City Hub 15 March 2018

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city hub 15 MARCH 2018

Behind closed doors

BY MICK DALEY A Sydney Morning Herald article last week on housing market inequalities caused by government rezoning is only half the story, according to activist Maire Sheehan.

The one-time Mayor of Leichhardt says that confidential rezoning decisions made between developers and planners are driving property prices up and encouraging ‘Hong Kong’ style residential high rises to be built in Sydney’s suburbs.

“These developers are pushing the boundaries based on the known state government agenda to develop at all costs,” Sheehan told the City Hub. “Big developers hire people who know the system and can put their arguments behind closed doors as to why things should be swayed one way or another.

“No-one knows what’s going on in those conversations and a lot of those decisions in those meetings are based on judgement. There are not very specific rules involved and when you get decisions based on an individual’s judgement, people can be swayed one way or the other.”

The SMH story cited a Reserve Bank report saying that land zoning determines up to 70 per cent of a house’s value. Development restrictions therefore have been found to contribute to the runaway inflation of housing prices.

In Sydney, this adds around $490,00 to the cost of house.

Jimmy Thomson, who writes the Flat Chat columns on strata living for the AFR, says that zoning in the City of Sydney is a farce.

“NSW is a complete mess. We’re now having rezoning by stealth, driven by a company in San Francisco that pays no tax in Australia and I’m talking about Air B&B. “We’re now having residential apartments encouraged by the government to be turned in de facto hotels. That’s just one tiny part of the zoning issue, but anybody who has bought into property in NSW with a specific zoning who thinks that’s something reliable they can depend upon for the next twenty years, they’re kidding themselves.

High-rise construction in the inner west. Photo: Alec Smart

“Commercial interests will prevail over public policy every time.”

Manipulation of zoning decisions is indeed big business, according to Sheehan. She says that developers often arrange pre-DA (development application) meetings behind closed doors, in order to have Planning Controls altered and arrange rezoning in their favour.

“The context of that is the state government is pushing increased residential development for the increased population coming to Sydney and developers are the ones really benefiting from their decisions.”

“There are three clear examples in recent history where developers are getting in ahead of the game, before announcements are made on particular areas, before plans are signed off.”

Sheehan pointed out that the old Bourbon and Beefsteak building in Darlinghurst Rd,

Kings Cross, had been zoned mixed use, but was regarded as hot property by investors.

“The proposal was to knock it down, rezone it as residential and increase the density of a high rise building. The developers went in and had a pre-DA meeting with the City of Sydney. They’ve come out with this plan and the locals are really annoyed about it, because it requires an up-zoning and a demolition.”

Another proposed development in Lord’s Rd, Leichhardt has raised the hackles of residents and Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne, so much so that he’s considering referring it to ICAC. The area was zoned light industrial, being full of craft breweries, art studios and small startups.

“There is quite a mix in there,” said Sheehan.

“A development company have bought a lot of it and are pushing to rezone it. Well the planning panel for the Inner West knocked it back on the

basis that there was a lot of employment in that area. From there it went to the Department of Planning and Environment to get signed off. But it’s been there a while and hasn’t been signed off.

“In another case in Strathfield a business went to council and said they had a small technical issue that needed a tweak on zoning. They said ‘we should have special consideration because we’re a big employer’ and they presented a letter saying ‘here are our plans for the future’.

So a report came back that said yes, that minor technical adjustment is no problem.

“Five months later it turns out the business had sold that land to a development company who wants to rezone and put in high rise residential “The council did the assessment, but the decision was made by the Planning Department.

The owner of land was saying one thing and doing something quite different several months later. And they got away with it.

“Is this corruption? Technically no. All this flexibility has been made legal. In other countries corruption has been made visible but in Sydney, and in Australia in general they’ve just changed the rules so they have this flexibility to make it all justifiable.

“And because it’s so embedded in the system it’s hard to untangle. The whole thing is complicated further by such things as the older generations locking young people out of housing. There’s a story in Crikey on how the Grattan Report says that those opposed to high density housing in established suburbs are partly responsible for driving up the cost of housing.”

In an apparent attempt to mitigate the opaque dealings of its bureaucrats, the Department of Planning and Environment has legislated Independent Hearing and Assessment Panels (IHAPS) to consider contentious development applications, from the first of March this year.

Councillors, property developers and real estate agents will not be part of these panels.

Although fifteen Greater Sydney councils already use IHAPs, it’s been on a purely voluntary basis up till now.

Caught with their pants on

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BY ADDIE MORTON Tradition is out and putting education first is in.

In the midst of what seems like a national fad, three Sydney schools have opted for gender neutral uniforms in their schools, meaning girls can choose to wear pants or shorts on any given day. The move away from traditional, gender specific, and often physically restrictive clothing will allow for more of a focus on inclusiveness and education rather than appearance.

According to the guidelines set by the NSW Department of Education, uniforms are a way to promote “a sense of inclusiveness, nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.” While uniforms are successful in ensuring every student is dressed alike, they are un-successful in ensuring every student is dressed in a way they are comfortable. Several Australian states mandate that gender neutral options be available for students, but NSW has left the choice up to the schools.

Eva Cox, a well-known feminist and active social and political researcher in Sydney, believes children should be able to wear what they would like to school.

“School uniforms seem to reinforce the idea that girls have to look nice and feminine but only

Students of International Grammar School at a speech night.

Photo: Addie Morton

reinforces the idea of being second sex,” Cox said.

Cox believes the issue goes beyond just girls being allowed to wear pants, and that stereotypes play a large role.

“We focus on the girls in trousers because we want to imitate the boys,” she says. “I think the boys have got to start imitating the girls so that they don’t have a superior sense of the fact that what they do is more important.

Although many people are as forward-thinking as Cox, Sydney schools are not on the same track.

In a recent study by Fairfax Media, in more than 100 nongovernment schools across Sydney, only a handful of independent schools offered pants or shorts to

female stu-dents as part of their regular uniform.

One is a secular, co-ed school in Ultimo. The International Grammar School offers uni-form options of dresses, skirts, pants and shorts to all students. IGS Principal, Shauna Colnan, said the uniforms reflect the school’s culture of inclusion as they “accord with the school’s respect for gender diversity.”

“Trousers have been on the uniform list for all students since International Grammar School began in 1984, and they became particularly popular among our young women several years ago, often teamed with boots,” Colnan said.

The Sydney private school, which offers bilingual education

for children from preschool to year 12, introduced ‘gender neutral’ uniforms to move towards greater inclusion and diversity. Colnan explained that in Preschool and Transition, students do not wear a uniform, and all older students mix and match what they wear from the uniform list.

“We feel girls’ freedom to wear trousers is completely in keeping with our core values of connectedness, diversity, personal achievement, authenticity and vibrancy, as it allows a healthy degree of choice and does not discriminate against any student on the basis of gender,” Colnan said.

Other Sydney schools seem reluctant to hop on the bandwagon despite research sup-porting the move from traditional school uniforms. As reported by ABC News Australia, research on girls’ activity levels in relation to school uniforms showed that girls were less physically active at recess when they were wearing a dress or skirt as opposed to pants.

IGS Principal Colnan sees the importance in giving female students choices in their uniforms.

“It’s about girls being as comfortable and active as boys in the diverse range of activities in which they engage both inside and outside of the classroom at IGS. It’s also about choice,” she said. city hub 15 MARCH 2018

3

Locals see red over green space plans

BY JADE MORELLINI Residents are furious at Woollahra Council for revisiting the proposal of a Youth Recreation Facility at Rushcutters Bay Park.

Woollahra Council identified three possible locations for the youth facilities to go and have decided on the third option, which is beside the noisy New South Head Road and, according to Woollahra Mayor Peter Cavanagh, “won’t stand out as much.”

The council will be offering a skate park, basketball court and table tennis tables for kids aged 8 – 14 to interact with, encouraging them to get outdoors.

Locals don’t feel the same, believing that by building the skate park, it will destroy a serene green space that is used by many to relax or exercise.

Family Law Court Barrister, Dixie Coulton is strongly against the proposal, “There’s little open green space in the area and if a structure was built, it would really impact adversely onto the quiet enjoyment of the park - its simply not big enough. I mean, I think the skateboarders do need a space, but not in Rushcutters Bay park. It will really destroy and disturb the ambience of the area.”

Local of Rushcutters Bay, Timothy Mak agrees, “Once it is developed - even if development is a mistake - it can never be reversed because the greenspace is gone. Therefore, greenspace is always vulnerable and development is always possible of greenspace. It’s amazing we have any parks at all given this inherently unequal dynamic.”

Studies have indicated that green spaces reduce stress and positively impacts on mental wellbeing, so Rushcutters Bay, which currently acts as a place for locals to go to wind down after work, may not be there for long.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Rushcutters Bay has a low demographic of children, with only 0.7% between the ages of 10 - 14 and 2% between the ages 5 – 9.

President of Potts Point & Kings Cross Heritage

Rushcutters Bay social gathering says no to skateboarders. Photo: Timothy Mak

& Residents Society, Andrew Woodhouse said, “It seems the council are trying to cater for a need that doesn’t really exist in this particular area and after all, the person promoting it, Councillor Anthony Marano does not live or work in the Woollahra Council area.

They had more objections for the previous park then they had even for the proposed amalgamation of councils. I recall the council report saying it was the most significant number of objections to anything.”

Mak added, “It was voted down 10 to 1 last time.

Now because of Woollahra Council surviving by the skin of its teeth the midst of a legal challenge and policy reversal on amalgamations, and by virtue of a change in the composition of Council members, this is back on the agenda. Final determinations scrapped months later based purely on a change in personnel.

It’s a betrayal of the previous Councillors who carefully reviewed this proposal and voted against.”

The budget for the new proposal has increased by around $400,000, with the initial proposal being

allocated $700,000 and now, an estimated cost of $1,100,000 for the redesign, detailed drawings and construction.

“That’s not even the true cost, the true cost also includes ongoing yearly maintenance, which can be as high as another $100 million. This new idea will cost about 50% more and therefore will be bigger, more intense or more intrusive. It cannot be considered acceptable. The cost is so large council cannot afford it. It seeks funding from elsewhere. The Centennial Park Trust states it is building a youth facility, so why unnecessarily duplicate projects?” Woodhouse said.

Mak added, “They cannot spend money they don’t have. My suggestion is they should respect their own financial limits and not build expensive white elephants when they do not have the money or the budget to do any of this. All they are doing is increasing the rates for future ratepayers and this is a massive cost which will be paid by ratepayers in future - the vast majority of whom do not want this

skatepark as evidenced from the letters submitted at the time the first proposal was voted down.

A mother of three recently wrote a letter to the Council, saying, “I live with my three children on New Beach Road right next to the park. We are your supposed prime beneficiaries and we are completely against it. We have been against it from the start and I am very frustrated that our voice is not being heard.

I know that if my children want to skate, I can take them to Bondi Beach. If they want to play ping pong there is an existing table at the local cafe next to the tennis courts that is almost never in use. If they want to shoot hoops they can do so at home, or again in the two underused basketball courts at the nearby Potts Point/Woolloomooloo playground.”

When Woollahra Council were asked to comment, a spokesperson said, “While Woollahra Council aims to provide facilities, which encourage young people to get outside, exercise and enjoy our open spaces, we are committed to undertaking community consultation that ensures everyone can have their say before a decision is made regarding the proposed Youth Recreation Facility.”

A spokesperson for Lord Mayor Clover Moore said, “It’s up to Woollahra Council to determine if a skate park is appropriate for Rushcutters Bay, in consultation with their local community. Our research shows a growing number of families choosing to live in the City of Sydney, which is why we’re prioritising investment in active recreation across the board.”

Many locals hope that the skate park proposals do not go through, “People actually have weddings and birthday parties in the park. These take place because of the natural beauty and quiet of the park. Can you imagine a wedding ceremony taking place next to a skatepark? This simply illustrates the fact that this development aggressively displaces other existing uses that rely on the quiet and tranquil setting. I cannot think of a more inappropriate setting for such a facility,” Mak said.

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CITYHUB city hub 15 MARCH 2018

5

Bulwara Bushwacked Again

by John Moyle It seems that for the City of Sydney moving forward means putting the lever into reverse, as they have done to the residents of Bulwara Road in inner city Ultimo by overturning the decision to rescind a work zone.

The battle between the residents of the narrow street, the City of Sydney, Roads and Maritime Services and the NSW Police has now entered the realm of farce and is a slap in the face for democracy at a local level.

Reversing our own gears to recap the story covered by City Hub in December, it was looking like the residents may have had a win as the Local Pedestrian, Cycling and Traffic Calming Committee, chaired by City of Sydney councillor Philip Thalis, looked to RMS and NSW Police to make a deciding vote after Cr Thalis changed his vote to being against the proposal.

The fourth member of the LPCTCC is MP for Balmain Jamie Parker, who always opposed the work zone in Bulwara Road to service constructor Parkview’s New Life apartment site at 185-521 Harris Street Ultimo.

All was looking good until Cr Thalis and the City of Sydney changed their minds, and without further resident consultation voted in favour of the work zone.

“The applicant has already been given permission to use Harris Street for a work zone as part of their original development application, so it seems like overkill that the City of Sydney have granted a second work zone on Bulwara Road,” Jamie Parker, MP for Balmain and LPCTCC member.

Roads and Maritime Services, oblivious to dangers the work zone would present to school children using the road and the unanimous opposition from residents stated “Roads and Maritime Services supported the work zone on

School children who will be impacted by Bulwara Road work zone. Photo: Supplied

Bulwara Road at Ultimo because it did not present an unacceptable risk to residents and the general public.”

What is making the residents even angrier is they say that the current work zone within the boundaries of the construction site on Harris Street is more than adequate and there is no need for another work zone on Bulwara “If the work is confined to Harris Street, where the work is, it means more work can be done from Harris Street, which was everybody’s original intent and would have less impact on Bulwara Road,” Patricia Johnson, Friends of Ultimo said.

“While this may not be the best of the process, it certainly an issue, and as I understand speaking with staff, this is the first time in 14 years that a work zone has been contentious in this way,” Councillor Philip Thalis, City of Sydney said.

It is because of the particular situation of Bulwara Road looping around into Jones Street

and there is no way in or out unless you go past the care centre, primary school and a church, and there aren’t many situations in the whole city where an innocent technical decision has become so contentious and the residents are rightly upset.”

“It’s only Clover’s team that have approved the work zone, and Philip Thalis has had to go along with it,” Patricia Johnson said.

The residents, Friends of Ultimo and Ultimo Village Voice thought that they were just fighting a development application for a work zone until 21st February when constructors Parkview lodged a Section 96, which is a modification to a development application under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act as a compromise for lessening the traffic on the Bulwara Road site.

The Section 96 calls for extensions to work hours on Harris Street from 6am to 5.30pm weekdays and 7.30am to 5.30pm Saturdays in return for shortened operating hours on

Bulwara work zone, with breaks to allow for students walking along the pavement to and fro school.

Trucks using the site have also been limited to nine metres in length, which is still a bloody big truck for a very small street.

It’s a bit like a dentist hitting your knee to distract from the root canal treatment.

“We are hoping that the application for the extended hours will be rejected because we cannot have any more disruptions,” Yimmy Seifert, chair, Ultimo Village Voice said.

Due to the construction project being valued at over $50 million, it is to be referred to the Central Sydney Planning Committee, but the next meeting on 15th March does not have the item listed on its agenda.

“Who can decide, they are questions for the Director of Planning and he probably can’t answer you without seeking advice?” Cr Thalis said, adding “It’s day one of the new world.”

Which leaves the residents even more determined to fight on.

It’s not that the residents don’t have external support. MP Jamie Parker has been on their side all along, and councillors Kerryn Phelps and Linda Scott are counted among City of Sydney supporters, but most of all, they will rely on their own well developed networks of resident action and support groups.

Social media and e-mails through the various local organisations have rallied at least 30 objections to the Section 96, and this weekend the fight will continue with Bulwara Road residents placing banners on their balconies.

“The point we want to make is that the community has never asked for any compromises and we have never said that we will accept any compromises and we have always said ‘no work zone’,” Patricia Johnson said.

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city hub 15 MARCH 2018

7

Mardi Gras on the nose

By Gabriela Szymanowska On a Saturday night in June 1978, NSW Police arrested 53 marchers during an event to commemorate the Stonewall Riots as part of the International Gay Celebrations.

During that event, that attracted around 2,000 marchers, 53 participants were arrested and later named shamed by the Sydney Morning Herald.

A year later around 3,000 people marched in the face of a strong police presence, but no arrests were made and Mardi Gras became a reality.

Forty years on Mardi Gras is the height of respectability, albeit your distant aunt kind of respectability, as it attracts hundreds of thousands of onlookers, and in the parade, a contingent of gay and lesbian police marching behind the rainbow flag.

Why is it that if the parade is safe enough for their own officers to participate in the NSW Police find it necessary to treat the whole event as if it is prison riot?

SBS News reported that more than a thousand police were needed to make the event safe, and three tents for drug searches set up for the after parade party featuring Cher at Fox Studios.

A celebration and a platform to recognize the injustices toward the LGBTQ+ community, Mardi Gras brings thousands of people together each year. This Mardi Gras, officers arrested or charged 57 individuals, a hauntingly similar number to the past.

However, unlike the arrests made against the gay and lesbian community 40 years ago, this year’s charges and arrests revolved around illicit drugs.

According to a NSW Police report, 15

people were arrested during the parade for assault, malicious damage and drug possession. During the after-party, police signaled out 42 individuals for illicit drug possession including three cannabis cautions.

Since the 2002 Police Powers (Drug Detections Dogs) Act, police can search people for drugs without a warrant with sniffer dogs at entertainment events or on certain public transport routes. This increased the use of sniffer dogs at events like Mardi Gras.

“I stopped going to the Mardi Gras party when the police began aggressively patrolling the entrance with sniffer dogs,” Richard Weiss, a professional DJ, said.

“Mardi Gras has an excellent history of peaceful partying. For me it was the final straw. I don’t need that kind of start to my night, when all I want is to dance amongst friends. It’s probably nearly a decade since I attended and that was because I was DJing that night.”

David Shoebridge, Greens MP in the NSW Parliament, said that the use of drug dogs at Mardi Gras is specifically targeting the LGTBQ+ community.

“This also fractions the relationship between the LGTBI community and the police. No community likes being so targeted by the police, nobody likes being dealt with so unfairly and it is extraordinary that the NSW police don’t understand that,” Shoebridge said.

The amount of arrests and charges may seem insignificant compared to the record number of people at the celebration, yet 57 is still more than previous years. This year’s Mardi Gras had 300,000 people watching the parade and 15,000 people attending the after-party.

Vicki Harding, Centre Director of Inner City Legal Centre, said that the number of people charged with possession was what they expected it to be with such a large crowd.

“There were 15,000 people at the Mardi Gras party and that number [42] is proportionately about equal to what it’s been in previous years at the parties, in previous recent years. So, given that there were 15,000 people, that number is about what we would expect, compared to previous years,” Harding said.

However, Shoebridge believes that the low number of charges shows how drug dogs fail to provide the results needed to justify so many resources supporting them. According to Shoebridge, searches done by drug dogs have a 60 percent false positive rate, meaning most of those identified as having drugs usually do not.

“This operation is proof positive that the drug dogs fail at what’s meant to be their primary task of identifying people with drugs. With that level of police resources supporting the drug dog operations at the after-party, that low level of charges and prosecutions, you can see what a failure the drug dog program is start relief,” Shoebridge said.

While the Mardi Gras Organization stated on their website that police would be there with sniffer dogs to ensure the safety of patrons at the party, the use of sniffer dogs has long been controversial.

Dr. Alex Wodak, President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, thinks that it is ridiculous to use sniffer dogs and scarce resources for Mardi Gras.

Sniffer dogs trained for busting party drugs. Photo: Garry Knight

“I can understand the need to have some police presence to make sure that crowd problems don’t happen, but the problem about sniffer dogs and arresting people, this was the 40th event and we have to remind ourselves, when these brave people started this in 1978 they were the outlaws, they were the criminals, homosexuality was still illegal. Now, we’re coming towards the end of that and there’s still a bit of cleaning up to do with some discriminatory nonsense,” Wodak said.

For at least three years, the NSW Police set up a strip search tent to search individuals identified by sniffer dogs to possess drugs. Those identified are taken to the tent where they are explained what will happen next and searched in private cubicles.

The last few years, Mardi Gras

Organisation has partnered with Fair Players, specifically trained volunteers who are on site to share legal and safety information with people who attend Mardi Gras.

“You’ll find us there in two capacities, one is that we have little referral cards, we talk to people while they’re queued and we tell them about Fair Play. The other is that we actually do film police operations,” Harding said.

Shoebridge also attended the event with volunteers from Sniff Off, his campaign to curb the use of police sniffer dogs and Tasers. Shoebridge reported through Facebook Live at the event to let others know about the presence of drug dogs.

The City Hub contacted the Mardi Gras Organization, but received no comment.

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9

Councillors Up the Cross

BY JOHN MOYLE Last Saturday the residents of Kings Cross and Potts Point were stunned and amazed in equal proportions when two City of Sydney councillors made an appearance at the popular Kings Cross Markets.

And there isn’t even an election in sight. At least, not for now.

City of Sydney councillors Christine Forster and Craig Chung were equally surprised by the overwhelming reaction they got from residents as they set up a Council Listening Post next to the internationally renowned El Alamein Fountain.

“We had a very positive response on Saturday, and lots of people wanted to talk to us, and it was very clear that people are angry about the Lord Mayor’s position to dismiss them and reject a master plan for the area,” Councillor Christine Forster, City of Sydney said.

“I was surprised and pleased to see them putting themselves out there for any questions,” Martin Denny, resident, Potts Point said.

For such a small area there were plenty of concerns for the residents to voice, but they were mainly worried with a single issue: the DA for Darlinghurst Road.

“There is red hot anger about the Bourbon development, and the fact that we don’t have a master plan,” Councillor Craig Chung said.

Clr Chung is referring to the February 19 City of Sydney Council meeting when Lord Mayor Clover Moore used her casting vote to defeat a motion put forward by Clr Forster to adopt a master plan for development in Kings Cross.

“Certainly the people I spoke to were very positive about the master plan idea, and the Lord Mayor has to answer to the people of

City of Sydney councillors Craig Chung and Christine Forster up the Cross. Photo: John Moyle

Kings Cross and Potts Point as to why they (City of Sydney) have abandoned them,” Cr Forster said.

Another more immediate issue for both residents and visitors to Kings Cross, is the state of the public toilets adjacent to the Kings

Cross Police Station and Fitzroy Gardens.

Destinations NSW reported in 2016 that the area attracted 1.2 million international and domestic visitors, and yet there are only three intermittently working public toilets for the entire area.

Long abandoned by locals, who have learned to plan their rest stops, the inconvenient conveniences also have to serve around 5,000 weekend visitors to the popular Kings Cross Markets, who pay rent to the City of Sydney for the use of Fitzroy Gardens.

“The Lord Mayor tells me that the number of service calls to these toilets have been reduced, which is extraordinary thinking that just goes to show how out of touch she is,” Cr Chung said.

“Sadly again, the Lord Mayor has voted the idea down, and we will be keeping the pressure up to get some action on the toilets,” Cr Forster said.

Between 2000 and 2003 the old South Sydney Council threw a lot of money at the then rat run now called Llankelly Place, transforming it with new pavements and lights by architect Peter McGregor.

Today it is one of the most vibrant restaurant and cafe lanes in the whole area, but is beginning to suffer from a lack of love and attention from Town Hall.

“The lights in Llankelly Place are looking a little second hand and the businesses wanted simple signage at the entrances so that people know they are there, but the Lord Mayor just batted that request away,” Cr Forster said.

“Essentially the Lord Mayor is doing nothing, she is sitting on her hands about issues raised by the community for the good of the area, and we have a clear picture of somebody who is not listening and she is out of ideas,” Cr Forster said.

As the area transforms from a night time economy that died because of mismanagement by the City of Sydney and State Government, into a day/night economy driven by quality food outlets and cafes, Kings Cross and Potts Point is in need of all the love it can get.

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city hub 15 MARCH 2018

All Betts are off

BY PAUL PAECH We know from the odd public antics of Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd how emotionally destabilising losing high public office can be, but unfortunately that’s the democratic price they pay.

(Under a dictatorship, of course, leadership change can have a rather more destabilising effect).

People have more respect for leaders (especially women like Julia Gillard or Hillary Clinton) who demonstrate some dignity and grace in defeat.

Last week, a former mayor showed that she too was finding it difficult to cope with rejection.

Waverley’s “colourful” councillor Sally Betts, once described by Malcolm Turnbull as “the most powerful woman in the Eastern Suburbs,” is also feeling a particularly sharp pain from her irrelevance, because at the height of her power, her displays of arrogance were legendary throughout the Eastern Suburbs.

One much repeated story described her response to one long-term Bondi cafe owner who asked her to move because her seat on the footpath was beyond council’s designated seating area. Regally flourishing her Waverley Council business card at the owner, she proclaimed for all to hear: “Council? I am the Council.”

But during last September’s election campaign, l’état, c’est moi was replaced by threats of chaos across Waverley should she lose: après moi, le deluge.

So desperate was Betts to win that on the eve of the election she played for the sympathy vote, revealing in the press that she had breast cancer, which she blamed on the underhand campaign for Bondi Pavilion.

Alas, this embarrassing mixing of public and private lives failed to persuade Waverley voters who bit the bullet and threw her and her Liberal Party out.

In the six months since being reduced to a

garden-variety minority councillor in Council meetings, Betts has often found it difficult to cope, and last week a couple of articles in the AFR characterising the people who sabotaged her most excellent Pavilion plans as “snobs” showed she is still re-hashing the loss.

What Betts seems to forget is that those Pavilion plans had triggered a deluge of more than 700 community responses, of which only six were in favour, and that every subsequent consultation confirmed the same broad and vehement opposition. So it was actually Betts who belonged to a snobbish minority.

Betts had every chance to withdraw her unpopular snobbish plans, but it was only much later, having wasted even more time and money, that she decided to break the project into stages, principally to catch up on the years of neglect under her mayoralty. But she never stepped back from the $38 million Grand Plan.

Inevitably, Stage 1 was rejected by the community, called out graphically in local posters as a Trojan Horse.

Betts wasn’t the first Liberal Waverley mayor to have tried to commercialise Bondi Pavilion.

During the shamelessly corrupt white-shoe days of the 1980s (the time of Alan Bond and Christopher Skase and corrupt Premier Bjelke-Petersen), the colourful Caroline and Jim Markham put around the same shtick of how Bondi needed to be upgraded to some world-class ideal, and tried to flog the whole Pav off.

Inevitably, the ICAC discovered extensive corruption in Waverley’s planning department (a fate Betts has avoided) and the Markhams lost power in an electoral landslide.

The post-Betts renewal of the Bondi Pavilion and the revival of its Cultural and Community Centre will secure the experience of Bondi Beach as the epitome of the egalitarian Aussie beach. She

Canterbury Olympic ice Rink

Bondi Pavilion. Photo- Alec Smart

had sought to replace quality community areas with high-income restaurants and elite function/ conference venues.

Under new mayor John Wakefield, the dilapidated Pavilion is being repaired and is already showing signs of renewed cultural life.

The Latin American Festival, supported financially for the first time in years by Waverley Council, was a pumping, colourful, vibrant musical feast enjoyed by thousands of locals and tourists.

In April and May the Pavilion will host Sydney Comedy Festival events.

Meantime, six months after losing the election, Wakefield’s predecessor is still bitterly trying to blame her loss on the same voters whose opinions she had disdained while mayor.

Like Chicken Little, who ran around telling everyone that the sky is falling, it was Betts’

Office tO Let

own sky that collapsed with the Liberal loss of Waverley: it utterly destroyed her overweening political ambitions, said to have included a comfortable seat in NSW’s Legislative Council.

That election put paid to the amalgamation plans by the State Liberals to secure control over Sydney’s prized Eastern Suburbs.

It also signalled a democratic wave of opposition to the buccaneering knock-it-down sell-it-off values that characterise today’s NSW Government. It’s a warning to anyone in power who wants to tell their electors what’s good for them.

At what is demonstrably a dark and difficult time for her, perhaps Ms Betts might more productively choose to peer into a personal mirror where she would see, not some imaginary conspiracy of artists and snobs, but that it was her bullying hubris that brought down the curtain on her political career.

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Or if you have any queries in regard to the project, please email schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au city hub 15 MARCH 2018

11

FEATURE

Shamrock Sydney

By Rita Bratovich On the sloping sea-side cliff top of Waverley Cemetery stands an impressive white marble monument - the memorial to the 1798 Irish Rebellion. Michael Dwyer, a ring leader in the uprising, was exiled to Australia and is buried with his wife, Mary, beneath the monument.

Every Easter Sunday since 1916, a ceremony has been held at the site commemorating the rebellion.

The Waverley monument is the largest in the world dedicated to the Irish Rebellion and symbolises the strong connection between Australia and Ireland - something that goes beyond convict settlement.

“People feel an affinity with the culture for various reasons, it’s not just because of a direct family connection”, says Karl Kinsella, president of the Irish National Association (INA). When it was founded in 1915, the INA was a central hub for Irish immigrants in Sydney, providing social, business, sporting and support services, as well as maintaining the Irish Memorial at Waverley. Today it is predominantly a cultural organisation, operating The Gaelic Club which is a popular venue used by Irish community groups for social events.

“There’s a dancing school that’s been operating on Saturday mornings at the Gaelic club for at least 50 years,” says Kinsella. “I walked into the Gaelic Club one night and there were 80 people having a trivia night - in Gaelic!”

Kinsella believes Irish influence is evident in many aspects of Australian culture too. He can see it in progressive politics, especially labour movements and trade unions; in the education system and the influence of the Catholic church; in the bloodstock industry; in music; even in things that define the ‘typical Australian’.

“I’d like to say that the sense of larrikinism that Australia talks about a lot is very much related to the Irish approach to life and humour and irreverence for authority.”

The Irish Support Agency (ISA) was set up in 1995 specifically to address the needs of the Irish community in NSW. It helps Irish seniors who have little or no family in Australia, or anyone experiencing a personal crisis; visa problems; homelessness as well as offering parenting programs and mental health training for ex-pats.

“With such a vibrant Irish Community in Sydney it can be easy to forget how far away from Ireland we really are, until you get on the 24 hour flight home!” says Coordinator, Roison Trainor.

WRITERS WANTED A Call Out for the Retired, Superannuated and Graduate Students Writers needed on local issues across the City Hub’s five distribution regions.

Must be able to write engaging and accurate copy and meet deadlines.

Please contact City Hub with CV news@altmedia.net.au

Cosgrove describes being in the St Patrick’s Day Parade as terrifying because it was prior to the marriage equality referendum and she felt exposed and in strange territory.

“We didn’t know what we were opening ourselves up to,” says Cosgrove.

What they opened themselves up to was a warm and positive reception, not only during the parade but within the whole Irish community. Cosgrove believes SQI has earned respect by being visible, active and involved in community events and building strong rapport with other organisations.

SQI has been invited to host a St Patrick’s Day event at The Imperial, something Cosgrove considers an extraordinary honour - the importance of St Patrick’s Day to the Irish can’t be overstated.

No community is really a community unless it has its own film festival. The Irish Film Festival is now in its fourth year and this year will include a short film competition. According to Festival President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins along with his wife Sabina Director, Enda Murray: when they visited the Irish Support Agency office last October.

“There’s a lot of people with Irish heritage and a short film Photo provided by ISA competition is a way for them to connect with the festival and to With a large and growing Irish community in Sydney, she sees a contribute creatively to the kind of ongoing story of Irish Australia.” real need for organisations such as ISA, especially on emotionally Many of the feature films will be Australian premieres. The subject significant days such St Patrick’s Day. matter is wide and varied, though themes around politics and “the “Each year we hold a St Patrick’s Day morning tea with our senior troubles” (the north/south conflict) are prominent. members and a few VIP guests including Irish diplomats and any With regard to St Patrick’s Day, Murray agrees on how important visiting Ministers from Ireland,” says Trainor. They also hold a it is, especially “today in our information laden society - unless you commemoration each August in Hyde Park Barracks in honour of become visual you run the risk of disappearing.” the women who came from workhouses in Ireland during the There’s little doubt the Irish community will be visual on Great Famine of 1848-50.

St Patrick’s Day. “Irish traditions are alive in Sydney not just among Irish born but also among those with Irish heritage,” says Trainor.

If you’re looking to celebrate Irish culture this St Patrick’s Day Ironically, Ireland has been very much in the public eye here because it we recommend heading down to The Rocks precinct. recently challenged and changed a very strong tradition - marriage.

Sydney’s oldest Irish pub,The Mercantile Hotel, in particular has “I think Australia was watching what happened in Ireland very, very festivities beginning with a traditional Irish breakfast at 7am. closely in 2015… Ireland was seen as a very conservative country and Catholic country. If they can pass Marriage Equality, why can’t we?”

The Mercantile Hotel, 25 George St,The Rocks explains Loretta Cosgrove, President of Sydney Queer Irish (SQI). www.irishassociation.org.au SQI was established in 2010 to unite people with queer Irish www.irishsupportagency.org.au identity. They entered their first float in the Mardi Gras www.sydneyqueerirish.com www.irishfilmfestival.com.au Parade in 2015 and won best float design the following year. www.sydneystpatricksday.com Perhaps more significantly, they won best float in their first year in the St Patrick’s Day Parade.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Hayes Theatre Co. will present Tony award winning musical In The Heights, the latest production from the company’s 2018 season of musicals and cabaret.

In The Heights follows three generations of music, from a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights.Audiences are introduced to a host of colourful characters from a neighbourhood on the brink of change. Love, lust, identity and racism are explored through a revolutionary mix of Latin rhythms, dance and hip-hop.

Multiple award-winning vocalist and actress, Monique Montez, will star in the production.

“Taking on this musical has been both an absolute pleasure and an absolute challenge. From the score to the storylines and brilliant personas. There is a lot to rehearse, so it’s trying but that’s what makes the production such a pleasure.”

Montez shortly added, “There are stories of family ties, unconditional love, independence, acceptance and hope within this production. There is something for every audience member to walk away with.”

In The Heights won Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography and Best

Orny Adams –

Libby Asciack, Monique Montez, Olivia Vasquez. Photo: Grant Leslie

In The Heights

More Than Loud

Orchestrations at the 2008 Tony Awards.

“I saw the original cast on Broadway in 2010, and walked out thinking that I would love to play the role of Daniela. I even wrote it in my diary – I never

would have believed I’d be here in 2018 doing this very role.” said Montez. (GF) Mar 16-Apr 15. Hayes Theatre Co. 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Potts Point. $69+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.hayestheatre.com.au

REVIEW: The Book Of Mormon

Lewd, crude, violent and hilariously funny.

The smash hit musical created by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone challenges the notion of traditional musical

theatre as it takes shots at The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Although the story focuses on the Mormon religion very little background knowledge is required, the production does a great job explaining the vital teachings and beliefs of the religion in order to push the story along.

The main story of The Book of Mormon follows two young missionaries, Elder Kevin Price (Ryan Bondy) and Elder Arnold Cunningham (A.J. Holmes), during their first mission to convert the people of a remote village in Uganda.Along the way the unlikely pair of missionaries have some life changing epiphanies of their very own.

Whilst the entire cast is incredible with their performances, A.J. Holmes ultimately steals the show with his quick whit and snappy comedic timing providing an inordinate number of laughs during the show.

Meg Stuart:

An Evening Of Solo Performances Meg Stuart is an internationally acclaimed American choreographer and performer. She was born in New Orleans and studied dance in New York, working with some of the most prestigious dancers of the time. In 1994 she established her own dance company, Damaged Goods and moved to Brussels, Belgium. In January this year, Stuart was awarded the Gold Lion for Lifetime Achievement from La Biennale di Venezia for “having developed a new language and new method for each creation,

collaborating with artists working in different disciplines and moving between dance and theatre.”

Stuart brings her latest creation An Evening Of Solo Works to Carriageworks, headlining the program for the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award.

The performance includes a selection of solo pieces from among her many and varied works, exhibiting a breadth of artistic expression and genre.

“My work navigates the tension between dance and theatre,

a&e

Given Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s history writing South Park it was a given that this show was going to be filled with expletives, toilet humour and crude social commentary. The unexpected element here though is the addition of incredibly catchy music, lyrics and dance numbers which will draw in audiences not typically interested in musical theatre.

Throughout the show the audience will find themselves laughing out loudly, even when they know they shouldn’t be. South Park fans will enjoy the subtle nods to the television show whilst traditional musical theatre attendees will simultaneously find themselves smiling from ear to ear. (JA) Until Sep 2. Sydney Lyric Theatre, 55 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont. $77-$155+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.bookofmormonmusical.com.au

Meg Stuart. Photo: Eva WÅrdinger

Phyre Hawkins, Ryan Bondy, A.J. Holmes.

Photo: Jeff Busby

thought and action, remembering and forgetting. Scripts are written on our bodies: they contain unfinished histories of ourselves and others.” explains Stuart.

With improvisation being an

13 STAGE 14 Sounds 15 SCENE 15 SCREEN

important element in her work, every performance promises to be unique and surprising. (RB) Mar 19-20. Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh. $35+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.carriageworks.com.au

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 @CityHubSyd

Coming to Australia to perform his More Than Loud tour to Sydney and Melbourne audiences is Orny Adams, whose fan base consists of big names like Jerry Seinfield, Garry Shandling and more.

When it comes to his no BS comedy, Orny explained, “I like to go after what’s bothering me on sort of a micro level. So, I can tell you what I don’t discuss, politics, religious references and sport. I’m fascinated by bad customer service, bad experiences, technology, young people vs old people. Stuff that I think resonates with the audience” Orny has performed on late night shows, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brian, has toured stand-up and played a role on MTV’s Teen Wolf. When asked if he was ever able to improvise he replied, “A little bit. I got away with a lot more than the other actors.

The guy who developed the show, Jeff Davis, had seen me do stand-up several times and was a fan of my work, so he created the character ‘Coach’ for me. A lot of the time though I was sticking to the script, which was really well written. I’m also coming to Australia for a convention featuring Teen Wolf”.

Reaching a language barrier asking Orny, why should the good folks of Sydney come to the show? We finally got there with the response, “I’m not here to make people come to the show, I want to see people who are enthusiastic and excited to see some comedy”.

If you aren’t familiar with Orny’s work, check it out. A hilariously entertaining guy worth the attendance. (RH) Mar 21. Comedy Store, 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park. $37.50+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.comedystore.com.au

Contributors: Barbara Karpinski, Craig Coventry, Emily Shen, Greg Webster, Irina Dunn, Jade Morellini, Joseph Rana, Leann Richards, Lisa Seltzer, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Olga Azar, Rita Bratovich, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Sarah Pritchard, Shon Ho, Jade Morellini, Alex Eugene, Manuel Gonzalez, Tommy Boutros, Riley Hooper, Mohsen Dezaki, Daniel Jaramillo, Georgia Fullerton, Gary Nunn.

city hub 15 MARCH 2017

13

REVIEW: The Shifting Heart This well-regarded classic Australian play, written in 1957 by Richard Beynon and set against a backdrop of post war hardship in Collingwood, Melbourne would only need some costume and reference updates to align with present day social politics.

The story revolves around the Bianchi family: Poppa (Tony Poli), Momma (Dina Panozzo), 21 year old son Gino (David Soncin), and older daughter Maria (Ariadne Sgouros) who is married to Australian, Clarry Fowler (Lucas Linehan) and is almost full-term pregnant.

The single set is the back of their dilapidated house, with a broken side fence providing a walk-through for affable, red-

haired neighbour, Leila Pratt (Di Smith) and her hapless, alcoholic husband Donny (Laurence Coy playing a dual role as Detective Sergeant Lukie).

The family dynamic is fraught by external racism and the internal tensions it causes.

With only a few lighter comic moments, the play can be heavy-going, with a lot of vocal and sometimes physical violence and one particularly disturbing incident. The audience discomfort is not helped by the company’s decision not to have an interval.

At two hours, the action feels relentless.

That said, the performances are powerful and convincing and the story is absorbing.

The set design with its rustic

Sydney Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE

By Jamie Apps

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran: With two Grammy Awards, six billion YouTube views and a firm foothold on the top of our album and single charts, Ed Sheeran needs no introduction and is obviously one of the biggest shows to hit our fine city this weekend.

Sat, Mar 17, ANZ Stadium

Rodrigo y Gabriela: Two years on from their last Australian tour, celebrated Mexican instrumental virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela return to Sydney for a special theatre show. Known for their dynamic live performances Rodrigo y Gabriela are without doubt one of the most captivating live acts in the world.

Thu, Mar 15, Enmore Theatre Big Country: Having been described by Mick Jagger as “one of the best opening bands we ever had,” Big Country continues to wow audiences around the world night in, night out with their iconically unique sound, which escalated them to the peak of greatness in the 80s.

Fri, Mar 16, Factory Theatre Northlane: To coincide with the release of Analog Future, Northlane will return to where it all began with an all ages hometown headline show at UNSW Roundhouse in Sydney.

The setlist will showcase the very best of Northlane’s discography. This show will mark Northlane’s final Australian concert for the foreseeable future so make sure not to miss this one.

Fri, Mar 16, UNSW Roundhouse Gilbert O’Sullivan: One of the biggest Irish songwriters & recording artists to reach international chart success in the 70s and 80s will be in Sydney this weekend to celebrate 50 years in music.

Sat, Mar 17, State Theatre 14

city hub 15 MARCH 2018

Bright Blue Gorilla: After six feature films, a dozen CDs, and 27 years on the road, Bright Blue Gorilla have plenty of entertaining stories to share.

Producer Robyn Rosenkrantz and Director Michael Glover have been charming audiences around the world since 1990 when they quit their L.A. jobs, sold everything they had (except their guitars) and bought one-way tickets to Europe.

They’ve been traveling ever since and are still going strong!

Sun, Mar 18, Humph Hall Kelsea Bellerini: One of country music’s hottest acts, US superstar Kelsea Bellerini will play an exclusive one-off all ages headline show at Sydney’s Metro Theatre this coming Tuesday. Kelsea returns to Australia two years on from her last visit, and a fully fledged star, last year creating history as the first ever female artist to achieve three consecutive #1 US Country Billboard hits with Love Me Like You Mean It, Peter Pan and Dibs.

Tue, Mar 20, Metro Theatre Darius Rucker: The multiple Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter will play his first ever Australian headline show in Sydney mid-week. First attaining international acclaim as the lead singer of Grammywinning outfit Hootie & The Blowfish before embarking on a solo career in 2008, Darius Rucker has over the past nine years amassed a total of eight #1 Billboard Country Singles.

Wed, Mar 21, Enmore Theatre

simplicity, yet attention to detail and the intimacy of the Reginald Theatre, allow the audience to be immersed in the time and space of 1950s lower class suburbia. The lighting too, is used very effectively, not only to literally indicate changing time of day, but also to reflect the oscillating mood.

It’s a moving and sadly still relevant story, but also a timeless piece of Australian literature. (RB) Until Mar 24. Seymour Centre, Cnr Cleveland and City Roads, Chippendale. $25-$45+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.seymourcentre.com

MOZA

By Jamie Apps Sydney duo MOZA have been making waves online with their two most recent singles, Empty Streets and Gold, clocking up over 15 million plays combined. Speaking with Cam Nacson he credits the recent successes to finally finding their musical direction and also the nature of online streaming.

“If you look through our past singles they’re a bit of a journey and all very different from each other,” said Nacson. “Gold though felt like that first step in a direction we want to be going in into the future.”

Cam Nacson and Toby Chew Lee found each other when they we both playing in a folk, rock band but quickly developed a close friendship and working relationship. Once the band began to wind down the duo chose to begin working together producing electronic music.

Also during this time the pair took opportunities to collaborate with a number of other artists, which Nacson says helped develop the “love of electronic music.”

For Nacson the biggest difference between the electronic and traditional band worlds was the collaborative nature of the two industries.

“What we love about the electronic industry, especially in Australia, is that it is so collaborative. It was a drastic shift in thinking after coming from the band world where you only work with your band and everyone felt so competitive towards each other.”

Since joining the electronic music scene MOZA have seen incredible success and longevity for their music on streaming services.

MOZA’s most recent single, Gold, released in January and has recently crossed over the one million stream mark and is still averaging 20-25,000 plays per day. Surprisingly according to Nacson this is a typical growth pattern they’ve witnessed.

“What we’ve found online is that with each million streams the growth actually gets quicker because more people have heard it and then add it to their playlists, which is incredibly important because most of the plays for unknown and upcoming artists are through playlists.”

This exponential growth pattern does however make it difficult to plan a tour schedule, in particular because the ability to convert streams into live show attendance can be tough.

Ribongia - M∆∆T Sydney producer Ribongia has delivered an electronic music album which is unlike any other as it shatters boundaries.

Throughout the album there are the elements, such as dynamic beat progressions and and captivating grooves, which one would expect from an electronic album. There is however a special ingredient in M∆∆T, the incorporation of natural sounds, which gives it a much more organic feel.

M∆∆T is a skilfully crafted and produced record which incorporates the natural elements seamlessly, adding to it’s already chilled, airy vibe.

Whilst this record is not going to get people up on a dance floor to party it does make for a wonderful soundtrack for a relaxing weekend dinner and drinks with friends during any season. (JA) WWW1/2

“That conversion rate is minimal at the moment but Spotify have just added some new features which we’re super keen to see how that plays out,” said Nacson.

For those fans which do make the jump to see MOZA live in Sydney this month they will be treated to a show which has a bunch of surprises.

“There are actually so many new songs in the Gold tour set, we have about four songs we’ve never played live before and another two or three that have only been played once. People are going to get a really good idea of the direction MOZA is going to be headed.”

Mar 24. Oxford Art Gallery, 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst. $12.63+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.oxfordartfactory.com

What So Not - Not All The Beautiful Things What So Not (aka Chris Emerson) allows his vast array of collaborators and influences to seep into the music but because he himself is a veteran producer he takes each of these elements and elevates them to new heights.

As the listener progresses through Not All The Beautiful Things they are treated to glimpses of hip-hop, grime, dubstep/bass, 80s synth and even pop melodies.

Emerson’s maturity shines throughout as he weaves all the elements together smoothly which ensures the listener is taken on a journey.

This is a record which is all killer and no filler which implores the listener to take it in as one single body of work rather than cherry picking. (JA) WWWW

THE NAKED CITY

INVASION OF THE POD HOTELS! With Coffin Ed Unashamedly old school, I have to admit the mere mention of the word “pod” evokes images of alien metamorphosis in Don Siegel’s classic 1956 sci fi shocker Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

Whether the pods in Siegel’s thought provoking Body Snatchers have any correlation with the explosion of so called ‘pod’ or capsule hotels worldwide is open to question - but perhaps you have to wonder. The phenomenon began in space (as in lack of space) conscious Japan back in 1979, with the tiny compartment like rooms designed for cheap overnight stays, especially for drunken businessmen too sloshed to make their way home.

Its popularity has since spread throughout the world with a number of pod hotels recently opening for business in Sydney.

Both the Capsule Hotel and the Space Q Capsule Hotel in the CBD offer pods from around $50 through to $80 a night, approximately half what you would expect to pay in a budget hotel. A typical pod has a bed, a TV and a few other gadgets to keep you amused with shared bathroom and

toilet facilities. If you have missed the last train to Blacktown it’s a lot cheaper than a taxi or Uber but the catch is these hotels are often booked out days ahead. Don’t expect to walk in, especially on a weekend night.

The added attraction at Space Q is that the pods are designed to look like sleeping compartments on some interstellar spaceship, an obvious appeal to trekkies or anybody with a burning desire to one day travel to Mars. No doubt there have been cases where highly stoned patrons have embraced the spaceship concept as an hallucinogenic reality, only to be bitterly disappointed the next morning when they stumble sober onto George Street, rather than alight in some far flung galaxy.

I recently spoke with one enthusiastic pod patron Jason, who described the experience at Space Q as being on the set of a B-grade sci-fi movie, with the faux fibreglass capsules creaking everytime somebody entered or turned over in bed.

He was definitely looking for that inter-galactic experience but described the capsule as more “microwave than fifth element.” I wondered whether the late night patronage generated an unwelcome level of noise throughout the night but Jason explained that most of the patrons were glued to their devices with the atmosphere eerily silent.

I was also interested to learn if there was any late night ‘pod nookie’ in the capsules strictly designated for one person – what you might call “two peas

in a pod.” Jason explained that this was very much verbotten on the part of management and loving couples were separated for the night, left to interact solely through their phones and iPods. No doubt future pod hotels might incorporate a honeymoon suite although in many ways this would be against the spirit of the traditional solo experience.

With Sydney fast becoming more and more congested we may well see a steady growth of pod hotels through the city and suburbs. Indeed the concept could well be extended to provide ultra budget long term accommodation, especially for the homeless. A podmobile, about the size of an old double decker bus, could roam the city picking up late night revellers and anybody looking for a cheap kip to see them through the night.

The scenario is also there for a 2018 remake of the Don Siegel classic in which unsuspecting Sydneysiders are lured into pod hotels by an alien force hellbent on transforming them into a series of zombie like duplicates, free of any human emotion. My God, it could already be happening!

governments with regard to the mistreatment of refugees.

It is a beautifully shot film, with breath-taking landscape panoramas and unnerving personal close-ups - which at times can feel uncomfortably voyeuristic.

What truly startles are the statistics, given as data on screen and revealed more cogently via long-shots of rows upon rows of make-shift tents; endless moving queues; entire towns reduced to concrete shells with remnants of personal effects to prove they were once homes; and a mountainous pile of life jackets discarded by thousands of refugees fleeing by boat.

What Ai manages to do extremely well is give balanced perspective by alternating wide sweeping views that give the epic scope of the problem, Ai Weiwei is a controversial multi-discipline with intimate portraits that remind the viewer Chinese artist and activist who has spoken openly that this is about real people. There are moments against violations of human rights and political of humour and moments of heartache but few corruption, much to the disapproval of his moments of hope - perhaps that will come with government. As director of the new documentary, response to this film. (RB) WWWW Human Flow, he shines a damning light on all Idomeni Camp Greece

Human Flow

Carriberrie Francis Williams of the Naygayiw Gigi Dance Troupe

Modern technology and ancient tradition meet with thrilling beauty in the Australian Museum’s Carriberrie, a 360-degree virtual reality experience embracing the Australian continent and Indigenous peoples through dance, song and country. Using 24 stationary cameras, the short documentary film takes the viewer from Sydney Harbour to Far North Queensland, the Norther Territory to the Torres Strait Islands, using vivid colours and aural sensations to create a physical and psychic thrum that could (and for some, does) easily exceed the pleasures of reality.

Kid Kyoto Modelled on the izakaya bars in Japan, Kid Kyoto is a relaxed, after work bar and restaurant, with an inconspicuous laneway entrance and grungy vibe. It has a neoindustrial interior with bare concrete walls, bright red exposed pipes along the ceiling, earthy colours and subdued lighting.You can sit and eat at either of the two well-stocked bars or at a spacious table.

The ambience is Japanese kitchen collides with Western pop culture; you sip a glass of sake from their extensive selection while nodding innately to 90s Seattle indie rock. If it’s your first time and you’re unfamiliar with the cuisine then go for the omakase (literally translated as “I’ll leave it up to you”) a degustation style menu for two curated by the chef. Here’s a sample: Open with cabbage and konbu pickle: a crispy red cabbage salad which is sharp and palate cleansing.

Follow with cold squid udon salad, wakame, watermelon and serrano chilli dashi: a delicate dance of textures and flavours.

The carrot-aage, native pepper berry and orange kosho that follows introduces your tongue to a surprising new texture - firm, velvety deep fried carrot with thin crispy batter skin and a strong, spicy paste. In contrast to the carrots is the wok smoked mushroom, walnut miso and purslane: firm, smokey mushrooms, crunchy walnuts and sprouts and a rich,

savoury miso dressing.Along with this was served iceberg lettuce, furikake, miso whipped tofu and cured yolk, with lettuce as fresh as rain sprinkled with herbs - another palate cleanser.

This prepares you for the two meat dishes: ‘black hole sun’ pork belly, nori jam, apple and picked radish; and Rangers Valley wagyu steak +7, red hot chilli pepper miso and tsukemono. The meat in both dishes is juicy, rare and succulent with understated seasoning balanced by pickled sides and spicy sauce.

This is stadium rock with fireworks and lasers. But wait there’s an encore! Chocolate fondant, caramelised miso, chocolate crackle, kinako and coconut ice cream.That deserves a standing ovation. (RB) Kid Kyoto, 17-19 Bridge Street (entry via Bridge Lane), Sydney CBD. Mon-Fri 12pm til late; Sat 5pm til late. For bookings: Ph: (02) 9241 1991 or email: reservations@kidkyoto.com.au

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is based on the memoir of Peter Turner as he falls for high profile Academy Award winning actress of the 40s through to the 60s, Gloria Grahame. Starting off as an innocent romance, things start to heat up quickly and the two lovers must face multiple challenges that erect from dating an older leading lady.

The biographical romance drama is directed

by Paul McGuigan with the screenplay written by Matt Greenhalgh. The film stars Annette Bening as Grahame and Jamie Bell as Turner. The rest of the cast includes Julie Walters, Stephen Graham, Vanessa Redgrave and Frances Barber.

Tech is increasingly influencing the arts, and like many contemporary issues, categorisations are in flux. So is Carriberrie really a documentary? Does it belong at the Australian Museum? Or is it an avant-garde immersion of the senses better suited to a contemporary art museum? Certainly scholars will be pondering these sorts of issues as the Borg advances, but for now, I don’t much care what the answers might be. Carriberrie is pure wonder, a rich collaboration between filmmakers and performers, the latter singing and dancing stories to mark generations through time. The result is a

Surprisingly humorous and sweet. The running joke from mother Turner hating on Manila caused the audience to giggle throughout the film. A heartfelt story performed brilliantly by Bell and Bening.

(RH) WWWW

layered, visceral shock of hyper-awareness in a visual and aural landscape that is at once familiar and remote. Using the emerging technology of VR, Carriberrie travels to a timeless place that exists between reality and dreams. It can be hard to choose between the two.

Carriberrie, part of Weave, the AM’s inaugural month-long Festival of Aboriginal and Pacific Cultures. (OA) Until Mar 27. Australian Museum, 1 William St, Sydney. $16-$20+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.australianmuseum.net.au city hub 15 MARCH 2017

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