With news of an upcoming election expected any day now. Blindness and low vision organisations around Australia are gearing up to present their priorities to a potential incoming government regarding the health and wellbeing of the blind and low vision community. To have a chat with us about these priorities, it's my great pleasure to welcome back vision 2020 Policy and Advocacy Manager, Jonathan Craig. Jonathan, welcome back. Thank you very much for joining me.

With news of an upcoming election expected any day now. Blindness and low vision organisations around Australia are gearing up to present their priorities to a potential incoming government regarding the health and wellbeing of the blind and low vision community. To have a chat with us about these priorities, it's my great pleasure to welcome back vision 2020 Policy and Advocacy Manager, Jonathan Craig. Jonathan, welcome back. Thank you very much for joining me.

Thank you very much for having me.

Thank you very much for having me.

Now firstly, Jonathan, what we'll do today is get a bit of an outline of vision 2020. Before we begin.

Now firstly, Jonathan, what we'll do today is get a bit of an outline of vision 2020. Before we begin.

Yeah of course. So vision 2020 is what they call the peak body for the vision and eye health sector. So we ourselves are actually quite a small organisation. We just have a few expert staff and you may or may not have heard of us before, but we have a very particular role, and that is to speak on behalf of the whole sector based on consensus positions developed by our member organisations. And so organisations like Vision Australia are members of vision 2020, as are many, many other organisations in the vision sector. Guide dogs, you know, visibility see differently all of those kinds of organisations as well as consumer organisations like Blind Citizens Australia, Macular Disease Foundation and so on. Also involved, of course, are organisations to do with the prevention of blindness like Optometry Australia, Ranzco, which is the College for ophthalmology, Orthoptics Australia and so on. And so we Represent a very broad church of voices, and the idea is that we gather together and sing in harmony about what we would like to see improved. And the government hears our beautiful choir, and hopefully they listen and and respond. And so everything that vision 2020 does is driven very much by what our member organizations are telling us. And you know also what, of course, what you are telling us through talking to our members as well.

Yeah of course. So vision 2020 is what they call the peak body for the vision and eye health sector. So we ourselves are actually quite a small organisation. We just have a few expert staff and you may or may not have heard of us before, but we have a very particular role, and that is to speak on behalf of the whole sector based on consensus positions developed by our member organisations. And so organisations like Vision Australia are members of vision 2020, as are many, many other organisations in the vision sector. Guide dogs, you know, visibility see differently all of those kinds of organisations as well as consumer organisations like Blind Citizens Australia, Macular Disease Foundation and so on. Also involved, of course, are organisations to do with the prevention of blindness like Optometry Australia, Ranzco, which is the College for ophthalmology, Orthoptics Australia and so on. And so we Represent a very broad church of voices, and the idea is that we gather together and sing in harmony about what we would like to see improved. And the government hears our beautiful choir, and hopefully they listen and and respond. And so everything that vision 2020 does is driven very much by what our member organizations are telling us. And you know also what, of course, what you are telling us through talking to our members as well.

On that point, people may be aware there is an election very shortly upon us. We're still just finding out what date exactly that will be, but it is definitely within the next three months. And vision 2020 has been quite busy in recent weeks, talking to various people and launching their Election platform. So tell us a bit about that platform.

On that point, people may be aware there is an election very shortly upon us. We're still just finding out what date exactly that will be, but it is definitely within the next three months. And vision 2020 has been quite busy in recent weeks, talking to various people and launching their Election platform. So tell us a bit about that platform.

Yeah. So this of course was developed in consultation with our member organizations. Probably it actually started really almost a year ago now. And really what we wanted to get to was we know that lots of organisations within the sector are going to have their own individual kind of ideas and asks and things that they're going to put forward to government, and we support everything and everyone, essentially. But what we wanted to get to was a few really key things that were going to make a big difference to everybody in the sector, uh, that we're going to really change, um, everything from, uh, from beginning to end and to meet and help the most vulnerable people in Australia and in the region.

Yeah. So this of course was developed in consultation with our member organizations. Probably it actually started really almost a year ago now. And really what we wanted to get to was we know that lots of organisations within the sector are going to have their own individual kind of ideas and asks and things that they're going to put forward to government, and we support everything and everyone, essentially. But what we wanted to get to was a few really key things that were going to make a big difference to everybody in the sector, uh, that we're going to really change, um, everything from, uh, from beginning to end and to meet and help the most vulnerable people in Australia and in the region.

Starting off with, I'm quite interested to hear a bit about your priorities around eye care at the community and primary care level. Let's have a little bit of a chat about that. Yeah.

Starting off with, I'm quite interested to hear a bit about your priorities around eye care at the community and primary care level. Let's have a little bit of a chat about that. Yeah.

So this is around prevention and early intervention. And it's a really interesting project that kind of had its inception in Victoria a couple of years ago. Throughout Australia there are these things called primary health networks, and they are basically organizations that are meant to link up between government and between people on the ground. And there was a pilot run in Victoria with some of the primary health networks to give GPS a better understanding of eye health related issues, and particularly when to refer on to an optometrist and when to refer to a hospital and what was an emergency and what was something that could perhaps be dealt with in the moment. And where this becomes particularly important Cautions is when you don't live in a metro area and there might be not an optometrist or not an ophthalmologist or not a hospital nearby. So we were really hoping to equip GPS to deal better with eye health issues in the moment, and to know what the next right step is. And so that pilot ran a couple of years ago and came to an end. And then there was an independent evaluation, which was very, very positive and which said this pilot could be scaled up at a national level. And that is essentially what we're asking for. We would like to see a lot more GPS have a better understanding of what eye health looks like and how they can fit it into their daily practice, and we'd also like to see optometrists be a little bit better equipped to understand the very difficult to comprehend, and even find sometimes information about what a referral to the local eye hospital will look like as well. That's another key part of it.

So this is around prevention and early intervention. And it's a really interesting project that kind of had its inception in Victoria a couple of years ago. Throughout Australia there are these things called primary health networks, and they are basically organizations that are meant to link up between government and between people on the ground. And there was a pilot run in Victoria with some of the primary health networks to give GPS a better understanding of eye health related issues, and particularly when to refer on to an optometrist and when to refer to a hospital and what was an emergency and what was something that could perhaps be dealt with in the moment. And where this becomes particularly important Cautions is when you don't live in a metro area and there might be not an optometrist or not an ophthalmologist or not a hospital nearby. So we were really hoping to equip GPS to deal better with eye health issues in the moment, and to know what the next right step is. And so that pilot ran a couple of years ago and came to an end. And then there was an independent evaluation, which was very, very positive and which said this pilot could be scaled up at a national level. And that is essentially what we're asking for. We would like to see a lot more GPS have a better understanding of what eye health looks like and how they can fit it into their daily practice, and we'd also like to see optometrists be a little bit better equipped to understand the very difficult to comprehend, and even find sometimes information about what a referral to the local eye hospital will look like as well. That's another key part of it.

And that dovetails quite nicely, Jonathan, into the next main point in the platform that vision 2020 has outlined regarding the provision of early intervention services for older adults with low vision. There's a goal here to significantly reduce long term health care costs and the need for support workers. So that focus on older Australians, that's super important. As we know, the population is aging and there is that urgent priority to address those issues sooner rather than later.

And that dovetails quite nicely, Jonathan, into the next main point in the platform that vision 2020 has outlined regarding the provision of early intervention services for older adults with low vision. There's a goal here to significantly reduce long term health care costs and the need for support workers. So that focus on older Australians, that's super important. As we know, the population is aging and there is that urgent priority to address those issues sooner rather than later.

Yeah, it might not be obvious to some people, but the vast majority of people with vision impairments in Australia are actually not eligible for the NDIS because they acquire their vision impairment over the age of 65. And I think that that's really important because that means that the system that needs to work well, which is the aged care system, hasn't always been super aware of vision and that being a one of the key priorities and key issues, despite it being an increasing problem and the prevalence of vision conditions, is set to increase significantly over time. And of course, if you have a vision condition at the moment that makes you more predisposed to things like depression, things like falls, things like hip fractures and things like dementia. But if you are an older person with a vision condition listening, never fear, because this doesn't have to be. This is not a prophecy. This is actually completely unnecessary. And we would like to see things change. And we have a lot of evidence that when somebody is receiving services from a specialist vision provider, then they really are much, much less likely to experience any of those outcomes. And some of you listening now will have had that exact experience. You'll have been hooked up with somebody, and you will have perhaps been thinking, oh, you know, you'll be a bit worried and concerned and frightened at the beginning, but then they will have helped you and shown you all that is possible, and your perspective on everything will have changed. And that's what we would like to see more of, because actually, one of the big problems that we see in the aged care system as it is now, is that people are not being well hooked up, people are not being connected to vision services, and that's what we'd like to see more of. The technical details are not important, but what we really want to see is more of you being connected more early and quickly to vision service providers who can give you training like orientation and mobility services can teach you how to use a white cane, can teach you what kinds of assistive technology you're going to need to be able to use can teach you how to keep cooking and cleaning and doing everything that you are previously used to doing. And there's a really strong financial argument for that because it's an up front investment to a mitigate longer term costs. But there's also a dignity argument because it allows you to stay at home and keep doing what you were previously doing, and you don't have to rely on other people. And most of all, you don't have to have your kids constantly hassling you to move into a nursing home or something like that because they're worried about you. Mhm.

Yeah, it might not be obvious to some people, but the vast majority of people with vision impairments in Australia are actually not eligible for the NDIS because they acquire their vision impairment over the age of 65. And I think that that's really important because that means that the system that needs to work well, which is the aged care system, hasn't always been super aware of vision and that being a one of the key priorities and key issues, despite it being an increasing problem and the prevalence of vision conditions, is set to increase significantly over time. And of course, if you have a vision condition at the moment that makes you more predisposed to things like depression, things like falls, things like hip fractures and things like dementia. But if you are an older person with a vision condition listening, never fear, because this doesn't have to be. This is not a prophecy. This is actually completely unnecessary. And we would like to see things change. And we have a lot of evidence that when somebody is receiving services from a specialist vision provider, then they really are much, much less likely to experience any of those outcomes. And some of you listening now will have had that exact experience. You'll have been hooked up with somebody, and you will have perhaps been thinking, oh, you know, you'll be a bit worried and concerned and frightened at the beginning, but then they will have helped you and shown you all that is possible, and your perspective on everything will have changed. And that's what we would like to see more of, because actually, one of the big problems that we see in the aged care system as it is now, is that people are not being well hooked up, people are not being connected to vision services, and that's what we'd like to see more of. The technical details are not important, but what we really want to see is more of you being connected more early and quickly to vision service providers who can give you training like orientation and mobility services can teach you how to use a white cane, can teach you what kinds of assistive technology you're going to need to be able to use can teach you how to keep cooking and cleaning and doing everything that you are previously used to doing. And there's a really strong financial argument for that because it's an up front investment to a mitigate longer term costs. But there's also a dignity argument because it allows you to stay at home and keep doing what you were previously doing, and you don't have to rely on other people. And most of all, you don't have to have your kids constantly hassling you to move into a nursing home or something like that because they're worried about you. Mhm.

Well, let's dig into that point you made there about assistive technology with the third and final main area that vision 2020 is looking to highlight with well prescribed low cost assistive technologies in not only Australia but the Western Pacific region. So tell us a bit about that.

Well, let's dig into that point you made there about assistive technology with the third and final main area that vision 2020 is looking to highlight with well prescribed low cost assistive technologies in not only Australia but the Western Pacific region. So tell us a bit about that.

Yeah. So this was an ask developed by a number of our members are working in the region, and we kind of presented it as a coalition to government, and this is a very good news story because it is actually been a great success. The current government has committed to providing $12 million for assistive technology in the Western Pacific. As you say, and we are hoping to target particularly older Australians with technology that they really need, which includes. It's interesting that because in Australia, glasses are absolutely not considered assistive technology, but in the region they are. And so it's glasses, it's white canes, it's magnifiers. A lot of low cost pieces of equipment that can make an absolutely huge difference. And one of the key things that we want to get to here is we're not just sewing a bunch of kit at people. What we'd like to see is people really getting the information and training that they need to use the equipment. Well, if you just give somebody a cane, that's not very helpful in and of itself. The piece of equipment is not the key. The key is learning how to use a white cane in different situations. And, you know, if you're a cane user, you know how differently you use your cane depending on where you are. And so what we'd like to see is to not just provide the equipment, but to take like a train, the trainer kind of approach where we train people on the ground to deliver information and to deliver the equipment in such a way that people are actually going to use it and people are going to know what to do with it. And this is really based around a philosophy called integrated people centred eye care, which is increasingly being seen as the way we should do things, and a very effective way of, you know, making sure that people with vision conditions are well looked after because it's integrating into services that already exist rather than relying on, you know, specialists to fly in.

Yeah. So this was an ask developed by a number of our members are working in the region, and we kind of presented it as a coalition to government, and this is a very good news story because it is actually been a great success. The current government has committed to providing $12 million for assistive technology in the Western Pacific. As you say, and we are hoping to target particularly older Australians with technology that they really need, which includes. It's interesting that because in Australia, glasses are absolutely not considered assistive technology, but in the region they are. And so it's glasses, it's white canes, it's magnifiers. A lot of low cost pieces of equipment that can make an absolutely huge difference. And one of the key things that we want to get to here is we're not just sewing a bunch of kit at people. What we'd like to see is people really getting the information and training that they need to use the equipment. Well, if you just give somebody a cane, that's not very helpful in and of itself. The piece of equipment is not the key. The key is learning how to use a white cane in different situations. And, you know, if you're a cane user, you know how differently you use your cane depending on where you are. And so what we'd like to see is to not just provide the equipment, but to take like a train, the trainer kind of approach where we train people on the ground to deliver information and to deliver the equipment in such a way that people are actually going to use it and people are going to know what to do with it. And this is really based around a philosophy called integrated people centred eye care, which is increasingly being seen as the way we should do things, and a very effective way of, you know, making sure that people with vision conditions are well looked after because it's integrating into services that already exist rather than relying on, you know, specialists to fly in.

And Jonathan, of course, in the past couple of weeks, vision 2020 have, you know, spent a couple of days in Canberra to launch this election platform. We've just been speaking about with those three main areas. And in amongst that, you've held several positive meetings with advisers, MPs and and shadow ministers. So I'm really keen to hear about how those meetings went and give us a bit of a highlight package of all the happenings in Canberra over the past couple of weeks.

And Jonathan, of course, in the past couple of weeks, vision 2020 have, you know, spent a couple of days in Canberra to launch this election platform. We've just been speaking about with those three main areas. And in amongst that, you've held several positive meetings with advisers, MPs and and shadow ministers. So I'm really keen to hear about how those meetings went and give us a bit of a highlight package of all the happenings in Canberra over the past couple of weeks.

Well, first of all, let me say that to get into anyone at this time was a great privilege, but also a great sign of how people do see eye health when the right messages come across, because it's something that's not well understood amongst politicians and amongst the public. Generally, issues to do with eye health and vision are kind of a little bit niche. But that said, people really do care about it. You know, vision is the thing that people are most worried about losing, for example, if they have it. And of course, having been blind all my life, that's not something that, you know, I've ever had to think about, but I've really understood that that's a big motivator. And so I think that that's part of the reason why we were able to actually get in to see some people in what was probably the last sitting week of Parliament before the election, when lobbyists are very thick on the ground and everybody's trying to get their message across at their last opportunity. And I will say that it was very, very busy at Parliament House when we were there. The bells were going. The other thing, of course, is that they're they're trying to get their legislative agenda through. So if you've not been to Parliament House, there's bells going when either the House of reps or the Senate is is about to vote. And the bells were going off absolutely constantly. And so to get into any one was a really great thing. And we did actually get into a lot of people, and we were very strategic about who we got into because rather than going directly to all of the ministers and people who are being accosted by hundreds and hundreds of people, what we really trying to do as well was reach to the people who are key influencers within the parties and who have the minister's ears. And we've met with officers of both current health and shadow health ministers in the last few weeks, and we've met with quite a few key MPs on both sides. And I could probably give you a highlight from each meeting, but we'd run out of time. So what I will say, as a general sense, was really when you actually talk to politicians, they really understand what you're talking about and there's a real kind of willingness to listen. And though, you know, it's it's hard to get promises out of people. We were very pleased in health and eHealth. This is something where a lot of the time the parties try to get along more than they might otherwise do, and you might have seen evidence of that over the last few days. If you've been reading or watching the news around the announcement, first by labor of $8.5 billion and then the opposition's decision. So there's clearly the government is hearing that people are struggling and they're seeing healthcare as a priority and prevention and early intervention as health priorities. And that's a big advantage to us, certainly.

Well, first of all, let me say that to get into anyone at this time was a great privilege, but also a great sign of how people do see eye health when the right messages come across, because it's something that's not well understood amongst politicians and amongst the public. Generally, issues to do with eye health and vision are kind of a little bit niche. But that said, people really do care about it. You know, vision is the thing that people are most worried about losing, for example, if they have it. And of course, having been blind all my life, that's not something that, you know, I've ever had to think about, but I've really understood that that's a big motivator. And so I think that that's part of the reason why we were able to actually get in to see some people in what was probably the last sitting week of Parliament before the election, when lobbyists are very thick on the ground and everybody's trying to get their message across at their last opportunity. And I will say that it was very, very busy at Parliament House when we were there. The bells were going. The other thing, of course, is that they're they're trying to get their legislative agenda through. So if you've not been to Parliament House, there's bells going when either the House of reps or the Senate is is about to vote. And the bells were going off absolutely constantly. And so to get into any one was a really great thing. And we did actually get into a lot of people, and we were very strategic about who we got into because rather than going directly to all of the ministers and people who are being accosted by hundreds and hundreds of people, what we really trying to do as well was reach to the people who are key influencers within the parties and who have the minister's ears. And we've met with officers of both current health and shadow health ministers in the last few weeks, and we've met with quite a few key MPs on both sides. And I could probably give you a highlight from each meeting, but we'd run out of time. So what I will say, as a general sense, was really when you actually talk to politicians, they really understand what you're talking about and there's a real kind of willingness to listen. And though, you know, it's it's hard to get promises out of people. We were very pleased in health and eHealth. This is something where a lot of the time the parties try to get along more than they might otherwise do, and you might have seen evidence of that over the last few days. If you've been reading or watching the news around the announcement, first by labor of $8.5 billion and then the opposition's decision. So there's clearly the government is hearing that people are struggling and they're seeing healthcare as a priority and prevention and early intervention as health priorities. And that's a big advantage to us, certainly.

And in terms of how people can potentially have a read of these election priorities, what's the best way for them to access that info? How can they find out a bit more about the election priorities? From vision 2020 point of view, the.

And in terms of how people can potentially have a read of these election priorities, what's the best way for them to access that info? How can they find out a bit more about the election priorities? From vision 2020 point of view, the.

Best way is to visit our website, which is vision 2020 australia.org. Oh, and the 2020 is numbers so 2020.

Best way is to visit our website, which is vision 2020 australia.org. Oh, and the 2020 is numbers so 2020.

Perfect. And that's available for PayPal in both word and PDF format. So whichever is more suitable. That's also available. Well I've been speaking today with vision 2020 policy and advocacy manager Jonathan Craig, talking to me today about the election priorities for the upcoming 2025 federal election. Jonathan, thank you so much for your time today. It's great to catch up with you, as always, and chat about really important things like the election and all the fantastic work that people around the country are doing, both from your side and the government as well.

Perfect. And that's available for PayPal in both word and PDF format. So whichever is more suitable. That's also available. Well I've been speaking today with vision 2020 policy and advocacy manager Jonathan Craig, talking to me today about the election priorities for the upcoming 2025 federal election. Jonathan, thank you so much for your time today. It's great to catch up with you, as always, and chat about really important things like the election and all the fantastic work that people around the country are doing, both from your side and the government as well.

Thank you so much, Sam. Talk soon.

Thank you so much, Sam. Talk soon.