Latest news with #VisionAustralia
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
What EVERY Australian needs to know about the future of these 10-week-old puppies
A parent taking their child for a walk to the shops to buy an ice-cream sounds like a run of the mill family outing. But it's one that for many years escaped a visually impaired mother – until she became the recipient of a seeing eye dog. 'Having a seeing eye dog gave that mother the confidence to take her daughter out on her own to get an ice-cream - something she never would have done before,' Petbarn Foundation manager Janelle Miller told FEMAIL. 'I've seen over and over how beneficial a seeing eye dog is not only for helping someone navigate the world physically, but also mentally how much it impacts on that person's confidence and wellbeing.' It's the reason why the Petbarn Foundation have for 12 years straight run their annual Seeing Eye Dogs Vision Australia appeal. The fundraising target for 2025 is to raise $1.1million in donations, which will go towards training up 22 seeing eye dog pups. You can donate HERE. At $50,000 per pup, it's a huge investment. But it's indisputably worthwhile for the potentially lifechanging benefit it provides to a person who is visually impaired. Janelle proudly explains that the Pet Barn Foundation's efforts in supporting Seeing Eye Dogs Vision Australia had so far seen them fund the training of 179 dogs – and if they reach this year's goal, they will 'surpass our 200th dog'. 'That's 200 people, who's lives will be changed by these dogs,' she explained. Wearing their official training vests, the Seeing Eye Dogs puppies had already had a big day out riding a ferry before stopping by to say hello to Daily Mail Australia staffers Kim Rulach, head trainer from Seeing Eye Dogs Vision Australia, explained to FEMAIL that training the potential service dogs is no "walk in the park". The puppies are 'purpose bred' by the organisation - and are either labradors, golden retrievers, or a cross between the two. 'In our program, when the puppies are eight weeks old they'll go out to a volunteer puppy carer. The carer is responsible for socialising them and doing basic obedience training and teaching them nice house manners, and they'll have them for about a year.' 'Then, if they are selected for formal training, we bring the one year old dogs back to our centre, and we do a 20 week training program,' Kim said. All of the costs involved in this process – from vet bills to dog food is provided by the organisation. Without these essential funds, the organisation and program simply cannot exist – which is why Pet Barn Foundation continues to annually support this crucial initiative. 'All we need from our volunteers is the commitment of time,' Kim added. The intensive training program sees the dogs go through a series of major assessments, concluding with one final major test. 'They do a final walk test with the person who's been training them – and they're not allowed to make any mistakes on their route,' Kim said. 'They have to be able to do it on their own with minimal cues.' Kim says the bench mark is high – but necessarily so. 'What these dogs do is so important and it's putting someone's safety in danger if they're not up to scratch.' The high performing dogs that pass the test are then matched with a suited visually impaired person, empowering them to move independently in public without the need for a cane. But even those dogs that don't quite meet the high criteria necessary to become a seeing eye dog still go on to serve important roles within the community. 'We filter a lot of our dogs to other service agencies that don't have just their own breeding programs - they can help with things like PTSD or autism, or they can be medical alert dogs,' Kim explained. 'So we are able to give these dogs to other agencies so they can use them in their programs.' Even those that flunk out of puppy training all together end up with a charmed life as 'wonderful family pets'. Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs is also always searching for big-hearted community members to volunteer as puppy carers. As well as being given all the necessary financial support, the trainers are highly involved with the carers to ensure all aspects of the pup's training remain on track. However Kim notes that the toughest part of being a carer volunteer is the ability to 'give the dog back to us at the end of the process'. 'It's really emotional and our volunteers do get really attached to them,' she said. 'But the cause is what makes it worthwhile. Our volunteers know that by raising and training these pups, what they've done is help someone else gain their independence.' 'And usually our volunteer carers will eventually come back to train another puppy!'
AU Financial Review
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- AU Financial Review
Fat e-bike craze out-running police and regulators
E-bikes as fast and as powerful as motorcycles are now so common in Australian cities that everyone seems to have a horror story, at least of a near-miss. Chris Edwards, the government relations manager at Vision Australia, is no different. 'Food delivery riders, the speed they come down our street is supposed to be limited to 25km/h ... I was down at St Kilda the other day getting out of a car, one passed me at least at 50km/h which was pretty terrifying,' Edwards says.
West Australian
10-07-2025
- West Australian
Harold Scruby: Deadly e-scooters should be outlawed on WA footpaths
WA's pedestrian death toll is exploding — up a staggering 108 per cent in the past year, the worst in the country. Twenty-seven pedestrians are dead in just 12 months. A father of two, Thanh Phan, was recently killed — allegedly mowed down by a drunk tourist on a hired e-scooter. There will likely be no insurance, no compensation for his devastated family. The City of Perth responded instantly, suspending all hire schemes. The Police Commissioner said what every decent West Australian is thinking: these lethal machines do not belong on footpaths. Politicians love making laws but despise enforcing them. You won't hear 'road safety' or 'enforcement' pass their lips — tough enforcement doesn't win votes. Yet instead of demanding action, WA's Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner advocates 'balance,' 'education,' 'engagement,' 'regulation,' and 'compliance,' while talking up the supposed benefits of e-scooters. He claims police are doing an 'appropriate' job of enforcement. If this carnage is 'appropriate,' what does failure look like? These machines are already implicated in nine deaths since WA legalised e-rideables in 2021 — two people killed in the past month alone. And still, Warner insists the answer is more education. The Commission's own review, released in May, is damning: stakeholders 'almost without exception' said enforcement is abysmally insufficient. Speeding. Helmet non-compliance. Reckless riding. Illegal high-speed e-rideables sold openly. The public overwhelmingly wants more enforcement, not less. Penalties in WA remain pathetically low. Meanwhile, WA's emergency departments are overwhelmed by e-scooter injuries. Professor Dieter Weber, head of trauma at Royal Perth Hospital, says the number of preventable cases is 'enormous' with people suffering life-altering injuries every single day, funded by taxpayers. 'We see patients who don't survive,' he said. 'Others end up with brain injuries, spinal trauma, or permanent disability.' Among the 81 serious cases studied in WA, 40 per cent weren't wearing helmets, and 35 per cent were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It's not just riders being hurt — a growing number of pedestrians are ending up in hospital, hit by these motorised missiles. The impact on vulnerable pedestrians is devastating. Vision Australia's survey found that 90 per cent of people who are blind or have low vision don't feel safe walking on footpaths due to e-rideables. And the next wave of trauma is already here: illegally modified fatboy e-bikes, capable of up to 120 kmh, are tearing through footpaths in the Eastern States. WA is next. At least Parliament has called an inquiry. But it must produce action, not another round of glossy reports. Enough funerals. Enough devastation. The WA Government must start by creating a formal road user hierarchy and putting the walking class first and banning anything with an electric motor from our footpaths. Harold Scruby is the chief executive of the Pedestrian Council of Australia
Express Tribune
19-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Apple launches accessibility features for people with sight and hearing impairment
Listen to article Apple has unveiled a suite of new accessibility features include live captions, upgraded braille support, personal voice replication, and new screen magnifier options designed for people with vision or hearing impairments on Wednesday, before Global Accessibility Awareness Day. In a significant shift, developers will now be required to include "nutrition labels" for accessibility in their app listings, showing support for features like voiceover, large text or voice control. Apple's senior director of global accessibility policy, Sarah Herrlinger, said the labelling initiative would help developers better understand how to build inclusive tools. 'It gives them a real opportunity to understand what it means to be accessible,' Herrlinger said. A highlight of the update is the new personal voice feature, which allows users to replicate their own voice using just 10 recorded phrases. The data remains on-device and encrypted unless backed up to iCloud. The screen magnifier, now available on Macs and iPhones, lets users zoom in on presentations or whiteboards, with adjustable settings for contrast, colour and brightness. The braille features include note-taking, mathematical input using Nemeth braille, and improved compatibility with devices. Apple also introduced 'Live Listen,' which allows AirPods to enhance audio in lecture halls or public settings. The update complements a previously released feature that turns AirPods into hearing aids. Herrlinger rejected the suggestion that Apple's accessibility tools come at a cost, despite the brand's premium pricing. 'All of this is available to you right out of the box at no additional charge,' she said. She added that users found it more economical to have multiple accessibility tools built into a single device rather than purchasing separate aids. Vision Australia's head of corporate affairs, Chris Edwards, who is blind and has a seeing eye dog, appreciate companies for ensuring the accessibility features were inbuilt into products and operating systems. 'I would imagine the interpretation of images through the new features will make these more accessible for everyone. Being able to interpret images live is a key next step to change people's lives,' he said. 'The new accessibility features looks particularly good for students in classrooms. I think it also highlights that braille is still a very important format.' The announcement comes just as Apple's main rival, Google, rolls out similar AI-powered accessibility tools on Android. Apple's updates will be released later this year.
