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city hub 8 JUNE 2017

Opinion

Love all: Margaret Court’s serve misses the mark

BY NORRIE MAY-WELBY She can say what she likes about me, and I won’t care much. But now Margaret Court has had a go at my mother, and I’m going to give her a serve! In fact, she’s called every parent of a transgender child a bad parent.

I guess her copy of the Bible doesn’t have the “judge not” instruction that my Bible has.

Rather, she’s based her objections to marriage equality and sex or gender diversity on a rather skewed reading of select verses in the Old Testament, while ignoring all the other prohibitions against shell-fish, divorce, mixed fabrics, and mouthy women. I write this as a church-going Christian, but my God is Love, not the words chosen by self-interested priests, however enlightened they may have been.

Why pick and choose the nasty bits like “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13, King James Bible), rather than “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28)?

Our modern society has agreed that we are not ruled by any particular priest’s interpretation of scripture. Indeed, we have a formal separation of church and state, so that no one can impose their own religious authoritarianism on any other. We are all free to choose our own relationship with our creator, or however we relate to the universe we find ourselves in. And while many people choose to get married in churches, it is a legal contract regulated by the state, not the church.

Of course, not all Australians are regular churchgoers, but also, not all churches are intolerant of diversity. My own church,

Norrie’s family: R to L: Norrie, Norrie’s late dad Joe Watson, Norrie’s mum Marion Watson, brother in law Gary Jones, sister Heather Jones. Credit: Norrie’s mum: Heather Jones

South Sydney Uniting Church, according to its mission statement, is “...inclusive, affirming the gifts of people of all ages, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientations and identities”, which I believe is a far more Christian approach.

Judgmental scripture worshippers like Margaret want to exclude sex, sexuality and gender diverse people from the institution of marriage, from equal participation in civil society, and from church. Some Old Testament writers say eunuchs should be banned from the temple. Other writers say they should be welcomed in. If you are making rules to

stop people being castrated against their will, the first stance makes sense. If that’s not the current problem facing your society, the second stance makes more sense. Context is everything, and it is stupid to take a rule made for a specific circumstance as a universal rule to apply in all circumstances.

There are, however, a couple of broad commandments Jesus made.

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, “Thou shalt love

thy neighbour as thyself. “ (Matthew 22:37-39) Love, not pointing the finger and making evil accusations.

Margaret went far too far when she said that every parent of a child questioning gender was a bad parent. Every parent has a difficult and challenging job, and every good parent does their best to care for and support their children, whether the children are identical copies of their parents or not. There is often an additional challenge (and reward) for parents of sex or gender diverse children, and they should be applauded for nurturing their children and helping them be true to themselves, not called “evil” by a prominent person with their name on the side of a building.

There is nothing that gives this Margaret Court the right to publicly criticise my mother, who raised four children who are all still alive and healthy, three of whom have given my mother grandchildren, including one who is now in a lesbian relationship. She loves us all, because that’s what she thinks mums should do. She has not always instantly understood the more colourful aspects of my life, but I have never felt that I would be thrown out of the family home for being unconventional.

Sadly, that’s not something Margaret’s children or grandchildren can be sure of.

As a good parent, or as a Christian, you don’t get to pick and choose which of your or God’s children you think are acceptable. As a decent member of civil society, you don’t get to tell other parents they are evil for supporting their children. And there’s no way we should force bisexual, gay, lesbian or sex or gender diverse people, or the parents of these people, to patronise a venue with the name of someone who publicly denounces them and calls them evil.

Demolition proves detrimental to Coptic Christians Published weekly and freely available Sydney-wide.

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BY SATHSARA RADALIYAGODA & TOMMY BOUTROS Despite ten years of protest from members of the local community and opposing nongovernmental organisations, St. Mary’s Coptic Church in Sydenham no longer stands.

The Inner West Council had the historic chuch demolished last week, justifying the move after a section of the building went up in flames due to an alleged arson attack on May 2nd.

The church, originally built in 1884 was converted to a Coptic church in 1969, becoming the first Coptic church outside of Egypt.

Bishoy Wasef created a memorial Facebook page called ‘In Memoriam - St Mary Coptic Church, Sydenham” which is dedicated to remembering the Coptic Church and its importance to the community.

In a post, Mr Wasef wrote “In memoriam of our beloved church, feel free to join this group and post stories, pictures and videos of all the good times. This page can be a permanent archive for all our memories.”

With 227 members, the Facebook group proves that the demolition of the church has greatly impacted the community, with members of the group posting numerous photos of their memories in the church.

Before the demolition, Federal Member for Grayndler Anthony Albanese called

The historic Coptic Church in Sydenham was demolished last week, despite months of protest by residents and lobby groups. Credit: Supplied

for the Inner West Council to reconsider demolishing the Coptic church, highlighting the historical significance outweighed the need for an extended park area.

“If this is not heritage — a church built in 1884, the first Coptic Orthodox Church outside of Egypt — then what is?” he said.

Where the church once stood, the

council will create a skate park and a paved communal area, leaving the Coptic Christians in Sydenham to find a new home for their religious activities.

The Australian Coptic Heritage and Community Services (ACHCS) has now commenced legal action against Inner West council. city hub 8 JUNE 2017

3

Is Clover Moore losing control?

BY ALEX YUJIN Town Hall insiders are abuzz following the last City of Sydney Council meeting. Last month Lord Mayor Clover Moore was unable to find another Councillor to second her motion to amend an affordable housing proposal. With no one on the Clover Moore Independent Team willing to back their leader in a public meeting, the Lord Mayor suffered an unprecedented loss.

But the Mayor’s embarrassing bungle is nowhere to be found in the meeting minutes. The omission could be a serious breach of Council’s code of meeting practice, which states all records must be “consistent, orderly and efficient.”

Unlike other local councils, including the neighbouring Inner West Council, the City of Sydney does not live stream its meetings and no audio records of the meetings are available for public scrutiny. The Lord Mayor Clover Moore has repeatedly resisted calls to podcast City of Sydney Council meetings.

In an eerie turn of events that are shaping up to be history repeating, the Council seems to be experiencing inner turmoil with divisive opinions causing disagreements between the Lord Mayor and her cohorts.

Clover Moore has a dark history of losing the support of her team, with past councillors being dropped at a moment’s notice, and former Deputy Lord Mayors stepping aside due to escalating tensions. No fewer than four of Clover Moore’s past Deputy Lord Mayors have been demoted over the years following policy disputes with the Lord Mayor.

The current dispute revolves around the Lord Mayor’s attempt to remove the words “action plan” from a motion tabled by a member of the Clover Moore Independent Team, Philip Thalis. Removing those words would effectively allow Council to do nothing substantive to tackle the City’s existing affordable housing crisis.

Councillor Thalis tabled his motion after an identical motion tabled by ALP Councillor Linda Scott was quashed. The council has a running history of shunning motions raised by “party outsiders” then raising them again themselves seemingly to take credit for them.

A spokesperson for City of Sydney denied there had been dissent on the motion, claiming it was “unanimously endorsed by Council”.

“Councillor Philip Thalis put forward an alternative motion

Sources say Clover Moore’s supporters are pulling away from the Mayor.

Credit: Wikimedia commons

regarding housing affordability that was unanimously endorsed by Council, as follows: Once the Central District Plan is finalised, the City of Sydney will finalise a comprehensive housing strategy,” they said.

Bizzarely, the version supplied by the spokesperson omitted the phrase “and action plan” from the text, as though the Mayor’s motion had been adopted by Council.

In the draft minutes obtained by City Hub, the clause reads: “once the Central District Plan is finalised, the City of Sydney will finalise acomprehensive housing strategy and action plan.”

Council’s minutes do not record the Lord Mayor’s failed attempt to remove the words action plan from the adopted motion.

One source told City Hub they were told by the Clover Moore Party Team that developing an action plan was “overreach” and “fiction”, and affordability is caused by the “pressures of globalisation”.

“Sydney has a capacity to develop an action plan but the Clover Moore Party Councillors argue that ‘strategy’ was sufficient to deal with housing affordability. In my view, the Clover Moore Party is confused and has a lack of will as well as direction on the issue of affordable housing,” said the source.

They said that Sydney should be leading the way on resolving the affordable housing crisis.

Another source criticised the council’s apathy, saying “[We want to] see action, not another study, not another piece of research. There’s plenty of that out there. What exactly are the targets, and moving forward the actions of council to influence affordable housing?”

“Since the city seems to be saying consistently that affordable housing is an issue, what are we doing to address it?” they said.

“Most of the councillors are consistently asking that question, we just aren’t seeing any real results from our action follow ups. It’s true that it’s not just a local government issue, but there are things that we can do to influence it,” they said.

“The thing is, are we just going to keep thinking about it? Is that all we are going to do? Spending a lot of money on reports?”

Meanwhile, Clover Moore is said to be seriously ill after being hospitalised in May for at least six days. She was recently discharged from St Vincent’s Hospital.

One insider claims that Moore’s right hand councillor, Deputy Lord Mayor Kerryn Phelps has “never been so active” since the incident.

Councillor Phelps has seemingly gone into overdrive on social media, posting about everything from marriage equality to America’s Got Talent since the Mayor took ill. However there were no posts about condolences to her superior, amid the Donald Trump memes and happy snaps about her radio appearances.

A source said the draft minutes with the allegedly inaccurate facts had not yet been ratified, and would be raised for discussion at the next council meeting.

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E N T R I E S C L O S E 3 1 J U LY 2 0 1 7 More information at footprints@innerwest.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 9367 9381 www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/footprints-films city hub 8 JUNE 2017

5

Sydney College of The Arts shrinks

BY DYLAN CRISMALE The University of Sydney last week informed staff that as of July, the Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) will be absorbed by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department (FASS).

The school will be relocated from its current spacious Rozelle campus to the Old Teachers College on the main Camperdown Campus.

Thandiwe Bethune, 20, is in the second year of her Bachelor of Visual Arts degree at SCA and was a part of the ‘SCA Resistance’ campaign that fought for the arts school to remain at the Rozelle campus.

She said “It’s unfortunate that this has happened, it was very difficult to maintain the campaign. We had the occupation which was so wonderful with so much energy going but obviously we’re all students and we have the rest of our lives to go on with.

“Post-occupation, we had an understanding that we would get moved onto the main campus and that fighting for SCA wouldn’t really be feasible anymore.”

The announcement is the latest development in a long battle between Sydney University and the students of SCA, with the new plan expected to reduce the operating deficit of SCA from $5.1 million to $1 million per year.

Sydney University first revealed its plans to close the school in 2015 and later tried to merge SCA with the art school at the University of NSW. But the plan was scrapped after the universities decided the two separate art schools were not the right fit for a merger.

Ché Baines, 21, is an artist and an ‘SCA Resistance’ activist who believes the University of Sydney’s plan won’t provide enough studio space to accommodate students.

He said studio space is important and that

Community and union members came out in support of student protestors, who occupied a Sydney College of the Arts building for a record 65 days. Credit: Dylan Crismale

“In the studio you’re learning with your teachers and with the techs who are currently practicing artists…they’re teaching you hands on about the craft of making your art.”

“Without studios students will be a lot less prepared… you can learn the theory but art students need the right spaces and materials to work with.”

In August last year the students occupied the top floor of the SCA administration building for a record 65 days, the longest student

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occupation in Sydney University’s history.

In a statement, the University of Sydney said “rigorous consultation has taken place with SCA staff for almost a year and has informed decisions such as the preservation of jewellery, glass and ceramics.”

The jewellery, glass and ceramics majors were set to be abolished in an earlier draft proposal plan, but students and staff fought to keep them in the curriculum.

Ms. Bethune said: “We won [keeping the

majors] after the occupation. The new draft proposal plan said they would accommodate for those studios. To what degree and how they’re going to manage to do that hasn’t been outlined, they’ve just said it will be possible.

“I think there’s a high chance that will mean outsourcing and going to external places to practice ceramics and glass, and having other classes back at main campus.”

Professor Stephen Garton, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of University of Sydney said in a statement “The move enables the University to continue to offer a worldclass visual arts education that is financially sustainable.”

“Our desire is to enrich the educational experience of all University of Sydney students by offering greater opportunities for students in visual art programs to engage with the wide and varied educational offerings on [sic] main campus in Camperdown/Darlington, and to enable other students to broaden their experience in units of study offered by SCA.” Mr Bain said the description was really a “false benefit” dressed up to sound appealing.

“It’s always great to do interdisciplinary collaborations, but an artist can’t collaborate if they don’t have the tools, if they don’t have a studio to work in.

“The Rozelle campus has so much space to do art, and so many disciplines of art, so yes there can be collaboration with other non-art faculties but I would say it’s a false benefit,” he said.

The university has not yet determined the final design of the SCA facilities in the Old Teachers’ College, but said “the design will be determined during a period of staff consultation as the change plan is implemented.”

Tenders close at 3pm on Monday 26th June A tender visit and briefing session is planned to be held on 15th June.

city hub 8 JUNE 2017

7

Digging up dirt on WestConnex

BY PAUL CLARK Inner West residents have found themselves living in ghost towns after the government acquired homes for Westconnex too quickly, while others are facing a vile stench coming from construction sites near the Westconnex corridor.

But the NSW Government has emphasised what it says are the benefits of the WestConnex project, including better transport connectivity for western Sydney and reduced journey times for cars and trucks.

Opponents point to the huge cost of the project and a relative lack of investment in public transport. The impacts on local communities are easily overlooked by those not directly affected, but are significant.

One such impact is when homes are acquired for the motorway, and families are forced to move, but then the homes remain. 13 homes in Concord that were acquired by the State Government for demolition to make way for WestConnex New M4 works between late 2013 and January 2015 remain in place today after the motorway plans changed. Some have now been rented out by the government, while others remain vacant until the state decides what to do with them.

State MP for Strathfield Jodi McKay says that her constituents fear the government will sell the homes off to developers who will overdevelop the sites to the detriment of the area. Ms McKay, the Shadow Minister for Transport and Shadow Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, says the situation shows that the government moved too quickly with acquisitions of homes once it decide to push the project through. “It’s indicative of the poor planning of the entire WestConnex project,” she said.

Ms McKay pointed out that the residents from 13 homes were required to sell to make way for

A foul stench is coming from the Westconnex corridor and flowing into Inner West residents’ homes. Credit: Supplied

a motorway interchange, which was then placed elsewhere. “So these residents were forced out of their community unnecessarily,” she said.

“This neighbourhood was gutted by a decision the RMS made [to acquire these properties], which was the wrong decision.”

Meanwhile in St Peters, those residents who did not lose their homes have gained a hideous stink to go with the dust and noise of construction.

The WestConnex St Peters interchange construction site is located on top of the former Alexandria landfill dump. The site was meant to be ‘remediated’ or cleaned up before construction commenced, but this did not clean up leachate (water that has been in contact with waste) on the site.

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Rhea Liebmann says that the smell appears to emerge when excavators hit one of the pockets of leachate.

“When they hit it, it begins to stink,” she says.

Ms Liebmann says that the Sydney Motorway Corporation claimed in May that the original complaints about the smell, made at the end of March, had been addressed.

While action was taken to address the original complaints, Ms Liebmann says there have been at least four more serious outbreaks of the smell since then. “The EPA had complaints about the smell going back to mid-March,” she says.

“At the end of March the EPA issued the contractors with a notice to fix the smell. When the smell happens again basically they just issue another notice.”

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The main issue, says the WestConnex Action Group, is that the smell minimisation measures used to clean up outbreaks don’t work and there seem to be no sanctions or fines against the construction contractors.

“The EPA, the Department of Planning and even NSW Public Health officers have all visited the site but it seems that the smell is still ‘under investigation’. They are still deciding what to do,” says Ms Liebmann.

Assurances that the smell is not dangerous are cold comfort for the residents affected while the agencies decide what, if anything, will be done about it. This seems to be the nature of the WestConnex project: so large that nobody on the outside really knows what’s going on inside it.

The NSW Government recently announced a plan to sell at least 51 per cent of the Sydney Motorway Corporation by mid-2018. Ms McKay says that there is already insufficient information available to the public about how Sydney Motorway Corporation goes about delivering WestConnex. Anyone who has tried to interpret a WestConnex graphic can attest to that.

“This sale was never mentioned in the WestConnex business case,” she said. “The project is based on a financial model that is no longer current.”

Ms McKay says that Labor will again seek to pressure the Government into supporting legislation to hold the Sydney Motorway Corporation to the same accountability and transparency measures as other Government agencies.

“The WestConnex project must have parliamentary and public oversight. If it refuses to support the legislation, the Government will once again trample on long established principles of public and Parliamentary scrutiny,” she said.

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Cyclists eye the City’s footpaths

BY SORAYA PEREZ MOHAMMED The City of Sydney has called on the State Government to back regulations that would improve the safety of cyclists on roads. One of the most hotly debated is a proposal to allow bicycles on footpaths.

Harold Scruby, Chairman and CEO of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, said the proposal is outrageous.

“That’s a joke. Footpaths are for human beings. They’re for pedestrians that’s why they’re called footpaths, they’re not called vehicle paths. Even though a bicycle is not a motor vehicle, it’s a vehicle,” he said.

“You can drive electric bicycles up to 200 watts on footpaths. But there’s no insurance and the penalties are pathetic,” Mr Scruby added.

He pointed out that besides being ridiculous, the proposal cannot be carried out because councils have no legislative power to change bicycle laws.

“This means nothing. Council has no legislative power, all they have is enforcement and, even then, councils cannot enforce the bicycle laws, only police. The Minister for Roads, the Minister for Transport, and the Premier [are] the only people who can make these changes,” he said.

Mr Scruby was adamant that cyclists should not receive more attention than pedestrians.

“When are they going to put pedestrians first, rather than cyclists? Pedestrians must come first.

Cyclists are a protected species. The pedestrian death toll is going through the roof. When are they going to stop listening to this vociferous lobby of Bicycle New South Wales, which represents 2% of road users?” he said.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for BayBUG (Canada Bay Bicycle User Group), Colleen Hickey

City of Sydney Council’s proposal to allow bikes on footpaths is unpopular so far.

Credit: Soraya Perez Mohammed

thinks this measure would encourage more cyclists, as safety would be improved.

“I think it would be great to allow cyclists on footpaths, as long as they cycle slowly. Sometimes when cycling, you may have to travel down a very busy road. For some small sections, it would be much safer to cycle carefully on the footpath and it would also inspires more cyclists,” she said.

Nonetheless, some cyclists also criticized the submission because they agreed it endangers the safety of pedestrians.

“This measure may benefit me; however I don’t agree to allow cyclists to ride bicycles on footpaths, because it could endanger the physical integrity of pedestrians. I don’t think it’s safe for them,” said Rafael Cayama.

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Western Sydney looks Police raid Kings Cross skyward Club, no arrests made

Western Sydney is set to be injected with transport and infrastructure that could take the pressure off the CBD and Eastern Suburbs. Credit: Yuya Tamai (Flickr)

By Zohal Arbabzada Eastern Sydney and the CBD could find themselves as part of whole new city model next century, while Western Sydney could soon be a teeming city centre with huge infrastructure and transport planned for the future.

Speaking at the recent Out There Summit, Premier of NSW Gladys Berejiklian said the government were focused on “building and investing in Western Sydney” with the region currently undergoing a period of “unprecedented investment.”

Around 100 people attended the event which included the Premier’s speech, the Western Sydney leadership awards, the 2017 Pemulwuy prize, and a Q&A panel.

Panelists reported that Eastern Sydney could be in for the development of a three city model, which would potentially see more city residents travelling west for work opportunities, and help to sustain the exponential growth of the city. It is estimatd that

Sydney’s population will increase by one million people in the next ten years.

Dr Andy Marks, assistant vice chancellor of strategy and projects at Western Sydney University, said the gap needs to close between Eastern and Western Sydney to make it possible for the West to grow. He also emphasised that “definitive positions” are needed on policies and investments, rather than “meta-narratives” and vague assertions as to when projects such as the Sydney Metro Northwest will be completed.

Audience members questioned whether the impending Sydney Metro Northwest and proposed Badgery’s Creek airport would come with other necessary infrastructure to avoid increased traffic jams.

Chairman of the Western Sydney Dialogue (WSLD) Christopher Brown, discussed a train network to connect the proposed airport to the city suburbs, but no solid plans were revealed.

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BY ALEX YUJIN Last week Kings Cross Police Officers stormed Club 77 in Darlinghurst without warning, cutting short a headline act’s DJ set and allegedly throwing out several partygoers.

In a statement on Facebook, club owner Matt Bicket said 15 police searched people in “innapropriate places” and ordered others to leave for intoxication, but made no arrests nor found any drugs. The searches were made on anyone who “attracted attention” from the officers’ sniffer dog. He also said some people claimed they were tasered in a nearby laneway.

City Hub contacted Mr Bicket for further comment but were told lawyers had advised him not to say anything more. The club’s Facebook page has since been deleted and Police searched patrons at Club 77 who “attracted interest” from their the post, which was liked and sniffer dog. Credit: Wikimedia common shared over 3000 times, is no longer available. slamming police behaviour as unfair, and even A spokesperson for NSW Police Media Unit racist, with one person alleging her boyfriend released a statement that said “Police conducted was strip searched for being “the only brown a proactive operation, utilising a police drug guy in a hoodie” in the officers’ line of sight. detection dog, in the Kings Cross Local Area A spokesperson for Keep Sydney Open was Command, which lead to 13 drug detections; nine critical of the incident. of these were issued court attendance notices for “Just when a little confidence in Sydney’s drug possession and three [were] issued a cannabis nightlife starts to build, NSW Police pull a caution. Information circulating regarding use of stunt like this,” they said. taser is incorrect.”

“We need to have a very serious The raid is still being hotly debated on conversation about police conduct and their social media with hundreds of Sydney residents use of taxpayer-funded resources.”

WRITERS AND OPINION MAKERS WANTED AltMedia is looking for writers.

Opportunities in print and online are available to opinion makers and up and coming journalists.

Send a CV, writing samples and a covering letter to: news@altmedia.net.au

By Rita Bratovich Spectacle and ceremony are such an intrinsic part of the LGBTI community, that it seems a no-brainer they should have their own awards.

And now they do.The inaugural Australian LGBTI+ Awards had its gala debut on March 2 this year at the prestigious Opera House Marquee.

“It’s a beautiful location…I don’t think that the LGBTI community and its allies have seen an event at such a venue in Australia,” says Silke Bader, Co-Founder of the Awards. “But it was very strategic - we just wanted to celebrate with a bang. And it worked!”

The whole thing came about when Bader was contacted by friend and fellow entrepreneur, Linda Riley who had set up the British LGBT Awards seven years ago and wanted to do something similar here.

Their first, unexpected hurdle was the name.

“That is such an interesting conversation that can go on forever - and it’s a political minefield!” says Bader.The British Awards uses only “LGBT” which is how the Australian awards launched.After bowing to requests to add an “I” and then being queried about “Q”, they decided to adopt the universal protocol of putting “+” at the end.

Getting corporate participation and sponsorship was a much smaller hurdle, with almost all sectors wanting to be involved.

“We’ve got a lot of very unusual sponsors that have not been part of the LGBTI community before,” says Bader. She believes it’s important to collaborate with a wide range of partners - the company manifesto is: To achieve equality through working with our allies.

The Awards themselves cover a broad spectrum of categories including sport, politics, workplace, celebrity, corporate and journalism.They’ll be adding three more next year: music artist, media moment and international celebrity. All categories except corporate and journalism are decided by popular vote (the former two are determined by a panel of six judges). With no advertising and only social media and word-of-mouth promotion, the 2017 awards attracted 1300 nominations and over 13,000 votes, so expectations are high for 2018.

Equally high is the anticipated ticket sales for the ceremony next March.

Already having outgrown the Opera House Marquee, the show will be held at The Star Event Centre next year where they have more capacity, a bigger stage and undercover red carpet (it poured on the night of the 2017 awards!) Bader says The Star is very LGBTI positive.

“They are bending over backwards to get this business and to work with us…it’s only been a couple of weeks but they’ve been brilliant.”

Bader herself has been an entrepreneur in the LGBTI community for 25 years, regarding her role as “a calling”.

May Yousif (left), Michelle Heyman (right).

Photo: Courtesy of Australian LGBTI Awards

Australian LGBTI + Awards

“I live it and breath it 24/7. I’ve done so many different things…and the awards really fit in so well because… it’s the pinnacle of what I do.”

Awarded Broadcaster And Presenter of The Year 2017, Julie McCrossin has also been asked to sit on the judging panel for the Journalism and Corporate categories in 2018.

An activist since 1973 and openly lesbian in her career in mainstream media, McCrossin is seen as a pioneer and figurehead for the LGBTI community. She considers her award a universal acknowledgement of all her peers during the early days of the movement.

“I took it as recognition of my generation’s contribution to gay liberation.”

With a history in which she witnessed enormous changes, McCrossin is often asked whether events like these awards are still relevant.

“Being out is really important at the public level for people who are unsure about their sexuality, whether they’re young or middle aged… these awards are critical because they’re a mechanism for mainstream media coverage of our existence.”

McCrossin believes awards are an integral part of our culture; they help build community, restate and reaffirm our core values: inclusion, acceptance, celebration.

“This is not about being gay, this is about being human.”

Canberra United striker, Matildas representative and hero to aspiring boys and girls, Michelle Heyman was voted Sports Personality Of The Year - to her genuine thrill and amazement.

FEATURE

“It was just so nice to be getting an award for just being myself,” she says with unaffected modesty.

The 28 year old soccer star feels it’s important for young people to have a role model and is happy to step in where she can.

“There are so many children struggling with who they are and a lot of kids look up to me for being so comfortable with who I am…I’ve always just wanted to be the best me - and the best me is the gay me.”

Although Cathy Freeman is someone Heyman really admired, her greatest role model is not in the field of sports.

“My biggest one is definitely Ellen Degeneres. She was my inspiration.”

Having said that, she still believes it’s important for gay sports personalities to be visible, and especially wishes more men would come out, feeling that young gay boys need re-assurance.

Heyman is clearly committed to the LGBTI community and plans to use her celebrity and whatever other influence she has to help young people.

“This is a passion of mine outside of soccer, so the more I can help, the more I can be involved... I definitely want to be there.”

There are few people more deserving of the Lifetime Achievement Award than Molly Meldrum. In fact, the only person who would argue the point is Meldrum himself, with humility as dinkum as his Akubra.

Meldrum says he is usually embarrassed about receiving awards, claiming there are many more deserving people. However he feels differently about this one, “The LGBTI Award - I was very proud to accept it. I was honoured.”

He believes the awards are positive for the community. Having gay celebrities and role models who are proud and who are congratulated for what they do, might be the thing that stops a young person struggling with their identity from committing suicide.

Though it’s getting easier to be out, Meldrum says there are still challenges and that’s why it’s important to award people who do good work for the community. He’d happily get involved again.

“If I can do anything to help those awards, I’ll give 100%.” He certainly gave his all at the last ceremony,“When I found those long tights in the rainbow colours I couldn’t resist dropping my pants and showing them.”

That’s definitely giving 100%!

Nominations open on June 15 Info and forms at http://www.australianlgbtiawards.com.au If this article has raised any concerns for you please contact Lifeline on Ph: 13 11 14

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Only Heaven Knows

Slut

Only Heaven Knows is a musical showing the long march towards equality that homosexuals faced in the 40s and 50s in Kings Cross, an era when being gay was seen as a mental illness, curable with electro-conversion therapy. It’s also about the family we choose, the people that shape our lives, love, lust and friendship.

There were a lot of artists, poets, writers, and creative types living in Kings Cross during that period, but it was also mid-war so there were soldiers and prostitutes too. It was a really cheap and easy place to live. There was a big homosexual community who felt safer there.

Australian playwright Patricia Cornelius’s thought-provoking performance, Slut, is coming back to the theatre for two weeks, digging into the sexualisation of young girls and how they navigate the world of becoming young women.

Slut is a clear-cut performance, all about engaging the audience and throwing them back into their teenage hood. It prompts them to question the way language is used in today’s society, particularly around one’s body and sexualisation, engaging how people feel about the images they’re surrounded with. Director of the play, Erin Taylor said: “It’s pretty provocative being titled Slut, but it’s a really interesting story on how that word is used to praise someone, and then how it can be used as a weapon.”

Taylor wants to motivate audiences to question the way they think and speak about

Only Heaven Knows is incredibly moving, to see how these people survived and banded together to look after each other. It’s hilarious, crazy fun with big, big characters; a story with a lot of heart, a story about ostracised people, the gay community then at a time when it was illegal to be a homosexual.

Tim, (Ben Hall) a young 17 year old, leaves Melbourne and comes to The Cross to be in a safe place to work out who he is and what he wants to do with his life. The story is told through his eyes.

“It’s a very ensemble piece with five lead characters and they all sing but it’s like a play with songs really.

It’s not like a Broadway musical at all, much more fringe like, filmic, like a slice of life. There’s one big choreographed number and all sorts of movement pieces, street scaping to build and create the world we’re in, a world of bustling people moving through the city, the noise, the heat, trying to create that image of The Cross,” explained Ben Hall. (MS) Until Jul 1, Various performance times.

Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point. $68-$78.Tickets & Info: www. hayestheatre.com.au or PH: (02) 8065 7337

young women, particularly around how they talk about themselves, sex, sexuality, slut shaming and culture.

“We need to have a big complex conversation about this stuff and this is just the starting point for that” Taylor said.

Patricia has an amazing skill with language and Taylor wanted to bring this to the fore, believing the language and performance is the strongest parts of the play.

“It’s an ensemble piece so it’s about the five actors we have on stage… uniquely the cast can expand and contract because the script doesn’t have a certain number of people, so every performance of this play when it’s restaged is completely different.”

This play reflects society in many ways and acts to question the way individuals have taken societal values and how it can be used against each other.

“It was already staged once last year for the Women in Theatre and Screen festival… it’s been around for a while and we only got to do one performance last year… now it’s coming back around to discuss the sexualisation surrounding young women.” (JM) Jun 13 – Jun 24.The Old Fitz Theatre, 129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011.Ticket price: $25.Tickets & info: https://www.redlineproductions.com.au/slut

a&e

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city hub 8 JUNE 2017

12 STAGE 13 SCENE 14 Sounds 15 SCREEN

The 7 Stages of Grieving When Chenoa Deemal, began rehearsals for The 7 Stages of Grieving, she had her undeniable moments of self-doubt. Director Jason Klarwein was her steadying force. “I would say to Jason, ‘Why did you hire me? I can’t do this, and he would casually say, ‘No, it’s alright, you can.’” Having since performed the show extensively around Australia, it is a testament to her ability, the quality of the writing and the desire of audiences to hear these searching yet jubilant stories.

Written twenty years ago by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, The 7 Stages of Grieving, delivers stories that traverse the key phases of Aboriginal history. It encompasses tear-streaked tales of death and dispossession, to the abject comedy of being followed around a shopping mall simply because of your skin colour. Yet even in the darkest moments there are shades of humour.

While there are unusual challenges to performing in a one-woman show, Deemal seems to relish them. “Being on stage by yourself means that if you stuff up or go too far ahead, you can miss a whole line or lighting cue. There’s a lot of responsibility”. The wild card every time is how each audience engages with the show. “One night they might find something uproariously funny and another night they are a lot quieter and engaged in a

Photo: Justin Harrison

different way. The audience are my co-stars.”

Deemal is conscious she is taking people on an emotional rollercoaster. “People have said that they come away feeling they have experienced something very deep and meaningful. By the end of the show you can tell that people have enjoyed it because they are loud again and they’re talking.” (GW) Jun 9-10, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Sat 2:15pm.

Riverside Theatres, Cnr Church and Market Streets, Parramatta. $28-42.Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au 02 8839 3399

Jatinga Is this world ready for change? Are we up for the challenge? bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company is coming at you with Jatinga, a play inspired by the daughters of sex workers in Kamathipura, India.

Artistic director, Suzanne Millar travelled there some time ago to work and live at a centre which implements change into the lives of young girls to better enrich and educate their lives.

This woman is strong, passionate and not afraid to take drastic action. “I hope people can walk away from this Trishala Sharma. Photo: Mansoor Noor Photography play with an individual responsibility,” Millar says.

Instead of speaking with the director of a play, Two actors you’ll see on stage have flown I believe I was talking to someone who is greatly directly from India just to be in this heart changing the world. This is raw and vulnerable throbbing story. “The world is getting smaller” material, but with this information in our hands Suzanne says and it’s important to create a we can truly take action and cultivate change. positive connection with others because This play may not make you feel good, it may “everything has a domino effect.” not have a perfect fairy tale ending, but it is real Suzanne has a burning desire to bring these life and the truth needs to be shared. If you girl’s stories to the stage of Sydney because as would like to be immersed in passion, culture she urges, “Knowledge is power.” The girls at and profound real life stories, I encourage you Apne Aap Women’s Collective, the center that to go step into the world of Jatinga. (OL) Suzanne worked at, want their stories to be told June 9 – 24,Tue–Sat 7:30 & Sun 5pm. Kings and shared with the world. I think that is very Cross Theatre - Level 2, Kings Cross Hotel, bold and courageous and I applaud these strong Kings Cross. $25-$35.Tickets & Info: individuals. www.bakehousetheatrecompany.com.au

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

Contributors: Alannah Maher, Alicia Sim, Athina Mallis, Barbara Karpinski, Caitlin Burns, Chantal Walsh, Craig Coventry, Daniel Jaramillo, Emily Shen, Georgia Fullerton, Greg Webster, Irina Dunn, Jade Morellini, James Harkness, Joseph Rana, Leann Richards, Lisa Seltzer, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Olga Azar, Peter Urquhart, Rita Bratovich, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Sarah Pritchard, Shon Ho, Zeiya Speede, Jade Morellini,Vanessa Powell, Olivia Lyle, Alexander Yujin, Ellouise Bailey, Manuel Gonzalez.

Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs

Actor, author and cabaret icon Alan Cumming returns to Australia for an encore season of his critically acclaimed cabaret, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs. Sold out during the last run in 2015, this season will

be the last ever performances of the beloved cabaret.

Originating in the star’s notorious post-show dressing room parties, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs is a mixture of song, the hottest gossip in show business and mischief making with one of the industry’s best and most provocative performers.

Reinterpreting show tunes and pop songs, Cumming’s particular brand of irreverent humour and bawdy storytelling will captivate audiences in the Enmore’s intimate space.

Vaudevillian and life affirming, this farewell run of Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs is not to be missed. (ES) Jun 10, 7:30pm. Enmore Theatre, 118–132 Enmore Rd, Newtown.

Tickets & Info: www.enmoretheatre.com.au

Star-Spangled Stand-Up City Hub had the pleasure of speaking with two magnificent comedians, and we must say they really did make us laugh.This may seem silly to you, but much of the time we find comedians awkward to talk to face-to-face. But Matthew Broussard and Al Jackson had us smiling ear to ear.

Matthew and Al will be starring in Star-Spangled StandUp, with two other U.S. comedians for a night of endless laughter. With numerous appearances on television and too many awards to count, we’re confident when we say this show will make you pee your pants.

What will the show be about? Matthew says, “Science.

My parents were both scientists. And I feel they were both a little disappointed that I didn’t pursue a similar path. So I try to inject bits of academia into my material.” We’ve all experienced the disappointment of letting our parents down a few times before. But Al states, “I am a comedian because it is the only thing that has ever felt natural to me.

Why didn’t my guidance counselor ever tell me about this?” Yes.You actually can make money doing what you love, and these four performers will prove it to you.

What if the audience doesn’t laugh at your jokes? “Start the next joke as quickly as possible and consider what I’d go to grad school for if this career doesn’t work out,” Matthew says.

We’ll be curious to see how Megan Gailey does being the only female in the show.Although, with her late night debut on

The Conan O’Brien Show, it’s safe to say she’s a real superstar.

“I like Australia because the country and the people as a whole have a relaxed openminded demeanor that I find myself gravitating towards.

Matter of fact when I’m over Al Jackson there I might start looking for a house.At least until Trump is gone.” So we may be seeing more of these celebrities on our side of the world!

Going to a comedy show can be a form of therapy, and the best kind for that matter. It’s a place where you can let go of all your worries and just laugh.“I want my audience to be happy and feel like the time that we had together was worth their time. I want them to go home and have sex with each other and think only of me.That’s some freaky stuff I’m working through but that’s the truth” Jackson says.

Okay, we take back what we said in the beginning. This was definitely an awkward moment. (OL) June 10, 7pm.The Comedy Store, 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park NSW.Tickets and Info (for all ages): www.ticketek.com.au

THE NAKED CITY

CORBY FREE and ROYAL FREE With Coffin Ed When it comes to anything relating to the British Royal Family let me be honest upfront. Many years ago as a young child I was with on an outing with my dad on a wet midweek day in the city when we decided to escape the stormy weather with a visit to the State Newsreel in Market Street. In those days the national anthem, God Save The Queen, was played before every screening with all patriotic Australians required to stand and pay homage to the monarchy.

Not my dad, who was a notable royal hater – in fact he detested the idea of any hereditary nobility, especially one imposed upon a ‘colonial’ subject.When the opening bars of God Save The Queen blurted out, the packed cinema rose as one – all bar my dad and myself who psychically restrained me in my seat.This drew an immediate and angry response from a woman seated directly behind us.“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” she bellowed in shock and dismay, prodding us quite violently with the end of her oversized umbrella.

Within a second my dad had summoned the usher to report that there was a lunatic loose in the cinema, attacking both adults and small children with some kind of nasty pointed weapon. In the torch lit chaos that followed the woman was dragged screaming from the darkened

cinema, despite her numerous protestations that she was simply upholding the dignity of the monarchy.

Ever since that traumatic day I have inherited my father’s distaste for the British Royal ‘parasites’ and squirm every time an item is inserted into the nightly news in which anyone of the hierarchy is involved in some kind of spurious activity or official duty.These days, there is a seldom a nightly TV news broadcast that does not include one feel-good story about the Royals or their extended family like the grossly over indulged Pippa Middleton.

Our appetite for ‘celebrity’ now extends to the comings and goings of all the British nobility, carefully orchestrated by their tireless PR machines and obsessed upon by a multitude of tabloid rags and click bait websites. The recent intrusion into Sydney by the now fabulously wealthy Pippa Middleton (who the hell is she anyway?) and her cashed up beau, had all the markings of a public relations conspiracy, with even suggestions that the NSW Government kicked in as a means of promoting the current Vivid Festival. Regardless of any contribution to their supposed $17,000 a night hotel bill, they were featured endlessly in TV news bulletins, getting in and out of water taxis, scaling the Harbour Bridge and joy flighting over the harbour.

Harrison Earl - Black Rainbow

Dream Warden

Harrison Earl is an artist with a surrealist approach to art, conjuring up images from his imagination with the idea that art can be something from a dream and comes from the depths of the subconscious.

Harrison’s influences come from his teenage pastimes of reading comic books, watching anime films and listening to 90s alternative rock bands. His latest exhibition titled Black Rainbow uses dichotomy as a theme to tie together individual pieces of artworks in a dreamlike vision.

City Hub asked Earl what prompted him to create pieces of art based on dichotomies?

“When I began making the body of work for Black Rainbow back in January of this year, all I knew was that I wanted it

to be a strange sort of study into the human form. The theme of dichotomy seemed to evolve organically as I made the work, so I wanted to push that.”

Without conforming to a conclusive style of painting, Harrison is not only pushing boundaries conceptually and stylistically but he is also gaining personal insights about the mystery of being human and channeling that through his art. He also lets the audience do the interpretation of what it all means rather than him telling you what his intentions were. (DJ) Until Jun 20, 12-6pm. M2 Gallery, 4/450 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010. Info: www.m2gallery.com.au

Repeatedly we were told that the international coverage given to the newlyweds, as they explored the Emerald City, would persuade hordes of foreign tourists to flock in our direction. Maybe if they had brought a group of orphans from South Sudan and treated them to a similar experience, it would have sent a message to the rest of the world, that we are big here on humanity and less preoccupied with the privileged few.

Last week I noticed a number of radio personalities, including shock jock Ray Hadley had declared their programs ‘Corby’ free, never to mention that name again in light of the recent media circus. If only somebody would apply a similar ban to the Royals, if only for one day of the year – maybe Monday June 12 which if you haven’t already noticed is The Queen’s Birthday holiday. Bring it on!

Second Telling Missions - Rescue The White Rose An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players solve a series of puzzles using clues, hints and strategy to complete the objectives at hand. In the last couple of years these games have been popping up all around the world and throughout our city of Sydney, the most recent of which is in Newtown.

Whilst many escape rooms tend to be fantasy or scifi themed Newtown’s Second Telling Missions has taken an entirely new approach by looking to the past for inspiration in creating their rooms, namely World War II Germany.

Second Telling Missions offer two distinct games the first of which is Rescue The White Rose and is their more historically accurate game. City Hub was fortunate enough to be invited to try out this game recently and we had a ball despite failing to complete the entire puzzle, we’re placing the blame on our exhausted brains at the end of the work week.

The second element that’s makes Second Telling Missions’ rooms unique is their incorporation of live theatre elements into the games, which is exemplified

in their Sabotage The Enigma game which places the game master in the room with players.

Having played through one of the games City Hub was rather impressed with the quality of the production and puzzles, given the youth of the company. Occasionally we felt some jumps in logic or interpretation were required to connect puzzle elements but overall City Hub certainly recommends checking out Second Telling Missions with a group of 4-6 friends/colleagues, especially if you have a history buff amongst them. (JA) Tue-Thu 11am-8pm, Fri-Sun 9:30am-8pm.

397 King St, Newtown. $39.50 per player.

Info: www.secondtelling.com city hub 8 JUNE 2017

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Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE Sydney

By Jamie Apps

Catherine Traicos: Following the release of her sixth album in January this year Traicos is now returning to the stage to celebrate the release of her new single Crashing. The new song is a hypnotic, indie-rock laden track that features cello, pulsing drum and bass and sparse, yet intelligent guitar melodies.

Thu, Jun 8,The White Horse Jamatar: An enigmatic artist who uses his Gameboy to compose music. Tomorrow night to commemorate the release of his single Reflect, which also features long-time friend and fellow artist Natalie Foster, Jamatar will be performing in Sydney.

Fri, Jun 9,World Bar Dustin Tebbutt & Lisa Mitchell: A Distant Call is arguably the best reminder that no matter how far we roam, home is always there.

Separately traversing the Northern Hemisphere, both Lisa Mitchell and Dustin Tebbutt have been selling out their own album tour shows here and in Europe. This weekend though the two phenomenal artists will combine their powers for the very first time.

Sat, Jun 10,The Factory Theatre Fukushima Suite: From Japan, two of the most original voices in contemporary jazz join a host of Australian musicians to bring you an unforgettable performance of Satoko Fujii’s Fukushima Suite. Satoko, pianist

and composer, took five years to develop this powerful response to the horrors of Fukushima’s nuclear catastrophe in 2011.

Sat, Jun 10, Sound Lounge Seymour Centre Idiio: Never ones to rest on their laurels, Gold Coast-cross-New Zealand four-piece Idiio are set for national takeover. Having just released their most resolute and definitive single, One Night, to showcase their indie electro/soul sound.

Sun, Jun 11, Captain Cook Hotel Feedback Music Conference: Featuring a keynote address from Sydney’s very own beat masters Hermitude, Feedback is a music conference for young people who want to learn how to get gigs, release music, build a fan base, work with publicists, get airplay, find a manager and much more.

Mon, Jun 12, Museum Of Contemporary Art Beth Orton: Last in Australia in 2013 for the Heavenly Sounds tour, Orton is well known for her mesmerising on-stage presence and powerfully emotive vocals. Orton will perform with a full band for the first time in Australia in many years playing songs spanning her celebrated career from Trailer Park, Central Reservation, Daybreaker, Comfort of Strangers and Sugaring Season through to her 2016 album Kidsticks.

Tue, Jun 13, Sydney Opera House

Bad//Dreems

By Jamie Apps Our world has become so politically charged in the last couple of years it was only inevitable that this would seep over into music, whether intentionally or not.

For Adelaide band Bad//Dreems’ latest record Gutful political commentary was never the intention according to drummer Miles Wilson, “the record was more of a social commentary than a fist in the air political revolt but it seems to have been construed really politically which is interesting. We’re kind of ok with that, it just wasn’t our intention.”

Whilst speaking with Miles the City Hub learned that the record was much more of a reaction to the new wave of conversation material you hear in public settings now.

“We’ve found that Trump, race riots and the problems people have with celebrating Australia Day or Invasion Day are things that are ingrained

in the vernacular of pub conversation now.”

As an East Coast native Adelaide appears to be a quiet, iddilic city rather than a hotbed for pointed social and political commentary but having spoken to Miles at length that perception needs to change, slightly. Much like every major city around the world Adelaide has pockets of creativity which Miles said has been really helpful for Bad//Dreems.

“The creative scene is really flourishing and encouraging. The state as a whole really pushes and appreciates the arts which is the biggest aspect that I think goes unnoticed.”

Even with so much support locally Bad//Dreems have continued to learn on the road as they travel

Kilter - Through The Distortion

and perform with bands they grew up idolising. In recent years some of these bands have included At The Drive In and The Avalanches both off which Bad//Dreems have taken pieces from to incorporate into their live performance.

“We put a lot of emphasis on our live show and we thought we were quite a good live act but they just eclipsed us.” said Miles before adding, “We’ll definitely take a leaf out of their books for our live shows moving forward.”

Tomorrow night Miles and the other members of Bad//Dreems will need to incorporate all of these influences and lessons into their show at The Metro as this will be their first time headlining a venue of that size.

“Obviously it’s a big grandiose, beautiful building and we’re going to go really hard to generate a lot of excitement and ensure that everyone who purchased a ticket has a really good time.”

Jun 9, 8pm.The Metro, 624 George St, Sydney. $40.80-$56.10+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.metrotheatre.com.au

Tora - Take a Rest

After an intensive two years spent in the studio crafting the record, this debut album from Sydney producer Kilter is a phenomenal first outing which obviously employs his vast array of influences.

Throughout the record Kilter’s traditional musical training and background comes through clearly in a primarily electronic record. With 13 tracks on this record Kilter has taken each and every opportunity to explore different genres and continue to push boundaries in his unique style. Some of the styles that came through upon my listens through were hip-hop, funk, jazz, pop and dance.

By employing all of these wildly different styles it allows the record to typify Kilter’s vision for exploring distortion of music and genre breaking. Another subsequent positive of this multi-genre approach is that it allows the record to be constantly captivating. (JA) WWWW

This album is built of non-threatening electronic elements.

It is an absence of the frantic energy that often signifies the style. Considered materials, muted and down-played to create a soft environment to listen in.

Tora’s Take A Rest speaks softly to the listener, instilling mental comfort, an easing of anxieties. In the listeners mind they are falling into a bean bag chair, almost to the point of being swallowed, everything they touch is softness their weight is supported and enveloped.

Curling up in folds of audio fabric, the listener is alone and they are connected to the rest of the world through a pin point of space that allows only what will help them through. No sharp edges, only things that blend into the musical tide can make it to the listener, through this mirage of luxury. (SP) WWW1/2

42 King Street Newtown

www.theleadbelly.com.au

LIVE MUSIC : FINE FOOD : COCKTAIL BAR : EVENTS 26 & 27 MAY

BUSBY MAROU (QLD SOLD OUT

3 JUNE

JEFF DUFF

ORACLE RECORDS PRESENT :

JIM MITCHELLS

+ ROSA MARIA +SUN SAP

6 JUNE

JOHN SAFRAN

1 JUNE - BLUES ROCK

2 JUNE - FOLK ROCK

END OF TOUR PARTY

(WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING)

7 JUNE - COVERS

8 JUNE - TRIBUTE

FREE ENTRY

FT ALL STAR LINEUP

FRANK SULTANA

WHITE TREE BAND

MICK THOMAS

I AM WOMAN

FROM LONDON TO THE MOON ‘A DUFF-ODYSSEY’

PRES BY BETTER READ THAN DEAD

9 JUNE - GYPSY FOLK

10 JUNE - OZ ROCK

11JUNE - MATINEE

LTD DINNER & SHOW TIX AVAIL

G.A TIX + BAR MENU

DINNER & SHOW TIX AVAIL

SCABZ + HUNCH + DUNHILL BLUES + BEAST & FLOOD

13 JUNE - AMERICANA

14 JUNE - INDIE FOLK

16 JUNE - ALT COUNTRY

17 & 18 JUNE - CABARET

+ SPECIAL GUESTS

(THE AUDREYS)

A DAVID BOWIE CABARET

CROOKED FIDDLE

TERRY SERIO’S HALF TRUTHS

+ CHARLIE OWEN + OH REACH

Y RATED B PLAY CU RK IS D T R O +A IES NETW THE LAD 14

31 MAY - ALT ROCK

city hub 8 JUNE 2017

AUTHOR TALK

THE RADIATORS

GREEN MOHAIR SUITS

THOMAS OLIVER

TAASHA COATES

11JUNE - P.M

NEWTOWN ROCK

SOUND + VISION

These events are presented by Vivid Sydney in partnership with the City of Sydney

20th Century Women

My Cousin Rachel

Annette Bening received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her signature performance in this comedy drama portraying a fiercely independent and proud divorcee, who yearns happiness and a wonderful future for her 15 year-old son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann).

Set in Santa Barbara 1979, Dorothy (Bening) who runs a boarding house states “I know my son less every day” and enlists the help of two young female boarders to share their lives and provide guidance for her son.

The film quietly asks, what is it to be a mother and how do you become a good man? Do you

Based on the 1951 novel by Daphne du Maurier this romantic thriller, set in Victorianera England, should captivate audiences with its gothic atmosphere and incessant mystery.

Rachel Weisz leads the cast, as the deliciously deceptive black widow, originally portrayed on screen by Olivia de Havilland.

This classic dark tale entrances audiences from the onset, as Philip Ashley (Sam Claflin) expresses concern for his cousin Ambrose who is being tormented by his wife Rachel.

Philip soon learns of his cousin’s death and strongly suspects he may have been murdered by his ‘loving’ spouse.

As the story progresses, Philip promises to avenge his cousin’s death and predictably, in true soapy fashion, becomes obsessed and

need a man to raise a man? Jamie progressively discovers the meaning of life and also influences the lives of those around him.

Audiences will relate to the underlying themes of the older generation trying to connect with the younger generation and also attempting to adapt to a changing world.

This study of human relationships resonates the importance of family and friendship and is an endearing and powerful independent film which emerged as one of the freshest films from the US festival circuit. (MMo) WWW1/2

falls in love with the beautiful yet evil woman, as she begins to spin her web of deceit.

Elegantly brought to the screen, the seductive tale benefits from the sweeping beauty of undulating landscapes and signature monuments in Florence, Italy.

But in the grandness of this production, flaws are evident, headed by the expedient nature of story developments, notably Philip’s wild anger and desire for retribution unrealistically dissipating the moment he meets the protagonist.

The unpredictably abrupt finale is also underwhelming and compounds to signify that the adaption of a novel to the screen is an arduous task. (MMo)

WWW

Churchill

Wonder Woman

The success of this British historical war drama can be equally attributed to Brian Cox’s realistic portrayal of Winston Churchill and to the storylines that showcase a different side to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - his human side, which hadn’t previously been explored on film.

The film details the 96 hours leading up to the June 6, 1944 D-Day Normandy Landings.

The allies must liberate France of German control if they are to win the war and against Churchill’s wishes, it’s decided that tens of thousands of young soldiers should mount an

Carrying the burden of rescuing the DC extended film universe and also being a feminist icon placed a plethora of barriers in the path of success for Wonder Women, thankfully though she smashes right through all of them.

Starting off her journey on the secluded island of Amazons is the perfect introduction to Diana (Gal Gadot) and her stout moral compass. When paradise is interrupted by Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) Diana is confronted by the horrors of the wider world of mankind during World War I and immediately begins questioning her beliefs.

The dark, sullen nature of the previous DC extended universe films is entirely avoided in Wonder Woman as they instead focus on telling a compelling story with a poignant statement about war. Throughout the film, in particular the scenes between Diana and Steve, provide comedic relief

ambitious beach landing.

The film reveals Churchill’s total contempt for the operation and his genuine concern for the young men stating “This is not warfare – this is butchery!” He couldn’t live for the rest of his life with this on his conscience.

An incredible film with no battle sequences but many intense scenes which resonate that the fate of millions of young soldiers were sealed long before they perished in action, behind closed doors by important people who never experienced warfare. (MMo) WWW1/2

to the weighty, philosophical war story elements.

Whilst the action sequences in Wonder Woman are not as technically impressive as the previous DC films these all have a much more defined purpose. Occasionally the fight scenes can become hard to follow as you bask in the spectacle of Diana flipping and contorting herself as she simultaneously attacks her enemy and defends herself. The scene when Diana runs headlong into German machine-gun fire in particular is a standout because it embodies the values and ideals running through Wonder Woman rather than simply being an action sequence for the sake of it.

Overall this is the best film in the extended DC universe offerings and does a wonderful job of resurrecting DC in the battle against Marvel. (JA) WWWW

city hub 8 JUNE 2017

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INTERNATIONAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Extra KindErgarten class 2019

aPPLY NOW!

IGS is excited to be expanding the School’s Kindergarten intake with an additional class in 2019.

Our unique Languages offering from Preschool to Year 12 includes Chinese, French, German, Italian and Japanese and all years enjoy a dedicated music program under the Orff Shulwerk method.

IGS is a secular, co-educational school from Preschool to Year 12 To find out more or to book a tour: igssyd.nsw.edu.au | 9219 6700 admissions@igssyd.nsw.edu.au 6-8 Kelly St Ultimo 16

city hub 8 JUNE 2017