S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Colley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision.
S3: We just keep moving forward as a community and we
S3: keep doing what we're doing. And this report just gives
S3: us more evidence to push back on the things that
S3: we've had to tolerate and put up with for far
S3: too long in our lives. So I think that there's
S3: a lot of things that are going to change moving forward.
S2: Welcome to the program. Last week was a momentous occasion
S2: in the rights for people with disability in Australia. As
S2: the Disability Royal Commission handed down its final report to
S2: the Australian Government to ensure a just and equitable society
S2: for people with disability. I had a chat with the
S2: President of Persons with Disability Australia, Nicole Lee, all about
S2: the findings from the Commission and you'll hear from her
S2: very shortly. So make sure to stick around. Then later
S2: on in the program, Stella Glory catches up with Rebecca
S2: Kent to chat about a new series of sessions. The
S2: Vision Australia Library is running to help parents practise self
S2: care and live their best lives. I hope you enjoy
S2: this week's episode of Talking Vision. On the 29th of
S2: September 2023, the final report of the Disability Royal Commission
S2: was delivered to the Australian Government. In this report, the
S2: Royal Commission recommended how to improve laws, policies, structures and
S2: practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society and
S2: to have a chat with me all about the findings
S2: from the Disability Royal Commission. It's my great pleasure to
S2: welcome President of People with Disabilities Australia, Nicole Lee. Nicole,
S2: thank you very much for your time today. Welcome to
S2: Talking Vision.
S3: Thanks for having me on.
S2: Now firstly, Nicole, just to get our listeners up to speed,
S2: could you give us a bit of an overview of
S2: the Disability Royal Commission?
S3: Yeah, sure. So the Disability Royal Commission was established back
S3: in 2019, so it's been going for four and a
S3: half years roughly where they've held public hearings, including through
S3: lots of Covid lockdowns. So they had to pivot to
S3: doing a lot of things online. They've had private hearings
S3: and issued lots of papers. So I think there's 7944
S3: submissions that they received, 17,824 phone inquiries, 14 issue papers published,
S3: 70 responses to issue papers, and 1785 private sessions were
S3: held in that four and a half years. So it's
S3: quite a substantial piece of work that they've undertaken over
S3: the last four and a half years. And so that's
S3: resulted in the report that was handed down last Friday,
S3: the 29th of September that contained 222 recommendations. And it
S3: was roughly was it 13 volumes, I think, from memory.
S3: So quite a big report, you could say.
S2: Absolutely. And I think it's worth touching on those 222 recommendations. And,
S2: you know, what were the sort of key findings and
S2: outcomes with those recommendations that have emerged from the commission
S2: that you'd really like to let people know about and
S2: to highlight?
S3: Well, some of the really big wins in there, which
S3: really are ultimately the low hanging fruit, I guess, in
S3: regards to disability rights, is to establish a human rights
S3: framework and a Disability Discrimination Act and disability rights framework
S3: within Australia. So that isn't something we ultimately, in my opinion,
S3: needed a Royal Commission to work out that that was
S3: something we needed to do. But irrespective of that, we've
S3: got recommendations around that. And the other one was around,
S3: you know, abolishing forced sterilization of women and girls with disability. Again,
S3: that is not something that should have taken a royal
S3: commission to come out with that recommendation. And that is
S3: something that's been advocated for for many, many, many years. So,
S3: you know, we have to see it as a win
S3: to actually get it into this report. And hopefully that
S3: that recommendation definitely does get actioned on as soon as
S3: possible with limited time. I guess it's not something we
S3: need a long plan of action for. They are. They
S3: do right now. Easy. There should be no arguments in
S3: regards to kind of recommendations. There was the talk around
S3: the segregated education, which unfortunately there was a divide amongst
S3: the commissioners and there seems to be a fair amount
S3: of debate within the community around what is segregated education
S3: and that, you know, some commissioners didn't want it. Some
S3: people in the community don't want it. But ultimately, you know,
S3: the disability community does want to see an end to segregation.
S3: We do want to see integrated and full inclusion within
S3: the whole of society. Unfortunately, the timeline around you abolishing
S3: segregated education is 28 years, so it's kicking the can
S3: down the road, so to speak. You know, we need
S3: to be making. Yeah, it's a long it's a it's
S3: an unambitious, very unambitious 28 years. I mean, who can
S3: think that far ahead. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And and it
S3: also leads to another several lots of generations of children
S3: being segregated. You know, we've got to look at that
S3: as being a basic human right, not segregating children based
S3: on difference. You know, we wouldn't do this for any
S3: other cohort. Why should we do this for disability? You know,
S3: and if we want to look at the drivers of
S3: violence against disability, segregation is that big driver of violence
S3: against us and we want to shift community attitudes towards
S3: people with disability. Well, we're not going to do that
S3: if we're not visible in the world around us. So
S3: if we're telling children as young as five or under
S3: that those kids are different. So therefore they learn over
S3: there in that classroom or in that school over there
S3: and not in the same classroom as you. And we're
S3: telling disabled children that you're different and you don't belong. Well,
S3: we're setting in stone already at a young age, the
S3: fear of disabled people, discrimination of disabled people and reinforcing
S3: those stigmas of difference of disabled people rather than seeing
S3: us as just kids alongside other kids playing in the playground.
S3: So that's a really important piece that we we want
S3: to see worked on. But the 28 year mark is
S3: far too long. That needs to be a much more
S3: ambitious timeline for that one. And the other sort of
S3: bits and pieces around segregated housing. Everybody should have the
S3: right to choose where they live, who they live with
S3: and how they live their lives and the environment in
S3: which they live in. So abolishing group homes is really,
S3: really vital now, just like anybody else leaving home. Some
S3: people want to go and live in a share house,
S3: but they get a choice in who they live in
S3: that share house with. It's the same for disabled people.
S3: Some disabled people might want to live with others and
S3: share an environment and share a home. But having choice
S3: and control over who is in that environment, who lives
S3: with you is the vital piece here that needs to
S3: be worked on that hopefully that that is something that
S3: will be prioritized with the government task force that's been
S3: announced that they're looking to set up. Unfortunately, we don't
S3: have a lot of details around what they mean by
S3: that government task force so far. On the surface value,
S3: it has been very much a committing to government departments
S3: with advice from the disability community. You know, we don't
S3: want to be advising from the outside into a task
S3: force that's looking at implementing the royal commission. We want
S3: broad representation in the room alongside government on how we're
S3: implementing this royal commission and its recommendations. So that task
S3: force is a vital piece of the puzzle here so
S3: that we're in the room, we're with the decision makers
S3: and we are overseeing, well, what do we mean? How
S3: do we define segregation on our terms and not what
S3: other people define as segregation for us? And that's been
S3: a bit of a debate around education and what other
S3: people assume or classify as segregation, which isn't necessarily the
S3: same as what how we conceptualize segregation.
S2: I also understand, and I believe you would have been
S2: speaking to quite a few organizations and individuals over the
S2: past week following on from the publication of the final report.
S2: So what have been the feelings there from your side
S2: of things, but also from those who you've spoken to
S2: in the sector over the past week?
S3: I think one of the things that's really I shouldn't
S3: be surprised, but I'm kind of shocked at that. I've
S3: seen coming out and from other people in the sector
S3: is the fact that we don't have a section on
S3: women and girls with disability, considering we experience much higher
S3: rates of violence and neglect and abuse than other cohorts
S3: in the community, including, you know, quite high rates of
S3: sexual violence, We have the lowest rates of education, inclusion
S3: and we have the lowest employment rates out of the
S3: entire community. Yet there was no discussion in the Royal
S3: Commission around bringing up that gender equity piece. So that's
S3: kind of disappointing. If I can put that sort of
S3: side around gender and gender based violence into perspective. Victoria
S3: had a Royal Commission into Family Violence that handed down
S3: a report in 2016. Now, considering that this is just
S3: a royal commission into violence, gender based violence in one state,
S3: so one area of our lives, it came out with
S3: 227 recommendations. Ten of those were dedicated to people with disability. Now,
S3: it's disappointing to see that women and girls and gender
S3: diverse people are only mentioned across four recommendations for the
S3: Disability Royal Commission, which is meant to be investigating violence
S3: that spans the course of our lifetime. So from birth
S3: to the day we die. So it's disappointing to see
S3: that that hasn't come through and this is where we
S3: need that representation in the room with that task force
S3: because that conversation needs to be had. Well, yet we
S3: want to end violence against all people with disability, but
S3: we also want to bring up the equity of women
S3: and girls with disability who are experiencing higher rates of
S3: violence and sexual violence than other areas of the disability community.
S3: And what can we do around prevention and safeguarding for
S3: women and girls with disability? So that was one of
S3: the big reflections that I've seen come out of the community,
S3: noting that, you know, gender based violence is something that
S3: I sunk my teeth into when I came into activism
S3: as a family violence survivor. So it's something that is
S3: very core and personal to me. And it's also the
S3: hearing in which I gave my own personal evidence to
S3: as well around the experience of violence against women with disabilities,
S3: including my own experience. So that's an area that is lacking,
S3: that needs to have some uplift in regards to it.
S3: And I guess it's good that we're looking at how
S3: do we reduce restricted practice, how do we move away
S3: from using seclusion and restraints against people with disability? But
S3: I don't feel that it quite goes far enough. We
S3: don't want to be using language around reducing restrictive practices.
S3: We want to be using language around abolishing restrictive practice.
S3: We want to be looking at pathways with dedicated time
S3: frames around, well, how do we end the use of
S3: restrictive practice, seclusion and restraint? How do we do that
S3: in all environments in which our lives are situated, including
S3: group homes, schools, health and mental health settings across the
S3: board and in the justice setting as well, so that
S3: all areas are safe for us to engage with because
S3: at the moment they're currently not. And unfortunately it feels
S3: like there's just different language being put to services justifying
S3: their use of these practices which do already exist. And
S3: they will. Tinue to justify the use of it unless
S3: we actually give clear boundaries around No, we don't want
S3: to be reducing, we want to be abolishing and you
S3: need to be looking at and addressing the environment in
S3: which people are existing in or engaging with services in
S3: that lead to an escalation of distress that then leads
S3: to the use of restrictive practice. So that's again why
S3: we need to be in the room. We need to
S3: be defining what that looks like. We need to be
S3: putting the language to that and we need to be
S3: setting some clear boundaries around what do we actually mean by,
S3: you know, abolishing these things and how do we go
S3: about doing it, and what are the steps that need
S3: to be taken? And the language used to draw a
S3: line very clearly in the sand that there's not going
S3: to be any excuses moving forward, that these measures have
S3: to be taken and just, you know, putting other words
S3: around how to justify the continuation of these forms of
S3: practices need to be stamped out.
S2: And if people want to get in touch with Pueda
S2: and talk to somebody about their experiences or their feelings
S2: about the final report and the outcomes from the royal commission,
S2: what's the best way for people to get in touch
S2: with you?
S3: I guess via our email channels, which can be found
S3: on our website to make contact with the organisation or
S3: if you need support with individualised advocacy on different issues.
S3: But the other one, like if you just want to
S3: sort of discuss struggling with what the report contains or
S3: a lot of emotions that are sitting with this report
S3: is that Blue Knot are still offering counselling moving forward
S3: for people and there are really good service that support
S3: people with complex trauma and they were involved in the
S3: commission and supporting people who are giving evidence. So, you know,
S3: there's always blue not to go to to discuss what
S3: you're going through or just even debriefing on how you
S3: feel about the report. But I guess always, you know,
S3: sort of reach out to via email with your thoughts.
S3: We will be putting together possibly some surveys moving forward
S3: to ask people some questions around what are their priorities,
S3: what do they feel needs to be actioned on quicker
S3: over others so we can get a sense from the
S3: community around what it is they want us to be
S3: advocating for as a priority above other things. So that
S3: is something that will be coming out further down the
S3: track once we've had a bit more of a chance
S3: to really, you know, go over all of the report
S3: and its recommendations and put something together to engage with
S3: the community, to get their feelings and thoughts on the commission.
S3: And where do we move to first?
S2: Mark Colvin I've been speaking today with Nicole Lee, president
S2: of People with Disabilities Australia, about the recently published final
S2: report from the Disability Royal Commission. Nicole, thank you very
S2: much for your time today. It's great to have a
S2: chat with you and we very greatly anticipate the findings
S2: from the Royal Commission and hopefully better outcomes for people
S2: with disability.
S3: Thanks for having me on today. And yeah, look, we
S3: just keep moving forward as a community and we keep
S3: doing what we're doing and this report just gives us
S3: more evidence to push back on the things that we've
S3: had to tolerate and put up with for far too
S3: long in our lives. So I think there's a lot
S3: of things that are going to change moving forward.
S2: I'm Sam Kiley, and you're listening to Talking Vision on
S2: Vision Australia radio associated stations of RPI and the Community
S2: Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with
S2: Nicole Lee from People with Disability Australia, all about the
S2: recent final report from the Disability Royal Commission. And now
S2: here's Stella Glory with Rebecca Kent.
S1: Thank you, Sam. Vision Australia Library is currently hosting a
S1: series around Parenting Stronger Foundations Parent and Carer series. It's
S1: running through the month of October on Tuesday evenings online.
S1: The first two sessions have already taken place, but there
S1: are two more coming up and there are spaces available
S1: in each one. And to have a chat with me
S1: about this, I'm speaking with child and family counsellor here
S1: at Vision Australia. Rebecca Kent, Thanks for your time today.
S4: Rebecca Thanks for having me, Stella.
S1: So the big question is what does the child and
S1: family counsellor do, and especially one that works here at
S1: Vision Australia?
S4: I was trying to think about how to explain this simply,
S4: and I guess I'll give you some examples. I work
S4: with children and families really from birth up until they're
S4: young adults. For a young child, it might be around
S4: play skills for transition to school. As they get older,
S4: we might be looking at what devices they use at
S4: school to access print and how they're going to talk
S4: about those devices with their peers and maybe even with
S4: the adults around them so that they're getting their needs
S4: met as we go through really figuring out their interests,
S4: helping them to identify their strengths, looking at what the
S4: future is going to look like, which might be really practical,
S4: helping them to build resumes and practice interview skills for
S4: their dream job. And then along the way, through all
S4: of that, we're looking at building their practical and emotional
S4: coping skills to get through any barriers or difficulties that
S4: might come up.
S1: And are they specific needs and wants, like obviously in
S1: a practical sense for children who are blind or have
S1: low vision compared to other children who may not be?
S4: Well, that's an interesting and complex question that can so
S4: often depend on what the nature of the child's vision
S4: impairment is, what ability they've had to pick up skills
S4: along the way with their sighted peers. Sometimes there's not
S4: a huge difference. Sometimes they're getting along, doing the things
S4: that all their peers are doing quite easily, quite happily.
S4: Other times, the vision impairment can pose some barriers and difficulties.
S4: But really what the work is there is just to
S4: help them to pick up the extra skills or strategies
S4: to help get them over the line.
S1: And one of the skills and strategies is the Stronger
S1: Foundations Parent and Carer series. Can you give us an
S1: overview of the series?
S4: Absolutely. I guess I wanted to start though, by acknowledging
S4: the library and the work that they've done to put
S4: this series together, and I guess I'm learning more and
S4: more in my professional and personal life that libraries aren't
S4: just about books, although I do love Oh yes.
S1: I was going to say, let's let's put a, you know,
S1: like caveat around that. Books are fantastic.
S4: And that is usually what draws me in. But then
S4: I've really discovered they're such a vital community hub, both
S4: physical libraries and online libraries like ours. And through their
S4: various funding sources, they create really innovative opportunities to connect
S4: their members with information, resources and support. So when they
S4: came to us with this idea of putting on a
S4: series of webinars for parents, it was just such a
S4: great opportunity and they've got such great skills in connecting people.
S4: It was amazing to work with them. So it started
S4: off with them coming to the children and young people
S4: team asking What do parents want to know about? And
S4: we did some brainstorming to come up with what our
S4: topics are. As you mentioned, we've had a couple of
S4: speakers already, Dr. Justin Coulson and Layla Stone, who both
S4: have a really strong interest in building resilience in children
S4: and in families because both of those sides are so important.
S4: So they've been able to speak to us about the
S4: kinds of day to day strategies that you can use
S4: to help your child to thrive, to help them to
S4: develop self-confidence, to help them to be their own best
S4: self advocate. And then we hope through the next couple
S4: of sessions to continue building that theme of resilience. In
S4: our next session, we're going to be speaking with the
S4: CEO of Siblings Australia and she's going to be speaking
S4: to us about, you know, working with the siblings of
S4: children with disabilities. They have their own unique experience in
S4: a family of what it means to be resilient and
S4: to experience hardship. So she's going to talk to us
S4: about how to enhance family relationships and to really embrace
S4: the importance of supporting siblings in particular. So that is
S4: session three. And then in session for myself and my colleagues,
S4: Vicki and Julie, we'll be talking self-care for parents because
S4: obviously the leaders in the family and we want them
S4: to have really great skills to look after themselves so
S4: they can be in the best position to support their family. The.
S4: People who are closest to them.
S1: What is self-care and what does it look like?
S4: Again, you asked such great questions, Stella, because the first
S4: thing is, what is it? I think there can sometimes
S4: be a feeling that self-care is selfish or that it
S4: takes a long time, or that it takes you away
S4: from the things in your life that matter or that
S4: your family. But really, self-care is about finding some time
S4: to prioritize yourself, and it doesn't need to be in
S4: big ways. It can be in really little ways as well.
S4: And so we're going to talk about really some practical
S4: ways to build self-care into your everyday life. I'm hoping
S4: it's going to be a fun session because we're really
S4: just going to have a chat, the three of us,
S4: about the different domains of self-care and the different areas
S4: in your life where you can bring in some self-care
S4: and share our personal reflections as well as the stories
S4: of our clients and what's worked for them. So we're
S4: hoping in that session you'll be able to identify when
S4: you come along the things that you might already be doing,
S4: and sometimes naming something self-care can just give it a
S4: little bit of a polish. Make sure you appreciate the
S4: moments that you do have. Again, don't want to give
S4: away too much, but one of the ones I share
S4: is I love to take a cup of coffee around
S4: with me while I'm doing the shopping and that just
S4: being able to name that self-care, right?
S1: It's got a lid on it, of course, because I
S1: just had an image of you walking around with a
S1: mug in your hand. I thought, How did you do that? No.
S4: They have trolleys with the cup holders, right? So if
S4: I can tell myself that that is a moment that
S4: I'm taking for me something special that I'm doing for me,
S4: it stops it just being something I take for granted
S4: and becomes a self-care routine for me. And so that's
S4: what we first want to do, is to recognize the
S4: things you might already be doing and just name them
S4: and appreciate them for what they are. But then we
S4: also want to look at opportunities to grow that area
S4: of your life where you're looking after yourself. And it
S4: might mean bringing in some really little things like that.
S4: Or maybe you identify that you do need some bigger
S4: things in your life, some focus, something that you appreciate
S4: and value outside of the day to day, outside of
S4: the things that you regularly do. So it's pretty individual
S4: and we hope to give you lots of food for
S4: thought so that parents coming along can identify what matters
S4: to them.
S1: Why would a parent and I'm particularly thinking about mothers here,
S1: but I don't want to be too biased. Why is
S1: it important? What what how does it benefit the parent
S1: and the parenting and the family to take a moment
S1: for self-care?
S4: Now, it was Julie who said it best, so I'm
S4: going to let you know this is from her. She
S4: made the comment that through good self-care, the people you
S4: care about will get the best of you, not just
S4: what's left of you. And that really resonated with me
S4: as a mother myself, that it can be very easy
S4: to go through the motions of the day and get
S4: frustrated at times and feel like you're spent and really
S4: at those times, are our family getting the best of
S4: us and are we enjoying our family life? So by
S4: taking those moments out to spend some time on yourself,
S4: to feel good about who you are, what you're doing,
S4: and what your purpose is in life, you can be
S4: reinvigorated going back into family life, whether it's just hanging
S4: out with the kids while they do their homework or
S4: getting dinner ready, bringing some vitality back into family life.
S4: I think that starts with looking after yourself. So you've
S4: got space to enjoy. The other thing.
S1: Now, why do parents need this type of advice or recommendation?
S1: You know, are they not doing a good enough job
S1: as it is, you know, or or or like there
S1: would be a generation of parents that were told like,
S1: shouldn't parenting be intuitive?
S5: Oh, my.
S4: Goodness. Yes, we should we should do everything well. We
S4: should be balanced. We should have it all. Um, you're
S4: absolutely right, Stella. Why would we need help with this? Well,
S4: I can only speak for myself that say, as I
S4: do get frustrated sometimes I do sometimes find, like, I'm
S4: in the grind. I think it's good to get a polish.
S4: I think it's good to take a moment and ask
S4: yourself some questions. Am I enjoying my family life? Do
S4: I feel like I have things that invigorate me and
S4: help me get through the bad times if it's just
S4: to come along and see if be able to jot
S4: down the things you're doing? Well, absolutely. Come join us.
S4: But then there might be times where you might feel
S4: like he's struggling. Well, then hopefully we'll be able to
S4: give you some ideas to feel like you're getting back
S4: on track.
S1: So it's definitely not about telling. Parents had a parent.
S4: Not at all, Stella But think it's good to call
S4: that out. We definitely and that's kind of where go
S4: back to it being individualized is across the all four
S4: sessions really. It's about sharing ideas. It's about us giving
S4: you the best of what we've got from the research,
S4: from our experiences and the experiences of families we work
S4: with to get you asking yourself some questions and figuring
S4: out what works for you.
S1: So these sessions are called Stronger Foundations Parent and Carer series.
S1: They're currently taking place throughout the month of October. Session
S1: number two Navigate. Big feelings. I feel like that could
S1: be an adult one too, like all these big feelings
S1: that we get. But that's for the kids, obviously. So
S1: the next two, as you said, one Tuesday, October 17th,
S1: and then Tuesday, October 24th, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
S1: So the kids should be in bed by then Australian
S1: Eastern Daylight Time online. For more information, you can contact
S1: the Vision Australia Library or head to our website Vision australia.org.
S1: That's Vision australia.org. And I've been speaking to Rebecca Kent
S1: who is child and family counsellor here at Vision Australia.
S1: Thanks so much for your time today.
S4: Rebecca Thanks very much, Stella.
S2: And that's all we have time for today. You've been
S2: listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of
S2: Vision Australia Radio. Thanks to all involved with putting the
S2: show together. And remember, we love your feedback and comments,
S2: so please do get in touch on Talking vision at
S2: Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org.
S2: But until next week it's Sam Colley saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 308 4746
S1: or by visiting Vision australia.org that's Vision australia.org.