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In this week’s episode, Josh chats with Amelia Ayris, was a winner in the Spirit Super Connecting Communities Award in the 2022 Queensland 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards.
Amelia Ayris, a dedicated 16-year-old high school student, possesses an unwavering passion for Child Safety. From the tender age of 2, she embarked on a remarkable journey within the Entertainment Industry, showcasing her talents across film, television, professional theatre, modelling, and singing. Her trajectory soared swiftly, securing an acting manager in Los Angeles by age 10 and earning approval for her first Visa as an Entertainer of Extraordinary Ability in the US by 13.
Her burgeoning profile not only propelled her career but also served as a platform for advocating child safety, a cause close to her heart. Amelia’s commitment and fervour for this cause continue to flourish, evident in her impressive accomplishments:
- Serving as the Youth Ambassador for Bravehearts.
- Contributing as a member of the Bravehearts Youth Advisory Council.
- Representing Generation Z and delivering impactful speeches at the esteemed 2021 National Child Protection Forum in Darwin.
- Showcasing her creative prowess by producing and writing the award-winning short film “Short Sleeves,” shedding light on teen self-harm.
- Amplifying awareness about Child Sexual Assault through compelling interviews and speeches.
- Playing an active role in fundraising events to support Bravehearts’ initiatives.
- Being summoned to Queensland State Parliament House to emphasize the criticality of Child Safety within the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022.
Her aspirations extend beyond her remarkable accomplishments, aiming to pursue studies in Law and Politics at the university level upon graduating high school. Amelia Ayris stands as a beacon of inspiration, tirelessly dedicated to making a profound difference in advocating for child safety and welfare.
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Transcript
[00:00:08] Josh
Welcome to inspirational Australians, where we share stories of Australians making a difference in their communities and in the lives of others. We at inspirational Australians acknowledge the will run dry and vulnerable people of the and nation as their traditional owners and custodians of the lands and waterways on which this podcast is produced. We pay our respect to elders, Past and present, and those who are emerging and extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and inspirational Australians. We are inspired by the world’s oldest living culture and pay homage to their rich storytelling history. When we share stories on our podcast.
[00:00:58] Josh
Hello and welcome to the inspirational australian’s podcast for your weekly dose of inspiration. Before we get into this week’s episode, I wanted to acknowledge the country where I’m recording from today. It’s actually my First time ever recording a podcast outside of Victoria. That’s my home state. I’m not from Victoria, but that’s where I do live. So I’d like to acknowledge the terrible Aboriginal nation, the traditional owners of mansion pay my respects to the elders, Past, present, and emerging. That emerging part is quite poignant for the podcast that we’re bringing today. Because through the young, achieve rewards, we are able to talk about the stories and shine a light on young First Nations people throughout the country. And it’s a really special part of the young, achiever awards and speaking to people of all ages is amazing hearing their stories, but young people in particular, something that I’m very passionate about. And so today’s guest, whilst non-aboriginal is very young themselves and that is truly inspirational. Story, so I’m very excited to welcome them onto the podcast today, talking to Amelia Iris and she’s a high school student who won the two thousand and twenty two Spirit student in communities award. The Queensland for her incredible work you get such a large diverse range of achievements. But some of those cover being the family balance and coercive control for being a singer and songwriter of many different songs. And also being involved in writing and producing award winning films and documentaries, to raise awareness about depression, self-harm anxiety, so and sexual abuse, and empowering young people to speak out. So welcome to the podcast this evening. Amelia, how are you?
[00:03:03] Speaker 2
I’m good, thank you. How are you and thank you for having me? Yeah, absolutely. It’s great to chat to you. It’s been over a year since you’ve won your award in the spirits in communities category. Part of the seven news, young achiever awards, and it’s great to know to make this time to catch up with you have you at the moment at the moment I’m in grade twelve. So a lot of studying,
[00:03:26] Amelia
I can’t say too much has been going on except just reading and revising and getting ready for my exams.
[00:03:34] Josh
Yeah, well I have to cast my mind back
[00:03:36] Josh
a few years to have to go back to the year twelve exams. But what I do remember
[00:03:41] Josh
about them is and just what I didn’t expect as places for them to be so exhausted. Like I was,
[00:03:48] Josh
I remember being quite tied up in have you found getting it prepared for them?
[00:03:51] Amelia
Yeah. Well, we recently had mock exams and I found I came out of that quite tired. But yeah,
[00:03:59] Amelia
very exhausting and nerve wracking,
[00:04:01] Amelia
but I’m really excited for it to be over and to have graduation formal and then
[00:04:06] Amelia
move on and University and everything.
[00:04:09] Josh
Yeah, and it’s hard must be hard because there’s so many exciting times like literally
[00:04:13] Josh
right around the corner. It’s probably hard to think about that with you when you think of it.
[00:04:19] Amelia
Yeah, it definitely is.
[00:04:20] Amelia
It’s like it’s so close yet so far because there’s this massive
[00:04:24] Amelia
thing that basically your whole entire school years are leading up to. But it’s
[00:04:29] Amelia
exciting because I know like, as soon as they’re done, I just take it one exam at
[00:04:34] Amelia
a time. They’re done and I’m done basically well until University, and then the six years of that.
[00:04:41] Josh
Yeah, six years of that. So what does that mean? What are you aiming to study at University?
[00:04:46] Amelia
Well, I’m looking at law and political science. So that’s something I’ve always sort of been interested in,
[00:04:52] Amelia
and I think that’s definitely what I’ve let the work that I’ve been doing in the
[00:04:57] Amelia
people I’ve worked with. I’ve definitely really secured that and worked out that
[00:05:01] Amelia
law and politics and both something that I’m very interested in. And so I think
[00:05:06] Amelia
with the degree that I’m looking at doing,
[00:05:08] Amelia
It’s just I could go either way and I think they’re both good because I think law
[00:05:14] Amelia
and politics can take you into so many different careers. And like,
[00:05:18] Amelia
I’m so interested in the whole law and lawmaking process, and I think those degrees can really take you anywhere.
[00:05:25] Josh
It’s very interesting that you’re so interested, you know, you’re so interested in that, at your age,
[00:05:30] Josh
because I know for me it’s only in recent years. I’ve become
[00:05:35] Josh
a bit more interested in politics and things like that. You know,
[00:05:38] Josh
what do you think it was that founded that kind of interest in the First place?
[00:05:41] Amelia
Well, I’d say it’s definitely working with bravehearts and all they do and what they try
[00:05:45] Amelia
to do within the the protecting children side of things and the child safety. And I
[00:05:51] Amelia
think just seeing how hard they work and really being able to talk to these people
[00:05:55] Amelia
and meeting all sorts of politicians and working with people who are so interested
[00:06:00] Amelia
and passionate about. It really, really shows me that there’s
[00:06:03] Amelia
a lot more work that needs to be done in this. You know,
[00:06:06] Amelia
there’s so many opportunities within that field to help people in so many different
[00:06:10] Amelia
ways. Whether that be actually like helping amend laws or whether that be you know,
[00:06:15] Amelia
representing people say yeah, definitely. There’s just a lot of opportunities in it and
[00:06:21] Amelia
a lot of people that have inspired me to really get into the field, especially bravehearts
[00:06:25] Josh
work. Yeah. So speaking of bravehearts, tell us
[00:06:29] Josh
a bit about it. I mentioned the introduction that you’ve been an ambassador,
[00:06:32] Josh
but if people aren’t familiar with bravehearts, give us a bit of a rundown.
[00:06:35] Amelia
Yeah, well, bravehearts is australia’s leading sexual assault organisation for children. So the
[00:06:43] Amelia
statistics have recently come out originally it was one in five children who had
[00:06:47] Amelia
been sexually assaulted before the age of eighteen years old. But just recently
[00:06:51] Amelia
it’s come out that it’s one in four children. And so what they do is they do
[00:06:54] Amelia
a range of work to protect children,
[00:06:59] Amelia
whether that be the after effects and how to support the families and how to
[00:07:03] Amelia
support your children, or whether that be just the education beforehand for,
[00:07:08] Amelia
for Teachers, for children, for parents, and how to not only deal with that,
[00:07:14] Amelia
how to tell the signs and the processes. And so they’re really an amazing
[00:07:19] Amelia
organisation that protect children and spread awareness about sexual assault,
[00:07:25] Amelia
especially specifically child sexual assault. And I think that’s so important
[00:07:28] Amelia
because I think it’s definitely something that isn’t talked about enough in society,
[00:07:33] Amelia
and I think it’s something that’s got this stigma and sort of
[00:07:36] Amelia
a shame around it. And I think bravehearts really works hard to remove that stigma
[00:07:42] Amelia
and raise awareness to people that because it’s so it’s so prevalent in
[00:07:49] Amelia
today’s society and I think that’s what’s not talked about enough. And I think
[00:07:52] Amelia
that’s what bravehearts really tries to get out that hey,
[00:07:56] Amelia
this is something that one in four children before the age of eighteen years old,
[00:08:00] Amelia
are experiencing like sexual assault is a big issue. And we need to not only work to protect these children,
[00:08:07] Amelia
but we need to get the message out how we can help because it’s just it’s just
[00:08:14] Amelia
so upsetting. How many children are experiencing this?
[00:08:17] Amelia
? But I’ve been lucky enough to be able to work with them for I think,
[00:08:21] Amelia
five years now and getting to work with so many amazing people in the field and
[00:08:27] Amelia
getting to help out in so many different ways.
[00:08:30] Josh
Yeah, well firstly, the First thing that comes to mind is, and you touched on it is how horrendous and,
[00:08:37] Josh
and upsetting as you said, that statistic is it’s you know, it’s a bit of
[00:08:42] Josh
a stigma around it. And to me, I’m clean flaming up, straight away,
[00:08:46] Josh
and feeling so many thoughts around around and how horrible it is. And again, you know, you speak eloquently,
[00:08:54] Josh
it affects so many people whilst it is hard to talk about it is so important
[00:09:00] Josh
because just by putting it out there, you can make people more aware of it,
[00:09:04] Josh
whether that’s to help them know safety or it’s just to make people aware that hey,
[00:09:09] Josh
this is happening, let’s talk about it and make sure that people know.
[00:09:13] Amelia
Yeah, absolutely. And they have so many amazing education programs too. And I’ve been
[00:09:18] Amelia
lucky enough to be able to sit in and help with some of the,
[00:09:22] Amelia
the younger education programs to kindergarten kids. And they just do it so
[00:09:25] Amelia
amazingly, like they have songs that have like
[00:09:29] Amelia
a mascot Ditto and they’re just able to really get across the message because by ignoring the issue,
[00:09:34] Amelia
it’s only going to make it worse. And so I think removing that stigma and really
[00:09:38] Amelia
being like really educating kids and their teachers and their parents and just
[00:09:43] Amelia
everyone in society is so important and I think they really do it Well. Yeah.
[00:09:48] Josh
What am I putting you on the spot here, Emily?
[00:09:51] Josh
? I’m sorry, but what are some of the key messages for, you know, for parents out there?
[00:09:55] Amelia
Um, well it’s just really like getting educated on the signs and really
[00:10:03] Amelia
making sure you’re aware of your child’s behavior and who they’re surrounding
[00:10:07] Amelia
themselves with and making sure that they know that they’ve got, you know,
[00:10:10] Amelia
someone they can trust. And that, especially as a parent that you’re someone they can talk to. And yeah,
[00:10:16] Amelia
I think it’s definitely going to, you know,
[00:10:19] Amelia
resources like bravehearts and looking at what they have to offer. And there’s so
[00:10:22] Amelia
much information on how to tell these signs and like how to notice changes in your
[00:10:28] Amelia
child’s behavior. And it’s not only just, you know,
[00:10:31] Amelia
children being assaulted by like adults. It’s also children being assaulted by
[00:10:36] Amelia
children. That’s a massive thing and not all the time, but a lot of the time it does come as
[00:10:42] Amelia
a result of that child being assaulted and molested.
[00:10:46] Amelia
So I think it’s just this,
[00:10:49] Amelia
it’s horrific and it’s just so so important that everyone learns those signs, whether they’re a parent or not,
[00:10:57] Amelia
even just being someone that you can trust that
[00:11:00] Amelia
a child can trust and knows they could talk to is so important and Learning those
[00:11:05] Amelia
signs and those key behaviors that children display is important for anyone really?
[00:11:11] Josh
Yep. So is bravehearts a resource for, you know, adults and people falling under that age of eighteen?
[00:11:18] Josh
? As you mentioned before.
[00:11:19] Amelia
Yeah, I’d say absolutely. Obviously their, their main thing is like child safety, but they,
[00:11:25] Amelia
they provide information that helps all ages,
[00:11:29] Amelia
whether that be survivors themselves or that be people who just want to get
[00:11:33] Amelia
educated in the field. And it’s just,
[00:11:36] Amelia
it’s helpful for anyone like the education programs or just the help that they
[00:11:41] Amelia
provide is. Yeah. And they even they provide counseling programs,
[00:11:46] Amelia
I’m pretty sure as well when I got to do work experience there. It’s just amazing
[00:11:50] Amelia
seeing all the, the work they do.
[00:11:53] Josh
Yes, that’s quite holistic, your involvement there, you know,
[00:11:55] Josh
being an ambassador and doing work experience as well. And was it really different
[00:12:01] Josh
thing, I guess the inside workings of a, of an organization that like
[00:12:06] Amelia
that. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:12:07] Amelia
I think you don’t realize how much work goes into it until you’re there.
[00:12:12] Amelia
And I was just that they have multiple offices. And I was just in the one in the
[00:12:17] Amelia
gold coast and seeing all the different people and all their different jobs and the
[00:12:21] Amelia
hard work that they have to do is just it’s just full on and, but they all,
[00:12:27] Amelia
you could tell they’re all such amazing people and they’re all so passionate about
[00:12:31] Amelia
what they do. And it’s just really inspiring,
[00:12:34] Amelia
getting to see what they do and being so involved with Braveheart in so many ways
[00:12:38] Amelia
has been really great because I’ve not only been able to see like the inside and
[00:12:43] Amelia
how hard they work like the individuals. But I’ve also been able to, you know,
[00:12:48] Amelia
be involved in that inside part and be involved in planning and helping with events
[00:12:54] Amelia
and singing and volunteering. And I think that’s been,
[00:12:58] Amelia
it’s been so great working with them in so many different ways because they are
[00:13:01] Amelia
such, you know, a great organization and they’re like, obviously they work with really heavy stuff, but they’re just,
[00:13:11] Amelia
they’re great people and they’re great to be around. It’s so good to be involved with it.
[00:13:16] Josh
Yeah, that’s really amazing to hear. You mentioned the events as well and I understand
[00:13:21] Josh
that you’re planning or have executed your own event for bravehearts as
[00:13:27] Amelia
well. Yeah, so that’s definitely coming in the works. We’re. I’m planning towards the end of
[00:13:32] Amelia
this year and the goal of that is working with Milt and Dick. So I was lucky enough
[00:13:37] Amelia
to go to an event earlier in the year in association with my school and be involved in
[00:13:45] Amelia
a program with mountain Dick. And so we’ve been in contact and I’m looking at
[00:13:51] Amelia
executing my own event. And it’s goal really is to educate teachers and educators
[00:13:58] Amelia
and educate them like I mentioned early on,
[00:14:01] Amelia
on the signs on bravehearts itself and like all their resources. But I’ve just
[00:14:08] Amelia
like I’ve been able to, you know,
[00:14:10] Amelia
be involved in Past events whether that be that they’re bowls that they throw the annual bowls and, you know,
[00:14:16] Amelia
singing and also helping out with fundraiser events and things like that. But I’m really excited to, you know,
[00:14:23] Amelia
be able to take the lead and have my own event and you know,
[00:14:26] Amelia
something that I love planning and like event planning, but something for such an amazing cause.
[00:14:34] Josh
Does it ever feel daunting to be presenting or bringing that kind of event to fruition for people, you know,
[00:14:41] Josh
educators who are likely to be a lot older than you?
[00:14:45] Amelia
Yeah, well obviously the topic itself is very heavy and no one likes to hear of child
[00:14:52] Amelia
sexual assaults, especially one in four. But it’s never
[00:14:55] Amelia
a statistic you want to hear. And obviously a lot of events, there’s
[00:14:59] Amelia
a lot of emotions and people do get quite emotional hearing stories and hearing the
[00:15:03] Amelia
real ugly truth of the matter. But I think it’s, although it’s daunting, it’s so important. And it’s rewarding in
[00:15:13] Amelia
a way because it moves people and people are allowed to like it wakes people up
[00:15:18] Amelia
because people don’t realize how prevalent the issue of child sexual assault is. And so although it’s daunting,
[00:15:25] Amelia
I think it’s well worth it because you’re really able to even if you just get through to one person,
[00:15:31] Amelia
it’s one more person who’s aware of the issue and aware of what they can do to help.
[00:15:36] Josh
Yeah, I take it that you’re not worried about the actual public speaking aspect of it
[00:15:41] Josh
though from what I’m hearing.
[00:15:42] Amelia
No, I can say that I quite like the public speaking part of it. I grew up in the acting
[00:15:49] Amelia
industry and doing theater and film and you know,
[00:15:54] Amelia
like music and everything like that. So I’ve always been a fan of the stage,
[00:15:59] Amelia
and I love getting able to talk to people and get
[00:16:03] Amelia
a message across and connect with people on that level. And I think that’s part of
[00:16:08] Amelia
the reason why I’m so interested in more too is being able to really connect with
[00:16:12] Amelia
people in the public speaking sort of level. But I do like speaking
[00:16:17] Josh
I really enjoyed your answer about, you know, I said, daunting in my head. You know,
[00:16:21] Josh
I’m framing the question around like you’re speaking to people in quite senior positions, you know,
[00:16:26] Josh
educators and principals and senior in terms of your age maybe yet.
[00:16:31] Josh
And I just,
[00:16:32] Josh
so your answer was spectacular. Because I could tell that you,
[00:16:37] Josh
like you answered it without answering it because you kind of said it’s daunting.
[00:16:41] Josh
You don’t know the subject matter which one hundred percent is, of course, but the way you answer,
[00:16:45] Josh
I could tell that you were just glossing over because you’re like, well, no I’m,
[00:16:49] Josh
I’d like public speaking. It’s not a worry for me. And I think it’s a, it’s
[00:16:54] Josh
a real skill because some people, it does come naturally and you know,
[00:16:57] Josh
you’ve been in, in the industry a while, so. Yeah, so Got training,
[00:17:01] Josh
but I really do like it. When people do have that gift,
[00:17:05] Josh
they actually do share it because it makes a big impact. And as you said,
[00:17:08] Josh
it’s emotional. That’s because of the way you present it.
[00:17:11] Amelia
Yeah, and I think it too helps when you’re so passionate about something. It’s like,
[00:17:16] Amelia
who’s going to do it if everyone is too scared to do it, you know what I mean?
[00:17:21] Amelia
There’s got to be people out there that are willing to, you know,
[00:17:26] Amelia
talk and willing to communicate, even if it’s hard to do and whether the like,
[00:17:32] Amelia
whether that be the subject itself. You know,
[00:17:34] Amelia
I could go to get Past that in order to help those who need it.
[00:17:38] Josh
So you’ve acted. You’ve also written and produced in films and documentaries. Yeah. I wasn’t trying
[00:17:45] Josh
to ask his question because I’m kind of going off track a little bit,
[00:17:48] Josh
but which do you prefer out of those three, you know, writing, producing or acting?
[00:17:53] Amelia
I’d say I’d say most of the writing acting was something I’ve definitely enjoyed doing. And I’ve had, I’ve done
[00:18:02] Amelia
a lot growing up and it’s something that’s always special to me and producing it
[00:18:06] Amelia
was definitely an experience. I enjoyed doing it. And it was
[00:18:09] Amelia
a whole new area that I’d never really been involved in because it was all you know,
[00:18:15] Amelia
in front of the camera. But I’d say writing because being a writer,
[00:18:20] Amelia
you’re really creating this whole new world. And you’re able to really write about
[00:18:26] Amelia
what speaks most to you and I think writing is obviously something I’m definitely
[00:18:30] Amelia
enjoy being like wanting to be a lawyer and wanting to do law. But yeah,
[00:18:36] Amelia
I’d say definitely the writing because I think that’s just it’s so cool being like
[00:18:43] Amelia
right. Let me rephrase that. It’s interesting being able to be behind the back,
[00:18:50] Amelia
like behind the camera and behind the process because I was so that the actor being
[00:18:55] Amelia
in front of the camera and that whole process.
[00:18:58] Josh
Do you think that has really helped inform your writing, getting that chance to to do the reversal?
[00:19:05] Amelia
Yeah, well I think it was definitely it was
[00:19:09] Amelia
a whole new experience and I really enjoyed being able to write and act and produce
[00:19:14] Amelia
something. I was so passionate about a topic because it was about self-harm and teenage self-harm and depression,
[00:19:21] Amelia
specifically. And I think so good to be able to have all those different roles and
[00:19:26] Amelia
really just something that’s so important also.
[00:19:31] Josh
Yeah.
[00:19:31] Josh
So if people are interested, check out some of your work, you know,
[00:19:35] Josh
what’s the best way to do it and tell us
[00:19:38] Josh
a bit more about some of the work that you have produced. And I shouldn’t say
[00:19:40] Josh
produce, you know, what I mean, you’ve been involved with.
[00:19:44] Amelia
Well, I’ve been lucky enough to be in, you know,
[00:19:47] Amelia
a range of like TV shows and movies and things like that. So obviously I think
[00:19:52] Amelia
doing my own film was one of my highlights, but there’s living space, which is
[00:19:57] Amelia
a movie that I got to film into state an Australian movie. Then there’s also
[00:20:03] Amelia
something like a TV show grace beside me,
[00:20:06] Amelia
which is an indigenous based movie or TV series. And I was able to, that was
[00:20:13] Amelia
a really cool experience because I was a ghost in that I was actually
[00:20:15] Amelia
a ghost in the horror film to play ghost. And another thing I really enjoyed doing
[00:20:21] Amelia
was I was in the sound of music, the live theatre production. It was professional theatre. It was really
[00:20:31] Amelia
a cool experience. And I really enjoyed that because that was acting. That was singing,
[00:20:36] Amelia
that was dancing.
[00:20:37] Amelia
And that was something I really loved and got to work with some
[00:20:41] Amelia
amazing people that Cameron, detto Maureen Aprile, Lorraine, Bailey, Australian sweethearts. But
[00:20:48] Amelia
a lot of my work is up on my website. So that’s just if you just look up Amelia
[00:20:53] Amelia
Iris, she’d come up at WW, W dot really Irish dot com I believe. And that will just,
[00:21:01] Amelia
that takes you to basically everything I’ve done. And plus there’s singing clips
[00:21:05] Amelia
and my social media’s and everything like that. I’m there.
[00:21:09] Josh
Yeah, so I wasn’t long at the start. Well,
[00:21:10] Josh
you really have done such an incredible array of different things at this. You already, you know,
[00:21:17] Josh
that’s another I guess topic to go into is singing and writing music. I’ve always
[00:21:24] Josh
wondered how it works like writing music,
[00:21:30] Josh
other people, have you ever done that or have you made me feel self-conscious?
[00:21:34] Amelia
To be honest. I haven’t written much. I’ve written, you know,
[00:21:38] Amelia
a few here and there and I was able to finish a song and I’ve obviously written
[00:21:43] Amelia
a lot when I was you know, really, that was more my focus. But music for me is just,
[00:21:52] Amelia
I find nowadays I’m more enjoy doing covers and things like that because I do
[00:21:56] Amelia
a lot of busking. So that’s sort of like my job and I really enjoy getting to
[00:22:01] Amelia
perform in that way. But that was more songwriting. I’ve definitely dabbled
[00:22:08] Amelia
in and that was, that’s once again, like the screenwriting,
[00:22:14] Amelia
something that you’re really able to write about something you’re passionate about. But I’d say nowadays,
[00:22:20] Amelia
I’m more enjoy the music aspect to be able to connect with. Lack of range of
[00:22:25] Amelia
audiences that are, you know, just walking in the shops, go out with their family or something like that.
[00:22:30] Josh
Yep. Well, if you ever start an event management business,
[00:22:34] Josh
you’ll be very highly sought after because you can write the scripts, you can say the event,
[00:22:40] Josh
you can do the entertainment as well.
[00:22:44] Amelia
I’d be the full package I could be I could do hire me and you highlight to other people.
[00:22:53] Josh
Yeah, that’s awesome. So you’ve got the year twelve exams coming up. Have you had to put
[00:22:58] Josh
some of those projects on the backburner for now?
[00:23:01] Amelia
Yeah, I’d say I’ve definitely school is my focus at the moment. Still a lot of things,
[00:23:07] Amelia
a lot of ideas and obviously the planning of the event with mountain Dick is
[00:23:14] Amelia
still, I’m still planning it, but it’s definitely not the focus at the moment,
[00:23:18] Amelia
but definitely looking forward to everything being over and going back to working with bravehearts more and doing
[00:23:24] Amelia
a lot more for the community because year twelve can’t say I’ve done too much this
[00:23:28] Amelia
year. It’s been a lot of sitting at home and reading and stressing.
[00:23:33] Josh
Yeah, well you have to put the time in the other because it’s the time sensitive matter.
[00:23:37] Josh
Yeah. I meant to ask you earlier and I just
[00:23:40] Josh
want to bring it up. Now it’s a bit of
[00:23:42] Josh
a change in topic, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to Miss it. You know,
[00:23:45] Josh
I get too caught up in, in the conversation. So now,
[00:23:48] Josh
earlier we were talking about your work in parts and you know,
[00:23:53] Josh
the importance of it. And I also want to bring up, you know,
[00:23:57] Josh
it ties in with what you’re talking about with the political studies and where that
[00:24:01] Josh
could lead you and your role working on the amendment to that Queensland state
[00:24:06] Josh
parliament Bill.
[00:24:08] Josh
Now, how did that kind of start for you?
[00:24:10] Josh
? And what was your involvement and where did it end up?
[00:24:14] Amelia
So basically they were looking to amend the Bill for family violence and coercive
[00:24:19] Amelia
control. And Obviously my work with bravehearts and within the child protection environment definitely made me
[00:24:32] Amelia
a good like representative in that aspect. So my role in that
[00:24:38] Amelia
was to really talk about children and representing children. So saying that family
[00:24:45] Amelia
violence and coercive control can also happen to children like coercive control. Is it just something that happens between partners?
[00:24:53] Amelia
? For example, it’s something that children can experience and getting I will let being able to be
[00:25:00] Amelia
involved in that was really great because once again it was behind the scenes. It was
[00:25:06] Amelia
a whole new environment. And I think that was sort of an eye opener for me and the
[00:25:10] Amelia
fact that I would say politics is definitely something I like the lawmaking side of
[00:25:15] Amelia
things. And I think being able to have
[00:25:17] Amelia
a voice in something so important was really great. And being able to go into
[00:25:24] Amelia
parliament and meet all these amazing people and seeing that like it’s now
[00:25:31] Amelia
a law and the laws are now amended and you know, more of
[00:25:36] Amelia
a focus on coercive control and like really making sure justice is achieved and
[00:25:42] Amelia
knowing I was involved in that is really great.
[00:25:46] Josh
Yes, I think pretty It’s huge when you think about the flow on effects and you know,
[00:25:53] Josh
and the hope that that’s going to positively impact people’s lives down the track
[00:25:57] Josh
who have to deal with these kind of issues. And it’s such
[00:26:03] Josh
a great change making, you know, moment so that’s,
[00:26:09] Josh
that’s really incredible that you were able to be a part of that.
[00:26:11] Amelia
Yeah, and you definitely don’t think of that at the time, you know,
[00:26:14] Amelia
because it was quite nerve wracking and obviously that’s the overall goal. But I
[00:26:18] Amelia
think once it’s, it’s done and you’re able to go, hey,
[00:26:22] Amelia
like I was able to help people and I was able to really, you know,
[00:26:26] Amelia
raise awareness and represent children that don’t necessarily have a voice and can’t speak for themselves because they’re not in
[00:26:33] Amelia
a position where they can and knowing that I’m able to help and hopefully help or
[00:26:38] Amelia
even whether that be within that Bill itself or just with any of the work I do
[00:26:45] Amelia
knowing that I can help one person is really just the goal.
[00:26:50] Josh
Yeah. Now, if you’ve got any political aspirations, you’re not going to name any names here,
[00:26:54] Josh
but are there, you know, I guess politicians get
[00:26:58] Josh
a pretty bad rap sometimes. Have you in your journey so far,
[00:27:01] Josh
I come across people who have those right intentions at heart that are representing
[00:27:06] Josh
their community. You know, for all the right reasons.
[00:27:10] Amelia
Yeah, I’d say basically, I can’t say that I’ve ever had
[00:27:15] Amelia
a bad experience with any politician. I’d say I’ve been lucky enough to meet people who are in the field,
[00:27:21] Amelia
specifically child safety and family violence for all the right reasons and who are
[00:27:27] Amelia
genuinely so passionate about the topic itself and just helping people. So I can’t say I’ve ever had
[00:27:34] Amelia
a bad experience and obviously I think there’s definitely politicians out there
[00:27:39] Amelia
that don’t necessarily have the most progressive views or don’t necessarily align
[00:27:44] Amelia
with everyone’s values. But I’d say that’s more what the media choose to convey. And I’d say that’s definitely
[00:27:51] Amelia
a lot more good ones than bad ones. And definitely people who are genuinely in it
[00:27:55] Amelia
for the right reasons and just want to help Australia
[00:27:59] Josh
that’s what we like to hear.
[00:28:02] Josh
So you know, speaking around politics, you know, continuing that vein and our discussion on the parliament Bill,
[00:28:10] Josh
I know you’re interested in human rights law. Is that something that already
[00:28:14] Josh
existed that time or was being involved in those things, you know, help, I guess. Directing and forming those interests.
[00:28:20] Amelia
Yeah, well, I’d say I’ve always been interested in law itself,
[00:28:25] Amelia
but I’d say when I First became interested in it was more criminal law. But I’d say
[00:28:30] Amelia
definitely working with bravehearts and being able to go into parliament and be
[00:28:34] Amelia
a part of that Bill amendment. I’d say it’s definitely, I’ve always been conflicted a bit between
[00:28:41] Amelia
a few areas of law that being like family law, but also being you know,
[00:28:47] Amelia
human rights law.
[00:28:48] Amelia
And I think definitely all the work I’ve done is definitely
[00:28:52] Amelia
influenced that because I’ve just been able to say that if, if you don’t do it,
[00:28:57] Amelia
if those people who are in those roles don’t do it what’s going to be done. And I
[00:29:01] Amelia
think being able to help out in the ways that I have is been something that I’ve
[00:29:07] Amelia
really enjoyed has been so special to me. And I think to be able to make
[00:29:10] Amelia
a career out of that and help help people every Day would be incredible.
[00:29:17] Josh
Yeah, definitely it’s, it’s not for everyone, but it’s, as we said before,
[00:29:21] Josh
it’s such an incredible chance to make change on such issues. And so,
[00:29:29] Josh
You know, we’ve talked a bit about all the advocacy work and things you’ve done. You know,
[00:29:36] Josh
as you yourself are getting older,
[00:29:38] Josh
do you think that your interest will remain in child safety and those kind of things or,
[00:29:43] Josh
or shift into other areas that’s probably had to kind of look into the future. But
[00:29:49] Josh
I guess my question is really, you know,
[00:29:52] Josh
your interests are kind of where your age is currently like. Where do you see that going?
[00:30:00] Amelia
To be honest, I think I can always see myself helping out child safety because I think it’s
[00:30:05] Amelia
something that’s so important to me. And I think as I get older,
[00:30:09] Amelia
I sort of only get more passionate about it. And I think being able to help out in
[00:30:14] Amelia
the ways that I have is really strengthened that because, you know, like I said,
[00:30:18] Amelia
it’s something that is so special to me and it’s something that I’m passionate
[00:30:22] Amelia
about. And bravehearts itself was an organization I was interested in. Well, before I was able to become
[00:30:29] Amelia
a part of it. So I’d say there’s definitely aspects,
[00:30:35] Amelia
there’s different areas that I’m sure I’ll become interested in in the future. But
[00:30:38] Amelia
I think child safety is always going to be something that’s close to my heart and
[00:30:41] Amelia
something that I’ll always want to help out with when I can. And hopefully I’ll
[00:30:46] Amelia
always be able to help with bravehearts.
[00:30:49] Josh
Yeah, for sure. So I’m also
[00:30:52] Josh
a little bit blown away by how you just managed to work on so many projects and be
[00:30:56] Josh
involved in so many things. What kind of challenges have you faced along the way
[00:31:01] Josh
and how have you been able to overcome them?
[00:31:04] Amelia
Yeah, I’d say, you know, like, anyone I’ve overcome challenges that being,
[00:31:08] Amelia
you know, you know, having sort of a rough start to life and dealing with
[00:31:15] Amelia
a lot of stuff in my, my early years and early childhood. And then like anyone dealing with, you know,
[00:31:22] Amelia
stuff in high School and dealing with different clashes and people coming and going
[00:31:27] Amelia
throughout life. And I think it’s just really about knowing that everything happens for
[00:31:33] Amelia
a reason. And that’s something that I really look at and especially being in high school,
[00:31:38] Amelia
it’s something that you’re always dealing with different personalities.
[00:31:41] Amelia
And sometimes you’re like, well what’s the point of this?
[00:31:43] Amelia
But I think just taking everything as a lesson, even if it doesn’t feel like it,
[00:31:49] Amelia
you’re always going to learn something from someone or an event. Yeah, I think just takes
[00:31:56] Amelia
a while and when you’re going through it and when you’re going through
[00:31:58] Amelia
a tough time, I’ve definitely dealt with, you know, depression and anxiety
[00:32:02] Amelia
a lot in the Past. And I think that’s something that’s very common. And I think
[00:32:08] Amelia
knowing that you are going to get through a lot and that this help is resources and that you,
[00:32:14] Amelia
you’re always going to learn something from it. And the next time you go through something,
[00:32:20] Amelia
you’re going to be able to work through it with more knowledge than you had before.
[00:32:27] Josh
Yeah, that’s a good message because you’re right we, you know,
[00:32:30] Josh
we all go through hard times. Yeah. It’d be, you know, we’d be lying to ourselves if we said, yeah,
[00:32:37] Josh
everything’s always worked out well and that’s what you’re going to be coming up roses. So yeah,
[00:32:43] Josh
I think it’s important that that to talk about those things just like you do so.
[00:32:48] Amelia
Yeah, well that’s, that’s part of life. You know,
[00:32:51] Amelia
life wouldn’t be interesting if everything was good every Day and how will we know
[00:32:56] Amelia
the good days from the bad days if we never experience the bad days?
[00:33:00] Amelia
So it’s just really about taking each Day as it comes and Learning what you can.
[00:33:06] Josh
Now another question I was going to throw at you without prior warning. Yeah. I’ve had a bit of
[00:33:11] Josh
a discussions with your wonderful mum. And she seems like
[00:33:18] Josh
a great supporter of you. You know, we all need support in our lives and yeah,
[00:33:24] Josh
it must be. What’s it like having a mum like that. Who’s so supportive?
[00:33:29] Amelia
Well, my mum’s like my best friend like her and I’ve always been very close,
[00:33:33] Amelia
like it’s just her and I like I know only child, I didn’t have
[00:33:38] Amelia
a dad like it’s just her and I obviously I have an amazing family as a whole,
[00:33:44] Amelia
but mum and I’ve always been very close and she’s always been someone I can rely on.
[00:33:50] Amelia
And sometimes it feels like she’s the only person I can rely on. And she’s always
[00:33:55] Amelia
been there and she’s none of the things I’ve been able to do or any of the things
[00:34:00] Amelia
that I’m passionate about. I would have been able to, you know, work for if,
[00:34:05] Amelia
if it wasn’t for her she’s sacrificed
[00:34:08] Amelia
a lot for me and definitely thankful for that. But, you know, she’s, she’s like,
[00:34:13] Amelia
my best friend like her and I, she’s, she’s not only like a mother, but she’s like
[00:34:18] Amelia
a, a rock for me. She, I go to
[00:34:21] Amelia
her for everything. She’s the person that, you know,
[00:34:24] Amelia
organises things for me. And she’s the person that I gossip to and I come home and
[00:34:29] Amelia
tell all this drama to say, yeah,
[00:34:32] Josh
well, next mother’s Day, you know,
[00:34:35] Josh
next year you don’t need to think about what you can write in the card. You can
[00:34:38] Josh
just pick this up and kind of get I describe it out as lovely
[00:34:42] Amelia
message.
[00:34:43] Amelia
I’ll get it a reply and go happy mother’s Day
[00:34:46] Josh
gift sorted. Yeah, that’s all. Do you think that you know no words in your mouth here,
[00:34:53] Josh
but hearing you know, the Story only child and grown ups with your, you know,
[00:34:57] Josh
your manager and the parent.
[00:34:59] Josh
Do you think that that kind of upbringing is something to do with your drive?
[00:35:06] Josh
Because I can tell that you are so driven to achieve your goals,
[00:35:10] Josh
but not just for yourself, you know, for others. That’s the,
[00:35:13] Josh
the part that sets you. That’s the thing that sets you apart to others. I
[00:35:16] Amelia
think. Yeah, well I’d say definitely, you know,
[00:35:19] Amelia
my upbringing has definitely got me. The reason why I’m so passionate about child
[00:35:25] Amelia
safety and why I’m so involved with bravehearts and why I’m so passionate and
[00:35:30] Amelia
getting the message out there. But also also just saying how much my mum sacrificed,
[00:35:35] Amelia
you know, being a single parent, you know, her sacrificing herself,
[00:35:42] Amelia
you know, for me not only to be a mother,
[00:35:45] Amelia
but to make sure that I got the opportunities like I got opportunities that,
[00:35:51] Amelia
you know, sometimes people with two parents weren’t getting and yeah, I’d say definitely coming from you know,
[00:35:59] Amelia
a mother that was so hard working and not necessarily having a lot of privilege. You know, not having
[00:36:07] Amelia
a lot of money and things like that. Just being able to see her hard work and that
[00:36:12] Amelia
there’s people like her that aren’t always in that are in
[00:36:16] Amelia
a vulnerable position and not always able to help themselves. And also I think to
[00:36:23] Amelia
sit in like my mum’s position is why I’m so passionate about getting
[00:36:30] Amelia
education more so for parents out there too, because she sacrificed
[00:36:34] Amelia
a lot and she had to educate herself in a lot of ways.
[00:36:39] Josh
Yeah. Well, that sounds like an amazing role model for you to have and obviously you’ve
[00:36:47] Josh
obviously done your own fair share, you know, I really don’t like it when people say that, you know,
[00:36:52] Josh
thanks to the parents. Yeah. Obviously they’re supportive and they’re great. But
[00:36:56] Josh
you’ve, you’ve had to do it yourself, you know, and I guess, speaking of doing it yourself, you know,
[00:37:04] Josh
you won the award the Spirit Super connecting committee as well. That’s how we kind
[00:37:07] Josh
of came across you and that onto the podcast. So that was a year ago now quite
[00:37:14] Josh
a while ago.
[00:37:16] Josh
What was your memories of you know, going all the way back to,
[00:37:20] Josh
to being nominated. Yeah. And then from there going through to being at the awards night last year.
[00:37:29] Amelia
Well I was always at,
[00:37:31] Amelia
it was the year before I was nominated for awards and I was lucky enough to be
[00:37:36] Amelia
invited and to be there. And then the following year,
[00:37:40] Amelia
I honestly was not expecting an award at all because I was just happy enough to be
[00:37:46] Amelia
recognized for what I’d done and to be nominated alongside so many amazing people
[00:37:51] Amelia
like not even just within my category the room is full of so many inspiring young
[00:37:56] Amelia
people and I think that was, it was really just,
[00:38:00] Amelia
I was excited to be there and to talk to different people and meet so many. It’s
[00:38:05] Amelia
like people in the community. But like I said,
[00:38:10] Amelia
I did not expect it. And when they caught my name, I was quite shocked,
[00:38:15] Amelia
but I was over the moon. And to do what I do, obviously,
[00:38:20] Amelia
I don’t do it in the hopes that people will recognize me. And, you know,
[00:38:26] Amelia
like tell me that I’ve done a good job,
[00:38:28] Amelia
but to be able to be recognized for like for doing what I do and
[00:38:36] Amelia
to be, you know, to get praise on that
[00:38:39] Amelia
when I do it simply because it’s, you know,
[00:38:43] Amelia
something that’s so close to my heart it was really great and I was so thankful to
[00:38:48] Amelia
Spirit Super and the whole organization and it was
[00:38:52] Amelia
a really special night and I got to share it with mom because she’s always me and yeah,
[00:38:58] Amelia
and it was so great meeting so many people and being involved in something so special.
[00:39:03] Josh
Well one thing I strongly believe in is putting an end to things like total poppy syndrome. Yeah. No,
[00:39:10] Josh
because especially when people do their work with a, you know,
[00:39:16] Josh
really genuine way. You know, with that I said, for the right reasons. No, I’m using that phrase so much,
[00:39:23] Josh
but they’re doing genuine things and doing it for the right reasons. And I think
[00:39:26] Josh
it’s, it’s, that’s why I’m so passionate about awards. Yeah,
[00:39:30] Josh
I just think it’s so worth putting those stories out there.
[00:39:34] Amelia
Yeah.
[00:39:35] Josh
And so yes, we applaud you because you speak about tough topics and they’re important topics.
[00:39:41] Josh
And so, you know, I’m
[00:39:43] Josh
a father myself and I just feel very thankful that it’s people like you and are
[00:39:47] Josh
putting this work in because it’s not even you is benefiting from it. The younger
[00:39:53] Josh
people who are going to benefit.
[00:39:54] Amelia
Thank you. And that’s always the goal,
[00:39:56] Amelia
and I think there’s so many people out there not only within bravehearts itself,
[00:40:01] Amelia
but being at that event channel seven event and seeing so many young people who get well,
[00:40:07] Amelia
not even just young people. People of all ages who are doing such amazing things so
[00:40:13] Amelia
selflessly and doing it for the right reasons and just doing it because they
[00:40:18] Amelia
genuinely want to help other people. And I think it’s so opening when you go to an
[00:40:22] Amelia
event like that because it shows you that there’s so many good people out there and there’s, you know,
[00:40:28] Amelia
people that benefit from what you do and people who are just so selfless and deserving.
[00:40:35] Josh
Yeah, well I can’t put a direct correlation to it, but I’m going to, you know,
[00:40:39] Josh
I’m going to basically say that was because of you anyway that essentially you know,
[00:40:44] Josh
the Queensland family and child commission make sure I’m getting that right. The Queensland family and child commission have become
[00:40:52] Josh
a partner of our awards. And I feel like it’s, you know,
[00:40:56] Josh
through stories like yours where we’re saying that, you know, young achiever,
[00:41:01] Josh
people typically think like twenty. Yeah. At that age. Yeah. But there’s,
[00:41:07] Josh
there’s young people and yeah, a true definition of
[00:41:10] Josh
a young person.
[00:41:11] Josh
You could argue it’s like twelve to, you know,
[00:41:14] Josh
to eighteen kind of thing. Yeah. And so, yeah,
[00:41:16] Josh
we’re really excited to have them on board and we’ll sharing more stories like
[00:41:20] Josh
yours. So again, I want to make this a Thank you best,
[00:41:23] Josh
but thanks for putting in the work you’ve done because I think that’s going to have
[00:41:26] Josh
flow on effects through our awards for years to come.
[00:41:30] Amelia
Thank you,
[00:41:31] Amelia
and that’s really why I do what I do to really try to help people and try to get
[00:41:37] Amelia
those messages out there and raise awareness. And yeah, like what you just said, that’s exactly why I do it.
[00:41:45] Josh
Yeah, well you certainly have done that through your documentaries and the films and
[00:41:48] Josh
things you put out there. And I know that that was quite
[00:41:51] Josh
a big part of your nomination into the young achiever awards. And so as such,
[00:41:56] Josh
Spirit Super actually submitted me a question,
[00:41:58] Josh
which I hope you don’t mind. I’m going to read out so that I’ve put this question
[00:42:02] Josh
forward to you. Amelia.
[00:42:06] Josh
Do you find it hard for people to open up in your
[00:42:09] Josh
documentaries or people always keen to tell their stories?
[00:42:13] Amelia
I’d say I haven’t necessarily done a documentary as such. But I think like with people opening up,
[00:42:23] Amelia
I’ve definitely with the work that I’ve done and the platforms that I’ve been able
[00:42:28] Amelia
to communicate these important messages on. I’ve definitely had
[00:42:34] Amelia
a lot of people open up to me about their own personal experiences and things.
[00:42:39] Amelia
They’ve dealt with and I find it’s never something that, you know,
[00:42:45] Amelia
obviously people know that I’m passionate about bravehearts and organisations and you know,
[00:42:50] Amelia
child safety and I obviously it’s something that I talk about and people know,
[00:42:55] Amelia
but it’s not something that I really drill into people and make it
[00:43:01] Amelia
a topic of conversation every Day. But I think just people having that awareness
[00:43:05] Amelia
that I’m involved in that area makes people, you know, open up and they,
[00:43:11] Amelia
they feel safe too. And also talking about my own personal experiences. I find people, you know,
[00:43:16] Amelia
talk to me and I think that’s really great. And just knowing people can confide in
[00:43:23] Amelia
me and can feel that they can trust me enough and open up to someone. And because
[00:43:28] Amelia
it doesn’t necessarily always have to be someone that you’re close with,
[00:43:32] Amelia
it just has to be someone you trust. And so doing what I do definitely is you know,
[00:43:40] Amelia
worth it in that aspect because people do open up and people can find someone to
[00:43:45] Amelia
trust. And that’s, you know, really
[00:43:48] Josh
good. Yeah.
[00:43:51] Josh
So you’ve got,
[00:43:53] Josh
you’ve got your web coming up. You’ve got Uni coming up. What have might be asking,
[00:43:58] Josh
but how are you going to fund all your adventures?
[00:44:04] Josh
How can we people book you to run their events and all that stuff because I feel
[00:44:08] Josh
like you’ve got, you know, so many different callings that your future could hold.
[00:44:13] Amelia
Well, I’d say I’m just, I’m sort of always floating around. I’m always looking for some sort of opportunity
[00:44:20] Amelia
to be able to help out in
[00:44:21] Amelia
a way. And most of the time I take up
[00:44:24] Amelia
any opportunity to be able to help out. And sometimes it’s just something like an opening of like
[00:44:31] Amelia
a garden shop or like helping out, you know,
[00:44:34] Amelia
gathering prizes for an organization like Blue hope or small steps for Hannah,
[00:44:39] Amelia
which I’ve done in the Past. But I think I’m just always looking to
[00:44:46] Amelia
help out in any way. And funding’s obviously something that obviously like I said, I come from
[00:44:55] Amelia
a single parent and money’s not always been something that we’ve been very blessed
[00:44:59] Amelia
with. But obviously I’m a lot more privileged than others.
[00:45:03] Amelia
And I recognize that,
[00:45:04] Amelia
but I’d say a lot of the stuff I do comes from a place that not
[00:45:10] Amelia
a lot of people have money and you know,
[00:45:14] Amelia
I don’t always have events that need thousands and thousands of dollars like we
[00:45:18] Amelia
just look for something that we’re able to, you know, obviously I,
[00:45:22] Amelia
there’s been times where I’ve gathered donations for different things and that’s
[00:45:25] Amelia
just about, you know, hoping other people will, you know,
[00:45:29] Amelia
be kind and there’s so many people out there that are willing to give back and, you know,
[00:45:37] Amelia
offer you things to then help people who are less fortunate. So I think it’s definitely
[00:45:42] Amelia
a lot of my stuff doesn’t revolve around money considering my background and it’s
[00:45:47] Amelia
more just relying on the kindness of strangers to really help out.
[00:45:53] Josh
Yeah, well luckily Australia does seem to have a really good culture around assisting charities and endeavors. So yeah,
[00:46:01] Josh
I think that’s one thing that, that we do really well as Aussies.
[00:46:05] Amelia
Yeah, yeah I’ve, I’ve definitely noticed that because I’ve definitely,
[00:46:09] Amelia
there’s been several occasions where because like the yfc Christmas drive, I gathered
[00:46:16] Amelia
a lot of donations through that. And so that was giving like Christmas gifts and
[00:46:23] Amelia
food and just essentials to those who were homeless or you know,
[00:46:27] Amelia
couldn’t afford it. And that was really relying on the kindness of others. And so
[00:46:32] Amelia
many businesses and individuals were willing to help out. And sometimes
[00:46:39] Amelia
people were going out and buying it or they were funding it or like offering money
[00:46:44] Amelia
and things like that. And I think the ceremony kind people out there and I’ve
[00:46:49] Amelia
really noticed that several times. So many people are willing to help out where they can
[00:46:55] Josh
So you’ve raised money for the wife’s Christmas drive. You talked
[00:46:59] Josh
also you mentioned before about blue hope and small steps. Hannah, yeah, it’s
[00:47:05] Josh
a lot of different charities. Are they all in the same space?
[00:47:08] Josh
So forgive me, I haven’t heard of, of some of these. So tell us
[00:47:12] Josh
a bit more about some of them.
[00:47:13] Amelia
So I’d say they’re all completely different actually. Why a First they really advocate for people who are homeless
[00:47:24] Amelia
or in poverty and people who are less fortunate and really helping out those who
[00:47:32] Amelia
aren’t in a position to help themselves. And so that’s why, and they give to
[00:47:39] Amelia
a lot of homeless people and have drives and things like that. And then small steps
[00:47:43] Amelia
to Hanna is obviously an organization that’s become very, you know,
[00:47:49] Amelia
popular and something that we’re seeing a lot more of now,
[00:47:52] Amelia
which is amazing. And it’s an organization that really advocates for domestic
[00:47:58] Amelia
violence and started by the parents of Hannah, who was you know, horrifically, murdered, due to, you know,
[00:48:08] Amelia
family domestic violence and her children as well. So and then there’s also blue hope,
[00:48:16] Amelia
which raises awareness about mental let the mental health of people in the
[00:48:23] Amelia
police force.
[00:48:24] Amelia
So When I was helping out at that event,
[00:48:29] Amelia
I sung at that event as well. And that was
[00:48:32] Amelia
it was offering stories of, you know, police officers that had dealt with severe mental health issues and hearing the
[00:48:39] Amelia
stories of people who had lost, you know, their husbands or their wives to people who had committed suicide as
[00:48:46] Amelia
a result of working in the police force and the work that they have to do and the
[00:48:52] Amelia
things that they have to say.
[00:48:55] Josh
Yeah, I definitely do not Envy. Envy those kinds of. Yeah. You know,
[00:49:02] Josh
placing people in, in all the emergency services, I have to say it’s pretty cool and stuff.
[00:49:08] Amelia
Yeah. Very selfless people.
[00:49:11] Josh
So before we wrap up and I’ll let you get back to that study,
[00:49:14] Josh
which I’m sure you’re not exactly itching to do.
[00:49:17] Amelia
Yeah. Not really.
[00:49:20] Josh
But you know, we’ve got to as a guest on the inspirational australian’s podcast,
[00:49:24] Josh
and I’ve certainly been inspired by you Amelia,
[00:49:26] Josh
by your selfless drive to assist others and help people and use your platform to
[00:49:31] Josh
spread a message. And as we’ve said, a few talking tough message,
[00:49:34] Josh
but one that’s really important. I think that with all these things that you’re
[00:49:39] Josh
doing so many projects, you know, where do you draw your inspiration from?
[00:49:44] Amelia
And I’d say a lot of my inspiration comes from being in the position myself,
[00:49:52] Amelia
where I needed help, and I needed a voice and I needed someone,
[00:49:57] Amelia
I needed those people to get their education out there and you know,
[00:50:03] Amelia
offer those support Services. And I think my own personal experiences plus also
[00:50:09] Amelia
just, you know, being involved in the field and seeing so many, you know,
[00:50:15] Amelia
just everyday people that are just good people and going through such
[00:50:21] Amelia
a hard time. And even just the statistics that come out every Day. One in four Australians, you know,
[00:50:27] Amelia
one in four Australian people under the age of eighteen years old,
[00:50:30] Amelia
experienced sexual assault at some point.
[00:50:33] Amelia
And I think statistics that,
[00:50:35] Amelia
that really are what keep me going and keep me interested and keep me wanting to
[00:50:42] Amelia
keep going with what I’m doing because I think it just really shows you it’s,
[00:50:46] Amelia
it’s not something that we don’t see. It’s something that is just happening every
[00:50:50] Amelia
Day. It’s happening to so many children and I think that sort of inspires me to
[00:50:57] Amelia
keep doing what I’m doing and keep helping out wherever I can to get the message
[00:51:01] Amelia
out there. And to like I said,
[00:51:04] Amelia
help those who are in the same position as me or in the same position as my mother.
[00:51:08] Amelia
And I who didn’t have those resources or weren’t aware of organisations such as bravehearts and you know,
[00:51:17] Amelia
really getting that out there. So people know where they can stop.
[00:51:23] Josh
Yeah. And I guess if you’re, you know, someone who’s,
[00:51:28] Josh
if this conversation has brought up any issues or thoughts, you know, head to bravehearts website. As Amelia said,
[00:51:36] Josh
there’s some good resources there of course and and reach out to people who can help. And lastly, you know,
[00:51:47] Josh
Amelia i-report.com. Check out that website to see all of Amelia’s work and get
[00:51:52] Josh
some extraordinary things on that work that you’ve been involved with. And obviously produced yourself so yeah, fantastic.
[00:52:00] Amelia
Thank you very much and thank you for having me. It’s been really great
[00:52:03] Amelia
getting to talk to you. And so talk about myself. I don’t mind having a conversation about myself in there.
[00:52:10] Josh
Yeah, well that’s when you got what messages to share itself. It’s worth doing. Thanks
[00:52:14] Josh
for your time. Good luck with your studies. And we look forward to seeing what’s on
[00:52:20] Josh
the horizon for Amelia Iris.
[00:52:22] Amelia
Thank you very much.
[00:52:29] Josh
This episode is brought to you by Spirit Super,
[00:52:31] Josh
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[00:52:36] Josh
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