OCTOBER 22, 2020
C I T Y H U B SY D N E Y. C O M . AU @CityHubSydney
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SAVE DEMOCRACY Heavy-handed police enforcement of public health orders erodes the right to protest
BY ALLISON HORE ctivists, politicians, union officials and legal experts are calling for “democracy to be restored” in NSW in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite not a single documented case of Coronavirus transmission occurring at a protest in Australia, COVID-19 health and safety orders have been used to shut down a number of protests in Sydney over the past couple of months. And the increasingly heavy-handed police response has activists worried. But behind the scenes, a campaign to protect the right to protest has been building traction. The campaign, “Democracy is Essential”, calls for protest gatherings to be allowed an
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exemption under the NSW Public Health orders and has been backed by public figures, academics and politicians including Jenny Leong and Jamie Parker from the Greens. Eleanor Morely, one of the campaign’s founders, told City Hub the campaign came about in response to “escalating police and state repression” towards organised protests during the pandemic. But she said the pattern of police shutting down protests is not new and worries it will continue long after the pandemic. “I think this is something that has been building for some time, and now the pandemic is being used as an excuse to escalate the level of repression,” she said.
“There’s nothing that suggests it will be just protest as normal when the pandemic is under control. Unless we fight and challenge, what is an effective ban on protests right now, we could expect to see this repression maintained.” In June police successfully moved to have a Black Lives Matter protest blocked by the supreme court the night before the event was planned. Thousands of protesters defied the Supreme Court’s Order to gather at Town Hall for the rally in solidarity with the protest movement across the USA and to call for justice for aboriginal deaths in custody. Only a few minutes before the rally was about to begin did the court backtrack on their decision.
But a second Black Lives Matter rally in July was shut down by police before it even began. “On the night of the protest about 200 police officers blocked off the venue that we were going to congregate and arrested and fined a whole lot of the organisers,” Eleanor explained. Protests at the University of Sydney against the government’s “job ready education” package and cuts to funding and staff wages have also been subject to heavy policing. A number of campus protesters have been arrested and Sydney Uni’s Student Representative Council president Liam Donohoe estimates over $43,000 in fines have been dished out to campus protesters. Continued on page 2
SAVE DEMOCRACY (Continued from the cover)
A protester at this year’s Climate Strike in Martin Place. Photo: Allison Hore
One rally last week saw protesters and observers pushed onto the ground by police. Writing for The Guardian University of Sydney law student Nina Dillon Britton called the response of police to these protests “the real ‘free speech crisis’ at Australian universities”. A number of protesters at a transgender rights protest this month were also arrested and fined. The protest against Mark Latham’s education bill, which would outlaw education about gender fluidity in NSW schools, went ahead despite the supreme court declaring it unauthorised.
“DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES” UNDER THREAT
National Tertiary Education Union NSW Division Secretary Michael Thompson says that he is concerned about the police
response to protests, especially those on university campuses. “It’s extremely worrying that NSW police, with the full backing of the NSW Liberal government, have seen COVID as an opportunity to unnecessarily ban all protest,” Mr. Thompson said. “We don’t need a police state to beat this virus, we need a sensible approach that balances risk with democratic principles.” In September independent member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, wrote a letter to health minister Brad Hazzard on behalf of constituents who had contacted him worried about the “double standard” of some large public gatherings being allowed while protests were not. “Constituents who have contacted me are concerned that public health orders allow for activities that pose greater
Public Notice Planning Proposal: Open and Creative Planning Reforms
health risks than well managed outdoor protests, which are not permitted,” he said in the letter. Mr. Greenwich said he believes protests can be COVID-safe and that the public health orders could be amended to allow for protest events to be run if they have an approved COVID-19 safety plan. He asked the health minister to investigate conditions under which protests may be able to run. “The need to collectively and publicly voice opinion or dissent of a political nature has not disappeared with the pandemic – the Black Lives Matter movement is a case in point,” he said.
“HYPOCRITICAL” POLICE RESPONSE
Even when rallies are planned with COVID-19 safety measures in mind, protest organisers say tactics used by the police make it difficult for them to carry out their COVID-19 safety plans. Eleanor says the move is “hypocritical” and shows the police have little regard for the health and safety of protesters or people they may come into contact with. “Something they have started to do at the last few protests is kettle protesters,” she said “What that means is police form a line around the border of the crowd of protesters and start moving in, so they shove people into a smaller space where
it is physically impossible, then, to socially distance.” Eleanor says that the social justice issues activists are fighting about “have not been put on hold because of the pandemic” and says “safe events” for people to attend. She says the health and safety measures put into place make the rallies safer than going to crowded beaches or catching public transport. “We have COVID-safe plans for each protest that we have been implementing, you’ll see everyone in attendance is wearing masks, people are going around with hand sanitiser, at the start when we have the speeches, they’re all socially distanced,” she explained. As for the police response, Eleanor says people interested in taking a stand should do so and “not let [the police’s] scare tactics succeed”. “They behave in this way to try and scare people away from protesting. But protesting is one of the most basic democratic rights that people have and to allow them to scare people off from attending rallies would be a real shame,” she said. Organisers of this month’s transgender rights rally agree that the police action is designed as a scare tactic. They took to social media to say, “we oppose this draconian use of fines to scare activists from fighting against bigotry and oppression.”
Cats and kittens available for adoption
The City of Sydney invites your feedback on proposals to improve planning controls for cultural life, creative spaces, live entertainment and the night-time economy. The proposals: • Allow shops and business to trade in central Sydney and local centres from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week without an additional approval; • Allow temporary small-scale cultural activities to take place in existing office, industrial, retail and community facility buildings without an approval; • Make it easier for creative and maker tenants to locate in Local Centres • Allow for performance and entertainment uses at Erskineville Town Hall, and • Enable the fair management of entertainment sound to protect live music and performance venues and the community from potential adverse impacts. The proposed changes are on exhibition from 19 October until 18 November 2020. The exhibition includes a planning proposal to amend the Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, a draft development control plan to amend Sydney Development Control Plan 2012, and draft technical guidelines. We will consider all submissions and report the results to Council and the Central Sydney Planning Committee. If Council approves this planning proposal after public exhibition, the proposal will be sent to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment for final approval.
All our cats and kittens have been desexed, microchipped, vaccinated, flea-and-worm treated, health-checked by a vet and are litter-trained. Our adoption fees are $150 or $250 for a bonded pair plus applicable lifetime registration fee
You can view the proposal and give your feedback at sydneyyoursay. com.au by 5pm on Wednesday, 18 November 2020. You can also email submissions to jprentice@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au or post to: Chief Executive Officer, Attention: Julie Prentice, Specialist Planner, City of Sydney, GPO Box 1591, Sydney NSW 2000. Submissions should quote Reference X009155.013 – Open and Creative Planning Reforms.
For more information call 02 9265 9333 or email council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au | cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au 2
CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
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Questions over casino opening (See p.4)
Artists take a stand against Parramatta Powerhouse BY ANTONIA MANGOS lthough the Powerhouses’s Ultimo location has been saved, the NSW Government’s decision to press ahead with the construction of a second Powerhouse museum in western Sydney has sparked a public outcry. After months of deliberation from the government, a second Powerhouse museum is set to make its mark in Parramatta on the site of existing historic buildings. The decision has left local artists and members of the community scratching their heads. The plan to demolish the original Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo and relocate to Parramatta had been in place by the State Government since February 2015 before a last minute U-turn on the plan was announced in July this year. Now, NSW will have two museums, and the Parramatta precinct, which is yet to begin construction, has caused contention due to the historical importance of the location. The two buildings, Willow Grove and St George’s Terrace are examples of Parramatta’s rich history and community roots dating back to the 1870s. Willow Grove served as a private two-storey villa and subsequently as a maternity hospital while St George’s Terrace is a prime example of Victorian Italianate architecture, according to local artists.
public scrutiny. In a move which has left the Guerilla Gallery activists furious, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed in September that the preventions for redevelopment over the two sites were quietly removed last year to make way for the government’s plan. On top of this, Stolk reported that protest art created by the Guerilla Gallery and other local artists was removed prior to a site tour conducted by the NSW Government. The tour marked a pivotal role in determining the fate of the buildings for demolition.
SAVING HERITAGE THROUGH ART
SHIFTING FOUNDATIONS
A HubARTS: William Crighton “People say I’m political in my writing, but I think that’s garbage” (See p. 7)
Published weekly and freely available throughout the Inner City. 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, we take no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions. ABN 52 600 903 348 Group Editor & Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Publisher Assistant: Mal Moody Advertising Managers: 0404 042 615 Mal Moody 0400 319 934 Dan Kinsela Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au News Editor: Allison Hore Contributors: Allison Hore, Antonia Mangos Cartoonist: Sam Mcnair Arts Editor: Jamie Apps Contributors: Irina Dunn, Madison Behringer, Mark Morellini, Renee Lou Dallow, Rida Babar, Linc Jenkin Cover Photo: Allison Hore. Protesters at a Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney in June Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: news@altmedia.net.au, arts@altmedia.net.au Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Website: cityhubsydney.com.au If you have a story, or any comments you’d like to share with us: news@altmedia.net.au @CityHubSydney
These local artists are the Guerilla Gallery who have collaborated with the Craze Collective, The Knitters of MAAS Decoration as well as Global Gardens to protest the state government’s decision. William Stolk, from the Guerilla Gallery, spoke to City Hub about their project. “The fundamental idea of the St George’s Terrace Gallery was to bring together local artists who are passionate advocates for preserving the history of Parramatta and communicate with Create NSW in language they should understand,” Stolk said. “To have such talented people come together with support from companies such as Global Gardens is both a testament to the cause and to the fervour of the community in fighting to preserve our history.” The construction and planning processes surrounding the Parramatta Powerhouse have been met with much
It’s unfortunate that
our perspectives were figuratively and literally erased “It’s unfortunate that our perspectives were figuratively and literally erased. This move by the powers effectively censored a community sentiment... It’s quite frustrating that our voices are being stifled, because we strongly believe that art is for the people and we do this to encourage conversation about subjects that should be openly discussed by the people it impacts most.”
The Guerilla Gallery and other artists have not been the only ones who are pushing back against the development. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) has also placed a green ban on the buildings that effectively means union workers are barred from participating in the demolition. According to The Guardian, the State Government said the construction of the museum will create more than 1,100 construction jobs, 2,400 indirect jobs, and employ hundreds more people once opened as well as attract around two million more tourists to the city of Parramatta. It is also set to bring modern cultural facilities to the city’s “melting pot” and to Western Sydney as a whole. In response to the outcries of the construction union, members of the public and local artists, the Berejiklian government announced a plan to “save”
Guerilla knitting on St George’s Terrace as part of the campaign to save the heritage buildings. Photo: Craze Collective
the much loved buildings. Arts Minister Don Harwin announced on October 8 that there are plans for the Willow Grove building to be dismantled piece by piece and relocated to North Parramatta whilst St George’s terraces will be preserved. However, the controversial decision to dismantle the building has not been received well by everyone. “The government missed the mark in addressing community needs. The government are representatives of their respective communities, and to disregard the opinions and needs of the people that they serve is a misstep to say the least,” Stolk said on the decision. “This fight is not only for the buildings themselves but for the location as a “place”, the beautiful trees and garden that surround it make up the entirety of the establishment.” In response to construction deliberations, in October Infrastructure NSW revealed an array of changes to the museum’s design. These include screens that will block the public from accessing the area, except during special events managed by the Powerhouse. Meanwhile a business case is being prepared to present to the government later this year but the Guerilla Gallery is not ready to back down. “We feel that we are being censored by those in power. We are open to working further with the NSW government and the public to reach a resolution that benefits all perspectives.” CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
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“Disturbing” police response to campus protest Multiple students and staff were arrested and issued fines. Many more were pushed, shoved, dragged or thrown to the ground by officers. Video captured by journalists at campus newspaper Honi Soit documented the events as they unfolded. One video posted to twitter shows a young woman being violently thrown to the ground by police officers as they attempt to keep the protesters off the road.
My legs were kicked
A still from the video showing professor Simon Rice’s encounter with police (right, near gates). Photo: Twitter/Honi Soit
BY ALLISON HORE niversity of Sydney staff and students have been left feeling “disturbed” by footage showing the heavy-handed actions of police at a campus protest on Wednesday. Around 200 students gathered on the lawn at University of Sydney at around midday on Wednesday to participate in a public “teach out” organised by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). The protest was in response to higher education funding cuts which are
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part of the federal government’s controversial “job ready graduates” legislation package. The package now looks set to pass following the government securing crucial support from the Center Alliance. Although students gathered as part of the event remained in socially distanced groups of twenty, under the COVID-19 Public Health Orders if separate groups of people are deemed to be in the same location with “common purpose” they can be classed as one gathering.
out from underneath me and I fell to the ground on my hands and knees
Greens MLC David Shoebridge, who was in attendance at the university event, described the footage as “awful” and added “there is no excuse for this police to act like this.”
PROFESSOR ARRESTED
Sydney University Law professor Simon Rice who was observing the campus
protest also fell victim to the heavy handed policing. The professor and his students, who are working on a law reform project about protest legislation, walked alongside the riot squad officers and mounted police until the police formed a bottleneck which the protesting students were caught in. Professor Rice walked through to get to the other side where he was confronted by police. Another Honi Soit video documents professor Rice’s encounter. He is seen on the ground at the gates of Victoria park surrounded by officers. As he attempts to get up, he is pushed down again. “My legs were kicked out from underneath me and I fell to the ground on my hands and knees. I turned over and tried to get up and was pushed back down again,” Professor Rice told the Sydney Morning Herald. Professor Rice is one of fourteen people in attendance at the event who were issued with $1000 fines for breaches of the Public Health Order. Not counting Wednesday’s action, the university’s Student Representative Council president Liam Donohoe says over $43,000 in fines have already been dished out to campus protesters.
Inquiry leads to questions over Crown opening BY ALLISON HORE uestions have been raised as to whether Crown Casino should go ahead with its December opening while the investigations into the group’s NSW licence are ongoing. The new $2.2 billion Crown Casino in Barangaroo is due to open on the 14th of December- months before the ongoing investigation into whether or not the Casino’s licence is appropriate is due to end. Last year a series of reports by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes exposed Crown’s junket partners, its failure to stop money laundering at its Perth and Melbourne casinos and how the casino group put its staff at risk of arrest in China. As a result, the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority launched an inquiry to look into what was revealed in the investigation and a deal James Packer made in may to sell off one fifth of the company to Melco Resorts, another Casino group. Ultimately, the inquiry led by supreme court judge Patricia Bergin will determine whether Crown should keep its NSW casino licence. A final decision is due to be revealed on the 1st of February next year (2021).
delaying the opening of the casino floor either. Even if February’s ruling deems the licence suitable, COVID-19 travel restrictions have also led to questions about the Casino’s future. A closed border means the international high rollers who were expected to provide around a third of the Casino’s profits will be shut out.
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CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
Mr. Packer admitted
Crown Barangaroo looms over the harbour as an investigation looms over the Crown. Photo: Allison Hore
Despite the ongoing investigation into Crown and James Packer, Crown seems set to press ahead with the December soft-opening of the casino’s gaming facilities, some restaurants and the hotel.
INAPPROPRIATE OPENING
While giving evidence at the inquiry this week Crown director Jane Halton was asked if it was appropriate to go ahead with the opening of the Casino while a suitability inquiry is ongoing. She replied she is aware the court’s report is due in February and said delaying the
opening is not something she’s “aware of having been discussed”. In addition to the casino floors, the 75 storey Barangaroo building will include a 6-star hotel with 350 hotel rooms and suites, restaurants, bars and retail outlets. Commissioner Bergen pressed further saying she was “not talking about the opening of the building and the opening of the restaurants and all the other wonderful aspects” but the casino floor itself. Ms. Halton said she was not aware of any discussions relating to
that he might have to sell at least some of the 36 percent of Crown shares he owns After days of being grilled on the stand, on Thursday Mr. Packer admitted that he might have to sell at least some of the 36 percent of Crown shares he owns to save the Sydney licence. When he finished giving evidence at the inquiry Mr. Packer left the country on his yacht bound for the USA. He said he has no plan to return to Australia for the opening of Crown’s Barangaroo casino.
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Mental health recovery center opens in Bondi BY ALLISON HORE new mental health recovery and early intervention centre officially opened in Bondi on Tuesday this week. The new $1.1 million mental health short-stay recovery centre was set up by Independent Community Living Australia (ICLA), a mental health, disability, and homelessness community organisation. The organisation first came about in 1984 to aid a group of boarding house residents in Bondi who were facing eviction. The eight-bed prevention and recovery centre, established in partnership between ICLA and South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, is located within the community near Bondi Beach. The center will be staffed around the clock, 7 days a week. Staff on duty includes support workers, peer workers and clinical staff. Cutting the ribbon on the center was Janet Meagher, a mental health advocate and 1996 recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia. After a mental health crisis led Ms. Meagher to crash into Sydney Airport in 1969, she
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was diagnosed with schizophrenia and taken into care at Gladesville Hospital. It was this experience which began her path of advocacy work. She said the new center in Bondi was a “welcome initiative”. “It offers those experiencing severe and persistent mental health issues opportunities for personalised support to assist their recovery efforts with the development of a hopeful future through a combination of Peer Support and clinical options being available to them,” she said.
It is a safe space
designed to support recovery and empower those leaving hospital care
People of any gender aged between 18 to 64 will be able to access the services which were funded in part by the NSW government. Mental health services will be particularly pertinent in the wake of
Janet Meagher AM at the opening of the new mental health recovery centre. Photo: Supplied
the COVID-19 pandemic. Early studies have shown the pandemic may lead to an increase in complicated mental health issues. Data coming out of China showed a significant increase in people in their 50s and 60s experiencing psychosis for the first time, despite psychosis usually coming on when people are in their late teens or 20s.
PERSONALISED CARE
NSW Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the centre would provide an extra layer of care for those experiencing mental health crises outside a hospital setting. “This facility will provide evidence-based
care in a peer supported environment,” she said. “It is a safe space designed to support recovery and empower those leaving hospital care as they prepare to return to their community.” Angela Karooz, General Manager, Mental Health Service, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District said the partnership with ILCA will enable the district to provide high-quality care to vulnerable people in the Eastern suburbs without hospitalisation. “The emphasis is on the person’s personal strengths and resources that can be harnessed to enhance their wellbeing and recover,” she said.
COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY
YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING!
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ne of the more sociable activities absent during the current COVID-19 restrictions has been that much cherished pastime called dancing - no dancing in clubs and pubs, no dancing at weddings and no dancing at children’s dance schools. Admittedly there has been an explosion of TikTok boogie moves and Zoom party choreography, but nothing beats the real face to face experience. One aspect of community dancing that is seldom discussed is the ritual element, one that brings and binds people together in an almost sacramental experience.
‘Go Go’ dancing, with frugging gals in gilded cages, was once synonymous with the 60s and venues in Sydney like the Whiskey Au Go Go in William Street. In the late 90s the tradition was reborn in one of Sydney’s most eclectic night clubs, the now legendary Sounds Of Seduction at the Lansdowne Hotel. With dj’s Jay Katz and Miss Death and a bevy of exotically clad Go Go dancers, both female and male, the dancefloor was a perpetual scrum of retro style gyrating and whatever dance moves you felt appropriate. This was freestyle dancing at its finest, free of any pretence, sweaty, crazy and and frenetic to say the least.
Sydney has been home to these unique dancing phenomena for many years and perhaps now is the time to recall some of the more unusual and fanatical. Let’s begin back in the early 60s and the old Kings Cross Theatre which was home to one of Sydney’s earliest rock venues in the shape of Surf City. It was here that hundreds of teenagers gathered every Friday and Saturday night, paying the princely sum of 10 shillings to romp to the sounds of Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs. Beat and surf music was all the go and the dance style that erupted almost spontaneously was ‘the stomp’. There was no great skill in learning its very basic movies – just stomping your feet on the ground as if you were extinguishing cockroaches and flailing your arms in all directions.
Finally one of the least celebrated but stunningly original dance moves originated in the early 80s with the Sydney band Outline and their absurdist, Zapparesque song, The Cicada That Ate Five Dock. Regarded as one of the great unsung gems of the Australian rock songbook, the tune reportedly also inspired its own dance style, ‘the cicada’. When the band belted out this extraordinary tale of a giant cicada that invaded Five Dock, the audience quickly embraced the narrative with insect like mannerisms – or so the story goes.
There was a certain primeval aspect to ‘the stomp’, like Neanderthals bonding around an open fire and a similar ritual sprung to life some 20 years later. The venue was
the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel, home to the part dance, part percussive obsession called ‘thong clapping’. Here the faithful would gather, packed in like sardines, banging their flip flops together to a musical accompaniment with the kind of religious frenzy normally reserved for self-flagellation. In recent years the pub has attempted to revive the activity but nothing has captured the mania that existed in the 1980s.
Perhaps when the pandemic is finally over and social dancing returns we could continue the legacy of Outline and celebrate other Australian fauna in song and dance. ‘Do The Funky Bin Chicken’, ‘The Wombat Watusi’, ‘The Bandicoot Boogaloo’ and the patently obvious ‘Kangaroo Hop’. Hey - you make me feel like dancing! CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
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BABY DONE: New Zealand comedy film explores the severe adjustment issues of impending parenthood (See p.7)
THE FLYING NUN - SEASON 5.2
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rand X is re-launching Season 5 of its contemporary performance program The Flying Nun, premiering at East Sydney Community Arts Centre during Oct-Dec. Brand X Director James Winter, says: “After months of Sydney’s night-time venues being dormant, we are excited to inject some creative life back into the inner city and present this exciting collection of experimental independent artists in a COVID-safe environment. We will offer live and virtual audiences a program of contemporary performance to reconnect with each other again under the new realities of COVID-19. If isolation has taught us anything, we need places for commune. Cultural connections remind us of our simultaneous fragility and resilience.” The new program is radical, exciting and surprising - expect the unexpected with performances that explore love, COVID isolation, trans-global collaboration and Sydney eccentrics.
Some of the highlights of the program include; • Ghost Salon, a new cabaret written and performed by Drew Fairley, partly inspired by his experience of being marooned on a cruise ship during the onset of COVID-19. Ghost Salon is a hilarious and haunting
cabaret; part séance, part confessional, part spectral hooley. • Layer, a ‘mixed reality’ real-time collaboration between three dancers, two in Australia and one in the Netherlands, who will dance together in an interactive filmic 3D space that is
simultaneously live, projected, virtual and screened. • The Life Cycle Of Blanco, a solo work written and performed by multidisciplinary theatre and filmmaker Vonne Patiag that fuses AV, call-and-response dynamics and a riotous monologue about the culminating impact of casual racism. • Whitney and Me is like a Whitney Houston Addicts Anonymous meeting, audiences are invited to be complicit in the bad behaviour. Everything disintegrates. All that remains is, Whitney. A celebration of fringe counter-culture, The Flying Nun was created to incubate experimental projects that more conventional performance spaces hesitate to take a risk on and provides a platform for artists to test out new ideas and take them to the next level. Oct 23-Dec 12. East Sydney Community and Arts Centre, 34 Burton St, Darlinghurst. $10-$25+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.brandx.org.au
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL HERO’S JOURNEY ART PRIZE
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inner of the National Hero’s Journey Art Prize ‘The Road Of Hope’ By Stella Evans The winner of aMBUSH Gallery’s poster exhibition, The National Hero’s Journey Art Prize, has been awarded to Wollongong University student, Stella Evans. Evans’ work, The Road Of Hope, was inspired by the struggles her own family, who are from Boorowa in New South Wales, have endured during what she has described as,“the worst drought in living memory.”
The Road Of Hope fulfilled the brief, which was to create a time capsule showing how the world we live in is responding to the times. Evans’ family comes from generations of farmers and she has dedicated her poster not only to them but to the land. “My work is about holding onto hope in all its aspects through focusing on the resilience of the people. To me the farmers are the heroes.” The work is a digital representation based on a photo of her father and his hay truck on the farm to which Evans
has added other elements such as the windmill. The sheep and the trees are spaced apart as if adhering to the rules of social distancing. The colours chosen reflect the Aussie landscape and the red earth devoid of green and therefore devoid of feed for the animals. The style of the poster is also reflective of the 1930s, an era of contrasting elegance and poverty in the time of the great depression. (RLD) Until Nov 17. aMBUSH Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo. Info: www. ambushgallery.com
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CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
The Road Of Hope by Stella Evans
Photo: Renae Saxby
HubARTS
WILLIAM CRIGHTON BY RIDA BABAR ustralian singer-songwriter William Crighton has released his brand new single Your Country, as well as upcoming 2020 shows. Your Country, William’s first new music in two years, sends a powerful message about environmental policy and gives a taste of his third studio album which is set to release in 2021. The song features ARIA Awardwinner William Barton on the didgeridoo, giving a “furious voice to a country under siege.” In celebration of the release, William has added dates onto his September-October
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tour across NSW with shows coming up in Marrickville and Springwood over the next few weeks. In an interview with City Hub, when asked how he hopes to impact his audience with the new song, William said, “This particular song comes from my deep love of the land. I think a lot of my audience know that’s the case, and it’s just about getting the word out and spreading the word as much as possible. Now’s the time to stand up. “The land is just being sold off, killed, poisoned, damaged. The water’s being auctioned to the
BABY DONE
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rom New Zealand comes this relatable comedy about relationships and the severe adjustment issues brought about by impending pregnancy. Zoe (Rose Matafeo) is expecting but doesn’t initially tell her partner Tim (Matthew Lewis). She feels she hasn’t lived to potential and has the desperate urge to be wild and reckless. Her partner ultimately exclaims, “One of us must get ready!” revealing that she’s in denial and not acting as a pregnant woman should. There’s so much to do before the baby
highest bidder or poisoned, the land’s being cleared constantly. I think everyone knows in their gut that it’s time for real change. We live on a special planet, obviously it’s our only home. It doesn’t belong to us; we belong to it. We have a responsibility to country, each and every one of us.” Commenting on what inspires his music overall, William said, “Experiences, things that I see, think about, and am told about. A lot of stories and daily life. I write things that are true to me and my truth. People say I’m political in my writing, but I think that’s garbage. “I’ve been fortunate to have new music to work on during the pandemic, obviously gigs have been sparse, but it’s been interesting. We have to be mindful to keep communities strong during a time where fear is currency.” Your Country is available for streaming now on all platforms Oct 29. Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Rd & Railway Parade, 103 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville. $70-$280+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.camelotlounge.com
arrives and only two months to complete the list. “I can do anything pregnant – what is the wildest thing you can think of?” she asks. The partying commences and activities that are not permissible for pregnant women including tree climbing competitions. A conflict develops within the relationship. Does Zoe hate being pregnant? Can she accept the change in life and join the train to parenthood? Baby Done is a pleasant film, mildly funny and boasting a zany cast of characters, but slightly underwhelming in the second half as silly storylines serving as time-fillers develop concerning threesomes and sexual deviates. More enjoyable than the overrated The Breaker Upperers, this is a topical film that should appeal to couples who are seriously contemplating starting a family. (MMo) WWW
ROCK AGAINST RACISM
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icking off in 2018 Rock Against Racism Australia is modelled on the movement that swept the UK in the late 70s as a reaction to the rise of far-right organisations at the time. Bands came together under the banner of Rock Against Racism (RAR) to speak out against racism by playing to thousands. We are now seeing similar issues involving racism both here and abroad, hence the launch of Rock Against Racism Australia. This Saturday Rock Against Racism Australia, in conjunction with Sydney Underground
Streaming Sessions (SUSS), will be holding a unique live streaming event presenting a host of talented musicians performing in support of the Indigenous Social Justice Association and the Refugee Action Coalition. Kicking off at 7pm the night will feature a host of highly talented musicians, including Dobby, Charlie McMahon, Los Monaros, the OzSkas, Cosmogenic, Gondwana and Dingo Gringo plus special guest speakers. Oct 24. Online streaming. $10. Tickets & Info: www.SUSS.net.au
HONEST THIEF
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former marine demolitions expert (Liam Neeson) who has robbed 12 banks in seven states amounting to US$9 million wants to turn himself in and make a fresh start. His plan is to hand over all the stolen money for a reduced sentence. But why does this thief suddenly see the error of his ways and desperately needs to revert to an honest citizen? In a nutshell, ‘love’ - he has met a woman and wants to be with her forever without lying about his past. Throw two crooked cops into the mix and he’s about to realise that the sudden urge to be an honest thief may not have been such a great idea!
After putting action film scripts on the back burner for family-oriented and romance films, Neeson returns to the screen in the role movie-goers favour him in - an action hero. This adrenaline-enhanced, actionpacked thriller boasts death-defying stunts and car chase sequences that will leave movie-goers at the edge of their seats. The storyline is highly implausible, but it’s fun escapism that should get people out of their living rooms and back into darkened cinemas. (MMo) WWW1/2 CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
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NEWSPAPER DELIVERY
DRIVER WANTED
We are looking for a high energy and friendly person to deliver our newspaper once a month into letterboxes and outlets in the Inner West. You will also be required to find new outlets. APPLICANTS MUST HAVE THEIR OWN CAR. Please call Mal on 9212 5677 or email mal@altmedia.net.au
TANYA PLIBERSEK FEDERAL MEMBER FOR SYDNEY
HERE TO HELP As your local representative, I can assist with enquiries or problems you have with Federal Government departments and services like Centrelink, immigration, superannuation, Child Support payments, Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS), Veterans’ Affairs, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the National Broadband Network (NBN), universities, employment, training, Commonwealth funding and grants.
STAYING IN TOUCH To keep up to date with my activities (incuding my mobile offices), issues and events - both locally and nationally, please subscribe to my eNews at tanyaplibersek.com.
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES
NEW PATIENT SPECIAL
No Gap for 1st Visit - New Patients Only
Comprehensive Oral Examination and Consultation 2 Small X-Rays & 1 x Large Panoramic OPG Scale, Clean & Polish Fluoride Treatment
Your 1st appointment normally takes anywhere between 45 minutes to 1 hour.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
For patients without private health insurance this special offer will cost only $195.
My office offers Justice of the Peace (JP) services on Mondays (2pm-4.30pm); Tuesdays (10am-1pm); and Thursdays (2pm-4.30pm). Please contact my office to make an appointment.
Call us today or reserve an appointment online
PYRMONT DENTAL HEALTH Ground Floor, Suite 3, 19 Harris Street, Pyrmont Ph: 02 9518 6262 smile@pyrmontdentalhealth.com.au www.pyrmontdentalhealth.com.au 8
CITY HUB 22 OCTOBER 2020
My office can arrange messages of congratulations for people who live in my electorate and are celebrating their golden (50th) and diamond (60th) wedding anniversaries; and 90th and subsequent birthdays. Please allow for 6-8 weeks for congratulatory messages from dignatories.
TANYA PLIBERSEK MP 1A Great Buckingham St Redfern NSW 2016 TanyaPlibersek.com SSO Here to Help 2020 V1.indd 1
02 9379 0700
Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au 28/09/2020 1:23:20 PM