0:14

Welcome to Focal Point here on Vision

0:16

Australia Radio 1190 7

0:19

a.m. in Adelaide. The radio org

0:21

on the internet via Radio Digital

0:23

in Adelaide, via Radio Digital

0:25

in Darwin through the TuneIn radio app.

0:27

Look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide.

0:30

Maybe try the Community Radio

0:32

Plus app and of course on your

0:34

favourite podcast platform. Peter

0:36

Greco on behalf of Philip Vandepeer

0:38

and a big hello to Wendy McDougall listening

0:40

in saying tremendous to be here.

0:43

Thank you so much for your company. Coming

0:45

up very shortly, we speak to Nia Israel,

0:47

who is a great advocate,

0:49

uses a bit of Instagram and finding it

0:51

less accessible and may be talking

0:54

about that particularly in context of Global

0:56

Accessibility Awareness Day coming up.

0:58

Then catch up with Rebecca Young from Access

1:00

to Arts. Lots happening, always in the

1:03

area of arts and accessibility. Rebecca

1:05

will have the latest news there. Then

1:07

catch up with Elizabeth Paige. Elizabeth

1:09

is from the National Gallery of Art talking

1:12

about a very special event happening

1:14

this coming Friday. A chance

1:16

for you to get involved as well. It's

1:18

called description by Art and

1:21

it should be really good. Your invitation

1:23

is just moments away. Then we'll

1:25

catch up with Stephen Tinker from Telstra.

1:28

The 3G network is shutting

1:30

down. There's a little bit of an extension

1:32

as far as that goes, but also Steve's

1:35

got a nice little kind of trick that

1:37

you can use your mobile phone to

1:39

see if it's going to be able to

1:41

particularly dial 000 after

1:44

the 3G network closes down.

1:46

Really important message. Stay tuned for more

1:48

about that. If you're listening through 1190

1:51

7 a.m. in Adelaide at 8:00 for your

1:53

listening pleasure. Lizzie and Sam are

1:55

here with Studio One just

1:57

before we hear what's on their program. Message

1:59

through from Beyond Blindness. That time Thursday

2:02

the 16th of May, at

2:04

1030, between about 1030 and

2:06

1230, there'll be a

2:09

tandem bike event at

2:11

the Victoria Park Racecourse. So if

2:13

you'd like to get involved, 83676088367608

2:20

Tandem bike adventure Thursday

2:23

the 16th of May 1030

2:25

Victoria Park called Beyond Blindness

2:27

on 8367608.

2:31

I want to find out what's on studio one

2:33

tonight. You would like to know too.

2:35

Let's find out right now.

2:37

Sam and Lizzy here from studio One.

2:40

Join us after Focal Point.

2:42

We play the full interview with Kiran

2:44

Nagami that we featured back in March.

2:46

Kiran talks about appearing on

2:48

SBS insight, acceptance within

2:50

the LGBTQ+ community.

2:52

And life in general. Join us

2:55

at eight.

2:57

Well, it's always a pleasure to catch up with wonderful

2:59

advocates and people who do great things

3:01

in the area of accessibility and communication.

3:04

Let's speak to Nicholas Steele, who of course,

3:06

we spoke a little while ago, was inducted into

3:08

the Western Australia's Women Hall

3:11

of Fame. Ah, lovely to catch up again. Thanks

3:13

so much for your time. Thank you for.

3:14

Your time, for giving me a chance to talk on your program

3:16

again.

3:17

I think you're on Instagram. That

3:19

is kind of photos and videos.

3:21

So why would a person who's blind have low

3:23

vision get onto Instagram?

3:24

Um, I usually read the stories.

3:27

I can't make many comments

3:29

or anything. It's not very accessible just

3:32

to see if my family members

3:34

from overseas have posted something.

3:37

I just read their notes and all that.

3:39

What they post. So I don't have

3:41

much to do with their photos.

3:43

I know that, uh, you were mentioning to

3:45

me earlier that, um, it was a little

3:47

more accessible in earlier days. Instagram.

3:50

Yes, until about 1 or 2 months ago

3:52

it was accessible. I was able

3:54

to post things. I was able

3:56

to make reels, but nowadays

3:59

they've made posting very, very

4:01

difficult for a blind person. Whatever

4:03

they've done, it's not very accessible

4:06

anymore.

4:06

That's one of the frustrating things, isn't it,

4:08

about technology and the things

4:11

that, uh, you know, it can give you access

4:13

to. When something changes. It can often

4:15

be maybe people that have

4:17

changing it think it's really cool or hip

4:19

to be changing it and making it more,

4:21

you know, sort of modern or more up to.

4:23

Modern, more. Yeah, more,

4:26

um, visual looking pretty

4:28

to the eyes. But it's

4:30

not very accessible for persons who don't

4:32

use that visual cues

4:35

because Instagram.

4:36

Is very, very popular these days, isn't it? I mean,

4:38

for a lot of particularly small businesses,

4:40

etc..

4:40

Yes, small businesses, young

4:43

people. And that's why I try

4:45

and follow my, um, nieces

4:48

who are living overseas. I, you know,

4:50

I just want to I'm just so curious.

4:53

I want to see how they're doing and they don't use

4:55

Facebook. Um, yeah.

4:56

That seems to have kind of, uh, you know,

4:58

uh, regressed a bit as far as popularity

5:01

goes and sort of Instagram and

5:03

TikTok and all those kind of cooler

5:05

things seem to have taken over.

5:06

That's right, that's right. Yes.

5:09

Uh, Global Accessibility Day coming

5:11

up next week, which is obviously a really important day.

5:13

What about some of your thoughts and feelings

5:15

regarding accessibility and its importance?

5:18

As I said at the beginning, you've done so much

5:20

in the area of advocacy. What about things like

5:22

accessibility?

5:23

Well, accessibility involves a lot

5:25

of things, not just physical

5:27

road accessibility, street accessibility,

5:30

etc. but we need to have

5:32

accessibility to information

5:34

as well and websites.

5:37

And you know, I don't think it's working

5:39

as well. It for a while

5:41

it everyone was interested.

5:44

And as the time goes

5:46

past, you know people lose interest

5:48

and they upgrade updates and you

5:50

lose that whatever you had before.

5:53

I think we need to be more

5:55

sort of, um, what's the word vigilant

5:57

about it and, and encourage

6:00

more companies to

6:02

provide accessibility. I mean, it's

6:04

easier done here in Australia

6:06

than it is in some countries that

6:08

I've been to. Um,

6:10

at least people can see where

6:12

they're going wrong when you show it to

6:15

them and they're prepared to make

6:17

the difference, improve things

6:19

for us, which I really appreciate.

6:21

But they don't give us time to just

6:23

sit back and say, okay, we've achieved everything.

6:26

They will keep going like this.

6:28

It just doesn't happen that way. You just keep

6:31

you have to be on, on the go.

6:33

Always be vigilant and and

6:35

catch them.

6:36

I guess that's kind of the, the, uh, sort of case,

6:38

if you like, for anything in the area of

6:40

accessibility or advocacy, isn't it. It's

6:42

kind of the job is never going to be

6:44

done.

6:45

No, I mean, it's my vision

6:47

one day that we don't have to advocate

6:49

for things, you know, but it's not

6:51

going to happen, unfortunately, in my

6:53

lifetime.

6:54

I guess there's always, you know, sort

6:56

of new, new players coming onto

6:58

the scene that probably need that kind of

7:00

education. I mean, I often muse

7:03

about the fact that, uh, you know, 30

7:05

years ago we were doing interviews back

7:07

about the fact that people were being refused

7:10

entry into restaurants or cabs because

7:12

they had a dog guide. And 30 years

7:14

later, that sort of thing is still happening.

7:15

Exactly. It's still happening, which

7:18

is really sad even now. Taxis.

7:20

I mean, it's, um, illegal to refuse

7:22

someone with a guide dog, but

7:25

they still are because the training

7:27

doesn't continue with

7:29

the new drivers, even

7:31

like on public transport. Um,

7:33

you have a travel guide. I mean, Travel

7:35

Pass, which says guide can travel for

7:38

free. And some transit guides

7:40

keep saying no. You need to show your companion

7:42

card as well. And I was thinking no you

7:44

don't. Yeah. On the

7:46

actual card it actually spells out

7:49

that guide can travel for free.

7:51

You know, people just either

7:53

don't learn or don't continue.

7:55

And the other. Thing is, both state

7:57

and federal governments reduced

8:00

systemic advocacy funding. So

8:03

for individuals one on one basis,

8:05

you can advocate for a change. But

8:07

when it comes to systemic issues like public

8:09

transport, like accessibility

8:12

on Instagram, nobody has

8:14

the funding or the resources

8:17

to be able to do that.

8:19

That is such a great point, isn't it? And I

8:21

mean, it's not just in a sense, the financial

8:23

capabilities or the financial

8:26

assets to be able to do it, but it's also the kind

8:28

of emotional investment that you have

8:30

to make in it as well.

8:31

Exactly, exactly. It actually does

8:33

tie out after a while, you

8:35

know, it's not that easy.

8:37

I can recall a number of interviews

8:39

that I've done with people who've kind of been

8:41

through the wringer and come out the other end,

8:43

and whilst even if they've got the

8:46

judgement in their favour, the

8:48

toll that has taken on them as far as the

8:50

emotional input goes is uh, is

8:52

quite extraordinary. Yeah.

8:53

If you have time I can explain another

8:55

situation to you. Sure. Um, our

8:58

train services were cancelled because they're,

9:01

um, redoing the, um,

9:03

railway, uh, from

9:05

Perth to Armadale. And,

9:08

um, the bus replacement services

9:11

go to every train station. And

9:14

unfortunately, Mr.. Miss my station,

9:17

uh, they don't come to my station, so

9:19

I advocated for fully subsidised

9:22

taxi scheme for the duration

9:24

of the, um, construction

9:26

work until the train services restart.

9:28

They said no, I was on the radio

9:30

a couple of times, and then they said yes, only

9:32

for you. And I said, no, I can't

9:34

accept it just for me. It needs to be for everyone

9:37

who is impacted by this. And

9:39

they said, okay, we'll do it on a case by case,

9:42

uh, basis. And people

9:44

were ringing in to the transport department

9:46

and they were saying, oh no, we can't

9:48

do that for you. Oh, no, we can't do that for you.

9:50

And I thought, this is just disgusting. Not fair

9:52

at all. I mean, what else can you do?

9:54

The annoying thing about a case like that,

9:56

Niall, is the fact that there's an issue

9:58

there. You kind of come up with a solution,

10:01

put the solution forward. So it's not

10:03

like you're just complaining, but you're finding

10:05

a solution and it wasn't going to be a long

10:07

term financial exactly either,

10:10

was it?

10:10

No, definitely not until

10:12

um, the train services restart.

10:15

It's a short term project. I mean,

10:17

um, I don't know, uh,

10:19

I mean, if it's a big business, they

10:21

cover all the costs. The government covers

10:23

all their costs. But if it's an individual,

10:25

they don't care.

10:26

It's probably the cost of a good Christmas party,

10:28

isn't it, that that might have cost the organization.

10:31

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Right.

10:33

Yeah. And, um, and

10:35

I thought, okay, I'll use the taxi

10:38

services for a while. I did, and they only,

10:40

uh, had an agreement with one particular

10:43

company, taxi company. And

10:45

you call them, they get the full

10:47

payment from the government, not subsidised

10:49

50% like they usually

10:51

do. They wouldn't turn up.

10:53

So what I did was I

10:56

sold my unit and moved somewhere else.

10:58

I just couldn't be bothered anymore.

11:00

I mean, that's sad. That has

11:02

to come to that sort of, uh, outcome.

11:04

Yeah. I mean, I didn't ask

11:07

just for me. I asked

11:09

for, you know, all the people who were impacted

11:11

by it.

11:11

Anyhow, getting back to the Instagram. So what

11:14

what device were you using or are

11:16

you using to access Instagram

11:18

iPhone?

11:19

It's the only one that is as accessible

11:21

as it can get.

11:22

Have you had any contact? Because I think

11:24

Instagram is owned by meta, who owned Facebook.

11:26

It's kind of part of that big stable of,

11:29

uh, IT companies. Uh,

11:31

have you had any contact with Instagram

11:33

or Facebook to kind of point this out?

11:35

Well, um, I have contacted

11:37

Facebook for other issues, accessibility issues

11:39

and also WhatsApp, and they usually

11:42

were very helpful. But,

11:44

um, no, I haven't had anything any

11:46

complaints made to the Instagram?

11:49

I've been considering it, but

11:51

I haven't made it. I'm sorry. No, that's right.

11:53

You've done well to get through to any of those big companies

11:55

anyway because, uh, normally you've got

11:57

to be like a sort of, uh, a

12:00

Paralympic athlete to be able to jump through all

12:02

those hoops.

12:03

Well, um, I was asking

12:05

other people to do it as well, so it wasn't

12:07

just me. So we're making

12:09

a sort of, um, combined complaint,

12:12

and that's why it got it. Yeah.

12:15

That's why it's got to be with a lot of these things. You've got to

12:17

try and get, uh, sort of Mighty mite

12:19

and numbers on your side. Not rather than just.

12:21

Right.

12:22

Exactly. Yes. Well, it

12:24

doesn't doesn't do anything. But

12:26

if there's a group of people saying the same thing,

12:28

it actually does work.

12:30

You made an interesting point earlier. You think that

12:32

Australia perhaps doesn't do too badly

12:34

compared to some countries overseas

12:36

that maybe aren't quite as, uh, uh,

12:38

sort of, uh, amenable

12:41

to accessibility issues.

12:42

That's right. Yes. I was in

12:44

Turkey last year and the year before

12:47

that. And, um, blind

12:49

people there, you know, when they're buying

12:51

and selling property, if they need

12:53

to use the notaries

12:55

for signatures. And all that. Um,

12:57

not really requested them to,

13:00

um, requires them to get two witnesses

13:02

because they are blind. Only because they are blind.

13:05

Wow. And for the last two, three

13:07

years, they've been, um, doing lots

13:09

of, um, rallies,

13:11

um, media statements saying

13:14

this is not fair. This this

13:16

is not happening anywhere else in

13:18

Europe or Western world. You know,

13:20

we are educated people. We know what we're

13:22

signing for. Don't do this

13:25

to us. Even the court has

13:27

ruled in their favor. But

13:29

notaries are still saying you need to bring two people

13:31

to sign for you. Witness for you.

13:34

It was published on papers. It was on radio,

13:36

on TV. But not not notaries

13:38

won't get it. Well, that's.

13:39

Kind of interesting, isn't it? Kind of. Uh. It's

13:42

trading. It's trading. A person who's blind has no vision.

13:44

There's a bit of a child or someone that needs a guardian.

13:46

Exactly. That's exactly what they're.

13:48

What the people who are blind are complaining about.

13:51

And. And so rightfully

13:53

so. Yeah.

13:54

Indeed.

13:55

Um, just getting.

13:56

Back to the Instagram thing again, uh,

13:58

it is kind of a worldwide movement. So

14:00

I guess, I mean, if you and you're quite

14:03

adept as far as technology goes, if

14:05

you're finding it difficult, you'd think people in other

14:07

countries would be similarly. So. So

14:09

again, a kind of a, a worldwide

14:11

movement to make Instagram more accessible

14:14

could be something that could be considered. I guess

14:16

it's kind of organizing it and putting

14:19

people, uh, in place to be able

14:21

to sort of carry out that, uh, task

14:23

is the issue.

14:24

Well, yes. Exactly. Right. And with an

14:26

extra help, if other people can

14:28

hear it and, and and

14:31

try and put some, um, words

14:33

through Instagram meta,

14:35

then we can all do it. Yeah.

14:37

That's a great point, isn't it? Because it's a sort of thing

14:39

that, uh, uh, you know, um, the,

14:41

uh, collective power of, uh, many

14:44

people can, can be so such a powerful thing.

14:47

Niall, before you go, how are things going

14:49

in Turkey? Because we spoke to you and, uh,

14:51

uh, Zelda a little while ago

14:53

after that dreadful, uh, natural disaster

14:55

with the loss of life, etc.. Have

14:58

they kind of, well, you know,

15:00

making a recovery, if you like, both physically

15:02

and emotionally.

15:03

Uh, most of the recovery has been

15:05

done in Gaziantep, but other cities are

15:07

still, um, suffering, uh,

15:10

like places like Hatay.

15:13

Um, hasn't improved much. Malatya

15:15

is still, um, shaking.

15:18

There's still tremors there. The best

15:21

recovery has happened in Gaziantep,

15:23

where my family comes from. I

15:25

mean, people who've lost family members,

15:28

I don't think they will ever recover,

15:30

but people who've lost properties.

15:33

It's getting better.

15:34

It was certainly a dreadful incidence. And

15:36

you and Zelen and, uh,

15:38

you know, hopefully Australia did rally to kind

15:41

of help out. I mean, in a sense, it's almost

15:43

token more than, uh, really substantial

15:46

as far as the assistance goes. But it

15:48

kind of did mean at least we were thinking of them, which

15:50

hopefully can, you know, send a bit

15:52

of a comfort to those who were. There

15:54

was a lot.

15:55

A lot of good people with,

15:57

uh, you know, well, meaning beautiful

16:00

people who've supported us,

16:02

helped us in, in all

16:04

of Australia. I'm so proud

16:06

of our Australians. It was just so

16:08

good. Well, we're very.

16:09

Proud of you for the great work that you've done.

16:11

Neil. Lovely to catch up with you again. Hope your health

16:13

is in good shape as well.

16:15

Thank you so much for speaking to us. And well, you're quite right.

16:18

If, uh, people do use Instagram and

16:20

maybe in the last little while I've found a little

16:22

less accessible, maybe band together

16:24

and, uh, put out some, uh, some

16:26

pressure on, uh, meta to kind of make

16:28

it a bit more accessible because, you know,

16:30

everyone who, uh, wants to access it

16:32

should be allowed to, should be able to, should have the

16:35

accessibility to be able to do so.

16:36

That would be wonderful if people can do that.

16:39

Terrific. I will start as from today.

16:41

Oh, terrific. All right. We'll follow

16:43

you. You lead. We'll follow. Okay.

16:45

All right. Sounds good. Thanks,

16:47

Niall. Thank you for giving me an opportunity

16:49

again. That's Sydney and all the

16:51

best.

16:52

Yeah indeed. Niall, who

16:54

was inducted into the West Australian

16:56

Women Hall of Fame for a tremendous work

16:58

in the Arab advocacy, uh, not

17:01

just for disability, but also for, uh, people

17:03

that had made Australia their home and,

17:05

uh, always great to catch up and hear some, uh,

17:08

positive news. And someone who is

17:10

a wonderful advocate. Time

17:17

to talk entertainment, arts, audio

17:19

description or that cool sort of

17:21

stuff. And who better than to talk

17:23

with than the very cool Rebecca Young

17:25

from Access to Arts. Hey, guys. Bec. Great.

17:27

Thanks, Peter. How are you?

17:28

Pretty good. Now, we haven't spoken

17:30

to you since the fringe and the festival officially

17:33

kind of wrapped up, and you kind of

17:35

can put it to bed. Um, what about

17:37

some reflections? Uh, a few a few weeks

17:39

down the track.

17:40

Oh, look, it was, uh, our busiest

17:42

festival season by far

17:44

this year, which was fantastic,

17:47

because it means that all of the, uh, festivals

17:49

are starting to really take access into

17:52

account a little bit more seriously.

17:53

I know that, uh, sort of overall,

17:56

uh, ticket sales were up, uh, for both

17:58

the fringe and the Adelaide Festival. So that's

18:00

that's kind of good. But, you know, as you

18:02

say, you're kind of, uh, remote, if you

18:04

like, uh, extends a bit wider than that.

18:06

Absolutely. It really is about making

18:08

sure that, uh, those arts organizations

18:10

and arts festivals are making

18:13

their work available to everyone

18:15

in the community. Is it a.

18:16

Bit of a kind of a slow burn, if you

18:18

like? Uh, you know, you've got to play the long game.

18:20

You definitely do have to play the long game.

18:22

But what we're finding is that the work that we've been

18:24

doing in the last couple of years to really,

18:27

uh, push and promote accessible

18:29

performances is seeing more

18:31

and more people reach out to us to talk about how

18:33

they can do that.

18:34

And I guess that's kind of better

18:36

structured as well. Now, in terms of, I

18:38

know you do a lot of work as far as training

18:40

audio describers, etc. and the different

18:42

areas they can work in. So it's

18:45

kind of not maybe not easy, but

18:47

you know, to access the accessible

18:49

stuff is kind of easy as well, if I can put it that way.

18:51

Yes. That sort of, uh, part of what we

18:54

really work on is making sure that things

18:56

are accessible for audiences, not

18:58

just in terms of the actual audio description,

19:01

but we like to work with those organizations

19:03

that are putting on audio description to make

19:05

sure that their promotional materials

19:07

are accessible, that they're thinking

19:10

about how people can get to and from their events.

19:13

Uh, so all of the things that wrap around to make

19:15

sure that people have a great experience.

19:17

And I guess websites and, uh, that sort

19:19

of access to information that sort of way

19:21

is also one of the things that's kind of improved

19:24

and come along in the last couple of years as well.

19:26

Absolutely. And people are very interested in making

19:28

their websites more accessible, and they're using

19:30

all sorts of interesting tools to do

19:32

that. And we work with organizations,

19:35

um, and a range of, uh,

19:37

consultants with lived experience to

19:39

do user testing for people's websites

19:42

to make sure that they're things like screen reader

19:44

compatible, but also things like

19:46

making sure their contrast is decent, that

19:48

their text size is,

19:50

uh, changeable. So you can increase the

19:52

font, all of those things that make

19:54

websites much easier to use.

19:56

I mean, I know it's probably dangerous to generalize

19:59

in a way, but do you kind of sense that because,

20:01

you know, even after Covid and we're all coming out

20:03

of it, people are even more keen now to

20:05

get as many people as they can to come along

20:07

to shows, etc. and therefore

20:10

accessibility or sort of, you know, including

20:12

everyone becomes even more important.

20:14

They're definitely has been an increase

20:16

and an ongoing increase. I think

20:18

during Covid there was quite a lot

20:20

more focus on it because people had the time to

20:22

really, um, focus and

20:25

to think about community and how important community

20:27

is. But I do

20:29

think we are in danger if we're not careful

20:32

of losing some of those improvements that

20:34

we made during Covid, and we have to make sure

20:36

that we keep that access available.

20:38

Yeah, I guess the sort of, uh, uh,

20:40

is the word vigilance or is that maybe

20:42

a bit too strong? But I guess you got to kind

20:44

of, uh, you know, as you say, keep it front of mind for

20:47

everyone.

20:47

We do, we do. It's very important.

20:49

And, you know, we spend a little bit of time behind the scenes

20:52

sending people messages to remind

20:54

them that they they need to do the right

20:56

thing and to give them hot tips when they

20:58

maybe have, uh, put some things

21:00

up that aren't very accessible.

21:02

Well, that might be interesting. We might sneak into

21:04

your office one night and check out some

21:06

of those little messages behind the scenes that you give,

21:08

and kind of find out a bit more about them. I'm

21:10

sure you're very diplomatic and subtle, but by the

21:12

same token, you get to the point.

21:14

Uh, we are we do our best

21:16

to be diplomatic. I wouldn't necessarily say we're

21:18

always subtle.

21:19

Well, sometimes you got to do it that way. You do?

21:22

Yeah. Terrific. Now, Bec, also,

21:24

uh, I think it's now closed, but you ran

21:26

a couple of, um, grant writing

21:28

workshops. So tell us a bit about that area

21:31

and how competitive that is.

21:33

So our workshops, uh, the last

21:35

month have been focused on the Richard

21:37

Llewellyn Deaf and Disability Arts grants,

21:39

which are some fabulous grants that

21:41

Arts SA provide

21:44

to our deaf and disabled artists

21:46

to support their professional development or

21:48

projects. So we work

21:50

with um artists to

21:52

support them to put their grant applications together.

21:55

So we ran an online and an in-person

21:57

workshop, uh, and we'll do the same

22:00

later in the year for people wanting

22:02

to apply for, um, later rounds of

22:04

arts grants as well. It's

22:06

very, very busy and very competitive

22:08

in the grants.

22:10

I was going to say, I guess there's a you

22:12

know, there's sort of. Pools of money

22:14

around, but it's kind of a finding them

22:16

and be then writing out the kind of right

22:19

way application to,

22:21

you know, sort of cut through. Absolutely.

22:23

And there's lots of technical

22:25

little bits and pieces that need to be need

22:27

to be looked after so we can,

22:29

um, help people and kind of hold their hand

22:31

through that process a little bit if they're new to it,

22:34

and make sure that they have the best, best chance

22:36

of winning some of that money, is.

22:38

That money or the amount of that money or

22:40

the kind of percentage of that money? Is that sort

22:42

of going up, or is is is it a

22:44

bit of a job to try and get, you

22:46

know, organizations to put funding up

22:48

for grants as well as that kind of part of the

22:50

challenge as well?

22:51

We are always advocating for

22:53

those funds to be increased.

22:55

Um, there is a limited pool,

22:58

I suppose, of government funds for everybody.

23:01

So it is it is tricky, but

23:03

particularly we are fortunate to have those

23:05

Richard Llewellyn grants that are just

23:08

for deaf and disability focused

23:10

projects, um, and artists,

23:12

which makes it a little bit less competitive

23:14

than some of the open rounds, but

23:17

still quite competitive overall.

23:18

Yeah, I guess it's the sort of thing that, uh,

23:21

you know, depending on how people write

23:23

their grant application, you can kind

23:25

of, uh, judge that, who kind of

23:27

does determine the recipients

23:29

of those grants.

23:30

There is a panel of people normally that

23:33

determine the grant recipients. Um,

23:35

and then normally people with lived experience

23:37

and expertise in the arts for

23:39

the Richard Llewellyn Grants. And so

23:41

they will assess all of those applications

23:43

and come together as a group to agree who

23:45

receives funding.

23:46

Well, I guess in a sense, you know, there's

23:49

kind of I was going to say there's no fair way,

23:51

but I guess that's probably the fairest way. And,

23:53

you know, if someone misses out, they're probably going

23:55

to find a reason to, uh, to be unhappy

23:57

about it. But, you know, there's

23:59

not kind of enough to go around for everyone.

24:01

No, there's never quite enough to go around for everyone,

24:04

unfortunately. But what we can do

24:06

is help people make sure that they have the best chance

24:08

of success, and make sure that they've written a good

24:10

application that meets all the criteria and

24:13

really.

24:13

Important that you hold that online one, because I guess

24:15

often travel can be a bit of a, uh,

24:17

a thing that deters people

24:20

or makes it difficult for people to get to

24:22

places to be able to attend workshops

24:24

like this. Yeah. Held the online one. And

24:26

I guess also there be people in areas

24:28

that, you know, would be a bit more remote

24:30

to Adelaide that would be interested

24:33

in, uh, would have their hat in the ring as

24:35

far as funding grants go to.

24:37

Absolutely. And you know, we are

24:39

the, uh, peak body for disability

24:41

arts for the whole of South Australia. So we do

24:43

try and make sure that our work is

24:45

accessible out to the regional areas.

24:47

We're very excited to actually,

24:50

um, launch a new iteration

24:53

of one of our exhibitions in Port Lincoln

24:55

in April. And having worked with

24:57

some, uh, artists over on the Eyre Peninsula,

25:00

it's great to spread our wings and

25:02

get out of the metro area and, and

25:04

really make sure that we're connecting with artists,

25:07

uh, in the regions as well.

25:08

We have some big cities in country areas.

25:10

And, you know, obviously as a percentage

25:12

of the population, there would be people with disabilities

25:15

in that area. So to give

25:17

them that sort of access is kind of, uh, well,

25:19

it is it is the right thing to do.

25:22

Absolutely.

25:22

And, you know, we met some great artists and,

25:24

and created some great work with them.

25:27

And I guess, like anything, you know, country artists

25:29

may be, uh, excited

25:31

or their, uh, their, um, artistic

25:33

juices flow from perhaps living in those

25:35

sort of areas as well. Some of their experiences, etc.

25:37

can contribute to their artwork as well.

25:40

Absolutely. And I know several of the artists

25:42

we work with are very influenced by

25:44

their natural environment over on the Eyre Peninsula,

25:46

which is absolutely beautiful.

25:48

I don't think I've spoken to you since, uh, well,

25:50

you and I both attended a wonderful

25:52

show during the Adelaide Festival, and I actually,

25:55

uh, sat next to you and I had the audio description.

25:57

Obviously you did too. Is that kind

25:59

of partly enjoyment and partly kind of work

26:02

for you to kind of check out your audio describers

26:04

in their work?

26:05

Oh, absolutely. We do like to,

26:07

um, listen in and provide feedback

26:09

for the audio describers where we

26:11

can, and we do love for our users to provide

26:13

feedback as well, because it's really important to

26:15

us to provide a really high quality

26:18

service. But also I

26:20

find the art of audio description fascinating

26:23

and I love to listen in also for

26:25

enjoyment sake.

26:26

And wasn't that a performance by the, uh,

26:28

audio describers? I mean, sure, the artist

26:30

did a great job, but gee, the audio describers,

26:33

uh, you know, I don't, you know, I don't

26:35

know how challenged that would be compared

26:37

to whatever, but that, that I would say

26:39

as far as if you like a, a professional

26:42

development experience would be amazing.

26:43

I think that probably would have been one of

26:46

the most difficult things to audio describe

26:48

entirely. Peter. Both

26:50

that and, uh, the contemporary

26:52

dance performance, which was the other Adelaide Festival

26:55

show that we did, um, with,

26:57

uh, Carol and Charlie, two of our fabulous,

27:00

um, describers did both of those shows,

27:02

both very physical, uh,

27:04

very movement based. No

27:06

dialogue. Uh, yeah.

27:08

Not a lot of space to describe in between.

27:11

So, uh, yes, I. No.

27:13

They definitely took on a very big challenge

27:16

with those ones.

27:17

Whilst puffed out and I was just listening.

27:21

And that's why we always have two describers

27:23

for any.

27:24

Um.

27:25

Sort of, you know, a half hour or so because

27:27

it's, uh, it's a, it's

27:29

a big job.

27:30

I think I have heard one of them say to the other, let's go to the

27:32

oxygen tent. And

27:35

actually, on a serious note, though, Becky had a great response

27:37

to, in terms of audio described,

27:39

recipients or, uh, people experiencing

27:42

the, uh, uh, the show.

27:44

Absolutely. We were, um, uh,

27:46

really fortunate to have people

27:49

getting along and experiencing it. And I

27:51

know I say it every time we chat, but, you

27:53

know, that is really, uh, the most important

27:55

thing is getting people there to experience

27:58

the audio description, because that's what,

28:00

um, convinces the organizations they're doing

28:02

the right thing by organizing audio

28:04

description.

28:05

And, you know, for the audio describers, it's kind of nice

28:07

to know that you're talking to a number of

28:09

people rather than, you know, 1 or

28:11

2.

28:12

Yeah, absolutely. It's a, you know, they put

28:14

in a lot of work and preparation

28:16

for each show. So they very much

28:18

love when that is, uh,

28:20

well received by a group of people. And, and,

28:23

uh, comes in handy for

28:25

them to, um, also, as I

28:27

said, get that feedback. All right.

28:28

What's coming up in the near future?

28:30

It's pretty quiet for the next little while.

28:33

Um, there isn't a lot, um,

28:35

happening in AD because

28:37

I think everyone's taking a big yes.

28:39

After the festivals, however,

28:42

um, there is a spectacular

28:44

windmill show called Creation Creation

28:46

on at the moment, and

28:49

I highly recommend

28:51

people get along to that. Um, it's such

28:54

an interesting thing because they also

28:56

have the audio description, uh,

28:58

Auslan, um, built into the show.

29:00

So there's audio description. Um,

29:02

it's on the 11th of May. Um, but

29:05

if someone, uh, is

29:07

an Auslan user, they also have a

29:09

pre-filmed Auslan of this one

29:11

with a young, uh, young boy doing

29:13

the Auslan interpreting. And it's, uh,

29:16

he's the screen that he's on

29:18

is built into the set. So it's really, really

29:20

quite innovative access.

29:22

That's great. Now if people do want to find out more, how

29:24

can we get in touch.

29:25

You can come through our

29:27

website which is Access to

29:30

Arts with the number two Org.au.

29:33

Or you can give us a phone call

29:36

on 846316892.

29:40

Good, Beck. Well done. Good work. Nice.

29:42

Uh, nice pick up there. And of course, we

29:45

often say it, but if people can subscribe,

29:47

if you're on email, if you subscribe

29:49

to your email updates there. Excellent

29:51

as well. They come out, uh, on a very regular

29:53

basis with the very latest information.

29:55

Also, things change that,

29:57

um, you know, last minute changes can also be

30:00

covered with that. So that's also a really good thing

30:02

to think about doing too.

30:03

Absolutely.

30:04

We love to let everyone know about all the cool things

30:06

that are coming up.

30:07

Well, you're the.

30:07

Coolest of them all. So Beck, we'll catch up

30:09

again next month. Uh, we'll speak about cool. We'll

30:12

be right in the middle of winter then. So once we

30:14

get through the middle, we come out the other side. So,

30:16

uh, great to catch up.

30:16

Lovely.

30:17

Thanks, Peter. Have a great week.

30:18

Rebecca Young there. From Access to arts, access

30:20

to Arts. Org.au all

30:22

the information up on our Facebook page. And

30:25

also 84631689

30:27

is their telephone number.

30:30

You're listening to Focal Point on Vision

30:32

Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m.,

30:34

BA radio, digital and online at

30:36

VA radio.org.

30:42

Was a very exciting and interesting event coming

30:44

up this Friday, a bit of art

30:46

being audio described. That's got to be

30:48

a good thing, doesn't it? Let's speak about it from

30:50

the National Gallery of Art with Elizabeth Page.

30:52

Elizabeth, lovely to meet you. And thanks so much for your time.

30:55

Oh, thank you.

30:55

For chatting with us, Peter. It's great to,

30:57

um, great to be here and talk about the program

30:59

with you.

31:00

Yeah. This is a.

31:00

Regular thing, I.

31:01

Believe. That's right.

31:02

So the program is called the National

31:04

Art by Description Online, and

31:07

it runs on the second Friday of every

31:09

month, um, live on zoom.

31:11

And I believe that it kind of get a genesis

31:13

from Covid or during Covid.

31:15

Yes.

31:15

That's right. It's, um, one of

31:17

the the many things that have changed

31:20

since, uh, lockdown and the

31:22

transition of.

31:23

Online, um, programs from

31:25

programs that were originally delivered on

31:27

site. So the program has

31:29

been developed from a national

31:31

well, it's now turned into a national

31:34

online program, but has

31:36

originally come out of a local,

31:38

uh, group from Canberra and

31:40

we had a group of regular participants

31:42

coming to the National Gallery for an audio

31:44

described tour. And then,

31:46

of course, we went into lockdown in 2021.

31:49

And, uh, like many other cultural

31:51

institutions, on site visits were no longer

31:53

possible. So our local community said,

31:56

what are you going to do for us during Covid

31:58

and during lockdown? And,

32:00

uh, with the feedback from this

32:02

community, we have created this

32:04

online offering. And originally

32:07

it was it was a way of connecting

32:09

with people during lockdown. But we since

32:11

found out that it's actually a really wonderful

32:13

way to meet people nationally and

32:16

have continued to build it from there. All right,

32:18

now.

32:18

Your next one is coming up Friday. We'll give details

32:21

before we wrap up. It sounds like a very

32:23

interesting, uh, person in profile

32:25

or in focus. Tell us about this.

32:26

Yes. So this Friday session on

32:29

the 10th of May, uh, we have a guest

32:31

presenter, the artist Raquel Ormella.

32:33

Uh, Raquel is a local artist. And,

32:36

um, her work is she works in all

32:38

sorts of different mediums, and, um,

32:40

her work is in national collections.

32:43

But specifically, we're going to focus

32:45

on her textiles. And Raquel's

32:48

work is really, uh, really, really

32:50

compelling, I think. But she often

32:52

tackles themes around, uh, the environment

32:54

and family politics and

32:56

history. So we are drawing

32:59

down into that, uh, activist focus.

33:01

Fantastic. Um, so how does it work, Elizabeth?

33:03

It's already described. So, you know, if

33:05

there's a person who's blind, has low vision that

33:08

can't kind of see it, they can still

33:10

kind of fully, uh, fully participate, if you like,

33:12

or be very much included in the,

33:14

in the exhibition.

33:15

That's right. So we do have a PowerPoint

33:17

of images which are screen shared

33:19

on PowerPoint, but all of the images

33:21

are described fully. We talk about

33:24

how the work of art has been made, and

33:26

usually we fit it within a broader

33:28

narrative of, um, overarching

33:31

throughout the session. So we describe

33:33

what the artwork looks like, its visual

33:35

appearance, but we also talk about

33:38

its significance within the artist's work.

33:40

Or sometimes we might have a thematic

33:42

focus, like we've had a session where

33:44

we focused on artworks that created

33:47

about rivers or about the moon,

33:49

or recently we also did one around road

33:51

trips and travel. So there's

33:53

also a story that's being woven throughout.

33:56

And, uh, we found out that

33:58

the stories, which are often incredibly

34:00

interesting, are a big part of this program

34:02

as well.

34:03

Now, often artists are kind

34:05

of there to, uh, kind of participate.

34:07

Would that be the case with Raquel this Friday?

34:09

Absolutely. So the best way

34:11

to, um, to hear about the art,

34:13

I think, is from the artists themselves. And,

34:16

uh, it's really wonderful chance to

34:19

to have an artist telling us about their

34:21

work and about the ideas that have

34:23

inspired it. And there

34:25

is usually an opportunity to also ask questions

34:27

and to interact as well. The format of this

34:29

session is, um, that

34:31

people can ask questions and chat. So

34:34

we have a really good dialogue between participants

34:36

and artists during these sessions as

34:38

well, which I think is, um, it's

34:40

really awesome for for the artists as well

34:43

to chat.

34:43

Well, of course, I mean, to go along to an exhibition

34:45

is great, but if you can actually, uh, be

34:47

communicating with the artist, uh, you can

34:49

kind of get a very much, pardon the pun, a

34:52

full picture of what it's about.

34:53

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

34:55

I'll allow that pun. All right. You're very

34:57

kind.

34:58

You're very kind. Maybe. Maybe not. Not so

35:00

generous with me next time. Uh, Elizabeth.

35:02

Um, now, do you people need to

35:04

book? Uh, I know there's a I know it from

35:06

an email I saw. There is a zoom link

35:08

that's sent out. Or would you prefer

35:10

people actually book so you know who's

35:13

going to be there and that sort of thing.

35:14

The best way to, um, to receive

35:16

the zoom link is if you send us an email

35:19

at access at Navarro,

35:22

or you can also phone us on

35:25

02 6240 6632,

35:29

and we can add you to our mailing

35:31

list. And, uh, that way you'll

35:33

receive an email every month, which has

35:35

the topic because the topic does change

35:37

each month, and it also has that

35:39

zoom link directed. And part of

35:41

that, too, is also just that. Sometimes,

35:43

um, you can look on the the National Gallery

35:46

website as well, but even just navigating

35:48

that booking process can be

35:50

a bit painful at times. So, uh,

35:52

if you want to just sign up directly, we

35:54

can email you the topic each

35:56

month and the zoom link. But we

35:58

do also have some really wonderful,

36:00

um, organizations who send out

36:03

and share the zoom link directly,

36:05

like Canberra Blind Society or Blind

36:07

Sports and Recreation Victoria. So

36:09

if you have seen the post on one of those networks

36:11

and you've got the zoom link already, you're very

36:14

welcome just to use that and join straight

36:16

away. And the zoom link is also the

36:18

same each month as well. So, um,

36:20

if you've seen it once, you'll be able to find it again.

36:23

I think that, uh, email might have made its way

36:25

into my inbox, which I'm very, very grateful

36:27

for. Elizabeth, you talked about, uh,

36:29

you know, sort of pre-COVID, you used to have a

36:32

sort of a, an audience,

36:34

uh, a live audience, if I can put it that way. I

36:36

believe you still do that. And last Sunday you had such

36:38

an event, is that right?

36:39

Absolutely. So we have a

36:41

quite a, um, a wonderful community

36:44

here in Canberra of people who are blind or

36:46

who have low vision. And we do run

36:48

an on site program here in

36:50

Canberra. Uh, last month our

36:52

focus was, uh, A Century of Quilts,

36:54

which is one of the major exhibitions

36:56

at the National Gallery at the moment. But

36:59

it's particularly through, um, the feedback

37:01

and the input of this audience locally

37:03

that, uh, we've really been able to

37:06

create this online version of the program.

37:08

So of course, if you are in Canberra

37:10

and you want to come along and experience,

37:12

um, one of these audio described tours,

37:14

please do send us an email or

37:17

give us a call as well. And we

37:19

also have done things like ceramics workshops

37:21

or um, soft sculpture workshops

37:24

as well. So definitely

37:26

would love to meet more people both in

37:28

Canberra and abroad nationally.

37:30

Yeah, and I guess the great thing about this Friday

37:32

in particular is, uh, it doesn't matter where

37:34

you are, as you say, you've got the, uh,

37:37

event that you had last Sunday where people can come

37:39

along, but not everyone can get to Canberra. That easily.

37:41

But for Friday, it doesn't matter where you are.

37:43

You know, if you're, uh, got access to

37:46

some technology that will tap you into the

37:48

zoom call, you can be part of it.

37:50

Absolutely. And I mean, even

37:52

just geographical distance can be

37:54

a barrier to the way that people can experience

37:56

art on site in galleries. But you

37:59

don't even have to have your camera on. So you're welcome

38:01

to join in your pajamas from home. And

38:03

while I mentioned that there is, uh,

38:05

there's an opportunity to ask

38:08

and to, um, interact

38:10

live, you're also very welcome

38:12

just to listen and keep your camera on

38:14

or off. And the same with your microphone.

38:17

Now, I'm.

38:17

Not sure about, uh, well, I won't judge

38:19

other people, Elizabeth, but, uh, pajamas.

38:21

2:00 eastern time on a Friday afternoon.

38:23

Well, I guess anything's allowed, but that's a good time

38:26

as well, because I was actually speaking to your

38:28

colleague earlier in the week, Adrian Barr, when she was making

38:30

the fact that, um, you know, the time

38:32

is really good. 2:00 on a Friday afternoon,

38:34

but for, say, people in Western Australia,

38:36

it's also very convenient time. So because sometimes,

38:39

you know, our friends out in the West can be left

38:41

out a bit.

38:42

Yes, absolutely. And for, for

38:44

a 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time program.

38:46

Yeah. Um, I think that can be 6 a.m. in WA,

38:49

and that would definitely warrant

38:51

wearing pajamas I think. So we were very

38:53

conscious to, to put it in the afternoon

38:56

to, to hopefully be attracting

38:58

an audience nationally, not have to

39:00

get anyone out of bed too early.

39:01

That's obviously a very inclusive way of

39:03

looking at things. So, uh, congratulations

39:06

on that initiative. So give us the details

39:08

again. Um, Elizabeth, and just

39:10

maybe a little bit, uh, on the artist as well,

39:12

so people can maybe do a little bit of research beforehand.

39:14

They can also do that. But give us the details,

39:17

uh, this coming Friday.

39:18

Yes. So the program this Friday,

39:21

on Friday, 10th of May, it

39:23

is from 2 to 3 p.m. Australian

39:25

Eastern Standard Time. And

39:27

this session we have the artist Raquel

39:30

Ormella joining us. Uh, her name

39:32

is spelled Raquel

39:36

and surname o r m

39:38

e l l a. And

39:40

Raquel is a multidisciplinary

39:42

artist. Uh, she works a lot with

39:45

textiles but also with printmaking,

39:47

and particularly

39:50

will be focusing on activism and

39:52

social commentary in her textile works.

39:54

And there's some fabulous,

39:56

uh, textiles that she's made that are often

39:58

quite large scale. And we're going to talk about how

40:00

she's made them, the connections to her life

40:02

and family, as well as how she brings

40:05

all of these themes together.

40:07

And Raquel will actually be there to,

40:09

uh, kind of participate and maybe answer

40:11

some questions as well. So that'll be

40:13

really most worthwhile. How can we

40:15

book or how can we find out more?

40:17

Yeah, absolutely. So Raquel will be there

40:19

and um, along with the audio description as well,

40:21

she's shared some music and

40:24

some, um, poetry as well. So we

40:26

incorporate these into each session. So,

40:28

uh, it's really a great chance to,

40:31

uh, talk with her. And I'm really excited personally,

40:33

because I've been looking forward to it. Um,

40:35

the best way to contact us

40:38

and to receive the zoom link. Is to

40:40

email us. So access at nasa.gov

40:43

edu. Or if you prefer to give us

40:45

a call you can ring Adrian on

40:48

02 6240 6632.

40:52

Or if you google National

40:54

Art by description online, you can also book on

40:56

the NEA website. But I'd say

40:58

just give us an email. And that way we'll add you to

41:00

the mailing list and send it through. Okay.

41:03

For about an hour.

41:03

About an hour. Yep. That's

41:06

right. So we we try and keep it to an hour

41:08

where where it's a lot of it can be a lot of energy

41:11

sitting and listening. Sometimes if the conversation

41:13

is particularly, um, flowing,

41:15

we do run over time, but we try and

41:17

keep it to an hour.

41:18

Yeah, yeah. Well, I sometimes run over time as well,

41:20

uh, Elizabeth and get told off. So that's okay.

41:23

That's absolutely. Elizabeth.

41:25

Great to talk to you. I think we'll be, uh, chatting

41:28

on a sort of semi-regular basis going forward

41:30

now that we've discovered this, uh, excellent

41:32

initiative and be good to let people know, and

41:34

particularly to let people know all around Australia

41:36

about it, that's a really important

41:38

thing. Doesn't matter where you are particularly, say,

41:40

people who might be in the rural or regional

41:43

areas that maybe can't get to a city,

41:45

uh, uh, exhibition so easily. Yeah.

41:47

To kind of have one in your, uh, lounge

41:49

room once a month is a wonderful initiative.

41:51

Yeah. And we would love to meet more people

41:53

from around Australia. I mean, you don't

41:55

even have to be in Australia, but

41:58

definitely we'd love to connect with, uh, with

42:00

more people. And likewise, if you

42:02

if you're part of a network and you'd like to

42:04

receive the information for your network,

42:06

feel free to get in touch too. And

42:08

also feel free to suggest topics

42:11

to that. Some sessions we've

42:13

taken the lead from our regular participants

42:15

who have mentioned that there was an artist

42:17

who they were really interested in, or a particular

42:19

area of art. So

42:21

if there's something that you've been eager to experience,

42:24

we would love to hear from you.

42:25

Terrific. We love hearing from you today. Thanks so much, Elizabeth.

42:28

Thank you. Peter, that.

42:29

Is Elizabeth Paige there from the National Gallery

42:32

that is coming up this Friday. So

42:34

you've got the details. If you've missed it, you can go to our Facebook

42:36

page. But it sounds like a really tremendous initiative.

42:38

Hope you can make yourself available all.

42:44

Was there some new news regarding the

42:47

closing off of the 3G network?

42:49

Let's chat a bit about it with the Stephen Tinker,

42:51

who's from Telstra. He's the Victorian regional

42:53

general manager. Stephen, great to meet you and thanks so

42:55

much for your time. Thanks, Peter.

42:57

Great to be here.

42:58

A little bit of an extension of time as far as

43:00

the closing off date for the 3G network goes.

43:02

Yeah, that's right.

43:03

Announced on Monday this week that

43:05

we're extending our plan is to extend the 3G

43:07

network closure by two months. So it was planned

43:09

for the 30th of June 2024. And now we're extending

43:12

that closure to

43:14

close it off at 31st of August

43:16

2024. So it's really around

43:18

helping our customers, you know, giving them a bit more

43:20

time to actually, you know, understand

43:22

what transition of devices if they need

43:24

to and get that done before the closure

43:27

occurs. So yeah, just a bit more time to help people

43:29

get themselves organized and ensure

43:31

the impact is is minimized. If we can.

43:34

Kind of start at the beginning, if you like. Stephen. So

43:36

anyone that's got a conventional landline

43:38

phone kind of nothing to worry about there.

43:40

Yeah.

43:40

In the main. Peter. Yeah, a conventional landline

43:43

phones, they're very separate. There is

43:45

one type of technology that provides

43:47

a landline phone, which we call Nextg

43:50

wireless link, and that's only a very, very

43:52

small number of customers across the country

43:54

that uses the 3G network to provide

43:56

the connectivity for that fixed line

43:58

service. But we're contacting those customers

44:01

directly and have done for many, many months

44:03

to to organise that transition. So that shouldn't

44:05

be an issue. So most customers

44:07

aren't impacted by this change of 3G

44:09

network at all, particularly with fixed network.

44:11

But even only a small amount are left

44:14

for that have 3G phones

44:16

and other devices that they need to

44:18

take action on.

44:19

I guess another one of the kind of, uh, concerning

44:21

things, if I can put it that way, is that you

44:23

may be able to use your mobile phone to

44:25

say, ring your your grandkids or your

44:27

friends across the country if you like.

44:30

Uh, but that might not work with the 000

44:32

call. Is that right? Yeah.

44:33

There's again, there's a really small number of

44:35

handsets, Peter. They're usually the ones that

44:37

were purchased pre 2019.

44:41

Or they might have been, you know, quite overseas

44:43

or something like that. And these devices

44:46

you're right. They use the 4G network to

44:48

make to use calls. We call it voice over LTE

44:50

which is LTE is a fancy term for 4G.

44:53

So they voice over LTE. But when they go

44:55

to um, to call 000

44:57

those phones and this is a, you know, the

44:59

phone manufacturers decision back

45:01

in the day, they would use the 3G network

45:04

to make that emergency call. So there's a

45:06

small number of customers that may experience that.

45:08

But, um, it's it's worth noting

45:11

that we've got a, um, an SMS

45:13

tool that you can send, uh, a simple

45:15

message to, and it'll do an assessment on your handset

45:17

to let you know whether you

45:20

need to take action or not, whether it may fall in that category.

45:22

It's as simple as texting the number 3

45:24

to 3, four, nine, eight.

45:26

And, uh, and that will respond back

45:28

to you with, uh, if you need to do something about

45:31

your device.

45:31

Okay. We'll repeat that before we wrap up. That's

45:33

a very cool thing and a very simple thing, which

45:35

I guess is like really, really important because

45:38

we don't want to panic people into, uh, you

45:40

know, worrying too much. By the same token,

45:42

to, uh, be forewarned, there's got to be a good thing as

45:44

well.

45:44

Oh, totally. And it and that's right. And, you know, most

45:46

people won't be impacted, but it's as simple as sending that

45:48

text message to that, you know, to that 3498

45:51

the number three, I'll say it again, but it's

45:53

as simple as that. And it just is peace of mind, isn't

45:55

it? If it comes back and says, no, you're all good, you won't

45:57

be impacted when the 3G network closure. That's

45:59

good. You can get on with your life.

46:01

Stephen, what about as far as people that might have

46:03

personal alarms go? What's the situation

46:05

there? Yeah, we've been.

46:06

Working with the, um, the organisations

46:08

that provide the personal alarms and medical alert

46:10

systems and stuff for, for a fair while

46:13

now for a long period, actually to actually

46:15

assist with that transition. And this additional

46:17

couple of months helps with that as well. So I know

46:19

a lot of those companies have been reaching out to

46:22

their clients to make sure that their devices

46:24

are capable. And we expect that that

46:26

to be, um, all sorted before

46:28

the network closure date. Yeah, we've.

46:29

Done a bit on this station on various programs

46:32

about this, and it seems like to

46:34

be very fair to organisations. They've

46:36

been very much, uh, going

46:38

out of their way to contact people individually

46:40

because, you know, we all got lots of emails

46:42

or lots of letters and think, oh, you know, another bit

46:44

of, uh, junk mail if you like, but,

46:46

you know, to be contacted directly by someone

46:49

like that, I guess you're going to take a bit more notice

46:51

of it. Oh, it's.

46:52

Great if they're and it's great to hear that they're doing

46:54

that. Uh, because it is important, isn't

46:56

it? Like, um, medical alert systems and,

46:58

um, they're very they're critical

47:00

for people. So, you know, I met someone

47:02

just the other day when I was up in country

47:04

Victoria and, um, and they were telling me about that

47:07

experience that, you know, they rely on it heavily.

47:09

And we're really pleased to hear that that

47:11

transition happened pretty smoothly. So kudos

47:13

to those companies that are that are doing

47:16

that work. Well, I.

47:16

Guess if they're really caring about their clients

47:19

or their patients, uh, wellbeing,

47:21

you'd hope they'd kind of be doing that. But from all

47:23

the feedback we've received, it seems like it's been

47:25

very much the case, Stephen, with

47:27

the kind of, uh, turning off, if you like,

47:29

happened overnight, like at a minute past midnight

47:31

will be a gradual phasing out. How will that.

47:33

Work? Yeah, it's not as simple as just flicking a switch

47:35

and be nice, but, um, my understanding is that

47:37

it will be a bit of a gradual

47:39

thing to shut down the network. Uh, it probably.

47:42

It won't be noticeable. We'll probably, um,

47:44

restrict access to the network.

47:46

Um, you know, pretty quickly, and

47:48

then it'll be a bit of a period of time as we

47:50

shut down the network, uh, over that sort

47:53

of August 31st, that Saturday, August 31st

47:55

period. So, yeah, it'll be a bit of a gradual

47:57

thing, but it'll, it'll it will it'll

48:00

only take sort of hours I think. Peter.

48:01

Okay. Yeah. Okay. So I guess

48:04

to err on the side of caution, uh, you

48:06

kind of factor in that, uh, you know, August 31st,

48:08

you've got to be ready to move

48:10

on rather than sort of say, oh, maybe they might, uh,

48:12

be hanging around for a little bit longer. We're not

48:14

really talking days or weeks. It's going to be, you know,

48:16

pretty quick. Yeah.

48:18

That's the time we intend to switch

48:20

it off. The switch off itself, as I said,

48:22

might take a few hours just to power it all down and

48:24

get it all sorted, but it'll certainly happen

48:26

on that. Uh, August 31st is the plan,

48:28

Stephen.

48:29

Someone might ask why. I mean, I guess it's

48:31

just part of progress. I mean, I know, uh,

48:33

it doesn't seem that long ago that people talk about

48:35

4G, and then 5G and 5G

48:37

was sort of seemingly a long way off. All of a sudden,

48:39

a lot of phones can access 5G. So

48:41

is this just kind of part of the telecommunications

48:44

progress that we're, uh, we're living through?

48:46

Yeah, you probably you probably described it really well.

48:48

It is. It's just the next generation. So,

48:51

um, you know, 3G was, uh, turned

48:53

on around, uh, 20 odd years ago now. And

48:55

it's been fantastic for us, no doubt, um,

48:57

and for the country. But, um, you know,

48:59

20 odd years in technology terms is

49:01

pretty old, um, if you think about

49:03

it, isn't it? So, um, yeah,

49:06

it's about moving to those next generations, like

49:08

the fourth generation being 4G and fifth generation

49:10

of that technology, you know, the

49:12

devices and the and the technology

49:14

itself and the equipment are far more efficient

49:17

in lots of ways. You know, they provide a whole bunch

49:19

more capacity, um, you

49:21

know, greater speeds, uh, for data

49:23

and a whole range of things that are a huge benefit

49:25

for us. So it's that sort of technology evolution.

49:28

And, and this is a global thing that's happening.

49:30

Peter. So it's not just in Australia. We've,

49:32

we've seen, um, TPG, Vodafone

49:34

shut down their 3G network earlier this year.

49:36

And Optus are going to be following us pretty

49:38

shortly as well. So you know this,

49:40

but there's been companies overseas that are down this

49:43

path that also. So this is a global

49:45

phenomenon. And um and you think about

49:47

all the devices, whether they be handsets

49:49

or other devices, they're all moving in

49:51

that direction as well. Um, yeah. So it's

49:53

important that we provide a network that keeps

49:55

up with the demands as well.

49:57

The numbers are quite extraordinary, aren't they, Stephen? We've got

49:59

something like 25, 26, 27 million

50:01

people living in Australia. I think I

50:03

read somewhere there's about at least 35 million,

50:06

uh, mobile phones. I mean, it just

50:08

seems amazing. I mean, that's for every

50:10

man, woman, child. And, uh, and,

50:12

uh, you know, one and a bit left over sort of thing, which is

50:15

just incredible. Yeah.

50:16

We're big users of the, um, of data

50:18

and internet, aren't we? Like, um, for a range

50:20

of things. We've mentioned a few already, haven't we? Just, you know, day

50:22

to day activities, but medical alerts and,

50:25

you know, zoom calls are becoming

50:27

you know, they're part of our daily lives for work

50:29

and a whole range of things now. So data is

50:31

a huge part of it. We see about on our mobile

50:33

network alone, we see about a 30%

50:36

increase year on year on data traffic across

50:38

our mobile network. So, you know, we have to

50:40

adopt these new technologies to in order to

50:42

cater for that. Uh, that growth and that demand.

50:44

So this is all a part of that as well, because

50:47

what we're doing with the 3G and

50:49

particularly that spectrum, that radio frequency,

50:51

Peter, that um, is really important,

50:54

which is that it connects the, you know, the wirelessly

50:56

from your device back to the mobile base station

50:58

is where we're going to reuse that. So we can

51:00

reuse that for the newer technology like

51:02

5G and, and 4G technology

51:04

to improve that experience for customers

51:07

over time.

51:07

And I guess putting it in a simple person's terms,

51:10

Stephen, because there's only so much space

51:12

out there, if you like. Is that right? And so that 3G

51:14

has got to kind of be shut down and make

51:16

space for four and 5G. Yeah.

51:18

Correct. That's right. That radio frequency,

51:20

there's only a certain amount of space in that. And

51:22

um, and the new technologies are more efficient

51:25

to use that. And uh, and so we want

51:27

to be able to move that technology onto

51:29

that frequency so we can provide a better,

51:31

better service for our customers and the communities in which

51:33

we which we operate in.

51:34

Fantastic. And you touched on the fact that

51:36

we're talking to you obviously from Telstra. So that's

51:38

August that it closes down. But uh, I

51:40

mean, it pretty much doesn't matter which companies

51:43

you're with in, in the short term,

51:45

none of them are going to be offering 3G. So it's not

51:47

a matter of I might switch uh, my

51:50

provider. That's not going to do you any good as far as

51:52

this goes.

51:52

Yeah. I think, um, you know, we've seen, as I said before, it's a

51:54

bit of a global, um, you know, exercise

51:57

that, um, 3G is, uh,

51:59

you know, it's coming to the end of its life.

52:01

And, um, I know Optus are looking to shut

52:03

theirs down, I think in September around that period

52:05

as well. So, uh, yeah. And TPG

52:08

have already shut theirs down. So it's, uh, it

52:10

is an industry wide scenario.

52:12

So yeah, it's it's good that, you

52:14

know, we're all doing it sort of very closely together so

52:16

people can, you know, really understand what the future

52:18

direction is and what they need to do to, to

52:21

ensure they're they're ready for the change.

52:22

We'll give the details again in a second as to how

52:25

people can kind of check their own handset

52:27

out and give people a chance to either, uh,

52:29

grab something to record the number or write

52:31

it down or take it down to their preferred

52:33

way. Steve, I'm sure somewhere in your,

52:35

uh, future facing department at Telstra, if

52:38

there is such a thing, is there such a thing

52:40

as sort of six G or is that just a bit? Too

52:42

far off in the horizon that we can't quite see it yet.

52:44

Oh, no, I think I've read. I've read a few articles

52:46

about, um, six G. And

52:49

because that really stands for the sixth generation.

52:51

So I'm sure there's some really,

52:53

you know, brilliant people in the world, Peter,

52:56

that are actually, you know, they're looking at what that

52:58

next generation of mobile network

53:00

is going to do and deliver for us. Um,

53:02

but I've read articles already that they're starting to,

53:05

you know, experiment with six G and things

53:07

like that. So you know how far away that

53:09

is from, you know, being available

53:11

to, you know, commercially is

53:13

a whole different subject. I haven't any

53:15

idea about when that's, you know, when

53:17

that's likely to happen. It's probably a long way in

53:19

the future. But what I do know is that 4G

53:22

and 5G are, you know, here for the long term, long

53:24

term, and they provide a really good service

53:26

for us. And, you know, we're really committed to that. And I guess.

53:29

It's all kind of demand driven. I mean, particularly

53:31

with things like gaming. And we want

53:33

to kind of, uh, download movies in 30s

53:35

and stuff like that. I mean, it's kind of demand

53:37

driven as an organization, you've got to kind

53:40

of be, uh, providing what the customer

53:42

wants.

53:42

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. That's right. It is demand

53:44

driven. And as we you know, as we said before,

53:47

we, we we're pretty hungry for data

53:49

in Australia, aren't we. We use it a lot.

53:51

So you know, we have to keep, you know, providing

53:54

the technology and the advancements to keep

53:56

up with that demand. So you're spot on with that.

53:58

Well, I can tell you the first plan I

54:00

was on, uh, I think my

54:02

monthly download limit was, uh, 70MB.

54:05

And that's not that long ago. I mean, I know I don't

54:07

look that young, but, uh, it's not

54:09

that long ago that that was my first plan 70.

54:12

And now it's unlimited, which is, uh, gigabytes.

54:14

So I guess that kind of shows how quickly that has,

54:16

uh, really expanded and exploded. So,

54:18

Stephen, um, if people want to test their handset

54:21

or is it just the number three, you've got a text

54:23

to this number that you're going to give us. Is it.

54:24

Yeah. That's right. Just to check your handset capability

54:27

and that's to see if it's, you know, if, if you need to make,

54:29

you know, to make any decisions about updating

54:31

your phone or upgrading your phone

54:33

or your device, it's as simple as using

54:36

the SMS tool, which is text the number

54:38

3 to 3

54:40

498. So so

54:43

you're texting the number three to and

54:45

the number you're texting it to is like the phone

54:47

number you would text to. It would

54:49

be is just three four, nine, eight. What

54:52

that will then do is do a quick assessment on your

54:54

handset, and it will then

54:56

send you back a message to tell you. And there's

54:58

a range of messages you could get to say,

55:00

no, you're okay, you'll be fine once the

55:02

3G network shut down. Or you might need

55:04

to do this or something else. Um, but

55:06

there will be good peace of mind to have a look at it. We've

55:08

had, I think, from memory, we've had about

55:10

80,000 at the start of this month. About 80,000

55:13

people do that test. Um, and it's

55:15

good to see that they're doing it. And only a very

55:17

small percentage came back on that to say they need

55:19

to do something about their device. So I

55:21

would recommend people do that. It doesn't take very long

55:24

and come back and see if you need to take any action.

55:26

Terrific was a bit of the old days with the

55:28

Covid testing used to stand by for

55:30

your result, and if you're all clear, you can go and do

55:32

stuff. If not, you have to isolate for

55:34

14 days. Not quite the same with this, but at least it's

55:36

peace of mind, which is equally important. Stephen,

55:39

really appreciate your time. It's been a good chat and, um,

55:41

uh, really appreciate you speaking to us. That's all.

55:43

One more thing to just before I go, what

55:45

we're doing later this month. So later in May,

55:48

for those customers that are impacted and

55:50

they may not have done the text check,

55:52

uh, their handsets were actually at a voice

55:54

recording to the start of calls.

55:57

If they've got a 3G dependent

55:59

device, when they go to make a call, there'll

56:01

be a voice recording at the beginning of that call

56:03

to let them know that they have to do something about

56:05

their device. That's brilliant. Just a reminder.

56:08

So that's coming during the month of May,

56:10

and the only way you can remove get that remove uh,

56:13

recording removed is update your device or

56:15

do something to that device to make sure it's going to be

56:17

okay once the 3G network shuts down.

56:19

Oh well, congratulations. That's an excellent initiative

56:21

because once you get that message, then, uh,

56:24

you know, there's kind of no hiding from it. It's,

56:26

uh, very much, uh, plainly there for you. So that's

56:28

a great information. Thanks again. Stephen. Thanks,

56:30

Peter.

56:30

My pleasure. It's been great to talk.

56:32

That's, uh, Stephen Tinker there. He's the, uh, general

56:34

manager for, uh, Regional Victoria,

56:36

for Telstra. So that very important message

56:38

and we'll put that number up in our Facebook page.

56:41

But that's a pretty straightforward, isn't it? As always, if

56:43

you've missed any information, please give us a call

56:45

here at the radio station. Just

56:50

heard back from Elizabeth Page from the National

56:52

Gallery of Art, who wanted to

56:54

correct the spelling of Raquel

56:56

Ormella, who is featuring in

56:58

Friday's exhibition. It's r

57:01

a q u e l

57:03

r a q u e l. Raquel

57:06

Ormella is how the

57:08

name is spelled. So Elizabeth, thanks so much

57:10

for letting us know that

57:13

I ought to describe show of the week. It's coming

57:15

up this Sunday morning, 1130

57:17

SBS Main Channel.

57:20

It is called Outside

57:22

Beyond the Lens. It's the

57:24

hottest, driest, lowest

57:26

place in the United States,

57:28

but a winter storm turns

57:31

it into a photographer's

57:33

adventure. That is coming

57:36

up with audio description this Sunday

57:38

morning on SBS

57:40

The Main Channel. It is called

57:43

outside and

57:45

it sounds like it's going to be a great show.

57:47

Outside, beyond the Lens this

57:49

Sunday morning with audio description.

57:52

SBS Main Channel

57:54

rated G for very, very good.

57:57

A couple of birthdays before we go.

57:59

Happy birthday to Sharon Soby

58:01

over there on the act. Maybe she knows.

58:03

Elizabeth. Happy birthday to you, Sharon.

58:05

Thanks for all the great work you've done over many,

58:07

many years in many, many areas of

58:09

advocacy. I way out

58:11

west we go where the rain don't fall.

58:14

Happy birthday to Karen Wickham.

58:16

Another tremendous advocate over there in

58:18

West Australia. So happy birthday to you. And

58:20

back to the center we come for

58:23

happy birthday to Jed Alexander

58:25

in South Australia. So happy

58:27

birthday to you all. Focal point

58:30

covering Australia with information like

58:32

no other. That is it for

58:34

the program. Thank you Sam Rickard for

58:36

your help. Thank you Pam Green for

58:38

yours. Reminding you Focal

58:41

Point is available on that favorite

58:43

podcast platform of yours.

58:45

Be kind to yourselves. Be thoughtful

58:47

of others. On behalf of Philip Vandepeer.

58:50

And a big cheerio to Wendy McDougall listening

58:52

in. This is Peter Greco saying

58:55

this is Vision Australia Radio.