Transforming Perceptions

World Suicide Prevention Day 10th September 2025 - Child Homelessness Crisis in Australia – Vulnerability, Risk and Suicidality. In advance of World Suicide Prevention Day and R U Ok Day Áine speaks with Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia to discuss the latest data on child homelessness and the urgent call to federal, state and territory governments for immediate action to invest in safe h...

World Suicide Prevention Day 10th September 2025 - Changing the Narrative on Suicide, and the Child Homelessness Crisis in Australia – Vulnerability, Risk and Suicidality. In advance of World Suicide Prevention Day Áine speaks with John Macmillan, CEO Yfoundations, an expert working in homelessness advocacy to discuss the latest data on child homelessness and the urgent call to federal, state and...

Áine speaks with Ingrid Roche, Senior Project Officer with the National Allergy Council, an Accredited Practising Dietitian with many years’ experience as a paediatric allergydietician working with lots of families with children who have been diagnosed with allergies.   Ingrid shares about the results of a the "2023 needs analysis conducted by the Healthy Eating Advisory Service" which i...

Áine shares an interview with local emerging Canberra artist Elliott Fox.  Elliott migrated with his parents to Australia from Czechoslovakia as toddler.  Growing up, he always loved art creation, but chose to pursue studies that led him to a formal career in the Human Resources industry.  Elliott shares his personal story of recovery and return to art after a mental health setback which dramatica...

It is National Homelessness Week in Australia from 4 - 10 August 2025. National Homelessness Week is a national week of awareness that shines a spotlight on the growing crisis of homelessness in Australia. Áine speaks with Shayne Herriott, Chief Operating Officer from Orange Sky about the latest research data on homelessness and how community members can better support those living with homelessne...

I speak with Jennifer Tierney, Executive Officer, Médcins San Frontières, Australia to hear directly of the dire situation in the Gaza Strip and the urgent need for action from global powers to stop the genocide of Palestinians.  The deliberate starvation of babies, women, children, elderly and people with disabilities, daily shootings of those seeking food and water, have become a brutal occurren...

Áine has a wide-ranging conversation with CEO Greg Aldridge OAM, and Josh Hewitt of Everyman Canberra. Everyman does valuable work by providing support to men in the ACT and surrounding region who marginalised and experience high and complex needs. Greg and Josh discuss the challenges of providing support to this cohort in a sector that is constantly underserviced and under-supported. Our conversa...

Áine chats with local Canberra Artist and Musician, Michael Simic.  Michael is better known to some as Mikelangelo, front man of Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentleman, which was formed over 20 years ago with Phil Moriarty of The Gadfly’s fame and the late David Branson.  After a three year hiatus the band are touring to commemorate the 20 year anniversary tour of their amazing album - Journey Th...

Áine speaks to Susi Tegen, CEO of the National Rural Health Alliance about the proposed changes to the NDIS travel allowance which will be introduced on 1st July 2025. Service providers and people living with a disability in rural, regional and remote communities have expressed serious concerns around the potential impacts to the delivery of essential support services in their communities which al...

Áine chats with former four-time Paralympian and medal-winning wheelchair basketball player Koen Jansens.  Originally from the Netherlands, Koen was born with spina bifida.  As a teenager he discovered wheelchair basketball, which led to an elite sporting career spanning over a decade.  He represented the Dutch national team at four Paralympic Games: winning gold in Barcelona (1992), silver in Syd...

Áine chats with Shaun Pianta, Disability & Inclusion Advocate, Paralympian, Motivational Speaker, Educator, Podcaster and Brand Ambassador for atWork Australia. As a Paralympian Shaun defied his visual impairment to train in Para-alpine skiing to became a member of the Australian Para National team. He dedicated the next four years of his life to the sport and represented Australia at the 2018...

Áine speaks with Kate Colvin, CEO of Homelessness Australia to discuss the key findings from the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council’s ‘State of the Housing System 2025 report.  “The report revealed households are under growing pressure, with increasing rental stress, and a sharp rise inpeople stuck in rental stress for over two years, and social housing as a proportion of all housin...

Áine chats with Mark about the work of Menslink in the ACT. Menslink have been active in the ACT for over 20 years with free counselling, mentoring and education programs that they provide free and which are available to help support young men.   Mark also shares about some of his early experiences and the struggles that made him passionate about working to support young people in our community.

Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine, CEO of Australia's National ResearchOrganisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS), shares some of the key discussion points from their recent national conference held on 14th - 16th May 2025 under the theme of: Listen, Learn, Act: Centring Children And Young People to End Violence. The conference brought together over 60 speakers and with over 700 people attending including...

Megan Daley is an award-winning children’s author and teacher-librarian, and a founding member of YourKid’s Next Read, along with fellow authors Allison Tait and Allison Rushby.   In 2017, Megan and two other mother's, Allison Tait and Allison Rushby were inspired by their own challenges with helping their kids to become readers, to identify and share quality children's books with friends...

With rates of gendered violence remaining devastatingly high, more needs to be done than simply understanding the problem. Áine speaks with Dr Meredith Nash, to discuss the topic of Sexual Harassment and Gender Equity and the need for evidence-based research and leadership in our workplaces and community to respond to gendered violence. Dr Meredith Nash, an internationally recognised genderequity...

Áine chats with Lucas Hayden, the regional manager for Royal Life Saving Australia about the hazards and skills required to stay safe around water in Australia, and theparticular challenges facing swimmers in our ACT and surrounding region. Royal Life Saving Australia NSW has just celebrated 130 years and the ACT branch will celebrate 50 years of support for the ACT community later this year.  In...

International Women's Day 2025 - 'Accelerate Action'. On International Women’s Day 2025 Áine chats with Michael Bayliss, Communications Manager and Spokesperson for Sustainable Populations’ Australia (SPA) about the recent massive funding cuts to by the Trump administration to international aid agencies and how this will affect women's progress and their access to family planning a...

Áine speaks with Eryn Marshall, a local emerging Canberra artist. Eryn "aims to use her  art  as a tool for social change by starting the conversation about eating disorders [helping] to break down the stigma". Growing up Eryn always loved art and drama. During her teenage years, as well as creating her own artwork, she also loved acting in theatre performances, and considered that actin...

Áine chats with Sammy Moynihan, Artistic Director of Stages of Empathy at Rebus Theatre about their latest project and working with people with disabilities to create moving and thought provoking works. Stages of Empathy is a transformative, interactive training program designed to help community groups - including sports clubs, arts collectives, hobbyist organisations and special interest groups...

Áine speaks with Brian Corley, CEO, Community Options ACT about the difficult decision to withdraw from providing services under the National Disability and Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Commonwealth funded Aged Care Services by June 30, 2025. Community Options ACT has been providing specialised support to the ACT community for over 30 years. The decision follows significant changes to Commonwealth...

"PWDA is calling on state and territory governments to stop delaying and commit to properly funding foundational supports now". Áine chats with Trinity Ford, president of PWDA about why PWDA are calling for state and territory governments to implement vital foundational supports; the impacts of the delays on people living with disabilities and their families and carers. Foundational supp...

"Data reveals that a staggering 1.16 million (19%) young people lack access to a laptop or desktop computer intheir home – including 400,000 Aussies who are high school age and above. With schools across the country having orrolling out mandatory ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) requirements, insufficient access to technology can interfere with students’ ability to learn and keep up with homewo...

Áine speaks with Peter Heggie, Carer Co-Chair of the National Mental Health Consumer Carer Forum (NMHCCF), and a representative of Carers Australia. We discuss the concerns of those living with disability about the NDIS reforms and the Amendment bill that was passed in the Senate on Thursday 22nd August 2024.  The lack of proper co-design and consultation and how the process has impacted the disab...

Áine chats with Sonia who was interim CEO of MARRS for 8 months before being confirmed in her role as CEO on the 1st July 2024.  We talk about the work of MARRS and the well-being needs of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds seeking to make Australia and Canberra home.  Sonia was born in Australia to Italian migrants.  Growing up in Australia she is keenly aware of the challenges faced by...