Humanity Platform

I have a compulsion in my life that is I need to write poetry. People often ask me how do I stay so positive with the crap that goes on in my life? The answer; I turn it into poetry. When people read my poetry they hear the darkness of my soul but what they don't realise is that each word on the page punches some light even if it's the tiniest hole. There are many definitions of poetry but one I like best is language that shows your soul truth. With that in mind I encourage everyone to put their soul truth down on the page for UNESCO's World Poetry Day. Poetry in Pain Pain show me your poetry. Poetry show me the purpose of my disability. There is poetry somewhere in my tornado mind. If I just keep calm, the truth I will find. Wheelchair whisper poetic words or does my disability mean I will be forever taunted by the freedom of the birds.  Sometime my body is as rigid as plastic It is sarcastically fantastic when my muscles go spastic. When I...

On screen and stage I have worked with some amazing leading ladies and in my real life my leading lady is my wife. I wasn't going to write a post of International Women's Day this year but three events shocked me enough to change my mind. First I went to see the movie Bombshell which depicts the sexual harassment culture that took place at FOX News. As I was watching it I felt incredibly uncomfortable because as a man with many female best friends, not to mention a stepdaughter, I wanted to scream at the screen "No woman should have to deal with that shit!". Second, I was shocked and horrified to hear about Hannah Clarke's murder and the subsequent response from Bettina Arndt. I know not all men are violent but when another woman attempts to brush violence under the rug it sends a bad message. There are no excuses for violence against women. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse my blood tipped over the boiling point when I learned about th...

Valentine's Day is a day set aside for expressions of love and it has got me thinking if I was able to expand my love for my wife to the entire planet and everyone else did the same, then the world would be a better place. Every recognised religion has as its core tenant 'love thy neighbour'. Something we all would do well to remember. I have been thinking of writing this Valentine's Day blog since the end of last year and I was pleasantly surprised when Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar 2020 speech echoed my thoughts for this blog. If you haven't seen the speech yet, I highly recommend that you come back to this blog post after watching it. I was also inspired by Garth Brooks song 'People Loving People' which has as its premise putting love first; "the enemy of everything that is evil is people loving people". I have always had a secret obsession with cheesy romance movies and novels but now I think that it is time for me to invite Cupid's A...

I was going to start the New Year setting out my 2020 vision but this plan has been blinded by the smoke. It frustrates me that the government had a report predicting an event like this year's fire season down to the very year and yet they are still trying to convince the public that this was an unforeseeable event. This report clearly states that the increasing effects of climate change correlate to the extended fire seasons and yet successive governments adamantly oppose the idea that worsening bushfires are due to the growing climate emergency. When are governments going to realise that letting our environment burn also leads to them having to burn their precious money? The Smoke Choke I go for a walk and cannot see in front of me.  Is it fog? Or is it smog that obscures the oncoming car? I never thought that bushfire smoke could travel so far. I had a clear 2020 vision but with all this smoke making my eyes sting, I cannot see a thing.  I try not...

As another International Day of People with a Disability comes to a close I’d like to celebrate my favourite people with disabilities. I am a huge fan of the politician Jordan Steele-John. I really admire how Jordan has served his constituents while simultaneously promoting the rights of people with disabilities. I one day hope to follow in his wheel treads but for Labor instead of the Greens. Another person I admire is Dylan Alcott because he has broken down many barriers in the sporting world and the television world. He was the first person with a disability to win a Logie ... beating me to the punch. I also admire all my fellow actors on the Performers with Disabilities Committee of the Media and Arts Alliance. May we all continue to work towards true representation of people with disabilities in the media. While I think it is good to have a day celebrating people with disabilities, I look forward to the day when it is no longer necessary because my disability is not me. ...

This year I have been forced to take a long voyage on the uncomfortable train. This might sound like a bad thing but circumstances have arisen in my life this year that have forced me to reacquaint myself with the philosophies of Stoicism, Zen, and Taoism. There have been many examples this year when I haven’t been able to get disability supports when I needed them. This has forced me to spend many hours in an uncomfortable condition. To prevent me from bursting a blood vessel in frustration I had to go back to my favourite Stoics and remind myself things could always be worse. I was also able to let go, thanks to the Taoist philosophy of Wu Wei which simply put is 'going with the flow'. Like the Spartans my disability has taught me how to handle painful conditions and I needed to remind myself of these philosophies in order to rebuild my mental fortress and sit with uncomfortable. Since 2016 the world has been in an uncomfortable state. This has recently been broug...

For my entire career the most common topic I get asked to speak on is disability and sexuality. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to come across some very interesting information which backs up everything I believe about the topic. During my research I have recently found two very powerful podcasts; one is called OT After Dark and the other Disability After Dark . Both programs focus on breaking down social views about disability to talk about sex from all angles. I have always considered sexuality to be the most important aspect to my life that gets overlooked by society. It is only by talking to each other that sexuality can be embraced in a safe and consensual way. As I have said many times, people with disabilities like sex too and yet not only do people like myself have to fight against our physical restrictions of our disabilities but also negative social stereotypes. Throughout the centuries sexuality and attitudes towards it have seemed to calcify. Back in tim...