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LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD Anthony Albanese talks to City Hub about his journey from Camperdown to Canberra

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CITY HUB MAY 2022

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HubNEWS

Meet the candidates taking on Tanya Plibersek in Sydney (See p. 10)

ELECTION

City Hub’s guide to the election BY DANIEL LO SURDO fter months of official and unofficial campaigning, gotcha questions, COVID infections and pithy oneliners, the 2022 federal election is now staring us right in the eye. On May 21, Australians across the country (and indeed, overseas) will take to the polling booth to share who they wish to be represented by in Canberra for the next three years. This election, however, looms as a particularly significant event for voters across the inner west, inner-city and eastern suburbs, whose seats are home to key battlegrounds and the next potential prime minister. Let’s start on that note, as history beckons in the inner west seat of Grayndler for longtime leader Anthony Albanese. While all but assured to keep his seat, Albanese will hope that Labor can secure the support of at least 75 more seats across the country, which will allow his party to form a majority government and see him become the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, and the first-ever from Grayndler.

A HubARTS: Benched Theatre work about disability coming to Darlinghurst Theatre Company. (See p. 25)

PUBLISHED DATE 12 MAY 2022 Published monthly 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 Manager: Mal Moody 0484 042 615 Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au News Editor: Daniel Lo Surdo Contributors: Daniel Lo Surdo, Seja Al Zaidi, Marcus Haar, Erin Modaro, Sharlotte Thou, Amber Griffin, Swagatalakshmi Roychowdury, Sue Hanley Arts Editor: Jamie Apps Contributors: Irina Dunn, Mark Morellini, Amber Griffin, Shon Ho, Erin Modaro Cover Photo: Supplied. Anthony Albanese, the Member for Grayndler 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

‘NEVER STOP FIGHTING’

Albanese affirmed his commitment to his seat while speaking to City Hub earlier this month, saying that he has “never taken the people of Grayndler for granted” and “will never stop fighting for it”, even if he does become prime minister. While rival candidates are mounting serious challenges against Albanese behind the financial backing of their party rooms, none seem likely to put a dent in the status quo of the blue ribbon seat, which has been held by a Labor Party member since its inception in 1949. While on the campaign trail this year, Albanese and his team haven’t strayed too far from home, making appearances at the Addison Road Community Organisation in Marrickville, the Orange Grove Public School markets in Lilyfield, and Henson Park, where he pledged $2.5 million to upgrade the precinct and its broadcasting capacities. He has also fielded many of his TV interviews from the inner west and observed his one-week quarantine period (after testing positive for COVID-19) from his Marrickville home, which has helped keep his electorate onside during a gruelling election campaign.

Australians will go to the polls on May 21. Photo: AEC

A similar state of play is found across the eastern border of Grayndler, where the safe inner-city Labor seat of Sydney looks to remain in the hands of longtime member Tanya Plibersek. Albanese and Plibersek appeared together for the first time in the election campaign earlier this month in the ultramarginal Melbourne seat of Chisholm, spruiking Labor’s education policy, where they dismissed any suggestions that she has been ‘benched’ by the party during campaigning.

 Home to key battlegrounds and the next potential prime minister As the Shadow Minister for Education and Women, Plibersek will more than likely occupy an important role in an Albanese government if Labor wins the election. Despite a prolonged absence from the national spotlight, Plibersek’s future in Sydney looks steady heading into the election. About half of voters preferenced Labor on their ballot in 2019, maintaining a dominant lead over the Liberals and Greens which is predicted to continue later this month.

WENTWORTH BATTLEGROUND

A hard-fought campaign in Wentworth between incumbent Liberal Dave Sharma and independent Allegra Spender will come to a close on May 21 after months of heavy campaigning in the eastern suburbs seat. Spender has looked to capitalise on the electorate’s unsettledness - and distaste for the Morrison government’s climate policy - during her campaign, while

Sharma has promised voters stronger climate action, saying that collective, international action will allow climate challenges to be addressed. Spender is backed by the Climate 200 fundraising body, which is supporting an array of climate-focused independents challenging blue ribbon, inner-city Liberal seats. These ‘teal’ independents have come under fire by Liberal candidates during the campaign, who have accused them of being ‘fake’ independents who won’t disclose who they would support in the event of a hung parliament, and for having no concrete plans for the economy. Earlier in May, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he wouldn’t do a deal “on policy” with independents to form a minority government, saying that a “vote for independents is a vote for Labor”. Spender told City Hub last month that she was taking inspiration from the success of fellow Climate 200-backed candidate Zali Steggall in the 2019 election, where she took down former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott who had held the Sydney seat of Warringah for 25 years. Steggall is running for reelection this year, with Liberal seats including North Sydney, Mackellar and Kooyong also expecting strong challenges from independent candidates. South of Wentworth is the electorate of Kingsford Smith, which has voted Labor for over 50 years and has been represented by former Senator Matt Thistlethwaite since 2013. To keep Kingsford Smith, Labor will have to fend off challenges from the Liberals and Greens, represented by Grace Tan and Stuart Davis respectively, who will hope to steal the blue ribbon seat away from Labor’s grasp. CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

‘Unsung hero’ honoured at Bondi Sea Wall BY AMBER GRIFFIN mural of Australian surfing trailblazer Pauline Menczer was unveiled on the Bondi Sea Wall in April, with the eastern suburbs native honoured as an “unsung hero” of the surfing world. Menczer is the only person from Bondi to win a world surfing title (1993) but never received any prize money or sponsorships in a sport dominated by men in the late 20th century. The mural was painted by Canberra artist Megan Hales, who told City Hub that she was touched by Menczer’s story. She was approached about the mural by Michaela Perske, the producer of the Menczer-featuring ‘Girls Can’t Surf’ documentary, who supplied Hale with a collection of the surfer during her career. “I worked through images to come up with a design that I thought felt like the time she won the world title, incorporating some little personal details for Pauline,” Hales said. She explained that details of the mural such as the stickers on her surfboard and the necklace Menczer wears were

speaking to City Hub, Cr Masselos said that council can do more to honour Menczer’s legacy. “She is a complete inspiration for young women wanting to get into surfing, she is inspiring a whole new generation of girls and women to get into the water and surf those waves,” Cr Masselos said.

 She is inspiring a whole new generation of girls

A mural of Bondi surfing legend Pauline Menczer was unveiled at the Sea Wall in April. Photo: Waverley Council

all present on the day Menczer won the world title. “I knew I wanted to get a lot of likeness and realism in the face so that it really felt like she was there to the locals who know her so well,” Hales said. “If just a handful of people see the mural who will now know Pauline’s name that didn’t before, that’s my job done.”

MENCZER STATUE CONSIDERED

Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos moved a unanimous motion at a council meeting last year to recognise Menczer’s achievements in the surfing world and investigate “options for the appropriate recognition”, which included being featured on the Sea Wall and a plaque or statue. While

The mural has sparked renewed calls for a sculpture of Menczer to be erected at Bondi Beach, which has received support through a community GoFundMe campaign. In February last year, a GoFundMe was set up to provide Menczer with prize money for her 1993 world surfing title, which as of writing, has received over $60,000. Only 6 per cent of statues in Sydney are of women. The mural was completed in time for Bondi’s Ocean Lovers Festival, which took place in April. Founder and Director of the festival Anita Kolni said that the festival and mural are sharing hope and solutions for the ocean with the community.

Waverley Council Update Mayor’s message Streets as Shared Spaces Waverley Council has received a $500,000 state government grant through the Streets as Shared Spaces program to revitalise Hall Street, Bondi Beach between Campbell Parade and Glenayr Avenue by introducing a shared space, changes to outdoor dining and creating a plaza with more greenery and improved lighting. The program provides funding for Sydney councils to test and pilot new and innovative ideas that temporarily adapt streets as safe, shared public spaces for communities. We are continuing to gather feedback from local businesses about ways we can make Hall Street an even more enjoyable place to visit during this period of economic recovery following COVID lockdowns. To get in touch with our Economic Development team, visit the Business section of our website where you can also sign-up to their monthly newsletter for the latest business information, events and networking opportunities.

CITY HUB MAY 2022

Boot Factory building restoration

Glenayr Avenue Streetscape Upgrade

Waverley Councils’ restoration of the much loved Boot Factory building in Spring Street, Bondi Junction, and the Mill Hill Centre is due for completion late winter. Demolition of the external courtyard has been completed and a temporary roof structure installed over the building to allow internal structural and fit-out works to commence. The Council is transforming the former shoe making factory, and the adjacent Mill Hill Centre, into a civic innovation hub of the future. For updates, see the Major Projects section of our website or sign up to our Waverley Weekly e-newsletter.

Construction has begun on Waverley Council’s streetscape upgrade of Glenayr Avenue, North Bondi, between Hall Street and Warners Avenue. Key features of the upgrade include building raised continuous footpaths and intersection treatments, planting additional trees and greenery and installing high-quality paving in commercial areas. The project is proudly funded by Waverley Council and the Federal Government through a Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Grant. Placemaking and street activation are key principles of this streetscape upgrade. All work is expected to be completed by the end of November 2022 (weather permitting).

Overnight parking in Bondi Junction Waverley Council’s residential parking scheme at the Hollywood Avenue Car Park, Bondi Junction, is making it easier for residents to access secure overnight parking. Residents can apply for a monthly pass to park in the secure car park at a discounted rate of $144 per month between the hours of 5pm and 9am. On-street parking is in high demand across our local government area due to the sheer number of people who live, work and visit our area. Most residents do not have private off-street parking, so Council decided to offer the Hollywood Avenue Car Park for overnight use for residents. We recognise that walking and cycling is the most sustainable forms of transport, but we also appreciate that people do still own cars. The initiative has also helped free-up street parking in surrounding streets. To apply, visit waverley.nsw.gov.au/residents/parking.

Bondi Innovation Forum Australia’s top entrepreneurs return to Sydney on Thursday 26 May for the 2022 Bondi Innovation Forum presented by Waverley Council in partnership with Bondi & Districts Chamber of Commerce and Bondi Innovation Alliance. Bondi locals Dany Milham (Milkrun) and Claire Morris (Prezzee) are among this year’s speakers at the free virtual live event being broadcast online from Bondi Icebergs from 10am to 1pm. This year, the Bondi Innovation Forum celebrates the theme of “the future of possibility” and the bold, brave and inspiring journeys our entrepreneurs have faced on the road to success. For more, visit innovationbondi.com.au. Paula Masselos, Mayor of Waverley

CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

ELECTION

What you need to know for the election

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese (left) and incumbent prime minister Scott Morrison (right) will both be looking to form a government on May 21. Photo: ABC

BY DANIEL LO SURDO ith the federal election under two weeks away, City Hub has compiled all the information that voters will need to know before they cast their ballot on May 21.

WHO CAN VOTE IN THE ELECTION?

Voting is compulsory for all Australian citizens aged 18 and over. To vote, you must be enrolled on the electoral roll. It is now too late to vote in the federal election if you haven’t yet enrolled, as the electoral roll closed on April 18, but you can enrol to vote for future elections, including next year’s New South Wales (NSW) state election, by visiting the Australian Electoral Commission’s (AEC) website.

HOW DOES VOTING WORK?

Australian federal elections use a preferential voting system where voters mark a preference for every candidate in the House of Representatives (lower house) and a designated number of preferences for the Senate (upper house). All seats in the House of Representatives across the country will elect a single representative, with the preferential voting system allowing multiple counts of ballot papers to determine who has won 6

CITY HUB MAY 2022

an absolute majority (more than 50 per cent) of formal votes. A party, such as the Liberal or Labor party, can form a government if they win an absolute majority (at least 76) of the seats in the lower house. If no party wins at least 76 seats, as what happened in the 2010 federal election, there will be a ‘hung parliament’, which will mean that crossbenchers, such as independent or Greens members, will have the ‘balance of power’.

 Now all you have to do is vote In this event, the major parties will likely negotiate with the crossbenchers for their support, with the party that receives enough support to take them to 76 seats being able to form a minority government. Senate contests will elect multiple representatives for each state and territory, with each candidate needing to achieve the required formal vote quota to be elected. Votes will be transferred between candidates during counting according to the preferences indicated by voters. All seats in the House of Representatives, which is where party leaders such as Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese sit, will be contested during the election, while half of the Senate will be chosen. This is because

Senators are elected to serve for a period of six years, with a rotation system ensuring that half of the Senate retires every three years. You will be given two ballots to vote on: a green paper to vote for a representative in the lower house, and a white one to vote for a representative of your state or territory in the upper house. On the green ballot, you will be asked to put a ‘1’ next to the candidate who is your first choice to represent you in the House of Representatives, a ‘2’ in the box next to your second choice, and continue on until your least preferred candidate. Every box must be numbered for your vote to count. You have a choice when casting your vote on the white ballot paper: to vote either above or below the line, which will be visible on your paper. If you choose to vote above the line, you must number at least six boxes from 1 to 6, with ‘1’ being your first choice for the Senate, ‘2’ being your second, and so on. You may wish to continue numbering boxes beyond 6 above the line as you wish, but you don’t need to. If you choose to vote below the line, you must number at least 12 boxes from 1 to 12. As when voting above the line, ‘1’ would be your first choice, ‘2’ your second, and so on. You can continue to number boxes beyond 12, but you don’t need to.

If you make a mistake, you can ask for another ballot paper and start again.

HOW CAN I VOTE?

In a few ways. On May 21, you can vote anywhere in NSW at a polling place from 8am to 6pm. If you have travelled interstate for election day and haven’t voted ahead of time, you’ll need to vote at a special interstate voting centre. You can vote early either in person or by post if you are unable to cast your ballot on election day. Early voting centres will be open weeks before the election, with locations and opening hours published on the AEC’s website. You can apply to vote by post or pick up a postal vote application form at any AEC office, with posting packs having been mailed out since candidates for each election were finalised.

WHAT IF I’M OVERSEAS?

The AEC recommends that all overseas voters apply for a postal vote. Some Australian embassies, high commissions and consulate-generals will offer in-person voting, with others only accommodating postal votes.

ANYTHING ELSE INVOLVED?

Nope. Now all you have to do is vote.

PYRMONT FESTIVAL 28-29 MAY 2022 PIRRAMA PARK, PYRMONT The Pyrmont Festival is a festival celebrating food, wine and art, which includes the 2-Day food and wine event. The festival is a community-run event that fosters a strong connection with the country and the city.

The festival features: Free entry - everyone in the community is welcome Wineries from NSW wine regions Oyster Bar from the famous Sydney Fish Market Local breweries and distilleries Local food trucks Free live entertainment from local musicians and artists Family and first date friendly Kids zone Art classes Food and wine courses Accessible access to all parts of the park For more information visit www.pyrmontfestival.com.au

CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

Aboriginal preference push fails

BY MARCUS HAAR n amendment to an Inner West Council motion calling on the Aboriginal flag to take precedence over the NSW and Australian flags on council buildings was defeated in April. The original motion, which was moved by mayor Darcy Byrne in a mayoral minute, called on council to assemble a public forum on the Uluru Statement from the Heart, congratulate Cheree Toka on her campaign to have the Aboriginal flag fly permanently over the Harbour Bridge and implore the NSW government to immediately implement this, and to adopt new protocols for flag-raising on council buildings, whereby the Aboriginal flag would take precedence over the state flag.

It’s important that people can ... see their flag being flown An amendment to the motion by Greens councillor Dylan Griffiths asked that the Aboriginal flag be given precedence over both the NSW and Australian flags, which was defeated behind the opposition of all Labor and independent candidates.

An unsuccessful amendment to a motion at an Inner West Council meeting called for the Aboriginal flag to take precedence over the state and Australian flag on council buildings. Photo: YouTube

“All in all, I supported the mayor’s motion and I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Cr Griffiths told City Hub. “I would have liked to have seen council being clear that the Aboriginal flag should be of the highest priority of all our flags, not just the New South Wales flag.”

FLAG VISIBILITY ‘IMPORTANT’

While discussing the amendment, Cr Byrne didn’t believe there were “instances of there being a single flagpole in which the Australian flag flies

and the Aboriginal flag is not able to” in the Inner West, to which council General Manager Peter Gainsford said that there were none he was aware of. “On that basis and given that this will be subject to further review, I won’t accept the amendment. I thank councillor Griffiths very much for the fine sentiments that he has made and I think we are all in agreement about how important this issue is,” Cr Byrne said. While speaking to City Hub, Greens councillor Kobi Shetty, who seconded

the amendment, said that the visibility of the Aboriginal flag in the Inner West was “an important piece of the puzzle”. “I think it’s important that people can look and see their flag being flown and to think that they belong somewhere and that other people who aren’t from that group appreciate that they have a place in our society, so it’s certainly not the most important thing, but I still think it’s something that’s important.” The original motion was carried unanimously.

The Greens are Committed to Ending the Use of Fossil Fuels Now A climate-focussed government is long overdue and the Greens are committed to working in parliament and the community to drive the change that we know is so urgent. The latest report from the IPCC on climate change is bleak. Climate change is already here. It’s fuelling the extreme weather events we are currently seeing and the window of time that we have to reduce our emissions is rapidly closing.

We know the climate crisis is caused by mining and burning coal, oil and gas. They’re heating up the planet, and if we want a chance at a safe climate future, we need to work to transition out of these fossil fuels. But we don’t need to choose between taking urgent climate action and supporting fossil fuel communities. We can do both. We can look after communities that rely on the coal, oil and gas industries, @jennyleong.newtown

CITY HUB MAY 2022

while at the same time developing renewables, creating new jobs and restoring our manufacturing industry.

In this critical decade for climate action, we need to keep coal and gas in the ground. It’s time to make coal and gas history.

Neither Liberal or Labor have a plan to get out of coal because they continue to take millions of dollars in political donations from polluting fossil fuel companies who are calling the shots. They are prepared to sacrifice a safe future for all of us and for future generations for short-term political gain. This is morally bankrupt. We need urgent policy reform to protect our futures, First Nations lands, and our environment. Thankfully young people are leading the movement for change - students are striking to ensure our future @jennyleong

and the future of our planet. The Greens stand in solidarity and defiance with our student strikers - as we did outside Kirribilli House back in March - to demand urgent climate action and make the Liberal/ National governments listen. And we will continue to do so. You can watch my most recent speech on the climate crisis.

Together we can turn things around and create the future that we want. The Greens know the climate emergency is here and it’s real - we know that we need urgent action to put a stop to the polluting fossil fuel industry. Jenny Leong MP Greens Member for Newtown @jennyleong.newtown

CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

ELECTION

Sydney candidates taking on Plibersek supporting climate justice, public housing, and social justice, and has identified anti-racism as something he will “fight for” in parliament. When asked about the climate, Sahai said that carbon emissions continue to grow and to understand the breadth of the emergency “we only need to ask the people who lived through the devastating Black Summer bushfires.”

WEN ZHOU (CITIZENS PARTY AUSTRALIA)

Tanya Plibersek (pictured) is the incumbent member for Sydney. Photo: Facebook

BY ERIN MODARO ix candidates all backed by major or minor parties will be hoping to unseat Tanya Plibersek from the Labor stronghold of Sydney on May 21. The Sydney electorate encompasses the central business district, the inner-city and the inner-east, spanning a total of 44 square kilometres. The electorate was first used in name in 1969 after the mergers of east and west Sydney. Labor has held the seat for over 50 years, with the longstanding Plibersek widely expected to retain her seat this month. The Sydney electorate’s first preference votes have remained highest for Labor during previous decades, with the Greens a steady third preference behind Liberal in recent years.

ANDREW CHUTER (SOCIALIST ALLIANCE)

Socialist Alliance candidate Andrew Chuter says his main areas of focus for the election are “the climate emergency, housing affordability and peace, not war”. Chuter told City Hub that “transport is my mega big issue, and the reason I care about that is because of the climate emergency that we’re facing”. He says that what differentiates his climate response from other politicians is a focus on reducing the overall consumption of fossil fuels as opposed to only focusing on fossil fuel extraction. Chuter has previously campaigned against the construction of the WestConnex motorway as a co-convener 10

CITY HUB MAY 2022

of ‘No WestConnex’ and has been an advocate for Fix NSW Transport, which united community advocates and transport unions to support the movement against WestConnex. Chuter is a former school teacher and currently tutors in mathematics at multiple universities, as well as being involved with activism in the areas of transport, public housing and climate change.

TANYA PLIBERSEK (LABOR)

Incumbent Sydney member Tanya Plibersek is a familiar face in the electorate, having held the seat since 1998. Plibersek is Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Women and has previously held portfolios in health, medical research, housing, social inclusion and status of women, as well as being the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Labor Party under Bill Shorten.

 The top-of-mind issue for the Sydney electorate is affordable housing Plibersek has campaigned on social justice issues such as paid parental leave, worker’s rights and LGBTQIA+ rights. Recently, she has called for better pay and work conditions for women in the workplace, and an increase of First Nations language teachers. Born to Slovenian migrants, Plibersek grew up in the Sutherland Shire and studied communications at the

University of Technology Sydney and politics and public policy at Macquarie University.

BEN FERGUSON (PAULINE HANSON’S ONE NATION)

Candidate for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Ben Ferguson supports the party’s foreign ownership, affordable energy and cost of living policies. Ferguson is a previous business builder and owner and advocates against Labor and Greens social and economic policies. His focus areas include the rising prices of living and, according to his One Nation profile, implementing “realistic measures to promote long-term solutions for Australia’s economy and its precious, unique social fabric”.

CHETAN SAHAI (THE GREENS)

Greens candidate Chetan Sahai has a background in the private sector as a software engineer, management consultant and product manager, and has obtained a double degree in chemical engineering and computer science at the University of New South Wales. His main concerns for Sydney’s constituents are a lack of affordable housing, an impending climate crisis and racial discrimination. “Australia is in the middle of a housing crisis,” Chetan said, saying that he has experienced difficulties firsthand as a Sydney renter. He added that he has “given up on ever being able to own my own home under the current system”. Sahai is involved in community efforts

Wen Zhou, candidate for the Australia Citizens Party, told City Hub that his main promise if elected is to push for the establishment of a National Public Bank in response to the rising cost of living for Australians. “The top-of-mind issue for the Sydney electorate is affordable housing,” Zhou said, adding that a National Bank would provide a solution to this issue. Other focus areas for Zhou are accelerating the transition to renewable energy, funding high-density housing and stabilising the cost of rent. Zhou, a second-generation ChineseAustralian, was born in Camperdown and has completed degrees in law and business.

ALEXANDER ANDRUSKA (LIBERAL)

Liberal candidate for Sydney Alexander Andruska is an accountant and has experience working with both large and small businesses, government bodies and the non-profit sector. Andruska ran for the Heffron electorate in the 2019 state election, coming behind Labor incumbent Ron Hoenig. Andruska supports small businesses and economic development and prosperity in Australia. He has advocated for people experiencing homelessness and women facing domestic violence, as well as being a long-time supporter of humanitarian organisation Doctors without Borders. Andruska was a financial controller for a software company and was later employed as an accountant for Australian businessman and investor Tom Waterhouse.

RYAN MCALISTER (UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY)

City Hub has contacted the United Australia Party office for comment on McAlister’s campaign. The Sydney electorate encompasses Camperdown, Erskineville, Glebe, Haymarket, Newtown, Potts Point, Pyrmont, Rosebery, Surry Hills, The Rocks, Waterloo and Woolloomooloo and parts of Darlinghurst.

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CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

Yvonne Weldon ‘very reluctant to get involved’

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 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.

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE 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.

TANYA PLIBERSEK MP 1A Great Buckingham St Redfern NSW 2016 TanyaPlibersek.com to Help 2020 V1.indd HUB MAY 2022 1 12 SSO HereCITY

02 9379 0700

Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au 28/09/2020 1:23:20 PM

Yvonne Weldon was elected to City of Sydney council in December last year. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

BY DANIEL LO SURDO vonne Weldon has to think when asked why she was hesitant to enter public office. Eventually, she finds an answer. It isn’t for the scrutiny, nor for the responsibility, but for something much more unsuspecting. “Because I’m quite a private person,” Weldon tells City Hub with a laugh. “Which is crazy considering half the things that I do.” Weldon is the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and the NSW Australia Day Council, and a board member of Domestic Violence NSW and Jesuit primary school Redfern Jarjum College. She added to her portfolio in December, when she was elected as a City of Sydney councillor. Since the election, Weldon has been juggling her commitments “as best as [she] can” but feels that council “has a long way to go in the way it’s run”. “As a single mum … I shouldn’t have to choose between my job and council and making sure that our constituents have a voice at the table,” she says. “I shouldn’t have to choose between making a difference for everyone or making a difference in my own family or putting food on the table, that shouldn’t be a choice.” Weldon cites the council meeting schedules, which are held at 5:00pm every month. In the neighbouring Inner West, Waverley and Randwick councils, ordinary meetings begin no earlier than 6:30. She says that being a councillor

is “not a full-time job yet you have to have full-time commitments”, which can disadvantage “those who have to make a living as well”.

‘REAL CHANGE AFOOT’

Earlier this year, Weldon was named the 2022 NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year for her work with Aboriginal people in the inner-city community. She said the greatest honour of receiving the award was for her family, who “paved the way” for her activism today. Her mum was the first company secretary of the Aboriginal Legal Service in Redfern, while her great-aunt was an activist and her uncle, Paul Coe, was a prominent human rights campaigner who also helped establish the Legal Service.

I’m quite a private person As the first-ever Aboriginal Australian to be elected to the City of Sydney, Weldon hopes that newfound visibility in the inner-city can spur the incremental changes in Indigenous representation happening in political chambers across the state. “There’s a lot of Aboriginal women and our young Aboriginal men too who think this could be me, and when you look at the results across New South Wales, there’s been this massive shift in the amount of Aboriginal councillors that have been elected, and I think it’s about time,” Weldon says. “There’s real change afoot that needs to happen.”

CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

Trans swim night a ‘raging success’ to go ahead with the event as planned after meeting to address the abusive comments, saying that they would “ensure an atmosphere of safety and support for all attendees”. Labor councillor Mat Howard said that he was “proud” of council for hosting its first Trans and Gender Diverse night, while deputy mayor Jessica D’Arienzo said that the event “clearly demonstrated our community is at its best when we support each other and work together”.

 Our community is at its best when we support each other

Inner West deputy mayor Jessica D’Arienzo (pictured, second from right) called the first Trans and Gender Diverse swim night a ‘raging success’. Photo: Facebook

By DANIEL LO SURDO he Inner West’s deputy mayor has called the area’s first Trans and Gender Diverse swim night a “raging success”, with the event going ahead last month after receiving a deluge of transphobic abuse earlier in April.

The swim night, which took place at Ashfield Aquatic Centre, proceeded to go forward after a Facebook post promoting the event encountered transphobic abuse from people mainly in the United States and United Kingdom. An Inner West Council spokesperson told City Hub that council officers decided

plan to be put on public exhibition later this year. Council has included a new inclusion policy in its strategic plan, which will support First Nations people and multiculturalism and service its communities, including those identifying as trans or gender diverse. The documents will be on public exhibition for 28 days, with a report detailing community feedback to be received by councillors at a meeting on June 14. The motion, moved by Labor councillor Mark Drury, was supported by all councillors except Independent John Stamolis.

Greens councillor Liz Atkins called the event a “fabulous success”, while fellow Greens councillor Dylan Griffiths said it was a “real hit”, floating the prospect of the night occurring on a monthly basis.

NEW INCLUSION POLICY

The Trans and Gender Diverse swim night comes after council approved plans for its draft community strategic plan, 2022/2023 budget and 10-year financial

The swim night was held at Ashfield Aquatic Centre. Photo: Facebook

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CITY HUB MAY 2022

DIE. OR DIE TRYING. Escaping the Taliban.

Last month Addi Road hosted over 350 people to the film premiere of Die. Or Die Trying. Escaping the Taliban. An Addi Road Production, the film details the gripping story of 15 young women forced to make their escape from Kabul as the Taliban enter the city and seize ultimate power in Afghanistan. Outside there is gun fire in the streets, part-celebration, part-signal of the insurgent malice; the Taliban begin going door-to-door, looking for sex slaves and wives as young as 14-years-old. Soon they will be entrenched in power, turning back the clock, denying females a right to education. Demographically one of the youngest nations on the planet, most of Afghanistan population has no living memory of the Taliban’s rule. The young, especially, are used to their democracy, to a right to education, to a far more modern and open way of life. But they know the bad history all too well. And it is with disbelief, even denial, that they watch the Taliban move so quickly to take control of their world again. The takeover of Kabul occurs so fast 15 female high school and university students, who have set out from their homes as usual that morning, must flee their educational establishments and find refuge in the home of Marwa Moeen. Many will never see their families again.

Screened inside Addi Road’s Gumbramorra Hall, the documentary Die. Or Die Trying. Escaping the Taliban made for an ultimately inspiring night, with the young women who made it through to Sydney all present to watch the film – and the key figures involved taking the stage for an in-conversation event immediately after the premiere screening. There was a feeling of community action and engagement achieving something against the odds. Of brave young women that were still finding their place in a new country; brave young women still grieving for what they have lost and families and friends still in Afghanistan. Mayor Darcy Byrne – whose Inner West Council had partially funded the film – lauded their courage, commitment and “big heart”. “It’s extraordinary,” he added, “that Addi Road have been able to achieve such a great community mobilisation”, noting the rise of the organisation in “meeting contemporary needs in extraordinary circumstances” from Covid and flood relief to refugee support. Addi Road CEO Rosanna Barbero said this “communal solidarity and collective responsibility” was essential to helping the young women escape Kabul. More than that, it was a major factor in all of Addi Road’s work. “A community mobilising to look after each other and bring change.”

After the film, Farhat Kohistani addressed the education issues in Afghanistan for young women and begged us all to help “stop the gender Apartheid” that was happening. Her own opportunities to study English and now do her HSC in Sydney were bittersweet by comparison. “I am 21 years old but I have not been long here in Australia, so I have to say I am only six months old for you.” Marwa Moeen pined for those for back in Afghanistan, and spoke likewise of renewed educational opportunities – truncated in Kabul so suddenly – as a university student soon to begin her first semester here at UTS. She also spoke of wanting to talk to girls’ schools and let young women in Australia know the story of her journey and what was happening to women in Afghanistan today. Farhat Nazari spoke similarly, quietly, of learning English and her dreams for the future in Sydney. She was getting a job in a restaurant, a new social enterprise promoting Afghan food and supporting refugees like her, soon to open its doors in Circular Quay. She spoke too of something deep inside her body: the headaches that plagued her; the illness a doctor said was not there; a stress that had not left her and that keeps her from sleeping every night. “I remember my family. I think of them in Kabul.” A fine film. A heartfelt conversation. A hall of full of people engaged and energised by Die. Or Die Trying. Escaping the Taliban.PROPOSAL A story thatTOisUPGRADE continuing.OPTUS And a community involved in its telling.BASE STATION WITH MOBILE PHONE

Die. Or Die Trying. Escaping the Taliban was introduced by 15-year-old school girl Charli Foster, 5G Over the next week Marwa begins to make contact emphasising a night that naturally reflected the AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS with community activists in Australia, as well as Die. Or Die Trying. Escaping the Taliban. concerns and ideals of youth in ways both large and PROPOSAL TOa UPGRADE OPTUSwith AND VODAFONE Existing Facility 10), 1-19 Oxford Street, Rooftop Facility, Lakes Business Park, Building 2, recording chilling interview Radio National’sMOBILE small.PHONE Tamkin BASE Hakim reinforced this when she(Level spoke Surry Hills NSW 2010 2-26 Lordsupported Street, Botanyby NSWInner 2019 Fran Kelly as theWITH girls begin panic and make aLOCATIONS An Addi Road Production; of the young Afghan women as exactly that, STATION 5G ATtoTHE FOLLOWING Optus Ref: S0209, www.rfnsa.com.au/2010024 Optus Ref: S0490, www.rfnsa.com.au/2019001 suicide pact Rooftop rather Facility, than be taken alive by the Taliban. West Council. teenagers and young women with all the typical 209-211 Harris Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009 1. age The proposed concerns and interests of their group.facility consists of the addition of new 5G 3. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G Optus Vodafone Ref: S0969, www.rfnsa.com.au/2009003 equipment and associated works as follows: Marwa’s friendof the Farhat has meanwhile setas follows: This film is now available school screenings equipment andfor associated works as follows: 1. The proposed facility consists additionKohistani of new 5G equipment and associated works • Installation of three new 5G panel antennas length) out alone on a great journey across Afghanistan to with (0.81m the inyoung women Craig Foster highlighted the importance of(3)telling • Installation from of three (3)Afghanistan new 5G panel antennasand (0.59m long) • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.81m long) • Replacement of three (3) we existing 4Gthose panel antennas (2.68m able find her own freedom. A young woman’s rights involved and take stories and “the human face behind the headlines • to New attend ancillary equipment includingquestions remote radio units, cabling • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.75m long) long) with three new 4G panel antennasabout (1.5m long) activist in Kabul, she has read the danger signals a how it was made. read about”, and antenna mounts • Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.68m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (2.1m long) and what a great asset these young • New intelligent, ancillary equipmentand including remote radio units, to cabling few days sooner and clearer. She runs; but where Enquiries info@addiroad.org.au women were to Australia: proud, • Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within • Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.68m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (1.83m long) antenna mounts can she go as moves across the border? And what is driven to change the world for theand better. the equipment shelter • Newhappening ancillary equipment units, she cablinghas and antenna mounts • Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within to including Marwaremote andradio those left behind?

4. 5. 6.

• The antennas are at rooftop level and there is a slight increase in • Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within the equipment shelter the equipment shelter; the antennas are at level 10 plant room the overall scale of the facility • The Back antennasin areKabul, at rooftopMarwa level and there is a slight increase inTamkin the overallHakim, scale of the facility • Optus regards the proposed installation up. as a low-impact facility in Moeen reaches It’s a big slice of• his life; painful to deal with even Optus regards the proposed installation as Exempt Development accordance with the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Rooftop 48 Chippen Chippendale NSW 2008 explaining there areFacility, 15 girls hiding Street, in a room. Afraid now. Here in Sydney he devotes to human in accordance with himself State Environmental Planning Policy Determination 2018 based on the description above Ref: S2145, www.rfnsa.com.au/2008003 to go out andOptus getVodafone water, afraid to be heard. “Every rights and social justice work, helping us out at Addi (Infrastructure) 2007 based on the description above The proposed facility of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows: house is consists a gaol.” Existing Monopole, 19 Harris Street, Road whenever he can, as well as working on his • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.75m long) Pyrmont NSW 2009 Rooftop Facility, 65-71 Belmore Road, music and his art non-stop. He calls his self-portrait Optus Ref: S5576, www.rfnsa.com.au/2009001 Tamkin contacts “theantennas one (1.35m person • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel long) she can trust”, Randwick NSW 2031 KNS088. It was painted using toothbrushes and Addi Road CEO Rosanna Barbero. Soon Craig • Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.69m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (2.1m long) Optus Ref: S0041, www.rfnsa.com.au/2031005 2. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G instant coffee as well as acrylics. “I used a toothFosterof three and Kurdish refugee equipment and associated works as follows: • Replacement (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.68mMostafa long) with three‘Moz’ new 4G panel antennas (1.5m long) 4. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G are involved withunits, Rosanna and Tamkin, brush(0.59m andlong) coffee equipment to make paper or • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas • NewAzimitabar ancillary equipment including remote radio cabling and antenna mounts and paintings associated workson as follows: who have rallied a collective of women to help put whatever else I found [when in detention],” says. • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.81m long) • Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within the equipment shelter • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel he antennas (0.59m long) visa applications. • Installation of one (1) new 4G panel antenna (2.69 m long) “I chose the title KNS088 because for eight years I • The together antennas are atcomplex rooftop level passport and there is a and slight increase in the overall scale of the facility • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.81m long) • Replacement of two (2) existing 4G panel antennas (2.53m by long) this number instead of a name. The was called Rooftop Facility, 134-138 William Street, Wooloomooloo NSW 2011 • Provision for three (3) future panel antennas (up to 1.5m long) It is a race Optus against time as the young women with two new 4G panel antennas (2.69m long) message of my painting is love. Love is how we kill Vodafone Ref: S8901, www.rfnsa.com.au/2011002 • New ancillary equipment including remote radio units, cabling summon up the courage to leave Kabul in the early • Provision for three (3) future panel antennas (up to 1.5m long) The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows: the monsters. We areandall onemounts family, connected by antenna morning darkness. All the while they continue • New ancillary equipment including remote radio units, cabling • Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.75m long) our humanity.” • Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within communicating overnight, and in whispered secret, and antenna mounts Congratulations Mostafa ‘Moz’ Azimitabar for getting • Installation of three (3) new 5Ginpanel antennas (1.35m long) the equipment shelter to their contacts Australia. •Archibald ReconfigurationPrize of existing equipment on the facility and within his self-portrait selected as an 2022 • Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.53m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (1.83m long) • The antennas are at rooftop level and there is a slight increase in the equipment shelter finalist. A label • Replacement three (3) 4G panel (2.53m long)told with intensely three new 4G panel antennas (2.78m long) like ‘Kurdish refugee’ wont ever box This isofonly theexisting outline of aantennas mighty story the overall scale of the facility • The antennas are at rooftop level and there is a slight increase in Moz in. We know him as our friend and resident artist • Newthrough ancillary equipment remote radio cabling Moeen, and antenna mounts the including accounts of units, Marwa Farhat the overall scale of the facility • Optus regards the proposed installation as Exempt Development at Addi Road. Born in Iran in 1986, he fled persecu• Reconfiguration of existing equipment Nazari, on the facility and within equipment shelter Kohistani and Farhat who mapthetheir journeys • Optus regards the proposed installation as a low-impact facility in in accordance with State Environmental Planning Policy tionEnvironmental there, arriving in Australia in 2013, where he from Kabul – proposed while installations TamkinasHakim, Craig inFoster, Optus and Vodafone regard the Exempt Development accordance with State Planning Policy accordance with the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) (Infrastructure) 2007 based on the description above sought asylum. Moz was held inDetermination detention, (Infrastructure) 2007 based on the description above ‘Moz’ Azimitabar do Rosanna Barbero and Mostafa 2018 first based onon the description above then in a Melbourne hotel until 2021. everything in their powerwith from Sydney to Code help them MobileManus Notification is being undertaken in accordance Section 7 of Industry C564:2020 Phone BaseIsland, Station Deployment 5. Notification is being undertaken in accordance with Section 7 of Industry Code C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment. it out He can count theabout days hours he was locked Membersmake of the public mayalive. obtain further information on the proposed work, and we invite you to provide written comments the and the 6. Members of the public may obtain further information on the proposed work, and we invite you to provide written comments about the proposal. Further information and/or comments should be directed to Optus’ representative c/- James McIver, Catalyst ONE Pty Ltd; phone: proposal. Further information and/or comments should be directed to Optus’ representative c/- James McIver, Catalyst ONE Pty Ltd; phone: 02 4022 9533; email: consultation@catalystone.com.au and post: PO Box 1119, Crows Nest NSW 1585 by 26 February 2021. 02 4022 9533; email: consultation@catalystone.com.au and post: PO Box 1119, Crows Nest NSW 1585 by 26 February 2021.

Moz at the Archibald

CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

ELECTION

Breaking down the battle for Wentworth

Incumbent Liberal member Dave Sharma (left) is facing a strong challenge from Independent Allegra Spender (right) for Wentworth at the election. Photo: Dave Sharma/Allegra Spender

BY SHARLOTTE THOU he blue-ribbon electorate of Wentworth may be set for a shakeup this month, with five candidates hoping to unseat incumbent Liberal Dave Sharma, including the Independent, Climate-200 backed Allegra Spender, who is mounting a serious challenge for the seat. Spender has run much of her campaign on climate action, harnessing despondency with the government’s emissions policies to find favour in the electorate. While speaking to City Hub last month, Spender said that Wentworth’s climate values were the “biggest out of step piece” to what was being delivered by the Morrison government. The government committed to net zero emissions by 2050 last year, and a 26-28 per cent emissions cut by 2030. These targets have been condemned by climate activists, who criticised the Coalition for not putting in stronger policies consistent with recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. While Dave Sharma has spoken out against aspects of his government’s climate change approach, such as opposing a government plan that would provide federal funding to coal power plants in 2020, he has also

CITY HUB MAY 2022

been accused of toeing the party line in Canberra. His preference for United Australia Party (UAP) candidate Natalie Dumer on voter’s ballots has also drawn some criticism across the electorate. The UAP has no climate policy and has campaigned in support of nuclear energy. Dumer, a dentist, has said that Wentworth, being “one of the highest tax-paying electorates”, has received “little value other than a $1.3 trillion debt”. The UAP has previously warned its audiences of “adverse reactions” to the COVID-19 vaccine, with party leader Craig Kelly’s Facebook account being permanently removed last year for sharing misinformation about the pandemic. The Dental Board of Australia, the national regulatory agency for the profession, has said that promoting antivaccination statements that contradict scientific evidence “may be in breach of the [Board’s] code of conduct and subject to investigation and possible regulatory action”. City Hub asked Dumer how she would reconcile the conflict of pandemic messaging between her profession and party, but she did not respond before deadline.

‘FAR AHEAD’ ON CLIMATE

Since arriving in Canberra after his 2019 election victory, Sharma has come under fire for a failure to drive stronger climate goals and targets in parliament. If re-elected, Sharma promises to advocate for better climate change action, increase housing affordability, improve transport and school infrastructure, and provide more accessible childcare.

 Wentworth is “far ahead of where the government is” Spender, who has looked to capitalise on the public animosity to the Morrison government during her campaign, has said that Wentworth is “far ahead of where the government is in terms of climate, both from seeing the economic opportunities for Australia of decarbonisation and how Australia can be an energy superpower”. Spender’s climate policies include passing the Climate Change Bill proposed by fellow Independent Zali Steggall to “provide objective oversight and de-politicise climate change” and to reduce emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2030. She also has policies for building a “smart, sustainable

and fiscally responsible economy” and investing in Wentworth’s natural environment. Climate change is also a priority for Greens candidate Dominic WY Kanak. Kanak brings a First Nations perspective to climate change policies, saying he hopes that the “principles of Aboriginal custodianship and love for country” are values central to Australia’s climate change response. Kanak has been a local Waverley councillor since 1999. As an Indigenous Australian, Kanak is passionate about delivering “real justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”, who have been marginalised by poverty, homelessness, disability, and governmental failures. He hopes to advocate for national treaties that will “change the course of this country’s history and set us on a new path”. If elected, Kanak promises to follow through on the Uluru Statement from the Heart, such as implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Indigenous deaths in custody. Kanak told City Hub that he is particularly interested in establishing a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to increase integrity and transparency around the decision-making process. He said that the NSW ICAC has proved its value by “reveal[ing] questionable and corrupt behaviour from public officials”. “It would be very foolish to think that questionable and corrupt behaviour stops at the federal level,” he said.

‘LOCALLY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT’

Fellow Waverley councillor Tim Murray is running in Wentworth for the Labor Party. He cites climate change as a key area of concern, having “seen first-hand the impact that pollution can have on children’s health”. The Business Council of Australia has said that Labor’s emission targets – net zero emissions by 2050, and a 43 per cent reduction by 2030 – could be stronger. He said that Labor is the “only party committed to balanced locally-driven development, affordable housing, investment in public education and health, and an open, secure, innovative and forward-looking Australia”. Liberal Democrats candidate Daniel Lewkovitz is motivated by “the lack of talent in parliament”, with politicians who have “sacrificed a generation of other Australians despite having no skin in the game themselves”. Lewkovitz is campaigning for nuclear energy, lower taxes, and “most importantly, the government out of your life”.

BOOK TICKETS NOW AT SFF.ORG.AU

ALL THE PEOPLE I’LL NEVER BE From Cannes Un Certain Regard, Davy Chou’s (Golden Slumbers, SFF 2012; Diamond Island, SFF 2017) moving, delightful film follows a young French woman’s quest to discover her Korean roots.

EMILY THE CRIMINAL In this electrifying Aubrey Plaza-led heist thriller, an art-school dropout and credit card scammer is entangled in the criminal underworld of Los Angeles. Sundance 2022.

KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME The life and work of great American author and commentator Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions) is examined in a documentary 40 years in the making.

BEFORE, NOW & THEN Kamila Andini’s (The Seen and the Unseen, SFF 2018) beguiling period drama chronicles an unlikely female friendship against the backdrop of Indonesia in political turmoil.

EVICTED! A MODERN ROMANCE Four spuriously employed housemates on the verge of eviction trawl Sydney’s fraught rental market in search of a new place to call home in this irreverent Aussie comedy.

CLOSE Straight from the Cannes Competition, the new film from Lukas Dhont (Girl, SFF 2018) is a stunningly beautiful examination of an intense teen friendship torn asunder.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE Emma Thompson is brilliant in Sophie Hyde’s (Animals, SFF 2019) sparkling comedy about an older woman who hires a sex worker and the unexpected relationship that blooms.

LOVING HIGHSMITH

MYSTERY ROAD: ORIGIN

Drawing on the diaries of American novelist Patricia Highsmith, an intimate portrait of the brilliant writer of screenplay-ready stories whose own gay desires were repressed.

A tragic death, an epic love, and the brutal reality of life as a police officer straddling two worlds, form the indelible mould out of which will emerge, Detective Jay Swan.

FOR MORE VISIT SFF.ORG.AU

CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

ELECTION

Dave Smith runs for UAP in Grayndler City Hub that it was an “extension” of his advocacy and social justice work. “Over the last couple of years with the lockdowns, I’ve seen a lot of people who were on the edge get pushed over the edge – we lost a lot of good people,” he said.

Father Dave Smith (pictured) is running in Grayndler for the UAP. Photo: UAP

I needed to be a voice for some of those people we’ve lost “I really felt like I needed to be a voice for some of those people we’ve lost, and some of those people that have been damaged, so I put my hand up. I heard Craig Kelly speaking out for those people in a way nobody else was.”

KELLY ‘ATTRACTED ME’ BY SEJA AL ZAIDI ather Dave Smith, the Inner West priest turned professional boxer, has thrown his hat in the ring for federal parliament as the United Australia Party’s (UAP) representative for Grayndler. Father Smith, also known as the ‘Fighting Father’, is a man of many

vocations: he’s a boxer, served as parish priest in Dulwich Hill for 30 years, ran a community boxing gym, authored two books and has spent many years advocating for social justice, disadvantaged youth, refugees, and inter-faith harmony. When asked why he chose to align himself with the UAP, Father Smith told

The UAP has no climate policy and has not made any proposals to target climate change or research. The party also supports the coal mining industry as a national export, despite its implications for the climate. “I’m not suggesting that every policy that the party has devised I’m necessarily on board with – what attracted me to the party was Craig

Kelly, and the way he was advocating for people I’d seen damaged through government policies,” Father Smith said, when asked about his decision to align himself with a party that has no identifiable climate policy. “Climate issues need to be addressed more broadly, not by this country alone making a token effort.” Father Smith also stirred controversy when he challenged Grayndler rival and Labor leader Anthony Albanese to a ‘trial by combat’ on social media, urging Albanese to “sort it out with [him] in the boxing ring rather than the ballot box”. “Anthony’s an old friend of mine, I’ve got nothing but respect for him – it was a bit tongue in cheek, I just think the party’s on the wrong track,” Father Smith laughed, assuring that the post was in jest and that the two candidates don’t actually have any bad blood between them. Father Smith said that he had previously been a Labor member but had become disillusioned after the party went down “the wrong track”. “I get the feeling that the Labor and Liberal party are two sides of the same coin now,” he said.

An intimate performance that ruminates on athleticism within a disabled body.

25 - 29 MAY

BY JAMILA MAIN

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HubNEWS

Mark Drury champions Ashfield BY DANIEL LO SURDO ark Drury has been a councillor in the Inner West for over 16 years. He has been a social worker and has lived with his family in the Inner West for over 25 years. In that time, he has helped build the new Ashfield Aquatic Centre, propelled calls for the GreenWay infrastructure project and pushed for improvements to Dulwich Hill Station. He has also served as the Chair of the Parramatta River Catchment Group, which is working to make the Parramatta River swimmable by 2025.

previous Ashfield (where Cr Drury was a councillor from 2006), Leichhardt and Marrickville councils in 2016, Cr Drury and Labor earned a one-seat majority which helped return Balmain-Baludarri councillor Darcy Byrne to the mayoralty and insert Cr D’Arienzo as deputy. Cr D’Arienzo, who ran second on Labor’s Ashfield-Djarrawunang ticket, won the seat formerly occupied by then-Liberal Julie Passas, who wasn’t endorsed for the 2021 elections and unsuccessfully ran as an independent.

ASHFIELD INTERSECTION ACTION

 He ‘will not stop until the

Minister ... does something’ Now, after being reelected to Inner West Council in the Ashfield-Djarrawunang ward, Cr Drury hopes he can continue his work around the Parramatta River and reward the trust that “the people of Ashfield” put in for him and Labor deputy mayor Jessica D’Arienzo at the polls last December. At the elections, which formed the councillors for the second term of Inner West Council after its merger from the

While describing council operations as an “ongoing challenge” since the merger, Cr Drury has continued to champion issues felt by the Ashfield community. Following the death of a pedestrian at the Frederick and John Street intersection in Ashfield in March, Cr Drury has called for the state government to take responsibility for the road, saying that he “will not stop until the Minister [for Metropolitan Roads] does something”. He added that he was “particularly

Mark Drury (right) has been a councillor in the Inner West since 2006. Photo: Inner West Labor

annoyed with the state government” about the inaction prior to the pedestrian fatality. Concern for the intersection goes back as far as 2001 when the now-defunct Ashfield council approved upgrades to increase the intersection’s safety. In 2018, the council-commissioned WestConnex local area improvement report warned of the dangers of the

Frederick and John Street intersection, saying that increased traffic volume could “increase the exposure to crash risk for vulnerable road users”. Nancy Yang, the granddaughter of the man killed at the crossing this year, said that it was “extremely upsetting to know that there were many other incidents … that took place here, yet nothing has been done about it”.

TELSTRA IS PLANNING TO RELOCATE A PAYPHONE

It is proposed that a payphone be removed from: Outside 184 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007 (Payphone ID: 02928015X2)

It is proposed that a payphone be removed from: Outside 20 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000 (Payphone ID: 02925260X2)

And a payphone be installed: Outside 185 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007

And a payphone be installed: Outside 17 Castlereagh Street, Sydney 2000

The relocated payphone will be located approximately 81 metres away from the payphone that is proposed to be removed.

The relocated payphone will be located approximately 130 metres away from the payphone that is proposed to be removed.

Currently, the next nearest payphone is located: Outside 185 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007. (Payphone ID: 02928011X2)

Currently, the next nearest payphone is located: Outside 5 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000. (Payphone ID: 02923249X2)

Reference Number 47586

Reference Number 47589

Telstra intends making a final decision on this proposal by:

28th June 2022

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

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

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

For more information on payphone services (including, any applicable payphone consultation document) see: www.telstra.com.au/payphoneservices/index.htm CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

ELECTION

The Grayndler candidates challenging Albanese

Labor leader Anthony Albanese (pictured) has been the member for Grayndler since 1996. Photo: Anthony Albanese

BY SEJA AL ZAIDI

he Inner West seat of Grayndler has long been viewed as a safe seat for Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, who has represented the electorate since 1996 and is currently running for prime minister as Leader of the Opposition.

recognition that led to his three-time nomination for Australian of the Year.

BEN ZHANG (LIBERAL)

Established in 1949, Grayndler has historically been known as a workingclass area, being held by the Labor Party since its inception. Significant composition shifts in demographics have took place in the area through gentrification and migration.

Rozelle businessman Wenjie Zhang, also known as Ben Zhang, previously ran as the Liberal candidate for Balmain at the 2019 NSW election. Through his running of a local small business in Balmain for over 29 years, Zhang has cultivated a strong focus on the economy, creating jobs, economic support for small businesses and bringing opportunities to people of Grayndler. Zhang migrated to Australia from China in 1992, completing his MBA at the University of Technology Sydney in 1998.

While the seat of Grayndler is widely predicted to remain with Albanese at this election, the current candidates for the seat represent a diversity of parties and views.

 The current candidates represent a diversity of parties and views JAMES HAGGERTY (FUSION PARTY)

Read on to learn more about the competition Albanese faces for the seat of Grayndler.

DAVE SMITH (UAP)

Reverend Dave Smith (also known as the Fighting Father) is the United Australia Party’s candidate for Grayndler. He is a former boxer and managing director of Fighting Fathers Ministries and Anglican parish. Smith has served as a priest for 30 years in Sydney’s inner west, and recently authored a book titled ‘Christians and Muslims can be friends’. Smith’s work with at-risk youth helped him rise to prominence and gain the 20

CITY HUB MAY 2022

James Haggerty is representing the Fusion Party in Grayndler, which touts its priorities as ‘ethical governance, fair foreign policy, and future focused industries’. Haggerty ran as a Future Party Senate candidate in 2013. Haggerty is a father of two and currently works as a software developer for Grok Learning, a Sydney-based non-profit. Haggerty’s background is primarily in Computer Science and education. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science with Honours and a Master of Teaching (Secondary). Haggerty he is running because he “wants there to be a place in Australian politics where evidence-based reforms are explored without fear”.

SARINA KILHAM (INDEPENDENT)

Sarina Kilham is an Independent candidate with a background in international aid and agriculture, having previously worked for the UN in East Timor. Kilham was Chief of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and holds a PhD in sustainable biofuels. Kilham’s core focuses in her candidacy are policies relating to climate action, developing a Human Rights based approach to federally funded services, equity in higher education, and anticorruption in politics and advertising. She currently resides in St Peters in Sydney’s inner west with her partner and two children.

MICHAEL DELLO-IACOVO (ANIMAL JUSTICE)

Dello-Iacovo represents the Animal Justice Party NSW, and is co-founder of the party’s youth wing, and the deputy convener of the party’s NSW branch. The Annandale resident has run for office at all three levels of government and was previously the CEO of international non-profit Effective Altruism Australia. DelloIacovo has a PhD in space science and is backed by eight years of climate change and animal activism. His priorities for the federal government in this campaign focus on animal and livestock welfare, limiting subsidies for environmentally damaging industries,

supporting farmers in efforts for sustainable farming, and climate action.

RACHAEL JACOBS (GREENS)

Rachael Jacobs will represent the Greens in this election and advertises herself as “an alternative to the stale, pale and male mindset of the old parties”. Jacobs, a former high school teacher, has a background in education and is currently working as a lecturer at Western Sydney University. Jacobs is a founding member of Teachers for Refugees, and a community-based artist, sitting on the board of various arts organizations. Jacobs is motivated to campaign for climate action, refugee rights and public education as well as giving voice to the LGBT community and people of colour. Jacobs aims to protect the education sector from ‘decimation’ and argue for the bolstering of the local arts community in the Inner West.

PAUL HENSELIN (ONE NATION)

Paul Henselin is running for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party in Grayndler. On the party’s how-to-vote card, voters are encouraged to preference Smith (UAP) second, Kilham third, and Jacobs last. Grayndler covers most of Inner West Council, including the suburbs of Balmain, Birchgrove, Rozelle, Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Rozelle, Petersham, Stanmore, Enmore, Haberfield, Summer Hill and parts of Newtown, Ashfield, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville.

HubNEWS

ELECTION

The candidates running for Kingsford Smith BY SWAGATALAKSHMI ROYCHOWDURY andidates from four different parties are running in the Kingsford Smith election to unseat incumbent Labor member Matt Thistlethwaite on May 21. The seat of Kingsford Smith, located in the southern parts of the eastern suburbs, is considered a safe Labor seat, having been always held by the party since the seat’s creation in 1949. Prior to Thistlethwaite taking office in 2013, Kingsford Smith was held by Midnight Oil lead singer Peter Garrett who represented the area for nine years. It was also held by Lionel Bowen from 1969-1990, who served as deputy prime minister for seven years under Bob Hawke. Ahead of the Kingsford Smith election, City Hub has compiled together all the information about the candidates that will be contesting the seat this month.

STUART DAVIS (GREENS)

When asked why he deserves the votes of his constituents, Davis said that “if you really care about climate change, there is really only one choice, and that is the Greens”. Davis is endeavouring to deliver a “clean, green and prosperous renewable future” for future generations and has reiterated the importance of immediate climate action, which has been a paramount fixture in the Greens’ federal campaigning this year. While speaking to City Hub, Davis said that he had three key issues that he would be addressing at a local level, including scrapping plans for a Matraville incinerator, which he described as “truly appalling”, working to stop the proposed Yarra Bay cruise ship terminal, and to “return integrity and honesty to politics”. He said that establishing a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) would be a strong priority that would create a trustworthy government and stop corruption and pork barrelling across Australian electorates. It comes after an investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald last year found that the Liberal-held neighbouring seat of Wentworth had received more than eight times the amount of federal government grant funding than Kingsford Smith did from 2018 to 2021. While Kingsford Smith is considered a safe Labor seat, Wentworth has become much more marginal since former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s retirement in 2018, and remains so, with high-profile

Kingsford Smith is considered a blue-ribbon Labor seat. Photo: Sydney.com.

Saving Club and has also been the president of the Maroubra PCYC. In parliament, Thistlethwaite has been critical about cost of living pressures created by the Morrison government. He has also spoke out against the government’s reluctance to install a ‘NSW style’ federal ICAC, which is now an election pledge being put forward by Labor leader, Anthony Albanese.

Locally, Thistlethwaite has campaigned against overdevelopment and traffic congestion, to protect the area’s coastline and for better health services for constituents.

Tawaf has lived in Kingsford Smith since he was a teenager, after migrating from Egypt in 1967. He is a father and a grandfather, and a former owner of a commercial cleaning company. Tawaf found success starting a time share company for marketing and selling holidays on the Gold Coast in the 1980s. He was forced to fold the company and let go of his 77 staff members after the 1992 recession. Later on, he started his own real estate agency after receiving his management diploma from Western Sydney University. Now, Tawaf said he is “devoting” his time and expertise to win the Kingsford Smith election, and “restore Australia to its former greatness”.

GRACE TAN (LIBERAL)

DARRIN MARR (ONE NATION)

 If you really care about climate Stuart Davis. Photo: The Greens

Independent Allegra Spender mounting a serious challenge to incumbent Liberal Dave Sharma in the northern parts of the eastern suburbs this year.

MATT THISTLETHWAITE (LABOR)

Matt Thistlethwaite has represented Kingsford Smith in the House of Representatives since 2013. Prior to that, he was a Senator in Canberra, and the General Secretary of the New South Wales Labor Party. Thistlethwaite grew up in Maroubra, went to school in Pagewood and now lives in Matraville. As part of the opposition, he has served as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, and for the Republic. As an active lifesaver, he has served as president of the Maroubra Surf Life

ANTHONY TAWAF (UNITED AUSTRALIA)

change, there is really only one choice

Grace Tan, the Liberal candidate for Kingsford Smith, lives locally in the area and hopes to improve roads, transport, and healthcare services if she is elected to parliament. Tan immigrated from China 17 years ago and has since joined grassroots campaigns against the Matraville incinerator and has worked as a volunteer for the Sydney Children’s Hospital. On her how-to-vote card, Tan has asked voters to preference Thistlethwaite second (after herself), Davis third, Anthony Tawaf fourth and Darrin Marr last.

City Hub contacted Darrin Marr for comment but did not receive a response. On Marr’s how-to-vote card, the One Nation party has preferenced Tawaf second, followed by Tan, Thistlethwaite, then Davis. The Kingsford Smith electorate is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, comprising of suburbs including Coogee, South Coogee, Maroubra, La Perouse, Kensington, Eastgardens, Banksmeadow, Botany, East Botany, Daceyville, Pagewood, Chifley, and Little Bay. CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubNEWS

Opinion

Oxford Street from 1966 to 2022 Control Plan (DCP). As someone who is usually vigilant, I was stunned – Oxford Street needed and needs some tender loving care, no doubt. But plonking new floors on top of old buildings did not and does not seem like a solution to me, and I have now read practically every document and report on this new yet-to-be-created ‘creative and cultural precinct’. Many of those documents provide a solid case against the merits of this proposal. The upside of neglect is just how much of Oxford Street has been preserved and should be restored. The proposed 10 per cent floor space specified as a trade-off for ‘up lifts’ is tokenistic, especially when it is considered that prior to COVID-19, creative/cultural activity already represented 10 per cent of employment and five per cent of floor space. An extra five per cent of floor space is not going to turn Oxford Street into a creative/ cultural precinct, especially as under the DCP a single DJ in a basement makes that whole space ‘cultural’.

FEARING THE FUTURE

As someone who is intimately connected to both Kings Cross and to Oxford Street, I genuinely fear for the future of Oxford Street. In Oxford Street, creative/cultural for multiple reasons. The Art School was businesses have already been evicted to particular chafed under TAFE’s rapidly make way for a sprawling hotel complex changing curriculum requirements, but stretching from Crown Street to just the move to establish it as a stand-alone below Taylor Square, under the Toga fully restored National Art School had development. Such a monolith does started. Despite those ruptures, the not augur well for the future of Oxford College was beautiful, those wonderful Street. Approvals were given in April for sandstone buildings, the adjacent work to commence. courthouse, the fruit bats flying overhead at sunset as they made their way from Lord mayor Clover Moore is a juggernaut the Botanical Gardens to Centennial who is personally determined that the Park. And of course, I project will go ahead. Small changes loved Oxford Street. We have been made and bought a new home demands from three in Darlinghurst, and councillors for further the connection was consultation have then irreversible. been refused. The During my last year only way now that in TAFE, I worked at this travesty can be 1 Oxford Street, my prevented harks back office overlooking to the early days of Hyde Park, my the seventies: the lunchtimes spent green bans that wandering up to saved Victoria Street. Crown Street – it was Then we had powerful not in good shape, unions, the activism but just as my adult of journalist Juanita years have been Nielsen and a largely ushered in, so it was united community still to be a central that could still dream, Sue Hanley, photographed in the 1960s. part of my life in the Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald and could still fight city as I morphed into the good fight. Oxford becoming an elder citizen. Street is worth fighting for, but it seems It was not until very late in the that the spirit is no longer there, unless consultation process, in about some very heroic people take on the September 2021, that I found out about challenge and lead a new revolution. the new Oxford Street Development Perhaps flower power can live again.

Proposed developments on Oxford Street have some residents and businesses concerned that the cultural and heritage precincts in the area will be compromised. Photo: City of Sydney

BY SUE HANLEY he main CBD night strip in 1966 stretched from the corner of Sussex and Liverpool Streets up Oxford Street and to what is now the Greenwood Hotel in Paddington. It was then the Greenwood Tree. This was a wonderful, edgy strip where a teenager just starting university life could discover her emergent identity and make new friends. Oxford Street had been in almost terminal decline. We were on the cusp of its reinvention. It was becoming a hub of student activism, live music and ‘ethnic’ restaurants. We certainly hung out in pubs, but the real ‘it’ places to be at were wine bars. There had been no culture of drinking wine in those early days, especially among us ordinary young suburbanites who were ushering in a new wave of excitement and change. Of course we smoked dope and dropped acid, although not excessively. It was just part of the zeitgeist. I remember my first hangover. It was gestated at the Olympia Club around the corner of Oxford Street in Palmer Street, as a faint memory serves me. Eating Greek food, dancing and clapping to exotic Mediterranean bouzoukis, discovering rough red, plotting the coming revolution (the communist one, not flower power) – it was (literally) heady stuff for a girl from Punchbowl. However, the star venues were Whitty’s

CITY HUB MAY 2022

wine bar and French’s, also a wine bar with live jug band music. Bearing in mind closing time was 10pm, we started early at the wine bars and then went on to the Greenwood Tree in Paddington or sometimes the Oxford Tavern, depending on the starting point.

 Perhaps flower power can live again It wasn’t all roses, of course. One Saturday night we had gone from Whitty’s to the Greenwood Tree. Our next destination was the usual party, this time in Darlinghurst. We were strolling down Oxford Street feeling very chilled when a group of three or four young thugs set upon one of our little party, a tall, lanky guy called Frank, with long shoulder-length hair and glasses. They knocked him to the ground. I promptly raced to his aid, flinging myself down on the pavement and cradling his head in my lap, shouting at these short-haired thugs. They continued to viciously kick him, and I felt the impacts reverberating through his body. After a few minutes they ran off, we helped Frank up, and continued on our way.

DEVELOPMENT

In 1995 there were still hotels and cafes, but ordinary – rather sad really. East Sydney Tech was an unhappy place

LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD The Leader of the Australian Labor Party speaks to City Hub about his upbringing, the Inner West, and Scott Morrison. By DANIEL LO SURDO nthony Albanese’s entry into public life seemed as much destined as it was desired.

“Australians deserve better than we have had under Scott Morrison, who has avoided responsibility at every opportunity,” he said. “Labor is committed to governing and changing the country for the better, because it needs to change.” Last month, Morrison became the first prime minister to survive a full term since John Howard. Wedged between the pair are four leaders whose reigns were cut short by their own sides, including Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, of which Albanese was party to both, even becoming Rudd’s deputy prime minister after a 2013 leadership spill. Now, Albanese says he will “look to unify, not divide” as prime minister. “We need a government that’s focused on Australia’s interests, not focused on fighting each other,” he said.

He was raised in an inner-city public housing estate by his single mother Maryanne, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and survived on the disability pension all her life. In 1984, he was the first person in his family to finish either high school or university, graduating from the nearby University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Economics. Twelve years later, he was elected as the federal member for Grayndler, a position he still holds today. In less than two weeks’ time, the kid from Camperdown could be the chief in Canberra, but it isn’t a proposition that Albanese says will let him lose sight of home.

“I have never taken the people of Grayndler for granted,” Albanese tells City Hub when asked how he can assure his constituents of his attention if he does take the top job. “I love this community and I will never stop fighting for it.” While travelling to all corners of the continent, Albanese and his team have been sure to make regular returns to home base. On the campaign trail, he has been spotted fielding press conferences at the Marrickville Addison Road Community Organisation, taking selfies at the Orange Grove Public School markets in Lilyfield, and at Henson Park, where he promised $2.5 million for the precinct if he can form a government. While many aspiring politicians get parachuted into an electorate or decide to escape their childhood surroundings to redress themselves for the public eye, Albanese has never drifted far from the old housing estate on Pyrmont Bridge Road. Since purchasing a two-bedroom, semidetached Marrickville home in 1990, Albanese has never really left the area. But just as property prices change (he bought the place for $146,000 back then), so do electorates. The Grayndler division was created in 1949 and had been largely populated by post-war migration, with the area’s working-class profile finding instant favour with the Labor Party. When Albanese won the seat on his 33rd

Anthony Albanese has been the Member for Grayndler in the Inner West since 1996. Photo: Supplied

birthday in 1996, gentrification across the inner-city was starting to turn the seat into one of the shinier areas of town, bringing with that a new type of voter that Labor had to accommodate. Today, median weekly incomes in Grayndler are significantly higher than the national average, with almost 60 per cent of constituents born in Australia and over 38 per cent working as professionals. Yet, Labor has never been troubled when gaining the approval of the Inner West, with their support only widening over time. While he acknowledges that the electorate has changed substantially in his 26 years as the member, he says that it’s “really important” that it’s kept its multiculturalism. “We have emerging communities from the Pacific and from Africa, joining the Italians in Leichhardt and Haberfield, the Greeks and the Vietnamese in Marrickville, the Portuguese in Petersham and the Chinese in Ashfield,” Albanese said. “While there are very distinct culturally and ethnically diverse communities in Grayndler, we are also a very harmonious community.” When discussing the biggest issues facing the electorate today, he takes the opportunity to shift back to Canberra, saying that cost of living pressures and housing affordability haven’t been properly addressed under Scott Morrison. While it’s all but certain that Albanese will be voted back into parliament,

his path to the prime ministership is much less defined. To form a majority government (76 seats) in the House of Representatives, Albanese and Labor will need a net gain of seven seats across the country, while the government must offset any losses with wins in other electorates.

I love this community and I will never stop fighting for it The incumbency advantage has been on full display in Morrison’s campaign, where he has encouraged voters to stick with a familiar face during uncertain times and has fanned talk questioning his opponent’s economic credentials and competency for the job. This has been a feature from day one of official election campaigning when while visiting Launceston, Albanese was unable to name the unemployment rate and the Reserve Bank’s official interest rate. After a parliamentary term largely remembered for the government’s lacklustre pandemic, bushfire and flood response, Albanese envisions a future where “no one is held back and no one is left behind”.

“Disunity is a real problem and what we’re seeing at the moment is disunity on the other side of politics. And that is one of the things that’s leading to chaos and a failure to govern.” While promising a national anti-corruption commission, stronger climate policy, and an end to ‘rorted’ infrastructure grants, which Albanese says are now “handed out on the basis of colour-coded spreadsheets”, he also brings an unrivalled element into the fold: a breath of fresh air. If elected, he will be the first prime minister to hold office without an Anglo-Saxon name. He would be the first Grayndler member to occupy the top job, and the first Sydney Labor prime minister since Paul Keating, who resigned from his Blaxland seat after defeat in the 1996 election - the same one in which Albanese first took federal office. When asked what has kept him passionate about representing his community over the past 26 years, Albanese draws back to those formative times surviving on government support with just his mother by his side. “The policies and decisions of good government made all the difference,” he said. “I know the difference that government can make to people’s lives because I’ve lived it, and it is these experiences of growing up in public housing in Camperdown that I will take with me to the office of Prime Minister if I am elected.” Come May 21, we’ll know if Albanese’s destiny can live up to his desire. CITY HUB MAY 2022

COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY

ome visual artists, celebrities and rock stars love to shock and carve up a side of beef in the process. That was certainly the case when Lady Gaga fronted the MTV Video Music Awards back in 2010 clad in her infamous ‘meat dress’. She later explained it was her way of protesting against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the government’s restrictions placed on the rights of gay soldiers. Many saw it as just her ‘outrageous way’ of wanting to stand out from the crowd. When it comes to the artistic exploitation of raw meat, only one name really rings out in the art world and that is the late Hermann Nitsch, who died a few weeks ago aged 83. The Austrian born ‘actionist’ was renowned for his conceptualised stagings using animal carcasses, entrails and gallons of blood to evoke ritualistic scenes of life, death and religion. Arguably the most controversial and polarising artist of the last 100 years, Nitsch upset everybody from animal rights activists, to religious leaders, government authorities and the public at large. His works were labelled obscene and blasphemous and he endured several court trials charged with public indecency, serving three short prison terms. His supporters on the other hand,

VALE THE BLOOD FEAST

embraced him with an almost cult like devotion - wallowing in his showers of blood and guts as was the case at Tasmania’s Dark Mofo festival in 2017. The ABC reported at the time: “The performance, directed by Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch, took place on Saturday in a warehouse in Hobart’s CBD, and included mock crucifixions set to music, culminating in a frenzied squabble by blood-soaked participants writhing in the entrails from a freshly slaughtered bull carcass.” Needless to say the Mofo performance

drew a storm of protest with even meat lover and cattle station baroness Janet Holmes à Court joining the cries of outrage, stating that “the killing of an animal in the name of art did not excite her.” It wasn’t the first time that Nitsch had created controversy in Australia and in 1988, here for the seventh Biennale of Sydney, he soon became the focus of tabloid fuelled anger. The police seized video tapes of his performance and he was an easy target for the conservative radio commentators of the day.

There was not however the same level of public protest that accompanied his Dark Mofo blood feast some 30 odd years later. The late 80s was a violent time in Australia with crime and corruption rampant and we were still reeling from the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre a few years earlier. Perhaps the exhibition of bloody sides of beef and their ritualistic dissection did not resonate compared to the reality of mass murder and gangland killings. Whether we will encounter another Hermann Nitsch in the years to come remains to be seen. The real blood is being spilled in Ukraine, almost live on television and social media every night. Perhaps Nitsch’s ritualistic disembowellings were more unintentionally emblematic of our continuing cruelty to all kinds of animals, than allusions to death and crucifixion. I wonder whether Herman often enjoyed a good rare steak in his enormous Prinzendorf Castle in Lower Austria, or even dallied with some plant based burgers. Maybe he was a closet vegan – though I couldn’t find anything to verify this. And when he was not ripping the guts out of a dead goat, did her ever relax with a DVD of Herschell Gordon Lewis’s Blood Feast or the sequel All U Can Eat?

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BENCHED

Photo: Ren Williams

BECOME THE ONE BY SHON HO FL meets queer romance in Lab Kelpie’s production of Become The One at Riverside Theatres. Written by Adam Fawcett and directed by Lyall Brooks, the play examines toxic masculinity and identity against the backdrop of footy. Noah and Tom are opposites. Blokey Tom, a high profile closeted AFL player, nearing the end of his career, falls for quick witted Noah who is proudly and openly queer. They begin a relationship and attempt to balance the safety of domesticity with the personal struggles which stem from external social forces. Phoo: Jodie Hutchinson

in a relationship when expectation and secrecy collide with a desire to live authentically? Become The One interrogates whether queerness and hyper-masculinity in Australian sport can co-exist and “how maybe we are all - in some capacity contributing to the problem by trying to police things like sexuality and gender, which we are even seeing play out in the current election to the detriment of our trans kids,” Fawcett said. “I was also driven to write Become The One as a love letter of sorts to my teenage self – growing up queer in Gippsland in the 90s was a difficult time for me.”

“I really wanted to explore this question around why male footballers - who may not identify as exclusively heterosexual - choose to hide that part of themselves from the public, despite the social progress we have made around equality over the years,” Fawcett said. Beyond focusing on the narrative of the closeted sportsman’s hesitancy to come out, Become The One considers difficult compromises and the impacts of hiding same-sex relationships on the partners of sport stars. What happens

Fawcett wanted to write a story that would have made him feel seen and heard. At its core, Become The One spotlights the vibrancy of queer love and the courage of learning to reclaim agency. “It’s also rare to see romantic queer dramedies on main stages – this really is a celebration of difference that I hope audiences will embrace!” May 19-21. Riverside Theatres, Cnr Market &, Church St, Parramatta. $23-$49+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au

BY JAMIE APPS unique piece of intimate theatre is coming to Darlinghurst Theatre Company this May. Benched invites eight audience members to choose a ball, shoe or frisbee before joining award-winning playwright Jamila Main on the bench for an intimate moment of rumination on athleticism within a disabled body. When Jamila was first commissioned to create Benched they believed it would be a one and done performance that “would never be seen again.” Jamila explained to City Hub that they had this mindset simply because of how experimental the work was. However, despite this belief Jamila put their heart and soul into this deeply personal work because they realised how important Benched could be for the chronically ill/disabled community & the wider general public. “I really believe in the power of representation & the power of storytelling,” explained Jamila. “I think by seeing someone talk so openly, candidly and with such vulnerability it can be a good vehicle for people to take you seriously and to see that this is a very human experience. Disability or chronic illness is not a spectacle or the political volleyball that it is often portrayed as in the media.” Given recent comments by Prime Minister Scott Morrison where he said he was “blessed” not to have disabled children, Benched has taken on even greater significance for Jamila. “It has given me good fire coming into the show,” said Jamila. “I think Benched could educate the Prime Minister about what disability looks like and who it is. Disability is not this

horrific death sentence, it’s the ableism or lack of access that make it hard.” Looking ahead to the debut of Benched at the Darlinghurst Theatre Company Jamila is honoured to be given the opportunity to perform at such a prestigious venue. “It’s an absolute dream come true and such an honour to have a solo show at Darlinghurst Theatre Company... It means the absolute world to me that I get to talk about being disabled on a main stage in Sydney and to have that weight of the venue behind it. As disabled people we don’t often get to see disabled people telling disabled stories at that level, which I think needs to change.” In closing our conversation with Jamila perhaps the most exciting thing for them though was the coming together of the disabled community on such a grand scale. “I love bringing community building & community connection to the work that I make. With this kind of show you are going to have a lot of disabled people in the audience, so opening that up to not just 10 people but potentially 50 or 100 and giving them the opportunity to see each other in a foyer is so special - I’m going to be running out into the foyer as fast as I can after every show to meet as many people as I can.” Benched will also be available to participate in virtually or watch via livestream/pre-recorded for those unable to attend in person ($10). May 25-29. Darlinghurst Theatre Company - Eternity Playhouse, 39 Burton St, Darlinghurst. $38-$42+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.darlinghursttheatre.com CITY HUB MAY 2022

HubARTS

REVIEW

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS BY MARK MORELLINI ydney, get ready to be entranced by An American In Paris, which was inspired by the 1951 motion picture starring legendary Gene Kelly. The full scale Broadway musical is now playing at the Theatre Royal. The classic story is set during the liberation of Paris from the Nazis at the end of WWII and delves on a group of young artists who meet and are inspired by one another. The drama ensues when three men fall in love with the same French girl. Robbie Fairchild plays the role of American GI Jerry Mulligan, who falls in love with a girl he sees before going home on the train. Compounded by the beauty of Paris he decides to stay.

The underlying themes of this special, exquisite, and highly energetic musical include love, hope, beauty, and resilience. Ballet is vital to the storytelling, but jazz and tap are also dance styles utilised to add versatility and enjoyment to the musical. The music and lyrics are by George and Ira Gershwin and the musical arrangement is beautifully played by a full orchestra. Once the music starts there’s constant movement on the stage and the sets are slid around by the ensemble cast. Intensified by lighting this is a visually stunning feast for the eyes. Fairchild is electrifying as Mulligan. He sings, dances and acts and incredibly is rarely off stage. His performance is complemented by the casting of Leanne Cope as his love interest.

This is the Australian Ballet Company’s first association with musical theatre and hopefully not the last as the collaboration has heightened the quality of the production. There’s music, dance and dialogue driven storytelling, but the only segment where there are no vocalisations is in the mesmerising final 18-minute Last American In Paris ballet sequence which was originally choreographed by Gene Kelly.

This dazzling and highly entertaining musical is an exceptional theatre going experience for all ages. It’s literally a feast for the senses and is one of those rare musicals where each patron in the theatre can feel the intoxicating joy emitted from the audience combined, as they sit and absorb the charm of this fivestar production. Until Jun 12. Theatre Royal, 108 King St, Sydney. $59-$229+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.americaninparis.com.au

YOUR MOTHERS QUARANTINE BY MARK MORELLINI here’s great news for theatregoers who attended last year’s runaway comedy hit Your Mother’s Pension – the sequel, Your Mother’s Quarantine has arrived and is guaranteed to have audiences rolling down the aisles in tears of laughter! Written by Maria N Kitra and directed by Vagelis Houliaras the story follows the Skapoularas family who live in Athens in a tiny apartment during COVID-19 lockdown. Not only is the immediate family in quarantine, but the father and mother in-law come to stay along with Lisa who returns from the US with her long-lost brother. There’s also quite a few other characters coming in and out of the apartment. “It follows the story during the lockdown period and through that story you learn what these loveable misfits have done with themselves since last year,” explained actress Anna Bilalis, who plays the role of Marina. “There’s a cast of 14 however only 13 are on stage as one of them is a voice in the air that you will hear.” Adamant that this stage play is funnier than its predecessor as there are a lot of new characters to explore, she also

Greek experience. It’s great to immerse yourself in another culture. Not only will you be watching a Greek show, but you’ll be amongst Greeks. “We’re Greek, we’re loud, we’re proud and we’re over the top and we enjoy taking the micky out of ourselves!” laughed Bilalis. May 14-Jun 12. Mytilenian House, 225 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury. $25-$30+b.f. Tickets & Info: bit.ly/-quarantine

CITY HUB MAY 2022

explained that she’s enjoying playing the role of Marina, an American born Greek. “I speak Greek and English hopefully with a good American accent!” laughed Bilalis. Spoken in Greek with English subtitles (translation projected above stage) this shouldn’t hinder the enjoyment for nonGreek speaking audiences. “A lot of the meaning is conveyed through the gestures and body language of the cast. Also, not only for people who don’t speak Greek or even for people like myself who may not know all the Greek words that I should know,

I find that I tend to read the subtitles as it helps me understand some things better for myself.” This hilarious ‘laugh-a-thon’ is suitable for all adult audiences regardless of whether they watched the first edition or not. “You can definitely walk in and know what’s going on but if you saw the first edition you’d follow on the characters and their story.” But should non-Greek speaking audiences come along and watch this stage play? “Definitely! To have a good laugh and a