City Hub 22 October 2015 by Alt Media

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Millers Point residents still fighting for right to remain BY CHRISTOPHER HARRIS As the population in Millers Point continues to dwindle, those who remain are fighting hard against the government to stay in their homes. The number of residents in the area has diminished since the government embarked last year on its agenda to rid the area of social housing tenants. The residents turned a corner in August this year, when Social Housing Minister Brad Hazzard wrote to Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich stating that there could be possible exemptions to removal in “extenuating circumstances”. The Millers Point Working Party then met with Mr Hazzard and Mr Greenwich late last month, and offered a list of reasons residents should be allowed to stay in their homes. On October 9, Mr Greenwich formerly requested that the minister retain some social housing in the area, and allow residents with “agreed compelling reasons” to stay, or be relocated in the area. “These social housing tenancies could be kept in existing purpose-built, low maintenance, lower value properties within the area, while other properties are sold,” Mr Greenwich wrote. “In addition, to keep existing social housing tenants in the area the government could allow elderly residents to age in place in their current properties, work with the City of Sydney to identify opportunity sites for new social housing developments in the area and ensure any future redevelopments in the area include social housing.” “A diverse housing mix is essential for all parts of Sydney and low cost housing should be part of any redevelopment plans. Multi-unit properties sold for redevelopment including

for internal refurbishment, should be required to provide a minimum number of social and affordable housing units, with these properties reserved for existing Millers Point housing tenants,” he wrote. In the letter, Mr Greenwich said he understood that there were 85 residents remaining in the suburb. Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile had previously said that he thought the purpose built Sirius building could house these remaining residents. But the state government announced plans to demolish the building in September. It was reported earlier this year that the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and Social Housing NSW had disagreed over demolishing the apartment building. Member of the Millers Point Working Party John McInerney told City Hub he understood that the question of Sirius’s heritage significance would be resolved this November. Mr McInerney said the most important question now was the issue of who would be allowed to stay. “Mr Hazzard asked us to consider reasons that we might be justified, or reasons for remaining in Millers Point, and we sent them to him,” Mr McInerney said. “We haven’t heard much in response, we do know he is considering it, and the position of the state government, that all housing tenants be relocated. They want us to talk about ‘compelling reasons to stay’.” Mr McInerney said the minister indicated it was a decision he would take to cabinet, and that decision will be based on his recommendation. “The question remains which tenants [will stay] as there are only about one hundred left,

Published weekly and freely available Sydney-wide. Copies are also distributed to serviced apartments, hotels, convenience stores and newsagents throughout the city. Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677. Published by Altmedia Pty Ltd. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, City Hub takes no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions. ABN 52 600 903 348 Group Manager: Chris Peken Group Editors: Christopher Harris Lydia Watson-Moore, Ryan Quinn, Kenji Sato Contributors: Emiko Reed, Georgia Hing and Angira Bharadwaj Arts Editors: Jamie Apps, Alannah Maher Dining Editor: Jackie McMillan Advertising Managers: Robert Tuitama, Mark Barnes, David Sullivan Cover Photo: Chris Peken – Craig Ilott, Iota, Maree Cole and Caitlin Park Email: question@altmedia.net.au Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au Contact: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Web: altmedia.net.au

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A campaigner for preserving social housing in Millers Point. Source: Facebook

given there were 400 living here a year and a half ago.” Mr McInerney expected that the Social Housing Minister would meet again with Mr Greenwich before telling the working party his decision. He said that he hoped the decision would be made soon “because there won’t be too many [residents] left” as the sale of property continues. He told City Hub that the tenants who had left, returned regularly because they felt connected to the local residents and area.

“The older tenants regularly come back to the community centre; many are aged and don’t feel comfortable in their new suburb.” He said the tenants who had been relocated had mostly moved to nearby areas of Glebe and Wooloomooloo and had been given priority on the social housing waiting list. “It shows you how dedicated the government is to effectively closing down the Millers Point community,” Mr McInerney said. Social Housing Minister Brad Hazzard did not respond to City Hub’s enquiries.

Community group’s “final charge” to save Powerhouse BY KE N J I SATO Community group Friends of Ultimo and Balmain Greens M P Jamie Parker collected the final signatures for the ‘Save the Powerhouse Museum’ petition last Saturday, October 17. Last week, City Hub reported that the petition had collected the 10,000 signatures required to force a debate on the issue in N SW state parliament. However, a tally of the signatures by the office of Indepedent Sydney M P Alex Greenwich found that the petition was 600 signatures short of 10,000 required. Friends of Ultimo members led a “final charge” outside the museum to collect the last few signatures on Saturday. The N SW Government announced plans last year to sell off the museum’s land and move the museum to western Sydney. But the proposal has long been opposed by the local community, who have said the museum is vital for the local residents as well as complimentary to the local startup industry in Ultimo. Co-founder of Friends of Ultimo, Patricia Johnson, told City Hub on Saturday that she wanted to preserve the heritage and historical significance of the museum. “We think the Ultimo Powerhouse must remain in Ultimo where it belongs,” she said. “We’re very grateful to all the community members who helped us to reach 10,000 signatures.” Ms Johnson said she was not opposed to having another museum built in Parramatta, but said that it should not be at the expense of families from the inner city. “We have a lot in common with the people of Parramatta. They too do not want something passed onto them that fits beautifully and traditionally in Ultimo, if it would have very little relevance there,” she said.

“Parramatta wants their own museum and cultural facilities, and they should be consulted about how they’re built.” M P Jamie Parker told City Hub that he was impressed by the level of local community support. “There are not many issues around Sydney that generate this much public support. Reaching 10,000 signatures on the ‘Save the Powerhouse Museum’ petition demonstrates the depth and breadth of opposition to the Liberal government’s privatisation agenda,” he said. “Moving the museum is more about a cash grab than culture. The winners will be big developers. The people of Parramatta will be short-changed with an inferior museum rather than a new iconic arts centre that represents the significance of western Sydney.” Adam Taylor, Outreach Coordinator for Mr Parker, said that the museum was important for the children of Sydney. “Students come here and walk away with something that is enjoyable and educational. The building is heritage listed and it adds such a unique character to the city. It’d be a real shame to see it changed or moved,” he said. “Not only do you lose the cultural centre and hub of the community, it also changes the flow of the community and the way that people come and go and the purpose of the community.” Jamie Parker will table the petition later this week.

Correction: Last week City Hub referred to Mary Mortimer as the convenor of Friends of Ultimo. This is incorrect. Mary Mortimer is the convener of the Ultimo Pyrmont Education Campaign Committee, and unaffiliated with Friends of Ultimo. Friends of Ultimo was co-founded by Patricia Johnson and Jean Pierre. city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Tranquility tested as locals sample taste of things to come “Our jaws dropped [when we BY EMIKO REED heard about the proposal]. It is It has been dubbed a “wedding totally ill-suited to bring a function factory” and local residents have centre into the middle of a small, said it will choke local streets on discreet and treasured national weekends. park.” But opposition to a development The proposed party venues are on the Watson’s Bay peninsula now planned to open between 6am to has some fire power behind it. midnight, and host functions for The director of legendary breakfast, lunch and dinner six Australian film Mad Max invited days a week. Watsons Bay residents to the Additionally, guests will be able foreshore on October 15 to to stay overnight to ‘kick on’ the experience the ‘hellish’ noises party all night in the site’s heritage he predicts will come from the The gazebo at Watson’s Bay. Photo: Emiko Reed. listed homes. devleopment. Mr Bayliss described the plan as a “reckless proposal”. Oscar-winning Australian film director George Miller and “It threatens traffic, threatens road safety, and threatens his sound specialist Ben Osmo mimicked the expected noise emergency services into the area,” he said. that would emanate from the function centre if approved. “People enjoy our national park for solace, peace and The National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) has wildlife, not to mingle with party guests.” proposed to lease six heritage listed buildings on Camp Cove At the meeting hosted by NPWS, NSW Attorneyand Gap Bluff for private functions. General Gabrielle Upton said that residents needed to As a Watsons Bay resident himself, Mr Miller said these collect 10,000 signatures to force NSW Parliament to sounds are expected to be heard right up to the early hours of address the issue. the morning. “This is a bad process, it’s a bad project,” Ms Upton said Residents have raised their concerns that the development in the meeting. will impact on public amenity, the local environment, traffic, Claudia Cullen, a spokeswoman for residents’ group parking, noise and public safety, and possibly damage the Save Watsons Bay, said it was necessary for residents to take other heritage listed buildings nearby. action in the bid to stop the development. After Mr Miller’s noise display, a group of more than one “This is all our wake up call. We’ve got to make sure hundred residents walked to the suburb’s national park to the minister knows that allowing 500 people to come to attend a meeting on the development. Watsons Bay every day is not acceptable. Our infrastructure NPWS, who hosted the meeting, seemed to struggle to just can’t take it,” she said. provide answers to most of the residents’ questions. Mr Bayliss said that it was not just about the residents, Roger Bayliss, the president of the Watsons Bay but visitors too. Association, voiced his concerns towards NPWS’ proposals. “It’s about all those who enjoy Watsons Bay. Many “We don’t need to have an intensification of the volume of people that like to come here cannot come if the parking, traffic and noise, which the area is already saturated with,” Mr traffic, and public transport is stretched,” Mr Bayliss said. Bayliss told City Hub after the meeting.

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Loving on a prayer as protestors descend on PM’s office BY CHRISTOPHER HARRIS Anti-detention centre protest group Love Makes a Way penetrated the electoral office of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week. But the multi-denomination Christian protestors only stayed for a short time, as police asked them to leave by 1:30pm on October 14. The protest ended amicably, as NSW Police officers shook hands with the protestors as they voluntarily left. This was not the first time the group had targeted Mr Turnbull. In May this year, City Hub reported on another protest in Mr Turnbull’s office, which had ended in forced police removal. The Love Makes a Way peaceful protest group continue to urge the government to release all asylum seekers into the community, and for Nauru and Manus Island detention centres to be shut down. One of the protestors, Justin Whelan, told City Hub that the fracas which had erupted when an abortion was not carried out on a detention centre inmate underlined the need to find a new solution to Australia’s refugee problem. “The aim was to send a message to Mr Turnbull that there had been a shift in the community concern and to do the right thing,” Mr Whelan said.

Protestors left when asked by police. Source: Facebook

He said he welcomed the recent change in Prime Minister. “We are cautiously optimistic about Mr Turnbull, especially because his rise to the top also aligns with a shift in community values following the Syrian crisis,” Mr Whelan said. “We do feel there is more broad community concern, ranging from people in the community, to more famously, with a thousand doctors and nurses protesting in Melbourne.” Julie Macken, one of the founding members of lobby group Australian Women in Support of Women on Nauru, told City Hub she was hopeful that Australia was at a turning point when it came to detention policy.

“Nauru is a black spot, we can’t get the UN there, we can’t get independent journalists there,” Ms Macken said. She said that community sentiment following the Syrian refugee movement had risen, and that the recent abortion scandal and change in Prime Minister could collectively amount to Australian policy change. “We now have Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister: a person who is reflective, thoughtful, is not a coward and who has quite serious integrity,” she said. “Now, I think it is time for us in the refugee movement, and civil society, to create a 21st century asylum seeker solution.”

Parking Not So Fine in Leichhardt BY RYAN QUINN Leichhardt is ranked the fifth highest of 36 Sydney councils to issue parking fines in the past year, according to new data. Between 2014-15, Leichhardt Councils’ rate of issuing parking fines per 1,000 residents was almost double the average of most Sydney councils. These statistics came from data compliation of Independent Leichhardt Councillor John Stamolis, who said that parking fines were a “key issue” raised by local businesses. Clr Stamolis said that Leichhardt businesses had flourished prior to the introduction of parking meters in 2001, something he opposed at the time because the shopping environment was too “fragile”. “There’s a balance that if you carefully price them, if you don’t hit people too hard with parking fines, then maybe it might work, but you need to be very careful in some areas,” he said. President of the Balmain Rozelle Chamber of Commerce Stephen Bastian agreed that the first complaint of every business is parking fines. Mr Stamolis compiled the data to present at the Leichhardt

Council meeting next week to help identify the impact that fines have on local business. The data also showed that Leichhardt Council issued almost 18 fines per business in 2014-15. Clr Stamolis said that Leichhardt’s local shops do not match the drawing power of the top 4 councils of the data. “What worries me is that we’re placed up there with North Sydney, with Woollahra and Waverly, where Bondi Beach and the entertainment venues and sport field venues are. We shouldn’t be placed there amongst those councils,” Clr Stamolis said. Mr Bastian said that the parking rangers in Leichhardt are “like the Gestapo”. “As soon as someone goes a minute over, they just hit them left, right and centre, and they’re terrors. They’re just up and down that main street all the time,” he said. Caroline, who choose not to provide her last name, manager of a café on Darling Street, said the fines were unnecessary. “They’re the most active parking rangers I’ve ever seen and I’ve lived in Sydney for about 12-15 years. They’ll come at any time of the day,” she said.

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Public Notice Proposed Alcohol Restrictions Alcohol restrictions aim to prevent antisocial behaviour by prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in public spaces. Alcohol-free zones apply to streets, and alcohol prohibited areas apply to parks and other public places. People found to be drinking within a designated alcohol-free zone or alcohol prohibited area can have their alcohol confiscated by police. All applications will expire on 2 July 2016. You can submit your comments on the proposal in writing to: Lisa Simone, Manager Safe City, GPO Box 1591, Sydney 2000 or via email afz@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au For all enquiries about this proposal, please phone 02 9265 9333. New temporary alcohol prohibited area • Beare Park, Elizabeth Bay, for New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2015

• Wilson Lane, Newtown

Kings Cross Police area

Leichhardt Police area

• Arnold Place from Riley Street to Crown Street • Brisbane Street from Oxford Street to Goulburn Street

• Roslyn Street from Darlinghurst Road to Kings Cross Road

Existing alcohol-free zones proposed for renewal

• Ward Avenue from Barncleuth Square to Kings Cross Road

• Darling Street from Bridge Road to St. Johns Road

• Earl Place from Earl Street to Springfield Avenue

• Darling Lane

• Campbell Street from Riley Street to Flinders Street

• Darghan Street from Bridge Road to St. Johns Road

• Chalmers Street from Elizabeth Street to Cleveland Street

• Lyndhurst Street from Colbourne Avenue to Wentworth Park Road

• Chisholm Street from Taylor Street to Hannam Street

Existing alcohol-free zones proposed for renewal

• Earl Street from Victoria Street to Orwell Street

• Burton Street from Bourke Street to Forbes Street • Bourke Street from Burton Street to Oxford Street • Darlinghurst Road from Bayswater Road to Liverpool Street • Foley Street from Bourke Street to Burton Street • Forbes Street from Burton Street to Oxford Street • Victoria Street from Bayswater Road to Burton Street • Burton Street from Crown Street to Oxford Street • Francis Lane from College Lane to Riley Street • Liverpool Street from Yurong Street to Crown Street • Norman Street from Yurong Street to Riley Street • Riley Street from Oxford Street to William Street • Stanley Street from Yurong Street to Crown Street • William Street from Crown Street to Yurong Street • Yurong Lane from Crown Street to Yurong Street • Yurong Street from Norman Street to William Street • Barncleuth Lane from Roslyn Street to Barncleuth Square • Barncleuth Square from Darlinghurst Road to Ward Avenue • Bayswater Road from Darlinghurst Road to Kings Cross Road • Darlinghurst Road from Victoria Street to Ward Avenue (includes road closure adjacent to Fitzroy Gardens) • Goderich Lane from Pennys Lane to Ward Avenue • Kellett Place cul-de-sac • Kellett Street from Bayswater Road to Ward Avenue • Kellett Way from Kellett Street to Roslyn Street • Kings Cross Road from Victoria Street to Roslyn Street • Mansion Lane cul-de-sac

• Hughes Lane from Orwell Street to Hughes Street

Newtown Police area

• Hughes Place cul-de-sac • Hughes Street from Victoria Street to Macleay Street

Existing alcohol-free zone proposed for renewal

• Llankelly Place from Darlinghurst Road to Orwell Street

• Bucknell Street from King Street to Wilson Street

• Orwell Lane from Orwell Street to Hughes Street

Surry Hills Police area

• Orwell Street from Macleay Street to Victoria Street

Existing alcohol-free zones proposed for renewal

• Springfield Avenue from Darlinghurst Road (Springfield Plaza) to Springfield Mall

• Cleveland Avenue cul-de-sac

• Springfield Mall including Springfield Lane from Llankelly Place to Earl Street • All streets and laneways bounded by and including Cathedral Street, Forbes Street, Palmer Street and William Street, including Bourke Street, Burrahpore Lane, Corfu Street, Cross Lane, Egan Place, St Kilda Lane, Talbot Place and William Lane • Dowling Street from Pring Street to Cowper Wharf Road • Nesbitt Street • Forbes Street from Cowper Wharf Road to William Street • Nicholson Street from Dowling Street to Bourke Street • Sydney Place bounded by Stephen Street and the Hills Stairs, McElhone Street • McElhone Street from William Street to Sydney Place • Brougham Lane from Brougham Street to McElhone Street • Sir John Young Crescent

• Foster Lane • Blackburn Street from Elizabeth Street to Foster Street • Wright Lane from Mary Street to Reservoir Street • Reservoir Lane from Reservoir Street to Ann Street • Lower Campbell Street from Riley Street to Campbell Street • Wade Place from Ann Street to Little Albion Street

• Bourke Street from Oxford Street to Foveaux Street

• Collins Lane from Collins Street to Rainford Street • Collins Street from Riley Street to Alexander Street • Alexander Street from Collins Street to Arthur Street

cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au Sydney2030/Green/Global/Connected

New proposed alcohol-free zone

• Pennys Lane from Kings Cross Road to Bayswater Road

• Crown Street from Fitzroy Street to Arthur Street • Crown Street from Oxford Street to Albion Street • Elizabeth Street from Albion Street to Cleveland Street • Fitzroy Street from Bourke Street to Anzac Parade • Foster Street from Hunt Street to Elizabeth Street • Foveaux Street from Elizabeth Street to Bourke Street • Goulburn Street from Brisbane Street to Crown Street • Hands Lane from Reservoir Street to Foster Street • Mary Street from Foveaux Street to Campbell Street

• Alexander Lane

• Oxford Street from Greens Road to Whitlam Square

• Arthur Street from Crown Street to Alexander Street

• Pelican Street from Oxford Street to Goulburn Street

• All streets and laneways bounded by Albion Street, Crown Street, Flinders Street and Oxford Street; including Bloomfield Lane, Bloomfield Street, Bourke Street, Campbell Street, Church Lane, Clare Street, Denham Lane, Denham Street, Floods Place, Hill Street, Jesmond Street, Linden Lane, Little Bloomfield Street, Little Bourke Street, Little Oxford Street, Maiden Lane, Marys Place, Patterson Lane, Ryder Street, Short Place, Short Street, Taggarts Lane and Taylor Square

• Poplar Street from Brisbane Street to Pelican Street

• Albion Street from Elizabeth Street to Flinders Street

• Flinders Street from Albion Street to Bourke Street (Taylor Square)

• Richards Lane from Foveaux Street to Collins Street • Riley Street from Oxford Street to Albion Street • Sims Street from Chisholm Street to Hannam Street • Taylor Street from Flinders Street to South Dowling Street • Waine Street from Pelican Street to Riley Street

NSW POLICE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING ALCOHOL-FREE ZONES. For police enquiries, call: • Kings Cross 02 8356 0099 • Leichhardt (Glebe) 02 9552 8099 • Newtown 02 9550 8199 • Surry Hills 02 9265 4144 For more information call 02 9265 9333 or email council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Baird accused of being blind to Westconnex pressure on older residents BY WENDY BACON AND NICOLE GOOCH The Westconnex Action Group has accused NSW Premier Mike Baird of misleading the public in his defence of Westconnex’s treatment of hundreds of people who are losing their homes and businesses to make way for the 33 kilometre tollway system. Last weekend during a residents’ protest in Haberfield, Arthur Alibrandi told the ABC News that his 82-year-old father, Joe, who has lived in his unit for nearly 50 years, had been offered an amount by Westconnex that would make it “physically impossible” for his elderly father to stay in the area. In response, Premier Baird told ABC, “At times, there has to be a provision for the majority, there are difficulties for some people as part of that…We’re doing everything we can in terms of compensation, looking after them, provide provision for a new home. “Premier Baird is deluded if he thinks his government is doing ‘everything [it] can’ to look after people who stand to lose their homes or businesses to WestCONnex,” said WestCONnex Action Group spokesperson Pauline Lockie, whose St Peters home is also marked for compulsory acquisition. “Dozens of people have approached the WestCONnex Action Group to tell us they’ve been offered hundreds of thousands of dollars less than their homes or businesses are worth.” Slater and Gordon Lawyers, who are representing about 70 property owners affected by WestCONnex compulsory acquisitions, told the Sydney Morning Herald they’re consistently seeing offers 20-50 per cent below what their clients’ properties are worth.

Protestors in Haberfield on Sunday. Source: supplied

“It appears WestCONnex under Premier Baird is following a systematic strategy of making people fight for their legal entitlements. But most people are too frightened to speak out publicly in case they’re treated even more poorly. City Hub has spoken to several people who have confirmed Alibrandi’s experience. Keith and Ann (not their real names) are both in their eighties. Five years ago, they moved to Homebush, another community along the M4 route that will be hit hard by the Westconnex. Initially, Kevin wasn’t bothered by the Westconnex because according to earlier plans, it would have bypassed his home. But in June this year, he was told Westconnex would compulsorily acquire his home and he and Ann must move out by April. As anyone who lives in Sydney would know, nine months is not nearly enough time to unexpectedly sell and find another home.

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When Kevin and Ann moved into their home five years ago, they expected to stay there for the rest of their lives. They had specifically chosen the house because it had no stairs, was walking distance to the train station and shops, and in a quiet street. When interviewed for the People’s EIS this week, Kevin said, “I am very unhappy about the Westconnex. I can’t find anywhere to replace my house. I am very old, in my 80s, so I thought the place where we are living at the moment, is our home. But I can’t find anything to replace the house that is near the station and the grocery shops. There were a few houses on the market, but they are too expensive. There is no way to get one of those houses, with the money I get from our house.” “They’re going to acquisition it, they’re going to buy it by force.” The situation is “very stressful. Particularly for aged people like me.” He describes the search for a replacement as a ‘nightmare’ that may have “shortened my life expectancy”. He laughed when asked him if Westconnex had been helpful. “No. Just one way instructions.” “Westconnex is not helping to find a new house. It did a valuation and that’s it. The amount from Westconnex may be fair, but I can’t find anything to replace the house with the money from Westconnex.” It would seem that older and more vulnerable residents are most at risk from disruption caused by Westconnex. Last week, social worker Aurelia Roper-Tyler who has also lost her home told the authors that even though she and her husband had eventually received a fair price, she is concerned about those who might not be able

to withstand Westconnex’s pressure to settle. She is also worried about those who will be left behind to cope with living next to the construction and operation of the M4 tunnel and unfiltered ventilation stack. She describes her neighbourhood as having very strong ties. She and a neighbour take it in turns to check in everyday on their 96-year-old neighbour, but now everyone in the street is leaving except him, and he is very stressed about that. “It’s killing our neighbour, he has already had three falls because he is so worried about it. Everyday he comes around to our house to ask when are we leaving.” Staying or going the dislocation is stressful. “It’s not only me. All my neighbours are very reluctant to move away from the area. They have a similar problem,” says Kevin. “It’s very frustrating and hectic to be looking for a replacement house now.” Premier Baird justified the difficulties for some communities by labelling Westconnex as ‘provision for the majority’ but according to Lockie he has “failed to produce any evidence whatsoever to prove that this $15.4 billion tollway will benefit anyone.” “It’s time for Premier Baird to stop the secrecy and start being transparent about WestCONnex. He can start by releasing the WestCONnex business case and telling the truth about why people like Mr Alibrandi are being offered so little for their homes,” said Ms Lockie.

Wendy Bacon and Nicole Gooch are part of a team currently publishing the People’s M4 EIS website. Deadline for submissions to the NSW Department of Planning is November 2.

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city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Transport Forum in Alexandria calls for urgent solutions to burdened system By KENJI SATO Local Alexandria residents have raised concerns that the state government are not doing enough to address the increasing burden on Sydney’s transport networks. The queries were raised at a Transport and Traffic Forum held by the Alexandria Residents Action Group last Thursday, October 15. Ben Aveling, the group’s president, said that the increased demand for public transport needed to be urgently addressed. “All the government seems to be doing is shuffling capacity between different train lines and putting a few more buses on, but that’s only to cover a very marginal increase in demand and it comes at the expense of other areas that are also struggling,” he said. The recent closure of George Street to buses for the construction of the light rail was one issue discussed at the meeting. Buses that previously went down George Street have been rerouted, and Mr Aveling said that the new timetable did not meet the needs of Sydneysiders travelling to and from the inner city. “People can no longer get buses to where they need to go – they have to take a bus part way and transfer onto a train, and anyone who has mobility issues cannot change easily,” he said. “Redfern is very close to capacity at the moment if you’re heading to the city.” Mr Aveling said that local residents wanted a more comprehensive train network that covered more of the outer suburbs. “We should have more heavy rail lines going

Alexandria in days gone by. Source: Wikicommons

out to Erskineville, St Peters and probably beyond. It would be a huge increase in capacity for a lot less cost than some of the other proposals going on at the moment, like light rail and WestConnex.” Mathew Hounsel, co-founder of transport advocacy group EcoTransit Sydney, agreed that heavy rail throughout Sydney is at over-capacity. Mr Hounsel, who spoke at the forum, told City Hub that not enough was being done to ease the growing pressure on Sydney’s public transport infrastructure. “EcoTransit is concerned that the department of transport is prioritising political projects like WestConnex and the Rodd Staples Metro over providing adequate public transport for an area

with 90,000 new residents incoming,” he said. Mr Hounsel said that over the last decade, the population of Sydney grew by 13 per cent, the use of cars went up by 6 per cent, the use of buses increased by 16 per cent, and the use of trains was up 23 per cent. Mr Hounsel said that the CBD and South East Light Rail was a “good start” to meeting the increased transport demand, and that it should be rolled out more widely. “Light rail has proven to always attract more customers than people expect and provide more benefits than they anticipate. It will be the beginning of a light rail network on Sydney streets,” he said. “However, the light rail project has been

loaded with costs for other works, such as fixing the utilities, widening roads and building a carpark at Randwick, so the cost estimates are misleading. The real costs of light rail are actually much lower than the total cost [of the current project],” Mr Hounsel said. “The most important thing for south Sydney is restoring the light rail onto Flinders Street and Oxford Street, meaning the city can sensibly run 30-40 metres trams into the growth centres of Queens Square and Waterloo. At the moment Devonshire Street is not capable of supporting the coming light rail demand.” Anthony Mifsud, the Transport Policy Manager at City of Sydney Council, told the forum that the increased pressure on public transport was due to the growing number of jobs, especially in the CBD and Northern Sydney, where employment had been increasing at a rate of 2 per cent per year. Mr Mifsud said that inner city jobs were becoming increasingly white collar, meaning that more people were travelling into the city during morning peak-hour and out of the city during afternoon peak-hour. Mr Mifsud said that this was a growing problem for areas of urban renewal, like Green Square, which was “in the midst of a residential boom”. “To get on a train, you need people to get off. We need to maintain the jobs in that area or else all the traffic goes one way,” he said. Mr Mifsud said that the City of Sydney was trying to encourage the state government to take stronger action to support the struggling transport networks.

TELSTRA IS PLANNING TO REMOVE A PAYPHONE

It is proposed that two coin and card payphones be removed from: Outside 161 Harbour Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Payphone ID’s: 02928123X2 & 02928132X2

It is proposed that two coin and card payphones be removed from: Outside 161 Harbour Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Payphone ID’s: 02921113X2 & 02921142X2

It is proposed that two coin and card payphones be removed from: Outside 161 Harbour Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Payphone ID’s: 02928104X2 & 02928133X2

The next nearest coin and card payphone is located: Outside 161 Harbour Street corner Hay Street, Sydney NSW 2000 (approximately 22 metres away from the proposed location) Payphone ID: 02928007X2

The next nearest coin and card payphone is located: Outside 161 Harbour Street corner Hay Street, Sydney NSW 2000 (approximately 15 metres away from the proposed location) Payphone ID: 02928007X2

The next nearest coin and card payphone is located: Outside 161 Harbour Street corner Hay Street, Sydney NSW 2000 (approximately 29 metres away from the proposed location) Payphone ID: 02928007X2

This proposal was prompted by the Darling Square Redevelopment Project.

Telstra intends making a final decision on this proposal by:

8th December 2015

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

Telstra Payphone Siting Manager Locked Bag 4850 Melbourne Vic 3001 or by calling us on 1800 011 433 selection Option 2 or by email to Payphone.Solutions@team.telstra.com

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

For more information on payphone services (including, any applicable payphone consultation document) see: www.telstra.com.au/payphoneservices/index.htm city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Heritage for Alex Mirvac resuscitates old Marrickville Hospital Site BY RYAN QUINN Marrickville Council has finally signed a contract to deliver a new library, park and a residential development with affordable housing after twenty years of deliberation Real estate company Mirvac formally approved the negotiations with Marrickville Council last Wednesday, October 14 to develop the old Marrickville Hospital site. Marrickville Greens Councillor Max Phillips said he was proud to see that election promises were coming true. “We fought the last election on a platform of investing in our community. We promised to build a new library, to invest in affordable housing and in quality open space,” Clr Phillips said in a statement. The development will include approximately 220 new apartments across three buildings, with a minimum of four per cent earmarked for affordable housing, equating to eight to twelve units. Marrickville Greens Councillor and CoChair of the council’s Affordable Housing Committee, Sylvie Ellsmore, said that it was a big win for the Marrickville community. “[The affordable housing] is part of why this is exciting. Although it’s only four per cent, it marks council starting to own and grow affordable housing again, which is something that councils 10 years ago decided to stop doing,” she told City Hub. “It is the largest single investment ever undertaken by Marrickville Council.” The council are set to benefit from $64 million in value from the residential site and a

monetary contribution from Mirvac. “The development of the site will come at no cost to council and will protect the significant heritage buildings - the Old Marrickville Hospital site and Nurses Quarters - which will be retrofitted as the new library and community hub,” Clr Ellsmore said. “And importantly, those Photo Source: Marrickville Council community facilities, the Description: Marrickville Councillors visit site, 2012 park and the affordable housing will stay in public ownership.” deliver this mixed-use project which will She said that the affordable housing provide residents of Marrickville with a much asset will be used by council to build more needed new library and community facilities,” affordable housing elsewhere. he said in a statement. Council had invested more than $1 The site was formerly home to Marrickville million undertaking a design competition and Hospital until it closed in 1990. preparatory works for the new library and Marrickville Council purchased the site in park in the last council term. 1995 with the intent of building a community The concept design for the new library, hub, including a library and civic centre. known as the ‘BVN design’, was selected after Clr Ellsmore said the Greens had felt the extensive community consultation. project that been unncessarily delayed. Mirvac was chosen following a competitive “Some councillors wanted to talk about tender process, with council assessing selling it and not putting the library there at applicants on their ability to deliver this design, all, which we opposed. We went through the open space and the affordable housing, a process, the community fought back and with four plans put on public exhibition mid we’ve finally come back to the design we last year. picked three years ago,” she told City Hub. Mirvac is now required to put in a Head of Residential at Mirvac, John Carfi, development application by June next said that the development will respect the site’s heritage and meet the needs of the community. year, which will go through community consultation. “We are thrilled to have been chosen to

BY GEORGIA HING The Alexandria Hotel is one step closer to a heritage listing after City of Sydney Council voted to approve an amendment of zoning laws to allow preservation. The council discussed the proposal on Monday October 19. The City will firstly attempt to extend the current interim heritage order with the Office of Environment and Heritage. After the council formalises its vote at next week’s Council meeting, it is expected that a proposal to formally heritage list the site will be taken to NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes. Greens Newtown MP Jenny Leong said she was hopeful that the interim heritage order would be extended to allow sufficient time to gain a permanent heritage listing. “We’ve seen so far that the City of Sydney and the councillors are on board with the need to protect this really important icon,” she said. “We need to be making sure that we’re providing that heritage protection while we can put a strong case to say this local pub should be protected,” Ms Leong said. The interim heritage order was applied on 28 July this year to safeguard the hotel from demolition by the new owners, Centennial Property Group. However, unless extended, it will lapse in six months time. Centennial Property Group announced the withdrawal of their initial plans to redevelop the site at a conciliation meeting in September, following strong community objection. While this means the physical building will be safe from demolition, Ben Aveling, co-convenor of the Alexandria Residents Action Group, told City Hub the fight was not yet over. “The interim heritage order protects the building but it doesn’t protect it as a working pub,” Mr Aveling said. “There are still ways to develop the site for apartments that are compatible with keeping the building.” In a speech to council earlier this year, City of Sydney Labor Councillor Linda Scott said the Alex has continued to be a vibrant, community pub throughout its long history. “The Alexandria Hotel is an important part of our City’s heritage, as well as a meeting place for the community and it’s vitally important that we work to preserve the building for future generations.”

ARTS FEATURE

“NIDA Productions are Breeding Ground for Creative Futures” BY ALANNAH MAHER Featuring five full-scale productions led by cutting-edge directors and playwrights, NIDA launched its 2015 end-of-year production season earlier this month. Running through to the end of the month, it promises much more than your average run of the mill amateur student shows. Fresh from touring internationally with his latest production, award-winning director and NIDA alumni Craig Ilott has returned to devise and direct Stranger I Am, an immersive, multi-faceted performance. “It’s a song cycle that charts the interior life of a young woman struggling to come to terms with the loss of her mother,” explained Craig. This collaboratively developed play began with interpreting 19th Century composer Franz Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey), but in workshops throughout the year it very quickly became apparent that they were heading in an original direction. This was largely due to the people involved, including a group of talented NIDA students, and contemporary composers iOTA and Caitlin Park along with NIDA musical director Andrew Ross. With an impressive original score performed by a live band, this bold performance incorporates song and spoken word in addition to stunning aerial work, another new skill the students have learned at NIDA, under the expert guidance of movement director Gavin Robbins. “[It’s] early days but we thought ‘lets test this training and bring it into this show’!” said Ilott. Directing aerial performances is no foreign feat to Ilott, his awardwinning disco-variety-cabaret Velvet, which is currently wowing audiences at the Opera House, is a testament to this. While this is certainly not iOTA’s first collaboration with Ilott, being invited into the project was a welcome shock to hardworking musician Caitlin Park. Fresh from touring the country supporting Dustin Tebbutt, Park has 10

city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

also been writing her third album and working almost full-time in addition to her role as a composer on Stranger I Am. “It’s been a really amazing experience because all I’ve ever wanted to do is take the style of music that I write into this world,” said Caitlin. “…It was very collaborative from the beginning, which isn’t something I expected–– we were brought in before the script was completed.” Park has always shown an interest in creating soundtracks, incorporating filmic elements into her previous two albums. The process of composing for theatre, especially a play as unique and collaborative as this, was a new experience. But she took on the advice of her co-composer, and “relished” it. Craig himself has a vested interest in supporting the institution that helped launch his career, this being the third production he has returned to NIDA to work on. “What drives me purely is to go in there and give the students a good experience… I love the mentoring part of it,” he said. NIDA’s productions have been an excellent opportunity for creative professionals to develop new and experimental work, but the value for students is at the forefront. Graduating student Emily Davison is playing a pivotal role in another season stand out, Reagan Kelly, a production written by Lewis Treston and directed by Matilda Award-winning director Ben Schostakowski, both of whom were completing their honours programs at NIDA during her first year. “It’s feeling like a really lovely way to bookend [my] time at NIDA,” said Emily. “[Reagan Kelly has] never been staged before so we’ve had a really great time envisaging and creating these characters…[and] having the freedom to make this play whatever we like,” said Davison. The play’s central character is a 25-year-old woman struggling with the transition to the ‘real world’ after being school captain in the microenvironment of high school. Emily plays the

iOTA - Photo: Chris Peken

troubled fiancé of Reagan’s twin brother in this dark comedy set in Brisbane. Davison explained that the team were often laughing in rehearsals, and by opening themselves up through the humour they found themselves connecting more deeply with the characters, making the darker moments more poignant. “You [suddenly] notice how you’ve let the story in and let the characters in, and it hits you deeper emotionally,” said Emily. The development of these projects has been a fertile environment for creative work and enriching to the talents of Australia’s current and up-and-coming culture creators. And certainly inspiring to young people pursuing careers in the arts at this time. “…It feels to me that maybe the arts and creative endeavours aren’t being respected and honoured as much. I think that they’re vital parts of the community and adding to culture is what makes a community,” said Emily. “It feels sad to me that the government… don’t see that as an important thing to put money towards.” Craig echoed the positivity of the experience: “What’s been a particular joy to me is to watch the students – and I don’t just mean the performers – I mean the design students, the technical students, as well as the acting students––[they] have to embrace the challenges and the rigour that comes with new work. That isn’t something that happens every day for them and I’ve been very proud of the way that they’ve all stepped up to the plate.”

City Hub’s picks of the NIDA End-of-Year Productions: STRANGER I AM REAGAN KELLY

Until Oct 23. NIDA Parade Theatre, NIDA Theatres, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington. $18.35-$32.62+bf. Info: nida.edu.au/events/nida-presents/ stranger-i-am

Until Oct 24. NIDA Studio Theatre, NIDA Theatres, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington. $18.35-$28.55+bf. Info: nida.edu.au/events/ nida-presents/reagan-kelly See the whole program at: nida.edu.au/events

EAT DRINK EAT &&DRINK By Jackie McMillan

If there’s a better BBQ Beef Short Rib ($44) in Sydney, I don’t know where to find it. Luke Powell coats his fat, juicy ribs in little more than salt and pepper, and sticks ‘em into the wood-fire smoker for nigh on sixteen hours. Yep, they go in at 11pm and come out just in time for dinner the next evening. They’re charred, smoky and delicious, and if by chance you can’t finish, they’ll happily wrap up

ROCKS & CBD Lotus @ The Galeries From slickly modern private dining rooms, to texture-rich ceramics and stone, highlighted by natural light, DS17 have outdone themselves. Equally so, in Head Chef Chris Yan’s hands, the menu builds upon the ideas germinated in the initial Lotus, yet surpasses them.The throughline is the dumplings – like Steamed Mud Crab and Pork Xiao Long Bao ($21/4) – loaded with premium fillings, but boasting even thinner skins. Compelling Baked BBQ Pork Bun ($9/3) are perfect against a richly herb-infused Tea Thyme ($18) cocktail.The real stars are the dishes that celebrate healthy Aussie ingredients, like supple Crystal Ice Plant Salad ($16) and the vibrant green saltbush offsetting

the remains in foil, and pop them in a brown paper bag for you to slice up as the best damn cold meat ever to grace a bread roll. Eat it somewhere nobody can judge you for gnawing on the bone. And while this is definitely American BBQ, the lack of obvious Americana - well except the (must-have) Mashed Potato and Gravy ($12) – means it also speaks to Europeans. Smoked Sausage ($14) and generous slabs of silky Chicken Liver Pate ($16) go flying out. Sides like Kale, Chickpeas and Anchovy Caramel ($14) serve the same purpose as Porteno’s famous crisp Brussels sprouts with vincotto – cutting the fat. The row of convivial share tables suggests beer hall, and The Grifter Pale Ale ($8) makes an admirable companion drink, though the wine list and Smoked Manhattan ($39/2 people) both warrant careful consideration. Suite 1, 12-16 Chippen Street, Chippendale (02) 8399 0929 lpsqualitymeats.com American $$$

tender hunks of Wok-Fried Wallaby Rump ($29) sautéed in sweet-bean paste. The Galeries, Level 1, 500 George Street, Sydney (02) 9267 3699 lotusrestaurant. com.au Chinese $$$$ One Tea Lounge & Grill David Yip’s enthusiasm for what could broadly be termed stunt food is palpable. That’s how I ended up with a rotating, dry ice billowing, Matcha Wheel One Tea Experience ($50/8 people) dominating my table. Not that I mind a bit of spectacle lucky as it was followed by a glass cloche reveal of tea-smoked Gyokuro Smoked Octopus Avocado ($15) and more smoky wisps emanating from under a pretty Salmon Tartare ($13).The 300 degree Lava Stone Grill ($58/180g) landed with

cubes of top-notch 9+ wagyu beef ready to sizzle and dip in yakiniku (BBQ) sauce and matcha salt.Yes, Japanese green tea pops up everywhere, though it’s best in the Matcha Lava Bomb ($20) dessert. 73 York Street, Sydney (02) 9279 3311 onetealounge.com.au Japanese, Cocktails $$$$ Hotel Palisade With a convict-cum-chic menu, craft beers and views of the coat hanger, one of Sydney’s oldest pubs has reopened with a vengeance. Grab yourself a Feral Hop Hog ($6.50/$11) and pull up at the bar, or for some speakeasy elegance, take the Governors Gimlet ($16), a petite cocktail with gin, celery liqueur and lime, to the parlour room.The food is working class English, with a side of

MEET the locals With the summer season on the horizon, and the silly season set to start, it’s the perfect time to get your face in order. The subtle removal of wrinkles will have you looking fresh and feeling comfortable in your skin. Dr Maz of Star Cosmetic Medicine has devoted his career to clients seeking subtle and non-invasive procedures. The clinic prides itself on consistently delivering all natural results. He has a devoted following and is the trusted practitioner for both local and international celebrities. His work has featured in Cosmopolitan, as well as on Today Tonight and the Kyle and Jacky O radio program.

Hotel restaurants are curious beasts; and while Abode has been cleverly located as a stylish, stand-alone restaurant, it is still very much part of the Parkroyal Darling Harbour. As you’d expect, the restaurant fulfils a role in providing accessible, comforting and familiar food to overnight stayers.What you might not expect however, are enough seasonal, well-handled proteins – including moist, crisp-skinned Cone Bay Barramundi ($32) on a heaving plate of crabmeat risotto – to make it attractive to locals.You’ll find the occasional spark of

Sydney sophistication, like Potted Chicken Liver Pate ($12) topped with cider jelly, or Chicken and Tarragon Pie ($22) with minted peas and mash. End with smashed Toffee Cheesecake ($10) and a Spiced Negroni ($17) - the sweetness of the former caresses the bitterness of the latter nicely. 35 Bettington Street, Millers Point (0421) 001 474 hotelpalisade.com.au Pub Bistro $$

EASTERN SUBURBS & BEACHES The Village Inn After a tough week due to his ‘no high vis.’ dress code, Leeroy Petersen showed me what his new venue should be known for – good food. Inside the once

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His expertise and experience is underlined by the fact he is the main trainer in the clinic for other doctors in the use of dermal fillers and wrinkle injections. The clinic has a staff of 25 who have extensive experience in delivering subtle and natural results for a diverse range of clients. The clinic is located in a Victorian Mansion in the heart of Pyrmont. Dr Maz and his team are committed to giving an honest and personal service. All consultations are ethical and obligation free.

interest – like Salt Baked Celeriac ($18) with toasted hazelnuts, sweet and sour dressing and house-made ricotta – but mostly it’s straight-up, honest cooking of dishes you’ll recognise.The standout Braised Short Rib ($30) with buttery mash and glazed carrots proves no exception. Hotel-style service means nothing is too much trouble, from how you want your premium Aussie beef (Tajima) cooked, to Sommelier Jasmin Leighton not even flinching when your only wine descriptors are white or red. Jasmin commands quite an interesting list, with by-the-glass selections like the Western Australian (Great Southern) 2013 Harewood Estate Chardonnay ($13) supplemented by Aussie benchmarks like the 2013 Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling ($52/bottle).Take it against chef’s ode to Rhubarb Four Ways ($15) – counting may not be his forte, but cooking sure is. 159 Day Street, Sydney (02) 9260 2945 abodebistro.com Modern Australian $$$

‘durty’ old Irish bar, you’ll now be bathed in natural light as you tuck into The Underwood ($18) with braised, pickled beef, honey carrots and mustard on toasted soy linseed bread. Pet Two Four ($17): ham hock terrine with duck rillette win best tasting pun (ducks have two legs and pigs have four).The lighter Nordic ($17) cured salmon with smoked baby potatoes and crunchy capers, pairs nicely with Pfeiffer Pinot Gris ($12/glass); and the snazzy ‘tradies’ doughnut’: Chocolate Churros ($8) goes down a treat. 9-11 Glenmore Road, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 thevillageinn.com.au Pub Food $$

delicious, you might be left wondering: where’s the rest of it? Engaging staff do give adequate warning duos need three pastas, three entrees, salad and probably dessert. Gnawing on a fistful of raw baby Turnips in Bottaga Butter ($12), it’s hard not to contemplate food costs - especially as a snack-sized half roasted Beetroot on Macadamia Butter ($14) lands, accentuated by grated coffee bean.The winning aspect is Chef Mitch Orr’s imaginative combinations: Beef Tartare, Prawn and Burnt Onion ($24) and Spaghetti ($24) with calamari and Korean bolognaise. Foamy Coconut Rice Cream ($10), hiding a treasure trove of caramelized white chocolate, nails dessert. 60 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay (02) 8068 0932 weareacme.com.au Modern Australian $$$

ACME While the much-lauded ACME’s Macaroni, Pig’s Head, Egg Yolk ($18) is undeniably

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EAT & DRINK Geisha Haus

Handsome bartenders spent a lot of time at my table, muddling, freezing and whirling smoke through a range of bespoke Japanese-inspired cocktails, when I imbibed, early in the piece, with three food media pals. Frozen using liquid nitrogen, into a pretty pink slushy, Kawaii Kisses ($19) with watermelon,T2 Just Rose tea, Belvedere vodka and sake, could well become the taste of Sydney summer. Another tea-based concoction, Smoking Geisha ($20), featuring T2 Russian Caravan and $ - mains less than $15

$$ - mains between $15-$22

DARLO, KINGS X & SURRY HILLS Rosie Campbell’s Bright, sunshiny colours and a cosy, welcoming interior transform this difficult corner space into the type of spot you’ll enjoy spending time in.Throw in a waitress with a Caribbean grandmother, and you’ll soon have toasted coconut-topped Corn ($8) and vibrant, soupy Callaloo Greens ($8) on your table, with some idea about how to eat them. Hint: they’ll brighten up Grilled Jerk Chicken ($18). Snapper Ceviche ($20) accentuates lovely fresh snapper with hot sauce. My hot sauce highlight is their house-made habanero guava sauce – smother it over the fries that come with your Soft Shell Crab Burger

The Bach Eatery Whispers of New Zealand cuisine prompted my visit to see what the hype was about.The predictably trendy interior was actually very welcoming. Being in a Kiwi joint, I assumed the 2013 Earth’s End Central Otago Pinot Noir ($13.50/ glass) would be a safe bet, but the less thematic Chocolate Box Barossa GSM ($11/glass) was better. Thirlmere Chicken Liver Pate ($19) wasn’t the best I’ve tried, but Pappardelle with Wild Mushroom Ragout ($22) is worthwhile, if only for the slow cooked egg hiding below the mountain of 12

$$$ - mains between $22-$30

Master Breaking ranks with the ‘simple food done well’ trend everyone seems to be following, Master takes some risks in a reasonably priced menu.What looked like tuna sashimi turned out to be Watermelon in Preserved Mustard & Nori ($10), and tasted like nothing I’ve tried before. Roasted Squid with Snow Pea Sprouts ($20) convinces you the noodle-looking things are noodles, but they’re squid. Burnt Cabbage with Fish Sauce Butter ($18) is the best cabbage I’ve

By DJ Hookie Raw, organic and vegan are three words that I tend to ignore in my day-to-day life, unless I’m at Pana Chocolate in Alexandria, where it’s literally impossible to do so. But why turn down an opportunity to broaden my horizons and satiate the appetite of my vegan best friend? Well, there may be a few reasons. The Pana Chocolate Smoothie ($9.50) would satisfy anyone with a penchant for banana that’s been smashed within an inch of its life,

$$$$ - mains over $30

had. Period. If you go here and don’t order it, we can’t be friends.Trying to explain the flavour of Congee with Pear and Coriander ($10) would be like trying to describe a colour you’ve never seen, so I won’t bother. 368 Crown Street, Surry Hills (02) 8065 0838 masterdining.com.au Chinese $$ Dragoncello Chef Roy McVeigh marches to the sound of his own beat – and to be honest, it’s refreshing. In an unpretentious upstairs room, enlivened by vibrant Tapestry Girl pegboard murals, he defies expectations with a Sydney Rock Oyster, Burnt Leek, Potato Skins and Citrus Leaf Gel ($3/ each) presented without any visible bivalve. Toffee Beetroot, Boudin Noir, Crackling and

and doesn’t mind the odd hint of coconut every now and then. Citrus Fruit Tart ($11.50), whilst immaculately presented (a common theme here), was perhaps too lemony, as we forgive its congealed texture in light of its raw constituents. I raise an eyebrow to my vegan dining partner, who ironically swats dead a small insect that was attempting to land atop the Banana Bread ($12.50), which would have been all the better if not for the raw caramel ice cream which had been smothered over one slice. The refreshing Cacao Granola ($12.50), taught me that ‘brazil nut milk’ is actually worth a shot, even though it sounds wankier than almond milk. My standout were the Crepes ($11.50), which, while a little on the doughy side, were flavourful without being too rich, even for an enemy of sugar like me. 21 Fountain Street, Alexandria (1300) 717 488 panachocolate.com Dessert $

welcome Parmesan. Broccoli & Almond Butter ($8) was literally just steamed broccoli with shaved almonds on top, but the 16 Hour Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder ($22) proved pretty decent. 399 King Street, Newtown (02) 8084 4093 bacheatery.com.au Kiwi $$ The Grind & Co Restaurant in an abandoned train? How about a café in a shipping container? Christine and Rani Ousman’s new coffee and food bar The Grind & Co – nestled in the parking lot of an industrial thoroughfare – took me by surprise.

city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

With the upsurge of enthusiasm for pizza certified Napoli, it’s easy to lose sight of pizza styles popular across the rest of Italy. Add that Nicola Piteo slid his restaurant into an existing Italian spot, keeping the original name, and you get some idea of how his outstanding pizza has largely flown under the radar.The bases are crafted using unrefined, stone-ground Petra 1 flour, and a dough maturation process that takes 48-72 hours.The resulting pizzas are crisper, without being dry. Each slice can be held between thumb and forefinger, providing the perfect base to explore high quality toppings, like Norma ($19) featuring fior de latte, deep fried (well-drained) eggplant pieces and shaved salted ricotta accentuated by fresh basil. I’m even more impressed with Ortaggina ($23), which takes cleverly salted vegetables – eggplant, zucchini – teams them with cherry tomatoes, red onion and fire-roasted red capsicum, then dribbles the lot with stracciatella di bufala. That’s the gooey heart of burrata cheese. It’s made freshly in Auburn using imported Italian

mezcal tequila, was whirled in a cinnamon smoke-filled decanter (you guessed it) tableside. For faster drinks, the intriguing Kikusui Junmai Daiginjo Kirara-Kikusui Sake ($32/250ml) with notes of honeydew melon makes an affable companion to the dishes of Head Chef Rajendra Kumar Tamang. Chef’s resume includes time at Sokyo, and it shows in modern Japanese-influenced bites like Maguro Hana ($18/4 pieces), tuna ‘flowers’ glued onto tempura rice squares with spicy mayonnaise; and blackened Miso Cod ($24) served à la san choy bau. If you’re staying elegant with drinking snacks, Popcorn Prawns ($24) are tasty and easy to manage with chopsticks; though the Seared Salmon Roll ($22) will fill you up. Pro-tip: don’t breathe out while eating the Haus Cigar ($9) of tuna tartare resting over maltodextrin sesame ash unless you want to stroll Kings Cross covered in suspicious white powder. Level 1/5-9 Roslyn St, Potts Point (02) 8065 1812 geishahaus.com.au Cocktails, Modern Japanese $$$

($18).The kitchen outpaced our rum-based cocktail selections, but a Red Stripe ($8) will tide you over. 320 Campbell Street, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 rosiecampbells.com Caribbean, Jamaican $$

Pana Chocolate

NEWTOWN & ENVIRONS

By Jackie McMillan

The amazingly re-imagined shipping container surprisingly provides enough real estate for outstanding coffee to be prepared, alongside a decent selection of sandwiches and sweet treats.The top shelf cups of processed, sustainable 100% Arabica beans will no doubt be welcome addition to the area, as will the fine selection of edible bits on offer. With such a tasteful fit out and an impressively small footprint, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these things pop up… Heritage Business Park, 5-9 Ricketty Street, Alexandria (0416) 509 806 thegrindandco.com.au Café $

Apple ($18) utilises sweetness to wellbalanced effect; ditto my dish of the night: Pea Mousse ($28) set under a tangle of its own leaves and flowers, with candied bacon and poured-at-the-table Parmesan broth. Geranium Panna Cotta ($17) deftly juggles intense floral sweetness with tomato soup cake and two forms of rhubarb. Nope, haven’t seen that before. Level 1, 466 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills (02) 8399 0907 dragoncello.com.au Bar, Modern Australian $$$

INNER WEST Damda The first thing you’ll notice at Damda, beyond the strong design aesthetic, is the monstrous, smoke-belching oven and tattooed, Korean coal-master.This modern reinterpretation of Korean barbecue - the

Da Vinci’s

buffalo milk, and also featured on Nicola’s killer antipasti plate - Montagna ($28), against a great collection of Italian salumi (mortadella and speck being standouts). Drink wine from Nicola’s home city - Il Conte Pecorino DOCG ($35/bottle) – and end your night with exceptional Orange Yoghurt Gelato ($5/cup). 25 Lackey Street, Summer Hill (02) 9716 9000 davincispizzeria.com.au Italian, Pizza $$

name means ‘resemble’ – is doing things differently. Instead of cooking at your table, sit back and enjoy cocktail carafes like delicate Green Seoul ($25) with mint, grape and lemon. Sticky-sweet chilli rice cake skewers, Ddeok Ggochi ($8/10 pieces), are great against Korean Cass ($6) beer. Outstandingly tender and smoky Kalbi Beef Ribs ($35.50) arrive in a large metal tray, laden with gochujang noodle salad, cornballs, lotus root chips and house-made kimchi.Add on more meat – like Bossam ($17) (pork belly) – and apply the three accompanying sauces. 166 Norton Street, Leichhardt (02) 9560 0527 facebook.com/damda2015 Korean $$ Majestic Harvest Despite some hipster trappings - Edison bulbs, cold drip, and dishes presented

FOOD NEWS

on boards and in frypans - the food is remarkably honest and free from (much) pretension.The aforementioned, slightly unwieldy frypan, dubbed The Majestic ($19), is loaded with wellhandled kale, supple Serrano ham, a trio of poached eggs with rich golden yolks, baked beans and black pudding. Taleggio and basil have been softly folded through Scrambled Eggs ($12.50) offset by roasted Roma tomatoes. For those who cringe at butter, a board bearing Bircher Muesli ($11) with blueberries, walnuts and coconut, is made compelling by blackened apple compote. Allpress Coffee scrubs up well as a Latte ($3.50) despite the machine running flat chat. 49 New Canterbury Road, Petersham (02) 8097 2222 majesticgourmetgrocers.com.au Breakfast, Café $

By Jackie McMillan

I spent 24-hours in Orange last weekend taking in some key events at the 2015 Orange Wine Festival. The highlight of my visit was the Barrel to Bottle Chardonnay masterclass at my favourite winery in the region: De Salis Wines. Winemaker Charlie Svenson was incredibly candid and generous with both his winemaking techniques, and with pouring his museum release wines. Released on the day I imbibed, the 2014 De Salis Chardonnay is a real standout. From there I headed to the showground for the Orange Wine Show Tasting, where wines by Patina and Brangayne both caught my attention from amongst a large crop that showed off the diversity of this coolclimate wine region. This festival runs until November 1 giving you plenty more opportunities to pack up the car and take a drive out to Orange. Take an esky because the local produce (including Fresh Fodder dips and Trunkey bacon) you can pick up at regional gems like The Agrestic Grocer, is really quite exceptional.You might also consider letting the kitchen of the picturesque Racine Restaurant show you what you can do with locally grown and raised ingredients. My hit pick is the upcoming Orange Wine Festival Night Market on Friday October 30, 2015, when fifty wine and food stalls take over Robertson Park. www.orangewinefestival.com.au

bar fly

By Amie Barbeler

Basement 33

27-33 Goulburn Street, Sydney (02) 8970 5813 basement33.com It might give off a karaoke bar vibe from the outside, but descend into the depths of this basement bar and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the hipster-ific pizzeria that awaits you below street level. Situated on the edge of Chinatown, Basement 33 is probably best described as a posh Frankie’s... minus the price tag. While there are a number of dishes on offer, the focus at this bar is on New York-style Italian pizzas and cool cocktails. My date and I shared a Me So Chorizo ($16) with chorizo, fresh tomato, mozzarella, butternut pumpkin and rocket. And because everyone should experience the joy that is eating pizza and quaffing Champagne, my date went for a Champagne fruit smoothie called 33 Times a Day ($17). I chose a signature cocktail called The Underground ($17) – a mix of gin and lime topped with secret B33 foam that basically tasted like I was drinking a liquid gummy bear. No regrets.

city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Joseph K. It is the timeless issues of paranoia, alienation and government surveillance that shape Joseph K. Performed by graduate students of the Actors College of Theatre & Television, Joseph K. is a sharp comedy that explores a man’s psyche after he is accused of a crime he doesn’t remember committing. “[Joseph is] told by two people, who come into his flat one morning, that he’s been found guilty of a charge and he’s told that he’s under arrest,” said Director, Sean O’Riordan. “The police state begins to affect him, and eventually he comes into some really dire, difficult situations where his life becomes really confused.” As a re-working of Franz Kafta’s classic The Trial, Joseph K is set in contemporary London and gets increasingly surreal through the explorations of 21st century issues. “There’s a theme of alienation, [and] isolation from each other,” O’Riordan explained.“It’s dealing with quite contemporary 21st century issues of technology

being in control, and us becoming more and more centralised as pieces of data, that the central government and the police state are in charge of.” O’Riordan hopes that the audience will understand and appreciate the connections they have with one another, as it is humanity that will prevail in an increasingly technological world:“For lovers of comedy, political satire, Kafta and modern strong theatre, it is a treat not to be missed.” (NB) Oct 25–28. Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Dr, Bondi Beach. $15-$25. Tickets & info: rocksurfers.org/joseph-k/

Desdemona

at Sydney Festival

Opening to audiences outside of its summer festival dates for the first time, Sydney Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary year with an October season of the acclaimed contemporary Desdemona. A re-imagined telling of the Shakespeare classic, Othello, by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison, the play is told from Desdemona’s provocative and astonishing view from the grave. A radical woman of independence, courage and love – Desdemona’s thought-provoking tale with her African nurse, Barbary, is set against a spellbinding theatrical séance, moving from Elizabethan England to the courts of Timbuktu. Under the direction of Peter Sellars and featuring

original music from Rokia Traoré, the play traverses continents and time periods, transporting the audience through music and words for the launch of Australia’s largest and most popular summer festival. “The launch has always been a bit of an industry event,” explained Lieven Bertels, the 2015 Sydney Festival Director. “I thought for the 40th anniversary, we should come up with something that we could share as a sort of gift for Sydney.” “We present Shakespeare all the time, but it’s the Festival’s role to revisit repertoire and push boundaries. [This] is a great way to do just that and to look at a work of theatre from a different angle and perspective,” said Bertels.“We’re not copying or repeating what other people are doing...With local artists, we will always enable them to do things that they wouldn’t usually be able to do and for international productions, we go after new artists or new names or an unusual project; and Desdemona is a beautiful example of that.” (ES) Oct 23-25. Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay. $77-$129. For more details: www.sydneyfestival.org/Desdemona or 1300 856 876

a&e

city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

14 STAGE 16 SCENE 17 Sounds 18 SCREEN

Dead Centre / Sea Wall Co-presented by Red Stitch Actors and Red Line Productions, Dead Centre/Sea Wall consists of two companion monologues – Sea Wall by acclaimed British playwright Simon Stephens and Dead Centre by equally renowned Australian playwright Tom Holloway.The latter was commissioned to further explore themes of love, loss and grief. Director Julian Meyrick explained that Dead Centre provides “additional room to explore and tease out emotional and psychological implications” of the event that is central to both works. “The two pieces have the same story, connected by the same events. It sort of starts at the end of the story and kind of ends in the middle. One central event is absolutely key to seeing and experiencing the play,” said Meyrick, adding that “to know ahead of time [what that event is] would take everything away, really.” In Dead Centre, the central character, Englishwoman

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

Helen (Rosie Lockhart), escapes her drab life to seek a fresh start in Australia. In Sea Wall, Irishman Alex (Ben Prendergast) shares his story of joy and sorrow.“It’s a double perspective, quite delicate and interesting,” explained Meyrick.“Running through both is a cultural instability that points out the meaning of the plays and stories overall.” Meyrick was attracted to direct the plays because he admires the playwrights and wanted to work with a company like Red Stitch.“Both are fine pieces of work,” he said.“The energy of Red Stich in all its originality and inventiveness is a great thing to see.” (OA) Until Nov 14.Tues-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 5pm. Old Fitzroy Theatre, 129 Dowling Street (Cnr Cathedral Street), Woolloomooloo. $30-$35 ($25 Cheap Tuesdays). Tickets & info: oldfitztheatre.com

Contributors: Brendan Modini, Carmen Cita, Craig Coventry, Greg Webster, Hannah Chapman, Alicia Sim, Nyssa Booth, Lauren Edwards, Peter Urquhart, James Harkness, Lauren Bell, Leann Richards, Lisa Seltzer, Mark Morellini, Matthew Bernard, Mel Somerville, Michael Muir, Olga Azar, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Sarah Pritchard, Sinead McLaughlin, Siri Williams, Athina Mallis, Leigh Livingstone, Joseph Rana, Jemma Clarke, Jacqui Rothwell, Anvi Sharma, Emily Shen, Silvia Cheung.

Chieko Kojima & Taikoz: The Beauty of 8 The Beauty of 8 centres around a special guest from Japan, Chieko Kojima, the world famous Taiko drummer; highlighting her particular skills and gifts, both as a dancer and traditional musician. “It’s a good chance to go really deep into Chieko’s particular artistry and to bring what she does and what we do together,” explained Ian Cleworth, artistic director of Taikoz. Drawing on old tradition, the group bring their own language to the performance style. “Taikoz is an Australian group, we’ve all lived and studied in Japan and we’ve taken these beautiful old forms and composed and made new forms,” said Cleworth, who also performs in the show. “There’s a sense of adventure, a sense of being transported to another place. That’s what we’ve worked towards, through the dance and the music, we’re transporting the audience to a whole other world,” he added. “The Beauty of 8 has a lot of different moves, from the meditative calm feeling to a super high energy of the absolute extreme when we get our odaiko (grand drum) sticks,” said Cleworth. The show really explores those extreme

dynamics. A bamboo flute is played, weaving mesmerising beautiful melodies, the show is centred around movement and rhythm through drums and beautiful melodies. The movement of the arms and drumsticks resemble a figure of eight, which is how the show’s name came about. “You’ll get the impression of going on a journey and arriving in a new place. We have some poetry spoken, a few stanzas of Tennyson’s Ulysses that talks about exploring new frontiers, adding to a sense of exploration,” said Cleworth. Taiko drums date back many centuries, and Taiko always been a part of Buddhist and Shinto ceremonies. The main place you see Taiko is festivals where all the community comes together and the pounding of the drums brings the gods down into your community for the day. In more recent years it’s developed into a concert art form. (MS) Oct 23 & 24, 8pm. York Theatre, Seymour Centre, City Rd and Cleveland St. $70-50. Tickets & Info: taikoz.com/TaikOz/ Performances.aspx SPECIAL CITY HUB OFFER CODE: TAIKOZFAN (save $15 per ticket).

Review: The Real Thing

Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing is a theatrical comedy/drama focused on two central characters – Henry (Christopher Tomkinson) a successful playwright, and Annie (Ainslie McGlynn) his mistressturned-wife.The entire cast are involved in the inevitably precarious dance of fidelity. Instantly amusing from the beginning, this play is filled with dry English humour. Quick and witty repartee, along with comical facial expressions from all involved,

THEATRE & PERFORMANCE A NIGHT OF POETRY & MUSIC The Sydney Poets Co-operative presents a one night only event full of poetry and music at the El Rocco Bar in Kings Cross––featuring some of Australia’s most exciting creative talent such as playwright and poet Charles Freyberg, Peter Hayes, and lyricist and writer Alison Marshall.The night will also embrace a performance of Shakespeare’s sonnets with the inclusion of music by composer Peter Urquhart. (AMal) Oct 23. El Rocco Bar, 22/154 Brougham Ln, Potts Point. $20. Tickets & info: elrocco.com.au SLUT:THE PLAY Exploring the themes of betrayal, injustice and sexual assault in an attempt to alleviate the

set the scene for a mere comedy––but it soon exceeds the expectations it, itself, sets. The second act is greatly superior, thoughtprovoking and emotionally involved. After what seemed like an almost redundant first act, focused on personas, and relationships that didn’t provide anything to the story. It almost deterred the attention of the audience from forming an emotional connection with the lead characters, and their increasingly essential role in the play. An excitingly written production, with an array of wordplay, acuity, humour and an honesty regarding loyalty, relationships, love, and life. Focused primarily on the give and take in partnerships, how things evolve and can become different in mere seconds.With inescapable, stimulating dialogue between father and daughter, ex-spouses, lovers, and an overall candour towards the written and spoken word.The Real Thing is an entertaining play, that touches on many subjects with subtlety and great disposition. (RM) WWW1/ 2

Until Nov 7. New Theatre, 542 King Street Newtown. $17-$32.Tickets & info: newtheatre.org.au/the-real-thing/

double standards separating men and women––this play follows the challenges that 11 teenage girls must overcome, after discovering something disturbing about one of their friends, Joanna Del Marco.Although there are moments of sheer hilarity, Slut:The Play is not meant for comfortable viewing––as the play aims to leave the audience questioning their own morality, and to put an end to the humiliating practice of slut shaming. (NB) Oct 20–24. Belvoir Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills. $15.Tickets & info: belvoir.com.au/events/slut-the-play GHOSTS The Depot Theatre brings a taboo play back to life with its production of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1881 classic.“…Ibsen puts things like incest on the stage, things nobody wanted to talk about. He’s saying ‘they actually happen, they actually affect people, I’m

going to put it on the stage and show you’,” explained Emily McGowan, who plays housemaid Regina. Set in a big house on a remote Norwegian Fjord where the family is isolated from the rest of the world; the time frame has been moved forward to the 1950’s. (MS) Until Oct 24.The Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville. $20-$29. Tickets & info: thedepottheatre.com or email info@thedepottheatre.com A FLOWER OF THE LIPS A true story about writer Valentino Musico’s great-grandfather during WWI in Calabria, Italy.A Flower of the Lips is a biographic truth involving a moral question – where Bruno Aloi, a local government official and family man, is torn when he finds out the army deserters he is assisting the police to arrest are indeed his relatives. Musico has created a unique

The Green Comedy Roast By Jamie Apps This coming Wednesday The Wilderness Society teams up with a selection of Australia’s finest comedians with an added sprinkle of international flair to “take the pith” out of the greenies. We’ve all heard someone doing this exact thing whether it be in the office at work or on the daily commute but for once the jabs and jibes will be helping to raise funds for the Wilderness Society’s Marine Sanctuaries campaigns. These campaigns aim to both protect animals that live in these areas whilst also ensuring that these areas are there for play, which engages with everyone on some level. How do you adjust when your responsibility clashes with the loyalty you have to people you are close to? (ASha) Until Oct 24,Tues–Sat 7:30pm. King Street Theatre, Cnr King & Bray Streets, Newtown. $28-$35. Tickets: trybooking.com/INIY ARMS AND THE MAN In this 19th Century fairy tale set in Bulgaria, the Serbo-Bulgarian War rages, Raina (Andrea Demetriades) finds herself in a love triangle involving two gorgeous men, Sergius and Bluntschli.The hilarious play directed by Richard Cottrell is ironic as well as saucy.As Raina tries to make her decision between the most eligible bachelor in town or the mysterious Swiss Soldier who could take her away from her life, the audience is thrown into a

future generations to enjoy in a sustainable manner, whether that be through reduced fishing or simply ensuring these special areas are kept as natural as possible. The nights entertainment will have an element to suit everybody’s taste with stand up acts, beat boxing, rap, magic or music basking under the spotlight. Oct 28, 7pm.The Comedy Store, 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park. $40 ($30 concession). Tickets & Info: https://www.wilderness.org.au/ events/green-comedy-roast

magical world helped by the incredible set and costume design from Michael ScottMitchell and Julie Lynch. (LB) Until Oct 31. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. $58-$99. Tickets & info: sydneytheatrecompany.com.au RENT A struggling group of Bohemians in early 90s East Village New York attempt to survive and produce art––but the spectre of HIV hovers, disease withers and loved ones are taken from them. Jonathan Larson’s rock opera Rent comes to the Hayes Theatre. Director Shaun Rennie and musical director Andrew Worboys have assembled an eclectic cast of seasoned performers and newcomers. (GW) Until Nov 1. Hayes Theatre, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point. $59-$70.Tickets & info: hayestheatre. com.au or 0280657337.

VELVET Exploding into Sydney in an electrifying boogie wonderland of glitter and glamour,Velvet is an amalgamation of variety and concert forms set to a pumping disco soundtrack. It also charts a young man’s (Brendan Maclean) journey of self-discovery as he is guided through the evening by a fairy godmother like figure (Marcia Hines). “Velvet is a nightclub, but it’s a state of mind, it’s a fantasy”––director Craig Ilott has assembled a handpicked cast of ten including “an astonishing bunch of Australian singers and performers” accompanied by astounding international circus and variety acts. (AM) Until Nov 1. Studio, Sydney Opera House. $35-$89. Tickets & info: sydneyoperahouse. com or velvettheshow.com city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

THE NAKED CITY

THE SKINNY SOY LATTE CATPUCHINO! With Coffin Ed, Miss Death and Jay Katz We were chuffed to learn this week that Sydney now has its own ‘cat café’, the Catmosphere Space Cat Café in Surry Hills, where feline tragics can fondle a moggie for a package deal that includes coffee, tea or hot chocolate and the choice of twenty-five assorted foster cats. Cafés that cater for pets have been popular in Asian countries for a number of years, but this would seem a real first for Sydney. However, we do have to ask where this will all lead and whether the money hungry City Of Sydney Council will seize the opportunity to impose some kind of levy on the number of cats that can be housed – a bit like their exorbitant charges for tables and chairs on the pavement. Sydney’s cat café hygienically separates the cat stroking from the food consumption areas, avoiding a problem that has so far foiled a similar enterprise in the normally laissez-faire city of New Orleans. Here a proposed cat café is facing the wrath of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, intent on segregating the latte sippers from the fluffy nippers as well as satisfying the demands of a team or scrutinising veterinarians. There is of course no truth in the rumour that Brigitte Bardot, the well known animal activist and sometime xenophobe, is planning to join forces with meat hating Morrissey and open a ‘feral’ cat café in Sydney. The pair recently launched a salvo at the Australian Government for its planned cull of two million feral cats, with Morrissey describing each of them as a smaller version of ‘Cecil the Lion’.

Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art

National Art School

Performance Space are debuting the astonishing Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art at Carriageworks this month. Liveworks features acclaimed Australian and international artists who are breaking new grounds of performance, and challenging the way visual art is traditionally perceived. “I think experimental artists are the bravest artists of our time,” said Artistic Director of Performance Space, Jeff Khan. “You know, they are artists who are forging new grounds and really offering up new ideas about what art should be. That to me is the most exciting [perspective] of experimental art.” The festival presents a diverse variety of works ranging from theatre, dance, digital technology and visual arts. “There’s a really strong contingent of indigenous artists… they look at indigenous knowledge systems and how we, as a culture, tend to learn from indigenous… perspectives,” Khan explained. “There’s… artists who engage with new technologies, and looking at what it means to be human in this era of rapidly developing technology.”

It is almost time to enjoy one of the most anticipated events of the national visual arts calendar. The most recent postgraduate cohort of the National Art School have reaped the benefits of the recent $8.7 million redevelopment of the institutions state-of-the-art Postgraduate Centre. On show from the end of the month, the National Art School Postgraduate Exhibition showcases and celebrates the achievements of the graduating students from the Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) and Master of Fine Art, a group of more than fifty artists majoring in ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking, photography or sculpture. For more than 100 years, the National Art School has nurtured the talents of some of the most respected artists in the nation, and it continues to uphold the promise of fostering and showcasing the talents of new generations of graduates is of the same high calibre.

WOOLLHARA SMALL SCULPTURE PRIZE One of Australia’s most distinguished national art prizes returns––this year welcoming 43 finalists from all over the country, and even internationally. The finalists use a variety of mediums to produce their work––ranging from taxidermy, intricate origami, found materials and objects, through to traditional Aboriginal sculpture from the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. Each sculpture explores different themes and uses such different mediums to do so. (JA) Until Oct 25. Woollahra Council Chambers, 536 New South Head 16

If such a café did go ahead, we imagine there would be no actual caressing of the ferals, unless punters wanted their faces ripped off. The beasts would be suitably caged and fed a constant diet of marsupial mice, lizards and an assortment of the endangered critters they have been rapidly exterminating throughout Australia in the last few decades. On the other hand, we are all for embracing the native

species that now call Sydney home and we’d love to see cafés open that allowed patrons to chat with a cockatoo, rummage with an ibis and frolic with a New Zealand fur seal (the latter of course is a reference to the loveable fur seal that has been squatting on the VIP steps of the Opera House for over a year now). Despite a supposed internet scam, where one enterprising villain was selling tickers for “SEAL LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE”, the State Government has recognised the ‘real’ seal’s presence and his obvious tourist potential. Rather than leave the little fellow languishing on the VIP steps, we’d love to see him invited into the Bennelong Restaurant as a regular attraction, delighting well heeled patrons with the usual seal-like antics––balancing brightly coloured balls on his head, clapping his cute little flippers and letting out an endearing “arf arf ”. Diners could further amuse themselves by tossing half eaten barramundi in his direction, thrilling at his dexterity as he plucked $75 fish dinners from the air. In the meantime, Sydneysiders have been asked not to feed the Opera House’s fur seal, with a large sign indicating just that. We understand the obvious concerns, but how wonderful it would be if the Opera House became a giant feeding platform for all manner of sea creatures. Whales, sharks, dolphins and even giant squid could be lured to within inches of the Opera Bar with a daily dumping of krill and other fishy delights, turning the whole precinct into the world’s largest ‘fish café’.

city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Over the course of three weeks, guests can explore 11 major works and interventions as part of the Liveworks Free Performance Program, as well as take part in specially curated workshops, screenings and lectures. Khan hopes that festivalgoers will be surprised by the number of large-scale works, have new experiences, and are challenged to consider new perspectives about art and the world. (NB) Oct 22–Nov 7. Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh. FREE Performance Program. Ticketed Events: $25-$35. Tickets & info: performancespace.com.au/ events/liveworks-fpp/

Road, Double Bay. FREE. Info: sculptureprize.woollahra.nsw.gov.au GABBI LANCASTER – ELEMENTAL Sydney artist Gabbi Lancaster’s incredible solo exhibition features paintings of the physical landscape as well as our inner dreamscapes, with Lancaster describing the pieces as “emotive abstractions of land and sea and sky”.The paintings explore the artist’s deep yearning for unity and oneness, inspired greatly by nature and more specifically, the area of Booderee National Park in Jervis Bay. Lancaster has created a collection of highly evocative pieces showing us her

visions and ideas about her sense of place and her inner feelings. (ASha) Oct 22–27, 11am-7pm. m2 Gallery, Shop 4/450 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills. Info: gabbilancaster.com DANELLE BERGSTORM – RETURN The latest collection of oil paintings by acclaimed Australian artist Danelle Bergstrom. Inspired by her own experiences and memories, Bergstrom paints a series of evocative and highly reflective landscape pieces inspired by the land around her enclave in Hill End. The dream-like sceneries have a sense of rawness about them, visible through the mixing of the fleeting shades of blue

Postgraduate Exhibition

and earthly, grounded browns.The artworks symbolise a journey of selfreflection and acceptance for the artist. (ASha) Until Nov 7. Arthouse Gallery, 66 McLachlan Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. Info: arthousegallery.com.au STREETS OF PAPUNYA This exhibition unearths the tumultuous history of Papunya, a Western Desert town regarded as the birthplace of contemporary Aboriginal painting. In particular, this exhibition showcases the remarkable art of the present day women painters of Papunya, celebrating of the re-emergence of

“The Exhibition is a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work to thousands of visitors including curators, collectors and gallerists,” said Michael Snelling, National Art School Director. (AM) Oct 30–Nov 7, Mon–Sat, 11am-5pm. National Art School Gallery, National Art School, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst. Free entry. Info: nas.edu.au/NASGallery/

Papunya painting maintained as part of the Papunya Tjupi Arts Centre established in 2007. An exhibition that treats Aboriginal art and its history with regard and respect. (AM) Until Nov 7,Tues–Sat, 10am-5pm. UNSW Galleries, cnr Oxford Street and Greens Road, Paddington. Free. Info: artdesign.unsw.edu.au PEOPLE LIKE US This is a varied and excellently curated collection of works exploring the interrelationships between art, technology and the human experience; implementing video, sound and sculptural installations. Interaction plays a key

role in this exhibition, from George Poonkhin Khut’s Brighthearts app that invites you to control beautiful moving images through your heartbeat; Su-Mei Tse’s aurally immersive purring cat portraits;Veloscape, an installation by Laura Fisher and Volker Kuchelmeister that takes you on a self-guided virtual bike tour through Sydney; and Inside – Topologies of Stroke, John McGhee’s virtual reality animation work that invites the viewer to explore the inner world inside our brains. (AM) Until Nov 7,Tues–Sat, 10am-5pm. UNSW Galleries, corner of Oxford Street and Greens Road. Free. Info: artdesign.unsw.edu.au

Sydney Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE By Jamie Apps MoVement Sydney: The inaugural four day dance event is set to celebrate the best that Sydney has to offer in the dance music sphere. Spreading across a multitude of venues in some of the city’s most vibrant locations, the event will feature artists from the grassroots of the scene right up to some of the top pioneers. Thu-Sun, Oct 22-25, Multiple Venues Across The City Postblue: First arriving on the scene with their grungy debut LP I Hope They’re Praying For Me, the Byron-bred but now Melbourne based group caught the attention of some of Australian music’s heavyweights in Violent Soho and The Smith Street Band. Now Postblue return with their new single Glow Like Crazy, which again builds on their punk roots but now with an added 90s pop polish. Thu, Oct 22, Brighton Up Bar Banoffee: With her second EP on the cusp of releasing into the wild, Melbourne artist Banoffee has just announced her biggest tour yet. This is an exciting chance for Sydney to hear and see an artists that was nominated for awards in Victoria as their Best Female Artists and Best Song in 2014. Fri, Oct 23, Goodgod Small Club Mailer Daemon: Heralded as Australia’s answer to Dr Dre or Kanye West, with his unique twist on hip-hop, trap and grime infused music. Mailer Daemon will be performing in Sydney this weekend to launch his new album

Ronin 2. Also taking the stage will be up and coming artist Sage who is also launching his latest release, Friend or Foe. Sat, Oct 24, Oxford Art Factory Gallery Bar Philadelphia Grand Jury: Just when the future couldn’t look brighter for this band they had a falling out and split up. Since then they have come together for two brief periods but essentially the ride was over––until recently when they reformed to release their much anticipated second album Summer Of Doom. To celebrate the reunion the guys are touring the country, with their second stop in Sydney this weekend. Sat, Oct 24, Oxford Art Factory Go Van Go: These Brisbane garage rockers arrive in Sydney this weekend as they make their way down the east coast to celebrate the release of their second EP Kill City: Switchblade. The pairs debut EP immediately catapulted them to the forefront of the garage rock scene with their party starting rock and roll inspired by old school rock but with a funky modern flair. Sun, Oct 25, Frankie’s Mustered Courage: The Melbourne based country music quartet have recently returned from a tour of the US where they certainly made their mark, performing several high profile shows. Now with the release of their major label debut, White Lies & Melodies, it’s time to hit the road back here at home. Wed, Oct 28,The Basement

The Waifs By Jamie Apps When a band has 20-plus years of experience writing and performing together, they form a close bond not only with each other but with the individual songs themselves. So that is why bringing on board producer Nick Didia for their seventh album was such a monumental step for The Waifs. “We’ve never really handed the reigns over fully to someone,” said Josh Cunningham.“You can get a bit possessive of your songs and music, it’s kind of like our little baby.” Despite the initial trepidation of bringing Nick into the fold, the end product certainly speaks for itself with Beautiful You being The Waifs strongest work since evolving into a fuller band setup.“Nick focused a lot on the full band sound, making the drums and guitar parts work together to make the songs sound solid and full,” explained Josh. The somewhat new setup for the group is

something that gradually grew and matured over time as they brought in David Macdonald (drums) and Ben Franz (bass). For Josh, the change was so gradual he barely noticed it until listening back to different phases on the bands career:“I think over the years we’ve developed that full band sound, and obviously also been influenced by some Americana music just by touring and living over there for a large portion of the last ten years.”

Dan Kelly - Leisure Panic

Time and time again – from Captain Kirk’s captain’s logs in Star Trek to Louis Litt’s dictaphone recordings in Suits – we’ve seen hand-written diary entries superseded by voice recorded entries. Dan Kelly’s Leisure Panic is yet another nail in the coffin for written diaries. Listening to this record, you’re taken on a journey with Kelly as explores the greenery of Nimbi and New South Wales’ north coast before heading further north to the sunny Gold Coast beaches. During the journey you’re given glimpses into his mind and some of the thoughts that flitter through it, from the tongue in cheek look at the never ending debate over ‘Melbourne vs Sydney’ to the wish for the ‘Baby Bonus’ to solve all of life’s problems. Leisure Panic is filled with dreamy, whimsical pop throughout. Unfortunately you may be occasionally jarred out of this dreamscape by samples from advertisements that could be viewed as modern day scrapbook clippings, included to remember the journey but they don’t always fit seamlessly. (JA) WWW

The living arrangements of both Josh and Vikki Thorn, who have both spent large parts of the last decade living in the United States, has also contributed to the groups minimal touring schedule around Australia. With this in mind, The Waifs are expecting the crowds to be really excited and eager to see them return to the stage, as was the case recently during their first tour of The States in quite a few years. Not only has the return to the stage reinvigorated fans, it has also brought a fresh burst of energy to the band, said Josh: “Touring gets into your blood, we’ve been doing this since we finished high school, so it becomes a way of life as well as our livelihood. To not be doing that has been really tough, so consequently getting back in the saddle again has given us a new lease on life.” Nov 5. The Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown. $61.90+b.f. Tickets & Info: enmoretheatre.com.au

Go Van Go – Kill City: Switchblade

There must be something in the water in Queensland, because they just keep pumping out funky grade rock bands, with the latest being Brisbane boys Go Van Go. Their sophomore release Kill City: Switchblade is packed full of party-starting rock and roll inspired by old school rock, but with a funky modern flair. If you were ever a fan of Wolfmother and their distinct sound, Go Van Go is right up your alley. With groovy guitar and bass lines complimented by catchy vocals, this is bound to make for some fun summer BBQ party listening. (JA) WWW1/ 2

FREEWILLASTROLOGY by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to the online etymological dictionary, the verb “fascinate” entered the English language in the 16th century. It was derived from the Middle French fasciner and the Latin fascinatus, which are translated as “bewitch, enchant, put under a spell.” In the 19th century, “fascinate” expanded in meaning to include “delight, attract, hold the attention of.” I suspect you will soon have experiences that could activate both senses of “fascinate.” My advice is to get the most out of your delightful attractions without slipping into bewitchment. Is that even possible? It will require you to exercise fine discernment, but yes, it is.

TAURUS (April 20May 20): One of the largest machines in the world is a “bucket wheel excavator” in Kazakhstan. It’s a saw that weighs 45,000 tons and has a blade the size of a four-story building. If you want to slice through a mountain, it’s perfect for the job. Indeed, that’s what it’s used for over in Kazakhstan. Right now, Taurus, I picture you as having a metaphorical version of this equipment. That’s because I think you have the power to rip open a clearing through a massive obstruction that has been in your way.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock did a daily ritual to remind him of life’s impermanence. After drinking his tea each morning, he flung both cup and saucer over his shoulder, allowing them to smash on the floor. I don’t recommend that you adopt a comparable custom for long-term use, but it might be healthy and interesting to do so for now. Are you willing to outgrow and escape your old containers? Would you consider diverging from formulas that have always worked for you? Are there any unnecessary taboos that need to be broken? Experiment with the possible blessings that might come by not clinging to the illusion of “permanence.”

CANCER (June 21July 22): Terence was a comic playwright in ancient Rome. He spoke of love in ways that sound modern. It can be capricious and weird, he said. It may provoke indignities and rouse difficult emotions. Are you skilled at debate? Love requires you to engage in strenuous discussions. Peace may break out in the midst of war, and vice versa. Terence’s conclusion: If you seek counsel regarding the arts of love, you may as well be asking for advice on how to go mad. I won’t argue with him. He makes good points. But I suspect that in the coming weeks you will be excused from most of those crazy-making aspects. The

sweet and smooth sides of love will predominate. Uplift and inspiration are more likely than angst and bewilderment. Take advantage of the grace period! Put chaos control measures in place for the next time Terence’s version of love returns. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the coming weeks, you will have a special relationship with the night. When the sun goes down, your intelligence will intensify, as will your knack for knowing what’s really important and what’s not. In the darkness, you will have an enhanced capacity to make sense of murky matters lurking in the shadows. You will be able to penetrate deeper than usual, and get to the bottom of secrets and mysteries that have kept you off-balance. Even your grimy fears may be transformable if you approach them with a passion for redemption.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): New friends and unexpected teachers are in your vicinity, with more candidates on the way. There may even be potential comrades who could eventually become flexible collaborators and catalytic guides. Will you be available for the openings they offer? Will you receive them with fire in your heart and mirth in your eyes? I worry that you may not be ready if you are too preoccupied with old friends and familiar teachers. So please make room for surprises.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): More than any other sign, you have an ability to detach yourself from life’s flow and analyze its complexities with cool objectivity. This is mostly a good thing. It enhances your power to make rational decisions. On the other hand, it sometimes devolves into a liability. You may become so invested in your role as observer that you refrain from diving into life’s flow. You hold yourself apart from it, avoiding both its messiness and vitality. But I don’t foresee this being a problem in the coming weeks. In fact, I bet you will be a savvy watcher even as you’re almost fully immersed in the dynamic flux.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Are you an inventor? Is it your specialty to create novel gadgets and machines? Probably not. But in the coming weeks you may have metaphorical resemblances to an inventor. I suspect you will have an enhanced ability to dream up original approaches and find alternatives to conventional wisdom. You may surprise yourself with your knack for finding ingenious solutions to long-standing dilemmas. To prime your instincts, I’ll provide three thoughts from inventor Thomas Edison. 1. “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” 2. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” 3. “Everything comes to those who hustle while they wait.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19): “A waterfall would be more impressive if it flowed the other way,” said Irish author Oscar Wilde. I appreciate the wit, but don’t agree with him. A plain old ordinary waterfall, with foamy surges continually plummeting over a precipice and crashing below, is sufficiently impressive for me. What about you, Capricorn? In the coming days, will you be impatient and frustrated with plain old ordinary marvels and wonders? Or will you be able to enjoy them just as they are?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): Some unraveling is inevitable. What has been woven together must now be partially unwoven. But please refrain from thinking of this mysterious development as a setback. Instead, consider it an opportunity to reexamine and redo any work that was a bit hasty or sloppy. Be glad you will get a second chance to fix and refine what wasn’t done quite right the first time. In fact, I suggest you preside over the unraveling yourself. Don’t wait for random fate to accomplish it. And for best results, formulate an intention to regard everything that transpires as a blessing.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Years ago, I moved into a rental house with my new girlfriend, whom I had known for six weeks. As we fell asleep the first night, a song played in my head: “Nature’s

Way,” by the band Spirit. I barely knew it and had rarely thought of it before. And yet there it was, repeating its first line over and over: “It’s nature’s way of telling you something’s wrong.” Being a magical thinker, I wondered if my unconscious mind was telling me a secret about my love. But I rejected that possibility; it was too painful to contemplate. When we broke up a few months later, however, I wished I had paid attention to that early alert. I mention this, Aquarius, because I suspect your unconscious mind will soon provide you with a wealth of useful information, not just through song lyrics but other subtle signals, as well. Listen up! At least some of it will be good news, not cautionary like mine. PISCES (Feb. 19March 20): When I advise you to GET NAKED, I don’t mean it in a literal sense. Yes, I will applaud if you’re willing to experiment with brave acts of self-revelation. I will approve of you taking risks for the sake of the raw truth. But getting arrested for indecent exposure might compromise your ability to carry out those noble acts. So, no, don’t actually take off all your clothes and wander through the streets. Instead, surprise everyone with brilliant acts of surrender and vulnerability. Gently and sweetly and poetically tell the Purveyors of Unholy Repression to take their boredom machine and shove it up their humdrum.

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JEWISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL The highly anticipated 2015 Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) should complement the current spate of foreign language film festivals, with a wonderful selection of films from countries including Israel, France, Germany, Romania, USA and Canada. The 60 feature films and documentaries screening have been selected from over 300 sourced and submitted films, evolving a world class and award winning film festival. Festival director Eddie Tamir said that admissions to the JIFF are on the rise in Australia, with non-Jewish attendances also increasing. “There’s a great range of contemporary films for all tastes including documentaries, drama, horror and thrillers. We’ve selected films on quality and audience interest, there’s no genre quota as such,” explained Tamir. “There’s only five holocaust themed films in this festival––it’s a perception of the past that all films screened in the JIFF concern the holocaust and human suffering.”

“Australian audiences should not only be entertained by these films, but hopefully they will be stimulated into conversation and argument,” concluded Tamir. (MMo) TAMIR’S TOP 2 PICKS AT THE FILM FESTIVAL: Son of Saul: An award-winning Hungarian drama set in Auschwitz 1944. A Hungarian-Jewish prisoner who burns the dead retrieves the body of a boy whom he believes to be his son, hoping to find a rabbi to arrange a clandestine burial. A critical standout. Felix and Meira: A refined and strangely hypnotic film which concerns a young married woman who feels suffocated by her Jewish culture and finds solace in the arms of another man, alienating herself from the Jewish Community. (MMo) Oct 28–Nov 18. Event Cinemas, Westfield Shopping Centre, 500 Oxford St, Bondi Junction. $20–$95 (5 film pass). Tickets & info: jiff.com.au

Alex & Eve

Aussies take the backseat in this enchanting Australian romantic comedy which centres on a forbidden interracial relationship. Alex (Richard Brancatisano) is a maths teacher who meets Eve (Andrea Demetriades), a prominent lawyer.Their relationship is doomed from the moment they meet, as Alex is Greek Orthodox and Eve is a Muslim Lebanese. Both sets of parents agree upon one point: “They marry their kind, we marry our kind”. Based on the hit play by Alex Lykos, this is not an original FILM MISS YOU ALREADY Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore) have been best friends all their lives. Now adults, with their own families and careers––their lives are upended when Milly, the more gregarious of the two is diagnosed with breast cancer.While the film is about the tight bonds that bind female friendships, it becomes more about Milly’s battle with cancer and its emotional toll on her and everyone around her. Collette turns in an amazing performance and the film should be commended for its unflinching and realistic perspective. (ASim) WWW1/ 2 LEGEND Throughout the 1960s, a pair of identical twins controlled London’s dark underbelly.Tom Hardy attempts to fill the shoes of both Ronnie and Reggie Kray in new flick, Legend. Hardy does a rather admiral job in what must have been an extremely difficult set of roles to perform.‘Muddled’ is perhaps the 18

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concept, but it is hysterically funny and a delight to watch. Ethnic audiences should connect instantly to this film owing to their immediate experiences with these stereotyped characters and scenarios. The main focus of the film is adhering to family expectations and traditions in a culturally diverse society, and the emotional dilemma this couple endure. Highly clichéd, there’s a predictable but highly satisfying conclusion to the story of this charismatic couple. (MMo) WWW1/ 2

best word to describe this film, as it seems that director Brian Hegeland was unable to decide on one particular story arch to follow––is this a crime drama, a love story/ tragedy, or a comedy? Excellent cinematography and visual effects. (JA) WW1/ 2 THE WALK The masterfully told true story of Frenchman Philippe Petit’s daring high-wire walk between New York’s (then not-quite-finished) World Trade Centre Twin Towers in 1974. Director and writer Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away, Forrest Gump) has created a remarkably suspenseful film with the best use of 3D seen in a long time––beautiful cinematography and fluid special effects complement the Petit’s high-wire movements. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) portrays Petit––one of a few actors consistently at the top of their game, a true creative who can disappear into a character quietly. (LL) WWWW LEARNING TO DRIVE An unlikely friendship builds when two culturally diverse New Yorkers

Only The Dead

Australian journalist Michael Ware was on assignment for seven years in the Middle East, reporting on the American war against terrorism. He followed contingents of soldiers recording the suicide bombings, shootings, executions and other atrocities on a handy-cam. Ten years on he has edited over 100 hours of raw footage and produced this extraordinary and visually horrifying war documentary which will shock and arrest audiences. Detailing the origins of terror group Islamic State, this film also touches on the shattered lives of civilians caught in the crossfire and how American soldiers have been desensitized and depersonalized by the extremities of war. experiencing marital difficulties meet and become dependent on each other for relationship advice.Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) a middle-aged book critic, accepts driving lessons from Darwan (Ben Kingsley) a Sikh driving instructor, when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Darwan is fighting his own demons, feeling trapped in an arranged marriage.Touching on themes of racism and illegal immigration, this comedy/drama is extremely witty, much of the humour arising from the sharp-tongued dialogue delivered by the deliciously spiteful Wendy. (MMo) WWW1/ 2 PAN The origin story of Peter Pan details Pan’s arrival to Neverland and how he came to be known as the boy who could fly.This newly penned, epic, fun-filled and swashbuckling family adventure also details Pan (Levi Miller) and Hook’s (Garrett Hedlund) first meeting, their friendship and how they joined forces to fight the malicious Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). Audiences will be enchanted by the

A harrowing experience, audiences are in the thick of the action, with lingering thoughts of futility, as the eradication of each terrorist is only reinstated by another. This documentary highlights the urgency to eradicate terrorism and resonates that, realistically, ‘only the dead’ will ever see the end of warfare. Provocative, insightful and seemingly uncensored, this is not a film to be enjoyed, but one which must be seen. (MMo) WWW1/ 2 Oct 25, 6pm, followed by Q&A with Michael Ware. Palace Verona, 17 Oxford St, Paddington. $19. National release through new cinema-on-demand platform Fan-Force – further details: fan-force.com/films/onlythedead/ energy and imagination which implodes from the reincarnated world of Neverland – this is the Peter Pan for today’s generation, CGI-heavy and artistically flawless. (MMo) WWW BLACK MASS An adaptation of the book of the same name by two Boston Globe reporters responsible for exposing the seedy underbelly of the FBI and their murky relationship with one of America’s most notorious criminals, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Johnny Depp).This film picks up after Bulger has completed a stretch in Alcatraz. It is often plotting and methodical with it’s approach, which some may find too slow - but this is more of a character drama with intermittent violence dispersed throughout, rather than an all out gangster action thriller. (JA) WWWW THE INTERN Ben Whittaker (Robert DeNiro) is a 70-year-old widower who finds himself bored and underwhelmed in his retirement.

Crimson Peak The latest offering from Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) is a gothic twist on the romance genre formula where girl meets boy, they fall in love and live happily ever after. When the handsome, mysterious stranger Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) rides into town, aspiring writer Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) falls hard and fast for him. However upon getting married and moving back to his castle in England with his less-thanwelcoming sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain), she soon discovers that the siblings and their house are haunted with secrets. Bloody apparitions start popping up from the floorboards and from behind closed doors. As to be expected with a del Toro project, Crimson Peak is a visual feast with beautifully He seizes an opportunity to take up a senior internship position at an online fashion start-up, where he is immediately a hit with everyone except for company founder Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), who is overwhelmed with her sudden success. Set expectations aside and settle in for an all-round delightful romp through an emotional and modern human journey. It’s refreshing to watch a fictional relationship evolve between a younger woman and an older man that doesn’t feel pressured to head in a romantic direction. (AM) WWW1/ 2 SICARIO On the surface, Sicario appears to be yet another thriller exploring the never-ending war on drugs, but this intense film is much deeper and cerebral. Reminiscent of films such as The Silence Of The Lambs – which place female protagonists in the lead role in male dominated worlds – it explores this interesting dynamic. Emily Blunt provides a wonderful performance as Kate Macer, the viewer follows

constructed sets and exquisite costumes. There are some holes though––the dénouement is a tad predictable and the stories of the ghosts could have been delved into more.That said, in addition to the stunning aesthetics,Wasikowska, Hiddleston and Chastain are brilliant and there is an excellent dynamic between the three characters.This is what makes Crimson Peak so enjoyable to watch––and with the jumpy thrills and gore, it has arrived perfectly in time for Halloween. (ASim) WWWW along as she struggles to comprehend and discover the true intentions of the task force she is assigned to in order to finally make a difference in the war on drugs. (JA) WWWW CUT SNAKE This gritty and violent Australian psychological crime-thriller is set in Melbourne in the mid 1970’s, and centres on a man who is drawn back to the dark world of crime. Sparra (Alex Russell) has closed the door on his past, works an honest job and is engaged to his girlfriend (Jessica De Gouw), but his dark secrets resurface when Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) an ex-con, shows up at his doorstep. There’s a strangeness between these characters which permeates throughout. Their relationship is awkwardly pretentious and Sparra is quietly terrified. This is not a great film, but Stapleton’s performance as the unnerving psychopath is praiseworthy and should lead to greater roles. (MMo) WWW

Kings Court Massage Kings Court is the only place to have twenty two massage rooms and eleven hot tubs, spas, and bubble baths. Wall to wall beautiful ladies, pool tables and luxurious leather lounges. You can have a coffee while you meet the ladies and enjoy the friendly atmosphere. Approachable managers help you choose a lady for your massage. There is a fair queuing system and no hidden charges or credit card fees. We are just along from Central Railway at 261 Parramatta Rd Glebe, NSW 2037 Phone 02 9660 0666 Its a $9.00 Taxi Ride from the CBD Visit our web site at

www.kingscourt.com.au We are open 9 am to 1 am and 24 hours on Weekends. There is a 20% discount from 9 am to 12 noon & FREE ENTRY before 9 pm each day. After 9 pm a $20 entry fee forms part of the pricing structure and also protects the massage ladies from insincere callers. Parking is available in the Broadway Shopping Centre near our discreet rear entrance at 18 Grose St Glebe, 2 hrs free. Check out the website:

www.kingscourt.com.au for information, funny stuff and pictures of pretty women. There are no photos of the regular girls as they are too shy and we don’t provide full service. Also check out Big John’s Facebook to see a mixture of really funny pics, photos, stories and links to the best pages of our website. This is updated regularly:

www.facebook.com/KingsBigJohn Kings Court Massage: Where the first time customer can meet the first time massage girl!

VACANCIES Kings Court is the best place to learn adult massage. You can work with us part time or casual and you are paid cash daily. Work times can suit students or young mothers. When you start we get one of the regular girls to show you how to do your first massage. We have off street parking for ladies with cars and for your interview you can park in the Broadway Shopping Centre near our discreet rear entry with two hours free parking. The 18 Grose Street Glebe NSW 2037 address is the best way to find us using GPS plotting. Ring us on 02 9660 0666. Some ladies from out of town stay over when they visit. We have the bestest and sweetest customers of any place. The website is www.kingscourt.com.au On the home page have a look at, “Is this your first time” and see the ten tips that help customers to understand how we do business and how they must behave towards our girls.

Hi, this is Big John the owner of Kings Court.

Big John says: These cartoons really are based on things that happen! Juice Magazine printed an interview with a star drummer (name changed) from a major group from the USA and we made our full page cartoon from the words he had actually said. When asked about his trip over here they printed it exactly as above, except for the last panel. It seems that from time to time guys just want to meet normal ladies and have a nice time being polite. They come to Kings Court Massage and enjoy the relaxing informal atmosphere in the lounge, spa and massage. It really

is a very nice experience and you can sit naked in the spa with a pretty girl and have champagne at no extra charge. It is about half the price of going to similar places where they offer more. We have very nice, normal “girl-nextdoor” types here and because we don’t allow the girls to have their privacy invaded they remain as sweet young things and do not toughen up. You will leave with a smile on your face and a tremble in your knees! The best new thing we have at the moment is all the really funny stuff on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/KingsBigJohn

city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Body Bar These body treatments have been developed to revitalise your skin while nurturing your wellbeing. Stone massage – 60min . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $99 $45* Allow the hot and cold basalt stones to take you on a spiritual journey connecting complete relaxation and skin health. Back and shoulder massage – 30min . . . . . . $50 $25* Using nourishing oils to replenish the skin while relaxing the body. Relaxation massage – 60min . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80 $40* Using nourishing oils to replenish the skin while relaxing the body.

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Trading hours

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Rituals Our treatment rituals have been designed to either balance or awaken your mind, body and spirit.

Monday to Friday: 8:00am - 6:00pm Saturdays by appointment Phone: 9217 5373 Email: LimelightSpa.SI@tafensw.edu.au

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Limelight

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city hub 22 OCTOBER 2015

Price list