BushChatter Newsletter Volume 26, September 2010 Inside this Issue Welcome 1 An Aussie Bush Tale 2 Have Your Say! 3 MDAA Strategic Directions 4 Curious, Light-Hearted Questions Bargains and Bartering The Poll Spring has sprung and the warmer weather is on its way! Once again we are delighted to bring you another issue of BushChatter. With a mixture of tales, light-hearted giggles, but also getting into the real serious issues, we hope you embrace the topics and get involved in some dialogue with us. Now is your time to kick back, relax and enjoy this issue of BushChatter over a nice cuppa in the warm Australian sun. ~Ace Ace’s Email: ace.boncato@mdaa.org.au Mail to: Ace Boncato c/- MDAA PO Box 9381 HARRIS PARK NSW 2150 Your feedback is important to us. If you have any comments about this Newsletter or if you’d like to make your contribution, give us a call on: Freecall: 1800 629 072 Or send us an email to: ace.boncato@mdaa.org.au Or write to us at: Advocacy in Action C/- MDAA PO Box 9381 Harris Park NSW 2150 An Aussie Bush Tale Hollow-log Jack 'Hollow-log Jack' frequented the Monaro country. He reckons he never slept anywhere but in a hollow log, and swore that there wasn't a camping-place to equal it. He knew every hollow log along the routes he travelled and cleaned out many of them. when he moved on he plugged the ends so that snakes and rabbits would not take possession. According to Hollow-log Jack a man needed only one blanket on the very coldest of nights in these bunks. One end was plugged to stop draughts. Sometimes he walked late into the night to reach a log. His dog went in first and cleared out any wild intruders; then the dog crawled out and the swagman crawled in. Appropriately enough, Jack was found dead in a hollow log. Source: http://www.ourpacificocean.com/australia_bush_tales/index.htm Have Your Say! Public transport in rural/regional NSW: Over the coming weeks, a member of our Rural Disability Network will be taking the issue of public transport in rural/regional areas to another level, with the aim to affect policy decisions. To make this process as successful as possible, we need your support and opinions about the state of public transport in your area. We would like to know: 1. Your issues of concern on public transport in your area 2. Ideas to solve these issues/concerns regarding public transport in your area 3. If you have to travel long distances to get somewhere, how affordable have you found accommodation to be and how easy was it to find an available place to stay? Tell us what you think! Email: ace.boncato@mdaa.org.au or Freecall: 1800 629 072 MDAA Strategic Directions In the coming months the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW (MDAA, the organization that supports/auspices the Rural Disability Network, formerly known as ‘Advocacy in Action’) will be developing its Strategic Directions for the next five years. We have invited the consultants WestWood Spice to facilitate this process. Our aim is to launch MDAA’s Strategic Directions 2010 – 2015 at our Annual General Meeting on 8 December 2010. As a major stakeholder of MDAA, through your membership of the Rural Disability Network and your subscription to BushChatter, we would like to invite you to participate in an online. The survey is quick and easy, but will go a long way in assisting to determine MDAA’s direction in the coming years. You can participate by going to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MDAASurvey_24Aug Your responses will go directly to the WestWood Spice consultants who are helping with the plan. If you would prefer to have a paper survey please contact MDAA who will send one for you with a free reply paid envelope to WestWood Spice. If you wish to contact WestWood Spice office, you can call 02 9555 4429. If you are a member or consumer and need help to do the survey, there will be other ways for you to take part by telephone or calling in to the MDAA office. Please call MDAA on 02 9891 6400 to arrange for this. Curious, light-hearted questions.. Do people in Australia call the rest of the world "up over"? Does that screwdriver belong to Philip? Can a stupid person be a smart-ass? Does killing time damage eternity? Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard? Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips? Why is it that night falls but day breaks? Why is the third hand on the watch called a second hand? Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavour, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Are part-time bandleaders semi-conductors? Can you buy an entire chess set in a pawn shop? Daylight savings time - why are they saving it and where do they keep it? Did Noah keep his bees in archives? Do jellyfish get gas from eating jellybeans? Do pilots take crash-courses? Do stars clean themselves with meteor showers? Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID that he just whipped out a quarter? Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations? Have you ever seen a toad on a toadstool? How can there be self-help "groups"? How do you get off a non-stop flight? How do you write zero in Roman numerals? How many weeks are there in a light year? If a jogger runs at the speed of sound, can he still hear his Walkman? If athletes get athlete's foot, do astronauts get mistletoe? If Barbie's so popular, why do you have to buy all her friends? If blind people wear dark glasses, why don't deaf people wear earmuffs? If cats and dogs didn't have fur would we still pet them? If peanut butter cookies are made from peanut butter, then what are Girl Scout cookies made out of? If space is a vacuum, who changes the bags? If swimming is good for your shape, then why do the whales look the way they do? If tin whistles are made out of tin, what do they make fog horns out of? If white wine goes with fish, do white grapes go with sushi? If you can't drink and drive, why do bars have parking lots? If you jog backwards, will you gain weight? If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented? Why do the signs that say "Slow Children" have a picture of a running child? How come wrong numbers are never busy? Why do they call it "chilli" if it's hot? Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game, when we are already there? Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? - Sent in by a Regional Disability Network member Bargains and Bartering A new regular feature to our newsletter! If you have something you would like to give away, barter, buy or sell for cheap, let us know! Item Description Brother printer Inkjet colour printer HP printer Inkjet colour printer Wheelchair Cushion Hardly used Black cover Contoured Dimensions: Depth/length: 44.5cm Width: 44.5cm Thickness: (thickest part: 8cm thinnest part: 7cm) All Items Listed Are FREE!! If you are interested on any of the above items, or have something to give away, barter, buy or sell for cheap, contact us at the office. Phone: (02) 9891 6400 Freecall: 1800 629 072 Email: ace.boncato@mdaa.org.au The Poll Are you happy with the public transport available in your area? Tell us what you think! Email: ace.boncato@mdaa.org.au or Freecall: 1800 629 072 Let us know! Results of the poll will be published in the next issue of BushChatter Results of last issue’s poll: Do people like accessible toilets locked or unlocked? Out of those who emailed called and wrote in: Preferred Locked: 60% Preferred Unlocked: 40% What you said: “I don’t mind them locked as long as there are keys widely available for people who require them” “I believe [disability] toilets should be or have access for most part of the day and even nights too” “It’s a hard one, because you don’t want them [accessible toilets] to be vandalised, but you also don’t want them to be inaccessible by locking them” If you do not understand this document, please ring the Telephone Interpreter Service (131 450) and ask them to contact the MDAA on 1800 629 072