City Hub 12 September 2019

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2019 Sydney Update

Page 11

Here is an update on some of my work: • I’m supporting Sydney’s bid for WorldPride 2023, a massive LGBTIQ festival that celebrates our achievements and diverse LGBTIQ communities, while reminding us of reforms needed to advance equality and remove discrimination.

www.alexgreenwich.com

• We’ve received lots of submissions and are holding hearings for the Joint Select Committee on Sydney’s Night Time Economy, with great ideas from Lord Mayor Clover Moore, the City of Sydney, resident and business groups.

• The Legislative Assembly passed our Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 59

to 31, reflecting the strong community support to take abortion out of the Crimes Act – the first Legislative Council vote supported the reform, with amendments considered mid-September.

I’m committed to working for a liveable, sustainable and progressive Sydney for all.

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Snippets by ALEC SMART Deadly pecker On 3 Sept, news sources around the world reported a bizarre Australian tragedy about a woman in Adelaide who was pecked to death by her pet rooster. The 76-year-old was collecting eggs on her farm when she was fatally pecked by the rooster, which targeted her varicose veins perhaps assuming they were worms.

“The bird pecked her lower left leg causing significant hemorrhage with collapse and death,” stated findings published in the Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology journal.

University of Adelaide pathology professor Roger Byard told NBC News: “The case is significant as it draws attention to the vulnerability of elderly folk with varicose veins to minor trauma, even from a rooster peck.”

In other rooster-related news, Sydney City Roosters rugby league team, which finished second, stopped pecking as they lost their final season match against arch-rivals South Sydney Rabbitohs.

A few hours earlier, Triple M Radio drive-time show The Rush Hour with MG reprised the claim that Rabbitohs were still pursuing Roosters’ talented 22-year-old centre Latrell Mitchell.

Mitchell, whose contract expires Nov 1, is allegedly expressing reciprocal interest. Mitchell played a below-average game against Rabbitohs, including fumbling two near-certain opportunities to score by dropping the ball at the try line.

Sharks forced inland Whilst on the subject of rugby, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks’ fans look set to follow in the footsteps of Rooster’s fans when their home stadium, Endeavour Field, aka ‘Shark Park’, is bulldozed by developers and they’re forced to relocate during upgrades.

However, unlike Roosters, who moved to the stadium next door, Sharks and their fans will be homeless for two years and might have to share

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making misogynist on-air comments, Nine is anxious about the future earning potential of Macquarie.

Jones, who has lost multiple defamation cases, suggested Prime Minister Morrison should ‘shove a sock’ down NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s throat. Around 80 sponsors have since deserted the broadcaster, costing an estimated $1million loss in advertising revenue.

Meanwhile, Nine’s chief executive Hugh Marks conceded his company’s decision to host the Liberal Party fundraiser at its Sydney television studios last week was a “mistake”. Marks also said Macquarie Media can recover without the controversial Jones, who earns a $4 million salary as part of a recently-signed two-year contract, prompting speculation their misogynist ‘shockjock’ might soon face an ignominious exit.

A replica of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour in Darling Harbour. The original is believed scuttled in the USA. Photo: Alec Smart

with arch-rivals St George Illawarra Dragons, who alternate between Kogarah Oval and Wollongong Stadium.

Shark Park is undergoing a development project that has seen several changes since its 2012 approval, including an increase in the number of residential apartments from 636 to 880, despite objections by Sutherland Shire Council.

However, there is speculation the Sharks could be wound-up, or relocated to Queensland. The Sharks, formed in 1967 and competing in just four grand finals over 50 years, have only won one premiership, in 2016 against Melbourne Storm.

Meanwhile, taxpayers kindly forked out $250 million for the new Prime Minister’s jet, a 100-seater converted Qantas A330 Airbus. It replaces the two Boeing 737-700 passenger jets leased by the RAAF, which only carried 18 passengers. Morrison’s maiden voyage will be to the USA on 19 Sept, but the new plane can travel to Russia on a single trip, should ScoMo be deputised by Donald Trump to meet with his Russian handlers.

Avid Sharks’ fan Scott Morrison has named the plane after his beloved rugby team: Shark One.

Is it true Harry’s hotdog buns taste different enough to warrant criticism, or did someone in Harry’s do a deal with NewsCorp’s marketing dept. to spin a nonstory to attract publicity? Does anybody care?

A spokesperson from Harry’s Café de Wheels told City Hub: “We are aware of the coverage but had no involvement in its angle. If we wanted publicity that would not be the way we would approach it.”

Hot dog hullabaloo In what City Hub suspected was a ‘fake news’ story - or a paid advertorial – the Daily Telegraph reported that Harry’s Cafe de Wheels changed bread supplier for their hotdog buns, provoking a ‘bun fight’ of complaints from customers about the changed flavour – including notorious nightclub owner John Ibrahim.

Not since the existential crisis surrounding the placement of cooked onions on Bunnings’s sausage sandwiches in Nov 2018 has such a storm developed in a teacup, er, bread roll.

Jones’ nine lives over?

Channel Nine, which City Hub reported last week hosted a lavish $10,000-a-head corporate fundraiser for Liberal Party supporters to dine with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, may renegotiate their $114 million takeover bid for Macquarie Media.

Nine Entertainment Co, which merged with the ailing Fairfax Media last year, already own a 54.5 percent stake in Macquarie Media (which merged with Fairfax in 2014). However, following an advertiser boycott of Macquarie-run radio station 2GB in the wake of their talk show host Alan Jones

Glyphosate goodbye Waverley Council is the latest Sydney council that will ban the use of glyphosate-based weedkillers such as RoundUp. The ban applies immediately to ‘sensitive’ areas, such as schools and sporting fields, with its use completely phased out by 2021.

RoundUp, made by chemical giant Monsanto (manufacturers of Agent Orange), is the most ubiquitous home-use weedkiller in the world.

Yet in 2015 the World Health Organization’s international agency for research on cancer identified glyphosate as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans,” and since then millions of dollars compensation has been awarded to terminally-ill victims who claim it caused their cancers.

Endeavours to find a Sandwich A shipwreck in Newport Harbour, north-eastern USA, may prove to be Captain Cook’s vessel, The Endeavour, in which he sailed to Terra Australis in 1770.

The Endeavour was re-fitted into a transport ship, renamed Lord Sandwich II, and used by the British Navy during the American War of Independence.

It was scuttled with 12 other boats in Newport Harbour in 1778 to prevent the French Navy, America’s allies, entering the bay. Of the 13 ships sunk, The Endeavour/Lord Sandwich II was the only one with a keel made of elm wood.

Wood samples taken from the submerged wreck have been sent for testing. Australian National Maritime Museum director Kevin Sumption told Australian Associated Press on 8 Sept, “If this piece of the keel turns out to be elm, that will be part of the puzzle that kind of allows us to say ‘Yes, this is Endeavour’.”

Results are expected by December.

Meanwhile, disassociation with Captain Cook is moving forward as the Cook Islands, about 5000km east of Brisbane, plan to rename their cluster of 15 islands and remove historic colonial associations.

Up to 60 names reflecting its Polynesian heritage are being considered, including Avaiki Nui, which was rejected in a 1994 referendum. Avaiki means ‘afterworld’ in the island’s Maori dialect and combined with Nui means, roughly, the ‘ultimate heaven’.

Other islands that removed colonial associations to adopt traditional names include: New Hebrides, now Vanuatu; Gilbert Islands, now Kiribati; and Sandwich Islands (named by Captain Cook), now the Hawaiian Islands.

The new names under consideration reflect Maori heritage, national pride and the island’s Christianity. The last one seems ironic, given that the first Europeans to set foot on the islands were English Christian missionaries in 1821, who paved the way for British colonialism.

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Morrison’s drug doubt CELEBRATING OUTSTANDING SERVICE AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN NSW’S LGBTI COMMUNITY FOR OVER 12 YEARS

Drug-testing welfare recipients has proven an abysmal failure in NZ, USA, UK and Canada. Graphic: Alec Smart

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BY JOHN MOYLE The Morrison Government’s revival of the 2017 Turnbull policy to drug test welfare recipients should come as no surprise, as the Government is awash in a wave of “compassionate conservatism”.

The two-year trial will see 5,000 welfare recipients of Newstart and the Youth Allowance have their payments suspended if they test positive to cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, ice or heroin.

If the recipient fails the test a second time they will be referred to a doctor and presented with treatment options while being placed on income management that will quarantine 80 per cent of their payment to be locked up in a cashless debit card that cannot be used for drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or gambling.

Alcohol and cigarettes are still legal in Australia and widely used across the community.

Heartless cruel measure “Apart from being the antithesis of compassionate, it is a heartless and cruel measure that appeals to the penal popularism that is rampant in Australia,” said Matt Noffs, CEO, Ted Noffs Foundation. (Ted Noffs Foundation treats young people with drug and alcohol problems and in particular those with comorbid mental health issues.)

“It has proven to be an abysmal failure in New Zealand, across the US, the UK and Canada so why would we bother testing it in Australia?”

The Department of Social Services told City Hub “The trial is about testing new ways of identifying job seekers with substance abuse issues, helping them overcome these issues and increasing their chances of gaining employment.”

The chances of the Government getting the Bill through the Senate with cross-bench support are looking a lot better than the two previous attempts, which were blocked by Labor and the Greens.

“The Government has tried this before and Labor has opposed it, and will continue to do so,” Linda Burney, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services, said.

If passed, as is likely in the next couple of weeks, the Bill will see the test program rolling out at Mandurah, south of Perth, at Logan, south of Brisbane, and Canterbury Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west.

“We weren’t consulted about this plan, and the reality is, illicit drug use is a national problem, not just pertaining to any one area,” Khal Asfour, Mayor, Canterbury Bankstown said.

“If the Government was serious about getting people off drugs they would invest in rehabilitation facilities.

“We do not have one in CanterburyBankstown and the closest facility for residents

is actually in Rozelle or Campbelltown.”

Ten million dollars has been set aside to boost drug treatment facilities with no provision to train extra staff for already overextended services, often with long delays.

The only unity that this proposal has brought has been to get over 40 of Australia’s peak health, welfare and drug agencies to agree that it is an ill-conceived plan hatched without any proper consultation.

“Penalising job seekers with drug and alcohol dependence issues through removal of welfare payments will increase disadvantage not only to the jobseeker themselves, but also to any dependants they may be caring for,” David Templeman, Chief Executive Office President, Public Health Association of Australia said.

an ill-conceived plan hatched without proper consultation “It is disappointing that the feedback provided in the previous Bill does not appear to have been taken into consideration in the development of the current Bill, reflecting an apparent lack of consultation with experts on drug policy.”

Anglicare said, “Mandatory drug rehabilitation has been repeatedly found to be one of the least effective ways for people to overcome a drug addiction.”

Drugs – use or dependence?

Professor Alison Ritter from the UNSW Social Policy Research Centre, who recently delivered a keynote paper on drug testing welfare recipients, said “Drug use per se is not related to employment and what the Bill fails to attend is the fact that 50 per cent of Australians have taken an illicit drug at some time in their life and there is a big difference between using an illicit drug and being drug dependent.”

Professor Ritter sees the Morrison Government playing a low hand to the lowest common denominator.

“More and more across developed nations welfare has become conditional on acceptable behaviour. Australia has a long history of these kinds of provisions, and while it is not a new idea, it seems to be particularly virulent at the moment,” Prof Ritter said.

Matt Noffs said, “If they are truly compassionate they would listen to doctors and they would listen to people like ourselves who have been successful for half a century.”

As Australian society flirts with “compassionate conservatism,” and with the Morrison Government on an electoral roll, this seems unlikely.

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WestConnex takes its toll in Annandale

BY WENDY BACON WestConnex contractors chopped down scores more trees in Annadale late on Monday night, just hours after residents protested against the destruction of Buruwan Park, to make way for road widening and a giant overpass across to Rozelle.

Since 2016, 8000 trees have been chopped down across Sydney’s Inner West to make way for WestConnex, hundreds of them recently in Rozelle, Lilyfield and Annandale.

Twenty year old casuarina trees that were planted in the Park to soften the impact of City West Link twenty years ago have already gone. A huge old mature fig still stands.

Protestors know from experience that if they stand in the way of tree choppers, riot police will be sent to arrest them. They could potentially face years in prison under protest laws passed by the LNP government. But residents are not just protesting in the hope that someone in authority will grant the park a last minute reprieve, but also to bear witness to corruption and abuse of planning processes by the Gladys Berejiklian government.

Local Greens MP Jamie Parker, along with Greens and Independent Councillors, joined protestors on Monday. Parker asked the crowd, “Where did this idea come from for WestConnex?

What genius thought up this idea?” Many in the crowd called back the answer: “Nick Greiner.”

Greiner was NSW Liberal Premier in the early 1990s. After resigning, he became the grandfather of the toll road business. In 2011, the new Liberal government appointed him to to head a new authority, Infrastructure NSW (INSW). INSW recommended WestConnex as the top priority for NSW transport. After the NSW government accepted the recommendation, Griener later became a consultant for Transurban, which now owns 49% of WestConnex and dominates Australia’s tollway business.

The NSW Minister for Planning approved the WestConnex M4 M5 link between Haberfield and Rozelle in 2018, which included the destruction of the park. “The fact that the State Government has approved a design which permits this green space to be entirely wiped out shows complete contempt and disregard for the community, given issues with poor tree canopy in the inner west and the urgent need to address climate change,” said Richard Dudley-Smith, spokesperson for the Coalition against WestConnex (CAW).

CAW called for the tree destruction to be postponed until after the design was settled and the community have been consulted about the design changes, which needs to happen before work can proceed on the overpass.

residents are frustrated with the handing of public accountability to private interests

Another tree is felled to make way for a concrete utopia. Photo: Christina Valentine

New twist and turn Greiner’s history is just one piece of evidence that explains why residents are so frustrated with what they say as the wholesale handing over of public accountability to private interests.

The introduction of the Rozelle overpass into the WestConnex plan is just the latest twist and turn in this project.

The Rozelle Interchange was originally to be built above ground. But such was the public reaction, the then-Roads Minister Duncan Gay announced in July 2016 that it would be built underground. City Hub observed the project designer telling residents at a feedback session that this change came as an instruction and there was at that stage no practical design. There was no acceptable tender to build it, which meant that RMS took it back from the Sydney Motorway Corporation that owns WestConnex.

No three-level underground motorway interchange has been built elsewhere in a densely settled urban area, so many believed the project would never be built. But the underground concept was approved.

What few noticed was that the proposed

Kelly Reed, 24 Originally from: UK Now lives: Sydney

Western Harbour Tunnel design, released in mid 2018, included the overpass that has now become part of WestConnex. The overpass will funnel traffic towards the CBD and the Western Harbour Tunnel (WHT), although the latter has not even yet been subject to an EIS, let alone approval.

“The RMS and the contractor are proposing dramatic modifications that conflict with the original consent given to this project. The government hasn’t explored alternatives for this project, has delivered a woefully inadequate environmental impact statement and then gone on to ignore their own conditions of consent,” Parker told City Hub. Inner-West dystopia This week City Hub took a look at AECOM, the company responsible for the WestConnex Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for Stage 1, 2 and 3, this modification EIS and preliminary work on the WHT. AECOM is a real estate, construction and services company which is deeply embedded in NSW Transport delivery. A search shows that AECOM is holding $477 million worth of contracts. One of them is an $181 million contract to be a “partner” in easing Sydney’s traffic congestions, which is quite separate from other large contracts for specific projects.

On its website, AECOM boasts that its planning team managed the M4 EIS with “minimal objection from stakeholders.”

This statement flies in the face of thousands of objections from transport and health experts, plus residents, including scathing objections from Ashfield Council (which subsequently became part of the Inner West Council).

In the face of deception, is it any wonder that many residents say they feel like that are living in an episode of the ABC satire Utopia?

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Bookish backlash

BY VANESSA LIM Scots College, a prestigious private boarding school in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, has had their $29 million library upgrade approved, despite backlash from Bellevue Hill locals worried about traffic issues and a further increase in student numbers.

The Independent Planning Commission (IPCN), which approved the renovations, said: “.. it will allow for the provision of improved learning facilities… update an existing educational facility allowing it to become more accessible and inclusive… (and) generate up to 418 construction jobs.”

‘Catastrophic accident a probability’ The IPCN acknowledged there were existing traffic problems in the area, but concluded that an increase in traffic problems would be improbable.

The Concerned Scots Neighbours group (CSN) argued in its statement addressed to the IPCN that existing traffic problems in the area were an issue that couldn’t be ignored.

the proposed height of the Library is 9.5 metres over the current limit Paul Blanket, Chairman of CSN, said, “Given that 90% of the objections to this application were on the basis of concerns in regard to the total lack of safety on the roads surrounding Scots, it is a clear indication that the community is seriously concerned that a catastrophic accident is not a possibility but a probability.”

In the IPCN’s summary of complaints, 96% had issues with traffic.

“It is no accident that Woollahra Council has knocked back every major recent Development

Application by Scots - because Scots has not taken any serious attempt to resolve the traffic and parking problems created by the breach of the student cap.”

In the IPCN’s submission summary, it is stated that out of 52 community submissions, 49 objected to the proposal, 2 were comments and there was only 1 supporter.

Some 63% of submissions had concerns with the student increase.

Scots College’s student allowance is 1,120 but in the IPCN report, it is noted that Scots College current student count is 1,504 as of July 2018, putting the school in breach of the student capacity.

In the past 5 years, Scots College has taken Woollahra Council to court to increase its student capacity and failed each time. Traffic issues was the main concern in each case.

Paul Blanket doubted that Scots College would attempt to fix the traffic issues.

“In 2014, Concerned Scots Neighbours commenced a Class 4 action against Scots in regard to its breach of conditions of consent in regard to the student cap. In late 2015 we agreed to drop the action on the condition that Scots makes a serious attempt to resolve the dangerous traffic situation by submitting a DA and commencing a building program to put onsite parking and internal drop off on their campuses.

After an initial discussion with Council, Scots has done nothing.”

In an anonymous letter to the IPCN, parents spoke out about the overcrowding issue. Scots College Student’s Parents (SCSP) said, “It has been made known that if parents speak at the public meeting they will be spreading criticism about the college and their son’s enrolment can be terminated… Parents think the school is overcrowded causing bullying and disorganisation and would like it to be a condition that the school

Scots College, Bellevue Hill, unsuccessfully applied to increase its student capacity. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

starts complying with existing student limits before it can do any new building works.”

Paul Blanket said, “Over the past week Concerned Scots Neighbours has received anonymous phone calls and letters urging us to continue raising our concerns. They detailed both staff and parents who are afraid to speak out in fear of retribution from Scots management and have personal concerns about child and staff safety.”

With the hefty price tag on the Library Development, Scots College has said in the Sydney Morning Herald that most of the funds would be collected through donations and fundraisers.

Funding concerns While funding for library renovations would be private, the Parents of Scots College students said in their statement, “Also, parents have asked a number of times to amalgamate the Womens Association and the Parents Association. Both

associations are unincorporated and funds should be directed to operational needs of the school but some of the funds raised by the Womens Association volunteers are going to the Stevenson Library Development.”

This raises ethical questions about where Scots College is sourcing some of its funds for the development.

Another issue is the height of the Scots College’s Library proposal, which is 9.5 metres over the current height limit.

The IPCN argued that this was a “State Significant Development,” which overrides the general rule. The Department of Planning Industry and Environment also agreed that excusing the height limit was acceptable since there would not be significant overshadowing and that a view loss assessment had been conducted.

The Scots College Library renovations will soon commence and are set to be completed by 2021.

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Opinion

The shock of the new

BY ANDREW WOODHOUSE In a controversial decision, Sydney Council has decided to heritage-list a range of modern Brutalist buildings.

“These items are proposed for listing to recognise their significance as part of the modern movement of architecture and art in Sydney that were designed from 1945 to 1975,” says Council.

However, not all owners are happy and many occupants of retail outlets aren’t even aware of the proposed changes. This is despite Council boasting that “The City is committed to … effective, fair and consistent consultation processes and increasing transparency in decision-making.”

Yawn. Wake me when it happens.

The proposals are based on Council’s own study which recommended 14 items be listed. Only nine are now actually proposed. Why did the other five fall off the list?

Five listings missing Council is pushing ahead to list these items: 1. Sydney Masonic Centre, 279–283 Castlereagh Street, Sydney 2. former Sydney County Council Building, 552A–570 George Street, Sydney 3. St Peter Julian’s Catholic Church and Monastery, 637–645 George Street, Haymarket 4. Town Hall House, 456 Kent Street, Sydney 5. William Bland Centre, 229–231 Macquarie Street, Sydney 6. MLC Centre, 19–35 Martin Place, Sydney

7. former Liverpool and London and Globe building, 62 Pitt Street, Sydney 8. former Horwitz House, 398–402 Sussex Street, Haymarket 9. Earth Mother play sculpture, Yurong Parkway, Cook and Phillip Park, Sydney The list omits references to the Sirius Building in The Rocks or the Surry Hills NSW Police Force building. Or are these too ugly to contemplate and well-known for their “brutalist” aesthetic.

Kirstern Seale, a post-doctoral fellow at UNSW observes: “Brutalism is the ugly duckling of modern architecture. Its older cousin, Modernist architecture, is far more popular with tastemakers and influencers.

The term Brutalism has its origin in the French phrase béton brut, meaning roughcast concrete. Post-war governments ... turned to pre-fabricated concrete because it was inexpensive to produce and easy to erect ... [it] was used in the construction of public housing, town halls, schools, universities, community centres and other civic buildings.

Brutalism is a truly global architectural style and there are examples of it in cities on every continent. In the popular imagination, Brutalism is defined by the blunt, brute force of its unadorned and uncompromising forms. It is often associated with Soviet Bloc-style housing or the towers of British council estates.”

So what? Is it a style or a period or merely a form of construction?

Others such as critic Owen Hatherley argue that the social and political objectives of Brutalist architecture are now passé and out of step with the contemporary city. He says the dislike

of Brutalism isn’t based purely on taste.

It is philosophically despised by urban planners and developers because it is not a product of neo-liberal thinking.

Let’s just forget all the verbal pingpong. Council has to base its decisions on the merits of each individual site.

Or does it?

Can it just ignore owners’ views?

No. Its consultation draft strategy states “anyone can make a submission … submissions …will be considered and acknowledged …”.

Does this really mean anything? Let’s see if this works.

The Sydney Masonic Centre, owner of the former Sydney County Council building, the Parish of St Peter’s Church and the owner of the William Bland Centre have all said they disagree with Council’s heritage study and its assessments.

Brutalism is the ugly duckling of modern architecture Their concerns align with Council’s own heritage study. The study notes various problems with its own proposals: buildings have been altered, changed uses, were poorly made and have deteriorated, incorporated new technologies which have required radical changes and repairs of some materials such as plastics for which conservation practices have not evolved. The buildings lack originality

Sydney Council is heritage-listing nine Brutalist buildings, but not The Sirius in The Rocks.

Photo: Alec Smart

and are not intact. Owners have been “brutalist”. They have employed specialists.

No longer Brutal The Sydney Masonic Centre says its site “has been subject to significant and highly visible alterations and additions which have eroded the original architectural vision and fundamentally changed its external character ... it no longer exhibits the key characteristics of the Brutalist style.”

Owners of the former County Council building challenge assumptions in Council’s study: “The building is at best an ordinary example that draws on elements of the International Style. Claims

it is a fine example of a Later Twentieth Century International Style commercial building have not been substantiated”.

St Peter’s parish observes that “other than the Lady Chapel, little to no significant material remains”.

The heritage architect for the William Bland Centre is critical: “Apart from its glazed façade the William Bland Centre at 229-231 Macquarie St does not sufficiently exhibit the Modern Movement characteristics identified in the [council] study”.

Council now seeks your views by 5pm on Monday 16 September 2019.

Comment via https://www.cityofsydney. nsw.gov.au/council/your-say or contact a councillor direct.

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Sydney could go Dutch

BY JOAN HENSON For Sydneysiders protesting the pollution, tree culling, noise, and alleged property damage of WestConnex over social media, Dutch cycling porn – online gushing over a Dutch cycling nirvana – provides some reprieve.

Sydney cycling aficionados, like advocates in other car-centric cities, have long lauded the Dutch (and Danes) for their bicycle-friendly cities.

Yet Sydney’s slow progress may be stifling the cycling network’s capacity for a planned uptick in cyclists, and the creative nerve to adapt like the Dutch.

It took a spate of cycling fatalities, following a boom in car-centric infrastructure in 1950s and ‘70s Amsterdam, to spark protests that initiated a cycling revolution. Officials responded with cycling infrastructure, plus reduced car speed limits, parking, and driving space.

Last October Get Into Gear, a Sydney cycling blog, compared pre-transformation Amsterdam to Sydney: “Sound familiar?... this is the very crisis we face in Sydney right now.”

A Streetfilms documentary on the planning of another Dutch haven, Utrecht, has garnered 20 000 Vimeo views in two months, and Sydney social media attention. Planners managed to keep cars out of the city centre, so less than 15 per cent of these trips are made by car (60 per cent are bike trips).

Of Utrecht’s 350 000 residents, 98 per cent of households own one bike, while 50 per cent own three or more. In August the city completed the world’s largest bicycle garage, which holds 12 500 bikes, and can be cycled, taking passengers straight to the railway station.

Utrecht’s Vredenburg road takes 33 000 cyclists daily but does not permit private cars. Since cyclists do not have to compete with motorists, they can cycle helmetless. The planning’s messaging is clear: the city centre is for people.

City network cannot support more cyclists This week Transport for NSW data showed that 8000 to 9000 fewer vehicles traverse the CBD on weekday mornings compared to 2015, having been held back by light rail construction for the last four years. The City of Sydney is proposing a cycling path along Castlereagh Street, which will be freed up with the repositioning of bus routes when light rail services begin. In August the City announced that the NSW government would fund four new bike routes to link some network gaps.

University of Sydney transport analyst, Professor David Levinson says that while “Sydney is slowly moving in the direction of Utrecht, in that more road space is being dedicated for bike lanes… the movement is too slow to achieve significant progress.”

it’s not impossible to shift heavily car-centric cities to bicycle-friendly ones

When it comes to cycle-friendly cities, Sydney could learn from the Dutch. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

He says that the City of Sydney’s 2030 target, that 10 per of all city trips be made by bike is not supported by the proposed network. While the target covers three to four times as many cyclists as today, the network “is not three to four times as large or more protected.”

BIKESydney president, David Borella, says road space needs to be reallocated to walking and cycling, as unprotected cyclists are “frightened to cycle in, and even walk near big traffic flows..

Important though they are, separated cycleways alone will not get us there”.

“You can’t ‘be Utrecht’ if you don’t first build off-road cycling trunk routes,” he says. These could include: incorporating cycling paths around the airport in projects like WestConnex, and building a City West Cycle Link, through the Rozelle rail

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city hub 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

yard, “which would be gamechangers for cycling.”

Professor Levinson says cyclists cannot travel between Green Square and other neighbourhoods via separated and protected bike lanes. Though it is “possibly the best precinct in Sydney for biking, the point is not simply what you can do in a neighbourhood.”

Green Square, which in May won the Green Building Council of Australia’s highest rating, incorporates low speed streets, pedestrian-only zones and separated cycleways.

Planning visionaries needed Mr Borella thinks ‘going Dutch’ can happen when politicians and community members realise that it is not impossible to shift “heavily car-centric cities”. He says changes in planning laws can promote developments with better walking and

cycling infrastructure, while a new street design guide (as in Auckland) can enable engineers “to create a connected network of walking and riding streets, particularly as we are now building a second road network underground”.

Professor Levinson gives a Dutch mindset to Sydney topography, suggesting that narrower streets, less suited to cars, can prohibit them for most uses.

Similarly main streets, with on-street parking, should have space for separated cycling lanes as, “what is more important, storing cars 23 hours a day or moving people?”

He says there are strategies yet to be envisaged to plan the transition: including promoting and regulating e-bikes, planning protected bike lanes from station entrances, and school cycling strategies.

FEATURE

Keep Warm This Winter.

Photo: Supplied

By Irina Dunn If you’re a child of the 70s, or you wish you were a child of the 70s, Sedition Festival has something interesting and exciting to offer you.

Loaded with nostalgia, the festival offers a seditious range of 70s entertainment, from cabaret to concerts to art exhibitions to films and talks.

Put together by co-curators, former Rolling Stones Editor, Toby Creswell, and Lesa-Belle Furhagen, Sedition is “an art event that celebrates public art and protest of the 1970s.” The event focuses on “the Sydney underground of the 1970s and the huge creative wave that broke during those years.”

They say, “the vision behind Sedition 2019 is that art incites action; whether that be protests about women’s rights or land rights or the creation of a film culture in Australia or an innovative, cathartic music scene and the poster art and ephemera that is its legacy.”

Artists featured in the show include Brett Whiteley, Martin Sharp, Garry Shead, Peter Kingston, Paul Worstead, The Tin Sheds Collective, Michael Callaghan, Reg Mombassa, Therese Kenyon, Marie McMahon, Michael Matou, Toby Zoates, and Jan MacKay. Long associated with the stage, Johnny Allen, I am pleased to say, is bringing us two cabaret shows.

One is The Cabaret Conspiracy, which was “a radical cabaret group that emerged from and reflected the gay-anarcho-feminist ethos of Darlinghurst in the 1970s.”

The group started performing in February 1979 at Garibaldi’s, “a backstreet café above a motor garage in Darlinghurst that established a reputation for outrageous and entertaining alternative theatre.” (I remember Garibaldi’s, with the huge imposing portrait of the man himself painted directly onto the wall of the dining room.)

Johnny Allen is joined on the stage by a cabaret troupe of burlesque artists, singers and dancers including Martin Raphael, Fingers De Main, Jan Cornall, Elizabeth Drake, Funny Stories, Michael Shirley, Elizabeth Burton, Vittorio Bianchi, and Vashti Hughes.

Put The X On Art. Photo: Supplied

That should shake the library up!

Another show is Cabaret,The Post Conspiracists curated by the multitalented Vashti Hughes and composer and teacher Tim Hansen. They are joined by a host of performers including Christa Hughes, blues belter and vaudeville vamp, Imogen Kelly, renowned as Australia’s Queen of Burlesque, Betty Grumble, described as a Surreal Showgurl, and Celia Curtis, a burlesque/cabaret comedian.

One of the standout shows for me is Girls in Our Town, which features the “saucy and bold” Margret RoadKnight alongside the dynamo Jeannie Lewis.

Girls in Our Town reprises the 70s show All Together Now that was so popular and toured the country.

Margret’s rich deep voice and sense of humour make her a consummate performer, while Jeannie’s voice soars to impossible levels.A long time ago, I was in the Belvoir I think, and the audience was asked to close its eyes and listen to Jeannie duelling with Jim Conway’s

mouth organ. It was hard to tell which was voice, which mouth organ.

Other “girls” to join Margret and Jeannie are Jan Cornall and Elizabeth Drake, who will perform songs from their musical cabaret Failing In Love Again, “a witty take on the sexual revolution with all its contradictions, self-doubt and bravado”. Janie Conway-Herron, founding member of the 70s band Stiletto, will introduce a new collection of songs that she wrote to accompany her fictional memoir set in 70s and 80s Melbourne music scene. Former lead singer from Tully, Shayna Karlin, will also lend her considerable vocals to the show.

In film, director Stephen Wallace presents three debut films from the 70s: Violence In The Cinema - Part 1, Love Letters From Teralba Rd and Wrong Side Of The Road.

The Palace Verona will host a double feature with The Night The Prowler, starring the inimitable Ruth Cracknell, and, of course, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The talks are likely to be lively with titles like A Woman’s Place, So What Was That All About? Art in the 70s and Art Speaks Truth to Power.

And watch the oldies get their socks off to The Aints + The Flaming Hands and Shining Imposters, The Mangrove Boogie Kings, Dog Trumpet and Uncle Bob’s Band.

And don’t forget the two exhibitions The Art of Agitation and Paper Tigers at the Amaze Gallery and National Art School respectively.

Without Trees. Photo: Supplied

This festival will be spread across venues in Darlinghurst and neighbouring suburbs.

Sedition 2019 is partnering with the Power Institute, City of Sydney, State Library of NSW, Oxford Arts Factory, National Art School and Brand X Productions.

Perhaps Damien Lovelock sums up the spirit of the festival best in his comment on the art of the 70s: “They make their own posters. They put on their own gigs. They rent their own halls. They do everything themselves.

That’s as radical to me as Brecht was to theatre.”

More Info: www.seditionfestival.com

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Art Attack Now that our State Government has unlocked the city, they’ve inadvertently unshackled Sydney’s most notorious art sleuth, #ArtAttack.

I am the nosiest, most inquisitive social influencer in town, and I’m here to defibrillate all of the latest news out of the arts and entertainment scene of our fine city for my followers.

Every week #ArtAttack will be poking its head into all the nooks, crannies, social feeds and hashtags of Sydney’s theatre, music, club, and what-have-you scenes.

This week #ArtAttack has found plenty of ‘Gram-worthy events and news. If you’ve got any tidbits to share, send them our way, at #HubAttack.

Whilst on my morning #SunriseSelfie walk down by the harbour in Walsh Bay, #ArtAttack heard some exciting news from inside the Sydney Theatre Company.

They have just announced their 2020 season, which will be using history as a lens to interpret our modern life. Some of the highlights of the 2020 season include the world premieres of No Pay? No Way!,Triple X and new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture Of Dorian Grey. Interested? Season tickets go on sale Oct 4.

Also this week, #ArtAttack was blown away by news of a brand new scholarship from the National Institute Of Dramatic Art (NIDA), which will foster more young talent in the community.The scholarship was awarded to two Sydney students,Araucaria Velasco and Lucas Boyer, who are pursuing careers in acting and special-effect makeup respectively. Keep an eye out for these two, they could be Australia’s next big creative exports! #ArtAttack managed to get one more hot tip from the world of theatre this week when we were given an early look into the Belvoir 2020 season announcement. Some of the highlights #ArtAttack recommends booking tickets early for are;Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill, and the brand new comedy Miss Peony from the writer who brought us the smash-hit 2018 production Single Asian Female, Michelle Law. Subscriptions to Belvoir’s 2020 season are on sale now at www.belvoir.com.au

The Irresistible Fresh from sell-out seasons in Queensland and Perth, The Irresistible premieres in Sydney and is sure to humour, intrigue, but more importantly, entertain unsuspecting audiences.

“This show has a bunch of intertwining narratives. It’s all about two sisters who experienced something supernatural when they were young and one has been in denial about it all her adult life,” explained actress Adriane Daff.“But her sister has embraced the experience and is trying to evaluate what it all meant. Other characters are introduced and they kickoff a series of highly dramatic and unexplainable events which change their lives forever.”

Party Snake

city hub 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

The art of drag, a niche form of self-expression previously limited to the fringes, has exploded into the mainstream in a big way. There are many hidden stories to this art form, and an electrifying new one-queen show promises to allow its audience a glimpse into the raw, glamorous and raucous life of a drag queen.

Party Snake comes to town for the Sydney Fringe Festival for five shows only after a critically acclaimed world premiere at Melbourne’s 2019 Midsumma Festival and a sell-out season at Adelaide Fringe.

This show promises to dive into the world of drag on a raw, personal and deeply philosophical level, and challenge preconceived ideas of gender

The God Of Isaac

what it means to be Jewish in the shadow of this uprising,” says AllisonYoung.

When City Hub asked Allison-Young why this play is described as a “serious comedy” he said, “This is one of the theatrical tactics utilised

by Sherman to imbue Alexis Fishman, Lloud Allison-Young, Claudia Ware this potentially ‘heavy’ story with wondrous and Picking up the issues raised by hilarious surprises. It is a beautiful philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre his 1944 balance, and one that we’re all working essay Anti-Semite And Jew,American very hard to honour.” playwright James Sherman explores He concludes, “It is a play with serious themes of identity, love, anti-Semitism and themes, but it is hilarious. There is a the inter-generational effects of the tremendous playfulness to Sherman’s Holocaust in his play The God Of Isaac, writing. It is no mean feat to weave directed for Eternity by Moira Blumenthal. such nimble wit and humour into the Featuring in the role of Isaac, Lloyd true story of a Neo-Nazi uprising. Fuck Allison-Young explains that the play is the Nazis.” (ID) based on a Neo-Nazi uprising in Illinois in Until Sep 22. Eternity Playhouse, the late 1970s.

39 Burton St, Darlinghurst. $46“The protagonist, Isaac Adams, is a young $59+b.f.Tickets & Info: man desperately trying to understand www.darlinghursttheatre.com

a&e

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Tim Watts performs alongside Adriane Daff and it’s quite inventive how they bring many characters alive on stage.“We don’t use super-fast costume changes or wigs or funny teeth but we both wear microphones and we use a voice manipulation software which means we can change our voices at the press of a button,” enthused Daff.“It’s definitely part of the joy of the show that technology and how it supports the storytelling.”

Adriane Daff was the recipient of the Best Actor Female Award at the Performing Arts WA awards, and the play also scored the Best Design Award.

Strange, unconventional, dark and funny this soft science fiction thriller should

12 STAGE 14 SCENE 15 Sounds 14 SCREEN

allure audiences who enjoy programs such as Twin Peaks and Stranger Things.

“I think this play is for people who say, ‘Oh no I don’t like going to watch straight theatre because I find it really boring, I find it doesn’t challenge me.’ It’s experimental, interesting and there’s a lot to sink your teeth into. It’s a rollicking ride and I often tell people not to work too hard at joining it all together, just let it wash all over you and you’ll have a far better time.”

Daff enjoys hearing people’s thoughts about the play after the performances.

“The things people have come up with what they think happened would blow you away! Sometimes people get it bang on and sometimes people come up with something way more interesting than what we could ever

Photo: David Collins

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

have come up with. If you can have that experience and be that actively engaged, it doesn’t even matter if it matches up with what we thought. That is so cool!” (MMo) Until Sep 15. Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. $30-$39+b.f. Tickets& Info: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

and sexual self-identification in the drag community.

Party Snake is written by critically acclaimed New York playwright Kotryna Gesait and stars Melbourne-based performer Lachlan Martin.

Gesait evokes a deeper conversation about identity with this work, uncovering the many skins we wear to blend into the many lives we lead and the many people we are.

If the five-star reviews this show has gathered so far are anything to go by, Party Snake is a must-see this Fringe. (AM) Sept 17-21. Old 505 Theatre, 5 Eliza St, Newtown. $25-$30+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.sydneyfringe.com

Trojan Barbie What do you get when you blend the feminism movement with time-traveling antics?

Christine Evans’ new play Trojan Barbie.

This daring new show has been created by a team of young creatives specifically for a younger audience. By blending feminist ideals with Euripides’ play The Trojan Woman this show is able to reimagine Greek mythology to remind modern audiences of the tragedy of war and the price of privilege.

With a diverse and highly talented cast of 13 actors, audiences can expect an incredible night of performances.

Not only will the performers on stage be looking to create a night of memories but the team behind the scenes from Scribe Theatre will be too. Scribe Theatre is hoping to make a lasting impression as Trojan Barbie will be

Arts Editor: Jamie Apps For more A&E stories go to cityhubsydney.com.au and don’t forget to join the conversation on Twitter at @AltMediaSydney

their first foray into the Sydney theatre scene.

Sep 16-21. New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown. $23-$30+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.sydneyfringe.com

Contributors: Irina Dunn, Mark Morellini, Rita Bratovich, Madison Behringer, Allison Hore, Renee Lou Dallow, Alannah Maher.

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city hub 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

13

THE NAKED CITY

Art Attack

Dogs are a man’s best friend, and every Instagram influencers perfect selfie partner, so as we mark R U OK? DAY today it seems fitting that The Norfolk Hotel in Redfern has teamed up with The Social Dog Company.

Together they are inviting the community to participate in a bunch of free (or gold-coin donation) feel-good activities. Head on down to the Norfolk for a fur-ociously fun evening of socialising with human and canines alike.

You may even find yourself in the background of #ArtAttacks next viral selfie.

Sep 12.The Norfolk Hotel, 305 Cleveland St, Redfern.

With the city now unlocked for late-night trading, one of the biggest venue owners, Merivale, has announced plans to expand their footprint in Rozelle. Merivale will expand their food offering by opening a spin-off to their already highly successful Totti’s at the 3 Weeds pub in Rozelle. Keep an eye out for #ArtAttack’s next ‘Gram-worthy food picture when the venue opens later this year.

Before you head out for a big meal though, #ArtAttack recommends brushing up on your first-aid training at a unique event this weekend. As part of World First Aid Day the Australian Red Cross will be hosting the countries largest ever multicultural first-aid training event with free sessions held all around Australia.

Sep 14. Australian Red Cross, Level 3/464 Kent St, Sydney. Info: https://www.redcross. org.au/campaigns/world-first-aid-day-2019

ARC ONE GALLERY - Prue Stent and Honey Long

HAWKESBURY GOTHIC WITH THE MBK!

With Coffin Ed The 1960s were an exciting time for any young person looking to play music and finding that inspiration in something like the American blues tradition. Warren Nunn and Chris Piper were a couple of friends living in Christchurch, New Zealand who had just discovered the likes of Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson in their local import record shop.Their appetite had been whetted and after finding a Tony “Little Sun” Glover book on blues harmonica they soon sought out artists like Sonny Boy Williamson, Howling Wolf and Little Walter. When their records were not readily available at home they jammed some NZ pound notes into an envelope and sent an order off to Chess Records in Chicago.

Chess dutifully obliged and the vinyl they received in the mail shaped the band that was to be known as The Mangrove Boogie Kings.The name itself was a reference to Mangrove Creek in the wilds of Sydney’s Hawkesbury River, where after relocating to Australia,Warren and

Chris joined Rex Kelaher and Bruce Atkinson to form MBK. The band soon began gigging around Sydney in the late 1970s, inspired by artists such as Paul Butterfield,The Animals, Chuck Berry and of course all of the great Chess roster. From the very beginning, the Boogie Kings had a well-earned reputation as a somewhat wild bunch of lads – not only on stage but certainly elsewhere. Frontman Warren Nunn is reluctant to detail most of the ‘episodes’ in print but does recall plenty of pub brawls and wild nights up the ‘creek’.And then

Sydney Contemporary 2019 Australia’s largest and most diverse gathering of local and international galleries comes together at Carriageworks from today until Sunday. The Sydney Contemporary arts fair will transform the Carraigeworks precinct into a multidisciplinary arts space. Showcasing over 95 galleries and the works for more than 450 artists from 34 different countries.

Fair audiences will have the opportunity to view thousands of new contemporary artworks, engage in talks and see eight bold

Art Attack After a long week of managing Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram feeds #ArtAttack loves to curl up with a great movie. You too can do the same next Friday at the special Marrickville High School Moonlight Movies event.

The school welcomes the community to come and enjoy Thor: Ragnarok, which was voted by the students and community as the movie to screen.

Sep 20. Marrickville High School, Northcote St, Marrickville. $10.

Tickets & Info: www.trybooking.com/BFAON 14

city hub 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

there was the infamous incident when Rex from the band decided to take playful pot-shots with a lever action Winchester 30.30 at a group of tow truck drivers at Barrack Motors burger stand in Oxford Street.The firearm had been borrowed from a nearby drug dealer.

Nobody was killed or injured or even charged by the police, and sadly Rex is no longer with us to fully explain the incident, likewise Chris Piper – two of the original band members who are now fondly remembered.Whilst Warren went on to form another

band,The Model Husbands during the 1980s, MBK laid dormant although not entirely forsaken. Slim Dusty actually wrote a song about them after Chris Piper went on the road with him as a roadie and regaled him with some of the band’s numerous stories.

The rebirth came in 2008 when Warren put together a scratch band for his son’s 40th birthday party at the Bat & Ball Hotel with Peter Doyle, Dave Twohill and Mark Cornwall seconded to join the lineup. Since then the group has proved a real drawcard on the Sydney music scene with their combination of classic MBK tunes, lots of new material and some great original songs.Warren now lives in the Northern Territory but his enthusiasm for the combo sees him jumping on a plane to Sydney whenever they have a gig here.

As part of the Sedition Festival, the Cell Block Theatre at East Sydney will host Riot In Cell Block ‘79 on Saturday, September 28 - a musical homage to Sydney in the late 70s and early 80s with The Mangrove Boogie Kings, Dog Trumpet and Uncle Bob’s Band. DJ and MC Jay Katz will spin the platters and launch an incredible display of bigscreen visuals from the era.

Tickets available at: www.eventbrite.com.au

performance works including one-night-only access to Tony Albert’s Confessions and Nell’s premiere of Ghost Songs for Rock Gate.

“I have been following the galleries’ extensive preparations for their presentations with growing excitement, and I know this will be our best fair to date!” said Sydney Contemporary Director, Barry Keldoulis.

This year will mark the fifth iteration of Sydney Contemporary and will be looking to build on the success of prior years. Across the first four years of the event, more than

112,000 people were drawn to witness the exhibitions, with those attendees contributing to more than $40 million in art sales.

Sydney Contemporary is not just for the cashed-up collector though. Throughout the four day event, Carriageworks will play host to a vast range of talks, installations, performances and kids activities. So there will be something for everyone!

Sep 12-15. Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh. $10-$160+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneycontemporary.com.au

Animals This is a warts and all depiction of two besties sharing a flat in Dublin, living and loving excessively and… well, the “and” is the problem. We’re taken on a wild ride of boozing, snorting, smoking, sexing, a semi-serious relationship, a tear in the friendship and then to an ambiguous, unsatisfying conclusion.

Laura (Holliday Grainger) is a frustrated writer doing bare minimum menial work to make rent. Tyler (Alia Shawkat) is an American ex-pat. The two are extraordinarily close - they have no inhibitions, no personal space between them, and seemingly

no desire to change their hedonistic lifestyle. That is... until Laura meets Jim (Fra Fee), a handsome classical pianist, whom she considers marrying - much to Tyler’s chagrin.

From here, the plot becomes circular and a bit unfocused.

It’s very raw, unperturbed storytelling with equally brash performances. The characters are well developed, with Tyler in particular, having some thrusting one-liners.

You’ll be no doubt entertained but you may get to the end and think “what just happened?” But maybe that’s the point. (RB) WWW

Photo:Tamara Hardman

By Jamie Apps Rock n Roll and poetry are typically two genres of artistic expression which you wouldn’t normally associate with one another. Anton Koritni’s brand new show Poetry In Piano looks to shatter that vein of thinking though.

If anybody was going to have the requisite skills and experience to bring these two clashing artistic mediums together it was going to have to be Koritni. For the entirety of Koritni’s life music in all of its various forms and genres has surrounded him. As Koritni told City Hub his childhood was dominated by classical music studies before rock n roll then flourished in his early 20s.

“I’ve studied classical music ever since I was a child, earning my Diploma In Classical Piano Playing at just 17. That entire time though, I always played rock n roll… When I was 21 I joined Jimmy Barnes’ band and was playing rock and roll music [professionally].”

From there, music took Koritni all around the world and into even more diverse artistic fields.

“I’ve worked in musical theatre, about 10 years ago I was in Shout The Musical The Johnny O’Keefe Story. I’ve worked in jazz bands, I’ve accompanied opera

Anton Koritni

singers at recitals, I’ve written music for film, and even been on-screen for film.

So I’ve worn many different hats in my day, I’m lucky to have been afforded the opportunity to work in so many

different aspects of the music industry.”

Thanks to this plethora of musical experiences, Koritni is now able to pursue yet another of his interest in musical form. For his brand new show

Phoenix Collective Concert #3 Freedom & Equality

The third concert in the Phoenix Collective concert series is set to feature the Phoenix Quartet.

This instalment of the series will be a concert of identity, balance, and harmony.

comprising Yuhki Mayne, Dan Russell, Andy Wilson, and Ella Binch. Combined these four fantastic musicians are bringing with them experience from performing in the ranks of some of the finest orchestras in the world such as Opera Australia Orchestra, Canberra Symphony, Sydney Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Kammer Philharmonie Köln, Boston Symphony and Academy of St Presenting the string quartets Martin in the Fields. of cutting-edge American Sep 15. Hunter Baillie composer, Jennifer Higdon, Presbyterian Church, Cnr alongside masters Haydn, Johnston and Collins St, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. Annandale. $28-$35+b.f.

The Phoenix Quartet is Tickets & Info: www.phoenixcollective.com.au a premier string quartet

Poetry In Piano Koritni is going to be using his vast knowledge and experience to transform the works of some of the greatest poetry in the western world.

“Poetry In Piano takes you on a journey through the ages of poetry but it’s anchored in the modern real world,” explained Koritni. “I like the idea of transforming a poem and describing what the poem says through music alone, and that’s what I have attempted to do with many of the poems in my show. I’ve also set some poems to music, turning the poems into lyrics for the songs.”

Koritni was inspired to undertake this challenge because he believes that the “power of verse” allows a writer to “concentrate literature down to its purest form” and convey in “just 14 lines” a message which would otherwise normally require “a whole chapter.”

This show won’t simply be a classical, rock n roll fusion concert, Kortini said he will also be telling stories from his “perspective as a musician and artist who has experienced a lot in the world.”

Sep 27. Seymour Centre, Cnr City Rd & Cleveland Street, Chippendale. $26-$33+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.antonkoritni.com

Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles

Sam Fender establishes himself as a new type of rock n’ roll artist for this generation in his debut album Hypersonic Missiles.

Fender’s sound manages to toe to the line between edgy and bluesy, finding a sort of balance between the two as a

softer alternative to hard punk rock music.

With a style similar to Hozier, Fender’s first album features 13 songs sprinkled with social commentary as seen on the tracks Hypersonic Missiles, White Privilege, and Play God. Fender’s willingness to be transparent about his feelings of helplessness and confusion regarding the way the world works enables his listeners to connect with the honest lyrics.

“I just don’t understand the world we live in and I think a lot of people feel like that,” Fender said. (EE) WWW1/2

Art Attack #ArtAttack’s Irish brethren have given us the inside track on a very exciting concert tour happening later this year.

This December Ireland’s queen of the avant-garde Róisín Murphy will return to Sydney for a special performance at the Enmore Theatre. Tickets go on sale Monday at 10am.

Dec 17. Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown. $99.90+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.enmoretheatre.com. au As the weather begins to heat up, despite the wild wind of the past week, it’s time for #ArtAttack to begin planning their New Year’s Eve socialmedia content. Luckily for us one of our favourite events has announced their lineup for this year’s return to Victoria Park.

NYE In The Park will be headlined by Hermitude, Girl Talk, Crooked Colours, Alice Ivy, and a host of others. Scoop up your tickets now before they sell out!

Dec 31. Victoria Park, Parramatta Rd, Broadway.

Tickets & Info: www.nyeinthepark.com If electronic dance music hits your ears like a badly autotuned Tik-Tok video, we’ve got word on a fantastic alternative for you in 2020. The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs announced their special Centenary Year program this week. At the heart of their Centenary celebrations is the commissioning of “100 Minutes of New Australian Music”, to be premiered as part of the Choirs’ 2020 season.

More Info & Tickets: www.sydneyphilharmonia. com.au/100minutes/

20th Lavazza Italian Film Festival The Lavazza Italian Film Festival celebrates a milestone 20 years and festival attendees will have the opportunity to experience 26 of the finest Italian films, retrospective screenings, special presentations and aperitivo nights.

“Italy is the fourth largest exporter of European films within Europe but the distribution of foreign-language titles, with the stigma of subtitles, is increasingly challenging in English-speaking countries which is why this festival continues to be so important to give these films a platform,” explained Elysia Zecolla, the Festival Director.

The opening night parties are always enjoyably extravagant, but is it possible for this years to be even bigger and better? “We are Italian, so we try to create a bit of drama! It’s the 20th anniversary and we have a lot planned. Our sponsors help us to create memorable events to celebrate the culture, cuisine and music of Italy in a spectacular evening including cocktails and dolci.”

Films are selected from the Venice, Rome, Berlin, Toronto and Cannes Film Festivals. “I also receive many links from producers, sales agents and filmmakers which is how I spend most evenings – a glass of vino and a movie. It’s movie night every night at my house!” laughed Zecolla.

The Champion

One of the many highlights of the festival is the Sydney premiere of Promised, an Australian film which deals with arranged marriages. “A drink on arrival will be followed by an introduction by Tina Arena who stars in the film. Tickets are selling fast for this one as it’s a local story that has hit a nerve with the Italian-Australian audience.” (MMo) Sep 17–Oct 16. Various Venues. $18-$80+b.f..

Tickets & Info: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au

LISA’S HOT PICKS THE CHAMPION – This year’s opening night selection ticks many boxes: a crowd-pleaser with a great cast, good music and funny moments. At its heart, it’s a poignant story of friendship.

IF ONLY – A comic coming-of-age drama with Alba Rochwacher and Riccardo Scamarcio which recently opened the Locarno Film Festival.

BANGLA – A very funny contemporary Roman comedy.

The dialogue is extremely witty and audiences will go home with a smile on their faces. city hub 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

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city hub 12 SEPTEMBER 2019