Latest news with #DylanVoller
ABC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
The possibility of WW3 + specialist healthcare rip offs
Israel and Iran have spent the weekend launching lethal missile strikes at each other's major cities. So what does it mean for the region? And is this the beginning of World War 3? And are some healthcare specialists ripping off their patients? The writers of a new report think so, and want them to be named and shamed. Plus, Dylan Voller helped to expose the mistreatment of kids in detention in the Northern Territory. Now, he's turned to music to try to process his story. Listen now: 1.05 - What's fuelling the conflict between Iran and Israel 18.07 - Are healthcare specialists ripping us off? 26.22 - How Dylan Voller is using music Guests: Dr Ali Mamouri, research fellow, Deakin Uni Dr Ali Mamouri, research fellow, Deakin Uni Dr Jessie Moritz, senior lecturer at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, ANU Get the whole story from Hack:
ABC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Dylan Voller has turned to music to heal from his traumatic past
"Shackles and chains, I break away the stigma, scared little boy, I didn't see the bigger picture." These are lyrics from Dylan Voller's song Break Through. "I've never really got counselling, I've never really got therapy, so I guess jumping in the studio … it's like therapy for me," he told the ABC. When Voller's treatment as a child in the Northern Territory's Don Dale Detention centre was exposed in 2016, it sparked a royal commission. "All everyone really wanted to do was push me in front of cameras to talk about it and be this big spokesperson," he said. "I love fighting for my people, I love fighting for the other young people but what I realise is, at the time, I wasn't ready to do all that stuff. Now, the 27-year-old says he is using music and songwriting to try to move forward from his traumatic past. "Music's more than just becoming a famous rapper, more than trying to make money and stuff like that, it's a way that I can tell my story and actually feel safe within the way I tell my story." He recently performed at Tasmania's Dark Mofo festival, which he said was the first festival to pay him to fly out and play. Caleb Nichols-Mansell is the Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural advisor for DarkLab, the organisers of the festival. "Like so many, I watched this boy grow into a young man with an incredible talent for performing and storytelling … including Dylan [Voller] seemed obvious," Nichols-Mansell said. "Too often, First Nations artists and performers are undervalued and offered exposure over actual payment … I've been able to set a standard within the festival and hopefully the arts and cultural scene more broadly for what First Nations artists and musicians should be paid." Voller was in and out of detention as a child and has faced court since. "Only a couple of years ago, I was relapsing on drugs and I was back at my lowest again," he said. "I guess music got me away from that and it's put me back on a positive path that I'm actually doing something with my life," he said. Nichols-Mansell said using music to heal from past trauma is a sentiment he thinks a lot of First Nations people would relate to. "The medicine of music, arts and creativity … it has sustained our people, culture and stories for millennia and it continues to do so." Voller said he always loved freestyle rapping as a child, but his dream was to be a professional AFL player. He began producing music with the team at Heaps Decent in 2023, which is an arts organisation working with under-represented and marginalised youth to produce their own music and visual media activities. "More funding for programs like that because not every kid wants to play sport … there needs to be more options and more things out there for young people," Voller said. Voller is returning to Alice Springs in July for the Dream Big 2025 festival, which is a youth event aiming to inspire social change with music, culture and mentorship.
