Cinema

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018

Gadfly 215 By Robert Macklin Once again, a woman of Aboriginal heritage brought the whole nation together in a moment of exquisite delight as Ash Barty overcame the best in the world to stamp herself a Vol 16 September 15th 2017 great Australian champion. Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 We should be getting used to it by now. After all, she follows Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Cathy Freeman, Nova Paris and Sam Kerr to the apex of their endeavour. And each one of them accepted the laurel wreath of victory with the grace and good humour that is part and parcel of their personalities. The quibblers might say that Ash was lucky that Naomi Osaka was in the other side of the draw so she didn’t actually beat the best around the traps. But those of us who watched Naomi’s departure to Anisimova in the third round were in no doubt that the was underdone and would have fallen to Ash’s fitness and all-round game in straight sets. They might also suggest that their Aboriginality itself gives a special advantage in some way, thereby devaluing the achievement. Truth is, no one in the tennis world (with the possible exception of Rafael Nadal) works harder at training and every other aspect of athletic preparation than Ash Barty. And no one handles the accolades and the responses more unaffectedly than the Australian champion. As we shall see in the years ahead, the same kind of concentrated devotion inherent in each one of the quintette – as in the arts of Deborah Mailman, the late David Gulpillil, Emily Kngwarreye, Yothu Yindi and the Bangarra Dancers - will be replicated in politics, business and the sciences. For they are one of Australia’s treasures, hidden in plain sight, the same way that our womenfolk in general are only now beginning to take their rightful place in the national estimation. In time, I strongly suspect, the values so celebrated by men with their overweening dedication to conflict – in parliament, in the courts, the boardrooms, and on the obscene battlefield of war – will gradually take second place to a kinder and more cheerful perception of what our brief lifespan on the blue planet is all about. If, that is, the climate and science deniers don’t destroy us first. But I digress. Ash’s win has that effect; it makes one think of the way life could be in the best of all possible worlds. It is reinforced each time I turn the TV to another sport, where women now have their own national teams, be it cricket, footy, Netball or basketball. Sure, it’s competitive, and they struggle to the very last second to win as we saw most recently in the women’s Ashes at Canberra’s Manuka Oval. There, there result all came down to the last ball when the Australian spinner Alana King making her test debut bowled an easy full toss at the last English batter survived. Alana could have kicked herself. She might have too; but her teammates were all over her in genuine support. They do it with a smile. You do your very best, but win, lose or draw, it really is just a game. So, what would have happened if Ash had lost that championship match? Happily, we’ll never know. I guess we’d put it down to the awful run we’ve been having even since the ‘miracle’ man won the last election. Maybe that’s one of the reasons for the national delight; just maybe, the times, they are a’changing. robert@robertmacklin.com

Reading—A beer with Baz Mick had a sip of his schooner and enjoyed a quiet moment before Bazza joined him at the bar table. “Sorry Mick, I’ve just arrived back from Araluen…….” Mick sighed and ran his hand through his thinning hair. “I’m not in the mood for any of your le wing crap today, Bazza. I advised you to stay away from that place and focus on what’s real……” “Far from it, Mick. I’ve had a good think and I’m going to try to see things your way a bit more.” They both took a decent drink from their schooners. “Well…… that’s a bloody relief, Bazza. You being off with the fairies hardly makes a drink in the pub relaxing.” Bazza chuckled. “Take ScoMo, Mick. I reckon he has had another rough summer. He did the right thing and stayed at home this year and he well and truly ended the drought, but there has been hiccup a er hiccup. I’ve got to feel for the bloke. But you know, and to be fair, none of it is his fault.” Mick nodded. “In every case, Mick, it has been someone else’s fault.” “Well, you’ve got that right, Bazza. Those bloody State Premiers have gone out of their way to trip him up, but thankfully, the bloke can side step. Even so, take something that should have been straigh orward, Novax Djokovic……” “Exactly, Mick. With Novax, the relevant minister got confused following John Howard’s statement; ‘We will decide who comes to this country’. It’s not ScoMo’s fault that the Minister thought Novax had to come here before he could decide he could not come here.” “You’re dead right, Bazza. It wasn’t ScoMo’s fault. I like your new way of thinking. It’s a lot like the Cronulla Sharkies pre season training. ScoMo is in top form, passing the ball perfectly, but some of the boys are just dropping it. Take the Minister for Aged Care going to the cricket………” “I’m with you there, Mick. I mean pre season is all about ge ng the fitness levels up, but I think the Minister’s three days at the cricket in Tasmania stretching the elbow is a bit much. But here again, le ng it R.I.P. with Omicron in aged care at the same me is hardly ScoMo’s fault.” They clinked schooners. “It does leave these bloody leaked text messages about our leader though, Bazza.” They both sipped their schooners in silence. “Yeah….. horrible, horrible stuff, Mick. It’s a new low to be leaking text messages but again it’s not ScoMo’s fault. His ministers seem to be always falling below the standards he sets.” “I’ve got no doubt he will find the leaker, Bazza.” “Ahhhh…… I’m not too sure, Mick. Finding a R.A.T. these days is pre y challenging but, then again, it’s hardly ScoMo’s fault.”

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018

Like the Badja Forest Rd and Currowan fires, two big elec ons loom eerily on the horizon, and are soon to come bearing down upon us, whether we like it or not. If greeted by the winds of change, these elec ons Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 may well bring the opportunity for state and na onal government renewal. A rejuvena on desperately needed. I have never really cared about vo ng before. I felt, like many, we just had to endure the periodic serving of cheesy slogans, from the revolving door of career poli cians. I would roll my eyes at the nausea ng promises from narcissis c poli cians, desperate to get elected or re-elected, then disappear into the Canberra bubble, never to be seen un l the next elec on. But the events of the past couple of years have ignited a poli cal passion in me. Born from a place of deep care, duty and responsibility for the health and wellbeing of my family and community, the environment and a ra of other important issues, within which our prosperous future is in mately bound. This passion led me to run as a candidate at the Eurobodalla council elec ons and is also the driving force behind many other medical doctors stepping into poli cs. Doctors such as local candidate re red Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr Michael Holland. I first met Dr Holland when I was pregnant with my second child – more than eight years ago now. It was a rather emo onal me in my life, but the support I received from him and the team of caring midwifes at Moruya hospital was invaluable. It felt good to be in trustworthy hands. So much has changed since those days of being a stay-at-home mum, bleary eyed and wearing milk-stained clothes. Bushfires, floods and the pandemic have changed everything and brought immense suffering for many, especially for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and infants. Poli cal candidates need to be in touch with their communi es, now more than ever. They also need to be across many issues, and have a genuineness, integrity and intelligence – a ributes that Dr Holland certainly has. He understands the challenges facing our community and has helped guide many families through these unprecedented mes, providing professional and caring support, with limited resources. In his down me, he has been relentlessly advocated for be er healthcare for the south coast of NSW. He has seen first-hand the devasta on of the climate-fueled bushfires and their far-reaching impact on our communi es. Dr Holland says: "We all lived through the bushfire experience two years ago. That is a direct consequence of climate change.” Greens candidate Peter Haggar and Sustainable Party Dr Karin Geiselhart agree. But despite sta ng she aligns to ‘evidence’, Liberals Dr Fiona Kotjvos is silent on this subject. In the past, she has cherry picking decade-old informa on, and has managed, so far, to avoid offering up a fresh perspec ve on this subject. By contrast, Dr Michael Holland has been involved in research of the impacts of bushfires on pregnant women and babies as well as contributed to the recent Royal Australian College of Physicians report on climate change and Australia's healthcare system. “We have a responsibility to future genera ons to act on climate and we must strengthen our healthcare systems to become more resilient in the face of worsening disasters,” he says. “Labor has a plan to do this. We have commi ed to a 50% reduc on by 2030, net zero by 2050, a legislated Carbon Emissions Reduc on Target as well as a Zero Emissions Tribunal.” Dr Karin Geiselhart offers similar reduc on commitments, along with an array of sensible policies to match. Peter Haggard from the Greens says “it’s impera ve we keep below 1.5%” (above pre-industrial temperatures) and ambi ously want to cut emissions by 50% in 2025, 80% by 2030 and net zero by 2040.

Reading—le er to the editor—con nues…. This is aligned with the science and the best possible outcome for our future. I want to hear the climate commitments of Liberal candidate Dr Kotvojs. I hope she will return my call. The climate crisis is upon us and is impac ng our health – now. It’s beyond poli cal par sanship and demands all our a en on and ac on. Climate change is the great amplifier. It makes heat waves, bushfire seasons and droughts longer and more intense. It makes rainfalls heavier and storms and flooding more severe. It is increasing our average temperature which is changing disease pa erns, such as dengue and malaria. Climate change threatens our food and water security. The list goes on. It is not a linear change – rather, it’s accelera ng, bringing worsening catastrophes with each frac on of a degree we con nue to heat.

The science is well established. Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, have accumulated in our atmosphere since the industrial revolu on mainly from burning fossil fuels and land clearing. These gases act like a blanket, hea ng the earth’s land and seas. The more we keep pollu ng our atmosphere, the ho er it is going to get. And worst of all, we are dangerously close to the point of no return. A point at which, earth climate control systems are all de-ac vated and the hea ng will accelerate beyond our control. We have just this decade to act. Or we will see a vastly different future for ourselves and our children. This brings me back to becoming poli cal. These unprecedented mes are seeing an uprising of unexpected leaders – and this is an important silver lining. They are emerging to renew our faith and trust in poli cs, and it would be wise of us to vote them in. It would be wise of us to use our preferences to send a message to the Canberra bubble: NOW is the me for renewal, NOW is the me for change. I know where I’m pu ng my vote this elec on -- in trustworthy hands. NOTE: If you to vote 1 for an independent or minor party candidate, and you want your vote to flow through to elec ng your local member, you MUST also number a major party candidate. Vo ng in local, state and federal elec ons is compulsory. Use your power in deciding our future. Vote for climate ac on. Dr Michelle Hamrosi Surf Beach General Prac oner Member of South Coast Health and Sustainability Alliance and Doctors for the Environment

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018

Reading—le er to the editor Pos ng with No Consequences and Vol 16 September 15th 2017 with no fear of being Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 pursued

The Beagle Editor,

Dear Sir,

A systema c pa ern of noncompliance with the NSW Electoral

Act (2017) has again occurred throughout our Shire.

Poli cal posters have appeared on roadside trees on public land exactly where it is expressly prohibited.

Warning le ers have been issued by

Council, and by the me all the posters come down the elec on will be over and no penal es will be applied.

Flushed with the success of this strategy the perpetrators will no doubt repeat the offence at the next elec on.

Note: this behaviour is not restricted to one party. However, one party is thoroughly domina ng the non-compliant behaviour. This elec on, photos have been taken which exactly locate some of the many the offences which are going unpunished. They have been documented and supplied to both the Council and the NSW Electoral Commission so there can be no dispute about the pa ern of breaching of the Act. (photo supplied) If the beneficiary of the bulk of the illegality is elected it could be argued that an unfair advantage was gained over other candidates who chose to comply with the Act. So, will it be like previous elec ons where no consequences are applied? Or will penal es be applied with sufficient effect to discourage repe on of this bad behaviour in subsequent elec on campaigns? Name supplied and withheld at the discre on of the Editor

100 Years Ago 4th February 1922 OUR STREETS. – The Shire Council’s maintenance man has been giving some slight a en on to the watertables in our main streets, which have been considerably choked up by the silt washed down by the late Vol 16 September 15th 2017 heavy rains. Campbell Street, which carries more traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, than any other street in Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 town, bar the main South Coast road, Vulcan Street, is ge ng badly in need of fresh repairs. DANGEROUS. – The a en on of the Shire Engineer Dawson is urgently directed to a dangerous hole (in which someone has though ully inserted a large branch of a tree as a warning) in a plank of the Malabar bridge. AN open season has been proclaimed for wallabies ll 31st July, 1922, in the parishes of Benandra, East Nelligen, Kioloa, Clyde, Termeil, Albert, Boyne, Woodburn, Croobyar, Ulladulla, Li le Forest and Conjola. HELLO! – By ringing up ‘phone 48 you can order a box of Hilliers’ choice chocolates, as the progressive proprietor of the Shamrock Café has now installed the instrument of speedy communica on. COALITION CANDIDATES. – At mee ngs held at Bega, Bermagui, Central Tilba, Narooma and Moruya it was unanimously decided to support the Coali on candidates, Messrs. Bate and Perkins. Similar mo ons were carried at Nowra and Milton. GOOD NEWS. – Both Mr. Fenning’s sawmill and the spoke factory at Bateman’s Bay, restarted opera ons on Monday last, a er an idleness of some considerable dura on. This is truly good news for residents of Bateman’s Bay and the other centres surrounding it. NELLIGEN ROAD. – A gentleman who arrived in Moruya from Braidwood on Monday, via Nelligen, asks us to draw the special a en on of the Eurobodalla Shire Council to the very dangerous state of the creeks on the road between Nelligen village and the Nelligen Mountain. The first creek, coming from Braidwood, just under the mountain, and known as Anderson’s Creek, has been washed out by the late heavy rains, leaving a deep and dangerous hole, out of which cars and other conveyances have to be extricated by means of horse and bullock teams. Mr. Anderson, who resides not far distant, our informant assures us, is kept constantly going, warning travellers and showing them the way -when he is in me- or assis ng the unfortunates who get into trouble. BODALLA ESTATE. – The survey work in connec on with the proposed cu ng up of the Bodalla Estate is evidently finished, as Mr. Li le, the officer in charge of the survey party, passed through Moruya last week on his way to Sydney. BATEMAN’S BAY. – (From Our Correspondent.) An officer of the Department of Public Works has been busy taking notes of the Clyde estuary. The bar has greatly silted up la erly and a visit from the dredge is urgently needed; Several increases have swelled the birthrate here, viz.: Mrs. H. Strong a daughter, Mrs. J. La y a daughter, and Mrs. H. Dunne a daughter. All are doing well; The following pupils were successful at the late Q.C. exam, viz.: Alma Anne s, Jean Stephens, Essie Ison, Joseph Patrech, T. W. Smith.

Vol 16 September 15th 2017 By Mat Hatcher, Mayor of Eurobodalla Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 In 2013 when living in Canberra I travelled to the coast to a end my Australian Ci zenship ceremony at Eurobodalla Council. I never would have believed the path my life would take from that day to where I am now. It was that day I decided it was me to get back to the coast, so I le my job and made the move.

For the first year I chose to work li le and play a lot of golf. It took me around three months to realise I didn’t want to sit back. This was home now so it was me to make a difference.

First I joined the Batemans Bay Business &

Tourism Chamber where I met business owners and leaders in the community. It was such a great chance to surround myself with others that wanted to make things happen and were energised to do it quickly. I started my first business - a mobile coffee van - and that gave me the opportunity to get in front of a lot of locals and meet so many people across the shire.

From there I started dona ng me to various groups and raising funds for non-profits. This opened my eyes to the lack of resources we had in regional Australia and that by rolling up your own sleeves you could make a huge impact.

My passion is this community and making it great place to raise a family. I’m incredibly proud to have been elected by Eurobodalla residents to be the face and voice of their shire. I’m so pleased to work alongside my fellow councillors and so enthused by the work they have put in already in these early days. While we are mostly new to local government, we’re pu ng the hours in to catch up on the issues in the community.

Pu ng all that together in a region that is thought of as very parochial, it’s strange to think a boy from

Alabama would be chosen to lead this community. But taking a step back, I think I understand why.

Through bushfires, floods and the current pandemic, residents want someone who is going to roll up their sleeves and get in the trenches. Residents want clear communica on between themselves and the council and want to “see themselves” represented. The new councillor group is just that; we are your neighbour, your social advocate and even your barista. Just a group of people who want the same things you want.

So, in closing thank you. Thanks to all those residents who took the me to meet a candidate and support them. Whether the person you voted for is a councillor or not, know that we are all here working for you. We are available and we want to deliver on promises made.

Mayor Mathew Hatcher will share a message with the community on the first Thursday of every month

In The Silo, novelist Hugh Watson takes readers down a scary track informed by his long experience in Canberra and with electoral Vol 16 September 15th 2017 Vol 28 December 7th, 2017 Vol 48 April 27th 2018 shenanigans in country New South Wales. In his gripping new poli cal thriller, the residents of Gwydir, and intui ve Sydney detec ve, Susan Swi , must deal with a troubling series of murders. Newcomer, Barry Kingscliff, a party power-broker from the big smoke, appears to be at the centre of it all. Can anyone stop him ascending the ladder of corrup on? Has the reader hooked from the very first page. We quickly find ourselves immersed in the shadowy dealings of a newly elected corrupt poli cian. The pace is unrelen ng. (Adrian D’Hage, author of The Omega Scroll, The Beijing Conspiracy and The Russian Affair) All the elements are there: poli cs, greed, power and decep on. (Michael Brissenden, author and double Walkley Award winner) This second novel by Hugh Watson captures his country roots and poli cal experience in a compelling story of poli cal corrup on and dogged pursuit. (Philip Williams, author and former Chief Foreign Correspondent, ABC) When he was in second class at Bega Primary School, Hugh’s teacher Mrs Ubrihien gave him back his composi on and said: ‘You write very well Hugh. Keep it up.’ In his varied career as teacher, academic, poli cal advisor, public servant, consultant, Olympics execu ve, song writer and author he has. As a former Private Secretary to a Cabinet Minister and senior execu ve with the Organising Commi ee for the Olympic Games in Sydney, Hugh has had to opportunity to observe poli cs and poli cians closely. This is reflected in his novels. He was also Partner-in-Charge of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Canberra and more recently he has been a Visi ng Fellow at the Australian Na onal University and a director of his own consul ng company. With degrees from Sydney, Oxford, Canberra and Oregon Hugh decided to turn from academic wri ng to fic on. His first novel ‘Home Grown’, a poli cal thriller, led us on an imagina ve and twis ng plot of terrorism and poli cal intrigue. His second novel ‘The Silo’, draws on his county roots and poli cal background to take readers on a compelling story of poli cal corrup on and dogged pursuit. Hugh is also a musician and with his band Willie and the Correspondents (previously called West Texas Crude) he has wri en and released two albums, Wri ng on the Wall (2010) and Take Your Chances (2012) including the song Sons of the Somme which was added to the Na onal Collec on of the Australian War Memorial in 2013. Hugh will be having a book launch and signing at the Tathra Pub on March 17th, 2022.