CITY HUB September 2022 by Alt Media

SEPTEMBER,FREE2022 SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE The Australian premiere of an American masterpiece Page 26 CITYHUBSYDNEY.COM.AU @CityHubSydney

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Enmore Road Special PrecinctEntertainmentPilotkicksoff urban planning Amendment to the Inner West Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and the creation of the 13Ashfield(DCP)DevelopmentcomprehensiveControlPlaninformationsession.TownHall,TuesdaySeptember,10am–4pm Pop-Up Music Marathon Spaghetti Confetti playing kids music for people of all ages. Alex Trevallion Plaza, Marrickville Road, 11am –1pm PopUpMusicEOIinnerwest.nsw.gov.au/ Next Customer Service Stall, Summer Hill Plaza, Saturday 8 October, 9.30am – 1.30pm Culture AshfieldX Jam-packed weekend of cross-cultural world music concerts and events in Pratten Park. Featuring a Horn and Drum street parade, familyfriendly community dance party, world music concert, folk-fusion music and a Balkan feast. Performers include Indofusion drum ensemble Rhythm Hunters, The Seven Ups, Sufiinspired Farhan Shah & SufiOz and hip hop and rock grooves from Worlds Collide. Friday 9 – Sunday 11 September. innerwest.nsw.gov.au/CultureX

We are planning for the future use and maintenance of this well-loved open space. How do you currently use this park and how you would like to use it in the future? Find out more and have your say. Closing 3 October 2022

MackeyPlanningyoursay.innerwest.nsw.gov.auforPark

Yoursay feature project Darcy Byrne, Mayor

Inner West Councillors with local businesses and performers on Enmore Road.

documents

Customer Service Stall

2 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 Next Council meeting Ashfield Service Centre, Tuesday 13 September, 6 30pm innerwest nsw gov au/Meeting innerwest.nsw.gov.au What’s on From the Mayor – Darcy Byrne innerwest.nsw.gov.au/WhatsOn

Our iconic Enmore Road is set to thrive for the next 3 months with the launch of the Special Entertainment Precinct Pilot from 1 September –30 November 2022. The pilot aims to revive live music and entertainment, activate local businesses and the night time economy; and create more places for our community to enjoy. Venues within the precinct are encouraged to provide live entertainment and will have an extension on both their trading hours and outdoor dining as an incentive to prioritise arts and culture over pokies. The pilot also allows any main street property owner to host gigs in their premises without any application process. We want to see an increasing amount of live performance, rehearsal and exhibition taking place in bookshops, laundromats, and cafes on Enmore Road over the next 3 months. To find out more about the pilot, go to nsw.gov.auyoursay.innerwest.

Inner West is partnering with Sydney Local Health District Mental Health Services to raise awareness of Mental Health Month with an open mic afternoon, Heaps Mad, featuring special guest Jordan Raskopoulos (pictured).

IWC_CITYHUB_6/09_2022 Have your say on important

Podcasts, walking tours and history talks. All events and activities are free, but some require bookings. For the full program and to book online go to Hands-onHistoryHistoryWeekinnerwest.nsw.gov.au/Week2022:History

Marrickville Library and Pavillion, Thursday 27 October, 4pm – 7pm.

Contributors: Rita Bratovich, Mark Morellini, Jarrod Wolhuter, Elliot Heath, Dale Barrett

“I think that there’s been a few cases today where the campaigning that we’ve done to get students to join the picket lines and not come to class in solidarity with staff have paid off,” said social work masters student, Jordi Pardoel “There were a few classes where hardly any students showed up and that gave the confidence for staff to come and join the picket lines and cancel their classes. When we stand with staff, it gives them more confidence and emboldens their USydfight.”postdoc

“So as long as the casuals keep asking for better conditions, I’m gonna keep coming out here supporting them.”

“We’re striking for staff rights,” said 4thyear design student, Valerie C. “For Gender Affirmation leave” said 2nd-year computer science student, Ella “They’rePash.fighting to make the university give thirty days of Gender Affirmation leave per year. To allow trans people to take the time off work and pursue any kind of transitioning.”

Published by Altmedia Pty Ltd. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, we take no responsibility for inadvertent errors or ABNomissions.52600903

Union members formed picket lines at the university’s entrances and asked passing students to skip class and join in. Large numbers of students joined in solidarity, holding up posters and banners. City Hub spoke with students who participated in the strike.

BY TILEAH DOBSON

Arts Editor: Rita Bratovich

3CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 Motion passed to address food theft in Inner West (See p. 15) HubNEWS

348 Group Editor & Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Publisher Assistant: Mal Moody Advertising Manager: Mal Moody 0484 042 615 Dan Kinsela 0424 052 602 Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au News Editor: Tileah Dobson and Erin Modaro

Cover Photo: Joseph Mayers. Adolphus Waylee and Angela Mahlatjie in Sydney Theatre Company’s A Raisin in the Sun, 2022 Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: arts@altmedia.net.aunews@altmedia.net.au, Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Website: cityhubsydney.com.au PUBLISHED DATE 8 SEPTEMBER2022 high time stallingmanagementuniversitystopped  Students have voiced their support for the strikes. From left to right: Jordi Pardoel, Valerie C, Ella Pash and Alyssa Meli.

GREENS SUPPORT STRIKES

Gender and Cultural Studies teacher and NTEU member Grace Sharkey has been working at the university since 2014, when she started her PhD. Sharkey told City Hub that she was protesting for job security, work sustainability and appropriate pay.

STUDENTS AND STAFF IN SOLIDARITY

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Photo: Gemma Adams

This month the University of Sydney (USyd) saw its fourth strike since May, as members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) engaged in a 24-hour strike alongside USyd staff members. Currently, the staff have been in negotiations with USyd management for a new Enterprise Agreement, which is the contract that governs working conditions and pay.

Contributors: Wendy Bacon, Amber Griffin, Christine Lai, Sasha Foot, Sharlotte Thou, Tileah Dobson, Erin Modaro and Lina Nafie

Industry and Community Project Units, Gender and Cultural Studies Lecturer Jessica Kean’s motivation for the strike was to support her casual co-workers.

If you have a story, or any comments you’d like to share with us: news@altmedia.net.au @CityHubSydney

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.

“When I started, I was a casual. I have both casual contracts; part-time contracts and I have one day a week that is continuing. It changes all the time,” Sharkey said. “I want appropriate pay for marking. At the moment we’re paid to mark an essay in about fifteen minutes. This means that either we’re only able to skim an essay or we have to work way over our allotted time in order to give students appropriate feedback.”

HubARTS: Brian Cox Spectacular new show brings the universe up close (See p. 29)

President of USyd’s NTEU branch Dr Nick Riemer has said that there isn’t “a good reason for management to refuse our “Butproposals”.theVice-Chancellor, Mark Scott, and the Provost, Annamarie Jagose, have not agreed to the reasonable demands of staff,” Dr Riemer said. “Over 74% of the teaching at the university is done by staff on precarious contracts. It’s high time university management stopped stalling, and committed to improving job-security and conditions for existing staff, to safeguarding the teaching-research nexus, and to creating new jobs for longterm casuals.”

Ongoing strikes from Sydney University staff

Staff demanded a pay rise above inflation, the end of casual work exploitation, improved job security, increased protections against overworking and preserving an academic’s right to conduct research.

“My colleagues have estimated that 74% of staff are in insecure employment, casual and fixed term contracts,” he told City Hub. “‘I’m striking tomorrow because management is looking to water down conditions related to my job security and career progression, such as priority recruitment for current professional staff.”

City Hub spoke with Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong who voiced her support on the strike. “The Greens stand in solidarity with Sydney Uni staff and NTEU members who are walking off the job this week for job security, workload protections, staff respect, and high quality higher education,” she said. “It is an absolute disgrace that universities have been cutting staff wages and conditions, and the quality of education, while making massive NTEUprofits.”member and NTEU election candidate Dylan Griffiths said that many of his casually employed colleagues are “striking for secure jobs”.

“My main motivation and the thing that will keep me coming back out to the pickets is standing in solidarity with my casual colleagues,” Kean said. “I’m sick of having to choose between organising meetings that I know that we need for the teaching team to do its job properly, but knowing that those teachers will be coming to those meetings unpaid.”

Bondi Junction Cycleway

BY CHRISTINE LAI Community members staged a sit-in on August 8 protesting the closure of the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence (NCIE). The centre has provided vital community support and services to the First Nations population since reopening its doors to the public in 2010.

Any type of garden can be considered. To nominate a garden, visit https://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/community/awards_fo rums_and_grants/awards/waverley_garden_awards

Paula Masselos, Mayor of Waverley

Community protests closure of First Nations centre

The NCIE is a not-for-profit organisation that opened following the Indigenous Land & Sea Corporation’s (ILSC) purchase of land from the former Redfern Public School.

Festival of the Winds

Mayor'sreopeningPavilionmessage

Photo: Christine Lai

The Redfern site has been the centre of local outrage, with hundreds protesting the sudden closure of the centre after staff were told that the organisation was set to close with just seven days’ notice. The news to shut down the NCIE came about when the ILSC had been unable to reach an agreement with the land council on the future of the Redfern community centre. Director of Redfern Youth Connect (RYC) Margaret Haumono called on community members to come together during this time, asserting that “if these doors close, they will never open Haumonoagain”. stated that discussions had continued since staff were given notice of the Redfern site’s closure and were offered severance payments and nondisclosure statements to sign. Staff rejected the offer. Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Shane Phillips described the sweeping impact that the closure would have on the Indigenous community, noting the “children, elders, staff, families in the area”, who would lose everything the hub has to offer. Phillips declared that the fight to protect the NCIE was “not about finance” but about “our well-being, culture, happiness, joy and “Letsafety.”this be the beginning of this action, it’s simple. It’s been around for thousands of years and it’s who we are,” Phillips said.

A friendly reminder that nominations for the 2022 Waverley Garden Awards close 5pm, Wednesday 12 October. The awards celebrate the joy and fulfilment gardens provide, from balcony gardens and shared veggie patches to native bush gardens and formal courtyards.

Waverley Council is excited to welcome the community back to our newly restored Bondi Pavilion, our hub for community, culture, creativity and adventure. Our community welcome event on Thursday 22 September at 6pm is just Act One in an ongoing curated selection of live performance, music, dance, First Nations celebrations, film screenings and exhibitions in a glittering setting. To register to attend the Welcome and to find out what’s on this spring and summer at our reimagined Bondi Pavilion, visit bondipavilion.com.au.

Bronte Pool emergency repairs

The final two stages of the Bondi Junction Cycleway and Streetscape Upgrade are now underway and will take two to three months to complete, weather permitting. During construction, the westbound bus stop on Oxford Street will be relocated west of York Road and signage will be in place to direct customers to the alternative bus stop.

Australia’s largest kite flying festival, Festival of the Winds, returns to Bondi Beach on Sunday 11 September from 11am to 4pm with a dazzling array of professional kiteflying displays on the beach, concerts in Bondi Park, a free Kids Zone, kite selling stalls, workshops, international food alley and Waverley Council’s Second Nature tent. The festival is in its 44th year and is proudly presented by Waverley Council and the Australian Kite Flyers Society. Parking is limited and road closures will be in place so leave the car at home and catch public transport to the event. To plan your trip, visit www.transportnsw.info

Waverley Garden Awards

RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT

Australian Greens Senator David Shoebridge advocated for the continuation of NCIE operations and spoke of his support to ensure that “this remains in perpetuity, an Aboriginal run, Aboriginal controlled, grassroots organisation in Redfern”. The ILSC released a statement saying there had been communication with “key stakeholders” which enabled the continued operation of the fitness and aquatic services. The announcement was made in anticipation of the ILSC and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) agreeing on the transfer of ownership and operation of these However,services. the NSWALC responded by stating that an arrangement “had not been reached” and criticised the ILSC for making an announcement “unilaterally without NSWALC’s Communityagreement”.members will be continuing their indefinite sit-in at the Redfern site in the hopes that a dialogue with the ILSC and government will bring negotiations to the floor and keep the NCIE open.  it’s who we areAustralian Greens Senator David Shoebridge speaking at sit in over closure of Indigenous Centre.

4 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS

Bondi

Consultation closes Monday 26 September. Provide feedback at haveyoursay.waverley.nsw.gov.au

Customers can plan their trip by visiting transportnsw.info or calling Transport Info on 131 500.

Unscheduled pool pump works at Bronte Pool are due for completion at the end of September. The works will help ensure the pump operates at full capacity over the busy summer months. We can’t wait to see you back in the pool! Dogs at Barracluff Park Waverley Council is inviting the community to have its say about providing safe spaces to exercise dogs in Barracluff Park, North Bondi. North Bondi is a densely populated suburb with limited green space but has a high number of young families and people with pets who enjoy the park, including the Council’s new playground. Our consultation will help gather the community’s views on how our muchloved Barracluff can be used safely and enjoyably.

5CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 From mid-century classics to laugh-a-minute comedies and bold contemporary writing, there’s plenty on offer at Sydney Theatre Company. Secure your seat for an unforgettable night out, or upgrade to a package of two or more plays to enjoy great discounts and pay no fees. TICKETS ON SALE LET’SNOW A DIRECTEDBYCHALKFACEDIRECTEDBYINRAISINTHESUNLORRAINEHANSBERRYBYWESLEYENOCHANGELABETZIENBYJESSICAARTHURTHELIFESPANOFAFACTBYJEREMYKAREKEN&DAVIDMURRELLANDGORDONFARRELLDIRECTEDBYPAIGERATTRAY27AUG–15OCT15SEP–29OCT20SEP–15OCTTOGETHERQUESTIONLAUGHHOPE

COUNCIL INVESTIGATES SAFETY City Hub asked the IWC about recent safety inspections and what form of investigation promised by Cr Byrne will take place. A spokesperson said an investigation is being “undertaken by council property, building, facilities and Workplace Health and Safety teams”. City Hub asked about recent safety checks, and was told by the spokesperson that maintenance staff carry out an annual inspection. Spectator areas are also checked prior to and after every game. The last annual inspection was carried out on May 3 2022, and did not note any safety concerns with the area near the collapsed railing. Questions about whether City Hub could see these reports remained unanswered.

In May, Byrne said that if there was no money in the NSW Budget for the Oval, “it won’t be tenable for games to be played there at all”. There was no money for the Oval in the June 2022 Crbudget.Byrne was furious and personalised the issue with a strongly worded IWC media release which stated: “Dominic Perrottet is happy to spend $300 million in Stuart Ayres seat, to build a shiny, new Panthers Stadium for the exclusive use of one club. But the Wests Tigers, and all of the other men’s and women’s Rugby League, Soccer and Rugby Union teams who regularly use Leichhardt Oval get Independentnothing.”

Last October, Perrottet said that he would be pushing for more funds for suburban ovals, possibly including Leichhardt Oval. He continued to background the media suggesting that his government would grant $250m to NRL ovals. Last month, he announced that this money would instead go to reconstruction work in flood-affected Theareas.Premier’s latest decision has led to a major political tussle between the Australian Rugby League chairman Peter V’landys and the NSW government, in which Leichhardt Oval is a minor issue. The tension between the government and Rugby League has now spread further to a conflict between the powerful South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Perrottet government. The Rabbitohs want to move back to Moore Park to the soon-to-be-completed Allianz stadium away from Olympic Park in Homebush, which they argue has also not received enough funding.

The IWC spokesperson told us that in October 2021, Council decided that the area would be renovated at a cost of $1 million. These works will not take place until after this rugby season in the Summer of 2022/3.

OVAL PART OF POLITICAL GAME Leichhardt Oval and the Wests Tigers rugby team are issues on which Cr Byrne is focused. The incident followed only days after he used his Facebook page to attack Premier Dominic Perrottet for reneging on promises to grant $50m to Leichhardt Oval for restoration works. Like Cr Byrne, Perottet is a supporter of the West Tigers whose traditional home was Leichhardt Oval.

6 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 Hub LeichhardtNEWS

BY WENDY BACON AND AMBER GRIFFIN T he Inner West Council (IWC) has declared that Leichhardt Oval is “a safe football venue” following a stand collapse that resulted in thirty spectators falling just under two metres onto concrete. According to an IWC spokesperson, the area where the stand collapsed will be “off limits to the Paramedicspublic”. assessed victims on the scene and found no life-threatening Aliinjuries.Cant was in attendance of the game during the collapse. Cant’s 19-year-old son Joseph was part of the pileup and said four or five young men were badly injured. “There were a few concussions, and Joe’s mate had broken his scapula,” Cant told Nine News The frightening scenes during the rugby game between private boys’ schools Saint Ignatius’ College and St Joseph’s College were caught on video. Dozens of rugby spectators were seen jumping in celebration of a try when the railing gave way. The IWC is responsible for the safety and maintenance of the Oval. Immediately after the accident IWC Mayor Darcy Byrne, who was on leave, responded, telling the Sydney Morning Herald, “The footage is shocking ... We are making the site safe and will fully investigate the safety risks this raises”. Following the incident, Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis said “We’ve been saying for some time that the state of the facility at Leichhardt is substandard, it’s third-world, and potentially dangerous, what we saw was the fulfilment of that potential”.

Questions about whether the results of the internal investigation will be reported to Councillors remain unanswered.

Councillor John Stamolis is wary of Leichhardt Oval being used as a political football in efforts to obtain funding for a major upgrade. Right now, he says that the “Council has full care, control, and management over Leichhardt Oval. Any issues of quality and public safety are the responsibility of “TheCouncil”.absolute focus is to ensure that this venue is safe and enjoyable and it is Council’s role to ensure that. The big party political campaigns can cause a loss of focus” Stamolis said. It is also true that the IWC is a long way off relying on the NSW government for a major funding boost. Indeed, it seems that a plan for how any such funding would be spent is only a work in progress. According to an IWC spokesperson, council “is preparing a master plan for the Oval that will be used to source grant funding”.

 The footage is shocking  The area of the incident was taped off to the public. Photo: Facebook

The railing that collapsed is attached to a men’s toilet area that Council had already decided needed building works.

Oval incident sparks investigation

“We’ve been fighting this for many years and unfortunately, Waverley Council is unable to do anything more to stop this,” she told City Hub “It’s been to the Sydney Eastern Planning Panel. We’ve made representation to the department, to the minister. We’ve written lots of objections. We’ve had lots of protests. This is the biggest folly that has ever been approved.

BY TILEAH DOBSON

But energy isn’t the only cost that’s climbing: median rent has surged by 6.6% in a year, the biggest annual rent increase in 14 years. In the Inner West and south Sydney, we know that more than 66% are in rental stress and having to spend more than a third of their income on rent each Asweek.wages go backwards and inflation soars, people shouldn’t be forced into financial stress to keep a roof over their head and their lights on.

Controversial Oxford Street development approved

With a cost of living crisis in full swing, affordability is on everyone’s mind. Recent polling shows that 70% of people want price caps on essential services like energy, off the back of price hikes that pushed up electricity bills by up to 18% for households in NSW.

“And I am absolutely shattered that the state government has actually approved this against the expert advice of council. Against the expressed wishes of the community who now have to live with this.” Community groups like Save Bondi Junction have also been part of the fight against the proposal since the very beginning, and are also furious with the news. “There was so much opposition to it,” a spokesperson for Save Bondi Junction told City Hub “It will overshadow a corner of Centennial Park. It has no updated traffic study despite so much high rise being squeezed into Bondi over the past ten years. It ignores council development controls, despite the requirements for the park. It’s a complete travesty.” Masselos has stated that the council is not against development but is against “overdevelopment and inappropriate “It’sdevelopment”.abig,bulky, tall set of towers which will be a blight on our skyline,” she said.

We back the calls from our federal Greens colleagues for a 2-year rent freeze to immediately stop rents going up any further and protect renters from price-gouging landlords. Right now, we’ve got a bill in NSW Parliament that includes urgent measures that would make renting fair, stop skyrocketing rents and put an end to unfair no grounds evictions. Everyone deserves a safe, healthy, and affordable place to live, whether they rent or own their home. Our bill would also make landlords responsible for keeping rentals mould-free and making sure they’re properly waterproofed

Jenny Leong MP Greens Member for Newtown

Thus regular column is authorised by Jenny Leong MP. Funded using parliamentary entitlements

The Liberal National government could take practical, immediate steps to provide relief and strengthen protections for the more than 944,000 people in NSW who rent. Ignoring the plight of renters as capital city rents grow seven times faster than wages is a political choice and a complete disgrace.

Greens call for urgent action to stop skyrocketing rents

The core of the residents’ opposition to the project is the building’s 38.5m height, which would push it to almost 3m above the site’s limit. This would overshadow heritage buildings and block sunlight from reaching Centennial Park.

WAVERLEY “DEVASTATED”MAYOR News of the state government’s approval of the project has left Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos “completely devastated”.

7CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 GET IN TOUCH IF WE CAN HELP Ph: (02) 9517 2800 E:383newtown@parliament.nsw.gov.auW:jennyleong.orgKingSt,NewtownNSW2042

The NSW government has approved the $38 million dollar controversial project planned for 194-214 Oxford Street and 2 Nelson Street, despite huge pushback from the Waverley Council and Theresidents.10-storey apartment proposal which neighbours a popular Bondi Junction park was lodged by Westgate BJ Pty Ltd, and was given the go-ahead by the NSW Government’s Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel last month. Residents began the fight against the project seven years ago, with the state government’s decision bringing the war to a close.

The Mayor has expressed her gratitude to all those who supported and joined the fight against the project over the “Allyears.Iwant to do is thank the residents who have fought alongside with us. It was a marathon and I am so sorry that it is such a disappointing outcome.”  We’ve been fighting this for many years  Waverly Mayor Paula Masselos is disappointed in the state government’s decision to approve the controversial project.

Photo: Sujith Kumar Hub

Too many people are at a financial tipping point -- one rent increase could send them over the edge into eviction or homelessness. We can’t afford to wait any longer for better protections for Signrenters.our petition for rent caps and renters’ rights here:

NEWS

Glebe residents face looming eviction

MARKET FAILS RENTERS Shelter NSW CEO John Engeler has pointed out that the supply of muchneeded housing from the government has steadily declined. “In NSW the market increasingly fails particular renters. There is increasing demand for social (public), Affordable (key worker) and specialist housing (such as youth, disability, older persons housing),” he told City Hub. “NSW Treasury insists LAHC should be self-funding, hence otherwise good relatively newer sites like 82 Wentworth Park Road are being considered for redevelopment, as government fails to invest in substantially new stock.” Resident of 82 Wentworth Park, Carolyn is just one of many who received the letter and is under the threat of “Ieviction.feeldreadful. This has been my home for 30 years,” she told City Hub “I am an activist and have known of and experienced their [NSWLAHC] abuse and neglect. I have taken them to the tribunal twice. I know of many other people experiencing issues too. I think they should stop the sell-off of public housing and extend it. Not promote this lie of social housing.”

This is not the first time that public housing has come under threat, with community outcry and pushback from other locations such as Redfern, Waterloo and Millers Point.

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The comes while NSW experiences a rental and public housing crisis that has housing, gentrification and urban development researcher, Dr Alistair Sisson “There’sconcerned.nodefence for how these processes are handled,” Sisson told City Hub “At 82 Wentworth Park, there are 17 units in total and 4 to 5 were left vacant and neglected by NSW Land and Housing Corporation in the past year. It’s a pattern of behaviour to neglect proper maintenance. They’re displacing people from their home and “Incommunity.”NSWalone, there are over 50,000 households on the waiting list. 1,000 in the Inner City.”

City Hub reached out to NSWLAHC for comment but received no response.  displacing people from their home and community 

Sex & Colour: Female Ginger and White DSH City Hub - Cat Of The Month

Rehoming Organisation Number: R251000224

Public housing tenants in a complex in Glebe are facing eviction after receiving a letter from the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (NSWLAHC). The letter states that NSWLAHC intends to redevelop the property and tenants will need to relocate somewhere else. The letter goes on to say tenants must undergo a Housing Assessment Interview in order to gain as much information as possible, so that they can “find a suitable property that meets your current housing needs”.

Community groups like Hands Off Glebe have continuously fought to defend public housing tenants from surprise evictions.

The complex in question is 82 Wentworth Park, Glebe, a place where some have lived for decades.

Name: Nadalia Age: 2 years (est)

Nadalia will set your heart alight! This gorgeous ginger girl is a confident kitty who is always eager to say hello and won’t waste any time showing off her lovely gentle nature. Nadalia is looking for a devoted cat lover to share their heart and home with her and in return you will be rewarded with a faithful feline friend. This sweet lady is a super smooch at heart with a special soft spot for scratches behind the ears. A chatty kitty, Nadalia enjoys expressing herself with many meows and will soon be serenading you, especially at supper time. Nadalia is best suited to an indoor-only forever home as she has mild feline asthma and to protect her pretty pale features from the sun. In no time at all Nadalia will have you wrapped around her little paw.

BY TILEAH DOBSON

8 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS Rehoming Organisation Number www.catprotection.org.auR251000224/catprotectionsocietynsw Discount cat desexing Desexing your cat before they reach sexual maturity (14 weeks) will: Kittens can be desexed from 8 weeks of age, but it’s never too late! Call Cat Protection on 9557 4818 for more information on discount desexing Decrease your cat’s risk of cancer Reduce the risk of infection and disease Prevent unwanted behaviours, such as spraying, wandering and aggression Prevent unwanted litters of kittens

Photo: Hands Off Glebe/Facebook

Addi Road’s new COO, Melissa Holmes (above), Hamish Scott and Amy Leathem, staff at The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre, with The Bower's Chairperson Michelle Sheather and Addi Road CEO Rosanna Barbero

After packing emergency hamper boxes for at Addi Road’s Food Relief Hub, Melissa was instrumental in seeing Stepping Out co-housed at the centre with the Marrickville Legal Centre. Now she has joined the Addi Road crew full time. “I see so much possibility here,’ Melissa says. “I’d like to push the arts and culture side of Addi Road more again. I think we saw during COVID how much arts and culture contributed. I see part of my role as reviving that side to Addi Road while maintaining its social justice and sustainability programs.” Melissa laughs again. “Today there is so much going on I just can’t keep up!” Rosanna sweeps back into the conversation after ending another phone call. She and Melissa are in dialogue with artists and the queer community to create a major event at Addi Road next February as part of World Pride. They admire the Return and Earn recycling facility on site that users jokingly refer to the as “the ATM machine”, topping up their

In the last few weeks Rosanna has launched a make shift venue in Hut 8 that was dubbed “The Beatnik Cathedral” for a poetry and music event called Intuition Kingdom. There’s talk of shortening the name to ‘The Beat Cathedral’ in honour of the space’s history as a drill hall for the Citizens Military Forces just before World War One broke out. The original Hut 8 would go on to become a recruitment building for many decades and wars after that. Like so many structures at Addi Road, the heritage-listed history is long and deep. Attending to the fragile state of build ings that were never built to last is another ongoing improvisation that makes Addi Road a daily challenge, especially in the mad weather we now deal Alwayswith. prone to flooding, Addi Road has been work ing with Inner West Council on a bio-retention garden around its Gumbramorra Hall. Climate change has been making its presence felt at the centre and in all our lives as the skies keep pelting down. Nicknamed “the Rain Garden”, the idea has been develop an ecosystem around the hall that filters stormwater, brings back a natural ecosystem of ponds and native plant life, providing a sustainable solution to one of the biggest problems we have. A community planting day just a month ago was a huge success, with an Australian Indigo species flourishing and pleasing local butterflies – as well as children who often visit the Behindcentre.the scenes, it’s been equally busy. Melissa Holmes is Addi Road’s new COO (Chief Operating Officer). Seeing how Rosanna leads the way across so many different initiatives “was pretty inspiring to me. She has the most fabulous vision. And it was that, really, that made me want to work here.” It’s It excites her that “there are no limits to the imagina tion here – except, of course, funding. Addi Road does so much on the smell of an oily rag.” She sees the inspiration and good faith behind it as something that runs through the huge army of volunteers that work at Addi Road, keeping everything from its Food Pantry to regular events on an even keel.

The nature of Addi Road was made vivid to Melissa during the lockdown. “I witnessed the COVID pivot,” she says, “when Addi Road converted its Gum bramorra Hall into a Food Relief Hub. Pallets of food and hampers boxes everywhere being packed. It was a huge operation and an immediate response to people’s needs.”

9CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022

By Mark Mordue Addi Road CEO Rosanna Barbero describes the organisation and its work as “a tango, a dance”. She knows that every day is different, every challenge and new idea something to be absorbed for the better of the Rightcommunity.nowthatmeans a gala screening and fundraiser on Saturday October 8th for Take Heart, Deadly Heart, a film that deals with rheumatic heart disease in Australia, and how a family’s successful effort to save their ten-year-old son alerted them to a rare and treatable disease in Sydney that is now the leading cause of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children across the country.

The actual offices of the Addison Road Community Organisation and the Food Pantry beside it are completely solar powered. Both Melissa and Rosan na take pride in the row of solar panels on the roof, not to mention “the three EV charging stations we have here,” says Rosanna. “The whole of the Inner West only has one and we have been able to put in three Rosannaourselves.”likesthese links between “acting locally and thinking globally”. Working with the multicultural unit of TAFE “Addi Road has been able to find 15 participants from 15 different language groups to work with their communities on understanding the devastating effect single-use plastic bags have on their environment”. Rosanna sees that activism connecting right back to the very origins of Addi Road as a community centre, birthed by the local multicultural community back in 1976 in the wake of the Whitlam era when “it was a haven for cultural expression and freedom, when social, political and economic equality were the true goals for our community. Which they still are here.” Michelle Sheather from The Bower arrives. Rosanna and Melissa have been working with her on keeping The Bower at Addi Road. It’s more good news for the Inner West and Addi Road’s bigger vision for sustain ability and social justice long into the future. “We’re so pleased to have a this wonderful new collaboration with The Bower,” Rosanna says. ”They are here to stay. We’re working together with them – and the 120 organisations we are in partnership with – to make a better Australia. Addi Road is growing and becoming a leader with a higher level of responsibility. We’re getting stronger every day, and things are still in motion that we can take even further.” addiroad.org.au

Motion Pictures

At that stage Melissa was working for Stepping Out as Program Coordinator. Her work in the Inner West involved “supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse who are living in the community”. Before that she had worked with homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. She’s not sure what lead her down this vocational path, apart from something in her that “likes sticking up for people. I dunno.. I like the advocacy of it. It just suits my personality – which I describe as warm but firm, firm but fair,” she adds with a wry smile.

Photo: Facebook

Pass it on.

Fix Sellit.it.

Most furniture left on the street can’t be recycled. Please get rid of it thoughtfully.

Web address: Apply via https://bit.ly/3Ae3ZS3

For more information and more roles, please visit jobs.transport.nsw.gov.au and search for School Crossing Supervisors.

Protesters call for government to ‘Put local back into council’ at demerger rally. Photo: Facebook

Demerger rally hits NSW Parliament

Applicants must be 18 years of age at the time of appointment. All training, uniforms and equipment will be provided. And one more thing! As you’ll be working with children on our roads, your willingness to obtain a Working with Children Check, Reference Checks, Police Check, and a Health Assessment is vital. Don’t worry if you haven’t done this before, we will help you through the process! If you already have a Working with Children Check, that’s fantastic as that will speed up the process.

“I have full confidence that our community will move ahead with strength and positivity with or without the Mayor and General Manager. The strong momentum for demergers across NSW is broad-based and will keep going,” IWC Independent Councillor John Stamolis said. “Many people are now saying that Inner West Council is trying to override and ignore the voice of the Inner West community to demerge,” Cr Stamolis said.

If you’re reliable, and someone with good community spirit and a positive energy, we’d love to hear from you.

“If this process is rushed through Council, as appears likely, our avenue becomes the ability to make submissions to the Boundaries commission. I encourage you all to prepare to give evidence and make submissions.”

CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY Greens and Independent Councillors, along with community members, urged the government for an “open and transparent” demerger business case that “properly engages with the community, with enough time for the complexities of the issues to be grappled with”.

If you have any questions regarding this role or any other locations please contact Manisha Bains via manisha.bains@transport.nsw.gov.au

Applications close 11.59pm on Sunday 18 September 2022

10 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS School Crossing Supervisor – Bondi Beach Public School Permanent part-time position • Great way to earn an income • All training, uniforms and equipment will be provided • Get paid throughout the School Holidays between Terms 1-3! Be A Road Safety Hero!

This is a Permanent part time position which will provide relief at sites in the Bondi Beach Public School. Shifts fall between the school zones hours 8:25am to 9:25am and 2:30pm to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday, with 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. School Crossings require 20 hours of supervising per fortnight.

BLZ_RB0141

BY AMBER GRIFFIN

Thecouncil’.protest

Sydneysiders in favour of the Inner West Council demerger rallied together in front of the Parliament House of NSW with colourful shirts, signs, and a message to ‘put local back into was organised by ‘Residents for De-amalgamation’ alongside the ‘NSW Demerger Alliance’; two groups that are leading advocates for the Inner West Council de-amalgamation.

In the 2021 local government elections, over 60 per cent of voters voted to demerge the Inner West Council (IWC) back to the original Leichhardt, Marrickville, and Ashfield wards after they were compulsorily merged in 2016.

“No one is saying it’s an easy case to write, no one is saying there aren’t risks to be managed, what we are saying is that the business case should properly reflect the risks AND the benefits of the demerger and discuss how the risks should be dealt with and should properly include the views of the community,” Councillor Liz Atkins said during her speech at the Demerger rally.

Cr Atkins advised that the rushed demerger process will result in a business case that is unconvincing, particularly for a minister in a government which is anti-demerger.

We’re searching for community minded people who would like to contribute; would get a kick out of making community relationships; keep kids safe and get a little extra pocket money. We want people we can rely on to show up for our communities - in good or bad weather. You’ll display effective communication skills and alertness to potential dangers.

 properly engages with the community  Protesters hold signs at recent demerger rally at NSW Parliament.

1. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows:

• Installation of four (4) Vodafone 4G panel antennas (less than 2.8 metres long)

• Ancillary infrastructure necessary for the operation and proper functioning of those low impact facilities, or otherwise for the sole purpose of ensuring the protection and safety of the facility and persons or property near the facility

3. In accordance with Section 7 of the C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code, we invite you to provide feedback about the proposal. Further information and/or comments should be directed to communityconsultation@ventia.com or Level 1, South Tower, 10 Browning Street, West End QLD 4101 Australia by COB 22 September 2022.

• Installation of four (4) Vodafone 5G panel antennas (less than 2.8 metres long)

• Installation of six (6) Optus 5G panel antennas (less than 1.5 metres long)

2. Optus regards the proposed installation as a Low-impact Facility in accordance with the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 2018 (Amendment No.1, 2021) based on the description above.

• Installation of one (1) GPS antennas to the Opus shelter (extended from the Optus mounts less than 2m)

• Installation of three (3) Optus panel antennas (less than 1.5 metres long)

1. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows:

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE OPTUS MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION WITH 5G AT: S UPA CENTRE, 2 TODMAN AvE, K ENSINGTON NSW 2033 (RFNSA S ITE NO. 2021014)

11CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE EXISTING MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION AT SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND, DRIVER AVE, MOORE PARK NSW 2021 WITH 5G

• Installation of one (1) Optus 4G panel antenna (less than 2.8 metres long)

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE OPTUS MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION WITH 5G AT: 48 O’ R IORDAN STREET, ALEx ANDRIA NSW 2015 (RFNSA S ITE NO. 2015004)

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE OPTUS MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION WITH 5G AT: 94-96 A LISON ROAD, RANDWI ck (RFNSA S ITE NO. 2031003)

• Installation of eight (8) Optus 5G panel antennas (less than 2.8 metres long)

1. Optus plan to upgrade the existing telecommunications facility below through the addition of new Optus equipment: S3899 – SCG Replacement: On the existing rooftop at the above address. The proposal involves: • The removal of existing Optus panel antennas, equipment shelter and ancillary equipment • The installation of eight (8) new Optus 5G panel antennas (measuring no more than 820mm in length) on new wall mounts

2. Optus regard the proposed installation as Exempt Development under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Transport and Infrastructure) 2021 based on the description above. The proposed infrastructures will be in compliance with the ACMA EME regulatory arrangements.

• Remove three (3) Optus panel antennas (less than 2.8 metres long)

We will accept comments on the proposed upgrade until 5pm Friday, 23th September 2022.

3. In accordance with Section 7 of C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code, we invite you to provide feedback about the proposal. Further information requests and/or comments should be directed to Ventia: M. Community.Consultation@ventia.com N. Ventia, 80 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060 Ph. (02) 9834 7229 W. www.rfnsa.com.au/2021005

• Installation of three (3) Optus 4G panel antennas (less than 2.8 metres long)

• Installation of two (2) GPS antennas to the Opus shelter (extended from the Optus mounts less than 2m)

1. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows:

• The installation of four (4) new panel antennas ((measuring no more than 2.8m in length) on new wall mounts • The installation of a new equipment shelter on the existing platform on the rooftop • The installation and reconfiguration of ancillary equipment including remote radio units (RRUs), GPS antennas, cabling and other associated equipment necessary for the proper function of the proposed facility

BY SASHA FOOT

“It is about creating a dedicated space for our young people: it is about valuing them,” Cr Roberston said. the only suitable location

Councillor Toni Zeltzer, the chair of the committee and the Councillor who tabled the motion, said older generations have employed “delay tactics” to halt the construction of a skate park aimed at young children.



Witt unsuccessfully amended the motion to stall its progression until the completion of a conservation report. She believes there is adequate childrenfriendly space in the park, such as soccer fields. Cr Witt noted that 23 people made new submissions after discovering that the council hoped to forward its progression.

“This facility is in demand—we know our demographic data in Paddington.”

Following recommendations made by GML Heritage, designs have been slightly changed. However, the heritage organisation told City Hub it is against the contract to reveal what these minor changes Councillorare.Merrill

Councillor Matthew Robertson maintained that Rushcutters Bay is “the only suitable location”. He is at the forefront of heritage defence, yet he endorses the skate park’s “Overconstruction.thelast few years, the concept of heritage has been weaponised against this proposal,” he stated in the meeting.

Bay skate park one step closer

• Co-educational and secular • Early Learning to Year 12 • Central location near Sydney CBD • Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) • Celebrating diversity and personal achievement • Join our local school with a global outlook Find out more and book a tour: igssyd.nsw.edu.au | 9219 admissions@igssyd.nsw.edu.au6700 A great start at INTERNATIONAL GRAMMAR languagesSCHOOLUniqueprogram

Woollahra Council has voted to progress the construction of a contentious skate park, which has been embroiled in over tenyear of disputes, at the heritage-listed Rushcutters Bay Park. The council will prepare a conservation report and a heritage impact statement as part of its application to the State Heritage Register. The register will then determine whether the plans can go ahead or whether to revise the design.

The council’s finance, community and services committee pushed for its progression at a meeting one month ago.

“People were very concerned about losing green space and its replacements as concrete,” Cr Witt said.

Photo: Darling Point Society Inc

“There were also concerns about density pressures already in the park, the heritage listing attributes characterised by the rare large open spaces and the obstructed harbour vistas.”

HERITAGE CHANGES MADE

She cited “intergenerational equity” as the leading reason for the community “Here’sbacklash.apublic park, it’s not a little pocket park – it is of a reasonable size, and this youth facility is tiny compared to the whole park,” she told the council meeting. The Council, as well as considering different locations over the years like Centennial Park, has moved the skate park back from the Rushcutters Bay “It’swaterfront.beenthrough so many regulations and interferences that now it’s a bare vestige of the original plan,” Cr Zeltzer told the Council.

 Impression of the proposed plans for the skate park and basketball area.

12 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 Hub RushcuttersNEWS

COOGEE RESIDENTS CAMPAIGN

Coogee Hotel developers granted extension

In an attempt to keep Coogee ‘classic and lowkey’ and maintain the integrity of Coogee’s ‘village feel’, community group ‘Keep Coogee a Village’ are campaigning for developments in the suburb to stay under 12 metres in height. A spokesperson for the campaign said to City Hub that they “don’t understand why the applicant is being given so many chances” on their proposal for the development.

O’Neillstatement.has set up a petition titled ‘Save Coogee Village’, featured on the Labor Government website. As of September 1, the petition had received 1350 submissions.

Community members and Coogee MP Marjorie O’Neill at a campaign to keep Coogee 12m and under 2021. Facebook

Photo:

In a statement, the developers of the Coogee Bay Hotel said that the project team has met with senior council officers as well as the Design Review Panel on multiple occasions, and the feedback provided by council has assisted with the progression of the “Thisdesign.proposal represents a considered mixed-use outcome with an integrated design which revitalises the site,” the Coogee Bay Hotel developers said.

“We regard these plans as an atrocious overdevelopment of our seaside suburb and our iconic Coogee Beach precinct,” O’Neill said in a

Coogee MP Marjorie O’Neill stated that the plans will “lead to overdevelopment and exceed the buildings height standard for the area”.

“The Eastern Sydney Planning Panel has deferred the matter twice as has the Land and Environment Court. As each process is being dealt with in closed sessions, the community is in the dark.” The spokesperson said the new design for the Coogee Bay Hotel is “not sympathetic to the prevailing federation style of Coogee Bay Road”.

13CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 standbysupport.com.au Ageing Support Supporting people living with HIV aged over 45, through the maze of aged care, disability, and healthcare services in NSW Contact Positive Life NSW on (02) 9206 2177 or 1800 245 677 (freecall) HubNEWS

 the community is in the dark

BY AMBER GRIFFIN The developers of the controversial Coogee Bay Hotel upgrades have been granted extended time to resubmit and amend their development plans by the NSW Land and Environment TheCourt.developers now have until September 26 to complete the updated proposal, which will be reviewed in the two weeks before a conciliation hearing with the Land and Environment Court on October 10. The hearings are held in a closed court and the community has restricted access to amendments or information until it goes Thepublic.$111.7 million dollar plans to redevelop Coogee Bay Hotel and its surrounds received mixed reactions from the Thecommunity.originaldevelopment plan DA 437/2021 was submitted by the developers Cotton Development Management Pty Ltd. It included a complete revamp of the heritagelisted site as a “modern hospitality, leisure and entertainment precinct”, along with the construction of 60 apartments, a supermarket, and an eat-street section.

The issue began when local residents urged the NSW government to act against the proposed store’s development. Residents believe the store poses a saftey risk to the area, particularly to Tempe Primary School. Earlier in the week, the community was briefed on the status of the council’s TSFS by council staff at the behest of Greens Councillor Justine Langford and Labor Councillor Mat Howard.

14 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS BY TILEAH DOBSON

City Hub reached out to Transport for NSW who said that they “will consider the Traffic Signals Feasibility Study released by Inner West Council”. “We are taking community concerns seriously and have been working with Council and Bunnings to investigate options to satisfy the concerns raised by residents, Tempe Public School and the community,” a spokesperson for Transport for NSW said.

The fight for traffic lights at new Tempe Bunnings

Greens Councillor Justine Langford (far left) and Labor Councillor Mat Howard (left) spoke with the community on the Traffic Signals Feasibility Study.

The proposed findings include road safety such as Transport for NSW ‘warrants’, traffic signals and road delineation. Physical constraint suggestions include a heritage wall and an IKEA service driveway.

The latest in the saga of Tempe residents’ opposition to the proposed Bunnings development continues with the Inner West Council releasing their Traffic Signals Feasibility Study (TSFS).

STRONG COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The NSW Planning Panel will be meeting on Thursday 1st September via video conference to adhere to Covid-19 precautions. The Facebook group Safe Traffic Plan for Bunnings Tempe is urging passionate Tempe residents to attend the meeting and speak.

Despite the serious concerns of the community, the lack of action from both Bunnings and TfNSW [Transport for NSW] has been astonishing,” he said.

Cr Langford was pleased with the community turnout, saying that people “were very engaged and asked a lot of “Havingquestions”.face-to-face meetings really helps explain the complexities. Bringing [the] community together around an issue shows that Council cares. Council staff provided updates on the Traffic Light Feasibility Study, the Supplementary Report to the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel, the Local Area Traffic Management Plan for South Tempe and other details,” she told City Hub “Transport for NSW and Bunnings must listen to the concerns of Tempe residents. It is their civic duty. If they don’t, both Council and the community would need to lobby the NSW Minister for Transport and run a very strong public campaign.” City Hub reached out to Bunnings for comment and a spokesperson reassured us that they “remain committed to achieving a safe and efficient outcome for local residents, inclusive of traffic calming measures to minimise any “However,impacts”. we’re yet to receive approval of the Local Area Traffic Management Plan (LATM), which is delaying the implementation of our development consent issued three years ago. We understand the unchanged LATM will now be put out for consultation again,” a spokesperson for Bunnings told City Hub “We continue to participate in the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel process and are hopeful the matter can be resolved through the scheduled meeting on 1 September, so we can move the project forward and provide certainty to our contracted builder and hundreds of trades people who will be engaged to undertake the work.”

Community protests against Tempe Bunnings development.

Cr Howard has stressed that putting traffic lights at the Bunnings Tempe Princes Highway access driveway is “absolutely necessary and could very well save lives”. “Let’s be clear. Kids’ safety is at risk here,” Cr Howard told City Hub “We have been pressuring Bunnings to improve traffic arrangements at their new Tempe store for close to a year.

Photo: Safe Traffic Plan For Bunnings Tempe/Facebook  It is their civic duty

“We wrote to the Minister for Transport and Roads seeking approval for these traffic signals almost a year ago, to no avail. Our independent and new feasibility study is clear that traffic lights is the safest option and will have the least impact on our community.” “The Minister for Metropolitan Roads and Transport for NSW owe it to our community to do their job, assess the feasibility study and confirm it is the safest option for our community. Bunnings should then do the right thing by the community they want to be a part of.”

Photo: Inner West Council

Inner West sees rise in food theft

Pauline Lockie put forward the motion on August 9 after IWPAC informed her of the surge in food thefts. Cr Lockie had also been informed by food pantry charity, Addison Road Community Organisation, that more people were seeking food relief.

Hub

• New ancillary equipment including remote radio units, cabling and antenna mounts

• The antennas are at rooftop level and there is a slight increase in the overall scale of the facility Rooftop Facility, 48 Chippen Street, Chippendale NSW 2008 Optus Vodafone Ref: S2145, www.rfnsa.com.au/2008003

• Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within the equipment shelter

“The rise in food theft is extremely concerning, particularly as it so closely follows the recent increases we’ve seen in the cost of living,” she told City Hub “Together with the rise in the number of people relying on food relief services, it’s a clear sign that a lot of people who were perhaps just managing to hold on after a really tough few years are now being pushed over the edge.”

Cr Lockie acknowledged the hard work put forth by organisations like Addison Road and hopes that her motion will spark further inquiries into this issue on a state and federal level.

• Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within the equipment shelter

A rise in food thefts in Sydney’s Inner West has caught the attention of the Inner West Police Area Command (IWPAC), evoking one Inner West Councillor to put forward a motion to urgently help residents who have had to resort to stealing Independentfood.Councillor

15CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022

• Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.68m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (2.1m long)

• Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.53m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (2.78m long)

COUNCIL NEEDS COLLABORATION

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: 02 4022 9533; email: consultation@catalystone.com.au and post: PO Box 1119, Crows Nest NSW 1585 by 26 February 2021.

• Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.81m long)

Addi road volunteers provide emergency food services to those in need. Photo: Facebook.

2. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows:

“People expect the state to have in place safety nets so their lives and livelihoods are not destroyed when times are tough,” Barbero said.

3. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows:

• Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.68m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (1.5m long)

City Hub reached out to Addison Road’s CEO Rosanna Barbero, who was pleased with Cr Lockie’s motion passing, saying that “elected representatives are responsible for making policy decisions that ensure people’s human rights and wellbeing”.

• Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.75m long)

“Addiroad [is how] the Council will cover the costs of the $10 vouchers as an emergency measure but we hope the Department of Community and Justice [will] step in and the federal department of Social Services so we can concentrate on achieving great outcomes in addressing food security and not spend so much time fundraising and exhausting the pockets of our generous donors.”

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE OPTUS proposal. and/or Optus’ representative c/- Catalyst Pty phone: 02 4022 9533; email: consultation@catalystone.com.au and post: PO Box 1119, Crows Nest NSW 1585 by 26 February 2021.

BY TILEAH DOBSON

“Addiroad is already providing vouchers to the police, and civil society organisations to distribute vouchers to those that are most vulnerable, but we cannot sustain this practice because we do not receive government funding despite our proven track record of delivering services and evidence of positive impacts.”

“We also know these organisations and our most vulnerable residents need ongoing financial support, which is where we urgently need state and federal governments to step up and step in.”

• Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (1.35m long)

Cr Lockie’s motion also said the council should work with the South Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) in order to establish a coordinated response to the issue.

“Addiroad has two pantries, all are welcome, we do not judge or ask any questions, you will be welcomed. We have fridge and freezer items and hygiene products, pet food, mostly what you would find in a supermarket, all those that come [will] go home with fresh fruit and veg and bread. We are open 5 days a week,” she said.

Barbero encourages those who have resorted to food theft in order to survive or those falling on hard times to come to the food pantry in Marrickville.

• Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (1.35m long)

NEWS

• Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.69m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (2.1m long)

“This is a much broader issue that goes beyond our borders, and if state and federal governments don’t act quickly, a lot of vulnerable people are going to fall through the cracks,” Cr Lockie told City Hub “We’re fortunate to have some great support services operating in the Inner West that we already work with, so there’s a lot we can do to help connect our residents to those services, and my motion will see Council investigate those opportunities as a matter of urgency.”

4. Optus and Vodafone regard the proposed installations as Exempt Development in accordance with State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 based on the description above 5. Notification is being undertaken in accordance with Section 7 of Industry Code C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment

• Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.75m long)

1. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows:

• Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.53m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (1.83m long)

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE OPTUS AND VODAFONE MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION WITH 5G AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS

• The antennas are at rooftop level and there is a slight increase in the overall scale of the facility Rooftop Facility, 134-138 William Street, Wooloomooloo NSW 2011 Optus Vodafone Ref: S8901, www.rfnsa.com.au/2011002

Rooftop Facility, 209-211 Harris Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009 Optus Vodafone Ref: S0969, www.rfnsa.com.au/2009003

 rise in food theft is extremely concerning Councillor Pauline Lockie and Addison Road Community Organisation CEO Rosanna Barbero. Photo: Facebook

Cr Lockie noted that the sudden rise in food theft corresponds to the rise in the cost of living expenses, such as energy bills, rent, interest rates and food expenses.

• Replacement of three (3) existing 4G panel antennas (2.68m long) with three new 4G panel antennas (1.83m long) • New ancillary equipment including remote radio units, cabling and antenna mounts

• Installation of three (3) new 5G panel antennas (0.75m long)

• Reconfiguration of existing equipment on the facility and within the equipment shelter

• New ancillary equipment including remote radio units, cabling and antenna mounts

ADDI ROAD HELPS OUT Cr Lockie was in contact with the CEO of Addison Road Community Organisation, Rosanna Barbero, who requested financial aid to help assist with the surge in people seeking food Therelief.number of food hampers within the last six weeks that Addison Road has distributed free of charge rose from 300 to 478 a week. Addison Road also offers $10 vouchers for those who cannot afford to pay for their groceries, and these have risen from 140 to 300 per week.

To keep up to date with my activities (incuding my mobile offices), issues and events - both locally and nationally, please contact my office at Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au if you would like to subscribe to my e-newsletter.

Cr Ellsmore agrees that community input for the future of Wentworth Park is “Theessential.City’s consultation is an important opportunity to re-enforce the community’s call to ensure the whole of Wentworth Park is protected for uses that current and future communities actually want and need.”

A forum was held on August 24 in which residents and businesses had their say in the discussion on ideas for the park, as well as hearing the City’s plan.

My office in Redfern will be facilitating Tax Help again this year. Tax Help is free and helps people earning $60,000 or less lodge their tax return online. If you need help lodging your tax return, you may be eligible for assistance through this program. Please contact my office on 02 9379 0700 or Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au to book an appointment. Y

TanyaPlibersek.comTanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au

Currently the north and south sections of Wentworth Park are under the council’s care. However, the park may soon become one large, unified park after the NSW government announced their commitment to relocating the greyhound Thistrack.will be done through the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy. The Greyhound Breeders Owners & Trainers Association currently holds the licence until 2027.

CONGR ATUL ATORY MESS AGES

NO PARK UNTIL 2027

1A Great Buckingham St Redfern NSW 2016 02 9379 0700

18 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS

STAYING IN TOUCH

Cr Moore acknowledged the hardships businesses and residents endured during the lockdowns and how affected by the pandemic they’ve been.

Wentworth Park and Haymarket are set to have their futures decided with the help of the community after the City of Sydney Council put out a call for ideas. As one of the most expansive parks in inner Sydney, the council is hoping that the community will offer a vision.

“The past two years have been incredibly challenging for all of us and especially for Chinatown, which was among the first areas in the city to be impacted by the pandemic,” she said. “I encourage everyone in the community to come along to the forum or provide their feedback online to have their say on the future of this wonderful part of Sydney.”

City seeks input for Wentworth Park

Photo: City of Sydney  parks are their backyards

“It’s obscene that the community needs to wait until 2027 to reclaim the greyhound racing track that takes up a huge section of Wentworth Park,” Cr Ellsmore told City Hub “Wentworth Park is much loved and used. We need that now, not in 2027.”

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

However, others such as Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore say that residents shouldn’t have to wait so long for such large portions of the park to be available to the public.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore hopes that the unification of Wentworth Park will make it a bigger place for residents to unwind.

SSO Here to Help 2020 V1.indd 1 28/09/2020 1:23:20 PM BY TILEAH DOBSON

The unification of the park is something Lord Mayor Clover Moore is eager to see. “When pandemic restrictions were introduced, we were reminded just how valuable public parkland is,” Cr Moore “Forsaid.the many people in Sydney who live in apartments, parks are their backyards, their space to exercise, play, walk the dog or unwind.”

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.

TAAX HELP 2022

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.

TANYA PLIBERSEK MP

HEREPLIBERSEKTANYATOHELP

Railway workers strike at Central Station

Members of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) have engaged in another strike, in the latest series of industrial actions fighting for safer conditions and higher pay amidst the cost-of-living crisis.

“I know that all of you aren’t going to give in until we win this thing,” Ridgwell Managementsaid. at Sydney Trains have previously proposed reducing redundancy conditions to ‘streamline’ job cuts, ending worker consultation on work practices and safety changes and fewer full-time secure jobs by hiring more contract workers.

Railway workers protesting at strike held outside Central Station.

The RTBU and NSW government have been engaged in a dispute over safety concerns regarding a fleet of Korean-built new intercity trains which workers have refused to operate without modifications.

RTBU lead delegate for Central Depot Damian Ridgwell declared a need to stand up for workers’ rights, stating that it was “totally bullshit that the rich in this country are getting richer than ever before while working-class people are struggling to keep up with the cost-of-living”.

Workers on the City Circle line went on strike for six hours as suburban trains ran on reduced timetables.

Photo: Vinil Kae  insulting pay rise offers of 3 per cent

19CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 FIND FRINGESEPTEMBER!STORIESCATCHWHAT’SOUTONSYDNEYALLISBACK! HubNEWS

STRIKING OVER SAFETY CONCERNS

BY CHRISTINE LAI

The government is currently offering pay rises of 3% in the first year and 3.5% in the second for RBTU workers, in line with its public sector wage cap policy and far below the official inflation rate of 6.1 per cent. NSW employee relations minister Damien Tudehope called on the RTBU to call off the strike but was rebuffed by the union which said it would need at least 48 hours to review the new deal.

Previously, the government affirmed the the safety of the trains and denied the claim of unsafe work, which resulted in a two-year deadlock. However, the union has stated that safety assessments were conducted by the same company that built the trains, and that independent assessments found the trains were unsafe. The intercity fleet was designed for drivers to rely on CCTV footage to monitor platforms, and guards cannot adequately monitor platforms to check that gaps are clear from the new trains to ensure passenger safety.

RTBU secretary Alex Claassens criticised Tudehope for his attempt to undercut the planned strike action, saying “Ten minutes before he does his press conference, he sends me the deed and then has the hide to stand up there and say we should immediately cancel our industrial action. That was never going to Strikinghappen”.RTBU members and supporters marched from Central station to Trades Hall, where they had their stop-work meeting.

DVNSW assisted 15 local government areas in NSW with training based on OurWatch frameworks, and cited Parramatta City Council and the Inner West Council as success cases for the role that local government can play in reducing domestic violence.

In her motion Cr Scott recommended a training program from organisation OurWatch be utilised by council, which is geared to equip local government with the ability to address domestic violence in communities. She said that community education is a “fantastic way” for community members to be able to identify both early and advanced signs of domestic violence. “Local government is, of course, the closest level of government to our community. And so we’re uniquely situated to be in a position to influence and drive social change” Cr Scott said.

“Local government can prevent domestic violence and increase gender equity via community awareness campaigns, safe and respectful community spaces, and promoting girls and women’s participation in sport” Phillips said. Phillips said that training programs, such as the ones provided by OurWatch, can have a significant impact on prevention and awareness of domestic violence.

BY ERIN MODARO

Cr Scott says her motion is designed to ensure The City of Sydney is doing all it can to make sure local government is doing its part.

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council passes motion on domestic violence

“I think there’s so much more that local government can do.”

 There’s a lot more that the city can do

From Friday 16 September to Monday 19 September

To report environmental concerns (24 hours) 1300 656 999

Coulson Street beneath the railway bridge between Devine Street and Eve Street will be closed to traffic and pedestrians from 8pm Friday 16 September to 6am Monday 19 September. We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation during these essential works. Contact us For upcoming work transport.nsw.gov.au/sydtraincommunity

Coulson Street bridge maintenance work

Sydney Councillor Linda Scott tabled a motion for the City of Sydney council to address a rise in domestic violence.

“Providing Local Government with training increases awareness of the drivers of domestic violence, case studies of local government initiatives and creates opportunities for best practice sharing.”

The City of Sydney Council has unanimously voted to improve awareness and responses to domestic violence at a recent council meeting, after data has revealed a significant increase in cases since 2020. Sydney Councillor Linda Scott tabled a motion calling for council to include training and learning modules to local government, as well as other prevention Crprograms.Scottsaid the statistics on domestic violence in recent years have been “They’re“disturbing”.upnearly 8% from 2020. And domestic violence related assault is up just over 3%” she said to City Hub

34 WOMEN KILLED THIS YEAR Peak organisation Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW) says that domestic violence is not only worsening across NSW, but all of Australia, as well as being exacerbated by the Covid-19 Interimpandemic.CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Elise Phillips told City Hub that 34 women have been killed by domestic and family violence in 2022 alone.

What we’re doing

The council motion notes that 1 in 6 Australians have been subject to some form of domestic violence since the age of “We15.know we’ve seen these figures increasing really significantly since 2020. There’s a lot more that the city can do.”

Sydney Trains

To improve service reliability, we’re undertaking bridge rail sleeper and track resurfacing works.

Photo: Hornsby Shire Council

The Proponent wishes to invite registrations of interest in the project from Aboriginal groups and individuals who hold cultural knowledge relevant to determining the significance of Aboriginal objects and places in the locality of Central Station.

For more information on payphone services (including, any applicable payphone consultation document) see: https://www.telstra.com.au/consumer-advice/payphones

For more information on the Sydney Terminal Revitalisation project, please visit sydney-terminal-building-revitalisation-projectwww.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/

ACTIVISM LEADS CAMPAIGN

Currently, the next nearest payphone is located: On Alfred Street opposite Pitt, Sydney NSW 2000. (Payphone ID: 02925125X2)

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On behalf of Transport for NSW (Transport) [the Proponent], Artefact Heritage is preparing an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Report (ACHAR) for the Sydney Terminal Building Revitalisation Project (STBR) at Central Station.

Lynda-June Coe announced as NSW Greens candidate

Reference Number 49301

Transport for NSW Sydney Terminal Building Revitalisation -Registration for Aboriginal Community Consultation

The revitalisation will create a unique destination that celebrates heritage and improves the customer and community experience at Central Station.

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

Coe stated that First Nations issues are “fundamentally all that encompass the political philosophy and principles of the NSW Greens”. She said that the policy areas she is “most passionate about” include climate change, domestic and family violence, children and young people, and First Nations people.

Coe hopes to leverage past activism experience in the role, including leading and co-organising national Indigenous campaigns such as ‘Water is Life’ Climate Action, Black Lives Matter, Stop Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Stop Forced Removals of Children, Youth Incarceration, and Invasion Day rallies.

Telstra intends making a final decision on this proposal by: 26th October 2022

In her pre-selection speech, Coe has pledged that she will “fight for those living on the poverty line… to see parenting equity to those who are struggling the most in our communities”, citing lived experience as someone “born into poverty [who has] experienced all the social disparities of being an Indigenous “Itwoman”.istime to put a First Nations Vote into Parliament. It is time to put a First Nations women educator and activist into Parliament. It is time to put a First Nations woman who has lived experience and a history of empowering our most disadvantaged into Parliament,” Coe said.

The relocated payphone will be located approximately 20 metres away from the payphone that is proposed to be removed.

BY SHARLOTTE THOU W iradjuri and Badu Island woman Lynda-June Coe has been preselected as a Greens candidate for the NSW Upper House in the State Election to be held in March Coe2023.will be in third place on the Greens ticket after sitting Upper House MP Cate Faehrmann and Albury GP Dr Amanda Cohn, who was Deputy Mayor of Albury for five years. Unionist and social activist Jim Casey will be in fourth position. “The possibility of a First Nations voice to be elected into the NSW Upper House is one step closer towards achieving social justice for our mob,” Coe said. With three sitting MPs, it is possible that the Greens could win three spots.

The ACHAR will be included in the Environmental Impact Statement for the State Significant Infrastructure (SSI) Development Application to be lodged by Transport with the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act).

It is proposed that a Telstra payphone be removed from: Outside 172 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000 (Payphone ID: 02925136X2) And a Telstra payphone be installed: On the corner of 172 George Street and 1 Alfred Street, Sydney NSW 2000

She has attributed First Nations representation in leadership as “fundamental” to achieving equity for First Nations communities. If elected, she will be the first First Nations woman in the NSW Upper House. Coe said that the Greens’ policy focuses on “embracing the hard work that needs to be done, that other parties [have failed to do]”. This includes implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal deaths in custody and recognising unceded sovereignty as the basis for achieving self-determination, which Coe says, “fundamentally ensures a process for decolonisation”.

TELSTRA IS PLANNING TO RELOCATE A PAYPHONE

The purpose of this community consultation will be to assist DPE in their assessment of the SSI application under the EPA Act and any Aboriginal Heritage Impact Permit (AHIP) application under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 that may be required during preparation of the SSI application. Please register your interest in the project by 22 September 2022 by contacting Kelly Barton at Artefact Heritage santhurie.naidoo@transport.nsw.gov.auTransportcontactorKelly.Barton@artefact.net.auonforinformationabouttheproposalSanthurieNaidooatforNSWon

Lynda-June Coe is thrilled to be preselected, citing it is one step closer to social justice for First Nations peoples. Photo: greens.org.au  one step closer towards achieving social justice 

STUDENT PROTESTERS MACED Macquarie Students Against Uni Cuts (MSAUC) activist Amy Lamont decried the police response, opening her speech with, “I can’t see anyone because I’ve been maced in the face”. Lamont looked to ongoing industrial action at the University of Sydney, where staff have had five days of strike this year in their fight for secure working conditions, with demands including a wage claim to the Cost Price Index (CPI) plus 2.5 per cent per year and enforceable targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment. Previous campaigns have involved 24hour and 48-hour strikes, with staff and students picketing to block entrances across the university campus.

Student activists protesting AFR summit outside Doltone House.

“All these VCs, politicians and representatives of businesses want our education system to be more profitable, which only means more friendly to Australian capitalism. We will not accept this continuous neoliberalism of our education,” Lamont said. NSW Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi applauded student activists for their action, stating “you have every right to be here fighting for your future and the future of the world”.

University of Sydney Education Officer Deaglan Godwin declared that the response from the police during the protest was one of the “best lessons of our lives, a lesson far superior to that which you gain in the corporate university” which was a lesson in the “real role of the police”.

Student protesters pepper sprayed by police

The corporate event cost attendees $1000 per ticket.

USyd Education Officer Lia Perkins condemned the attacks of the NSW police, and referred to the recent anti-protest laws which intended to “criminalise protesters for gathering in public and for exercising what should be a fundamental right of our society”.

Student protesters yelled chants to AFR Education Summit event attendees who watched on from the balcony of Doltone House. Chants included: “We have the right to demonstrate, this is not a police state” and “No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities”. One student was charged with trespassing and taken into police custody. The demand for the cancellation of all student debt instead of a “debt sentence” was agreed en masse. Student protesters ended the action by yelling “Not enough justice, too many coppers”.

NUS Education Officer Luc Velez condemned the violence of the police against students, asserting that their attacks would not “stop our “Studentsmovement”.deserve justice, students deserve an education system where we don’t have to get maced by violent cops in our demand for more,” Velez said.

Perkins spoke about the controversial Job Ready Graduates package that was implemented under the Federal government and has seen the cost of humanities degrees doubled and the removal of Commonwealth Support (HECS) from any student who takes over seven years to complete a degree, or with a ‘low completion rate’. “This is still in place under the Labor government, and they have no indication of overturning it so far” Perkins said.

“The real role of the police is not to protect and serve us, it’s to uphold the law and order of the rich. We have the right to determine what our education will look like, and we need to say it won’t look like furthering the needs of the Australian economy and it won’t be put to the service of building more mining machines. We say our education should be a right and not a privilege,” Godwin said.

tudent protesters were tackled and pepper sprayed by NSW Police at a demonstration demanding the cancellation of student debt and an end to education cuts. The protest was hosted by National Union of Students (NUS), Sydney University Education Action Group (USyd EAG), UNSW Education Collective and the UTS Education Action Group. The protesters marched from The Star to Jones Bay Wharf, where they attempted to disrupt the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Higher Education Summit, a platform where Vice-Chancellors, politicians and figureheads came together to discuss structural changes in higher education.

Activists were met with violence by the police, where they were pepper sprayed and tackled for protesting against attacks on the tertiary education sector.

22 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS

“For far too long short-sighted governments and private interests have dominated conversations about higher education in this country and this is exactly what’s happening up there today” Faruqi said.

Photo: Christine Lai  I’ve been maced in the face 

POLICE RESPONSE DEEMED AN “ATTACK” Greens Senator for NSW David Shoebridge asserted that the fight for the right to protest continues, criticising the federal government for their willingness to “cut funding” while being “perfectly happy to see an increase in defence expenditure”. “What I witnessed today by the NSW police, what we saw today is a serious attack on the right to protest, the collective right to get together and demand a better future,” Shoebridge said.

BY CHRISTINE LAI S

23CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS

BY ERIN MODARO

A petition started by community group No More Incinerators gained massive traction, with over 20 000 supporters recorded. The petition highlights the environmental damage the proposal could have caused if it went ahead, saying that “emissions from the high temperature incineration of waste will produce a wide variety of toxic air pollutants”. The No More Incinerators Eastern Suburbs Facebook page celebrated the official end to the saga. “We already knew that Veolia’s ridiculous proposal was dead in the water, but it’s great to get the news officially!” one post read. However, the group continues to campaign for other communities in which planned incinerators still may go ahead, such as Eastern Creek, Blacktown and Tarago.

Students perform for Indigenous Literacy Day

ILF co-patron and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission June Oscar AO also recognised the importance of Indigenous language education. “Languages are entwined with cultures and the work that the ILF does to support the publishing of stories in First Languages helps keep our culture alive” Oscar said.

BY LINA NAFIE 52 year 4 students at SCEGGS Darlinghurst Primary school put on a performance to celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day in front of an audience of parents and guests. Students performed a song sung in both english and Kriol, an English-based creole Aboriginal language that is still spoken by over 10 000 people across AustralianAustralia. singers and Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) ambassadors Josh Pyke and Justine Clarke took the opportunity to collaborate with SCEGGS to re-launch a fundraising initiative for the ILF, Busking for Change. SCEGGS school selected the year 4 class for the event, as the students had just wrapped up two terms of study on Australia’s First Nations peoples.

Pyke first started the ILF charity event in 2009, and subsequently raised over “I$50,000.alwaysthought it could be more than just a pub gig” Pyke said. “When my own kids started school I saw an amazing opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the ILF by turning BFC into an annual event where kids would learn a song and collect sponsorship in return for their efforts.”

COMMUNITY EFFORTS COMMENDED

Photo:

Pyke and Clarke, with the help of Deborah Cheetham and the kids at the Gawura school, wrote the song performed by the SCEGGS students,’Words make the world go Clarkearound’.said it was “incredible” to hear SCEGGS students perform the cultural “It’ssong.a real connection for our young people made through language and music” she said.

ILF Ambassadors Justine Clarke and Josh Pyke perform for Busking for Change at SCEGGS Primary School Darlinghurst. Photo: Supplied  Languages are entwined with cultures 

The NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the regulations which prohibit the use of waste to energy technology within the Sydney basin, if more sustainable options are available. Randwick Council has been opposed to the plans since strong community push-back flagged concerns over noise and pollution if the incinerator were to go Randwickahead. Mayor Dylan Parker said that he is “very pleased” that Veolia has withdrawn their proposal. “Burning waste just metres from people’s homes to power a private business is just a bad idea. The community knew it from day one and I am very pleased the NSW Government has now acted to stop it from happening.”

 This

Controversial Matraville Incinerator officially scrapped

“This is a win for people, it’s a win for common sense, and it sends a message that industry cannot trample over the environment and the community for their own benefit,” Cr Parker said.

Cr Parker also congratulated the many community members and Matraville residents who fought to oppose the incinerator’s proposal.

PERFORMANCE AT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Indigenous Literacy Day took place on September 7, where students from several Sydney schools gathered at the Sydney Opera House for a performance hosted by the ILF.

Members of the ‘No More Incinerators’ Group campaigning against proposals. Photo: Facebook is a win for people  Plans to burn truckloads of waste at the Opal papermill in Matraville scrapped. Randwick Council

ILF Ambassador and celebrity Jessica Mauboy attended the Opera House “Storiesevent. have been an important part of my life. Growing up they were told through music and song and others in books or through works of art” Mauboy said.

The community is celebrating after the controversial proposal for an incinerator in Matraville has been officially withdrawn. The proposal’s status on the NSW Planning portal has been changed to ‘withdrawn’ after new environmental protection guidelines were introduced earlier in the year, prohibiting waste company Veolia from going ahead with plans.

“Instead of providing symbolic actions on climate change, the City of Sydney should be taking decisive action to support the City’s commitment to a greener Sydney such as the Lord Mayor committing to the NSW Government’s E-Scooter Trial,” Cr Jarrett told City Hub “It’s all a bit ridiculous, the Council won’t participate in an e-scooter trial intended to speed up the adoption of e-vehicles so we can get cars and buses off the road quicker, yet they’ll happily ban advertising that will have nil effect on speeding up our transition to net zero,” Cr Gannon said.

Banning ads that promote oil, coal, and gas from over a hundred buildings and public spaces in Sydney is something that Cr Scully believes is needed, as she told the ABC that the ads have contributed to Australia’s lack of climate “Thisaction.is about drawing a line in the sand, saying no more, we see through this whitewashing, we see through the marketing spin,” Cr Scully told the ABC “Air pollution from burning fossil fuels takes 8.7 million lives prematurely each year, worse than tobacco.” However, some on the council don’t agree with the motion, with Liberal Councillors Lyndon Gannon and Shauna Jarrett seeing the motion as solely symbolic.

BY TILEAH DOBSON AND AMBER GRIFFIN T he City of Sydney will possibly be the first Australian jurisdiction to ban fossil-fuel advertising on properties and infrastructure belonging to the council, because of damaging effects on health, environment, and climate.

In what is a first for an Australian local council, the City of Sydney’s net zero energy development proposal has passed unanimously. This means development applications for new office buildings, shopping centres and hotels, along with other major redevelopment plans of existing buildings will have to comply with minimum energy ratings.

“With 68% of the city’s total emissions coming from hotels, apartment complexes, and commercial office space, it’s vital that the architecture,

University of Sydney Professor in Climate and Environmental Law Rosemary Lyster stressed that we are currently in a climate

for Australia the major contribution to climate change is our mining and export of fossil fuels. Until this changes we will continue to be a major contributor to climate change.”

“Weemergency.needfirm and ambitious deadlines that are entrenched in legally binding requirements. If there is a firm target, there is a greater chance of the goals being met on time.”

Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore was thrilled with the outcome. “In an Australian-first, the City will incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy targets in development applications--ensuring buildings are part of the transition to net-zero emissions,” Cr Moore announced on Twitter.

“These new controls, four years in the making, require developers to reduce emissions through increased energy efficiency, on-site renewable energy production and offsite renewable energy procurement” Cr Moore said.

Professor Lyster shared her insight on how the plans for net zero emissions will address climate change.

The motion is a joint effort by Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Scully and Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore after the pair decided to create a joint motion, rather than two separate motions.

development, and construction industry play a leading role” Sydney Councillor HY William Chan said. “It’s a truly ground-breaking step for environmental innovation in not just policymaking but citymaking. This is what climate leadership and action looks like.”

24 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubNEWS

COUNCIL’S NET-ZERO PLAN PASSED

“The world’s cities are major emitters of GHG emissions even though they only take up 2% of the Earth’s land mass. They emit 60% of global GHG emissions and consume 78% of the world’s energy.

When asked by City Hub if he believes the 2026 target for net zero emissions was ambitious, Cr Chan said that the urban planning controls are “ambitious but achievable” because they provide a clear pathway for developers to transition to net zero buildings.

“Fossil fuel corporations are trying to clean their image just the same as cigarette companies did a few decades ago. It is estimated that the top 5 fossil fuel corporations spent more than $238 million on marketing in 2020/21,” Cr Ellsmore told City Hub.

In Australia, the built environment is responsible for around 25% of our emissions. So this is a very important “However,initiative.”

“We shouldn’t be promoting polluting industries on our streets, and we shouldn’t enable ‘greenwashing’ in our Council-controlled spaces.”

“It’s taken four years, but we’ve developed an evidence base, done the technical modelling, and taken a highly collaborative, whole-of-sector approach with industry experts to ensure Thefeasibility.”Cityof Sydney stated that the performance standards are improvements in energy performance for new office, multi-unit residential, hotel, shopping centre and mixeduse developments as well as major refurbishment projects.

The new regulations will come into effect in January 2023, with the projected goal of net-zero energy output by 2026.

PROFESSORS STRESS CLIMATE EMERGENCY Acting director of the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre Professor Steven Sherwood affirmed that he believes the plan for net zero emissions within the City of Sydney will have significant effects on reducing climate change

“It is imperative that we make buildings more efficient and better able to use and/ or generate renewable energy, if we are to reduce climate change, because otherwise emissions from the built environment will continue to cause warming even if other sectors such as transport are fully electrified with renewable power” Professor Sherwood said.

Sydney Council’s new and ambitious climate policies

The City of Sydney is taking steps to address the climate emergency with new policies. Photo: teamclover.com  a truly ground-breaking step for innovationenvironmental 

25CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 PRIME LEGAL & TAX SERVICES Level 1, 149 Oxford St, Bondi Junction 2020 | 1/299 Elizabeth St, Sydney 2000 Ph 0409 813 622/9281 3230 | E admin@legalexchangelawyers.com | Whatsapp +61 409 813 622 | Weechat alextees primelegaltax.com.au COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY Sydney is a city where eccentrics, ratbags and colourful criminal milieu, were once visible on a daily basis throughout the CBD, and Kings Cross. But where are the urban characters and oddballs today in a Sydney that has become almost soulless, compared to the vibrancy of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s? Would a bunch of Tik Tok, video-gameloving kids today have any interest in an elderly man, busking with a group of budgies on Darlinghurst Road or alongside the El Alamein Fountain? That was Owen Lloyd, the ‘birdman’ of the Cross, who regularly delighted all ages in the ‘70s and ‘80s with his avian sideshow. There are many notable and sadly forgotten eccentrics who traversed the streets of this city on a regular basis some thirty to forty years ago. Perhaps the most recognisable, was Joseph Cindric, ‘the trolley man’, who pushed a hand made trolley around the streets of the CBD relentlessly from the ‘60s through to the ‘80s. There was both a sadness and mystery as to why he trudged daily over every inch of pavement in the city, apparently sleeping at night in Hyde Park. It was only when he died in a nursing home in 1994 that his true identity emerged, with the National Archives documenting that he had arrived in Australia in 1948 as a Yugoslavian refugee from Germany. Remarkably the staff at his Ashfield home nursing had had kept his beloved trolley and realising its significance passed it on to the Powerhouse Museum where it remains today.

I have never been able to find one iota of information on the elusive ‘fan man’, who was a CBD regular in the 1970s. He would wander the streets daily and, catching your eye, pull out an oriental style fan to perform his own brief Madam Butterfly. On the other hand, Sandor Berger, who died in 2006 aged 81, remains one of this city’s great ‘street’ eccentrics. I remember speaking to him at a screening of Ken Loach’s Family Life at the Walker Street Cinema in North Sydney back in the early ‘70s. He had his regular cardboard sign, “Psychiatry Is An Evil – It Must Be Banned”, affixed to his back and was handing out his hand-printed flyers. Hungarian born and a survivor of Auschwitz, he would have arrived in Australia in 1949 as a young man baring enormous trauma – his parents, grandparents and other family members had all gone to the gas chamber. Thankfully his prolific output of poems, erotic fiction and numerous largely unpublished letters to the Sydney Morning Herald have survived in both the State Library and the National Archives. With any amount of bizarre, perverse, and outrageous behaviour readily observable on the internet today, the days of the ‘street’ eccentric capturing our attention would appear long gone. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future, a backlash against homogenisation and the social pressures therein, will see a new breed of eccentrics take to the streets of Sydney, as omnipresent as parking inspectors and hoons on a Saturday night.

NO PLACE FOR ECCENTRICITY

Photo: Joseph Mayers

BY RITA “WBRATOVICH hat happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” This line from Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” gave Lorraine Hansberry the title for her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun, the first written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. Sixty-three years later, the dreams of actors Angela Mahlatjie and Adolphus Waylee are not deferred. The pair forms part of the 9-strong cast in the first ever major Australian theatre company production of the play at Sydney Theatre Company. As Waylee says - “When I got the call that I got the job I couldn’t believe it… especially as it’s the first time it is being done professionally in Australia and I’m going to be a part of that Writtenhistory.”amid the turbulence of a nascent civil rights movement, A Raisin in the Sun follows an intergenerational African American family in 1950s Chicago - the Youngers - as they try their best to turn loss into legacy after the arrival of a long-awaited life insurance Wesleycheque.Enoch, who directs this production, says he read the play when he was in his 20s and was astounded by it. “I love its conversation around race and colour and prejudice, aspiration and disadvantage caused by racism,” says Enoch, noting that Hansberry delivers those messages subtly, through the dynamics of a nuclear family. “What the writer has given us is a very distinct world of a family to do it. Not that it diminishes any of those stories of race, but at the heart of it is this kind of family drama.” Enoch describes it as a snapshot of American history that is still playing out today - one that has poignant relevance for Australian audiences as well. Previously there was a limited pool of and lack of opportunities for professional actors of colour in Australia - which could explain why it’s taken so long for the play to have a mainstage debut - but that has since changed.

Landing a role in this monumental and rare production was one of those dreams for Mahlatjie. “It’s a blessing, it really is a blessing to be able to do this play for the Sydney Theatre Company and have it reach so many people.

“I think Beneatha and I are quite bold in that way. I think there’s that sentiment of ‘as long as I have my dream in mind, I’ll do anything it takes to get that thing’.”

My wish and my hope is that people of colour come and see this play and see themselves on stage, and see themselves telling a story that is for them, by them, and feel like, ‘oh I am seen here’,” she says.

“He’s an intellectual, he’s passionate, he’s progressive, he’s confident and he’s so proud of his heritage. He’s someone who wants to go back home and make a change to the effort of

A DREAM REALISED: AMERICAN CLASSIC MAKES HISTORY AT STC

Sydney Theatre Company presents the much-revered American play, A Raisin in the Sun, for the first time on an Australian mainstage.

26 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022

Angela Mahlatjie, who plays Beneathaan intelligent and rebellious 20-year-old who wants to study medicine - was born in Botswana in Southern Africa and moved with her family to a small mining town in the Pilbara, WA when she was 14. It was quite a culture shock; suddenly, she went from being the norm to being “Becausealien.you’re young, you’re a teenager, you really want to fit in. And so there’s a lot of - and the play speaks about this a lot - assimilating. You try to slot in and be small and just fit in with all the white kids and pretend nothing’s going on,” says Mahlatjie.

It really is a blessing to be able to do this play... and have it reach so many people

Adolphus Waylee has a similar story. He is originally from Liberia in West Africa and his character, Joseph Asagai, is from Nigeria, also in West Africa. Asagai is one of Beneatha’s suitors.

Angela Mahlatjie and Adolphus Waylee in Sydney Theatre Company’s A Raisin in the Sun, 2022.

She feels a strong affinity with Beneatha, whom she describes as bold, intellectual and radical. Like Beneatha who is determined to be a doctor, Mahlatjie was determined to become an actor and is a graduate of WAAPA.

liberating his people from colonial rule. So that’s the kind of guy that he is,” explains Waylee. His part in this production is a proud and auspicious thing for Waylee, and it also comes with some responsibility. “I think for me it was more about making sure that this story is being told and is being told well.” Nancy Denis has one short scene in the play, but her performance is memorable. She plays Mrs Johnson, an interfering, self-righteous neighbour who visits the Youngers as a self-appointed envoy for the local community. It is one of the most humorous scenes in the play performed with vintage comic genius by AustralianDenis.

Photo: Joseph Mayers Gayle Samuels and Angela Mahlatjie in Sydney Theatre Company’s A Raisin in the Sun, 2022.

27CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 A Raisin in the Sun plays STC’s Wharf 1 Theatre until October 15 | www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Photo: Joseph Mayers

born with Haitian heritage, Denis feels a strong connection with Hansberry’s writing which she says is “so specific it becomes universal”. For Denis, being an artist of colour inherently comes with responsibility. “I think with any show or play or TV or anything that I do as a Black woman born and raised in Australia, who’s nonIndigenous and who’s representing the pan-African diaspora experience, there is always a responsibility there, there is always the sense that I am leaving behind a legacy, and what glass ceilings do I need to break through to make sure that the ones coming after me don’t have to break that one? We’re constantly on that Denisjourney.”believes A Raisin in the Sun needs to become a part of the repertoire for major theatre companies, in the same way that “old white men” plays have Fordone.now, she is thrilled to be part of this momentous production and hopes some starry-eyed little Black girl sitting in the audience will think, as she did once, “yep, I can do that”.

Bert LaBonté and Zahra Newman in Sydney Theatre Company’s A Raisin in the Sun, 2022.

Photo: Joseph Mayers

Nancy Denis, Zahra Newman and Gayle Samuels in Sydney Theatre Company’s A Raisin in the Sun, 2022.

T he story of Rosalind Franklin is the story of so many women in history, especially in the field of science. Her intense study of the DNA molecule using X-ray imagery directly led to identification of the double helix – an apex moment in scientific discovery. Franklin was not, in her lifetime, credited with this important Photographachievement.51 is a play written in 2011 by Anna Ziegler, retrospectively setting the record straight. In it, Ziegler depicts the events that occurred in 1951, during the frantic race among physicists and chemists to be the first to discover the formula for life.

ROSALIND FRANKLIN’S GENIUS WAS IN HER DNA MARK MORELLINI

Funny, dramatic, sexy, emotional and so very Italian (See p.31)

“I hope that Chalkface will be cathartic for teachers, a comic feast they can enjoy with their colleagues and a chance to see their vital work reflected on the stage,” says playwright, Betzein. “This play is a whacky love letter to all those teachers who’ve changed us, who’ve made a difference, who’ve set us on our life’s course. It’s about the need to teach and encourage our kids to resist and question. In an uncertain future those qualities will be more important than ever.”

Josh Piterman delivers a magnificent performance in the much sought after role of the Phantom and Blake Bowden portrays Raoul, the man who will stop at nothing to unleash the Phantom’s obsessive hold over Christine, alternately portrayed by Amy Manford and Bridget TheCostello.cast together with the ensemble, the ballet chorus, the orchestra, and the wizardry that was required to bring this musical hit to the stage, all combine to captivate audiences with an extravagant and memorable night out at the theatre. Opera Australia and Cameron Mackintosh have spared no expense in bringing this epic musical to the stage. The Phantom of the Opera doesn’t come to theatres too often and there is a reason that it has stood the test of time. This show is worth the expense and is irrefutably the ultimate production of the Phantom. Theatregoers who will be attending this musical have no idea of the theatrical magic that’s going to unfold before their very eyes – every moment should be cherished. This is perfect 5 star entertainment and congratulations to all involved, on and off stage. Until Oct 16, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, $99 - $379 + bf; Tickets & www.sydneyoperahouse.cominfo:

ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Ziegler’s play was awarded Best New Play and Play of the Year after it debuted on the West End and has been acclaimed It’sinternationally.animportant and fascinating story and a very late correction to the historical record. Sep 2 - Oct 8, Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli, $40 - $80 +bf; Tickets & info: www.ensemble.com.au

BY DALE BARRETT

Franklin was a distinguished academic and held prestigious positions in a number of university and private research institutions. Her work with X-ray diffraction imaging was pioneering. It was a particular photograph, now famously known as Photograph 51, taken by a student under the supervision of Franklin and her colleague, Maurice Wilkins, that revealed the true nature of DNA. Despite her significant contribution, Franklin was not acknowledged for her work. In fact she was treated with chauvinistic disdain by her mostly white male colleagues, three of whom were awarded a Nobel Prize for the discovery. The Ensemble Theatre presents Photograph 51 at a time when historical revision is in the zeitgeist.

A ward winning playwright, screenwriter and founding member of the independent theatre company, Real TV, Angela Betzien is bringing her new satirical staffroom comedy Chalkface to Sydney this September. The play premiered at Dunstan Playhouse in Adelaide where it was celebrated by critics and teachers alike. Set solely in the confines of a staffroom over the course of a schoolyear, the story situates jaded schoolteacher, Pat (Catherine McClements) opposite idealistic schoolteacher, Anna (Stephanie Sommerville). This odd couple is forced to put aside their differences to defend what they believe is right, even if they have to break a few rules to achieve it. Chalkface aims to poke fun at the privatisation, bureaucracy and workplace culture found within the school Director,system.Jessica Arthur regards Betzein’s play as a tribute to teachers and role models who have a significant impact on the lives of so many people.

Sep 15 - Oct 29, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, $57 - $109 + bf; Tickets & info:Parramatta,cnrNovwww.sydneyoperahouse.cominfo:3-Nov5,RiversideTheatres,Market&ChurchSts,$54-$89;Tickets&riversideparramatta.com.au

he world’s most iconic and beloved musical has returned to Sydney and theatregoers should be mesmerised by this majestic and wondrous production. The musical originally opened in London’s West End in 1986 and has since broken box office records worldwide, procuring audiences who have such adoration for the musical that it’s constantly being revived in some part of the world. Considered an opera by many, this musical was written by Charles Hart with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is told through music and centres on a soprano named Christine Daae who becomes the object of desire of a dark and masked musical genius known as the “phantom of the opera”. Her love develops for Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, but she is also strangely drawn to the phantom, the villain of the piece, who has genuine feelings for Christine. This lavish production which is suitably playing at the Sydney Opera House is infallible in all key areas of production, and is visually stunning with incredulous staging, beautifully designed costumes, and an exceptionally exquisite and enchanting musical score.

NEW PLAY CELEBRATES TEACHERS AT THE ‘CHALKFACE’

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA REVIEW Stephanie

28 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubARTS

The all-star creative team features composer and sound designer Jessica Dunn, set and costume designer Ailsa Paterson, lighting designer Mark Shelton and assistant director Clement Rukundo.

Photo:McClementsandSomervilleCatherineinChalkface.ReneVaile

Prof. Cox hopes the show will inspired awe and optimism. “I’m very excited about what has emerged! I hope the evening will make people think about how fortunate and precious we are, how strange and wonderful our Universe is, and the limitless future we have to look forward to if we make the right choices over the coming decades.” Things can only get better! Oct 13, 7:30pm, Aware Super Theatre, ICC, 14 Darling Dr, Darling Harbour, $100.85 to $224.10 + bf, Tickets & info: lateralevents.com BRIAN COX

P oets, bards, and troubadours will be in full-flight at the Word Travels Australian Poetry Slam (APS) National Final at the Sydney Opera House this AudiencesOctober. will be dazzled with prose, punctuation, performance, and alliteration as Australia’s best wordsmiths spellbind and awe with truth and delivery.

I n the sphere of science education, Professor Brian Cox is a supernova. His shows have broken records for number and speed of tickets sold. He is a champion of Earth and an ambassador for the galaxy and above all else, he makes science easy to understand. Horizons is Prof. Cox’s incredible new show, a cinematic presentation using enormous LED screens that catapult audiences through space.

NEW HORIZONS WITH

POWERHOUSE TO UNVEIL NEW ICONIC CATALINA EXHIBITION

BY ELLIOT HEATH T he iconic Catalina flying boat ‘Frigate Bird II’ will be lowered from the ceiling of the Powerhouse Museum for the first time in over 30 years for a new Captainedexhibition.byearly aviation pioneer Sir P G Taylor, the Catalina undertook the first return flight from Australia to South America, stopping at 7 Pacific Island nations along the way, en route to HeChile.donated the plane to the Powerhouse Museum in 1988, and it has been suspended 10 metres above the Transport Exhibition since then. The new exhibition will feature never seen before artefacts provided by Taylor’s daughters, Susie and Gai, such as a thermos flask which Taylor used to transfer oil to the failing engine on the doomed 1935 flight, a selection of photographic images from the flight, a navigation instrument set, a handcrafted photograph album presented to the crew on arrival in Chile, flags flown by the Catalina in Australia and Chile, and the remnants of a uniform cap destroyed by the aircraft’s propeller during wild conditions departing Easter Island on the outward journey. The announcement in 2020 that the Powerhouse Museum would be moved to a new site in Parramatta brought the future of the Catalina into question, ultimately forcing the Powerhouse Museum to backflip on its plans to move the Catalina to its new site over concerns about the ability to preserve the plane whilst relocating it.

The APS is the most underestimated cultural event on Sydney’s busy calendar; however, this is the event that ALWAYS makes good. There will be laughter and tears and thought-provoking sentiment; wine and cheese and acoustic resonance. This is your call to listen. The door is open. The mic is on. Push into the crowd and find your Australianspot. Poetry Slam (APS) combines stories, poems, theatre and hip-hop in an annual international performing writers’ program. Slam Champion 2021, Huda the Goddess opens the 2022 APS National HudaFinal. the Goddess is the current Australian Poetry Slam Champion and two-time Queensland champ. As a proud African-Muslim woman it is important to her that young women from her community are represented and their stories are shared. Poetry is her connection to communities, land and her people. Watch her encore performances before she hands over her crown. With heats already underway, the competition is heating up. The grand prize? A Writer’s Festival Tour and over $10,000 worth of prizes. The APS is sure to light-up hearts and minds. Swing on by to have your mind-blown in what’s set to be an unforgettable night! Oct 23, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, $45 - $59 + b.f.; Tickets & info: www.australianpoetryslam.com

The high quality display features stunning images of spinning galaxies, treacherous black holes, luminous stars and planets, splitting cells –pictures that explore time, space, where we have come from and where we are going. Joining Cox on stage will be his irreverent but hilarious co-host of popular podcast, The Infinite Monkey Cage, Robin Ince. Producer of Horizons, CEO of Lateral Events Simon Baggs describes the show as the most ambitious and spectacular yet.

THERE IS RHYTHM AND RHYME AT AUSTRALIAN POETRY SLAM 2022 HubARTS

BY JARROD WOLHUTER

“Ever since our first tour with Brian in 2013, the aim has been to invest in technology and live stage techniques to communicate science in better ways, to broader audiences… [I think it ] will have audiences hooked on science more than ever,” he says.

Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah describes the exhibition as a rare opportunity for the public.

29CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022

From Oct 6, Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo, FREE www.maas.museumEntry

Obviously we’re gonna include big songs – without “All By Myself” and “I Have Nothing” and stuff like that, a Whitney concert is not gonna be the same. But we’re going to make it more active and more positive with beats and stuff.” Sep 24, 2pm & 7pm, Concert Hall, The Concourse, 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood, $29 to $65 / Family $170; Tickets & info: premier.ticketek.com.au

“It’s not gonna be better than her, it’s not gonna be the same as her, it’s not going to be even something like her – because Whitney is the one and only, and no one can be like her.”

Mnjoyan is an accomplished musician, singer and composer in a range of genres including pop, jazz, blues, RnB, and songs in her native Armenian language. At age 23, Mnjoyan moved to Sydney. She’d visited Australia on several occasions prior. “I fell in love with nature, the people, the culture – everything!” says Mnjoyan. “The only country where I would try to grow my career would be Australia. Otherwise I would just stay in my country.” It didn’t take long for that growth to start happening. Mnjoyan put together two bands and began performing in Sydney’s best jazz and live music venues; she sang on the Opera House forecourt during Vivid and has done television appearances. It was with a Whitney Houston song, “I Have Nothing”, that Mnjoyan knocked the socks off the judges in The Voice, Aus. She has been a huge fan of Houston from a very early age. In Sydney, Mnjoyan became aware that a lot of tribute concerts were being performed, noting that no one had yet tackled Whitney. She approached conductor and musical director, George Ellis, who had put together the series of “Orchestrated” concerts including tributes to The Beatles, ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, and many more. He liked the idea of doing a Whitney Houston tribute and he connected Mnjoyan with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and things took off from there. Mnjoyan insists that the concert is a tribute and not an impersonation.

30 CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubARTS

THE ARMENIAN VOICE SINGS WHITNEY HOUSTON

One of the headline acts for Chatswood’s Culture Bites Festival this year, is Whitney Orchestrated, a tribute concert featuring the most loved songs of Whitney Houston backed by the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra.

“It’s going to be sort of a party concert. Our goal is to make people feel positive.

Instead, Mnjoyan sees this a an homage from the heart.

Taking on the inconceivable challenge of “being Whitney” is Armenian singer, Masha WhileMnjoyan.she’s not quite as well known in Australia, Mnjoyan is something of a celebrity in her home country: she performed in Junior Eurovision in 2008, then big Eurovision in 2016; she won The Voice Armenia in 2013 and was a finalist in The Voice Australia in 2020.

JOURNEY INTO THE MIND OF DANIEL JOHNS

“It’s going to be like Masha singing Whitney Houston: the way that I feel her, the way that I feel the music, the lyrics and the way I accept music.” Singing an all-Whitney Houston show is something Mnjoyan has always aspired to do. “So yeah, it’s a dream come true!” What Mnjoyan wants is for the audience to share in her joy of Whitney’s music.

“For probably the first time in my life, I’ve sacrificed the art for both my physical and mental health. I had a nervous breakdown, I really f*cked up — I’ve been processing pain and guilt. I’m going on the record now to talk about the dark but also the light.” Looking towards the future, Johns is collaborating with Australia’s record label BMG and award-winning exhibition creators at Radio Velvet in the hope of delivering an experience that will defy conventions and boundaries. Through interactive instalments and iconic memorabilia, the Past, Present & FutureNever exhibition hopes to transport visitors into the creative, fascinating and haunting mind of Daniel FounderJohns. and managing director of Radio Velvet Angus Kingsmill rates the Past, Present & FutureNever as the best show they’ve ever presented: “This exhibition stands alone in terms of detail and storytelling. Our biggest, yet most personal, spectacular and immersive to-date”. $5 from every ticket sale will go to FutureNeverFund, a charitable fund created by Johns that aims to help build better futures for people and animals in need. Past, Present & FutureNever, Aug 26 - Oct 9, 2022, Rialto Hotel, Melbourne, Tickets & info: radiovelvet.com Inside The Mind Of Daniel FutureNeverwww.youtube.com/c/DanielJohnsHQJohnswww.futurenever.art

BY DALE BARRETT Multi award winning ARIA artist, Daniel Johns is launching his most ambitious and career defining project yet, titled Past, Present & FutureNever. The project is a revolutionary art experience and opens in Melbourne from the 26th ofAugust – 9th October 2022. The experience explores Johns’ journey as an artist, navigating his way through the ‘90’s Australian grunge scene to his most recent album, FutureNeverFutureNever. has been praised by both fans and critics and has dominated the 2022 music charts, becoming the longest serving top #2, #3, #5 and #10 Australian album release this year. Johns is hoping to follow up this album’s success with his exhibition in Melbourne. He describes it as “providing a greater insight into my creative process and personal life than any live concert could hope to achieve”. This announcement coincides with the launch of Inside The Mind Of Daniel Johns. A three-part docu-series that recounts the artist’s illustrious career. In it, Johns discusses his nervous breakdown, struggles with self-medicating, his time in rehab, and his invitation to former band members from Silverchair to feature on the album FutureNever and his reaction to their “Irejection.askedthem because I wanted to make it clear that I don’t have an issue with them as people – I just didn’t want to play under the banner of Silverchair. Once I’d established myself as an artist outside of Silverchair. I asked them to come again and then when they didn’t want to, I didn’t care,” says Johns. Despite the massive success of Johns’ latest album, it is in no part due to his involvement with its promotion. “I haven’t been there at all to promote FutureNever, so for it to become the chart success it has is testament to the people who have been supporting me and I’m eternally grateful for the love.”

Sept 13 - Oct 12, Screening at all Palace www.italianfilmfestival.com.auCinemas,

REVIEW ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Shadow of the Day

BY MARK MORELLINI

There are many genuinely unsettling scenes of canine gore and jump scare moments in this terrifying man versus beast tale, but the film is ultimately deflated by instances of silly dialogue and implausible inconsistencies Stereotypedthroughout. nonsensical actions by each of the characters who attempted to ‘out-hero’ each other were obviously scripted for dramatic purposes but failed miserably, leading to uncontrollable laughter from Thisaudiences.onlycompounded to the ideology that perhaps the wild beast had more common sense and intelligence than all the characters combined! Beast is suspenseful, boasting stunning cinematography in the African backdrop and utilising a realistic mechanical lion that should send shivers up audience’s spines, but these simply aren’t enough reasons to justify spending hard earned money on watching this ‘dead dog’ – lion that is…

WWWW Screening at the Italian Film Festival 13 - Oct 12

31CITY HUB SEPTEMBER 2022 HubARTS

NOSTALGIA

I t’s extremely rare for Iranian films to receive cinematic releases in Australia, but when they do, moviegoers should know they’re in for a treat.

WW In select cinemas now HIT THE ROAD

REVIEWREVIEW

BY MARK MORELLINI S et in the backdrop of Naples this dark and gritty story asks whether the past should be revisited or whether it should best be left in the Felicepast.Lasco (Pierfrancesco Favino) returns to Naples after a 40 year absence, having lived in Africa and the middle east. Memories of his youth come flooding back, especially of his friendship with Oreste (Tommaso Ragno) who is now one of the most feared mobsters in Naples. Felice is warned not to approach Oreste by the local priest, but why is he determined to meet up with him? And why does Oreste advise him to disappear? What secret do they both harbour that can adversely affect them if revealed to law enforcers?

The Legend of Christmas Witch 2: The Origins is perfect family viewing which tells the origin story of “La Befana”.

WWW1/2 In select cinemas now

Sept

“In Italian folklore, she’s an old Italian woman who delivers gifts to children (not Santa Claus!) and this story centres on Dolores – played by Monica Bellucci –who is a good witch that dedicates her life to Traditionally,children.”audiences enjoy the retrospective titles screened on closing night. When asked why this year’s Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni classic is the perfect closing film, Festival Director, Elysia Zeccola was quick to respond: “Opening with Naples-set drama Nostalgia and closing with Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow which commences in Naples is the perfect way to bookend the festival this year since our special focus is on Naples, the heartbeat of Italian Cinema.”

The Perfect Dinner is described as: “part crime story and part romcom set in Naples and Rome, following Carmine who isn’t cut out for criminal life with the Camorra, who is sent to run a money laundering operation through a Roman restaurant. There he meets a beautiful and determined chef who is chasing a Michelin star.”

The success of this drama can not only be attributed to the effective performances of the A-list cast, but also to the build up in the storytelling process, the atmospheric suspense which leads to an unpredictable and shocking finale. Nostalgia imitates life. There aren’t always happy endings. Nostalgic memories rekindled from the past should sometimes best be obliterated, as Felice unfortunately discovered.

The younger vivacious son who seemingly has most of the dialogue provides some funny moments with his constant chattering. Ultimately however, this is an emotional drama on the border of tragic as a family must come to the realisation that they may never see their eldest son again.

BY MARK MORELLINI

H ow unintelligent do film producers think moviegoers are? Beast centres on a ‘super lion’ in Africa avenging all humans because poachers killed its Interwovenfamily.inthis idiocy, a man and his two daughters are imprisoned in a car in the wilderness with no communication from the outside world in an area closed to the public. The demonic lion attacks them, perhaps desiring a three course Themeal!film stars Idris Elba as the father, heading a very capable cast who unfortunately were not miracle workers – they could only do so much with the material they were given.

This is a highly crafted suspenseful drama, a nostalgic love letter to Naples – actually a tragic postcard, which resonates how friendships change over time and also how it’s impossible to restore elements from the past. The criminal element of this picturesque city is also explored, which may lead sensitive audiences to categorize this film as a cautionary tale.

The father is on the back seat with a broken leg, the mother finds it hard to contain her tears when not laughing, the younger son is an annoying chatter box, Farid is pensive, and the pet dog is dying. Ideally this sounds like the perfect selection of characters to head a laugh out loud comedy that centres on a family and the misadventures they experience on a road trip. However, surprisingly, it’s a drama as Farid is being driven to the Turkish border to be smuggled out of the Notcountry.many details are revealed except that he was released on bail for an undisclosed crime and also that the family home may be lost as their son skipped bail.

BEAST

The film to open this year’s festival is Italy’s box office comedy sensation Belli Ciao, starring comedic duo Pio and Amedeo, which centres on a north versus south Anotherclash.comedy,

T his highly anticipated film festival returns to Sydney with a select program of 37 of the highest achievements in Italian cinema, including comedies, dramas, documentaries, and a retrospective program spotlighting Naples.

BY MARK MORELLINI

Hit The Road, best described as a minor gem, tells the story of a family who are on a mission to take their last road trip together, a road trip that will change their lives Drivingforever.through rugged terrain a father, mother, their younger son, and elder son Farid are on a bittersweet journey that will affect them all emotionally.