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LNY 2018 Year of the Dog

22/01/2018 3:37 PM

Railing against injustice

BY ANDREW CHUTER Sydney’s rail crisis has become a major headache for the Berejiklian government at the start of 2018. It has added strength to community campaigns calling for public transport investment to be put first ahead of toll road expansions.

It started with a major system meltdown on January 9, which Transport Minister Andrew Constance called an ‘act of God’. It turned out to be primarily due to bad weather and insufficient staffing.

Ever since the introduction late last year of the new train timetable, Sydney Trains has had to rely on the forced overtime of many drivers. When a spike in staff taking leave occurred, a number of trains sat idle on stations awaiting drivers.

Subsequent overcrowding resulted in passengers being turned back from Central and Wynyard platforms due to safety concerns. Others sweltered in non-air-conditioned carriages pressed into service.

Representing drivers, Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) Secretary Alex Claassens said there were “no spare drivers and guards so of course it’s going to be a problem when people get tired, rushed and fatigued.”

“Under the old timetable we were 40 drivers short, under the new one we are now 150 short,” he told City Hub. Then a fortnight later, 16 people were injured when a train crashed into a barrier at Richmond Station. It is still unclear at this point what caused the crash, with investigations underway.

Overlaying these troubles is the ongoing enterprise bargaining negotiations between Sydney Trains, NSW Trains and the RTBU. After years of public sector wage rises being limited to 2.5% per annum, NSW train workers are asking for 6% rises that would bring them up to parity with other states.

Another sticking point is rostering, which frequently requires drivers to work 12 shifts in every 14 days. In some cases it is even possible for a driver’s workload to exceed Rail Safety Act limits.

Under pressure, Constance finally met with union representatives and a slight improvement in the government’s offer was on the table.

Bondi Tram on route from Circular Quay, 1940. Photo: Supplied

Union members roundly rejected the offer.

A protected action ballot was held in with over 90% of voting members in favour of extended strikes. As the strike date of January 29 loomed, another last minute offer was made by the government to try and avert it. An urgent SMS poll was held showing the worker’s determination to proceed.

In a surprise move, the NSW Government took the matter to the Fair Work Commission to have the strike suspended on the grounds that it threatened to endanger the welfare of the population.

Harmers Workplace Lawyers, who claimed that they would be directly impacted as the majority of their workers used trains to get to work, first advanced the argument a few days earlier.

The law firm had previously represented James Ashby, now chief of staff for Pauline Hanson.

FWC senior deputy president Jonathan Hamberger, a former staffer of Peter Reith, ruled in the government’s favour and suspended the strike for 6 weeks.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus condemned the FWC decision saying, “Rail workers followed every single rule and law, and still the Minister of the day

can get an order to cancel bans on working excessive overtime. The basic right to strike in Australia is very nearly dead.”

University of Sydney Law Professor Shae McCrystal described the decision as a “huge lowering of the bar.”

The ongoing crisis has angered community activists and public transport users, giving further impetus to related campaigns in Sydney and wider NSW. A coalition of 22 groups has endorsed a rally set for Saturday February 17th called ‘Fix NSW Transport’.

The RTBU is among the endorsees and Claassens will be a speaker.

“The system is broken. It’s important for people to come together and make the politicians take notice,” he said.

Another speaker will by City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who will be attending the Fix NSW Transport rally to protest the WestConnex toll road.

“WestConnex is being so seriously mismanaged and so secretively run it threatens to put our entire community at risk, by taking much needs funds out of public transport,” she said.

Other anti-motorway groups and speakers will join the rally, including Greta Werner from F6 Action and Mary Court of Penrith Valley Community Unions who will speak against the hefty new tolls on the M4.

Davie Macdonald, who will speak on behalf of STOP Western Harbour and Beaches Motorways, said, “Those who live furthest from the city centre spend the most time stuck in traffic. Therefore they also pay more for fuel and taxes by driving further for longer. Reducing congestion will have a dramatic effect on reducing inequality. We as a society need to address this manifest unfairness.”

Another participant will be public transport advocacy group, EcoTransit. They have a plan to modify the controversial Sydenham to Bankstown section of the Sydney Metro.

Spokesperson Colin Schroeder said “no sane Government would spend billions of dollars cannibalising well patronised existing railway lines, converting them into sub-standard metro.”

Their plan would obviate the need for the F6 tollway, running the Metro along that corridor to Miranda where there would be an interchange with the Cronulla Line. It would provide improved public transport through an area that is currently only served by buses and would reduce travelling times from Miranda to the CBD. EcoTransit has been very critical of the government for using public transport projects as a tool for over-development instead of improving transport options across the entire city.

An example they cite is the decision to route the Metro via Waterloo and not Sydney University, one of the largest trip generators.

Instead, the Government opted for Waterloo where developers have the opportunity to make huge profits at the expense of the destruction of the community.

The FIX NSW TRANSPORT rally will start at Archibald Fountain at 2pm on Saturday February 17th. The march will proceed to Martin Place amphitheatre for speeches and performances until 4pm.

For more information, go to www.bit.do/fixnsw.

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BY ISOBEL RUSHE Snap Send Solve is a free mobile app allowing users in Australia and New Zealand to report public hazards, nuisances or infringements to over 700 responsible authorities for further investigation, including every local council in Australia. However, it has its drawbacks.

Over 3,000 reports are sent to authorities across Australia through the platform each week, growing over 15% per month. The popularity of Snap Send Solve highlights the growing frustration among rate-payers at the myriad of problems plaguing their public spaces.

Within Sydney, the suburb of Marrickville has received the most complaints with 1800 filed complaints through the app just in relation to parking. This is Closely followed

by Leichhardt with 1042 and the City of Sydney the mid 500s.

Recently, the application has been receiving some backlash on social media about its feature that allows users to take photos of illegally parked cars and send it directly to their council.

Users took to Facebook to outline their concerns with many people worried about improper use of the app.

Local parking rangers have been worried about the apps sudden success and what it might mean for their job status.

Inner city parking ranger Derek Rogeski has discussed his concerns; “I think its great to receive extra help but its going to reduce hours, we spend time walking around to find cars, the app will reduce this as we will know

where to go so it’s really not good for hours.”

The founder of Snap Send Solve, Danny Gorog, is certain that the app will not come between parking rangers and their jobs.

“Snap Send Solve provides councils with accurate, timely data on an incidents or issues, but it is the role of the council to solve problems. Snap Send Solve offers councils a helping hand. It is not feasible for parking inspectors to monitor every street at every hour or the day, however with Snap Send Solve the entire community can identify illegal or dangerously parked vehicles so that inspectors can focus on solving the issues.”

However, the app wasn’t created with the intention for just increasing society’s parking fines.

Mr Gorog outlined his vision for creating the app and said, “The idea for Snap Send Solve came about when I took my 2-year-old son to the playground one day and found the swing was broken. Knowing it could prove a lengthy process to report the faulty equipment, I thought to myself, ‘there must be an easier way to reported this so it’s fixed quickly.’ Snap Send Solve is a simple yet effective app that showcases how crowd sourced data can solve problems, while also creating efficiencies within council by reducing the cost to serve rate payers.

“We have been encouraged by the level of enthusiasm from councils across Australia who have recognised that a single app that works all over Australia is valuable, particularly in an age where we all live, work and play across council boundaries.”

The social media blasts about the app

The app as it looks on a smartphone.

Photo: Alec Smart

weren’t all negative with some users of the app raving about its positives.

Overall the app was created to aid society and its workers and not hinder them.

“At the end of the day, we are trying to work together with councils to offer a solution where everyone can contribute to solving problems in the community, without having to think about which council they are in, or which app they need to use.” Mr Gorog said. city hub 1 FEBRUARY 2018

3

Battle in Bulwara

BY JOHN MOYLE Local councils and developers are both prolific and usually untruthful when they describe areas as “village precincts”, but in the case of the residents living in and around Ultimo’s Bulwara Road, that is an apt description of their neighbourhood.

The area consists of Victorian terraces, single story dwellings, re-purposed factories and ancient pubs, and is bounded longitudinally by Harris and Jones Streets, and bulwarked each end by Fig and William Henry Streets.

Once only known for Festival Records at the Fig Street end, Bulwara Road is a narrow way shooting straight through this area.

While developers TWT say their New Life apartment project will “hasten the gentrification of this fringe CBD suburb”, this is not what the residents are complaining about.

The longer-term residents have already seen Pyrmont/Ultimo bloat from 3,000 residents in 1990, to close to 30,000 today.

Their one complaint is about the placement of a work zone for the development that they say will endanger the lives of children going to and from school, and nobody with power is making a decision.

“The work zone was approved without much thought, and the issue we have is a large number of school children from ages six to eight using the very narrow footpath,” Patricia Johnson, coconvenor, Friends of Ultimo said.

The problem in resolving the placement of the work zone currently rests with the organisation with the most ungainly acronym of all time, LPCTCC, or the Local Pedestrian Cycling and Traffic Calming Committee.

The Committee consists of representatives from the City of Sydney, the Police, Roads and Maritime Service plus local MP Jamie Parker.

The Committee’s website says the LPCTCC

“is an advisory body only, having no decisionmaking powers. It is, primarily, a technical review committee that is required to advise Council on traffic related matters referred to it by Council.”

Council is not bound by the advice given by the LPCTCC, but if it does not wish to act contrary to the unanimous advice, or when the advice is not unanimous, it must notify the committee with 14 days.

What should be a simple question of child safety is turning into a buck-passing match with Roads and Maritime Services and the Police handballing their responsibilities for resolving the issue, while the City of Sydney saw the light too late.

Local MP Jamie Parker said, ”I discussed it with the residents, then I wrote to the City of Sydney saying that the placement was inappropriate, pointing out the impact on school children and the wider community.”

In 2012, a four-year-old girl was killed in Harris Street, and as the City Hub reported at the time, solutions were sought from the City of Sydney and Roads and Maritime Services.

The timeline for this procedural debacle began when Parkview, the New Life constructors, applied to the City for a work zone, contravening conditions imposed for a DA approved in 2016.

After consultation with City staff the work zone was approved in principle, and was passed by the LPCTCC. On October 18, at a LPCTCC meeting, Councillor Phillip Thalis recommended that the City approve the work zone for a period of up to 16 months, and Parkview paid the City $180,000 deposit.

“According to Parkview, they want to have trucks coming down the street to load and poor concrete and the small street with narrow footpaths is not suitable for this,” Yimmy Seifert, member, Ultimo Village Voice said.

Bulwara Rd residents in Ultimo claim the New Life construction makes it unsafe to use the footpath.

Photo: Alec Smart

After local opposition grew, Cr Thalis had a Road to Damascus moment and had a change of heart.

“Following the concerns raised by the Ultimo community, Cr Thalis visited the proposed work zone area and agreed that there were a range of genuine concerns, including potential public safety and amenity issues,” Cr Thalis’ office said.

“Councillor Thalis then worked with the City staff to revoke the work zone.”

The staff member added that the issue now rests with the Roads and Maritime Services and the Police for a response to resolve this.

While a Police media representative said it was unlikely to have a response by our time of publication, the response for Roads and Maritime Services is a brilliant piece of non-speak for nonaction and buck-passing.

“As the committee is a technical committee, its

recommendations are non-binding on the City of Sydney, a RMS spokesperson said.

At the heart of this matter is the fact that no one listened to the concerns of the people who know the area best: the local residents.

“It is really disappointing that the Council did not consult with us,” Kate Davidson, resident, said.

“All across Sydney, where construction is taking place, we are seeing that the lives of local residents are made miserable, and it is up to the LPCTCC to make sure they support the community,” Jamie Parker said.

With unbridled development occurring across Sydney this quiet local protest might be a sign of many more.

Parkview executive chairman Tony Touma was approached for comment but did not respond.

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5

Aussie crawl to Bondi Beach

BY PAUL PAECH Now that the school holidays are over, driving around Sydney is back to its usual frustrating mess.

Our State Government is ploughing billions of our money into private transport, and weirdly some cash into an on-call almost-free mini-bus service in the Shire, Manly and parts of Waverley/Woollahra (aka Woolverley).

But what if the primary culprit here is not an “inadequate road system” as much as the private vehicle itself?

What if the private car, typically only a single-driver aboard, is the very thing that’s frustrating us?

After all, private cars are used only 5% of the time, a very inefficient ratio.

Alternatives include car-shares like Go-Get or Car Next Door which provide on-call transport without the problems of petrol, rego, insurance, and the biggest hassle, parking.

Consider the space your car takes up. It occupies otherwise usable space, and street parking privatises a public asset.

Waverley Council’s recently endorsed Transport Policy (Waverley’s People, Movement and Places: Where we go and how we get there) puts the private car firmly at the bottom of the hierarchy of preferred transport modes. Find it at www.tinyurl.com/ycmq3rys Car ownership in Waverley is steady, but because there are more people living here, there’s increased traffic. Ponder this when you car or bus is stuck right outside yet another new block of unaffordable flats.

We must have learnt something, though, because the report says that Waverley people use a car for just half of our trips, compared to two-thirds across Sydney.

Council prefers people to use their own two

Community campaigns call for public transport investment to be put first, ahead of toll road expansions.

Photo: Bidgee

legs (whether walking or riding a bicycle), or public transport. It provides for service vehicles, and backs share cars, share bikes, and ondemand ride-sharing. (Strangely, scooters and motorcycles escape consideration in its study.

No mention of skateboards either.)

The policy is good news for Uber, which recently identified Bondi as Sydney’s busiest beach for them, three times busier than Coogee which in turn is three times busier than Bronte.

That fact is PR flimflam seeking to normalise Uber’s delivery services, but Uber’s data are invaluable to planners.

It knows how long it took to pick customers up, when and where they went, how much they paid, etc. Not-for-profit Uber must be praying that data are the new oil.

Uber of course contributes to congestion: If your Uber arrives quickly, there are probably lots of other unbooked Ubers cruising around looking for jobs: congestion.

Office tO Let

Still, it’s better to have a car that’s being used for carrying people rather than one that’s sitting there parked.

Some people still argue that Bondi Beach would be better off with the kind of heavy-rail which was projected for the Olympics.

If rail had gone ahead (it was touch and go), the State Government would have raised Bondi’s building heights to match those that now cluster around Bondi Junction - and Chatswood, and Wolli Creek, and Green Square, and other transport hubs.

That would have killed stone-dead Bondi’s laidback style that the world knows and loves. And there’d be more shadows over the beach!

Time may show that private cars have been something of a disaster for civil society and for the planet. Car-mageddon. You can see the devil arrive when otherwise polite folk turn into extraordinarily aggressive bullies once they get behind the wheel.

Sealed off from the real world, drivers think they can behave like monsters, without consequences.

As bad as some drivers can be, I’m sceptical that the billions being ploughed into “driverless” cars will ever produce anything but carefully stagemanaged investor events.

Tom Vanderbilt (Traffic, 2008) wrote that driving, as well as being one of the most dangerous things people do regularly, is also one of the human brain’s most complex real-time action activities.

Perhaps, then, the prime strategic purpose of Alphabet’s driverless investment is just to provide Google with a smokescreen of digital innovation, thereby diverting regulators from its the advertising revenue from its massive monopoly web search business, which last year generated 99% of its gargantuan $5.43 billion profit.

In Bondi, we’re better off travelling via our screens, then walking, cycling, bussing or skateboarding down to the beach. Bliss!

GLEBE ISLAND MULTI-USER FACILITY

Public Consultation Port Authority of NSW is seeking community feedback on a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for a proposed multi-user facility at Glebe Island.

The proposal involves the construction and operation of a multi‑user facility for the import, storage and distribution of dry bulk construction materials (e.g. sand, aggregates) at Glebe Island 1 and 2.

The proposed facility would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week as required.

High Performance – Respect & Integrity Sense of Ownership & Accountability – Collaboration THE GLEBE ISLAND PLANT Hanson is in the process of seeking development consent for a new concrete batching plant to be located at Glebe Island, within the Bays Precinct in Sydney.

Currently, Hanson operates a concrete batching facility at Blackwattle Bay, while Hymix, a subsidiary of Hanson, operates a concrete batching plant located north of the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont.

Hanson is proposing to develop a new concrete batching plant at Glebe Island, within the Bays Precinct. This site was selected to enable the plant to be closely located to aggregate shipping facilities and ensure environmental management to the highest standards.

Visit www.hanson.com.au or call 02 9354 2600 6

city hub 1 FEBRUARY 2018

Share office Space in good building in ultimo.

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• Access a hard copy at: ‑ Inner West Council, Leichhardt Service Centre, 7–15 Wetherill Street, Leichhardt ‑ City of Sydney Council, Customer Service Centre, Town Hall House, Level 2, 456 Kent Street, Sydney.

There is a vital need for Sydney to import For more information about the facility or the REF: critical construction materials due • Drop into one of our information to the depletion of local sand supplies. sessions at Pyrmont Community Glebe Island is in close proximity Centre, John and Mount streets, to CBD construction, urban renewal Pyrmont: and a construction boom driven by $70 billion of major infrastructure 1. 11am to 1pm projects. Glebe Island is uniquely placed Wednesday 7 February 2018 to provide a low cost, low impact and 2. 6pm to 8pm sustainable entry point for these materials Monday 12 February 2018 needed in the CBD and Bays Precinct.

3. 11am to 1pm Have your say Wednesday 14 February 2018.

Port Authority is now seeking • Visit your feedback on the REF www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/ between Wednesday 31 January glebeisland and Wednesday 28 February 2018.

To view the REF you can: • Download it from the Port Authority website: www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/ glebeisland

• Email GlebeIsland_MultiUserFacility@ portauthoritynsw.com.au • Call 1800 930 937 (during business hours).

Submissions can be: Emailed GlebeIsland_MultiUserFacility@portauthoritynsw.com.au Posted Port Authority of NSW, PO Box 25 Millers Point, NSW 2000.

All submissions will be acknowledged and a Response to Submissions report will be prepared.

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7

Market makeover in the Cross

BY JOHN MOYLE Food markets are about much more than great produce; they reflect the area where they are located, the people who are the producers and the community who attend. But after 25 years, even the best markets are like the gardens where much of the produce comes from, they need revitalisation, and that is what is happening with the Kings Cross/Potts Point Sunday Markets.

Located in the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens, the Sunday Markets have always been the poorer relative of the buzzing Saturday markets, which have now firmly established itself as an important part of the weekend calendar for locals and visitors from further afield.

When looking at revitalisation, it makes a lot of sense that you engage the expertise of the people who have operated the Saturday Markets so successfully for 15 years, and that is where Elizabeth Taylor and Stephen Choularton from Organic Food Markets come into the picture.

“It is very important that the Sunday Markets are a community markets for Potts Point and Kings Cross,” Elizabeth Taylor, director, Organic Food Markets said.

Organic Food markets have been Ms Taylor’s lifeblood since 1993 when she opened England’s first farmers’ market in Spitalfields, starting a trend that has now grown to a reported 400 weekly markets across the UK. Moving to Australia in 1995 Ms Taylor grew the success she had started in England, firstly with the Frenchs Forest Markets and now sharing organisational duties with Stephen Choularton.

The couple currently operate 11 markets across Sydney and Newcastle, including markets at Marrickville, Double Bay and Leichhardt.

Since 1995 more than 100 markets have opened across Australia, with an estimated annual return of over $40 million, and providing income for primary and secondary producers of both organic and non-organic origin.

Farmers or produce markets of all varieties also provide an outlet for local artists and artisans who often draw from their local communities for inspiration and materials.

“We started the Kings Cross Markets in Fitzroy Gardens 15 years ago, and it has now grown to around 55 stalls each week,” Ms Taylor said. “What I’m after for the Sunday Markets is

Sunday Markets are a community markets for Potts Point and Kings Cross. Photo: John Moyle

local people, and there are lots of highly talented people in the Kings Cross and Potts Point area. I would like them to come and showcase their talent and their business, their fashions and anything else to help make the markets a big Sunday drawcard.”

Ron Kok is Green Fingers, and has been a Sunday regular selling healthy and vibrant indoor and outdoor plants and plant containers for over 10 years.

“I hope to see more stalls so the community will come back, and that is what the markets are all about, community,” Ron said.

Russell Sharp aka The Flower King has been a Sunday regular for 25 years, and is looking forward to the new energy.

“There will a synergy of scale and the community will benefit from a new market, and there has already been a big improvement,” Russell said.

One stall to make its first appearance this Sunday is restaurateur Hutu Alhassan’s African Feeling, selling dishes from across the African continent.

African Feeling will be serving up a rotating selection of delicacies that may include suya, an African style BBQ lamb dish, waache, rice cooked with black eyes beans and green beans, garnished with red capsicum, or maybe chicken skewers coated with African spices.

“We also plan on playing African music, a vital ingredient of any African cuisine,” Hutu said. “We will definitely be featuring Wizkid from Nigeria, Flavour N’abania, also from Nigeria, plus some old school Africans such as Youssou N’Dour, Salif Keita and Fela Kuti.”

Regulars to King Street Newtown will already be familiar with much of Hutu’s food, where since 2000 he has operated his African Feeling restaurant.

Another stallholder making her first appearance at the markets this weekend will be Jane Rose from Camel Life, a company that produces high quality skin care products based on camel milk.

Boasting that all the products are ‘cruelty free’, Jane is keen to convert market goers to the benefits of camel milk based products including a range of facial cleaners, restorative day cream and a body mousse.

“We average two markets a week, and I find that market people like to control their own destiny, and its a very caring and sharing group that hang out with the markets and they live the life that they choose to live,” Jane said.

Jane is also a veterinarian and has worked in dermatology for over twenty years, so the chances are pretty good that she knows something about both camels and skin care.

Anyone interested in a stall on Sundays should contact Elizabeth or Stephen at Organic Food Markets.

“I want some really good food people, some artists, and I would be very happy to see some quality bric-a-brac and fashion,” Elizabeth said.

It will be interesting to watch as the local King Cross/Potts Point community gets used to having two quality markets, and even though it is early days, it looks like the Sunday Market is already shaping up to create its own distinct identity.

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9

Bald Faced rip off

BY ALEC SMART A Leichardt pub leaseholder has disappeared, allegedly owing tens of thousands of dollars to bands that performed in the premises he was managing, the Bald Faced Stag Hotel on Parramatta Road.

Scott Mackenzie was removed from the premises of the Bald Faced Stag on 20 January after the owners, Marvan Hotels, became concerned about the recurring allegations of non-payment. It is believed Mackenzie, who ran the pub under his business, Ulladulla property Services, left owing musicians thousands of dollars.

Dillinger Escape Plan, a metalcore band from New Jersey, USA that performed at the venue on October 18 last year are allegedly owed up to $40,000.

In April 2017 Mackenzie took over the hotel and was lauded by many for knocking down the walls of the poker machine room to create an extended dance floor for bands and punters to enjoy. Attaching a ‘Proudly Pokies Free’ banner to the pub façade, he told Good Food website in June 2017, “We knew we would be losing revenue, but there is a need for more live music venues in Sydney. Now, without the machines, we can fit 500 people in the bandroom.”

The gamble to replace pokies with punks and rockers paid off, as the Bald Faced Stag returned to its former glory as a popular venue and supporter of Australian live music.

However, it has since been revealed Mackenzie is a convicted fraudster who was jailed in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Herald reported on 12 November 2009 that Mackenzie was jailed for fraud involving $5.7 million, in which the victims included a bank, two

high profile businessmen and three former professional footballers in the national Kiwis rugby league squad.

Over a 22-month period, Mackenzie, then 29, a property manager for Omara Property Group, used 129 false invoices to get $1.6 million paid into three companies he incorporated. The company in which the former Kiwis’ players had an interest paid almost $140,000 of false invoices.

Mackenzie also used forged documents to obtain $3.6 million in loans from the Bank of New Zealand to buy six properties.

He further defrauded the Inland Revenue Department of $509,000 through false GST returns.

Mackenzie pleaded guilty to 10 charges of Obtaining by Deception, and Auckland District Court, handed him a prison sentence of three years and eight months.

In the wake of the management shake-up, the Bald Faced Stag released a statement, “We have been made aware that various shows that were held at the Stag over the last ten months, including The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Peep Tempel, have been left chasing the pre-sale ticket money they are owed for their sell out shows at The Stag by Ulladulla Property Services.

“Along with those numerous other local artists, bands and promoters that performed at the venue in the last ten months have been left chasing performance fees and pre-sale ticket money.”

However, the venue has not confirmed whether they will be settling the large bill to aggrieved parties. In many of the cases, agents were contracted by Mackenzie to deal with the bands, whom it appears might be legally liable for the debts.

City Hub’s request for clarification to the Bald Faced Stag was passed on the Marvan Hotels, who have yet to reply.

Victorian folk-punk band The Go Set, which travelled up from Melbourne to perform at the hotel, was severely inconvenienced when they weren’t financially reimbursed. The band released a statement, saying, “The Go Set performed at the Bald Faced Stag in April 2017 as part of a national tour. We had a contracted show with a guarantee versus door. In June we received a portional payment but more than $1,000 remains outstanding.

“This is a lot of money for an independent touring band, and we have repeatedly attempted to contact the venue and used debt recovery services without any result. We are extremely disappointed at the complete disrespect for artists, who work hard to promote shows at the venue, only to have both the door sales and the guarantee taken from them.”

Justin Keenan, singer-songwriter for The Go Set, told City Hub, “All of our contracts were done through the venue booker at the time, Clayton Ries from Moonshine Productions. We’ve got a Court Order to chase the money from him as the promoter.

“I think he’s in an unfortunate position because he booked the band under his own company name, but the venue has kept our ticket money and not paid up.

So, he’s the guy in the middle.”

Lozz Benson is awaiting payment for her 14 May 2017 gig supporting Slim Jim Phantom, the former drummer for rockabilly superstars Stray Cats. She told City Hub that because it was organised through a third party, Nightmare Music, and she’s still owed hundreds of dollars,

Crust Fund Kids performing in the Bald Faced Stag on the night leaseholder Scott Mackenzie was removed. Photo: Alec Smart

she’s confused whether the tour promoters or the venue are responsible, but believes it is linked to Scott Mackenzie’s shenanigans.

“I’ve been really distressed and disappointed and totally upset at how they dealt with me. They’ve refused to pay me and said, ‘We never had a written agreement’, like just bullshitting me around.”

Justin McMaugh, whose punk band Crust Fund Kids were performing on the night Mackenzie was removed from the Bald Faced Stag, told City Hub, “We are yet to be paid. Last time it took a few weeks. The guy who booked the show said it is a different promoter, so hopefully we will get paid.”

Mackenzie released a statement in his defence, published in Music magazine, although unpaid musicians remain sceptical they will ever see payment.

“Unfortunately the business was not able to sustain itself just through music based on the inconsistent revenue… Any money owing to bands will be getting paid once all costs have been allocated. There was and still is no intention to not pay any bands that are owed..”

Robert Burns, Senior Solicitor at Burns Law, told City Hub, “There is always an argument in favour of holding a venue responsible where the venue either directly or ostensibly gives authority to a third person to negotiate bookings on its behalf. In this situation the band would claim that an agency arrangement exists with ultimate responsibility falling on the venue.

“Ultimately where it can be shown that the venue financially benefited from the services of the band, a strong argument exists that the venue should pay the band’s fee. The band may claim what lawyers refer to as quantum meruit, which is basically a fair price for a fair service provided.

“The other argument is that the third-party who booked the band may also be personally responsible for the band’s fee. This may be particularly so if the third-party is taking a cut from the venue.

In any event, a band that has to sue for its performance fee should include the venue as well as any “agent” that was involved in the negotiations.”

NSW Chief Scientist writes to City Hub I was concerned to read your article WestConnflicts of interest, dated 24 January 2018, suggesting that the Advisory Committee on Tunnel Air Quality (ACTAQ) did not deal with conflicts of interest in commissioning the ‘Optimisation of the application of GRAL in the Australian context’ study and report.

The ACTAQ takes its role (“to provide advice to the NSW Government based on national and international practice and experience with motorway tunnels...”) very seriously, and is careful in its management of conflicts. The full terms of reference for ACTAQ are available on the Chief Scientist & Engineer website www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/ reports/advisorv-committee-on-tunnel-air-quality.

The GRAL suite of software is an advanced package of freely available meteorological and air quality dispersion modelling software, which has been used in Australia for the first time for a project of its type by the WestConnex proponents’ air quality consultants, and used in the WestConnex Environmental Impact Statements (EISs).

During the assessment of the WestConnex M4 East and New M5 EISs, the ACTAQ report, requested by the Department of Planning on the two EISs had raised issues about the evaluation of the GRAL model in the EISs. The NSW Health comments on these EISs had also raised the question of the lack of validation of GRAL in the Australian context. (See Department of Planning website majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au).

While these EIS reports were responded to by the proponent, ACTAQ believed that more information was needed about the use of GRAL in Australian situations, given that it had never been used for projects of this nature in Australia before.

Therefore, ACTAQ decided to commission a study that looked further at the GRAL model — how it compared with other models, how it compared with measured data, and what configurations should 10

city hub 1 FEBRUARY 2018

be used in the Australian context. Furthermore, ACTAQ wanted to make this study available with open data and in line with open government principles by getting information out and into the public domain, which aids transparency and in itself aids reducing conflict of interest. The goal was to have a report developed with clear recommendations about configuration and the application of GRAL to complex urban road networks in Australia.

ACTAQ decided that using Pacific Environment was the best course of action, even though they had been the consultancy that developed the EISs. They were the only consultancy that had extensive experience with the GRAL model on projects of this kind in Australasia, and would have considerable level of knowledge that could be imparted more widely.

ACTAQ agreed that any potential or perceived conflicts of interest could be managed through appropriate governance measures that would also ensure a high quality study.

These measures included:

Appointing a steering group to provide guidance and oversight including independent experts such as Dr Mark Hibberd from CSIRO and Dr Ian Longley from NIWA in New Zealand who had been an author of ACTAQ’s EIS submissions that made comments on the GRAL evaluation.  Engagement of a technical peer reviewer with expertise in air pollution statistics, whose review is available on the Chief Scientist & Engineer’s website.  Making the final report and all data collected as part of the study available on the Chief Scientist & Engineer’s website, with data able to be analysed by others.

What we have now is a study that, while paying careful attention to managing conflict of interest, enabled a significant level of knowledge transfer from Pacific Environment to open disclosure. 

The GRAL study provides considerable shared learnings now available through the report, and potential upskilling of the broader community on configuring the model. This includes information and raw data that other consultancies now have available should they choose to use the GRAL model, and wish to configure it for Australian conditions.

It is important also to note that this GRAL study report has not been used for direct decision making but does provide an important input into model development for those tunnels and road networks using GRAL. The systems we have set up for the ACTAQ are working well, with processes facilitating independent experts from around the world reviewing material, providing advice and then this advice being responded to or acted on to improve air quality assessments for NSW tunnels further.

However, we are always looking at new ways to enhance and refine our processes.

Questions about air quality of course are always welcome as we work to provide good advice to government, and people becoming deeply informed about these issues is encouraged. We suggest that those wishing to learn more visit the websites to find the relevant reports.

Yours sincerely Mary O’Kane NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Response to Chief Scientist

by Wendy Bacon and Chris Nash

There are two issues relevant to conflict of interest issues raised in our story.

The first issue is that the Advisory Committee on Tunnel Air Quality (ACTAQ) is managed and resourced out of the RMS which is the proponent and major promoter of the controversial WestConnex tunnels. While the four person Committee is chaired by Chief Scientist Professor

Mary O’Kane, it includes the RMS CEO Ken Kanofski. Surprisingly the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has only observer status. The RMS’s influence, which is a matter of public interest, has not been made transparent either on the Chief Scientist’s website or on the RMS website and is not well understood in the community.

Professor McKane and Dr Ian Longley, an expert member of the Committee who is based in NZ, both agree that the choice of Pacific Environment (PE), a company that has ongoing commercial interests in using the GRAL model for Westconnex, does raise perceptions of a conflict of interest. Nevertheless ACTAQ chose PE as the best company to do the research. Our story acknowledged that the Committee’s governance arrangements to manage the conflict of interests included a research steering committee, the use of an international expert to review the study and the publication of the results. However, while Professor McKane mentions two of the people on the steering committee she does not mention that three of its eight members are RMS staff, one of whom has actively promoted the safety of air quality impacts at various EIS information sessions run by the Sydney Motorway Corporation before the research or its steering committee was convened.

In her response Professor McKane suggests that NSW EPA and NSW Health concerns about the lack of validation of the model in Australian conditions partly drove the decision to do a study to further illuminate the model’s use in Australian conditions. It remains a matter of concern that a model was used for the approval of WestConnex Stage One M4 East and Stage Two M5 East that had never been used in Australia before and for which the NSW EPA was not equipped to thoroughly evaluate the results.

FEATURE

Cosplay In Pop Culture

By Riley Hooper Once thought of as an easy way for the mass media to construct acceptance in an ever growing and changing society, popular culture no longer relies on the media, creating communities and sub-cultures through fandoms and social networks. One evolution of pop culture is cosplay.

So, what exactly is cosplay?

Derived from the words costume and play, it is essentially dressing up as a fictional/non-fictional character or person from film and television, comic books, anime and video games.

There are two levels to cosplay, those who just dress up and those who design and create their own costumes. In the 90s cosplay started to gain traction attracting those other than the few hardcore fans. The art of cosplay allowed the everyday person to become an admired character, performing their portrayal to other convention goers. So, what makes an excellent cosplay artist?

Creativity, confidence and attention to detail.

Ami Isley, known as Akaami Cosplay on Facebook, from the Gold Coast started attending conventions seven years ago and started performing cosplay four years ago. “After attending a lot of conventions and seeing what people were doing, I became really interested and wanted to get more involved.”

The first costume she wore was Mary Jane from Spiderman with her favourite so far being Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn, “I handmade and stitched the whole thing” she said excitedly. When asked to explain cosplay, Ami replied “There is a bit of an outsider’s kind of stigma as to what people in the cosplay industry are into but a lot of the people that are cosplayers are creative and designers and they do these amazing builds and then there are people who use it for the community and friendships.”

Ami descried the atmosphere as full on with families, children, old and young people, “it’s really for everyone. I am yet to meet a person that has been to a convention and hasn’t had a good time.

If you’ve ever dreamt of being your favourite super hero or what not just go along, there’s no judgment, it’s fun and a great time.”

Over the past 33 years the cosplay community has developed a sub-culture all its own where there are no judgments and members are each other’s fans.

Prevalent all over the world, these communities don’t just cosplay at conventions but meet up for picnics and photo shoots where they can.

The number of conventions held in Australia has grown tremendously due to the popularity and excitement they bring, reeling in tens of thousands of attendees each year. Among cosplayer’s you can expect to see actors, artists, illustrators, bands, idols and video game producers to name a few.

For the very first time Australia will be hosting the Walker Stalker Con in the various capital cities, bringing an all-star line-up of characters from the hit TV show, The Walking Dead. Some of the cast making an appearance at the Sydney convention are actors Jeffery Dean Morgan (Negan), Chandler Riggs (Carl) and executive producer, director and special effects creator Greg Nicotero along with many more of the cast members.

As for activities for the guests, there will be a Q&A panel with the cast, an escape the biters activation, tattoo and graphic artists, photos with the cast and more to keep any fan busy.

From a new convention to Oz to one that has been around since 2002, Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Expo is a fan convention that can see around 40,000 attendees per convention. The expo focuses on science fiction, fantasy film/TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables.

Thanks to Madman Entertainment and other sponsors, cosplayers at the event can compete in a multiple category cosplay competition, where they can win money, art supplies and other prizes.

Another popular convention is the SMASH! Manga and Anime Show. The show is a not-forprofit, run by fans for fans, Japanese pop culture convention. It can attract thousands of people per

Ami Isley as Gwenom from Spiderman.

Photo: Senergy Photography Ami Isley as Thor from The Avengers.

Photo: cru Photography

Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Expo 2017 Photo: Tom Solaradt Bungbrakearti

Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Expo 2017 Photo: Tom Solaradt Bungbrakearti

year and always features high calibre guests while celebrating fandom.

Activities comprise of, cosplay, vendors, an artist market, performances, panels and games.

Joanne Bondoc is a cosplay coordinator for SMASH! Manga and Anime Show. She started cosplaying in 2013 after she wanted to participate in the culture with friends. Joanne gave insight into her role stating, “I mainly take care of the cosplay competitions, looking after the kids and adult catwalk. It does take a lot of time to stage and prepare, we must organise when each person will walk the catwalk as well as coordinate with the other departments.”

As for what we can expect to see in this year, “I think we will see more technology, higher end cosplayers wanting to incorporate technology with bigger and better quality.”

Joanne then gave a final shout out to the conventions continuing with, “The experience is great, depending on what you want to see on the day, that brings out the type of atmosphere you’ll get. Come through, see the performances, the competitions, see how much effort goes into to creating these outfits.”

Walker Stalker Con Feb 3-4. The Dome at Sydney Showgrounds, 1 Showground Rd, Sydney Olympic Park. $20.14-$960.39+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.moshtix.com.au Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Expo Jun 15-17. The Dome at Sydney Showgrounds, 1 Showground Rd, Sydney Olympic Park.

Prices Not Yet Available.

Info: www.supanova.com.au SMASH! Manga and Anime Show Jul 14-15. ICC Sydney, Exhibition Centre, 14 Darling Dr, Sydney. Prices Not Yet Available.

Info: www.smash.org.au Akaami Cosplay www.facebook.com/amiisley Instagram: @ami_isley city hub 1 FEBRUARY 2017

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Adam Devine Weird Life

An Act Of God God is coming to the Darlinghurst Theatre Company in the Australian premiere of David Javerbaum’s hilarious An Act of God. Originating from a twitter account (@TheTweetofGod) and book, The Last Testament: A Memoir from God, the play is a satiric conversation with God, who ‘inhabits’ the body of an actor to speak to the audience.

“God, in this version, is here to deliver ten new commandments. He tells humanity that they’ve misinterpreted the Bible and that they’ve got it all wrong,” says Mitchell Butel, who has been tasked with playing God. “The show is like a TedX talk gone rogue –

it’s part standup, part cabaret, part Oprah Winfrey-style talk show. It’s really fun and interactive for the audience.”

Examining what faith means against the backdrop of current global events, the play unpacks God’s ‘true’ feelings regarding topics such as the separation of gay marriage, and church and state.

“It’ll be unlike anything audiences have ever seen before.There’ll be no chance of anyone getting bored,” says Mitchell.“It’s a very funny, resonant and ridiculously high-camp evening that will also give you pause for thought in the Uber on the way home!” (ES)

Ha Ha

Despite being best known for his television and acting creations/appearances such as Workaholics, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Pitch Perfect and Modern Family, Adam Devine’s comedic career began on stage as a stand-up and this weekend he returns to those roots in Sydney.

When Devine reflects back on his career he says it all still feels surreal and “absolutely weird” because “I was a funny kid around my friends but not around my family. When I told my family that I was going to move from Nebraska to Hollywood to become an actor and stand-up comedian they all said, ‘You? You’re not even funny.’”

Whilst Devine’s schedule is now often filled with movie and television commitments he explained to us that stand-up will always be a major aspect of his life and career.

“I have such a place in my heart for stand-up that no matter how many movies or tv shows I do stand-up will always be right at the forefront of what I do because to me it’s the most honest and pure form of entertainment.”

Luckily for Devine living in LA he regularly has opportunities to perform stand-up sets on a whim.

This means that while this is his first stand-up tour of Australia he is well prepared, although he would have liked more intel from his Australian movie costars Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth.

“They’ve kind of left me out to dry, I’m a little pissed at them actually they should have given me a little bit of inside intel,” he said with a wry chuckle.

(JA) Feb 3, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. $81.50+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

a&e

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city hub 1 FEBRUARY 2018

“They’ll be getting three spots from three very different comedians. I’ll be doing some new material but also some of my favourite lines,” says Cal. “There is no warming up to be done!”

For the three performers, it’s also been an opportunity to observe and collaborate backstage.

“I’m really looking forward to it because they’re two of my favourite comedians and when you’re working with other women, what tends to happen is you’ll watch each other’s sets and think of new gags for each other,” says Cal. “It’s a really lovely collaboration and it increases your creativity. It’s a real buzz!”

(ES) Until Feb 4. Upstairs Theatre, 18 & 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills. $25-$49+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.belvoir.com.au

Three powerhouse comedians will take to the iconic Belvoir stage over four nights for Ha Ha in February. Cal Wilson, Mel Buttle and Anne Edmonds will perform one after the other in a three-way attack on contemporary Australian culture.

“The world is terrible right now.

Everybody needs to laugh more than ever with the things that are going on,” says Cal Wilson. “People need escapism and to be taken out of themselves. As a comedian, you try to have control over something by making jokes about it.”

With their performances, the comedians will swap positions on the line up each night to take full advantage of the incomparable experience of having a live audience.

The Kings Cross Hotel, one of the most iconic buildings in The Cross, is home to bAKEHOUSE theatre company, and their latest instalment is the ambitious, immersive and exciting experimental event, Visiting Hours.

Visiting Hours has been updated and extended since it’s sold out season in Vivid 2016, opening up areas of the hotel never seen before.

“People are always looking for new experiences and this breaks the pattern of going to the theatre and sitting down to watch a performance. It’s a huge project set across five levels of the hotel, with a creative team of 30, a cast of 22 performers, actors, singers, dancers and musicians,” explained John Harrison, Co-Artistic Director of bAKEHOUSE. This event reimagines the Kings Cross Hotel as a surreal, off the grid medical sanatorium, which is

12 STAGE 13 Sounds 14 SCENE 15 SCREEN

Feb 2-25. Darlinghurst Theatre Company, 39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst. $38-$54+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.darlinghursttheatre.com

Visiting Hours

run by a mysterious figure known as ‘The Doctor’.

“This is a piece about the history of Kings Cross but the Cross is more than just drug lords,

burlesque, hookers and nightclubs.

We looked at some old records and found a great character, a larger than life figure, the gun toting Doctor. That was the seed

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

of the idea and it transformed into something surreal and mind bending which fits nicely in the vibe of the Kings Cross Hotel, while giving a little nod to the history,” said Harrison who co-wrote Visiting Hours with Constantine and Michael Costi.

“You will have a fun, trippy sort of experience with a lot of the joy depending on the element of surprise, whenever you go to a new part of the hotel, there’s something completely unexpected. You get involved and collect clues to a puzzle, you put the pieces together differently depending on your past experiences and that’s half the fun,” said Harrison. (MS) Feb 7-17. Kings Cross Hotel, Level 2 Kings Cross Hotel, 244-248 William St, Kings Cross. $30-$40+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.kingsxtheatre.com

Contributors: Barbara Karpinski, Craig Coventry, Emily Shen, Greg Webster, Irina Dunn, Jade Morellini, James Harkness, 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.

Fucking Men will premiere in Sydney this Mardi Gras, but the play itself has been done thousands of times. The original 1897 play La Ronde has been adapted for both gay and straight audiences, for musical theatre and cinema, and is a staple at comedy festivals internationally.

As a gay man, New Theatre director

Mark G. Nagle stresses that finding a “gay” play is never his priority. It has to be a great story, he says.

Fucking Men is a very simple story: it’s about six different men who all need each other in one way or another, and their sexual interactions.

As visceral as that may sound especially given the name - audiences

can expect to be greeted with a graceful, highly philopsphical performance. After all, this is art, not pornography, Nagle clarifies.

“It’s not rough; it’s very sweet. It’s in your face, but it’s to do with respect and kindness,” he tells City Hub. Accomplished musical director Matthew Raymond and composer Anthea Pelino were also brought on board to supply original music for the play. What they produced was so good, Nagle says, he extending the play from one act to two.

And again, despite the raunchy title, Nagle describes the sex in the play as ‘very subtle.’ Although he admits with a cheeky laugh that “the actors ain’t wearing much. I couldn’t help myself.”

(AE) Feb 6-Mar 10. New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown. $20$35+b.f..Tickets & Info: www.newtheatre.org.au

Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE Sydney

By Jamie Apps

Lucy Rose

audiences can expect a hypnotic and thrilling emotional journey into the unknown!

Sun, Feb 4, Riverside Theatres Lucy Rose: With over 70 million Spotify streams, Lucy Rose has sung with Bombay Bicycle Club and Manic Street Preachers, recording sublime music that is melodic, emotive and thought provoking.

Mon, Feb 5,The Lansdowne

Leftfield: One of electronic music’s all-time greatest acts is returning to Sydney with their incredible Leftism In Its Entirety show which has been selling out venues and causing a mass break-out of smiling faces across Europe.

Thu, Feb 1, Enmore Theatre Roger Waters: Roger Waters’ legendary live performances are renowned as immersive sensory experiences featuring high class, state-of-the-art audio/visual production and breathtaking quad sound. Us + Them is no exception: following months of meticulous planning and visionary craft, it will inspire audiences with its powerful delivery.

Fri, Feb 2, Qudos Bank Arena Caribé: An offshoot of the very popular Palacio de la Rumba, Caribé is an ambitious and exciting dance and music program of Cuban folkloric rumba, punto, danzón and bolero alongside classic Cuban

styles: cha cha chá, guaracha and mambo. This will be the first time Cuban artists living in Sydney have combined with Australian musicians to create a presentation that showcases the talents of all and celebrates Cuba’s rich Latin Caribbean culture.

Sat, Feb 3, Foundry 616 Iron Chic: For the last nine years Iron Chic have been one of the most exciting bands in punk rock.

Their DIY ethos and heartfelt, catchy sing along choruses have gained them masses of fans all over the world. A mainstay on the European and American punk circuit.

Sun, Feb 4, Factory Floor The Necks: Featuring The Necks’ renowned experimental style where the music is invented in real time, and no two performances are alike.

Underpinned by an insistent deep groove, their pieces slowly unravel in a mesmerising fashion and

Ben Folds: The virtuoso will bring his two-part solo piano show to Sydney’s most iconic music venue this week.

For the first half of the show, Folds will curate a playlist armed with a songbook spanning his entire career. In the concert’s second half, Folds will hand over the reins to his fans for a Paper Aeroplane Request set, during which audience members will be encouraged to write their song requests onto a piece of paper, to be folded into a paper plane and launched onto the stage on cue. Folds will then randomly select and perform the songs requested.

Tue, Feb 6, Sydney Opera House S U R V I V E: Austin-based experimental synth quartet S U R V I V E will perform in Sydney midweek. With two of the band’s four members responsible for scoring the recent soundtrack for hit US television series Stranger Things, S U R V I V E have risen to prominence during the past few years, receiving critical acclaim for both their recorded material and captivating live performances.

Wed, Feb 7, Oxford Art Factory

Shrek The Musical

Everyone’s favourite ogre is back in the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning smash hit film and book by William Steig.

Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek The Musical is a Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure, featuring all new songs from Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change). Shrek brings all the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage and proves there’s more to the story than meets the ears.

Bringing these beloved characters to life is a phenomenal cast of talent including Jay Laga’aia (Play School, Star Wars and The Lion King) as Shrek, Mikayla Williams (Hairspray and Wicked) as Princess Fiona and finally Nat Jobe (The Lion

Leah Flanagan

By Jamie Apps Leah Flanagan has been captivating audiences for almost a decade unlike anybody else with her alluring and emotional music. This weekend to mark the release of her third studio album, Oceanic Sessions, she will be joining forces with special guest Alice Sky. For Flanagan Oceanic Sessions has been somewhat of a departure from her typical recording process, which when speaking with her appears to be because this was simply a passion project which she didn’t want squandered away.

“The Oceanic Sessions is comprised of songs that were recorded throughout a three year period. At the time I was working on my previous record Saudades and these songs simply didn’t quiet fit the format for Saudades,” explained Flanagan.

Rather than have these extra songs “sitting on a hard drive somewhere” Flanagan was determined to release these songs because she was still incredibly proud of them and wanted them to be heard. This took the pressure off the record entirely and is something she has carried over into the release by foregoing the traditional release tour.

In place of the usual tour

Newton Faulkner Hit The Ground Running Newton Faulkner’s sixth studio album is a delightfully easy, upbeat and uplifting listen for summer.

With Hit The Ground Running Faulkner explores his folk roots more whilst also weaving in a more mainstream American pop-folk ethos. Opening track Smoked Ice Cream is the perfect example of this as it fuses Faulkner’s stripped back guitar sound with a fun, catchy chorus that

King and The King And I) as Donkey.

(JA) Feb 2-17. Riverside Theatres, Corner Market and Church Street, Parramatta. $35-$55+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au

could potentially see this become a late summer hit.

Faulkner’s voice is captivating throughout the record.

Simple melodies and harmonies allow his voice to really drive many of the songs forward.

If you’re looking for a captivating summer soundtrack than look no further than Hit The Ground Running.

WWWW

schedule to coincide with an album release Flanagan is instead hosting a one-off launch show with special guest Alice Sky. “Alice is a beautiful young singer/ songwriter who is just starting her career so it’s nice to be able to help out another young indigenous singer/songwriter,” said Flanagan. “I think it’s really important for established artist to help others at all stages of their careers because we’re all out here just doing what we love.”

Ahead of the show on Sunday Flanagan told us that she is “really happy with the live show

and looking forward to doing it at the Leadbelly. Between myself and my guitarist Dylan we’ve managed to interpret the songs, many of which were recorded with a full band, in a way that makes it seem like you’re watching a band.”

Sunday’s show is perfect for anybody who loves nostalgia, sophisticated music and timeless voices. It will also be worth keeping an eye out for some very special unannounced guests on the night.

Feb 4. Leadbelly, 42 King St, Newtown. $19.90-$48.50+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.theleadbelly.com.au

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13

THE NAKED CITY

With Coffin Ed As far as community spaces go, the old Heffron Hall in Burton Street Darlinghurst, with its bland red brick 60s façade, served the area well for more than a half century. Back in the laissez faire days of the 60s and 70s you could hire the venue for a song, sling the caretaker ten dollars to disappear for the night, run your own illegal bar and make as much noise as you liked. The cops were nowhere to be seen.

As such the old Heffron became a popular weekend venue for many a young band, looking to run their own gig and carve a niche in the city’s then burgeoning live music scene.

Combos such as The Hawaiian Housewreckers and The Drifting Daleks played for an entry fee that was around two or three dollars along with added attractions such as MC extraordinaire Mort Fist and the infamous Midget Review.

These days the almost brutalist old Heffron is unrecogniseable, following a multi million dollar, architect designed, makeover – reborn as the now two storey East Sydney Community & Arts Centre (aka ESAC). Some might label it just another cash splash vanity project on the part of the current Lord Mayor, along with the similarly hyper-refurbished Juanita Nielsen Centre in Woolloomooloo.

However it’s good to see that some of the spirit of those earlier days lives on with a series of nights dedicated to some of Sydney’s lesser known fringe artists.

THE EXPERIMENT

When it comes to the marginal and so called underground culture, the ebullient husband and wife teaming of Jay Katz and Miss Death have long been at the forefront of promoting and hosting numerous film nights and festivals, live music and dj events and all manner of weird and confronting warehouse experiences. Not surprisingly when the crew from Brand X approached them to become part of their

Blak Markets

Flying Nun program at ESAC, they jumped at the opportunity to stage a regular monthly showcase of outsider and experimental artists.

Titled The Experiment, Miss Death and Katz describe their night as a kind of avant garde variety show, encapsulating a diverse cross section of fringe dwelling artists drawn from music, film and performance – all designed to deliver an event of totally unpredictable,

obscure and unique entertainment. As they point out: “Art should be driven by passion and not purse strings. Sydney has become one of the most expensive cities in the world and therefore its ability to nurture the talents of grass roots creativity is now virtually nonexistent.”

The opening night promises a totally eclectic mix from Kcin, the experimental sound project of Australian drummer/producer Nicholas Meredith, through explosive Northern Soul dancing with Kyle ‘Rawhide’ Druery to the outstanding young ten year old ballet dancer and child prodigy Christian – to name just a few.

If you have ever been to an event hosted by Death & Katz you’ll soon realise that their multi-medium attack on the senses seldom stops (along with Miss Death’s knitting).

Interspersed amongst the various live artists will be a cavalcade of short films and music clips from contemporary sources augmented with archival footage gathered in their MuMeson Archives over the course of many decades - collaborations with the Found Footage Festival, Trasharama, the Sydney Underground Film Festival, Glass Doll Films, Vivid KX Sinema, Cult Sinema Obsurca, Delux Media Arts and much, much more.

The Experiment stages this coming Friday February 2 at the East Sydney Community & Arts Centre in Burton Street Darlinghurst.

Check out the full Flying Nun program at: www.brandx.org.au

The Folded Lie

handicrafts to one-of-a-kind homewares and jewellery, there are authentic gifts for all ages made by Indigenous artisans.

Entertainment for the day includes performances by the Illawarra Flames dance group and Triple J Unearthed Indigenous Award winner singer/songwriter Rebecca Hatch and a kids performances by the Didja Didge characters. There will also be free weaving workshops with Karleen Green weaving a whale from recyclable materials.

By buying from Blak Markets you can not only guarantee authenticity but also that 100% of the profit go towards social change in Aboriginal communities across Australia. (JA) Feb 4. Bare Island, La Perouse (at the end of Anzac Pde). Info: www.blakmarkets.com

Blak Markets are an organisation which aims to expand the opportunities for Indigenous people and sell Indigenous products the whole year round in their online store. The foundations of the company though are in Sunday markets, which run on the first Sunday of every month.

Join Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artisans at the iconic Blak Markets at Bare Island this weekend from 9:30am until 3pm.

From original and affordable aboriginal artworks to handmade beauty products, 14

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A new original podcast collaboration between Frances Morgan, Miles Martignoni (Guardian Australia / Heaps Good Media) and Ellen Leabeater (2SER 107.3) launched recently and is taking the podcast world by storm.

The Folded Lie reflects on a killing that happened during one of Australia’s largest industrial conflicts - the Great Strike of 1917. At the height of the conflict, Reginald Wearne, a strikebreaker and brother of a National Party politician, killed striker Mervyn Flanagan.

While the killing acts as a hook, the podcast goes beyond this story and looks into themes such as class, power and truth. There’s evidence to suggest the government toyed with the strings of justice. There were also political imperatives at play as the Strike would’ve punctured the grand Australian wartime mythology of pride and patriotism showing that there was conflict on the home

front - which only added to more reason for the government/media to bury the story of Flanagan’s death in the news cycle.

Through interviews with descendants on both sides, and drawing on 10 years of research, The Folded Lie seeks to uncover the truth of what happened 100 years ago.

“With the proliferation of fake news, this story is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. It serves as a reminder of what happens when we don’t challenge the status quo and stand up for those who are disempowered,” explained Frances Morgan.

Throughout the series, the power play in history and memory, and the truth that stands between them, comes to life. (JA) The Folded Lie is now available on Apple Podcasts, Whooshkaa and all other podcasting apps. You can listen online at 2ser.com.

I, Tonya

Molly’s Game

If not for the fact that it’s all true, you’d be rolling your eyes at the improbability of this story - and that’s what makes it all the more riveting.

Based in part on Molly Bloom’s memoir by the same name, Molly’s Game is a lively retelling of Bloom’s entrepreneurial foray into the high-stakes world of poker after her Olympic skiing career was snap frozen by a devastating fall.

Jessica Chastain is convincing and captivating as the gutsy yet vulnerable Bloom. Apart from being in almost every scene, Chastain also delivers a sports commentator paced narration, which is sometimes fatiguing,

but mostly provides necessary details and emotional cues that might otherwise be impossible to convey.

Idris Elba is the at-first-hesitant then utterly committed lawyer, Charlie Jaffey, in a superbly nuanced performance. And there are a host of colourful characters around the card table.

If the film has a weakness, it’s the aside scenes with Kevin Costner as Molly’s father. They strive for an emotional temperature that just hasn’t had time to build and account for the movie stretching the friendship at two hours twenty minutes.

It’s a minor point. For the most part this film is gripping, fascinating, and funny. (RB) WWW1/2

Mardi Gras Film Festival -

The biographical drama comedy I,Tonya is about the rise and fall of American figure skater Tonya Harding and the unbelievable events that went with it. The film is done mockumentary style covering the poorly executed incident that left Nancy Kerrigan with a broken knee and eventually destroyed Harding’s career.

The film was written by Steven Rodgers and directed by Australian Craig Gillespie. The cast features Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale, Caitlin Carver and McKenna Grace to name a few.

The lead is played by Australian actor Margot Robbie, who also worked as a producer on the film.

The film had heart and although it was hilariously blunt did not lose site of the emotional and tense subjects that surrounded the story. Allison Janney’s character, Harding’s mother, kept the audience laughing out loud almost to the point of crying. Robbie gave an excellent performance, making I, Tonya a must see! (RH) WWWW1/2

A Moment in the Reeds

Sensitivity Training

SUN 18 FEB 7:00PM & THU 22 FEB 8:30PM Leevi is a Finnish literature student returning home from Paris and Tareq is a Syrian asylum seeker and architect. Together in A Moment in the Reeds, they have a summer romance in what promises to be one of the most sexually charged films of the festival.

THU 22 FEB 7:00PM & SAT 24 FEB 6:30PM The ruthless Dr Wolfe (Anna Lise Phillips) is forced to endure sensitivity training with the impossibly bubbly and optimistic Caroline. A blossoming friendship leads to a “will they, won’t they?”, in this hilarious comedy about friendship and bacteria.

McKellen: Playing the Part

Black Divaz

SAT 24 FEB 3:30PM A master of his acting craft, and a champion for gay rights, Lord of the Rings and X-Men star, Sir Ian McKellen insightfully shares his life’s journey with us in this fascinating biographical documentary, McKellen: Playing the Part.

WED 28 FEB 6:30PM Black Divaz goes behind the glitz, glamour and hot glue guns of the inaugural Miss First Nation pageant.

Over five steamy days contestants will battle it out in fierce challenges that will see each contestant stretch more than just their wardrobe choices.

Feb 15 Mar 1 2018

ON SALE NOW

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HAPPY

CHINESE

NEW YEAR

PADDY’S MARKETS YEAR OF THE DOG LION DANCING PADDY’S MARKETS FLEMINGTON FRIDAY 16 FEBRUARY SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY

11AM - 12 MIDDAY 8AM - 10AM 10AM - 12 MIDDAY

PADDY’S MARKETS HAYMARKET FRIDAY 16 FEBRUARY SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY

1PM - 3PM 11AM - 1PM

for times visit www.paddysmarkets.com.au paddysmarketshaymarket / paddysmarketsflemington

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