160 --> 0:24:39.240 he's very, very sick. But having something that we can 0:24:39.359 --> 0:24:42.480 focus on and a purpose for change is really really 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:48.800 important for our family, and it's important for our healing journey, 0:24:48.960 --> 0:24:53.640 but most importantly, it's vital for the people that come 0:24:53.680 --> 0:24:57.359 after us. Like it won't make any difference for us, 0:24:58.440 --> 0:25:03.040 but I think I would can reconcile some of this 0:25:04.400 --> 0:25:08.560 in my heart when I and when this legislation is changed, 0:25:08.600 --> 0:25:12.560 when I know that you know, we've improved the safety 0:25:12.600 --> 0:25:17.040 net for workers after us, Can. 0:25:16.960 --> 0:25:19.600 I ask what it's like. I'm feel free not to 0:25:19.640 --> 0:25:23.280 answer any questions. I ask, really, but what's it like 0:25:23.440 --> 0:25:28.560 to sit in the middle and and process what you 0:25:28.680 --> 0:25:31.080 know you're in the middle of and when you know 0:25:31.240 --> 0:25:38.240 you don't even have the time to really process within 0:25:38.280 --> 0:25:41.160 the time that you've been given, Like it feels so 0:25:41.320 --> 0:25:43.560 enormous to me, I can't even wrap my mind around. 0:25:44.440 --> 0:25:48.040 Oh. Look, I when he was first diagnosed, I think 0:25:48.080 --> 0:25:53.439 I lost a month. I probably lost longer, but I 0:25:53.560 --> 0:26:03.159 was just constantly in this state of that. I'm gonna sorry, sorry, 0:26:05.080 --> 0:26:12.320 just dread. Why what does this look like? And I 0:26:12.359 --> 0:26:19.840 can't even now talk about how it was when we 0:26:19.880 --> 0:26:22.600 had to how difficult it was to tell the kids 0:26:24.320 --> 0:26:27.679 and that I have so many unknowns around. It was 0:26:28.040 --> 0:26:33.640 just it was the hardest thing we have ever had 0:26:33.640 --> 0:26:39.600 to do as a couple as parents, and just their 0:26:39.600 --> 0:26:47.560 physical reaction, Oh my god when we told so not 0:26:47.640 --> 0:26:53.280 just even the emotional but you know, just watching them 0:26:53.359 --> 0:27:01.280 just fall to the ground. So mostly I'm together, and 0:27:01.280 --> 0:27:07.440 mostly I'm not. But it's it's just a it's been 0:27:07.440 --> 0:27:12.479 a rollercoaster of really strong, heightened emotions and some times 0:27:12.480 --> 0:27:16.520 where you know, I know, for me, like sometimes I'm 0:27:16.560 --> 0:27:20.159 really focused on something, like when I focus on the 0:27:20.280 --> 0:27:26.199 legislation change, I can you know, it gives me something 0:27:26.320 --> 0:27:31.399 concrete to work on. It means my brain's not going, 0:27:31.720 --> 0:27:34.480 you know, in other places, and I can get out 0:27:34.520 --> 0:27:39.240 of bed. And then other days it just feels like 0:27:39.280 --> 0:27:41.159 I can't get out of bed and I'm not going 0:27:41.200 --> 0:27:47.000 to be able to function today. And They're closer, it 0:27:47.080 --> 0:27:50.399 gets to the end, and the sicker Simon's becoming, the 0:27:50.480 --> 0:27:53.679 harder it is to keep it all together because you 0:27:53.760 --> 0:28:00.840 know what's happening and what what's going to happen, and 0:28:00.880 --> 0:28:03.800 he's so young, you know, he's fifty six. It just 0:28:03.840 --> 0:28:07.840 seems like any couples out there and parents out there 0:28:07.880 --> 0:28:10.560 that are in their fifties and their kids are in 0:28:10.600 --> 0:28:13.480 their late teens and early twenties. You're kind of getting 0:28:13.520 --> 0:28:17.359 into your groove, you know, like the kids are really 0:28:17.400 --> 0:28:20.400 independent and they're finding their own way in life, and 0:28:20.720 --> 0:28:23.560 you know, we were starting to carve out time for 0:28:23.600 --> 0:28:27.120 ourselves in different ways, and you know, look at our 0:28:27.119 --> 0:28:31.959 careers differently, and you know, look at the future, you know, 0:28:32.040 --> 0:28:38.080 and all of that is gone, like and how we 0:28:40.600 --> 0:28:43.360 support our children through that has you know, has been 0:28:43.400 --> 0:28:51.080 our primary primary concern, alongside supporting Simon's health journey. So 0:28:51.160 --> 0:28:53.840 it's been a lot, and it's meant that I've had 0:28:53.840 --> 0:28:56.240 to you know, I've made decisions about I've taken some 0:28:56.320 --> 0:29:00.280 time off work and I'm reducing my workload, you know, 0:29:00.320 --> 0:29:02.160 so that i can do all the things that I 0:29:02.200 --> 0:29:05.880 need to do for my family, and part about time 0:29:06.000 --> 0:29:10.160 to ensure that I can work on having this legislation change, 0:29:10.200 --> 0:29:13.200 because for me, that is the real it's the only 0:29:13.240 --> 0:29:16.000 thing that will make any sense out of this whole, sorry, 0:29:17.880 --> 0:29:23.080 awful thing that we are experiencing, and that is life changing. 0:29:23.160 --> 0:29:25.880 Like we will lose I'll lose my life partner, the 0:29:25.960 --> 0:29:31.000 kids are going to lose their father and it's I 0:29:31.080 --> 0:29:34.400 don't know, you know, I always I've heard stories where 0:29:34.440 --> 0:29:42.200 people have lost significant family members and the impact that 0:29:42.280 --> 0:29:46.240 has had and the grieving process and how unfair it is. 0:29:46.280 --> 0:29:47.960 And you see it all the time in the news 0:29:47.960 --> 0:29:52.480 when people are just ripped out away from us, you know, 0:29:52.600 --> 0:29:56.959 in cruel, unimaginable ways, or they've been dealing with illnesses, 0:29:59.120 --> 0:30:04.720 you know, And I you always look at those situations 0:30:04.760 --> 0:30:07.360 with your heart open and you can't even imagine what 0:30:07.360 --> 0:30:12.280 it feels like to be there. And I guess that's 0:30:12.320 --> 0:30:15.000 the way I viewed it until it was until it's 0:30:15.080 --> 0:30:17.160 you and then one day, because one day it will 0:30:18.000 --> 0:30:22.920 be you. So trying to make any sense of it 0:30:22.960 --> 0:30:26.040 to us has been really about what we can change? 0:30:26.840 --> 0:30:27.840 Does that make sense? 0:30:27.960 --> 0:30:32.280 Like it does? I met you at in Gippsland. 0:30:31.760 --> 0:30:36.480 Right, yeah, So I had the girls with hammers with yeah, Karen, Yeah. 0:30:36.480 --> 0:30:39.880 And what I can't what And this is this is 0:30:39.880 --> 0:30:41.680 the reality of the stuff I talk about. And I 0:30:41.720 --> 0:30:47.040 feel like this is an example of an example, a 0:30:47.120 --> 0:30:49.600 made up example. This is a real life example of 0:30:49.600 --> 0:30:52.680 something I've said along a lot, which is like here 0:30:52.720 --> 0:30:54.600 we are in this room that Girls with Hammers a 0:30:54.640 --> 0:30:58.640 couple of years ago, and I remember being moved to 0:30:58.720 --> 0:31:04.400 tears hearing this the story from Kate Gail and her 0:31:04.560 --> 0:31:08.640 daughter and her turning up with that second bout of leukemia, 0:31:08.760 --> 0:31:13.120 and this gut wrenching story of you know, and you're 0:31:13.160 --> 0:31:15.840 in the audience, and I'm in the audience, and then 0:31:16.520 --> 0:31:19.120 now we're here, and it's like, we never know, like 0:31:19.160 --> 0:31:21.440 you said, we never know, it's never going to be us, 0:31:21.480 --> 0:31:24.200 and then it's us. And I often say to people, 0:31:24.240 --> 0:31:27.840 I say, we have these conversations and I host them 0:31:27.840 --> 0:31:31.400 and I listen, but I don't know what's happening in 0:31:31.440 --> 0:31:34.240 my life or my body. I don't know what tomorrow. 0:31:34.400 --> 0:31:36.360 I don't know if there's going to be an accident tomorrow. 0:31:36.520 --> 0:31:39.440 I don't know if there's something already in my world 0:31:39.440 --> 0:31:43.800 that I have not been aware of yet. And it's 0:31:43.840 --> 0:31:47.120 hard to fathom. And when you're faced with it, like 0:31:47.160 --> 0:31:53.200 I feel so sad and confronted by having that thought 0:31:53.320 --> 0:31:55.160 and this conversation right now. 0:31:56.960 --> 0:32:03.280 Yeah, I feel that because I have the same issue, 0:32:03.440 --> 0:32:06.760 like the same experience. When I'm at work. It's that 0:32:06.960 --> 0:32:10.160 I will hear and be a part of somebody's story 0:32:10.240 --> 0:32:12.320 for a very you know, for a short time, sometimes 0:32:12.320 --> 0:32:16.200 a longer time, and I walk beside them in that 0:32:16.240 --> 0:32:21.200 and I always, you know, just feel so strongly around 0:32:21.240 --> 0:32:24.040 what you know, they are experiencing. But I can never 0:32:24.640 --> 0:32:31.800 put myself in that same situation of how deeply painful 0:32:31.840 --> 0:32:36.280 it is. And you know, I mean, you know, and 0:32:36.320 --> 0:32:40.560 we can be quite well meaning, you know, to you know, 0:32:40.640 --> 0:32:43.640 in our support, but we'll never really understand what it's 0:32:44.120 --> 0:32:49.080 like until it is happening to you. And I think 0:32:49.360 --> 0:32:53.160 over the last few years, there's been a number of 0:32:53.200 --> 0:32:55.640 things that have happened in our lives sort of that 0:32:55.720 --> 0:33:01.080 has really made me realize how finite our time is. 0:33:02.360 --> 0:33:04.880 You know. A couple of years ago, my best friend 0:33:04.920 --> 0:33:06.760 was killed in a car accident, and it was like 0:33:06.840 --> 0:33:10.160 she was literally there one day and then gone the next, 0:33:10.240 --> 0:33:15.760 and I, you know, we didn't have, you know, those goodbyes, 0:33:16.000 --> 0:33:20.640 you didn't like she was just cruelly taken. And that 0:33:20.800 --> 0:33:24.440 took me such a long time to work through. And 0:33:24.520 --> 0:33:29.760 so when Simon was diagnosed, the one thing that we 0:33:30.440 --> 0:33:32.760 I guess hung on to at the time is that 0:33:32.800 --> 0:33:37.440 we we had time to say our goodbyes, We had 0:33:37.480 --> 0:33:41.520 time to do the things that we wanted to do 0:33:41.600 --> 0:33:44.720 with our family and prepare our family the best we 0:33:44.800 --> 0:33:50.120 can and I and that is just really around the practicalities, 0:33:50.200 --> 0:33:54.320 like there is no preparing for the waves of grief 0:33:55.000 --> 0:33:57.240 that will be the tsunami in our lives, but you 0:33:57.280 --> 0:34:02.080 know the practicalities of what we could do to we've 0:34:02.200 --> 0:34:05.760 done so in very much contrast to what happened to 0:34:05.800 --> 0:34:10.719 my friend where she was just ripped promise. So it 0:34:10.800 --> 0:34:15.319 has given us that time and that is something you know, 0:34:15.360 --> 0:34:19.520 both Simon and I are we're extremely grateful for because 0:34:19.560 --> 0:34:22.040 you don't know when it's going to be ripped from you. 0:34:22.600 --> 0:34:27.480 And he's certainly allowed him time to look at what 0:34:27.680 --> 0:34:30.319 he wants his legacy to be, which is part of 0:34:30.320 --> 0:34:35.000 this conversation today now where if he had a terrible 0:34:35.040 --> 0:34:37.600 accident and he was just taken from us, we wouldn't 0:34:37.600 --> 0:34:41.440 have ever been able to work through the things that 0:34:41.440 --> 0:34:44.200 we've been able to now or have the time that 0:34:44.239 --> 0:34:48.279 we have had. So we have been very clear that 0:34:48.360 --> 0:34:51.239 we don't have a lot of time and it's a 0:34:51.280 --> 0:34:54.239 finite piece for us, and we needed to do and 0:34:54.880 --> 0:35:00.000 be everything that we wanted to see in the next time. 0:35:00.000 --> 0:35:02.239 Twenty years it all happened to happen now, and we 0:35:02.360 --> 0:35:05.120 had to support our family and make sure our children 0:35:05.200 --> 0:35:07.359 had the wrap arounds that they're going to need. And 0:35:07.400 --> 0:35:10.000 so we have been able to do that, and we 0:35:10.040 --> 0:35:14.120 are really really grateful, but having the experience of both 0:35:14.880 --> 0:35:17.960 the other flip side of having time. And I'm not 0:35:18.000 --> 0:35:22.360 sure if this all makes sense to your listeners, and 0:35:22.920 --> 0:35:25.520 it may, and I've tried to unpack this a little bit. 0:35:27.160 --> 0:35:29.600 Is as much as we have loved time, we've also 0:35:29.960 --> 0:35:35.560 hated it because we know we don't like it's every 0:35:35.680 --> 0:35:40.480 day we are living on the edge, and that the 0:35:41.120 --> 0:35:44.120 neutral part. I was so grateful We've at least got time. 0:35:44.239 --> 0:35:46.239 You know, some people don't get time. We've at least 0:35:46.280 --> 0:35:48.480 got that. And people have said that to me and 0:35:48.680 --> 0:35:53.120 well meaning, but as I've got through that time's also 0:35:53.200 --> 0:35:58.760 our enemy and it is live trauma every day knowing 0:35:58.760 --> 0:36:00.680 that you get up and you don't know is today 0:36:02.200 --> 0:36:04.799 is today? When it changes, is today the end? You know? 0:36:04.800 --> 0:36:07.560 How much do I have to fit in today? And 0:36:07.600 --> 0:36:12.040 the trauma of that now has become a really big 0:36:12.080 --> 0:36:16.880 piece in our lives is that, you know, Simon hanging on, 0:36:17.239 --> 0:36:19.000 trying to hang on as long as he can. He 0:36:19.080 --> 0:36:21.240 wants to be here, and he is fighting and fighting, 0:36:21.239 --> 0:36:24.000 but the trauma of what that looks like on his body, 0:36:24.080 --> 0:36:27.919 on his health, on the family is also plays out 0:36:28.040 --> 0:36:31.040 and when it you know, and it will be abruptly 0:36:31.160 --> 0:36:35.440 taken from us. So time isn't our friend? Does that 0:36:35.480 --> 0:36:39.000 make I'm sort makes it perfect? Kind of like this, 0:36:39.440 --> 0:36:44.040 you know, we're grateful, but and we absolutely are, but 0:36:44.080 --> 0:36:46.680 there's this other side of it that is actually enemy 0:36:46.760 --> 0:36:47.479 at the same time. 0:36:47.880 --> 0:36:51.239 Yeah, it's a it's a prison, it's a gift in 0:36:51.280 --> 0:36:56.000 a prison. And the reality is it's not just it's 0:36:56.040 --> 0:37:00.839 not just a ticking clock. It's a deteriorating clock where 0:37:00.880 --> 0:37:02.560 his quality of life goes down. 0:37:02.680 --> 0:37:05.239 His quality of life is going down as well. Yeah, 0:37:05.360 --> 0:37:06.439 that's exactly right. 0:37:06.600 --> 0:37:09.399 There'll be that confronting moment where you're like, at what 0:37:09.440 --> 0:37:13.399 point is like, it's it's just hard. I had an 0:37:13.480 --> 0:37:21.640 auntie that passed from leukemia and her last you know, weeks, 0:37:21.760 --> 0:37:25.680 months and weeks were really hard to watch, really hard. 0:37:27.280 --> 0:37:30.600 And then you're on this fine. You know, it's a 0:37:30.680 --> 0:37:34.759 roll of the dice because you you just don't know 0:37:34.760 --> 0:37:36.600 when that number is going to come up, that it's 0:37:36.640 --> 0:37:40.520 going to be today. You know, so that has been 0:37:40.840 --> 0:37:44.680 you know, it's a gift and an enemy. It's it's 0:37:44.800 --> 0:37:47.640 it's something that I've really struggled with, especially in the 0:37:47.719 --> 0:37:50.960 last couple of months, where like I have to actually 0:37:51.080 --> 0:37:56.120 turn my mind deliberately off from it because it keeps 0:37:56.160 --> 0:38:00.239 me up at night. You know, am I being ungreatful? 0:38:00.280 --> 0:38:03.200 I'm so glad we've got time, but I just this 0:38:03.400 --> 0:38:07.040 is I'm giving me high levels of anxiety and you know, 0:38:07.160 --> 0:38:11.480 I just know that I don't have time, and you know, 0:38:11.880 --> 0:38:13.759 you know, I can't explain it, but it just kind 0:38:13.800 --> 0:38:18.160 of sends my head a little bit crazy. And I 0:38:18.400 --> 0:38:20.719 just and I don't want to be ungrateful, and I 0:38:20.800 --> 0:38:24.759 want to be just living in the moment. And that's 0:38:24.800 --> 0:38:28.520 another thing. That's another thing, living in the moment. I 0:38:28.600 --> 0:38:31.279 you know, and well meaning good people and you know, 0:38:31.320 --> 0:38:33.319 and I think that and I have said that to 0:38:33.360 --> 0:38:36.800 people as well, but that is just the reality is 0:38:36.840 --> 0:38:38.759 when you're living with and. 0:38:39.000 --> 0:38:39.879 This moment is shit. 0:38:40.440 --> 0:38:41.200 It's shit. 0:38:42.400 --> 0:38:44.600 Like if I could live at any moment, it probably 0:38:44.719 --> 0:38:45.799 probably wouldn't be my way. 0:38:46.440 --> 0:38:48.480 You know. I'm just like, we're trying to live in 0:38:48.520 --> 0:38:50.960 the moment. But oh, you know, it's you know, he 0:38:51.000 --> 0:38:55.640 can be in agonizing pain and need lots of medication. 0:38:56.239 --> 0:39:00.360 And you know, the kids are really struggling watching him 0:39:00.600 --> 0:39:03.840 like this, and we're struggling to support these health needs 0:39:03.920 --> 0:39:09.920 and like it's not we're not on holidays in Fiji, 0:39:10.080 --> 0:39:13.800 like it's you know, so there's I think there's different 0:39:15.200 --> 0:39:17.160 living in the moments, if that makes sense. 0:39:17.239 --> 0:39:22.120 So, and I'm sure it's awkward. People don't know what. 0:39:22.200 --> 0:39:27.759 To say, yeah, and I I can actually appreciate that, 0:39:27.800 --> 0:39:31.520 and I keep I've certainly had people say to me 0:39:31.600 --> 0:39:33.960 they just they don't know what to say or what 0:39:34.080 --> 0:39:38.320 to do. And the reality is there's nothing that anyone 0:39:38.400 --> 0:39:43.239 can do, but there's some practicalities people can support with 0:39:43.280 --> 0:39:47.160 when they want. So I've like we've been really fortunate. 0:39:47.200 --> 0:39:51.360 And I'll just give a shout out to the local 0:39:51.680 --> 0:39:57.399 CFA crew that have been absolutely have just jumped in 0:39:57.680 --> 0:40:01.160 and they're dropping off meals. I had surgery the other week. 0:40:01.239 --> 0:40:03.120 Simon's in hospital. I've got no one to drive me. 0:40:03.200 --> 0:40:07.160 Someone drives me to Queue all the way from Gippsland 0:40:07.239 --> 0:40:10.919 for the surgery. Someone from Trades and Labor picked me up. 0:40:11.120 --> 0:40:13.879 You know, people have just been making sure we get 0:40:13.920 --> 0:40:18.000 to those things and that We've got everything that we 0:40:18.040 --> 0:40:24.480 need around us. So those practicalities are really important. And 0:40:24.520 --> 0:40:29.080 when people jump in like they have for us, you know, 0:40:29.120 --> 0:40:32.080 it just means it was really hard for me At 0:40:32.120 --> 0:40:36.160 first to say I need help like that was huge. 0:40:36.280 --> 0:40:38.279 I was like, I can't even say that, no, no, no, 0:40:38.480 --> 0:40:41.680 because my role is to help others and you know, 0:40:41.840 --> 0:40:47.000 so it was really difficult. And then I've got some 0:40:47.040 --> 0:40:50.560 conversations and people had reached out, and I thought I 0:40:50.719 --> 0:40:53.040 have to and I know from my role at the 0:40:53.040 --> 0:40:56.200 neighbood house one of the really important things you can 0:40:56.239 --> 0:41:00.000 give people when they're trying to support somebody in crisis 0:41:00.200 --> 0:41:02.880 is a job. Like when they offer and you say, 0:41:03.440 --> 0:41:06.240 now I'm more good, which as you go to nobody 0:41:06.239 --> 0:41:10.920 wants to burden anybody else. It's not that they start 0:41:11.080 --> 0:41:14.600 to stop offering, but they start to not know how 0:41:14.640 --> 0:41:16.719 to you know what I mean, There's no direction. So 0:41:17.560 --> 0:41:20.279 I kept coming back to my work role, going I 0:41:20.360 --> 0:41:22.799 have to I have to put some words around it. 0:41:22.920 --> 0:41:26.000 So and I couldn't cook. I've still got some injury. 0:41:26.040 --> 0:41:30.360 I'll be six weeks before I can do anything useful, 0:41:31.760 --> 0:41:34.399 and so I just said, I, you know, we can 0:41:34.480 --> 0:41:37.239 get some meals and honestly, my freezers are full. People 0:41:37.280 --> 0:41:40.600 are dropping things off, people are buying stuff from a pantry. 0:41:40.640 --> 0:41:42.640 I'm not sure I'll need to shop again for a while. 0:41:42.680 --> 0:41:47.719 But those practical things just started to come. And so 0:41:47.840 --> 0:41:51.000 instead of people talking to me and ringing me saying 0:41:51.040 --> 0:41:55.120 I don't know what to say, they've actually stopped and 0:41:55.160 --> 0:41:58.520 they're focused on you know. You know, we've got another 0:41:58.560 --> 0:42:01.560 delivery of food, We've picked up some toilet paper. You know, 0:42:01.600 --> 0:42:05.319 do you need help walking the dog? You know, I've 0:42:05.320 --> 0:42:07.640 got a seventeen year old. I've got you know, one 0:42:07.719 --> 0:42:12.120 hundred and twenty hours to do for driving lessons. You know, 0:42:12.200 --> 0:42:14.200 there's some offers around that, like we can help with 0:42:14.239 --> 0:42:16.880 the driving lessons. You know, we haven't sort of moved 0:42:16.880 --> 0:42:19.120 into that yet because we've been you know, there's been 0:42:19.160 --> 0:42:22.640 a lot on, but lots of practical support and help 0:42:22.640 --> 0:42:26.239 has started to come. When I lifted that, you know that, 0:42:26.600 --> 0:42:30.080 I guess that up and you know, put words around 0:42:30.280 --> 0:42:33.040 we do need some help, So they weren't then in 0:42:33.080 --> 0:42:35.440 that awkward I'm not sure what to say or do, 0:42:36.040 --> 0:42:39.160 And that has been really freeing for me because when 0:42:39.239 --> 0:42:41.040 people say to me, I don't know what to say, 0:42:41.760 --> 0:42:44.640 I almost cry because I don't know what to say 0:42:44.840 --> 0:42:48.239 like and it puts me, it puts pressure on me. 0:42:48.480 --> 0:42:53.320 Where now it's really just it's about the practicalities of support. 0:42:54.200 --> 0:42:56.480 So I would say to anyone that is going through this, 0:42:57.560 --> 0:43:00.960 but it is I know it's extreme difficult. But if 0:43:01.000 --> 0:43:03.759 you can put some words around that too, you know 0:43:03.880 --> 0:43:07.799 a few key people in your life, they will do 0:43:07.880 --> 0:43:10.600 the rest. They you know, they will come in with 0:43:10.640 --> 0:43:13.040 the supports that are needed and help you get through 0:43:13.080 --> 0:43:16.840 that really tough time, and those practicality is will just 0:43:17.360 --> 0:43:20.920 it's just taken that burden of those awkward conversations away, 0:43:22.560 --> 0:43:25.440 but it's also allowed people to come in and support 0:43:25.480 --> 0:43:27.280 us when we when we need it the most. 0:43:28.600 --> 0:43:31.359 How do you find the with your kids? The age 0:43:31.440 --> 0:43:35.600 they are, so they're children, but their independent children, they're they're. 0:43:35.760 --> 0:43:37.080 They're young adults. 0:43:37.880 --> 0:43:42.520 So the role of being the mum and the protector, 0:43:42.600 --> 0:43:47.239 but also the role of you're you're suffering a significant 0:43:47.280 --> 0:43:52.000 loss as as an independent woman as well, So how 0:43:52.000 --> 0:43:54.960 are you navigating that, what that looks like? Who do 0:43:55.000 --> 0:43:55.640 you need to be. 0:43:57.080 --> 0:44:02.520 So you that That's something that has been quite fluid 0:44:02.719 --> 0:44:05.880 for me. One of the things that we decided early 0:44:05.920 --> 0:44:09.840 in the piece is to as difficult as it was, 0:44:09.880 --> 0:44:12.279 we needed to be very clear and honest with the 0:44:12.360 --> 0:44:16.560 kids about everything that was happening. So I don't, you know, 0:44:16.640 --> 0:44:20.560 think there's any point trying to protect them and just 0:44:20.640 --> 0:44:26.600 causing issues later because they're adults, you know, they're you know, 0:44:26.760 --> 0:44:31.680 they've got high emotional and intelligence. It's their father. There's 0:44:31.680 --> 0:44:35.480 no point pretending it's not hurting me or I'll be okay, 0:44:35.719 --> 0:44:39.880 so because they know I'm not, and it's just and 0:44:39.920 --> 0:44:45.120 it also I didn't want to model something that wasn't 0:44:45.160 --> 0:44:48.640 sustainable as well, like it you shouldn't talk about your feelings, 0:44:48.920 --> 0:44:53.120 because you absolutely should. So we've tried to be open 0:44:53.160 --> 0:44:56.560 and honest with them, but sometimes we'll be talking and 0:44:56.760 --> 0:45:00.040 I'll just break down and you know, and it's it 0:45:00.719 --> 0:45:03.960 really difficult, I know, for them to see me up 0:45:04.040 --> 0:45:10.000 set like that. But the reality is that I can't 0:45:10.200 --> 0:45:14.399 be everything to everyone all the time, and I don't want, 0:45:14.520 --> 0:45:16.600 especially my girls, I don't want them to think that 0:45:16.600 --> 0:45:19.200 that's how they have to live and be because sometimes 0:45:19.200 --> 0:45:22.720 you're just not okay and you can't be the mum 0:45:23.160 --> 0:45:26.200 in that way. You're just emotionally just not able to 0:45:26.239 --> 0:45:31.200 be there, and so I've tried to make sure that 0:45:32.560 --> 0:45:34.719 if I am upset that they you know, I'm not 0:45:34.840 --> 0:45:37.359 hiding that from them, and I'm talking through with them 0:45:37.480 --> 0:45:41.520 what is going on, and you know what our future 0:45:41.520 --> 0:45:44.239 looks like. There's lots of questions about you know, what 0:45:44.280 --> 0:45:46.520 does it look like? Is it okay to talk about 0:45:46.520 --> 0:45:51.400 a future without dad? And you know, you know, unpacking 0:45:51.440 --> 0:45:53.400 I can't explain it trying to unpack those things that 0:45:53.480 --> 0:45:57.920 it is okay, you know. And so for example, my 0:45:58.040 --> 0:46:01.799 seventeen year old earlier in the PA was worried we 0:46:01.880 --> 0:46:05.279 might have to move house or you know, will we 0:46:05.320 --> 0:46:07.480 have to move or do we have to sell the house? 0:46:07.520 --> 0:46:10.440 Are we going to stay here? So we had those conversations, 0:46:10.480 --> 0:46:13.359 if we know this is our home, we're staying here, 0:46:13.520 --> 0:46:16.640 will anchor here? You know, we're not going to move, 0:46:18.000 --> 0:46:20.720 you know, we'll stay here. You'll do year eleven and twelve, 0:46:20.960 --> 0:46:22.640 and we're going to get you through that and it 0:46:22.719 --> 0:46:25.880 might look a bit different for you than the other kids, 0:46:25.920 --> 0:46:27.759 but we're going to lean on all the supports we 0:46:27.800 --> 0:46:30.600 can to get you to the atar you need because 0:46:30.640 --> 0:46:33.360 this is a period in time and it's really awful 0:46:33.440 --> 0:46:36.120 and it's life changing, but you will have a life 0:46:36.120 --> 0:46:38.920 after this. You've got to be working towards that. Your 0:46:38.920 --> 0:46:42.719 father and I don't want you to give up. We 0:46:42.719 --> 0:46:43.640 don't want you to. 0:46:45.440 --> 0:46:45.799 Not be. 0:46:47.280 --> 0:46:50.319 Living your best life in the future. So we will 0:46:50.360 --> 0:46:52.439 work through this now. So being able to have those 0:46:52.440 --> 0:46:56.160 conversations where they can talk to me and about their 0:46:56.200 --> 0:47:01.239 fears rational or not, and we can through those and say, 0:47:01.360 --> 0:47:03.280 you know, like, no, we're not going to be moving. 0:47:03.360 --> 0:47:05.319 If that's you know, that's a concern for you, I 0:47:05.360 --> 0:47:08.399 can tell you now, you know we're not. We'll stay here, 0:47:08.640 --> 0:47:10.879 like this will be the base. So that's just an 0:47:10.920 --> 0:47:16.000 example of one of the I guess many really you know, 0:47:16.280 --> 0:47:18.520 tough conversations that I never thought i'd have to have 0:47:18.800 --> 0:47:24.440 with my kids, and especially as young adults you know, 0:47:24.719 --> 0:47:29.400 about to go into the world themselves. But I've just 0:47:30.360 --> 0:47:34.080 had to be prepared to have them and and be vulnerable. 0:47:34.800 --> 0:47:38.360 And that is, you know, for for a lot of people, 0:47:38.400 --> 0:47:41.400 and as for parents, it's really challenging to be that 0:47:41.520 --> 0:47:46.880 vulnerable with your your children and and you know, share 0:47:46.960 --> 0:47:53.400 those deepest, you know, thoughts and feelings that you're having 0:47:53.440 --> 0:47:58.160 and that you know, that uncertainty of you know, what's 0:47:58.200 --> 0:48:00.920 in front of you, and this many times where I 0:48:01.000 --> 0:48:03.080 just don't know the answers and I'm like, I don't 0:48:03.120 --> 0:48:05.120 know what it looks like like I you know, I 0:48:05.160 --> 0:48:08.600 have to be honest about that. I don't know what 0:48:08.760 --> 0:48:11.960 happens next, but I can tell you the practicalities around 0:48:11.960 --> 0:48:15.560 these things. Or but you know, I don't know what 0:48:15.560 --> 0:48:18.040 the grief is going to look like for us and 0:48:18.080 --> 0:48:22.640 how we're going to navigate our life without Simon. And 0:48:22.680 --> 0:48:25.919 he's in our lives, he's larger than life in our lives. 0:48:25.960 --> 0:48:32.239 He's larger than life in many people's lives. So yeah, 0:48:32.280 --> 0:48:35.120 I just I don't know that I've got good answer 0:48:35.120 --> 0:48:39.680 for that, but just just do what you can, Like 0:48:39.760 --> 0:48:41.440 I don't know, I'm just like the best you can 0:48:41.480 --> 0:48:43.400 because sometimes you just can't do anything. 0:48:44.680 --> 0:48:48.480 I think you've got a like a really good handle 0:48:48.520 --> 0:48:53.200 on that part of things, because that was I don't 0:48:53.239 --> 0:48:56.640 know what I expected. I guess when I get this 0:48:56.800 --> 0:49:00.480 sense of how for other people you are the You're 0:49:00.520 --> 0:49:02.640 the person that cares for other people, You're the person 0:49:02.680 --> 0:49:05.160 that gets it done. So I felt like in the 0:49:05.200 --> 0:49:11.600 middle of this incredibly intense tsunami as you described it, 0:49:11.640 --> 0:49:15.000 of emotion trying to make decisions or have any clarity 0:49:15.080 --> 0:49:18.080 about that would be a mess. But you've, like you 0:49:18.200 --> 0:49:22.480 sound like you're finding as good a way as you can. 0:49:23.680 --> 0:49:26.640 That's that's what we're doing, Just trying. For me, it's 0:49:26.719 --> 0:49:28.959 just trying to deal with each day and each thing 0:49:29.080 --> 0:49:33.520 that comes in, but just having some reality around. And 0:49:33.560 --> 0:49:39.000 I think that it's really important for me that I'm 0:49:40.440 --> 0:49:48.480 pecking in because sometimes I'm really not sure I'm in 0:49:48.520 --> 0:49:51.120 the right space to be making decisions. And so I've 0:49:51.160 --> 0:49:57.040 got a few key people that all ticking with as well, 0:49:57.080 --> 0:49:59.160 like you just got I think there's like I'm really 0:49:59.200 --> 0:50:01.279 feeling really crazy today and I'm just not sure what 0:50:01.320 --> 0:50:03.000 to do on you know, and they'll remind me to 0:50:03.040 --> 0:50:04.920 take some time, you know, when I feel like I 0:50:04.960 --> 0:50:06.600 can't take the time. No, you don't have to make 0:50:06.640 --> 0:50:09.960 that decision now, or yes, I do, you know. But 0:50:10.080 --> 0:50:13.120 sometimes being able to check in with people because you know, 0:50:13.520 --> 0:50:17.000 emotionally you just can't regulate in the same way. It's 0:50:17.040 --> 0:50:21.480 really important to have a couple of key people to 0:50:21.520 --> 0:50:24.440 be able to do that with. And I feel like 0:50:24.600 --> 0:50:29.040 I've you know, I've leaned into that a lot as well, 0:50:29.520 --> 0:50:31.880 and just making sure I've got the supports, you know, 0:50:33.400 --> 0:50:35.480 you know, last year, I sort of reached out and 0:50:35.520 --> 0:50:39.240 made sure that I had I've never seen a psychologist before, 0:50:40.239 --> 0:50:43.799 probably should have long before now, but never have. But 0:50:43.920 --> 0:50:46.360 I knew as we're you know, we were tapping the 0:50:46.440 --> 0:50:49.680 kids in and making sure that with those wraparounds were 0:50:49.719 --> 0:50:52.439 well in place, because it can take such a long 0:50:52.480 --> 0:50:56.680 time to get those wraparounds for your young people or 0:50:56.719 --> 0:51:02.320 anyone service light times hideously long. So I wanted to 0:51:02.320 --> 0:51:04.319 make sure everybody was tapped in earlier. And once I 0:51:04.400 --> 0:51:08.920 got all, you know, the kids all sorted and you know, 0:51:09.400 --> 0:51:16.040 Simon's therapy and health needs were sort of in playing, 0:51:16.080 --> 0:51:18.719 we had some structure around that. The very next thing 0:51:18.760 --> 0:51:21.160 I did was make a call and book by myself 0:51:21.200 --> 0:51:24.840 as psychologists to make sure that I had somebody outside 0:51:24.920 --> 0:51:28.560 of my immediate friend group, because see, you know, and 0:51:28.600 --> 0:51:33.160 I guess that sort of that mental kind of group, 0:51:33.239 --> 0:51:38.200 the people that you lean into that was completely independent 0:51:38.400 --> 0:51:41.920 to that, so that you know, there was somebody else 0:51:41.960 --> 0:51:45.000 I could check in with as well and maybe say 0:51:45.040 --> 0:51:47.560 the things that I can't always say when you know 0:51:47.600 --> 0:51:49.920 you're in your roles and you're trying to support other 0:51:49.920 --> 0:51:57.759 people and you're also navigating this incredible life changing experience 0:51:57.840 --> 0:52:02.800 while you're supporting your life partner and their health needs, 0:52:04.880 --> 0:52:08.960 you know, and the needs are just so intense. You know, 0:52:09.080 --> 0:52:13.360 there's so much medication. You know, there's lots of supports, 0:52:13.400 --> 0:52:16.319 there's lots of good days, there's an incredible amount of 0:52:16.320 --> 0:52:20.720 bad days with pain they can't you know, huge sense 0:52:21.160 --> 0:52:24.280 an overwhelming sense of helplessness across all of those things. 0:52:24.360 --> 0:52:28.000 So being able to check in with somebody that's independent 0:52:28.040 --> 0:52:33.200 and that you know has the skills and the professional 0:52:33.280 --> 0:52:37.880 support for you is really important as well. So I 0:52:38.239 --> 0:52:40.759 and again, that is a gift that time gave us. 0:52:41.160 --> 0:52:42.919 It allowed us to be able to get all those 0:52:42.960 --> 0:52:47.200 things in place. So yeah, so I guess you know 0:52:47.640 --> 0:52:50.320 it sort of again speaks to why I'm torn sometimes 0:52:50.360 --> 0:52:53.759 now about time is a gift, but it's also it's 0:52:53.800 --> 0:52:57.279 also not so so it gave us the opportunity to 0:52:57.360 --> 0:52:59.719 really unbat Simon and I by nature, and we're very 0:52:59.719 --> 0:53:03.800 extra only practical boy scout type material. Were your people 0:53:03.800 --> 0:53:07.800 in this in a time of emergency. We've got the list, 0:53:07.920 --> 0:53:11.960 we'll get it all sorted. We do very different roles, 0:53:12.000 --> 0:53:14.560 but you know, we kind of dive head on into 0:53:14.560 --> 0:53:18.160 those things and that's where we shine. So when it 0:53:18.239 --> 0:53:22.080 was then us, that was you know, not only confronting 0:53:22.160 --> 0:53:26.520 and heartbreaking. We had to really I can remember one 0:53:26.600 --> 0:53:29.440 night we sat and we had a bottle of wine 0:53:30.160 --> 0:53:32.000 and just started to really look at what are the 0:53:32.120 --> 0:53:34.640 what are the practicalities, what are the what are the 0:53:34.680 --> 0:53:38.440 things that we can control here? And immediately it was 0:53:38.480 --> 0:53:42.439 things like rewriting our wheels. You know, we hadn't done 0:53:42.440 --> 0:53:44.439 that since the kids were small, you know, those set 0:53:44.480 --> 0:53:47.680 and forget things like, you know, checking on your super. 0:53:47.920 --> 0:53:49.719 I'm only saying this because this is all stuff I've 0:53:49.760 --> 0:53:53.440 learned along the way. And when we checked the super, 0:53:53.640 --> 0:53:56.360 you know all those years ago, we put each other's 0:53:56.440 --> 0:54:00.640 names down, but of course that expires in every three years. 0:54:00.680 --> 0:54:04.600 I didn't know that. So I've learned lots. So we started, yeah, 0:54:05.000 --> 0:54:09.120 check check that you're binding nomination. I think it is. 0:54:09.360 --> 0:54:11.160 I'm not quite sure what the wording is, but it 0:54:11.200 --> 0:54:14.920 needs to be done every three years otherwise it you know, 0:54:15.080 --> 0:54:17.200 just falls into your estate and then if you don't 0:54:17.239 --> 0:54:21.200 have a will, then it goes into probate. So we 0:54:21.320 --> 0:54:23.239 started to make a list. We made a list of 0:54:23.440 --> 0:54:25.520 what are the practicalities here? These are the things that 0:54:25.560 --> 0:54:28.160 we can control, and they were sort of the practicalities. 0:54:28.200 --> 0:54:32.239 We know, book make sure the kids have got therapists. 0:54:32.280 --> 0:54:34.400 Now we need to tap them in. How to you know, 0:54:34.440 --> 0:54:37.440 speak to the schools. Have we done our wills? We 0:54:37.440 --> 0:54:40.840 really did those, checked our soupers, you know, life insurance, 0:54:40.920 --> 0:54:46.400 checking on those. The gift of time, you know, we 0:54:46.840 --> 0:54:49.759 could do the practicalities and that has sort of kind 0:54:49.840 --> 0:54:55.000 of helped us support the kids through all of this 0:54:55.160 --> 0:54:59.960 as well, and kind of it's kind of kept me 0:55:00.120 --> 0:55:02.840 a little bit focused because I can come back to things, 0:55:03.200 --> 0:55:04.879 if that makes sense, and go all right, now we've 0:55:04.960 --> 0:55:06.919 checked on that. You know, I don't feel like it's 0:55:06.960 --> 0:55:10.239 completely out of control because the things I can work 0:55:10.280 --> 0:55:14.680 on I've you know, we've done and that that's meant 0:55:14.719 --> 0:55:17.799 now that we you know, we have this time, but 0:55:17.880 --> 0:55:20.440 we can just concentrate on that and we can work 0:55:20.480 --> 0:55:23.319 on the pieces around the legislation and we you know, 0:55:23.400 --> 0:55:26.600 like I'm not. Time gave us the gift of sorting 0:55:26.640 --> 0:55:29.640 out those practicalities, and it has been it did give 0:55:29.719 --> 0:55:32.680 us a bit of a sense of control back as well, 0:55:32.800 --> 0:55:34.840 which I did say, sorry. 0:55:34.520 --> 0:55:40.120 Yeah no, but yeah, it's good to like that's it's incredible. 0:55:40.600 --> 0:55:44.960 So how can I will have a link to the 0:55:45.000 --> 0:55:48.719 petition to get another setting that you has changed that legislation. 0:55:48.920 --> 0:55:52.080 Is there anything else that myself and the listeners of 0:55:52.120 --> 0:55:53.040 the show can do? 0:55:54.080 --> 0:55:58.160 So what there is? So sign the petition, friends and family, 0:55:58.400 --> 0:56:02.240 encourage them to sign it. Become informed, find out about 0:56:02.280 --> 0:56:05.520 presumptive legislation and who is missing in the gaps, because 0:56:05.600 --> 0:56:08.720 chances are you will have a friend or a family 0:56:08.760 --> 0:56:13.080 member that is in the gap. And we know that 0:56:14.560 --> 0:56:14.920 we know. 0:56:16.640 --> 0:56:24.879 These, you know, really dreadful experiences that we have through 0:56:24.920 --> 0:56:30.879 fire and emergencies are becoming longer and more intense, and 0:56:31.680 --> 0:56:33.879 I think we, you know, we as a collective need 0:56:33.920 --> 0:56:38.520 to understand who needs our support because more broadly, and 0:56:38.560 --> 0:56:42.799 I'm only speaking about CFA staff today because that's where 0:56:42.800 --> 0:56:46.080 my links are, but you know, there's a lot of emergency. 0:56:45.520 --> 0:56:50.600 Responders that probably won't be covered. I you know, can 0:56:50.640 --> 0:56:54.600 focus on certain things, but you know, raise awareness, speak 0:56:54.640 --> 0:56:57.920 to your local member of parliament. You know, I know 0:56:59.480 --> 0:57:03.080 I'm quite politically active and quiet. You know, I have 0:57:03.120 --> 0:57:06.439 an advocate voice and I use that quite a lot 0:57:06.520 --> 0:57:09.400 in my roles and I know for some people it 0:57:09.440 --> 0:57:12.040 can be really difficult to reach out to your members 0:57:12.040 --> 0:57:17.560 of parliament around issues that matter and how to frame 0:57:17.640 --> 0:57:20.640 that and what to do. But these are people too, 0:57:21.720 --> 0:57:26.800 and honestly reaching out to them and just you know, 0:57:26.880 --> 0:57:29.840 trying to make a time to have that discussion or 0:57:30.040 --> 0:57:33.440 send an email about it, it puts it on their agenda. 0:57:33.920 --> 0:57:35.920 You know, you get enough emails about something or enough 0:57:35.920 --> 0:57:38.360 phone calls, you know, one or two, you might go, oh, no, 0:57:38.480 --> 0:57:40.560 that was a thing. You get twenty you go, there's 0:57:40.600 --> 0:57:42.880 a real thing around that. I need to become informed. 0:57:43.720 --> 0:57:46.280 And that's your way of helping them become informed about 0:57:46.640 --> 0:57:50.160 the amendments that are required. That's how legislation is changed, 0:57:50.200 --> 0:57:52.440 that's how it's moved. That's how we get the society 0:57:52.480 --> 0:57:57.560 that we have today. Is when issues of importance matter 0:57:57.640 --> 0:58:01.000 to our community, we can make that change. We can 0:58:01.160 --> 0:58:05.440 actually navigate that pathway to ensure that people are included 0:58:05.480 --> 0:58:08.520 that should be included in this legislation. We have to 0:58:08.560 --> 0:58:10.720 be informed to know that there's a gap and what 0:58:10.760 --> 0:58:13.240 the gaps are, and we have the power through our 0:58:13.320 --> 0:58:16.920 voice to actually raise the awareness and speak to our 0:58:16.960 --> 0:58:20.320 local members of parliament about it and encourage them to 0:58:20.360 --> 0:58:24.280 become advocates surrounded as well. They're might take homes. You 0:58:24.320 --> 0:58:25.840 can do anyone can do that. 0:58:25.840 --> 0:58:29.040 You will said like that, you're good at this, You're 0:58:29.080 --> 0:58:31.520 good at that informing. 0:58:31.960 --> 0:58:36.080 Just like I'm really passionate about it. And now you know, 0:58:36.160 --> 0:58:39.720 I've got a host of issues along the way that 0:58:39.800 --> 0:58:44.680 I've championed. I've worked on it, and we've bought change. 0:58:44.960 --> 0:58:46.920 And it might be a change, just a small change 0:58:46.920 --> 0:58:49.600 in our patch, and it could be a bigger change 0:58:49.600 --> 0:58:52.920 and a bigger platform of influence. But the important thing 0:58:52.960 --> 0:58:56.000 is to understand is as everyday people, we do have 0:58:56.040 --> 0:59:00.959 influence and becoming informed about something and it doesn't even 0:59:01.040 --> 0:59:04.440 just have to be about this, but you know, by nature, 0:59:05.400 --> 0:59:07.680 when we become informed and we know there's you know, 0:59:07.720 --> 0:59:10.120 we recognize there could be a better option here, or 0:59:10.120 --> 0:59:13.960 a better way forward, or a more inclusive way, then 0:59:14.240 --> 0:59:16.280 you know, we want that for our community. We want 0:59:16.320 --> 0:59:18.600 that for our neighbors and our family and our friends 0:59:18.680 --> 0:59:21.440 and our broader society. And I just think as a collective, 0:59:21.520 --> 0:59:24.600 the more we focus on improvements that we can make, 0:59:24.840 --> 0:59:28.240 how we collectively do that, how we respectfully do that, 0:59:28.240 --> 0:59:30.400 Because there's always going to be a difference of opinion 0:59:30.760 --> 0:59:34.240 and agenda and that's okay because that you know, those 0:59:35.760 --> 0:59:39.480 diversified voices is really important that but that makes up 0:59:39.480 --> 0:59:42.480 the fabric of community. But at the end of the day, 0:59:42.840 --> 0:59:46.080 it's a focus on the shared goal. I think that 0:59:46.160 --> 0:59:51.120 gets us over the line. So, you know, having being 0:59:51.120 --> 0:59:55.480 able to influence using your voice, coming informed means that 0:59:55.560 --> 0:59:58.440 eventually you will be on that shared goal with somebody 0:59:58.640 --> 1:00:00.960 and we you know, no one' you carry it alone. 1:00:01.040 --> 1:00:02.840 We can't actually do it alone. We need to do 1:00:02.880 --> 1:00:06.760 it as a collective. So this is super important to me. 1:00:07.200 --> 1:00:11.360 Now I almost feel ashamed that I wasn't aware of 1:00:11.400 --> 1:00:13.920 it in the context that I am now, you know, 1:00:14.440 --> 1:00:18.120 three years ago I just wasn't and that's about life 1:00:18.160 --> 1:00:20.640 experience and what comes your way and what doesn't as well. 1:00:21.400 --> 1:00:25.640 But now that I am, I'm extremely committed to getting 1:00:25.640 --> 1:00:29.240 this change. So I'm so grateful to Tiffany for reaching 1:00:29.240 --> 1:00:32.520 out and allowing me to have this conversation with you. 1:00:33.120 --> 1:00:36.000 And I would really encourage your readers to sorry your 1:00:36.000 --> 1:00:40.480 listeners to actually find out more, become informed and advocate 1:00:40.560 --> 1:00:41.760 to their local MP. 1:00:43.600 --> 1:00:45.840 Thank you so much. Thank you for being brave and 1:00:45.960 --> 1:00:50.840 vulnerable and real and I'm understanding you all the love 1:00:50.920 --> 1:00:54.680 and whatever you need over the coming weeks, months and 1:00:55.440 --> 1:00:56.040 what's ahead. 1:00:56.960 --> 1:00:58.800 Thank you, and I'd love to be able to touch 1:00:58.840 --> 1:01:01.960 base with you again, hopefully to tell you that it's changed. 1:01:02.760 --> 1:01:05.880 Yes, so I just got toose bumps. I'm like, let's 1:01:05.880 --> 1:01:07.960 make okay, listeners, Let's make sure that I get that 1:01:08.120 --> 1:01:08.520 all real. 1:01:09.560 --> 1:01:11.480 Yeah. I hope so so. 1:01:11.960 --> 1:01:16.480 But thank you so much, Thanks Tracy, Thanks everyone. 1:01:17.760 --> 1:01:34.800 She said, it's now never. I got fighting in my blood.