City Hub 13 June 2019 by Alt Media

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Free speech fails Folau By MICHAEL HITCH The Israel Folau and Rugby Australia battle rages on as the Fair Work commission continues to hear Folau’s case, with concerns from legal experts that Rugby Australia is fighting an up-hill battle involving religious discrimination, freedom of speech and contract law. From a Tongan family, Folau’s professional sporting career included two years with Melbourne Storm rugby league – where he scored a record 21 tries in his debut season – followed by the Warrington Wolves in Britain, the Queensland State of Origin team, two seasons with Brisbane Broncos, then changing codes for two seasons playing Australian Rules football with the Greater Western Sydney Giants, before swapping codes again to rugby union to join the NSW Waratahs and the Australian Wallabies. Although raised a Mormon, in 2011 Folau became an active member of the Assemblies of God fellowship that embraces conservative Pentecostal beliefs. At the start of 2012 he was chosen, along with nine others, by the Australian Football League as a Multicultural Ambassador, promoting the benefits of inclusion and diversity. However, he provoked controversy in April 2018 in the wake of the national Plebiscite on Same-Sex Marriage, when a follower of his Instagram account asked him about God’s ‘Plan for Homosexuals’. Folau replied, “Hell.. unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.” The former Wallabies star’s $5 million contract with Rugby Australia was terminated in May 2019 after a number of hateful and anti-LGBTIQ+ comments were made to his

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social media profiles, which stated that Hell awaited ‘homosexuals’, ‘drunks’ and ‘atheists’, to name a few. The three-member panel that recommended the termination - John West QC, Kate Eastman SC, and John Boultbee AM – cited the antiLGBTIQ+ social media posts. This decision prompted Folau to take action in the hopes of the Fair Work commission ruling that his employment termination was ‘unlawful’ due to his religion. Senior Lecturer in Business Law at the University of Sydney Business School, Giuseppe Carabetta, said that the onus is on Rugby Australia to “rebut the presumption - under the unlawful termination process under Fair Work - that religion was behind the termination of the star player’s contract” – a “heavy burden” that RA will have to carry.

Should an employer regulate

what employees do away from the ‘workplace’?  “That is a heavy burden, but RA will argue that it had a legitimate reason for termination - namely breach of its code. Folau may argue that the code was not actually breached, or that it goes beyond what a policy or contract can control,” he said in a press release. Carabetta also told City Hub that while the burden is heavy, Rugby Australia can make arguments against the claims of religious discrimination – noting the difficulty in other relevant cases of defining an employer’s control over an employee’s private life and social media. Religious freedom to offend? “They may also point to the fact that despite a number of postings by Folau/others inspired by religious belief, they did not act on those - because they were not, in their view, homophobic or offensive. This is the breach they argue is at issue,” he said. “There have been previous ‘social media breach’ matters. Currently, we have one before the High Court concerning a public servant. Though very different types of employment, a live issue in that case is: ‘How far can or should an employer go in regulating what employees do in their private lives, or away from the ‘workplace’.” A statement released by Folau’s team said he

Israel Folau, not Gay at all, avoiding Hell. Photo: David Molloy, Wikimedia Commons

plans to challenge the termination under section 772 of the Fair Work Act, which prohibits the termination of employment based on a person’s religion. Folau is also seeking up to $10 million in damages if successful, with $5 million being sought in lost income and up to another $5 million in the value of lost opportunities. Last week, through legal representatives, Folau said that this challenge proved a need for better protection of individual religious freedoms

and called for an ending to the erosion of ‘fundamental rights.’ “A nation made up of so many different faiths and cultural backgrounds will never be truly rich unless this freedom applies to all of us,” he said. “The messages of support we have received over these difficult few weeks have made me realise there are many Australians who feel their fundamental rights are being steadily eroded. No Australian of any faith should be fired for practising their religion.”

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Seeing red at Redfern Station upgrade By Katherine Rajwar Transport NSW has proposed an accessibility upgrade at Redfern Station, changes long awaited by users, given that Redfern is the sixth busiest station in NSW. Redfern currently has disability access to one platform only. The proposed development includes a new southern entrance to the station and lifts to platforms 1 to 10, to be connected via a footbridge. However, some local residents worry that the plans are inadequate, a mere ‘Band-Aid solution’ to meet mandatory National Disability Standards by 2022. Geoffrey Turnbull, co-spokesperson of REDWatch (Redfern, Eveleigh, Darlington and Waterloo Watch Group), said the station will still not be fully accessible as the underground platforms are absent from the proposal. “We see that platforms 11 and 12 are excluded from the [upgrade] plans. These are considered the second most dangerous [for people with mobility issues] in the network after Town Hall Station. “They don’t have the necessary safeguards in place. There’s no second entrance or exit, so the platforms can’t be evacuated in enough time to meet the Emergency Management Regulations, and the underground station also fills up with smoke.” The iconic building of the Big Issue magazine office on Little Eveleigh Street, an independent publication that provides an income to homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged, is the proposed site for the new entrance to the station.

Little Eveleigh Street, from where new disabled access to Redfern Station is proposed. Photo: Jack Carnegie

Better disabled access to the station is needed Jack Carnegie, an occupant of Little Eveleigh Street for over twenty years, believes that the plans will have devastating repercussions on the street, as its narrow structure will not accommodate the expected influx of commuters who will overcrowd the road, affecting parking, noise levels and the bicycle lane. Carnegie

believes that the local community has been left out of the conversation on the new upgrades.

We want disabled access but we don’t want to lose our street “They’re not giving the street cultural value, they’re treating it as expendable. The attitude they have is,

‘The Big Issue, who cares about that?’”, Carnegie said. “Rule one of community engagement, talk to the people who live there,” he added. “They’ve considered their key stakeholders, The University of Sydney, Carriageworks and the Commonwealth Bank… They’ve been talking to them but they haven’t been talking to local residents. They just don’t regard the local community as key stakeholders.

“We want wheelchair access and disabled access for Redfern station - what we don’t want is to lose our street!” Carnegie stresses that the push for accessibility to the station is needed, but not at the comprise of his home. “I live there,” he says pointing to a blueprint of the proposed diagram, “and now I’m going to have a railway station across the way from my home. “Transport NSW suggested to me that I sell my house for commercial property. I told them it was an outrageous suggestion and that I had no intentions of doing that.” At a recent REDWatch meeting, Turnbull spoke with Redfern residents who raised concerns about the upgrades. “People are concerned about how that exit [Little Eveleigh Street] is going to work in relation to the existing use of that street, in terms of the bike lane, motor vehicle and pedestrian use,” he said. “Our hope is that if there is enough community pressure they’ll have to reconsider.” If the current plans are approved, the $100 million upgrades will begin construction in mid 2020 and are expected to be completed in approximately 15 months. An alternative proposal has been suggested that would include building the new concourse to Wilson Street. Activists hope that by raising public opinion it may prompt a change to the proposed upgrades, although Transport NSW has yet to reconsider.

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Track marks a poor start

Driverless trains are surging ahead across Sydney. Photo: Alec Smart

“We’ve seen commuters forced onto replacement buses, people left stranded in between stations with no information, delays and serious automatic door problems. We’re lucky we haven’t seen any major safety incidents as yet.”

We’re lucky we haven’t seen any major safety incidents as yet Macquarie University student Xanthe Petridis is just one of many commuters who have experienced delays on the network. She told City Hub, “I got on at showground station heading

towards Chatswood and noticed the train going the other way had been sat there for a while. We then moved to Castle Towers stop and were held there for a while.” She added that while the platform staff were helpful there wasn’t much information available online or on station screens for commuters. “A staff member was walking up and down the train giving us information as she had it but there was nothing on Twitter or in the announcements for a good while.” Premier asks public for patience Premier Gladys Berejiklian chalks down errors like the one Ms. Petridis experienced to teething

st We ar e tin kl g yp Au la gu yd st ay 20 s 19

By ALLISON HORE The North West section of the Metro opened last month with just under 140,000 people taking advantage of free trips on its opening day. But with errors and delays across the network there are lessons to be learned before the next stage of the Metro opens in 2024. The line currently extends from Tallawong Station at Rouse Hill to Chatswood and stops at 13 stations, including the reopened Macquarie University and Macquarie Park stations. The $7.3bn project took over eight years to complete. The new driverless service boasts ‘no timetable’, promising customers can just ‘turn up and go’. NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance promised trains every five to six minutes in the first six weeks of the new line during peakhour. Services are eventually expected to run every four minutes in each direction between Tallawong and Chatswood. But since the opening of Sydney’s North West metro link, customers have complained about longer-than-anticipated wait times and no way to check arrival or departure times before arriving at the station. Even the much-anticipated opening day was plagued by error with computational problems, leading to serious delays across the network. In one instance a peak hour train stopped at the platform in Chatswood for a few minutes without opening its doors to let passengers off, before continuing down the line. The transport workers union said that its members had predicted there would be errors like this as a result of the driverless technology. “[The Metro] has failed to prove it is capable of doing the two basic tasks required of a driverless train - driving and stopping,” Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW secretary Alex Claassens said in a statement to AAP.

problems with the new service and said that she expected further glitches were likely to occur. “You’d expect in the first few weeks and even months that it won’t be perfect. We are asking people to be patient and I want to thank everybody for their patience,” Ms. Berejiklian told the Today show. Despite her experience Ms. Petridis still feels generally positive about the North West Metro. “The train takes me around 15 minutes to get from the Showground station to Macquarie. Which is so much faster than it takes by bus. “As someone who gets car-sick I much prefer having a train to a bus, and am more likely to go slightly out of my way to not have to contend with traffic.” But Ms. Petridis thinks the lack of real-time data sometimes makes it difficult to make connections with buses or trains on other lines. She’d like to see GPS tracking for the trains roll out in the future. “It would mean if I’m trying to change trains, or know when I need to leave to make it to Uni in time, especially if the trains are running late,” she explained. Ms. Petridis’s wish for real-time data is one shared by a lot of commuters, with many taking to Twitter and Facebook in frustration about the lack of trip planning information available online. The next stage of the Sydney Metro project involves the opening of the City and South West rail links. This stage involves the construction of 15.5 kilometers of underground metro line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour and through Sydney’s CBD to Sydenham. The completed network is expected to carry 100,000 more commuters across Sydney and will increase the capacity of train services from about 120 an hour today, to up to 200 services an hour after 2024. Transport for NSW was contacted for comment but didn’t respond by deadline.

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Driverless locomotion commotion BY ALEC SMART On May 30, Sydney Metro announced that a multi-million-dollar contract was awarded to a consortium to continue rerouting the T3 Bankstown Line, involving new tracks, stations and driverless trains. However, opponents say an upgrade is unnecessary and that the Metro’s real purpose is to encourage more property development, including high-rise apartments, around the new stations. In 2010, the Labor-run NSW Government investigated funding an extension of the passenger rail system from Epping to Hills District. However, they lost the 2011 state election and the new Liberal Party Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian – now Premier of NSW - altered the plan, opting for a privatised cross-city rail service, independent of the existing network. This fully-automated Metro rail network, when complete in 2024, will deliver 31 new or modified stations running from the Hills District in Sydney’s north-west, through Chatswood, beneath Sydney Harbour, then, via new underground stations in the CBD, on to Bankstown. Rail operator bans LGBT adverts Stage one, Metro Northwest, functioning since May 26, is Sydney’s first privately-operated suburban line, managed by MTR Corporation – ‘Mass Transit Railway’ - a public transport company serving Hong Kong and mainland China’s southern tip. MTR’s Chinese network is one of the most profitable metro systems in the world with a ‘farebox recovery ratio’ of 187 percent - the fraction of operating expenses covered by revenue from passenger fares. MTR, fined in China for felling trees in environmentally-sensitive areas during expansion works, caused bigger controversy this year with its attitude to Gays and Lesbians. The South China Morning Post reported on May 20 that MTR

Forward to oblivion: a driverless train driver’s view of the Metro line. Photo: Alec Smart

refused to display an advertisement featuring two men holding hands. According to the Post, “The advert, which showed two men strolling hand in hand along a beach, was part of a broader Cathay Pacific Airways rebranding campaign called Move Beyond and was intended to highlight the airline’s attitude to diversity.”

MTR caused controversy this year with its attitude to Gays and Lesbians Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong, is the world’s largest international cargo airline and one of the world’s most popular passenger airlines, carrying millions of commuters every year. A Cathay Pacific spokesperson told the Post, “We

embrace diversity and inclusion. We are very diverse and our customers are too.” An MTR spokeswoman told the Post that their advertising was handled by French agency JCDecaux, which, in turn, highlighted clauses in the contract stipulated by MTR. These stated that adverts were unacceptable if visual content was “immoral; or which offend the generally accepted standards of public decency or the social or cultural standards of the society,” and “in any way cause discomfort, fear, distress, embarrassment or distaste to the public.” More developments for developers At the end of May, Sydney Metro announced: “A $26 million contract has been awarded to help deliver the Metro upgrade of the T3 Bankstown Line between Sydenham and Bankstown… “The Sydney Metro City & Southwest Project

will upgrade and convert all 11 stations between Sydenham and Bankstown to Metro standards… “The T3 Line west beyond Bankstown will continue to be operated by Sydney Trains, serving stations between Liverpool, Lidcombe and Bankstown...” Opponents, including Save T3 Bankstown Line Campaign, Sydenham-Bankstown Alliance and Restore Inner West Line, claim the southern section of Sydney Metro is unnecessary. According to the Sydenham-Bankstown Alliance, “The Bankstown line has one of the lowest rates of over-crowding of any Sydney line, meaning there is no need for a rapid transit Metro operation. Official statistics from 2015 [by Transport for NSW] show that out of the 11 suburban lines, the Bankstown line only ranks seventh for average load factor during the AM peak... The Metro should have instead initially run to Parramatta. “A total of seven stations are being removed from direct access, St Peters - Erskineville - Redfern Museum - St James - Circular Quay - Town Hall. “The exact intentions of the NSW Government .. for the Bankstown line are shrouded in secrecy. This raises concerns that urban renewal proposed around the Bankstown line is simply being used to increase the return to government from a partnership with a private operator. “This suspicion is heightened by the fact that MTR’s primary business model is to be a property developer. In 2015, one planning expert stated that MTR was creating ‘fortress’ communities with its high-rise towers in Hong Kong over transport hubs. “We agree with Ecotransit’s conclusion that ‘one can reasonably conclude that the Sydney Metro, including the City & Southwest section, is not really about providing improved public transport. It is about providing development opportunities to developers, including MTR Corporation, and turning large tracts of Sydney into MTR’s version of Hong Kong.’”

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Killer dying with his secrets BY Alec Smart In 1987 I hitch-hiked a ride with notorious serial murderer Ivan Milat. So, too, did three of my associates, on different occasions, ten years apart. All of us were intimidated by him and never forgot the ordeal. None of us believe he is innocent, as he claims, and we remain convinced there are other victims who didn’t survive their journeys with him. Ivan Milat, known as the ‘Backpacker Killer’ after he was convicted of murdering seven young hitch-hikers between 1989-1992, is dying of cancer with just ‘weeks’ left to live. Details of multiple other murders he’s suspected of committing will likely go to the grave with him, as he refuses to divulge information and continues to declare his innocence. Ivan Milat, 74, was moved to the Prince of Wales (PoW) Hospital in Randwick on Monday 13 May from Goulburn Jail’s Supermax secure unit, where he received radiation treatment to malignant tumours in his oesophagus and stomach. On 28 May, Milat was driven to the Aged and Frail medical unit in Long Bay Jail in Malabar. This prison hospital is where Michael Murphy, one of three brothers in a gang of five men who abducted, raped and murdered nurse and beauty pageant winner Anita Cobby in February 1986, spent his last days before he died of cancer on 22 February this year. Milat will likely remain there until he, too, succumbs to cancer, although he might survive long enough to celebrate his 75th birthday on December 27, a considerably longer life than his young victims. This is Milat’s first time outside Goulburn Jail since 26 January 2009. On that occasion he cut off his little finger with a plastic serrated knife and placed it in an envelope addressed to the High

the former roadworker, employed to resurface the highways he drove seeking victims, was convicted of murdering Caroline Clarke, 21, Joanne Walters, 22, James Gibson, 19, Deborah Everest, 19, Simone Schmidl, 21, Gabor Neugebauer, 21, and Anja Habschield, 20, whose head he decapitated and kept. He was also convicted of the attempted murder, false imprisonment and robbery of Paul Onions, a British hitch-hiker who managed to escape the gun-wielding Milat by leaping out of his vehicle and flagging down another driver. Onions later identified him to police. Milat, who is serving seven life sentences, is believed responsible for at least 14 unsolved murders from as early as 1971, with several found tortured similar to his known victims. My Lift With Milat As a backpacker picked up hitch-hiking by Ivan Milat – on Monday 26 September 1987 – whilst returning from Melbourne to Sydney with two female friends, I remain convinced he’s responsible for more killings, because of the way he treated us. My recollection 32 years later is still sharp, because I wrote the details shortly afterwards.

Long Bay Jail, where Backpacker Killer Ivan Milat will take his secrets to the grave. Photo: Alec Smart

Court of Australia, demanding a retrial. Prison guards rushed him to Goulburn Base Hospital but medical staff were unable to reattach the severed finger. Milat was arrested in 1994 at his home in Eagle Vale, NSW, 87 km north of the Belanglo State Forest, near Mittagong, where the bodies of his known victims were discovered. Two years later

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE THE EXISTING MOBILE PHONE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES IN SYDNEY AND POTTS POINT Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) plans to upgrade the telecommunications services in Sydney and Potts Point with the introduction of new equipment to improve coverage in these areas. The proposals involve the upgrade of existing facilities described below: 204-212 Victoria Street POTTS POINT NSW 2011 (RFNSA No. 2011007) • The replacement of three (3) existing panel antennas with three (3) new antennas at heights of 41.5m and 43.3m 306-318 Sussex St SYDNEY NSW 2000 (RFNSA No. 2000212) • The replacement of the existing outdoor equipment cabinets with a new set of five cabinets on the rooftop at the above address Both facilities involving: • The replacement and re-location of existing Remote Radio Units (RRUs) and the installation of new RRUs to be attached to the existing mounting poles on the above rooftop; • Associated and necessary ancillary works to ensure the proper functioning of the telecommunications facility including cabling, earthing, signage, safe access, electrical works and replacement or strengthening of the existing tower. The proposed works are defined as Exempt Development pursuant to the State Environmental Planning Policy Infrastructure 2007 or “Low-impact Facilities” in accordance with the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 2018 and “maintenance activity” as defined in Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. The proposed infrastructure complies with the ACMA EMR regulatory arrangements. Further information can be obtained from Emma Lachlan on (02) 9363 3815 or email to info@commplan.com.au or from www.rfnsa.com.au using the RFNSA Reference No. as listed above. Written submissions on the proposals should be addressed to VHA C/- CommPlan Pty Ltd, PO Box 267, Edgecliff NSW 2027 and received by 5pm, 1 July 2019.

city hub 13 JUNE 2019

Milat will live a considerably longer life than his young victims We were picked up beside an abandoned quarry between Broadford and Seymour in the Victorian countryside, in a ute driven by a man with a distinctive handlebar moustache – the sort popular with heavy metal singers and gay cowboys. He tried plying us with alcohol from two bottles of beer (I sipped some), and was initially jovial and inquisitive of where we were going.

He insisted we go camping with him, so he could teach us ‘survival skills’, like how to hunt and kill kangaroos. When we declined, he turned nasty, then accelerated the car to a high speed. When I asked him to drop us off at the next opportunity, he turned to me and said menacingly, “Shut the f** up!” After several kilometres of him racing as fast as he could, the women demanding, “Let us out!”, he suddenly screeched to a halt and said, “Get the f** out!” The whole episode was relatively short, perhaps 20 minutes, and he’d only driven us about 50km from where he’d found us. He seemed hell-bent on taking us somewhere, which leads me to suspect he had other kill sites apart from Belanglo Forest in NSW (another 500km north). Deathbed Confession? Police hope Milat may provide a ‘deathbed confession’. However, Milat’s nephew, Alistair Shipsey, told Ten News, “What’s he going to confess about? He didn’t do it! He’s not a monster, he’s got a heart of gold.” Shipsey, like many of the Milat clan, some of whom were gifted property belonging to the murdered backpackers, staunchly defends his uncle. In 2014 he published a book, The Milat Letters, featuring correspondence his uncle wrote him from prison. Getting Milat to confess may be more challenging than the public realise. Stricken with throat cancer and a feeding tube down his throat, his speaking ability is constrained. His reported first stage dementia also hinders concise revelations. For the man who put his innocent victims in early graves, it looks like Milat will take his gory secrets to his own grave.

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE THE EXISTING MOBILE PHONE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES IN BONDI Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) plans to upgrade the telecommunications services in Bondi and North Bondi with the introduction of new equipment to improve coverage in these areas. Bondi Beachside Inn, 152-162 Campbell Parade BONDI BEACH NSW 2026 (RFNSA No. 2026001) • The replacement of one (1) existing panel antenna with one (1) new panel antenna on a new mount at a height of 37.06m (antenna centreline) within the existing shroud; • Installation of four (4) new Remote Radio Units (RRUs) on existing mounts within the existing shroud in the rooftop. Bondi Sewage Treatment Works - Military Road NORTH BONDI NSW 2026 (RFNSA No. 2026016) • The replacement of two (2) existing panel antennas with two (2) new panel antennas on existing mounts at a height of 18m (antenna centreline); • The replacement of existing Remote Radio Units (RRUs) with new RRUs n existing mounts adjacent to the proposed panel antennas Both facilities involving: • Associated and necessary ancillary works to ensure the proper functioning of the telecommunications facility including cabling, earthing, signage, safe access, electrical works and replacement or strengthening of mounts. The proposed works are defined as either Exempt Development in accordance with the State Environmental Planning Policy Infrastructure 2007 or “Low-impact Facilities” in accordance with the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 2018 and “maintenance activity” as defined in Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. The proposed infrastructure complies with the ACMA EMR regulatory arrangements. Further information can be obtained from Emma Lachlan on (02) 9363 3815 or email to info@commplan.com.au or from www.rfnsa.com.au using the RFNSA Reference No. as listed above. Written submissions on the proposals should be addressed to VHA C/- CommPlan Pty Ltd, PO Box 267, Edgecliff NSW 2027 and received by 1st July 2019.

Opinion

The tollroad folly by PETER HEHIR Concerns long raised by critics of the NSW Government’s inner city tollroads are now being admitted, albeit belatedly, by both the RMS and the Berejiklian Government. When it was proposed years ago that three and four lane tunnels would merge with the inner west local road network, the resulting traffic chaos was evident to all. Well, almost all… The proponents were deaf and blind to the serious issues expressed by the public and those traffic management specialists who’d actually studied the proposals. People whose business it is to devise and evaluate traffic solutions. With the new M4 East Homebush to Haberfield tunnel due to open in a matter of weeks there are now grave concerns that traffic on the City West Link will be totally gridlocked, with commuters backed up well into the tunnels. A Sydney Morning Herald article by Matt O’Sullivan, published on June 7, suggests that the chaos is unavoidable. Freeways, tolled or otherwise, create congestion. This is an immutable fact. They induce traffic. Period. This is a conundrum without a solution, an approach that has been thoroughly discredited as a means of solving traffic congestion in every country in the world where it’s been tried. Los Angeles is the classic example. In 2017, RAW (Rozelle Against WestConnex), a community group formed to oppose this absurd and costly folly, published Bottleneck! a 20-page newspaper exposing WestConnex’ s fundamental flaws. The dozen or more resident groups representing tens of thousands of Inner West residents who protested long and loud against WestConnex were also ignored; their concerns that the independently-estimated $45 billion project would

actually worsen the traffic situation, were simply binned with the rubbish. Paying for the privilege of poisoning yourself The RMS figures provided from the Lane Cove Tunnel show that air quality approaching the exit portals was 50 times more polluted than the ambient air. Those sitting in their cars as they crawl towards the Parramatta Road and City West Link exits will be breathing in huge quantities of toxic material. There is no safe limit when ingesting air pollution. Diesel exhaust is carcinogenic. The World Health Organisation acknowledged this in 2012. How long will it take for tunnel users to realise that they are simply poisoning themselves and paying for the privilege? And that the time savings promised by Berejiklian are an illusion? Tolls on the M4 East tunnel are $4:27 for cars and $12:81 for trucks. Who pays for this? Commuters from the west who have long been denied accessible and affordable public transport will bear the brunt of the out of pocket expense and the cost to their health. Proponents will no doubt counter criticisms of the inevitable bottlenecks and the gridlock by saying all will be well once Stage 3b of WestConnex is completed; that some minor inconvenience is to be expected; that these sorts of projects will always have teething problems.

Major cities around the world provide public transport They’ll say that once the Rozelle Interchange and the Western Harbour Tunnel are constructed the chaos will simply disappear. It’s as if they repeat it often enough, then somehow it will magically come true. Just like the emperor’s new clothes.

TELSTRA IS PLANNING TO RELOCATE A PAYPHONE It is proposed that the card and coin payphone be removed from: Outside 1599 Anzac Parade, La Perouse, NSW 2036 (Payphones Id: 02969406X2)

Toll roads take a toll, not just on your bank account. Photo: Alec Smart

But the bottlenecks at Ashfield and Haberfield will just be exported to White Bay. Peak hour traffic there will hardly move as it converges from all directions. Vehicles from North Sydney; the Anzac Bridge; St Peters; Newtown; Johnson Street; from the Gladesville and Iron Cove Bridges, the Victoria Road traffic will continue to crawl, bumper to bumper; as will that on Parramatta Road, Broadway and the Harbour Bridge. The reality is that there will always be traffic jams, bottlenecks and gridlock at tunnel exit portals and where tollroads and freeways interface with local roads. This is a given. Just as surely as night follows day. By persevering with the radiating tollroad approach the Government hopes to achieve what no one anywhere else in the world has managed; that is, to build an interface with the local road network that doesn’t induce congestion.

Surely this has to be the classic definition of stupidity? At least a dozen major cities in other parts of the world are tearing down their inner-city freeways and providing public transport alternatives, because they have finally come to realize that radial freeways just don’t work. But not so in Sydney… We’re going to spend nine times the cost of the Snowy Mountains Scheme in an attempt to prove the rest of the world wrong; that we can achieve the impossible. Is it really wise to even contemplate building a tunnel under the harbour that, in the event of a breach, would see over 100 kilometres of tunnel traffic lanes under the Inner West and North Sydney instantly flooded? The loss of life and the damage bill would be too horrendous to imagine…

TELSTRA IS PLANNING TO RELOCATE A PAYPHONE It is proposed that the card and coin payphone be removed from: Outside 198 Marine Parade, Maroubra, NSW 2035 (Payphones Id: 02834711X2)

And a card and coin payphone be installed: Outside 1605 Anzac Parade near the corner of Endeavour Avenue, La Perouse, NSW 2036

And a card and coin payphone be installed: Outside 182 Marine Parade, Maroubra, NSW 2035

The relocated payphone will be located approximately 81 metres away from the payphone that is proposed to be removed.

The relocated payphone will be located approximately 74 metres away from the payphone that is proposed to be removed.

Currently, the next nearest card and coin payphone is located: Outside 1407 Anzac Parade, Little Bay, NSW 2036 (Payphones id: 02966121X2)

Currently, the next nearest card and coin payphone is located: Outside 38 McKeon Street, Maroubra, NSW 2035 (Payphones id: 02934931X2)

Reference Number: 41964

Reference Number: 41968

Telstra intends making a final decision on this proposal by:

31st July 2019

To assist us in making a final decision, we invite your comments on this proposal. Please send us your comments in writing to:

Telstra Payphone Siting Manager Or by calling us on 1800 011 433 (selection Option 2) Or by email to Payphones@team.telstra.com

For more information on payphone services (Including any applicable payphone consultation document) see: www.telstra.com.au/payphoneservices/index.htm

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FEATURE

By Jamie Apps

Food For Thought

Food is one basic commodity nobody can live without. There are, however, some interesting challenges which orbit around the food industry. Two new innovative programs are looking to alleviate two of these challenges in two very different ways. Food Pantry volunteer Makkie and two happy customers, Abdullah and his mother. Photo: Supplied

Foodlab Sydney students with chef Gary Patterson. Photo: Stefanie Zingsheim

ADDISON ROAD COMMUNITY CENTRE WOW FOOD! INNER WEST Challenge number one is food security. According to the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville food security is becoming an increasingly important issue within Sydney as more and more people begin to struggle economically. In order to combat the food security problem, the War On Waste Food (WOW Food) project has been established. The program aims to reduce the amount of quality, usable food being sent to landfill and thus alleviate some of the food security pain being felt by the most in need members of our community. The program has three major components: 1. Collaborate with local businesses to understand and overcome barriers relating to food donation. 2. Encourage local businesses, particularly wholesalers and retailers, to donate surplus stock so that it can be distributed to those in need. 3. Establish the Inner West Food Rescue Alliance to together local groups and not for profits who are supporting local individuals and families who are struggling. Already at this early stage, the program has seen a surge in community members seeking aid from the community Food Pantry. Supplementaly, there have already been a number of local business sign on to participate, with 35 tonnes of food already diverted away from landfill and instead on to people’s tables.

Support from Foodbank NSW and ACT has already aided the expansion of the program. Something which Addison Road Community Centre Organisation CEO Rosanna Barbero is incredibly thankful for. “We’re delighted to work with Foodbank NSW and ACT to extend the Food Pantry service we currently offer the local community. It’s been great to highlight just how many people are doing it tough in the Inner West, especially those trying to survive on Newstart or those who just struggling to make ends meet.” Obviously, the community are benefiting from these programs, but according to Kruno Velican, Executive Chef at The Hilton Sydney Hotel, businesses are seeing positive outcomes as well. “Interestingly, since starting food donation we have seen many benefits for the business. One is financial, you don’t have the burden of processing food surplus. Second is team engagement, all of a sudden we can see different behaviours, they can see that their job has a deeper meaning and they are making positive changes in the community. Lastly, we can see a competitive advantage as more and more businesses want to work with us because we share the same values. “Food is something you should never take for granted, reality can change very often. You need to appreciate the chain, from the farmer who took the time to grow it to someone who has cooked it, it needs to be cherished.”

FOODLAB SYDNEY Speaking of appreciating the chain of production a new program is fostering the next wave of cooks, and food business entrepreneurs who will change the face of the Sydney culinary scene. Foodlab Sydney is an innovative project aimed at creating a vibrant network of small food businesses through training, mentoring and employment. Led by the University of Sydney’s Sydney Environment Institute in collaboration with the City of Sydney, UNSW Canberra, TAFE NSW and FoodLab Detroit in the US, the program centres on a customdesigned training course that will support residents with ideas for sustainable food businesses or social enterprises. The belief is that this program will foster the next wave of culinary thought leaders, who may create the next innovative program akin to the aforementioned WOW Food project. The City Of Sydney has embraced the program as a means to provide employment pathways and economic stimulus for local communities. The council has done so because their own statistics show that approximately 17,000 residents are food insecure with unreliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food. “FoodLab Sydney is a fantastic example of how collaboration between academics, businesses and residents can produce new ideas and opportunities. I look forward to seeing the fruits of FoodLab Sydney in the future,” said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. For Foodlab Sydney participant Wynnie Tran this program provided the perfect

opportunity to finally follow her passion for food, despite having a highly successful corporate career. “My background was in recruitment for the major banks but I always had a passion for food despite no formal training. I resigned from my job to pursue my passion and then when I found Foodlab Sydney I knew it was the opportunity I needed.” The Foodlab Sydney program stands out from other culinary courses because of the unique makeup of its curriculum. Rather than focusing just on culinary/chef skills the Foodlab Sydney program also has a heavy emphasis on small business skills. It was this course makeup which drew Tran towards Foodlab Sydney so strongly. “I had a look at some of the other courses available through TAFE and online, but some of them were quite lengthy and I didn’t know whether I wanted to be a professional chef or just run something a little more low-key in my food business. I was very much looking at courses but FoodLab Sydney with its program, which includes a short TAFE course coupled with a mentoring program, sounded really amazing.” For anybody in a similar position to herself, Tran says Foodlab Sydney is certainly worth looking into because it builds a solid foundation for future success. “Foodlab Sydney allows you to work collaboratively with a team who provide you with the skills, relationships, networks and mentoring to succeed in food.” city hub 13 JUNE 2019

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Bert Kreischer - Body Shots World Tour American comedian Bert Kreischer’s comedy show is unlike any other. Rather than following a set routine of jokes Kreischer instead describes his show by saying,“It’s like being in my living room when I stand up to go get some beers but then I end up telling a story instead and take my shirt off.” The style of comedy Kreischer employs is much more reliant on storytelling than it is on actual punchlines or jokes but he always ensures it’s incredibly funny. “Storytelling can be so boring sometimes, so what I try to do is sprinkle in a whole lot of stand-up with the storytelling so that you don’t even realise you’re being told a story sometimes.” Kreischer has been working away on the comedy circuit for years but his recent Netflix special, Secret Time, has seen his popularity explode.To have one piece of content have such a monumental impact on

Gina Riley & Anthony Warlow. Photo: Colin Page

It’s 40 years since the demon barber of Fleet Street first sang his story on stage to the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. However, the legend of Sweeney Todd dates back much further. An urban myth about a psychotic barber and the dubious contents of meat pies floated around

city hub 13 JUNE 2019

London in the early 1800s and was first committed to print in a cheap weekly serial magazine called a penny dreadful in 1846. From then it has seen iterations as stories, plays, movies, and Sondheim’s musical which arguably most popularised the tale. This 40th anniversary production brings together some of Australia’s musical elite with Anthony Warlow and Gina Riley in the lead roles, and also featuring Debra Byrne, Daniel Sumegi and Michael Falzon. “It’s a wonderful production and […] I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” says Falzon who plays Pirelli. “He’s pretty sinister in himself. Behind the flamboyance, there’s a dark side to him and he tries to use that against Sweeney,” Falzon says, describing his character. “There are some nice

The Dinner Party This June, contemporary theatre dance piece The Dinner Party will take to the stage at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres. From the awardwinning Expressions Dance Company, the piece tells the story of a host and his guests, presented through contemporary dance with original music as the backdrop. Choreographed by former Expressions Dance Company Artistic Director Natalie Weir, The Dinner Party was nominated for two Australian Dance Awards in 2016. Now, with an all-new cast of phenomenal dancers, each character is played with precision and accuracy, taking the audience seamlessly through the narrative’s journey. Bernard Knauer plays “The Rival”, and spoke with City Hub about the piece. “We spend a lot of time making our characters fit

a&e

comedian with a handful of stories who takes his shirt off and loves to drink with his fans.” (JA) Jun 20. Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown. $71.30+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.enmoretheatre.com.au

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Imogen Kelly

Australia’s Queen of Burlesque, Imogen Kelly, will be taking to the stage to represent some of history’s greatest women and lampoon the rumours that surround them. In Herstory, you can expect to see everything from a cake-sitting Queen Victoria, to a spoof of the famous burlesque martini glass routine featuring Margaret Thatcher and a giant cup of tea, and a bareall take on Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech. “This show is really focussing on the misrepresentation, the rumours and the ridicule that have been made to bring women down throughout history with a particular focus on leaders,” said Kelly. “I quite love all the characters, even those that are quite difficult.” “It’s actually a reflection of us and how we thrive on these mistruths… At the base of it all is a huge question – why do we just love dragging women through the coals?” Kelly is a master of her craft, earning many accolades over her three decades in the burlesque game (crowned World Queen of Burlesque in 2012). With Herstory, audiences can expect plenty of brightness, joy and risqué frivolity along with a clever satirical take on the female experience. It’s not the gowns, boas and immaculate makeup that draw Kelly to burlesque – don’t get her wrong, she “loves a big frock” – it’s the rebellion of it and the political origins. “I love that it’s a female art form that women on the lower rungs of society created,” she said. “It means to satirise… part of the original reason for burlesque was to send up high society, or to send up those institutions of power and the upper echelons of society.” (AM) June 14-15.The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville. $28+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.factorytheatre.com.au

his life Kreischer told City Hub “it fucking blew my mind.” The popularity and impact of Secret Time was so shocking to Kreischer because, as he revealed to us, it actually took two recordings for him to get a performance he was happy with. “I did two tapings in Philadelphia.The first one I bombed on, so I was fucking confused and didn’t know what was going on.Then I had a cup of coffee and went up to do the next one.About halfway through I knew it was one of the best sets I’d ever done. I remember thinking,‘I hope they hit record.’ ” Looking back on his beginnings Kreischer could not have ever envisioned comedy would take him so far. “I never in a million years thought comedy would take me anywhere but Omaha, Florida and Atlanta. I’m not even that good at comedy if we were to be totally honest. I’m a competent

12 STAGE 14 SCENE 15 Sounds 15 SCREEN

onto our bodies through the dance. I’ve spent a lot of time with my character looking at the rivalry and how do I show that through my body.” Bernard also spoke of the level of communication audiences can receive from the dancers onstage, and how the narrative can be portrayed through movement, saying: “There’s a lot you can portray just with body language alone. It’s a lot more amplified what you do with your body [in dance], a lot of postures and the speed of movement that you take.” For readers who may not have ventured into the world of contemporary dance theatre, The Dinner Party promises a night of entertainment, and, according to Bernard, a narrative and characters you can definitely understand. “Audiences can expect some great dancing!

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

little ducks and weaves and sneaky tones in this plot.” Falzon, who is a huge Sondheim fan, says this musical is one of the most technically challenging for a singer, and that Pirelli is one of the “great tenor roles.” And while the subject matter is quite gruesome “this particular version is quite funny. There’s tragedy, but there’s comic relief,” he explains. While the story itself may not have a strong message or modern-day relevance, Falzon says Sondheim is an intelligent, astute writer who always has something to say, no matter the decade. “It’s always entertaining, it’s always articulate theatre that’s accessible to broad audiences.” (RB) Jun 13-16. Darling Harbour Theatre, 14 Darling Rd, Darling Harbour. $69.90-$224+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.lifelikecompany.com

Bernhard Knauer & Josephine Weise. Photo: David Kelly

Herstory: Leading Ladies

And a show that has a little bit more of a narrative, so you can actually follow along. It might be quite easily accessible for people that haven’t seen much contemporary dance.” (MB) June 13-15. Riverside Theatres, Corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta. $44-$49+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au

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

I’m I can take action

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PUBLIC NOTICE – SP 485 Proposed termination of Strata Scheme 485 being property situated at 52 Military Road, North Bondi NSW 2026 Notice is given of an intention to apply to the Registrar General for an order terminating the above Strata Scheme and the consequent winding up of the Owners Corporation pursuant to section 142 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 (NSW) Any person having any claim against the Owners Corporation of the above Strata Scheme or any estate or interest in or claim against any of the lots comprised in the Strata Scheme is required, on or before (a date not less than 14 days after publication of the advertisement), to send particulars of the estate, interest or claim to: Mr Ian Day Day Legal Pty Ltd Suite 3.07 ‘Post’ 46A Macleay Street Potts Point NSW 2011 Phone: 02 8332 2624 Email: ianday@daylegal.com

city hub 13 JUNE 2019

The Dismissal Photo: Harvey House Productions

Australian political history on the world stage? The Americans did it with Hamilton, and Australians have had a huge success with Keating, Director, actor and producer, Jay James Moody the musical. Moody has said that he prefers to and his very own Theatre Company, Squabbalogic, take on obscure musicals and make them great are presenting a brand new musical based on the rather than the major productions already well dismissal of Gough Whitlam at the Seymour known to audiences, though he has done so with Centre. It will be a short run as the production is Man Of La Mancha, and The Book Of Mormon, due billed as a pre-world premiere which means that to competitive licensing laws. the company needs to gauge audience response How does he find these obscure gems? before taking the show on a national tour. The According to Moody, “Everyone knows someone audience will be able to experience first hand the who knows someone in this industry but as a inner workings of the musical genre and what it somewhat maniacal, bossy person, in the role of takes to get a show of this magnitude on the stage. director, I need to work very closely with In fact, why not look beyond a national tour and choreographers and composers I can trust not to put a musical on a very divisive aspect of sugar coat things.”

THE NAKED CITY

OXFORD STREET BLUES

With Coffin Ed Back in the days when trams rattled up and down Oxford Street, the Darlinghurst end of this major CBD artery was a thriving commercial hub.The last trams, which of course took you all the way to Bondi Beach, ran in 1960 and in the ensuing six decades Oxford Street has certainly seen its ups and downs. At the moment it is very much in the ‘downs’ and the strip that runs from South Dowling Street down to Whitlam Square has probably never looked more depressed.Vacant shops proliferate

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There was a time from the 70s right through until the start of the 2000s when the section between South Dowling Street and Taylor Square was alive with restaurants including the long-running Balkan. Now the vacant shops clearly outnumber those that are occupied, making it tough for the surviving businesses such as The Bookshop, with a reduction in passing trade both day and night. You have to wonder what expectations the landlords who own these long-vacant shops have, whether they are prepared to wait for years to find a tenant willing to pay the kind of rent they are demanding – or whether keeping the shop unoccupied makes for

a convenient tax right off against other properties they might own. Clover Moore once suggested a tax on shops that remained vacant for an extended period – perhaps a good idea but fraught with all kinds of legalities. It’s also been suggested that landlords of vacant premises make them available in the short term at muchreduced rents for pop-up shops, although the idea does not seem to have been embraced. In the meantime, all we can do is wallow in the nostalgia of the ‘old’ Oxford Street in the hope that one day it will undergo a renaissance. Remember the 24-hour newsstand outside the Oxford Hotel where you could buy a copy of that day’s Sydney Morning Herald at 1am in the morning – and inside the same pub the legendary Oxford Fun House where Radio Birdman burst onto the Sydney scene. Beatle Village, Klub Kakadu, French’s, DCM – just a few of the famous clubs that have made Oxford Street their home over the years, not to mention the infamous Oxford Sinema which thrived in the laissezfaire atmosphere of the 80s.As the title suggests the Sinema was a shameless porn theatre, with the added attraction of live ladies on stage, rotated from its sister grindhouse,The Hub in Newtown. And Gould’s Bookshop, the Pop Shop, Remo, Gowings, Central Station Records and Buckingham’s Department Store, which sadly burned down in 1968 - some of the classic retailers on the strip. As the CBD becomes more and more bland, Sydney needs fringe areas like Oxford Street, Darlinghurst and Kings Cross – where smaller retailers and restauranteurs can operate economically without the exorbitant rents of the city proper.They should be areas that can accommodate creativity, eccentricity and a bit of seediness, all at the same time – a welcome escape from the soulless concrete jungle.

83 Weeks With Eric Bischoff

We Professionally install:

and many of the existing businesses look like they are hanging on for grim death. The once flourishing night-time culture which saw numerous restaurants and night clubs is now but a shadow of past decades. Even with a relaxation of the lockout laws, the future looks bleak.The once vibrant gay scene appears to have largely deserted the strip and despite the street’s significance in the gay community, they don’t look like returning soon. Despite various initiatives on the part of the Sydney City Council aimed at reviving the area as a creative precinct for the arts, it’s the commercial businesses that need to thrive to inject life back into the strip.

A musical requires a great deal of collaboration with a long process of rewriting and reshaping before being satisfied with the final product. According to Moody he along with fellow writer, Blake Erickson and lyricist Laura Murphy, are rewriting every day and “testing the extremities of the characters.” These are characters with whom many of us are familiar, Gough Whitlam, John Kerr, Malcolm Fraser and many more who have played their parts in our political arena. (RLD) Jun 18-22. Seymour Centre, City Rd & Cleveland Street, Chippendale. $66-$74+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.seymourcentre.com

city hub 13 JUNE 2019

Outsiders are seldom welcomed into the inner sanctum of the secretive world of professional wrestling, and even fewer rise to the heights Eric Bischoff achieved. When Bischoff first became involved in the world of wrestling he was as simply a salesman for syndicated episodes of the Minnesota based American Wrestling Association (AWA). By pure accident and convenience, he would go on to become an on-air personality for AWA, a position which would ultimately allow him to gain a position at the world’s second largest wrestling promotion at the time, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After working as an announcer for two years Bischoff would apply for the open position of Executive Producer and thus

began his rise to the top of WCW’s executive ladder. Ultimately Bischoff would climb to the position of President of the company. As President, Bischoff would lead WCW to the top of the wrestling world, during a period which would later become known as the “Monday Night Wars.” During this period WCW and WWF were fighting for the top spot in the television ratings, a battle which WCW would win for 83 consecutive weeks. It’s these aforementioned 83 weeks, and the stories encircling them, which Bischoff has now created a podcast and touring live show from. However, Bischoff was quick to point out that this

show is not just for wrestling fans, it is also for budding entrepreneurs. “I’m excited to share some insight into the actual business of the ‘wrestling business’ because quite frankly nobody else, other than perhaps Vince McMahon, has the proximity to the wrestling business that I do. “A lot of the principles and the formulas that I talk about apply to all businesses. Even if you’re not a hardcore fan of wrestling you’ll walk away with some insight and knowledge that will help you down the road.” (JA) Jun 21. Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. $56.10-$111.10+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.factorytheatre.com.au

Hayden James - Between Us

Aine Tyrrell

By Jamie Apps For Irish native, but adopted Australian daughter, Áine Tyrrell the inspiration for her music comes from a different path to many musicians. Unlike a majority of musicians, who often state that their music comes from within, Tyrrell draws inspiration from external forces. Due to this rather unique approach, Tyrrell is able to enjoy a unique recording process, which she spoke to City Hub about ahead of her upcoming performance in Sydney. The singer-songwriter first came to Australia out of necessity following the dramatic impacts of the global financial crisis on the Irish economy. However, upon arriving in Australia she quickly fell in love with our vast lands, which can be dramatically different from region to region, and has thus been living here for the past 18 years. “I love the vastness and variety of changing landscapes. The Gold Coast, Perth, Tasmania are all completely different worlds.” It’s these very landscapes and varied communities contained within them that Tyrrell draws her musical inspiration from. By being so influenced by her surroundings Tyrrell and her team had to develop a way to record which was outside the norms of a music studio in a major city. The solution, record while on the road.

“When you are so open to the community you’re in, the people that you’re around and the landscape when you record it has no option but to be part of the inspiration,” explained Tyrrell. Tyrrell’s debut album, Fledgling Fall, was recorded in the deserts of South Australia and allowed

Tyrrell to perfect the process of recording on the road. During this process, the seed was also planted for the follow-up record, Return To The Sea, to be recorded in her home country in order to showcase the two areas of the world which influenced her most. Reflecting on those two experiences Tyrrell said, “they were similar but obviously very different, but definitely something I will do again in the future.” For the past three months Tyrrell has once again been out on the road, however this time it hasn’t been to record. This time around she has been touring the country performing all of her music, another element of the music industry she adores. “Getting out into communities anywhere and sharing stories is what songwriting is all about. To be able to go out and do that in such different places all around the world is pretty incredible.” As Tyrrell now arrives in Sydney she is hoping to bring the community together through her music. “Sydney is a big city so you can feel disconnected from people, but music is something that can come in and connect us together. I urge people to come down and feel the connection like you would get out in a small country town.” Jun 13. The Vanguard, 42 King St, Newtown. $22.95-$55.85+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.thevanguard.com.au

WWW

Tolkien

All My Sons

Photo: Johan Persson

Set in 1947 in a small mid-west American town, the plot centres on the Keller family, with all the action taking place in their backyard. Joe Keller (Bill Pullman) in his 60s, is a successful manufacturer whose factory produced engine parts for army aircraft during the war. His wife, Kate (Sally Field) is unable to accept that their son, Larry reported MIA three years prior - is probably dead. Their other son, Chris (Colin Morgan)

Electronic music producer Hayden James’ latest release, Between Us, is a delightfully fun record which would make for the perfect road trip soundtrack. The 11 track release which already features three platinum singles integrates melodic bass, pop hooks and synth elements to create a modern disco record. Whilst the aforementioned singles are sure to be on high rotation in playlists around the world for some time, unfortunately, the remainder of the record doesn’t come with quite as much stickiness. Throughout the record James’ production is exquisite but often times the tracks begin to feel rather familiar and thus unmemorable. If you absolutely adore Just Friends, Better Together or Numb certainly check this record out. (JA)

is about to ask Larry’s former girlfriend, Ann Deever (Jenna Coleman) to marry him. Ann’s father and Joe’s former business partner, Steve, is in prison for shipping defective parts during the war resulting in 21 soldiers being killed. But is that the real story? An excellent cast with very strong performances, effective staging, and a script that still holds up. (RB) WWW1/2

J.R.R Tolkien was an English writer, poet and philologist whose works The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings became two of the most read books in the world, regarded by many as literary masterpieces. This biopic traces his earlier life, the tragedies and the ‘non-respectful background’ from which he came from until his dying mother left his future in the hands of a priest, his legal guardian until the age of 21. Detailed are the events in his life which propelled him to write these fantasy novels. From an early age, his passion for reading and writing was evident as was his passion for drawing dragons. Tolkien’s story is told in a non-linear style, his childhood, the brotherhood that he formed with

some school friends which ultimately shaped his future and his experiences on the battlefields in World War I. This stylish production boasts mesmerising cinematography and the meticulous and faultless recreation of a bygone era. However, in all its grandeur, this arthouse film fails to live up to expectations owing to an excruciatingly slow-moving script which succeeds in arousing disinterest and restlessness. The film’s lacklustre performance overseas highlights that even ardent fans aren’t interested in Tolkien’s early life or what led him to write these books – another rehashed Lord Of The Rings film would have generated much more fanfare. (MMo) WW1/2

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Produced by 20th Century Fox and the 12th instalment to the Marvel Comics X-Men series, X-Men: Dark Phoenix premiered in Sydney on June 5. Boasting a stellar cast including James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender and more, the film’s release was accompanied by much anticipation from fans. Dark Phoenix opens and is set in 1992, an attempt to satisfy the continuity of the previous six films,

however, the setting and timeframe are jarring. Director Simon Kinberg, making his filmmaking debut, has seemingly tried to pull elements from the history of the X-Men Comics universe, however, his understanding of the timeline of these elements appears to be slightly off. As an audience member, Dark Phoenix throws torn pieces of historical narrative toward you, however, the plot line does not seem to stitch itself together at any point.

Sophie Turner does a stunning job at portraying Jean Grey and was the highlight of the film, alongside James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier.Without the strong performances from the cast, Dark Phoenix would have been a completely underwhelming seventh addition and finale to the series.As it stands, the film exists as a cast of exceptional actors doing exceptional acting in front of a stale and incorrect timeline. (MB) WW city hub 13 JUNE 2019

GET YOUR CAREER ROLLING TURN YOUR PASSION FOR FOOD INTO A CAREER

Be armed with the tools to change your life and join a vibrant community of small food businesses. Deadline for applications June 30, 2019 FoodLab.info@sydney.edu.au FoodLabsydney.com

city hub 13 JUNE 2019