Inner West artists challenge anti-Asian racism in new project
Public housing residents speak out against privatisation
ESKIMO JOE: “Postponing takes a toll on your mental health”
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AMAZING GRACE
BY PATRICK MCKENZIE race Truman is impressive. At the age of 16, she has already performed with the Bell Shakespeare Company in Titus Andronicus, The National Theatre of Parramatta and Belvoir St Theatre in productions of Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam, and is in her final year of high school - studying a full HSC course load. I’m sitting down to chat with her in the living room of her family home in Birchgrove – the same one that features throughout the web series she’s cocreated with her Mum. “I’ve literally just come out of a chemistry assessment,” she tells me. The inspiration for the web series, Graceful: Amazing Grace series two, is immensely personal. In late 2014 her father, AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter and actor Jeff Truman, passed away suddenly. Inspired by the stories and memories that he left behind, Grace and her Mum, director and producer Julie Money, devised a series that they would create and write together to celebrate him, with Grace as the star and her Mum in the Director’s chair. “We decided that we needed to find a way that we could remember my Dad so that we could keep his memories alive. The web series format is so flexible and gave us so much freedom, we could put it out there for free and everyone could access it, and we could share my Dad’s stories with as many people as possible.”
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Inner West Actress deals with grief via new web series
A HEALING PROCESS
The series follows Grace, playing a slightly fictionalised version of herself, dealing with the throes of her teenage years in high school. At the beginning of every episode, she sings its theme: “Where are you now that I miss you,” in reference to her Dad, who appears in the show as a sort of imaginary friend that only she can see, serving advice – and plenty of comic relief – in times of struggle. “He’s only appears to me because it’s meant to be me thinking about what he would say. It’s me taking a breath and finding my own way to get through things,” Grace says.
He had a big personality and was always the entertainer This version of her Dad is played by Ben Wood (Top Of The Lake, Underbelly), who may be most familiar to viewers as the perennial father figure and recurring Australian everyman in a vast number of TV commercials over the last decade-and-a-half or so. Wood’s cheerful performance lends some necessary levity to the series’ steady undercurrent of loss and mourning. Grace says Ben was a natural fit for the role. “As soon as we met we had this instant connection... he looks kind of similar to my Dad in many ways. We say that he’s a taller, younger version of him, but he’s got that kind of nature about him that reminds us of my Dad.” Continued on page 4
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IndieNEWS AMAZING GRACE
(Continued from the cover) Across both series, each episode covers familiar themes such as fears, friends, and choices, with the anecdotes her Dad uses to advise and entertain being inspired by real stories that Grace and her Mum have written into the series. “He had a big personality and was always the entertainer.” It’s equal parts Chris O’Dowd’s Moone Boy and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, universal so as to be relatable and entertaining, while also functioning as a carefully-considered autobiography, dipping in and out of situations evidently taken directly from reality. One such episode is Father’s Day, the finale of series one, where Grace and her Mum – played by the legendary Justine Clarke of Play School and All Saints fame – confront what should be a celebratory day which, for them, can’t help but remind them of tragedy. In one scene, they sit on the couch together under a blanket made from Dad’s old shirts. Grace confirms that the blanket was the real deal: “It was an amazing project that a friend offered to do for us and is a really nice connection that we have to him.”
The intention with series two, Grace tells me, was to “step it up.” Thanks to development and production funding from Screen Australia, she and her Mum were able to spend more more time developing story ideas and writing scripts together. “It’s been a long road to get here, we were kind of relieved and excited to be making the second series after getting through so many drafts and applications for funding, which is not an easy process.”
BUILDING ON EXPERIENCE
Besides appearing as an extra in a number of projects directed by her Mum, the bulk of Grace’s acting experience has been in the intervening time since the release of the first crowdfunded series in 2017. She explains that her theatre performance experience taught her a lot about how to approach series two. “I thought a lot more about how I, as a character, could give the words more shape and more colour, especially when we were writing the series. I think for series two I tried to be more detailed and subtle in things I brought to the character.” When I joke about whether she and her Mum ever came up against any creative differences as collaborators, Grace reassures me their working relationship is much alike theirs as mother and
Home working?
daughter; of coming closer together in the face of adversity. “I think we really enjoying working together because we think in a very similar way. We edit each other a bit, and come unstuck at the same point a lot of the time and just talk it through together and find a solution.”
I think he would be so proud of my Mum and what we’ve achieved Their ability to work through challenges has certainly paid off, with series two already earning awards at a number of international digital film festivals, namely the 2020 Digital Media Fest in Rome, where it received both the ‘Best Drama Series’ and ‘Best International Web Series’ awards. “I think he would be so proud of my Mum and what we’ve achieved.” Looking to the future, Grace says she would love to combine her love for science and performance experience somehow. For now, however, she hopes that, with Graceful, viewers that may have had similar experiences will find comfort and reassurance that there is another side to having lost someone in their lives. “I hope viewers can see that if I can get
Grace Truman. Photo: Mark Dickson (Deep Field Photography)
through it, they can get through it. That those problems that, in the moment, seem insurmountable, can be overcome, sometimes it’s just about stopping and taking a breath.” Graceful: Amazing Grace series two is streaming on YouTube now.
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Pride in Protest: what are they fighting for? BY SOOFIA TARIQ n March 6, a crowd of around 3,000 protesters gathered in Taylor Square, ahead of the official Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The protest was organised by activist group Pride in Protest, along with Community Action for Rainbow Rights, NSW Community Advocates for People in Prisons, DIY Rainbow, LGBTI Rights Australia and Sydney Bi+ Network. The NSW Police took Pride in Protest to court in hopes of placing an injunction on the protest due to the march being expected to exceed Covid-19 gathering limits. However, for the first time NSW Health granted exemption to the event a day before, on the condition that increased COVID-19 safety measures are put in place. On the day protesters marched down Oxford Street demanding ‘Black lives matter, kill the bill, no pride in detention and decriminalise sex work’. Pride in Protest organiser, Evan Van Zij found the march to be a success. “We have made sure that pride has taken over the street, that there’s been a real Mardi Gras taken over the streets,” he said. “[We have] spoken about things like black lives matter and killing the religious freedoms bill and the job security it undermines and spoken about the decriminalisation of sex worker from state to state because workers should control their own workplace conditions not police.” However, following the protest, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras board voted to stand down board members Charlie Murphy and Alex Bouchet from Pride in Protest. The board cited conflict of interest and use of the “Mardi Gras” name in the advertising of the protest. Pride in Protest believed it was their left-wing politics, on show in the protest, which led to them being stood down without warning. But what was Pride in Protest’s colourful but controversial march actually all about?
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PETER RABBIT 2 ANIMAL LOGIC Sydney animation studio leading the creative for the new Peter Rabbit film (See p. 23)
Published monthly and freely available throughout the Inner West. Copies are also distributed to serviced apartments, hotels, convenience stores and newsagents throughout the Inner West local council area. Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677. Published by Altmedia Pty Ltd. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, we take no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions. ABN 52 600 903 348 Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Publisher Assistant: Mal Moody Group News Editor: Allison Hore Arts Editor: Jamie Apps Contributors: Allison Hore, Peter Hehir, Kylie Winkworth Samuel Greco Schwartz, Daniel Lo Surdo, Briannah Devlin, Eva Baxter, Rachel Clark, Georgia Robinson, Mark Morellini, Soofia Tariq, Jamie Apps, Irina Dunn, Erika Echternach, Olga Azar, Patrick McKenzie Advertising Managers: Mal Moody 0484 042 615 Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au Cover Photo: Mark Dickson (Deep Field Photography). Grace Truman Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: news@altmedia.net.au, arts@altmedia.net.au Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633
If you have a story, or any comments you’d like to share with us: news@altmedia.net.au
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BLACK LIVES MATTER
The protest stood in solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement. The protest began as a response to the Mardi Gras Board voting down their petition to ban the NSW Police and Correctional Services from participating in the parade in December and Pride in Protest’s mission to return Mardi Gras to its’ ‘radical roots’ of an anti-police Mardi Gras. Despite this the police were present at the protest.
Jenny Leong and Greens supporters at the march. Photo: Soofia Tariq
Greens MP Jenny Leong was in attendance and supported the demand that death in custody and over policing of Aboriginal communities needs to stop. “We recognise that there is no justice in this land, while black people while Aboriginal people are dying at the rate that they had died in many cases at the hands of a systemic racist system,” she said.
We have made sure that pride has taken over the street A similar anti- police group, the Department of Homo Affairs later interrupted the official Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade and were escorted out by police.
KILL THE BILL
The protest also called for the end to the Federal religious freedoms bill, as well as Mark Latham’s education amendments bill, arguing they are transphobic and undermine the job security, education and health care of Trans people. April Holcombe, Community Action for Rainbow Rights co-convenor said of the bill, “this is just a discrimination bill.” “We have had to fight for decades against that, but it never ends with these people in power and that’s why on April 17 Community Action for rainbow rights and other groups are coming together to fight it again, against this bill, but also to stamp out any question of the return of the religious freedoms bill.”
NO PRIDE IN DETENTION
Pride in Protest called for the end of mandatory detention and forced deportation of refugees and strongly advocated for no sexually testing of queer refugees.
There have been multiple reports from organisations such as the Refugee Council of Australia and the Human Rights Watch highlighting reports of gay asylum seekers being abused, assaulted and shunned on both Manus Island and Nauru. Samoan lawyer and refugee rights advocate, Phineas Hartson, said LGBTI people looking to seek asylum in Australia have big “hurdles” they must overcome to do so. “First of all that to make it to this country, and then the major hurdles actually applying for LGBTQ visa and those decisions, is the decisions that are made in the court system with the Department of Immigration, the Australian border force,” Hartson explained. “It’s up to straight conservative, old, wealthy white men who are anti LGBTQ, and they make decisions about our lives.”
DECRIMINALISE SEX WORK
Red Umbrellas were prominent during the protest, symbolizing sex workers. The protesters called for sex work to be full decriminalised in every state and territory. Currently, in New South Wales brothels and sex work are legal. However unless you own or manage a brothel, living on the earnings of a sex worker is illegal. Rosalina Curtis, Chair of the Scarlet Alliance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Working Group said, “we still don’t have the access to direct discrimination protections in New South Wales and we are still fighting for decriminalisation around Australia.” “We need decriminalisation for sex workers to improve workers access to work health and safety and to stop us being harassed and arrested by police for being a sex worker,” she said.
WORD
No one could doubt the psychological impact that Covid-19 has had on young people around the world, and it’s been no different in Australia, where youth mental health was already a serious concern well before the pandemic. According to Beyond Blue, over 75% of mental health issues become apparent before the age of 25 and, shockingly, suicide is the major cause of loss of life in young people.
ON THE STREET
In the Inner West of Sydney, police youth liaison officers report an alarming rise in incidents of violent attacks by and against young people in the neighbourhood’s parks and reserves since MarchApril 2020, when schools were shut temporarily. Now, a new survey by La Trobe University has found that 81% queer youth nationally report high or very high levels of psychological distress. For Addison Road community Organisation, the mental health stress exacerbated by the pandemic is more than just heart-wrenching statistics. As a broad-based community development organisation, we engage with young people in many different ways, from our all-welcome lowcost Food Pantries in Marrickville and Camperdown, to the annual Public Schools Arts Festival.
Young people today have so much on their shoulders but perhaps too few opportunities to speak out and be seriously heard. During the hardest months of the pandemic in 2020, we provided assistance to young people from many walks of life through our Food Relief Hub, working with other organisations like Twenty10, Marrickville Youth Resource Centre and Weave Youth & Community Services. Many young people who come to us for food relief get on board as volunteers in the Addi Road Food Pantry or Food Relief Hub, demonstrating the powerful principle of mutual aid. They’re gaining work experience, developing skills and contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by helping us divert food from going into landfill. Offering opportunities and support to young people in our community is something we have been doing at Addi Road for many years, especially in Youth Week.
Ifeoma Obiegbu, former winner of Bankstown Poetry Slam’s Real Talk, will lead one of Addi Road’s Word on the Street workshops.
This year, we’re taking an extra-creative approach to Youth Week with our events. Word on the Street is a series of three poetry-spoken word workshops, followed by an all-ages poetry SLAM where participants can try out their new work, alongside established writers, poets and performers. The workshops, led by experienced, dynamic young poets, will help participants develop their own creative vision and voice – individual, idiosyncratic, reflective or angry. Young people today have so much on their shoulders and so much to say, but perhaps too few opportunities to speak out and be seriously heard. Recognising that LGBTIQ youth experience even higher rates of psychological distress, self-harm and suicide – while youth services generally cannot keep up with demand – we will be raising funds for Twenty10’s LGBTIQ youth support services at the Word on the Street Poetry SLAM at that follows the workshops.
$20 per workshop or free for participants referred by a youth service. Tickets from Humanitix. Word on the Street – Poetry SLAM for all ages at Addi Road, Friday, 16th April, 6pm supported by Sara Saleh, a Bankstown Poetry Slam director and recent winner of the prestigious Peter Porter Poetry Prize. The all-ages Friday night SLAM provides a public platform for participants in our spoken word workshops (13-15th April) to perform their new work. It is also open to any others who wish to come along and celebrate the power of words to create change in our lives and communities. You don't need to book – just come along to listen and support or perform.
Word on the Street at Addi Road 13-16th April
Word on the Street takes place in our large Covid-safe community space, Gumbramorra Hall. Refreshments from the Addi Road Food Pantry will be available in the Hall, and from the delicious Koshari Korner Egyptian food truck outside. Live captioning and Auslan interpreting available – please get in touch with Mina to arrange on 9569 7633 programs@addiroad.org.au
Poetry-spoken word workshops for young people (12-25 years) led by experienced performance
Word on the Street at Addi Road workshops and poetry slam are supported by Inner West Council.
Welcoming you to a Fairer Friday
Food rescue and security
We are inviting organisations and individuals who would like to run outreach, information or activity tables on any Friday throughout the year to come join our Community.a.Fair mini-hubs.
Addi Road Food Pantry is open at two locations: here in the centre at Marrickville; and at our new store in Camperdown. Building on six years of food rescue and food security work with the community, we provide low-cost groceries and free fruit, vegetables and bread to people in need, no questions asked. We are always seeking food and financial donors along with volunteers. Enquiries foodpantry@addiroad.org.au
By MINA BUI JONES
As well as meeting the community, it’s an opportunity for services and civil society groups to connect in an informal setting. The atmosphere is relaxed, with music, tea, coffee and snacks and the occasional BBQ. It’s a great platform for conversation and community building. The Addi Road Community.a.Fair mini-hubs are held in the sunshine, or under shady trees, in front of the Addi Road Food Pantry at Hut One, Addison Road Community Centre. Fridays are usually busy at our Food Pantry. This is also the day young migrant workers and international students come to access our Food Relief Hub. Mel Ree from Australian Poetry Slam will lead one of Addi Road’s Word on the Street workshops
poets from across Sydney (details to follow on social media) Wednesday to Friday, 13-16th April.
Addi Road Food Pantry Marrickville, Monday to Friday 12-4pm Addi Road Food Pantry Camperdown, Tuesday to Friday 12-4pm
Please let us know a few days ahead if you are interested in participating. Enquiries: programs@addiroad.org.au
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I AM NOT A VIRUS: How Inner West artists are fighting back against racism He links it with the idea of Batman’s mask, in the way that people feared Batman, but also associated him with power and strength. In this way he wants to take back the power surrounding wearing a mask by “strategically exploiting symbols of fear.” Both artists hoped to draw attention to the issue of Asian racism in a nontraditional way so non-Asian Australians can better understand it. Susan hopes that by using humour in her artwork, “it will help create a positive dialogue between all Australians, where we can feel safe, welcome and appreciated for our differences.”
CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO
Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, spoke to the Inner West Independent about the importance of the #IAmNotAVirus phrase and the creative ways in which people are approaching it.
One of the I Am Not a Virus artworks. Photo: Kevin Bathman
BY GEORGIA ROBINSON sian based racism is an issue which has existed for as long as Asian people have been migrating to Australia, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated it for Asian people all over Australia and the world.
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A “COVID-19 Racism Incident Report” released by the Asian Australian Alliance and Osmond Chiu at the Per Capita Thinktank in 2020 revealed the racist experiences of over 410 AsianAustralians and showed a “clear pattern of racist attacks against Asians and Asian Australians as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 40 percent of these incidents were in public and the majority of perpetrators were unknown to the respondents, with one respondent saying that they were, “driving past a car, [where the] passengers screamed out ‘CORONAVIRUS’ then left laughing.” Close to 60 percent of racist experiences involved physical or verbal harassment with the most common type of racism being in the form of racial slurs and name calling. 90 percent of these incidents were not reported to the police.
FROM VIRAL HASHTAG TO ART
Diversity Arts Australia partnered with the Asian Australian Alliance on the report and used its results, in addition to results from their own survey, as a basis for their “I Am Not A Virus” arts initiative. #IAmNotAVirus is a trending 6
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international hashtag which brings light to issues of COVID-19 related racism on social media. Diversity Arts Australia took inspiration from this hashtag in naming their initiative as the project allows Asian-Australian artists to bring light to issues of COVID-19 racism through their art. 48 artists from around Australia were chosen to produce artworks which reflect their experiences with racism and address the issue, ten of whom were from the Inner West.
Racism is a social disease and it needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency Kevin Bathman, the project producer, hopes that when the art pieces are released they are experienced mainly by non-Asian Australians. “I think they [non-Asian Australians] are able to understand the issue in a more nuanced way, as they are experiencing it rather than just reading it.” Susan Chen was one of the Inner West artists chosen for the project and she spoke to the Inner West Independent about her artwork and her experiences with racism. She spoke about how at the beginning of the pandemic she became anxious to leave the house and when she did she “experienced uncomfortable looks and the occasional racial mutterings from usually older non-Asian males.”
For Susan, the concept of privilege and control in society was one of the main issues that COVID-19 brought up for her. “Life for non-white Australians can at times feel like it is a game, where we mustn’t stray from the rules for fears of racial backlash,” she said. She took this idea of a social game, and made it the inspiration behind her visual arts piece, using the Chinese game Mahjong as the premise for her work. “The oversized tiles feature symbols and words that reflect the slurs, stereotypes, casual racist remarks and patronising platitudes that COVID has reinvigorated.”
FEAR BECOMES HATE
Benjamin Hoh was another Inner West artist chosen and he had similar experiences of uncomfortable looks and racist remarks when going out in public during the pandemic, especially when wearing a mask. He spoke about an explicit experience of racism while walking his son home from school, when a white Australian lady shouted, “You’ve got the plague f*** off.” Ben was an early mask wearer and often felt that people looked at him as a “disease vector” as a result of connections made between his ethnicity and his mask. In his artwork, he has taken inspiration from the racist fear stereotypes surrounding mask wearing and paired it with the superhero mask metaphor.
“I think it’s really crucial to have ways to challenge the status quo around some of these assumptions and so a project like this is a crucial part of how we step up and be actively anti-racist,” she said. Ms. Leong was inspired to become politically active as a result of the “outrageous policies” proposed by politicians like Pauline Hanson and specifically the racist ways in which refugees and asylum seekers were being spoken about. “It was very much the idea of discrimination and racism that inspired me to get politically active.” She agrees that the coronavirus has contributed to an increase of antiChinese and anti-Asian sentiment and through reports such as the one by the Asian Australian Alliance, “it is clear that people are underreporting issues of racism they’re experiencing in the community.” When asked whether they felt racism still exists in the Inner West, despite it being a progressive area, Ben, Susan and Ms. Leong all agreed that it in fact did. Susan says that although the Inner West is progressive, “it is not immune from racism and racist attitudes”, with Ben adding people will still feel entitled to make racist remarks; “an area’s diversity doesn’t necessarily mean its completely progressive.” “If we are going to solve issues of racism in our society we need to recognise that racism is there and accept that it is there in our society,” said Ms. Leong.
IndieNEWS
Protesters disrupt Glebe auction T BY ALLISON HORE he auction of a three bedroom terrace house in Glebe was disrupted by protesters. On the evening of the 10th of March, public housing residents and advocates surrounded the front of a terrace house at 92 Cowper Street in Glebe in an attempt to disrupt an auction which was planned to take place there. Ready with drums and whistles and other noise makers, they hoped the commotion would disrupt the auction. Described in the listing as a “Victoria corner-terrace” and “blank canvas opportunity” which “will have potential renovators and investors looking to add immediate value,” the Cowper street house is a three-bedroom public housing unit but is being sold off to private owners. “This 3 bedroom family house should have been refurbished and made available for a low income family,” said Emily Vallentine, a public housing resident who lives in the nearby Franklyn Street estate, which is also under threat from privatisation. “Instead of selling off public housing,
the government should be building thousands of new public homes each year, providing many urgently needed jobs at the same time.”
They may get a good price for this, but in comparison to what’s needed, it’s chicken feed
As the 6pm start time for the auction rolled around, no sign was up at the property, no estate agent turned up and bidders were nowhere to be seen. A lone security guard standing out the front of the house was the only sign that something had been planned. The following morning property agents confirmed that the house had been sold at an off-site auction, arranged as a result of the planned rally.
“IT’S CHICKEN FEED”
Denis Doherty of Hands Off Glebe, the group that organised the rally, said while that’s a lot of money for the average Sydney-sider, it’s just a drop in the ocean of the billions of dollars the government requires to build new public housing projects.
Protesters outside the terrace house in Glebe which is up for sale. Photo: Allison Hore
“They may get a good price for this, but in comparison to what’s needed, it’s chicken feed,” he said. “This is a piece of valuable property, it’s good for a family. If you’ve got public housing, you’ve got a place to stay and from there you can break all sorts of cycles.” Mr. Doherty admitted saving the property was “a lost cause” as the government had already decided to put it up for sale and buyers would have a lot of interest
in it. However, he said the protest was important for the “symbolism” and he was heartened by the larger-thanexpected turn-out and the curious passersby who stopped to show their support. “Behind closed doors they have done all the work, and we know as activists if you’re not on the table then you’re probably on the menu,” he said. “And Glebe is on the menu at the moment.”
It’s Time For Holistic Consent Education in our Schools [TW: Discussion of sexual assault] If you’ve been reading the news this month you will agree that there is a problem with the way we are dealing with consent and sexual assault in NSW. The recent initiative started by a former school student under the banner Teach Us Consent saw thousands of testimonies of sexual assault amoungst young people in highschool settings. This has brought into focus the catastrophic failings in the way that consent is taught in our school curriculum. Thousands of current and former NSW highschool students have now come forward to bravely disclose their experiences of sexual assault while at school, as well as their opinions of the consent education they received which they have shown to be severely lacking. @jennyleong.newtown
It is clear from these testimonials that the systemic lack of understanding of consent amongst young people has led both to lax attitudes towards assault from perpetrators and those in positions of authority, and to general responses of victim blaming, even from survivors themselves. Giving young people a thorough understanding of respect and consent at the right time is vital in dismantling toxic attitudes towards women and sexual activity in general.
Consent education is not a new concept, and it is well past time that the NSW Government brings together experts and young people to develop consent curriculum that is age appropriate, culturally sensitive and effective. That is why our office is so pleased to sponsor a NSW Parliament e-petition from Teach Us Consent @jennyleong
to bring this matter to the NSW Parliament as soon as possible. The petition has been backed by women MPs from across the political spectrum and requires 20,000 signatures to trigger a debate in the Legislative Assembly on the need for earlier and more holistic consent education in our schools. Scan the code to sign the petition now.
SCAN ME
Yours sincerely,
Jenny Leong MP Greens Member for Newtown
@jennyleong.newtown
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Blasting scrapped, concern remains BY DANIEL LO SURDO proposal by the WestConnex’s joint-venture contractor to undertake tunnel blasting beneath Leichhardt’s 36th Battalion Park and Pioneers Memorial Park has been abandoned. The decision was made formal in last month’s construction update after a WestConnex spokesperson revealed to Inner West Independent on February 16 that blasting was “highly unlikely” to occur in the Leichhardt area. Joint-venture contractor Acciona Samsung Bouygues determined it was not necessary to change construction methodology after monitoring ground conditions and excavation as part of the WestConnex M4-M5 Link Tunnels Project. “The Contractor has determined that controlled blasting will not be required in Leichhardt or elsewhere on the project. Tunnelling will continue with roadheaders,” a WestConnex spokeswoman said. Member for Balmain Jamie Parker welcomed the contractor’s decision, but expressed concern for households continuing to be overwhelmed by the excavation.
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“Of course this news will come as a huge relief to all those residents whose homes sit over the blast zone,” Mr. Parker said
Protestors opposing the WestConnex construction in Leichhardt. Photo: Leichhardt Against WestConnex “The noise, dust and disruption couldn’t have come at a worse time with many locals still working from home and unable to escape the 24/7 construction noise. It’s been horrendous.”
CONTINUED APPREHENSION
Parker’s sentiment was echoed by Leichhardt Against WestConnex (LAW) Co-Convenor Jennifer Aaron, who, despite the blasting decision, understands community apprehension surrounding the use of roadheaders persist. “Leichhardt Against WestConnex welcomes the [Contractor’s] decision not to proceed with blasting in Leichhardt,” Aaron said in March. Ms. Aaron fears that landowners will struggle to receive fair compensation for the potential damage caused to their property by roadheaders.
This news will come as a huge relief to all those residents whose homes sit over the blast zone. Photo: Supplied
“Based on the experience of property owners impacted by tunnelling and construction in other stages of this project, residents and property owners are not confident that either the … contractors or the NSW Government [will be] accepting responsibility for damage or dealing with property damage claims,” she said. Ms. Aaron also raised uneasiness with the termination of the WestConnex Community Reference Groups, which previously functioned to offer a forum for feedback and discussion between the project team and community representatives. “The recent abolition … has removed
an opportunity for these concerns to be raised directly with senior people from the project teams and Transport for NSW,” Aaron said. “It is not currently clear what the forum for raising concerns reported to LAW will be going forward.” The final breakthrough for the M4-M5 Link Tunnels excavation is expected later in 2021 when the Haberfield and Camperdown/Annandale teams meet under Leichhardt. Roadheaders are a piece of tunnelling equipment with a conveyor, a cutter and a crawler travelling track to ensure the machine moves forward into the rock face.
IndieNEWS
Fighting back against privatisation that they’re going to relocate us ... it’s the way it’s being done: no information from the Department of Housing at all, we have not been told a thing, so that leaves everything up in the air as to where we’ll be relocated to as well.”
ALLIES ACROSS SYDNEY
Beyond the 42 households of Explorer Street stands an expansive network of supporters allied with the tenants in their battle against the Land and Housing Corporation. Blair projects an air of gratification when asked about the transcendent backing her community has held against a naturally unnerving adversary.
Louisa Blair photographed in her Explorer Street back garden. Photo: Daniel Lo Surdo
BY DANIEL LO SURDO eading an emotion-fuelled campaign against the monoliths of the NSW Government is a responsibility Louisa Blair never thought she would shoulder.
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The 30-year resident of the Explorer Street public housing estate in Eveleigh describes herself as more bashful than boisterous; not the sort to ordinarily welcome newcomers into her living room with tea and chocolate biscuits. But when Blair spots injustice, she refuses to stay silent. “I’m quite shy in a lot of ways [but] if I see people being mistreated it really provokes something in me,” Blair told the Inner West Independent. “It makes me so angry and disgusted.” Indignation once directed at wrongdoings afar took on a new personal level in November last year, when Blair first learned of the relocation her community were to undertake in the latter half of 2022. The Land and Housing Corporation’s proposal would also spell removal for the empty-nesting Blair, a founding member of the Eveleigh housing estate in 1991, who found Explorer Street while completing her Bachelors’ Degree in Social Science & Policy at UNSW. Blair contends that inner-city living in the early ‘90s was far from the gentrified splendour marketed to the tertiaryeducated professionals of today. The proposed renewal in Eveleigh, just south of Macdonaldtown Station, comes as part of the Berejiklian Government’s plans to deliver new social and market homes across the City of Sydney Local Government Area, with residents of Glebe’s Franklyn Street and Waterloo’s public housing estate growing similarly concerned with the uncertainties of their future.
RESIDENTS RALLY TOGETHER
“Jenny Leong has been fantastic, she has been really supportive of this issue and really communicating with residents in the local area, and is genuine about it,” Blair said.
Greens,” Leong told the Inner West Independent. “We will be doing all we can to ensure that this demolition never goes ahead.”
STANDING STRONG
Friends of Erskineville President Andrew Chuter has seen firsthand the effects of the Land and Housing Corporation’s inner-city public housing offensive and has mobilised his local resident organisation in concert with the tenants of the neighbouring Eveleigh estate. “It’s a sinking feeling with what’s gradually happening to [the residents],” Chuter told Inner West Independent. “We’re concerned for all Department of Housing tenants … we’re willing to challenge the Government on this.”
Deb Lucero has been neighbours with Blair for the past 19 years of her life. From her three-bedroom townhouse, she has raised two children, served in a nearby Waterloo childcare centre and established deep-seated connections throughout the Eveleigh community. Now with the threat of relocation towering above her home, Lucero credits her longtime neighbour with pioneering the new wave of civic participation in Explorer Street.
Sitting quiet may be the easiest thing to do, but what we see is the injustice “A lot of people don’t know what to do or how to make their voice heard,” Lucero said. “Hav[ing] somebody like Louisa that’s being very proactive in getting information out there [and] reassuring neighbours and residents of Explorer Street that there is a way our voice can be heard … is why a lot of us are willing to speak up about it.” “Sitting quiet may be the easiest thing to do, but what we see is the injustice.” Lucero refers to the cruelties of the Land and Housing Corporation throughout the past six months, mistreatment that Blair labelled “shocking”. “We first got that lovely little leaflet dropped in the letterbox that basically stated that we were going to be moved on … and around June 2022 we would all be out of our properties,” Lucero said. “We had no idea at all, and the fact that it was simply a letterbox drop was not okay.” “It’s not that we’re saying it’s not fair
Explorer Street resident Deb Lucero. Photo: Daniel Lo Surdo
“[When] the issue came up a few years ago, she came up knocking on everyone’s door saying ‘if I get elected then I will make sure this doesn’t happen, it’s about communities and neighbourhoods, not about profiting developers’.” Leong has been the NSW Legislative Assembly Member for Newtown since 2015. From Macquarie Street, the Greens MP has assumed statewide party responsibilities for housing and homelessness, human rights and multiculturalism. Since November, Leong has been liaising with Blair and the Explorer Street community to champion an assertive opposition to the renewal. “There is strong community support behind the residents - and I have made it clear that demolishing public housing, building private units on public land and tearing down family homes will never be supported by the
With the renewal still in its early planning phase, the Land and Housing Corporation maintains that residents will be notified at least six months before relocation will be required, with a specialist relocations team engaging with each tenant to identify a suitable property for their respective needs. When discussing the negative stereotyping attached to inner-city public housing tenants, Blair grows frustrated. “I have a tertiary education, I’ve worked and studied my whole life, I’ve worked various jobs so that if I’m not getting income from one source I’ve always got a backup,” Blair said. “Everyone I know here has just been working really hard and bringing their children up their whole lives.” Blair pauses, before speaking the idiom so aptly reflective of those mistreated or marginalised in Australian civil society. “The rich get richer, and the poor get the picture.” INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
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Opinion
Museum of Flood Engineering and Innovation at Parramatta
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Floods along the Parramatta River Walk, where the Powerhouse will be constructed. Photo: Twitter/raghavhosmar
BY KYLIE WINKWORTH or the second time in 13 months the Parramatta River broke its banks and washed across the site of the Powerhouse Parramatta development. It was a bad look for the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) which is trying to raise $75m for the project. Images of the brown torrent of debris-laden water raised fresh doubts about the wisdom of the NSW Government’s decision to approve the $1b development on a site that is in a high risk flood zone. The NSW Government has never explained why the constrained Phillip St site was selected for Parramatta’s new museum, spruiked as the largest cultural investment since the Sydney Opera House. The business lobby wants the development there to support Parramatta’s night-time economy. They have been quick to dismiss the heritage value of Willow Grove which is in the way of museum progress. It has a remarkable history of women’s ownership and business enterprise. Willow Grove is now the focus of a Green Ban and a potent heritage battle about the neglect of women’s heritage places. The appropriateness of selecting a flood prone site for a new museum was never investigated in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project. This is a site that is so exposed to flooding that an undercroft is required for the conveyance of floodwaters. It will be the first museum in the world designed to allow high velocity floodwaters up to 4m metres deep to flow underneath the museum.
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The Powerhouse intended to use the undercroft for exhibitions, public programs, a café and community activities, until it was ruled out by the Department of Planning’s flood expert.
CHANCES OF FLOODING? NOT ZERO.
After more questions last weekend about the flood risks on the Powerhouse Parramatta site MAAS issued a reassuring statement that the engineering work by ARUP “will ensure that the ground level of the museum will never be impacted by a flood event”.
Will the museum be safe for
collections? We don’t know
This is not correct. ARUP’s own report for the EIS shows the Powerhouse Parramatta has a 12 percent chance of a flood occurring in the 100 year design life of the museum. That is not never. Will the museum be safe for collections? We don’t know. The flood risks to the museum’s collections were never investigated in the EIS. A Flood Damages Assessment is a condition of consent, but that work will not be done until the building is ready for occupation. It is extraordinary that the NSW Government is poised to spend over $1b on a museum and will not know if the development is fit for purpose until after it is built. No wonder museum experts and community groups are calling for the museum to be relocated to the more expansive Fleet St precinct in north Parramatta. Anywhere else but Parramatta it would be a World Heritage listed museum. And safe from floodwaters too.
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Dawny delays: Council referred to auditor
BY ALLISON HORE nner West mayor Darcy Byrne has referred his own council for investigation after repeated delays to the reopening of Balmian’s beloved Dawn Fraser baths. The Dawny, Australia’s oldest public pool, closed in September 2019 for extensive renovations to preserve its heritage and to make it safer for swimmers. Initially, the council said the pool would be reopened “well before the October 2020 swimming season.” October 2020 rolled around and unforeseen structural issues set the pools’ reopening back until boxing day. But as that date also came and went, there was no further news as to when the pool would reopen. In January a council spokesperson told the Inner West Independent most of the $8 million works at the pool had been completed, but there were challenges in the installation of fire safety features. “A date for opening has not yet been set due to some challenges with supplying water to fire hydrants and sprinklers for emergency services,” the spokesperson said. “Engineers are finalising plans for the water pipe which will be installed down a steep bank while protecting significant trees.” The delays to the reopening of the baths, and lack of information in regards to a timeline, have caused widespread backlash from the community. But on Tuesday, Labor mayor Darcy Byrne wrote to NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford requesting she probe his own council staff’s handling of the restoration works. “While I am very proud to have fought for and delivered the full funding that has secured the future of our famous pool, the ongoing delays to the reopening, which the community was promised would take place last year, have been unacceptable,” Mr. Byrne said. Mayor Byrne says the community are not the only ones being left in the dark on the progress of the restoration, but that he also has been out of the loop. He said in a statement posted to his Facebook page that he has been “insisting upon receiving information and updates about the completion of the project continuously, since the opening was first delayed in December.” Mr. Byrne admitted that upgrading the Dawny was “always going to be a complicated job,” but he said the fact that there was little transparency in the progress of the upgrades raises “serious concerns about accountability” to the community. “This is simply not good enough and in the interests of transparency and probity
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Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne has referred the council to the auditor general over its handling of the Dawny renovations. Photo: Inner West Council & AAP
I have referred the management of the project for independent investigation,” he said.
COUNCILLORS TAKEN BY SURPRISE
But the mayor’s move has raised eyebrows among other councillors who say they were not made aware of the decision prior to Mr. Byrne going public with it.
At no stage has he brought council together, at no stage has he asked for an internal review Speaking to the Inner West Independent, John Stamolis, an independent councillor in the Balmain ward of the Inner West council, said while Mayor Byrne has taken ownership of the muchneeded Dawn Fraser Baths renovation, he hasn’t taken responsibility for the numerous delays. Councillor Stamolis slammed the mayor’s move to bring the matter before the auditor general calling it “completely irresponsible.” He said while the delays were a serious issue, the mayor had carried out no internal review process before putting it to the auditor general, and hadn’t sought advice from other
councillors before making his decision. “At no stage has he brought council together, at no stage has he asked for an internal review, at no stage has he brought the general manager and project managers together with the council and councillors,” he said. “There are internal reviews that can be done, there is information that councillors should be aware of, and here we are reading in the Sydney Morning Herald his approach is to go to the auditor general.” Mr. Stamolis said passing the responsibility of the matter on to the auditor general should have been a last resort, rather than the first course of action taken. He believes the move is more an exercise in shifting accountability for the delays than a genuine attempt to get to the bottom of them. “This has been the biggest fundamental concern for the four years of this council, communication, and the mayor has done very little to resolve it,” he said.
POOL POLITICS
In the 2017 Inner West council election, Labor did especially well in the Balmain ward earning an 11 percent swing from the Greens and almost 43 percent of the total vote. But Mr. Stamolis said the
council’s failure to deliver on the pool, and other key projects, is impacting the Labor mayor’s popularity in the ward. “Darcy’s getting hammered in this ward, it’s a key deliverable for the Balmain ward, and he’s getting hammered that there’s two seasons out, so he has to throw the blame,” he said. Meanwhile, Balmain swimmers are being left high and- quite literally- dry as to when they will be able to dive into the Dawny again. In his Facebook post, Mr. Byrne said a date for the reopening of the pool still cannot be confirmed but the council is working on a number of ideas to keep the pool busy even in the cooler months. “My proposal that Dawny’s remain open across this year, with a range of recreation and social activities to take place there will still be proceeding, with a report detailing these plans to be tabled at the April Council meeting,” he said. Last month the council resolved to extend the swimming season at the baths until at least the end of May and to waive the entry fee for two weeks upon opening as a gesture of good will. The next Inner West council election is set to take place in September of this year after COVID-19 postponed the 2020 local government elections. INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
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Efendy wins at small business ‘Oscars’
Head chef and owner Somer Sivrioglu wants people to come to the restaurant and learn more about the ancient Anatolian cuisine. Photo: Briannah Devlin
BY BRIANNAH DEVLIN “Fourteen years ago, my vision was to open the first modern Turkish nd the ‘Oscar’ for the ‘Champion restaurant in Australia,” Mr. Sivrioglu Restaurant’ goes to… Efendy said. Restaurant! (Applause erupts around The ICC Sydney) “And a lot of people who haven’t travelled to Turkey don’t know about the Balmain’s Efendy Restaurant on Elliott depth of the cuisine. So we thought it Street has taken home ‘Champion would be a great idea to showcase that. Restaurant’ at the Australian Small Business Champion Gala Dinner and “It’s about sharing, it’s about warmth, Awards Ceremony. carrying abundance.” They were among other winners across the country, with the awards HIGH PRAISE IN TOUGH TIMES aiming to recognise “outstanding” This is the first time that Efendy’s small businesses and “encourage high Restaurant has received this award, standards of excellence.” and for Mr. Sivrioglu, it has been an “The Australian Small Business honour to be “saluted” in such tough Champion Awards is a way to recognise times. the efforts of small business people “This is a great award because it is for whose efforts contribute to the small businesses which is the backbone prosperity and vitality of communities of the Australian economy,” he said. across Australia,” said award founder “And it’s also great to and Managing have that in probably It’s about sharing, it’s Director of Precedent the toughest year that Solutions, Steve Loe. about warmth, carrying our industry has ever I sat down with Efendy abundance faced. So yeah, that Restaurant’s owner makes us very happy.” and head chef, Somer Last year, the restaurant had to close as Sivrioglu, to talk about what the award a consequence of COVID-19, but unlike means for the small business. other venues, they were lucky to re“There were quite a lot of really good open after a month. To survive, Efendy’s candidates,” he said. restaurant adopted a takeaway model. “I think there were about like seven “The community support has been or eight restaurants, we were quite incredible during the crisis,” Mr. pleasantly surprised.” Sivrioglu said. Now, the trophy and certificate can In the height of COVID, Somer said stand tall and proud with the other customers would say that Efendy national and statewide accolades the “need[ed] to make sure that [they] don’t modern Turkish restaurant has won go anywhere.” over the years. Customers were determined to keep They have received Inner West Efendy’s afloat and asked to purchase Local Business Awards ‘Outstanding Somer’s book, and restaurant Restaurant’ in 2013, Business Achiever merchandise. Awards in 2010, Best Specialty “A lot of people understand the value of Restaurant, Best Turkish Restaurant restaurants in this time and how much and Somer has been awarded GQ Chef we miss them.” of the Year just to name a few.
Communication fell with trees at Callan Park BY BRIANNAH DEVLIN esidents were appalled and saddened to learn that on the 26th of February, 10 trees were felled at Callan Park’s Glover Street Oval for what the Inner West Council justifies as for “sports fields.” In their 2021 announcements, Inner West Council wrote online that 10 trees were removed from leased land “as part of a bushcare program which aims to regenerate the area with appropriate species”. The statement continued that the community was informed about the removal and was “carried out in accordance with Council normal tree removal processes.”
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a careful environmental & biodiversity assessment,” they continued. “Callan Park has long been acknowledged as the lungs of the Inner West.” They added that no opportunity for the community to ask to troubleshoot a potential solution is “surprising and most disappointing.” “On site workmen and Inner West Council staff said that branches of trees behind the goalposts and outside the oval footprint were obstructing the goalposts.” “The lack of communication of council between councillors and the organisation means things like this are going to slip through,” Mr. Stamolis added. The Friends of Callan Park representative
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Friends of Callan Park do not want the trees to be a political issue. Photo: Friends of Callan Park
But not everyone agreed. “There’s tremendous sensitivity about removal of trees, particularly on public space,” Inner West Councillor John Stamolis said. Mr. Stamolis told the Inner West Independent how the issue was not brought to his attention via council chambers. “I heard through a resident,” he said. “If a resident had never informed councillors, we would not even know this was happening. And it certainly does not give any level of confidence to our community. But the problem lies in the fact that we need to be informed early.”
LACK OF COMMUNICATION
A representative from the Friends of Callan Park, who has requested to stay anonymous, said that there needs to be “prior written notice to the nearby community and an opportunity for community consultation to the wider community.” “Any proposed changes to the built, landscape or botanicals require at the very least a detailed photographic record,
also mentioned how the community appreciates trees, and how that appreciation has increased within the last year. “During Covid, Callan Park has been vital to residents’ physical and mental well being, every Callan Park tree is critical and contributes to carbon reduction,” they said.
There’s tremendous sensitivity about removal of trees The council statement on the felling continued to outline that “because the trees were not on Council land, Council is currently investigating whether there were any gaps in the approvals process.” However, the council website says that they only manage the Glover Street Oval and Balmain Road sporting grounds in the heritage park. Other areas are managed by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. It has been revealed the trees were “ listed weed species” with nine of those trees being Coral trees, and the other being a Date palm.
From catastrophe to charity T BY ALLISON HORE he extreme weather hitting NSW has led to severe damage, flooding and disruptions across Sydney this weekend. But two Newtown businesses have come together to make the best of the bad situation and help out those in need. Heavy rainfall on Friday caused “catastrophic electrical failure” at Lloyd’s IGA in Newtown, meaning the store’s registers could not be operated as usual and the store had to close.
“We couldn’t use that stuff that was given to us for our purpose, but it clicked and he thought we should do a homeless run because we already do that once a month with Ricky from the SWAG Family,” she explained. “It was kind of spur of the moment and we were like, snap, let’s do this.” The meals were then distributed by the SWAG Family Sydney, a community group which provides free food, services and support to rough sleepers in Sydney’s CBD.
But when a crisis happens they all come together
FEEL-GOOD FOOD
Some of the store’s perishable foods were sent off to be sold at another IGA. But not knowing what to do with the rest, and not wanting it to go to waste, the store’s owner donated dozens of trays of sausages and meat to their neighbours at the Italian Bowl. The donated ingredients couldn’t be used by the Italian Bowl, so chefs from the restaurant cooked it up to be taken to the homeless in the Inner West and Sydney’s CBD. Restaurant co-owner, Jenny Spyridis, said the idea to make meals for the homeless with the donated ingredients was her husband’s.
Rick Herrera, founder of the SWAG Family Sydney, told the Inner West Independent the Italian Bowl has been helping them out and preparing meals for the past year and a half. He said the help they have provided is “unbelievable.” “Over winter they gave up so much time, they were donating meals on a weekly basis for about six months,” he said. “Honestly, it’s unbelievable. We gave out about 86,000 meals in 140 days, about 10,000 came from the Italian Bowl.” The small SWAG Family team works a 40 hour week, alongside their day jobs, to get meals to people on the streets. They say the support of local businesses
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Staff at the Italian Bowl in Newtown show off food donated by Lloyd’s IGA. Photo: Supplied
makes this work possible. For Ms. Spyridis, the spur of the moment cook up was just one example of the “Newtown spirit” and how local businesses have come together to help those in need.
“We’ve got many acquaintances with everybody there in Newtown and they’re all different people and they’re all fun, but when a crisis happens they all come together,” she said.
New draft strategy for Bays West An artist’s impression of the upgraded precinct. Photo: via Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
minister Rob Stokes says the strategy is a good opportunity to make the most out of a long-neglected slice of Sydney’s waterfront. “Bays West is so central and historically significant to Sydney that it is time to revitalise the area and make it a desirable place for people to live, work and visit,” Mr. Stokes said.
A CYNICAL RESPONSE
BY ALLISON HORE he NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment have released a new strategy for the Bays West Precinct. The strategy, which promises to deliver a “new kind of Sydney urbanism”, outlines six “big moves” for the area which spans over three times the area of Barangaroo. The six moves outlined in the strategy include repurposing White Bay Power Station as a “central focal point” and
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cultural hub and creating a crossing from Bays West to Pyrmont to increase connectivity. One option for this crossing mentioned in the strategy is potentially revitalising the Glebe Island Bridge, which has remained permanently opened for the convenience of marine traffic since 1995. The new draft strategy also puts residential development, which had previously been ruled out for the precinct, back on the table. Planning
Not everyone is optimistic about the direction of the strategy. Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne said the plan, and its openness to the potential of residential developments, should be looked at with the “the cynicism and derision it deserves.”
They may get a good price for this, but in comparison to what’s needed, it’s chicken feed “Now we are getting to the nub of the Government’s intentions for the Bays Precinct, not so much Silicon Valley as Chatswood by the sea,” he said. “The Planning Minister is a nice fellow
but the Government’s real intentions for the Bays Precinct are, by their own admission, to send in the wrecking balls and bulldozers so tha prime waterfront land can be freed up as a developer’s playground.” This is not the first ambitious strategy the government has put together for the precinct. In 2015, the government announced they would transform the area into Sydney’s answer to Silicon Valley by making it the home-base for Google’s Australian operations and other technology companies. However, in 2017, Google abandoned its plans to base its headquarters in the precinct, citing poor public transport in the area as the key reason. But Mr. Parker, who has been a strong advocate for the protection of White Bay Power Station and the reopening of Glebe Island Bridge, is more optimistic than mayor Byrne is about the new draft strategy. “This draft strategy has the potential to be a positive step forward,” he said. The draft strategy for the Bays West precinct is on public exhibition until Thursday 29th April 2021. INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
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Accessibility upgrade for Inner West stations BY ALLISON HORE fter years of community campaigning, details have been released about accessibility upgrades for two stations in Sydney’s Inner West. As part of the Transport Access Scheme, Transport for NSW have started planning much needed accessibility upgrades at Erskineville and St Peters stations. The proposed upgrades at St Peters and Erskineville stations will include the installation of new lifts, canopies over station platforms for wet weather protection, accessible toilets and upgrades to pedestrian pathways in and around the stations. At Erskineville, a new southern entrance to the station will be constructed on Bridge Street. Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, has been a strong advocate for increasing station accessibility in the Inner West. She highlighted St Peters and Erskineville stations as two in need of critical upgrades. “Our community needs public transport that is accessible to everybody,” said Ms. Leong. “Parents with prams, people in wheelchairs, older people and anyone with a mobility issue shouldn’t have to struggle to get to
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work or the shops, visit friends or travel to medical appointments.”
Supporters of Julian Assange gather at Sydney’s Town Hall last year. Photo: Allison Hore
NSW LAGGING ON ACCESSIBILITY TARGETS
By the end of 2017, every state was meant to ensure that 90 percent of stations in their train networks met accessibility standards. However in 2019, just 169 of the 307 stations in the Sydney trains network were advertised as wheelchair accessible. This means NSW still has a long way to go to meet the target of the 100 percent station accessibility by 2022. Within the suburban network, train stations in Sydney’s Inner West are especially inaccessible. Redfern, Erskineville,
Meanwhile in Erskineville [...] we are expected to wait another two years for lifts Macdonaldtown, Stanmore, Petersham, Lewisham, St Peters, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park and Canterbury stations all have limited or no wheelchair accessibility. The community has been calling upgrades to station accessibility in the area for years. In 2015, residents group, Friends of Erskineville, created a petition calling for
lifts to be installed at Erskineville station after a letter they sent to the Berejikilian government in 2014 received no reply. They celebrated the announced upgrades saying “at long last” the transport body has listened to the community. However, they questioned why the wait time for upgrades would be so long while stations which have a smaller patronage were upgraded sooner. “How did Hawkesbury River Station get pushed to the front of the queue? This
station in the Environment Minister’s seat has already got its upgrade completed,” Friends of Erskineville asked. “Meanwhile in Erskineville, where we have higher patronage in a single day than Hawkesbury gets in a whole week, we are expected to wait another two years for lifts.” The St Peters and Erskineville station upgrades are expected to be completed in 2023. Transport for NSW is currently seeking feedback on the proposed plans.
WRITERS WANTED Have your say on the future of Bays West
Do you want to be the new voice of the Inner West? Got a flair for news?
The draft Bays West Place Strategy is on public exhibition until Thursday 29 April 2021.
Do you have good writing and reporting skills?
The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has prepared this strategy to set the future vision for Bays West as a connected and vibrant mixed-use precinct.
Find out more: • Register for a face-to-face information session at White Bay Cruise Terminal on Monday 29 March, 4.30–6.30 pm. Bookings essential. This is a COVID-safe event. • Attend an online information session on Tuesday 30 March, 5.30–6.30 pm or Monday 19 April, 5.30–6.30 pm.
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See the draft strategy and make a formal submission at planning.nsw.gov.au/bayswestexhibition
Send a CV and writing samples to
planning.nsw.gov.au/bayswestexhibition 14
INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
news@altmedia.net.au
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Inner West girls get a master class in cooking BY ALLISON HORE irls at the Girl’s Refuge in Leichhardt had the opportunity to take part in their own special Masterclass with 2016 Masterchef winner, Elena Duggan. Ms. Duggan told the Inner West Independent she has been looking for ways to get involved with the organisation after hearing about them through a friend. She said the timing of International Women’s Day to run a class was the “perfect fit.” “We were all wondering how we could collaborate and offer the young women a joyful learning, eating and connecting experience,” she explained. The dish she chose to teach the girls was one she invented for the semi final of Masterchef Australia 2016, “Apple Bickies, and Cheese.” She says the flavours are inspired by a combination of Dutch spice cookies “that would not exist without the Indonesian spice influence” and Australian roadside snacks. “I started developing this recipe in my second week of being a contestant, and ended up cooking it for the King and Queen of the Netherlands, it is quite personal and yet has gone all around the world with me,” she said. Overall the session was a success, with the participants enjoying Elena’s storytelling and overcoming their initial shyness to enthusiastically plate, taste and share the food. “I wanted to keep the elements all separate, so the young women cooking and eating alongside me, could easily see how they could recreate their favourite parts and use them alongside their favourite flavours, adapting to their tastes, abilities and cooking with the seasons,” Ms. Duggan explained. “This also allowed for creative fun when it came to presentation, with final dishes appearing similarly to Opera House Sails, all the way to a very sweet stylized frog.”
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FOOD FOR INDEPENDENCE
The Girls Refuge supports young women and non-binary people aged between 13 and 17 who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Established in 1975 as the “Young People’s Refuge”, the refuge was one of the first youth refuges in NSW. Now they care for over 200 young people living in the refuge and in the community. A major part of the organisation’s operation is helping young people to build their independence. She said at the refuge the girls take turns to cook alongside a staff member each
Masterchef 2016 winner Elena Duggan cooked up a storm at the Girls’ Refuge in Leichhardt. Photo: Supplied
night and some of the girls show a real interest in and knack for cooking. “A lot of the young people we support move into independent living at a young age,” explained Olivia Nguy, the refuge’s general manager.
We all understand food, a language we all speak and a shared life experience we can all share, no matter how humble or grand, we can connect “Developing cooking skills is a huge part of that process, together with being able to eat nutritious and affordable food.” But food is not only important for physical sustenance and nutrition, it can also provide “ mental nourishment,” be “good for the soul” and provide an interactive mechanism for storytelling, says Ms. Duggan. “If we have learned anything from living through the pandemic, it is about how much our wellbeing relies on connection to one another, and what better way to connect, than over a
shared meal, whether its virtual or in real life, or simply from a recipe handed down,” she said. “We all understand food, a language we all speak and a shared life experience we can all share, no matter how humble or grand, we can connect.” Ms. Nguy agrees that cooking can be a fun and enjoyable experience, and said for the young people who show enthusiasm for and promise in it, it can open up many doors in the future. “Of course for some cooking is also a really enjoyable activity in itself, which is great for self-care, grounding, and also a sense of mastery,” she said. “Some young people coming through The Girls Refuge already have excellent cooking skills and a real interest in it, which can open up all sorts of career related doors!”
MAXIMISING INCLUSION
When she teaches people to cook Ms. Duggan said she avoids expensive and inaccessible equipment and ingredients. Where necessary, she also switches up ingredients to ensure her
recipes are culturally sensitive. She hopes that through these means she can “maximise inclusion, so that every person’s experience is a positive one.” “Access to sustenance, resources and equipment is not always easy, and I’m glad that places like the Girls Refuge have created a safe and joyful learning environment in their kitchen and dining spaces,” she said. Although Ms. Duggan is busy with lots of other projects, such as her podcast ‘Appetite for Change’ which celebrates organisations which utilise the “power of food” for social good, she said she would love to maintain a relationship with the Girls’ Refuge. She is already in discussions with the organisation to teach more classes “arming” the girls with nutritious and affordable “fail safe recipes” over the next few months. “I’m so grateful for the Girls’ Refuge and the tireless energy, joy and support the staff provide to all the young women utilising their services,” she said. “They provide safe, necessary, urgent and ongoing support, their work is so important and valued and can be absolutely life changing.” INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
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IndieNEWS
Rozelle Railyards: The case for football
A registry for dodgy landlords
BY RACHEL CLARK ealing with a dodgy landlord is almost like hearing an old wives’ tale, believing that these stories we hear could never happen to us – until it does. That situation that became a reality for Rachel Black. Having not rented a house in 15 years, until a work opportunity came up in Sydney, she decided to rent a property in the Inner West. At first, Ms.
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making agents and landlords more accountable for their action. “Renting a property is more of an investment than buying a car, it being more expensive, and has a higher impact on your life - you wouldn’t buy a car without checking it first” she said. “The NSW civil and administrative tribunal will still let dodgy landlords get away with what they are doing and in some instances, enabling them to make money
Building 497- Behind the Waterfront Drive (Callan Park) fields. Photo: Balmain DFC
BY SAMUEL GRECO SCHWARTZ COMMUNITY SUPPORT The support provided by local ocal community club, Balmain & politicians has also been beneficial District Football Club, is eager to have priority access to the pitches to the club’s cause with the likes of Anthony Albanese, Jamie Parker, Darcy to be built at the old Rozelle Railyards Byrne and local councillors Rochelle site. Porteous and John Stamolis supporting Balmain & District Football Club is the the club’s infrastructure plans. largest club in the Canterbury District “We’re blessed by the fact that we Soccer Football Association (CDSFA) have local representatives who actually with over 2,800 players registered care about the community,” the BDFC ahead of the 2021 season which kicks president said. off at the beginning of April. “They [local politicians] understand The rate of expansion at the inner west what community sport brings to the club means that they are in desperate local community.” need of new facilities. The addition of the Rozelle Parklands Currently, BDFC play out of five home Precinct will build upon the BDFC’s grounds: Callan Park, Birchgrove Oval, developments at Waterfront Drive Easton Park, Glover Street Fields and which has seen the club included in Cohen Park. However, these fields are the $14 million upgrade directed at not enough to cater for a club which Callan Park. has a female participation rate of 34 percent, 11 percent Building 497 at the above the state They [local politicians] back of the Waterfront average. Drive ground will be understand what repurposed as the It is this, and many community sport brings clubhouse and the other reasons, why BDFC President, Paul to the local community section of the Bay Run that is currently shared Avery, believes that between people, the club should have cyclists and vehicles will now be turned priority access to the proposed fields. into a green area solely for pedestrians “The big thing is being able to find and cyclists. space for women to play for us,” Mr. The new clubhouse at Waterfront Drive Avery explained. forms part of a bigger plan for BDFC “What the new field will do is provide which is focused on building a sense of us with a place for teams which do not belonging for their members as well as have anywhere local to play right now.” the surrounding community. The number of people choosing football “Building 497 will provide a focus for and BDFC is the main reason for our club and much needed facilities Avery’s determination to have football for our members and the wider prioritised. community,” he said. “Within the Inner West Council LGA, 85% of our members are actually based locally and they want to play on the local Samuel Greco Schwartz is a Communications Officer at the fields and that is absolutely fair and Canterbury District Football Association. reasonable,” he said.
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A flyer with information about the petition distributed to Inner West residents. Photo: Supplied
Black believed that renting had improved since she was young. “I was shocked to find that after all of this time, things had actually gotten worse,” she said. Tenant blacklists run rampant throughout Australia – allowing for landlords to see if an applying tenant has a record of damaging property or defaulting on rent payments. But, there no equivalent for landlords
out of the system. Australia has laws in place to protect landlords and tenants, but the NCAT and Fair Trading aren’t enforcing them.”
LEGAL MATTERS
Attempts in the past have been made for a rental review platform about landlords and managing agents which end up failing due to a lack of funding. In some instances, the platforms failed after being sued by privately owned databases that blacklist tenants. You wouldn’t buy a car without This has caused an on-going cycle of checking it first tenants not knowing if the house is safe or if the landlord obeys the law, which Meaning, when a potential tenant applies gives landlords all the power. for a property they are unable to know if a Ms. Black thinks it’s time for the landlord or managing agent has a history government to step up and create a of shonky behaviour like invading the government run registry to stop “dodgy tenant’s privacy or not making repairs. landlords.” She said her petition has received backing from a number of Appalled by this issue, Rachel has landlords and managing agents as well started a petition for a government as earning support in parliament from funded database called the ‘Landlord Greens member, Jenny Leong, and Non-Compliance Registry’. She hopes a member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich. registry like this would make the rental market become more transparent for The petition can be signed on the NSW both tenants and landlords, while also Parliament website.
IndieNEWS
The coming storm… BY PETER HEHIR oxic soup in the harbour, poisoned air, the amalgamation debacle, the huge debt the Inner West Council has incurred and the inevitability of increased rates begs the question.
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What is it that you, as a concerned individual, can do? Send the report on pollution to as many of your friends in the Inner West as you can; encourage them to support candidates in the upcoming Council elections in September who stand on the platform of de-amalgamation and who demand our air and water be fit for humans and animals alike. Make people aware that the ‘coalition’ that rules the massively-in-debt Inner West Council is a cosy cadre of both Liberal and Labor Party members; councillors - in conjunction with like minded independents, who it can be argued, have successfully sent the Inner West Council broke and who have totally destroyed the concept of “Open Council.” This unholy alliance has shown itself to be hostile to critical Inner West residents; those ordinary people who have rejected both major parties at the State level. Encourage like minded friends to write
a couple of sentences to the Sydney Morning Herald expressing fears for the quality of the air and water that will result from the construction of the Rozelle Interchange and the Western Harbour Tunnel. Mention that it would be extremely unwise to ever again use the Sydney Harbour ocean pools or risk a dip in the Harbour. The toxic soup that will be released by the dredging is a killer.
This unholy alliance has shown itself to be hostile to critical Inner West residents Highlight the morbidity and mortality that will result from the more than 300 tonnes of poisoned and carcinogenic diesel vehicle exhaust that will be imported into Rozelle annually from St Peters, Homebush and Cammeray and released through the four unfiltered stacks, resulting in the premature and painful deaths of tens of thousands of local residents over the coming years. Ask why it is that the EPA and the DPIE have done nothing to highlight the dangers? Are they just toothless tigers there to do the Government’s bidding?
Protest graphic by Joel Tarling. Photo: Courtesy of People Before Profit campaign
Opinion
Are we living in a bizarre episode of “Yes Minister”? Finally we need to shake the rusted on supporters of both major parties from their slumber and see that they can’t continue to support candidates who treat local residents so shabbily and not suffer any consequences at the ballot box. We live within the shell of a democracy. We need to eliminate party politics from local
government and have planning powers restored to councillors who genuinely represent the aspirations of those who love the Inner West and who actually care about the amenity, heritage and history of the area in which we all live. Peter Hehir is the Convenor of RAW (Rozelle Against WestConnex) and recent NRMA candidate for the Harbour Region in the 2019 elections.
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NEWS IN BRIEF CHILLING CELLO By BRIANNAH DEVLIN ack your passport and time machine for an array of cello arrangements from across the globe to be performed by The Metropolitan Orchestra. Arrangements from places such as Croatia, Brazil, England, Estonia, Basel and Amsterdam from centuries ago until now will be vertebrated by eight cellists around the walls of Balmain’s Town Hall on Sunday March 28 at 3:30pm.
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just to a computer screen.” Mr Benz also mentioned that this performance will be the first in the hall in potentially five years. He was able to give the Inner West Independent a little insight into some compositions attendees might expect from the orchestration. He mentioned that there will be a variation of genres including a “pretty wild” Soviet waltz, jazz and even modern film classics like Pirates of the Carribean. People can potentially expect the
Floodwaters stream out of a storm drain in St Peters. Photo: Twitter/mpwoodhead
RAIN RELIEF By ALLISON HORE nner West residents affected by the severe weather are eligible for disaster recovery payments and free legal advice. Through the CommonwealthState Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) Inner West residents whose homes or belongings have been damaged by flooding or extreme winds, or who have been seriously injured, are eligible to claim financial assistance. People who have been affected by the severe weather can make a claim of up to $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child. Claims for
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this one-off payment can be lodged online through the Disaster Assistance website for up to 6 months. For those in need of legal assistance, lawyers from the Disaster Response Legal Service NSW team are providing free legal advice to flood victims. Lawyers in the team specialise in issues such as insurance claims, tenancy, credit and debt, financial hardship, social security entitlements and employment. “This is important work at a difficult and stressful time in people’s lives, so part of the training is about how best to respond to the trauma experienced by those affected by disasters,” said Legal Aid NSW CEO Brendan Thomas.
PET PROTECTION BY ALLISON HORE s we weather the storm together spare a thought for our furry friends. Dr. Adam Sternberg, Regional Clinical Director of Greencross Vets, said that pet owners in the Inner West should be aware of a number of risks their fur-babies may face throughout the severe weather. These include illness, anxiety and physical harm. “Flood water may be contaminated with sewage containing E. coli or parasites such as giardia, which can cause serious gastrointestinal upsets to include vomiting and diarrhoea,” he explains. “Ensure you provide fresh water to minimise the chance that your dog may drink storm water.
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Keep your furry friends safe during storms. Photo: Pexels/ Christian Domingues
John Benz (far left) and The Metropolitan Orchestra rehearsing in the lead up to the concert on Monday March 22. Photo: John Benz
Principal cellist John Benz told the Inner West Independent that he has been in contact with overseas cellists who have provided him and the orchestra with compositions to perform. They will be dusting off their cellos that have not seen a public venue for about two years to bring attendees together to hear their performances. “They’ve all been being very kind to provide me with their repertoire,” Mr Benz said. “It’s nice to get back into actually playing to real people again, and not
re-imagination of some loved classics from Led Zepplin and the Beatles too in some encores. Mr Benz acknowledges that the concert will be for some people the first live performance they have attended in over a year. He also mentioned that the concert can be a family affair. “Just enjoy the concert, enjoy the full majesty and breadth of the sound of the cello and multiple cellos together, which is very sonorous and varied sounds.”
Provide some of their favourite food as well.” To reduce anxiety in pets Dr. Stenburg says naturally appeasing pheromones such as Adaptil for dogs and Feliway in cats could help. He says there are a number of signs pet owners can look for to see if their animal is stressed. “A frightened pet may display a range of out of character behaviours including hiding under furniture, drooling, pacing, barking, destructive chewing and attempts to escape,” he said. If you find a stray animal during the storm, take them to your closest vet to be scanned for a microchip as soon as travel is safe.
COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY
RIDING THE BATHURST BULLET!
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ou have probably all seen the lists of things to do and places to visit that crop up regularly on websites like Concrete Playground and Time Out. They do a good job in promoting the cultural and geographic diversity of Sydney as well as highlighting some of our least known attractions. Time Out, for example, recently listed 50 things that everyone in Sydney should experience once in their life. Apart from the obvious like climbing the Harbour Bridge they included “Go On A Bush Foods Tour Of The Botanic Gardens” and “Dare To Bare All At Obelisk Beach”. Many of their suggested activities cost money and it occurred to me that there’s lots to do in this city if you are on a very tight budget and prepared to think totally outside the square. Not everybody can afford to swim with the sharks at Sydney Aquarium but here’s a list of the cheapest, most creative, off the wall, daringly innovative things you can enjoy in Sydney over the coming months. COMMUNITY SINGING IN THE DEVONSHIRE STREET TUNNEL: The acoustics are great so why not join an impromptu yodelling group in this popular
stay in your memory for ever. Inspired by the Goons’ I’m Walking Backwards For Christmas, this unique feat of individualism is bound to excite other sightseers and possibly raise the suspicion of security guards.
commuter thoroughfare. Swiss alpine gear is optional but face masks recommended if the vocalising becomes too enthusiastic. FEED THE POSSUMS IN HYDE PARK: Nocturnal fun for all the family as you tempt these loveable furry critters with all manner of taboo treats like sugary donuts and Allens Snakes Alive. TRAIN SPOTTING ON MACDONALDTOWN STATION: Pack a picnic lunch and spend three hours of relatively mindless but highly therapeutic observation on one of this city’s loneliest train stations. Ideal for a bit of meditation as well, with yoga fans encouraged to
assume the lotus position as the Indian Pacific passes by. WINE TASTING ON GILLIGANS ISLAND: It’s an old favourite of course but definitely worth revisiting as you play sommelier and organise a lazy apres lunch wine tasting on Gilligans grassy oasis in Taylor Square. A bottle of Royal Reserve Port or a cask of Coolabah is always well received and within minutes you will be joined by a merry bunch of colourful locals. WALK BACKWARDS ACROSS THE HARBOUR BRIDGE: The Bridge climb costs an arm and a leg but a backward perambulation across the footway will
SPRUIK CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN THE DOMAIN: It took a hiatus during 2020 but speakers are slowly returning to the eastern end of the Domain on a Sunday afternoon. You will need a milk crate, a short course in voice projection and Facebook friends Craig Kelly and Pete Evans. Be prepared for the hecklers as you play agent provocateur and promote the latest QAnon intrigue. And finally, for that totally unique transportation experience: RIDE THE MIGHTY BATHURST BULLET: Step back in time and take a scenic three hour trip to Bathurst on this vintage two-carriage Endeavour railcar. Sink deep into the refurbished splendour of your ergonomic seat and with your eyes closed, drift back some 25 years to when these carriages were first built. You will probably be stranded in Bathurst for the night prior to the return journey the next morning, but the experience will stay with you forever.
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IndieARTS
EXIT THE KING GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS REVIEW
Chris Lundie
BY OLGA AZAR ew Theatre’s staging of Glengarry Glen Ross is a cracker of a show. David Mamet’s Pulitzer-Prize winning drama demands staccato direction and acting, and the production delivers, including clever set design (Tom Bannerman), lighting (Ole Borch) and Director Louise Fischer‘s sure-handed guidance that brings every element together for a sometimes explosive performance. Fischer has assembled a fantastic ensemble, each of whom live their roles in tiny movements of despair and triumph. Originally an all-male cast, several characters are played by women, adding another layer to the testosteronefuelled environment of sales of dodgy real estate. It’s a scintillating treat to watch Hannah Raven tapping her high heels in impatience. Treated to a vicious lambast, these already sidelined salespeople face a
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stark fate: get fired or land a place on top of a contest board. They are a gathering of losers, and a microcosm of the worst of office politics magnified by financial desperation. In a Chinese restaurant with much racist commentary, Levene (Mark Langham) is losing everything, especially his dignity, as he begs the office manager (Carole Levien) for a break. Meanwhile, the crazily outstanding actress Raven (rep Moss) is directing a verbal breakdance to her colleague Aaronow (Andrew Simpson, played with excruciatingly comic bewilderment). Other characters jump in, such as Roma (Richard Blake), who leans into his once-mentor’s fantasies of everlasting success. It is a sorry tale, and its pathos and humour come through in this thoroughly engaging show. Until Apr 10. New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown. $20-$35+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.newtheatre.org.au
APPROPRIATE BY IRINA DUNN
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ritten by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this contemporary American play deals with a dysfunctional family that’s coming together after the death of the patriarch. Director Wesley Enoch says, “At the heart of it is a comment on America and on America’s theatrical tradition,” and audience members will recognise references in the play to Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, The Cherry Orchard, and The Death Of A Salesman, among others. Enoch explains that although the play has only white characters, “race is not just a black issue, it’s also a white issue and the responsibilities for these
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Photo: Robert Catto
BY OLGA AZAR s we are living in absurd times, it seems fitting that Red Line Productions, operating out of the Old Fitz Theatre, has chosen Exit The King to open its 2021 season. Written by Eugene Ionesco, one of the grandees of the Theatre Of The Absurd and concerned with the absurdities of life, the show was first staged in the 1960s. In it, we meet King Berrenger, an ageing monarch who refuses to see that his hold on his ancient empire has perhaps lost its vavoom. Director Megan Wilding has taken a direct and topical approach to this staging and in choosing the play, noting that the play’s changing and challenging relationships with previously unquestioned standards reflect not only historical discussions, but recent events. “I’m really interested in the shift,
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conversations can lay in the white characters’ mouths as well.” He points out that the title can be pronounced, and therefore taken, in two ways. You can either use “appropriate” to mean “suitable,” or you can pronounce it “appropriate” with the emphasis on the “ate” to mean to steal something. There are three layers to the production that he wants audiences to enjoy. Firstly is the very black comedy of the piece. Then he wants them to “understand the metaphor and the commentary on America.” And thirdly, he says, “I also want them to recognise there are similarities with this country that I want them to think about.” Until Apr 10. Roslyn Packer Theatre 22 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay. $49-$99+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
especially in the past few weeks, of calling up our own institutional system of racism. That’s what really appealed to me, the shift of changing.” After the long COVID shutdown, Wilding is clearly relieved and happy to return to her work. “It’s been lovely to be back with actors and creatives… there’s a really good vibe in the room. From day one there was such excitement, it’s such a great play with such great ideas and everybody just jumped on board.” Wilding has another hope for her interpretation of the show, “What I’d love is for people to come, see and feel that it’s time to bring change to these institutions, and say goodbye to the monarchy.” Until Apr 10. Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo. $38-$45+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.redlineproductions.com.au Photo: Rene Vaile
IndieARTS REVIEW
DIVA DEGUSTATION
BY MARK MORELLINI t’s a starry, starry night at The Ensemble Theatre as Trevor Ashely, Australia’s favourite drag artist, returns to the stage in Diva Degustation, his latest cabaret production which will not only entertain, but tantalise audiences with his deliciously naughty, flamboyant, and spicy impersonations of famous divas. The question that should be asked is not what’s on the menu, but who’s on the menu? Just like a selection of fine foods to sample from a degustation menu, audiences will be treated to a taste of performances from the big gals of the entertainment world including Cher, Shirley Bassey, Liza Minelli, Judy Garland, Eartha Kitt, and Carol Channing. Which of these divas will be the starters, the main meal, and more importantly the dessert?
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The only element missing on this unique menu is the quality wine that traditionally complements each course on a degustation menu! A band of two fine musicians comprising of a drummer and pianist accompany the divas as they belt out their selection of signature songs as never sung before. The lyrics have been cleverly and comically reworded with what all audiences can relate to – the consumption of food and the ‘COVID-19 waistline’ which most of us have acquired since the inception of COVID-19. A quick wig change on stage seasoned with witty commentaries from Ashley introduces the next diva and then sends them back to rehab when it’s time to move on. Audiences can feel very safe sitting in the first few rows as Ashley promises not to bring audience
members into his show. There will be laughter but unlike many of his previous shows notably The Lyin’ Queen, hilarity takes the back seat as Diva Degustation is principally about the music. This is joyous entertainment for theatergoers who have missed live
theatre owing to the lockdown brought upon by COVID-19 and also a little ray of sunshine from the current miserable rainy weather. Until Mar 29. Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall St Kirribilli. $60-$65+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.ensemble.com.au
ARTHOUSE GALLERY I AM HERE BY OLGA AZAR he fully-booked launch of I Am Here at Arthouse Gallery featured an intergenerational panel of female artists involved in different mediums: Katherine Hattan, an artist with the rigour of decades of experience; Jo Bertini, who has dedicated her work to
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the love of desert landscapes around the world; and a curious figure dressed in a balaclava wishing to be known as Military Position (aka Harriet Morgan, Hattan’s daughter). Each expressed views on women in contemporary art, addressing gender, delineations of masculine/feminine, the need for
Samantha Everton - Mixed media on paper Samantha Everton Birthday Wish
quotas and how pieces can speak for themselves. The show is a direct response to Canberra’s Know My Name, profiling 300 female artists (running until July 4). This exhibit of 40 female Australian artists is superb. There is a wealth of talent on display among painting, photography, sculpture and more. From the tiny dioramas by Kendal Murray to insect revenge by Sarah Brasier, the works range from iron whimsy to keenly subtle outrage. Samantha Everton’s Birthday Wish features a tidy house with a tidy woman bent over with her
face in a cake, a goose observing; while Clare Rae’s Untitled Actions (Checking) has layers of meaning that begin with humour and then travel elsewhere. Many of these works were marked with the little red stickers signifying “sold.” It’s great to see collectors supporting female artists, and as Hattan remarked, “This is a moment.” Looking at this exhibit, it’s a moment long-coming, and one that seems to be here to stay. Until Mar 28. Arthouse Gallery 66 McLachlan Ave, Rushcutters Bay. Info: www.arthousegallery.com.au INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
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HAUSKEY
ESKIMO JOE
Photo: Jarrad Seng
BY JAMIE APPS ver the past year concert cancelations or postponements have become commonplace. Aussie rock extends Eskimo Joe didn’t want to become yet another of those so they are planning to return to Australian stages one year from now. Obviously by announcing a show so far out they had to ensure they came to the party with something exceptionally exciting for fans, and boy have they delivered. Eskimo Joe will return to Australian stages in 2022 with a special live concert showcasing their two most beloved albums, Black Fingernails Red Wine and A Song Is A City, from front to back. Speaking with the Inner West Independent, guitarist Stuart MacLeod revealed that this tour has been a long time coming. “We started planning this tour at the start of 2019 with the intentions of doing it in September/October 2020, but when COVID hit there was no way that we could have done it... With the whole world shutting down the way it did I think it took everyone by surprise. So we’re we put that on hold with a view to always come back to it once the world returned to some semblance of normality.” As that normality began returning MacLeod explained that the band potentially could have target the end of this year but chose not to do so. They chose this because they didn’t want to risk bing forced to postpone or reschedule due to the “logistical nightmare” and emotional
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toll that can take on the band and all of those support staff involved. “Postponing is just so disheartening, and it really takes a toll on your mental health as well,” said MacLeod. The decision to perform their two most highly regarded albums was one based purely on “fun” chuckled MacLeod. “It’s such an enjoyable experience for us, not only playing live this way but also in the rehearsal room learning all of the songs again. Performing in this way there are songs that we’ve never played live before, so getting to do that times two seemed like a no brainer to us. These two albums realistically are the two who most people hold dear, so we thought that would be a really unique experience for the fans.” In terms of what fans can expect form this tour MacLeod explained that the fun comes from simply seeing the excitement on the band member’s faces as they perform these songs for the first time in a very long time. “I think the special factor will just be the excitement on our faces knowing that these are all fresh in our minds and in our fingers. Just playing these songs, it’s all going to be new, or at least, you know, like visiting old friends again. “You might have seen us play before, but this will be something really unique for you guys, but for us as well. So I’d grab a ticket pretty soon.” Apr 1, 2022. Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown. $89.90+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.enmoretheatre.com.au
BY JAMIE APPS ustralian artists Hauskey describes the latest single from his debut EP as the means by which he overcomes his natural state of pessimism, a state of thinking that perhaps resonates with us all after the year that we’ve just endured. The Inner West Independent spoke to Hauskey last week, ahead of his performance at the Lansdowne Hotel next Saturday. “If there wasn’t that anticipation for releases or that drive to write, produce and mix records I think I would have gone way craziest than I did,” Hauskey said when detailing the importance of this record during the lockdown period. “There was a lot of doom and gloom last year... but I think it was somewhat consoling to know everyone was experience the same thing in this almost kinship way.” For Hauskey the lockdown period saw him use music production as “therapy” to overcome his natural pessimism. He chose to this with the hopes of “creating something positive that other people can relate to” and use as their guiding light out of a dark time. With this extended period solely focus on music Hauskey and
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his record label now have “the best problem to have” with an abundance of music ready for release. “We have too many songs now,” said Hauskey. “I want it all to come out next week so others can hear it but that’s not the way the industry works unfortunately, so we need to stagger these things.” Bearing that in mind though Hauskey says the upcoming Landsdowne show takes on an extra significance for fans and potentially first time listeners. “I’m so proud of the EP in every way but there’s alto fo stuff that I do differently now,” explained Hauskey. “I feel like I’m going from strength to strength, musically and technically. So I’m really looking forward to the next run of of tunes, EPs and albums.” For anybody thinking about attending the show next week Hauskey said they can expect “lots of interludes, musical silliness, a bit of comedy and just an all around show that isn’t simply listening to the music as t was recorded.” Apr 3. The Lansdowne, 2-6 City Rd, Chippendale. $28+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.thelansdownepub.com.au
JESS LOCKE - DON’T ASK YOURSELF WHY BY JAMIE APPS elbourne-based singer-songwriter Jess Locke is back with her third album, Don’t Ask Yourself Why. With this record Locke continues to pump out mesmerising music oozing in her trademark raw and honest storytelling style. Throughout the record Locke delivers indie-pop music littered with acoustic guitar and a wide array of tones and messages wishing the
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lyricism. As you listen to these songs Locke transports your into her own mind and emotions, whether those be moments of sadness, hope or redemption. Don’t Ask Yourself Why is a beautiful record which will force you ask yourself why you didn’t listen to it sooner if you sleep on it for any length of time. WWWW
IndieARTS
PETER RABBIT 2 ANIMAL LOGIC BY MARK MORELLINI nimal Logic is one of the world’s leading independent creative digital studios based at Fox Studios in Sydney. The studio has created movie magic for nearly 30 years, working on films including The Lego franchise, Happy Feet, Peter Rabbit, and now on the highly anticipated Peter Rabbit 2 which finally hops into cinemas for Easter after several postponements owing to COVID-19. Will Reichelt has been employed at Animal Logic for 18 years and is currently the VFX Supervisor. “A VFX or visual effects supervisor is the person who runs the visual effects team and is the creative point person for the Director to get what he needs. He then translates that to the rest of the team and creatively supervises the work that goes through from conception all the way to the finished shot,” explained Reichelt. Peter Rabbit was a live-action/digital runaway hit of 2018, amassing $350 million at the worldwide box office, so it wasn’t a surprise that a sequel was produced. Creating the visual effects for the sequel was a mammoth task which employed 600 Animal Logic crew and an
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additional 150 from Method Studios in Melbourne. Digital advances are constantly being made in a field which is mandatory for the creation of more engaging special effects and animation in movies. “It’s definitely something you have to keep up with. These advances are something that has always happened and will continue to happen. We had a set of challenges on the first Peter Rabbit that we needed to contend with, mainly in regards to the fact that the characters needed to look photorealistic and be able to interact, have voices and facial expressions to quite a sophisticated level.” Reichelt explained they had the same set of challenges on the sequel but with more complexity. “Everything had to be amped up because you always have to go harder on the sequel. You always have to do something else to challenge and impress audiences who are very quick to dismiss something that looks derivative.” Animal Logic came up with a proprietary way of making the fur look realistic. The challenge there was replicating the same amount of hair that’s on a rabbit and structuring it the same way.
“Peter Rabbit has 4.3 million hairs that needed to be rendered for each shot, combined with all the other characters in the shot which have four to five million hairs each. You have that aspect and then there’s the cloth for their jackets and shirts, which also has to interact with the fur. The jacket is simulated frame by frame to interact with the fur and all of it is wrinkled with other stuff that happens while he moves his body.” Sydney is becoming a hub for digitally produced films which creates employment and boosts the local economy. “The reason is that there’s a lot of talent in Sydney and we have 600 crew available here to work on this film. We have crew that is local to Sydney and crews that come in from other places. It’s a real creative hub for this type of work. There are other companies that do this type of work, but Animal Logic is the biggest company and the company that’s doing projects which are large scale full-feature animation films that other companies aren’t doing.” Animal Logic has been producing
animated features since Happy Feet in 2006 and the film projects just keep rolling in. So busy in fact that they were working on Walking With Dinosaurs and The Lego Movie simultaneously. Audiences may watch a 90-minute animated film and not realise the amount of work that goes into the production. “These films take a minimum of two years, if not longer to produce. There’s a lot of pre-production development in terms of making the deals, getting everything ready to go, hiring the crew, etc.” The future seems very bright for Animal Logic, the independent digital studio which has gone from strength to strength over the years creating one successful film after the other, many of which have received awards. “Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and keep the original projects coming in as well. It’s been great for Animal Logic with the Lego franchise and now that Peter Rabbit has become a franchise with a second film, we can develop other franchises.”
FRENCH EXIT
BY PATRICK MCKENZIE confused tone and inconsistent pacing leave Azazel Jacobs’ absurdist comedy, at times, a little too absurd for its own good. French Exit follows the transcontinental exploits of widowed New York socialite Francis Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her adult son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) on their not-sotemporary sojourn to Paris after Francis is walled off from accessing her deceased husband’s estate. Despite their unceremonious
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departure, issues of home seem to follow them, with Francis facing a persistent state of nihilism, Malcolm dealing with a crumbling engagement, and both of them confronting the legacy of their relationship with Frank, the long-deceased family patriarch who has been inexplicably reincarnated as their cat. Highlights include the small ensemble of wacky supporting characters, especially Mme Reynard (Valerie Mahaffey) – a fellow widowed New York expat – and Pfeiffer’s performance, which is well deserving of her recent Golden Globe nomination. But while Jacobs and screenwriter Patrick deWitt have clearly made every effort to retain the dicey and oddball energy of deWitt’s novel of the same name, their comedy of manners conjures only a shred or two of empathetic mother and son moments, and 110-minutes of lukewarm detachment. WWW
CRISIS BY MARK MORELLINI ith three main storylines and others in this well-meaning film relating to the Oxycodone crisis in America, the message conveyed to audiences is crystal clear. Oxycodone, which is an opioid medication used as a ‘non-addictive’ treatment for pain, is addictive and a common drug of abuse. The three stories which ultimately collide surround a drug trafficking operation between Canada and America, an enraged woman who wants answers as to why her son died of an ‘apparent’ narcotics overdose, and a university professor who strives
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to expose a pharmaceutical company for preparing to release a most probable lethal drug to the world. The film asks, are drugs produced for money or to make the world a better place? Is it a crime to tell the truth if a new drug on the market is dangerous? But the film suffers from the expectation that audiences will easily absorb the intricate politics within the pharmaceutical company expose storyline. Slow-paced and compounded by a contrived performance by Armie Hammer in the pivotal role as an undercover agent, the film ultimately disappoints. WW1/2 INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021
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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT APRIL 2021