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Rosling Lane – Dandenong

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Australia’s Dylan Alcott has roared into the limelight with a historic win at Wimbledon and a TV Logie to boot. He is the face of disability inclusion at the moment, and what a wonderful moment it is.

I watched the Grand Slam final over the weekend with my family, including my daughter Phoebe who has a moderate  intellectual disability, and we cheered as Dylan choked back tears as he lifted the Wimbledon trophy after blitzing British rival Andy Lapthorne in straight sets, 6-0 6-2.

The win was historic because it was Wimbledon’s first wheelchair event. What an amazing moment for the 28-year-old and for disability inclusion. Finally, people of all abilities are being celebrated.

But when I was discussing the win over the weekend with a friend, they said: “Isn’t it a pity the event is called the ‘Quad Wheelchair’ singles. It’s not inclusive.”

It’s a vexed question that gets raised with me a lot in my role as CEO of a disability organisation. How do we get greater inclusion – by celebrating difference or by pretending it doesn’t exist?

Dylan himself hinted at this in his acceptance speech

“Today, everyone there did not care I was in a wheelchair. They’re like, ‘How good is this match? How good is he playing? He’s a good bloke’,” he told the packed crowd.

In all the talk of inclusion I think there is a very real risk that we forget another important concept – diversity.

Inclusion suggests that bringing groups together is a good thing, whereas diversity says more options and choice are better than less. It is a celebration of our differences.

This same debate occurred recently with the Commonwealth Games which included several para-sport events. Some commentators insisted we should just have one inclusive sporting event going forward with all the events together side by side because that’s how we achieve greater awareness and inclusion.

While I like the theory of this, I found myself disagreeing because if that occurred it would actually mean that many of the para events would have to be cut out of the schedule and the end result might well be less opportunity for these athletes instead of more.

Another example is that the AFL has an Indigenous Players Association in addition to the Players Association. There are some critics who have said this isn’t helpful – that we should just have one Players Association that represents everyone. I disagree. The driver for the indigenous offshoot were that the main Players Association wasn’t properly set up to represent indigenous players who wanted their own voice.

In terms of disability in the media, it’s fabulous seeing Dylan Alcott have so much success and I would love to see more people with disability represented in the mainstream media.

But I  strongly believe we also need separate voices and forums and spaces to achieve greater inclusion.

Australia has a national TV channel dedicated to multiculturalism in SBS, and an Indigenous channel in NITV. Both are crucial to reminding us about our cultural diversity and play valuable roles in making us more culturally inclusion. I couldn’t imagine how all those communities would be better served by having just one “inclusive” channel. And who would decide what content and which voices would be left out? The risk of homogenisation is very real.

One of my own passions is to see the creation of a channel devoted to disability. It would broadcast programs, series and movies depicting people living with disability breaking barriers and the technological advances that are changing lives.

But when I suggested this idea to someone recently who has a similar vision for greater disability inclusion , I was told it would be a bad thing because it would not be inclusive. A separate channel would reinforce the separateness of disability, they said. Better to just have a few programs about disability on the ABC as national broadcaster.

I disagree that such a channel, and similar ideas, would set back the cause for greater disability awareness and inclusion.

In fact, such a channel could actually be a major step forward for disability inclusion because it would create a space for the entire community living with, affected by or interested in disability to gather and share stories. Remember, 1-in-5 people live with a disability and many more are affected indirectly, so it’s a huge potential audience.

A separate channel could become a national brand champion, highlighting great examples of inclusion in the workplace, in schools and in the community and be a powerful driver of change. My family would love to see a channel like this bring all those stories – including Dylan Alcott’s historic win – in one place.

So there are many differences of opinion about the best way to achieve inclusion and Dylan Alcott is helping us all have it at a national level.

Sport and the media play such pivotal roles in the struggle for greater inclusion and Dylan’s success in both spaces is having a huge impact.

Phil Hayes-Brown is CEO of Melbourne-based disability support agency Wallara and was formerly in senior roles in the corporate world, the National Basketball Association in the US and the Hawthorn football club. His daughter has an intellectual disability.

People are hardwired to contribute and communal in nature. Adults with disability are no different in their desire to give back. Wallara Australia’s Dandenong St group are like many community groups that want to do more for their community.

Kat Morgan, one of Wallara’s Support Coaches said “we’ve noticed over the years that many of our clients thrive off of giving back and participating in the community and when they do something to help someone they feel a massive sense of achievement and feel that they are making a change in the world!” Wallara is lucky to have Kat’s creativity for finding worthy projects, some of which include collecting bottle tops that are then turned into prosthetic arms for children overseas. The group collect, sort and drop the bottle tops to the local Envision depot and encourage all our clients, family members and staff to contribute to this worthy cause.

Bob Bottroff is shown holding a container of bottle tops which will be sent off to envision to be turned into prosthetic arms & then shipped overseas to be given to a child in need. 

Bob loves the idea of helping children overseas.

The group also collect & prepare mats out of reusable plastic bags for homeless people in Melbourne. Giving back to other vulnerable people is a great way of strengthening the community. Giving back creates a sense of gratitude for what we have in the world.

Janette Sault is a part of a group who twice a month prepares a meal that goes to Basecamp (similar to cornerstone soup kitchens) and is providing members of the Berwick community with a free dinner and dessert. Janette likes cooking and keeping people happy. 

The secret to happiness and wellbeing seems to be contribution. MRI scans show a warm glow in the reward section of the brain when people give back.

Kat said, “by having our clients involved in community organisations it shows the community that people with disabilities can do & contribute just as much and sometimes MORE!”

If you are interested in giving back via Wallara, please email [email protected]

Taimi Clinch, COO – Wallara Australia

Today Wallara’s new Logistics facility at 160 Bridge Road, Keysborough was officially opened by The Premier of Victoria. A crowd of over 200 joined in the celebration which coincided with Wallara’s 60th anniversary. The agenda was full, with tours of the 8000m2 state of the art facility, a supported accommodation forum, the launch of our new website, and the official unveiling of a plaque to mark the occasion.

The event was made even better by the Premier’s generous grant of $35K  for automatic doors to facilitate access to the incredible central greenspace in the atrium. There were also some farewells as we bid Garry Baker a happy retirement after 10 years leading Wallara Logistics and said ”see you soon” to Director John Shields after 9 years on the Board. John will continue on as a volunteer to help with future infrastructure projects. Several current and potential corporate customers attended.

It was a fantastic day to reflect on Wallara’s journey over the past 60 years and re-imagine our future as we welcome in a new era of logistics excellence.

It pays to have friends in high places – Wallara Logistics resident Essendon supporter, Brett ‘Bomber’ Templeton recently met fellow Essendon tragic, and Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews when he toured and officially opened our new facility in Bridge Rd, Keysborough.

Bomber had all his dreams come true on Friday night when he got to hang with all his favourite players after Dan put a call into Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell who arranged a post-game changeroom pass for him. The game didn’t go the way he wanted, but he got to speak with several players, including Essendon legend Justin Madden. He also got photos with many of his heroes, including this one with No. 43 Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.

If you have a spare half an hour, stop Bomber and ask him how his night was! He hasn’t stopped talking about how great it was and who he got to meet.

Thanks to all who not only made Bomber’s night, but made his year. The only thing that could top it is if they bring home the 2019 flag!

Kao Brands is a corporate customer of Wallara Logistics, providing work for supported employees at our new building at 160 Bridge Rd in Keysborough. Recently they held their Brands Leadership Summit in Camberwell and asked Wallara client, Stacey Edwards, to present at the summit.

Stacey told her story with pride and handled the Q&A session like a seasoned professional! She always likes talking about her life, and especially likes representing Wallara. The Kao Brands staff loved the presentation and were thoroughly engaged for the entire session.

It was wonderful to see Kao giving back in terms of corporate social responsibility. We hope that there will be many more opportunities for Wallara client ambassadors to address companies such as Kao and share their stories with a wider audience.

Congratulations to Stacey on doing such an amazing job!

Acting CEO, Taimi Clinch, and Ambassador Chloe attended the local Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting this week to learn more about community engagement and the plans for sustainability on the Peninsula.

We are focusing on self advocacy at Sages Cottage Farm and ensuring that, as much as possible, our clients (adults with different abilities) are included in conversations with government.

Chloe thought the room looked a bit like Canberra! The Councillors took questions from the floor and it was great to see so many local residents and organisations attending to contribute their voice.

Supporting disability with Wallara Logistics