The Big Issue Australia #638 – 25th Birthday Edition

$9

Ed.

638

04 JUN 2021

NO CASH? NO WORRIES! Some Big Issue vendors now offer contactless payments.

NATIONAL OFFICE Chief Executive Officer Steven Persson Chief Financial Officer Jon Whitehead Chief Operating Officer Chris Enright National Communications and Partnerships Manager Steph Say National Operations Manager Jeremy Urquhart EDITORIAL Editor Amy Hetherington Deputy Editor Melissa Fulton Contributing Editor Michael Epis Contributing Editor Anastasia Safioleas Editorial Coordinator Lorraine Pink Art Direction & Design GOZER (gozer.com.au) CONTRIBUTORS

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Cartoonist Andrew Weldon

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Contents

EDITION

638

COVER STORY

12.

25 Years and Counting...

From humble beginnings, The Big Issue has had quite the ride over the past quarter century.

25.

Celebrate Big From art shows to reading lessons and jet-setting abroad, our people reflect on the impact The Big Issue has made on their lives.

PL US

Check out our big birthday video for more messages, memories and all things Big!

contents photo of Lenny in Brisbane by Kylie Kluger

THE REGULARS

04 Ed’s Letter & Your Say 05 Meet Your Vendor 08 Streetsheet 10 Hearsay & 20 Questions 60 Ricky 61 Fiona 62 The Best of the Arts from 1996–Now 67 Public Service Announcement 68 Tastes Like Home 71 Puzzles 73 Crossword 74 Click THE COVER

illustration by Luke Lucas The Jacky Winter Group @luke_lucas

From his beachside studio in New South Wales to billboards and magazines around the globe, Luke Lucas is world-renowned for his bespoke lettering and unique, dimensional illustrative style.

Ed’s Letter

by Amy Hetherington Editor @amyhetherington

E FO RT NI GH T LE TT ER OF TH

Happy Birthday to Us!

I

have those nervous butterflies you get in the hours before throwing a big party. Will there be enough food? Will people like the playlist? Will all our vendors be allowed back to work in time to celebrate The Big Issue’s 25th birthday?

If there’s one thing COVID has surely taught us, it’s that you can’t take anything for granted. That’s why, as we put the final sparkly touches to this silver anniversary edition from Melbourne lockdown, we’re holding our collective breath that all of our special guests – our vendors and you, their customers – will be able to celebrate together.

The Big Issue is, after all, all about our vendors. They’re the reason we’re still here 25 years and 638 editions after we launched on the Flinders Street Station steps on 16 June 1996. It’s thanks to their courage to spruik this magazine on street corners all across the country.

It’s thanks to their determination to improve their circumstances. It’s thanks to their generosity in sharing their stories in these pages. And it’s thanks to the

support of people like you that The Big Issue continues to change lives. Know this: your custom and compassion make a real difference.

To mark our mighty milestone, this edition will see vendors receive two magazines for the price of one – thanks to our lifetime supporters Australia Post and The Body Shop – meaning they can earn even more income. This bumper edition honours the entire Big Issue community, our history and our people – and it’s been brought to life! We’ve created a special birthday video of messages and memories from vendors, Classroom speakers, Women’s Subscription Enterprise staff, Community Street Soccer players, contributors, supporters and a few of our other folk too. Proof positive The Big Issue has always been more than a magazine.

THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

04

A few months ago I moved interstate from rural NSW, where I didn’t have a vendor in my local area.

Yesterday, I bought Ed#637 from the vendor at Sandgate. I so enjoy your magazine! I’ve just read Helen’s vendor profile and wanted to wish her a belated happy birthday. My mum had the same birthday; she was a really warm and caring soul, and Helen seems to have warm and caring people around her now. She looks very happy in her photo!

LINDA MCK WOODY POINT I QLD

Kudos to Fiona Scott-Norman for her insomnia-beating name game in Ed#636. I tried it and it’s working beautifully every time.

I love Lorin Clarke’s ideas, but for instant practicality and effect, all praise the chook lady.

SUSAN MOIR SHELLEY I WA

SCAN ME TO SEE OUR BIRTHDAY MESSAGE

The Big Issue Story The Big Issue is an independent, not-for-profit magazine sold on the streets around Australia.

It was created as a social enterprise 25 years ago to provide both a voice and a work opportunity for people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage. Your purchase of this magazine has directly benefited the person who sold it to you. Big Issue vendors buy each copy for $4.50 and sell it to you for $9, keeping the profits. But The Big Issue is more than a magazine.

Your Say

Marcus, thanks for great, consistent service. It’s been great getting to know you. Thank you for always holding a copy when you know I’m behind.

You’ve taught me a lot and introduced me to this amazing publication.

HEATHER CONCORD I NSW

• Our Women’s Subscription Enterprise provides employment and training for women through the sale of magazine subscriptions as well as social procurement work.

• The Community Street Soccer Program promotes social inclusion and good health at weekly soccer games at 23 locations around the country.

• The Vendor Support Fund will offset the cost price of products for vendors, allowing them to earn a larger margin on their own street sales.

• The Big Issue Education workshops provide school, tertiary and corporate groups with insights into homelessness and disadvantage, and provide work opportunities for people experiencing marginalisation.

CHECK OUT ALL THE DETAILS AT THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

Linda wins a copy of Bake Australia Great, a cookbook by Katherine Sabbath. Check out her amazing celebration cake on p68.

We’d also love to hear your thoughts, feedback and suggestions: SUBMISSIONS@BIGISSUE.ORG.AU

YOUR SAY SUBMISSIONS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY AND SPACE.

Meet Your Vendor

PROUD UNIFORM PARTNER OF THE BIG ISSUE VENDORS.

SELLS THE BIG ISSUE ON HIGH STREET, NORTHCOTE, MELBOURNE

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

interview by Amy Hetherington photo by James Braund

Daryl

05

I grew up close to Mount Gambier in what’s known as the Green Triangle region in the southeastern part of South Australia. I went to school there, all the way through to Year 12. But I didn’t like school at all. After school, I was mainly doing vineyard work, apple picking, I used to be an announcer on a community radio station, 5GTR FM. My family life was not really that good. My parents were not really supportive. I moved in with one of my grandparents when I was 18. I left home aged 22, when they passed away. I decided to move to Melbourne in 2001 because there was one person I knew who had moved to Frankston.

I tried my hand at telemarketing – I wasn’t good at that – did a bit of delivering newspapers, junk mail, did a bit of door-to-door charity collecting which I was somewhat okay at. I worked for KFC as a fry cook, I did a Certificate II in Business Admin.

Back in 2004, I was long-term underemployed, living by myself in an apartment in Frankston. At that stage, I owed a lot in back rent. I was struggling. If it weren’t for things such as soup vans and community kitchens and that, I wouldn’t have been able to eat.

So I started at The Big Issue. I remember my first day, I was saying to myself, “Okay Daryl, if you don’t sell anything that’s okay cos it’s only your first day.” And then it was pretty good. I started to have money; I got pizza the first couple of nights. Then I started to have money where I could buy enough groceries to last each fortnight, or more. And that made me feel pretty good. It’s having that sense of dignity that comes with having an income. It’s actually me, you know, doing something for myself.

Every now and then, customers tell me they love the way I dress. They say things like “You’re very dapper” or “You’re very professional”. I get a lot of compliments for this hat – and I have a lot of fedoras I like wearing. I call it Victorian/Edwardian-style clothing. I was part of that scene and it was the overall aesthetic I was drawn to.

My life is a lot different now. I have less financial worries because I know that I’ve always got The Big Issue to fall back on. There’s been a lot I’ve been able to do; at the moment I’m doing t’ai chi ch’üan, which I returned to during lockdown. Since 2018 I have been studying psychology and counselling at ACAP. I’m doing different modalities of therapy, learning different areas of psychology, learning how people think, and being aware of different cultures. It’s helped me grow – I’ve got a lot more confidence in myself because I found out I’m actually smarter than what I gave myself credit for. It’s helped me gain a better understanding of myself and other people as well. Hopefully, I’ll get a masters in social psychology, and become a researcher and work in that field.

Thank you for supporting me – and for supporting The Big Issue for 25 years!

STEVEN PERSSON AND SONYA CLANCY

PHOTO BY MICHELLE GRACE HUNDER

T

wenty-five years ago, on a winter’s morning in June 1996, our first group of vendors braved the Melbourne cold to sell The Big Issue on the steps of Flinders Street Station. Today, vendors proudly don the iconic Big Issue fluoro vest across six states and territories, lighting up street corners in our nation’s cities and regional centres every day.

At its heart, The Big Issue is a community – and 25 years marks an incredible milestone in our rich history. It’s an achievement of which we can all be proud.

Together, we are in the business of taking people out of poverty and for 25 years we have done just that.

Our unique model not only provides opportunities for people to earn an income, but, most importantly, to build confidence and their capacity to help themselves.

Together, we’ve risen to various challenges, adapting to support those who need it most. While other print media has declined over the past decade, our much-loved magazine has bucked the trend. When an increasingly cashless society posed a threat to our largely cash-reliant vendors, we expanded to

include digital transactions. And when the worldwide pandemic temporarily paused all Big Issue operations, our community showed up to support our vendors, as we face the toughest economic climate in recent memory.

Since our first edition, more than 7000 vendors have sold 13 million copies of the magazine. Collectively, since 1996, The Big Issue vendors have directly earned over $32 million.

In 2009, we established the Women’s Workforce, which provides employment opportunities for women experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage, primarily as dispatch assistants for magazine subscriptions.

More than 170 women have earned more than half a million dollars of income thanks to the 700,000-plus magazines packed for subscribers. We now take on third-party procurement work, giving more women employment.

The Community Street Soccer Program is another important initiative of The Big Issue; it uses the power of sport to foster social inclusion and change lives. Since 2007, more than 11,000 people have participated in one of our 21 local programs across Australia.

We have educated more than 200,000 primary, secondary and tertiary students on the impacts

and causes of homelessness and disadvantage through our Big Issue Classroom program. This offers paid guest-speaking opportunities as another income source.

Most recently, we launched Homes for Homes – dedicated to tackling homelessness by increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. This enterprise is on track to raise more than $1 billion for social and affordable housing projects by 2050.

Our accomplishments lie in the scale, depth and evidence of the success of our programs. Programs that consistently lift people out of poverty.

Thank you for picking up this special birthday edition, and importantly, for being on this journey with us.

Thank you to our board of directors and advisory groups who have steadily steered The Big Issue from strength to strength.

Thank you to our community of vendors, participants, customers, supporters, partners, volunteers and staff for your commitment to making a difference.

While we reflect on the past 25 years of success, challenges and everything in between, we also cast our eyes ahead to the next 25. Make no bones about it: there is more work to do. Now, more than ever, those experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage need the support of our broader community.

You have stood alongside The Big Issue for 25 years, showing faith in a unique model that provides sustainable employment solutions for those living on the margins.

You have made a difference.

On our birthday, our wish is that you continue supporting us on this grand adventure.

The Big Issue is an agent for social change, and we are more committed than ever to helping people build confidence and capacity to help themselves.

With your support, the future looks promising. Here’s to the next 25!

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Sonya Clancy Chairman & Steven Persson Chief Executive Officer

07

Making a Difference

Streetsheet

Stories, poems and pictures by Big Issue vendors and friends

RETURN TO VENDOR

...TO JI M EV ER Y FO RT NI GH T

CI ND Y SE LL S ...

TH E BIG ISS UE

CINDY SAYS Jim is a nice bloke. I started selling The Big Issue to him not long after I moved back down to Adelaide from Brisbane. He’d just jump off the bus and come and yap with me and buy a magazine every fortnight.

I enjoy our chats about the footy. I will occasionally stir him up about the 2017 AFL grand final. I support Richmond, he supports the Crows. But for him, whoever wins on the day is meant to win. One of his daughters is also Crows, and his wife and other daughter are Port supporters. The first time he actually introduced me to his family was at one of the showdowns at Adelaide Oval. It was pre-COVID, and his wife gave me a hug. Jim and his family rock.

During COVID lockdown we kept in touch, just checking in to see how each other was, and checking in about how his family was going as well. And he’d ask about my pet birdie.

It’s like having a friend that you don’t have to invite around to your place. Jim gives me encouragement more than anything. I’ve learned acceptance from him.

He’s really quite encouraging of me keeping up my garden and he’s always very positive about things I do.

JIM SAYS Pre-COVID, I generally would stop and chat to Cindy when I bumped into her a couple of times a week. I’ve been buying The Big Issue from her for close to four years. If I miss an edition, she’ll always put one aside for me. To me, she’s more than just a vendor. I think she’s a wonderful person. Cindy has met my whole family – my wife has met her, the girls have met her.

Quite often, we have a joke or two. Mainly about football – she’s a Richmond supporter. That woeful grand final from a few years ago, when the Crows absolutely got slaughtered…she gave me a bit of a curry about that. But here in Adelaide she also has a local team, Sturt Football Club, which is my local club. I’ve been following them ever since I was a little kid.

The other thing we have in common is a bit of a love for birds. She’s got a pet bird, Sunshine, and we’ve also got a pet lovebird at home, Christina.

When I first met her, Cindy never talked about stuff apart from footy. But she’s doing other stuff now. She’s got the vegie patch going, and she’s doing driving lessons. She’s got her bike that she rides around. She’s moving forward, and she’s making a better person of herself, which I think is fantastic.

PHOTO BY NAT ROGERS

08

THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

Cindy and Jim met over The Big Issue four years ago. They’ve been talking pet birds and vegie gardens – and giving each other hell about the footy – ever since.

I have heaps of beautiful customers.

People are very generous and kind.

I’ve been doing The Big Issue for 14 years and I love selling them. It gives me money and income to support myself and my lovely partner Kellee.

We are currently saving up to go to the AFL grand final! I love car racing and V8s and support Wild Cats too. I am a big supporter of the Eagles and my favourite player is Elliot Yeo! As a member I get to watch them play in Perth and am going to the next game on Sunday. It’s going to be amazing.

JASON K JOONDALUP I PERTH

My customers are very thoughtful.

It’s not just a magazine they buy.

I got sick and didn’t work for a week. When I came back, I saw that many people had been worried about me: they asked me how I am.

I was shocked. I came home and I cried. I will never forget that day.

and keep me in this job. It brings a tear to my eye when customers tell me they are moving out of the area. A great memory was receiving postcards from my customers – I really appreciated it and it made me feel connected to my community.

CASPA CROWS NEST I SYDNEY

Dear Big Issue, thank you for accepting me and for continuing to accept me for 13 years. I’ve had a blast! I’ve met lots of very, very good friends and customers over my time.

I think the next 10 years are going to be extraordinarily fun! A memory that stands out for me is a funny one. I was working outside Virgin Mobile on Swanston Street in winter and it was a very cold day. I’m selling and this lady walks past in a bikini!

A bikini in Melbourne in winter!

I cracked up laughing and thought

I really have seen it all. All that aside, thank you to my customers from the bottom of my heart. God bless you.

CRAIG RIALTO, COLLINS ST I MELBOURNE

I’ve been selling The Big Issue at the Richmond Market for a few years.

It’s been excellent for me. Thanks to all the wonderful customers – regulars and new ones – and all the dogs. The dogs are very happy to see a bowl of water that I put out for them when they go for a walk.

I know they get thirsty when they’re walking and all the human beings are drinking coffee. Thanks for all the coffees, sausage sandwiches, all the cakes from the stall. I now accept cash, card and Beem It. And I’m staying put for a long time!

PHIL RICHMOND MARKET I MELBOURNE

ADNAN COORPAROO SHOPPING CENTRE & PADDINGTON CENTRAL I BRISBANE

A customer came up to me on her way to work and said: “You know what Greg, we see you as more than a vendor, you’re more like a colleague to us.” People tell me they miss me when I’m not there.

It feels like I fit in, like I’m meant to be there, like I’m included. I’m not just doing something for my own benefit, I’m part of people’s day.

They appreciate me being there, it’s very special.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!

My best memory while selling was on my birthday – it was a special day. I’m glad I turned up at the shops at my regular time of 7.30am; pretty soon after I turned up my best mate came past. The second thing that made my day was when one of my regular customers came past. I mentioned to her that it was my birthday and after going to Woolworths she came out with a bunch of flowers for me and gave me a hug. To top off my morning, the local real estate agent shouted me a hot chocolate. One of my friends who works at The Body Shop went and bought me a cupcake – that was pretty cool. Another one of my regulars came past and gave me a box of chocolates. All in all, my birthday this year has been one of my best birthdays I’ve had in a while!

GREG C CNR GEORGE & CHARLOTTE STS & ROMA ST STATION I BRISBANE

GRACE KAMBAH SHOPS I CANBERRA

The community of Crows Nest – I can’t pick a favourite customer!

They are the ones that bring a smile to my face while I sell The Big Issue

ALL VENDOR CONTRIBUTORS TO STREETSHEET ARE PAID FOR THEIR WORK.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

BRETT I EAST PERTH

My Best Birthday!

09

Thank you for giving me this great opportunity. I’m happy selling four days a week; it supports me financially. I feed three cats and it keeps me going. Big thank you.

Hearsay

Andrew Weldon Cartoonist

“

Animals eat faeces.

They like strong animal odours and pet food manufacturers have a really difficult time, because they have to make it disgusting enough so that the animal will eat it, but not so disgusting that the owners won’t buy it.

Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, on the strange recipes behind pet food.

BBC I UK

“We have finally found the one thing that makes all of us more attractive: a vaccination.”

White House senior official Andy Slavitt, on reports that vaccinated users of dating app OKCupid are 14 per cent more likely to find a match – and catch the love bug!

10

THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

CNBC I US

“He’s controversial, he’s told the truth, he’s done all this amazing stuff but people overlook that he’s a comedian.”

The Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde on Bob Dylan, who has just turned 80, recalling the moment she was seated at a table with him and Elizabeth Taylor. “Chrissie, I want you to meet my fiancée, Elizabeth,” he said.

“We are in a race against time.

Our teams continue to survey the area, finding new artworks every year. Almost without exception, the paintings are exfoliating and in advanced stages of decay.”

Adhi Agus Oktaviana, of Indonesia’s National Research Centre for Archaeology, who has found that climate change is vastly accelerating the decay of 40,000-year-old rock art on southern Sulawesi island.

WIRED I US

“Your twenties are kind of inconsequential. You’re kind of living – at least I was – without much sense of fear. Then your thirties are so different. Everything gets so fucking serious. It just all screams: ‘Fucking wake up!’”

Billy Piper, the English pop-starturned-TV-star-turned-stage-star, who is now also a first-time director – of the film Rare Beasts – which she also stars in, and filmed while pregnant with her third child – on being wide awake.

NME I UK

“The merging event with Gaia‑Enceladus is thought to be one of the most important in the Milky Way’s history.”

Josefina Montalban, from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, on research into that time when the Milky Way merged with an orbiting satellite galaxy 10 billion years ago.

“It’s kind of classic operant conditioning. We’re not putting men through mazes or shocking them for food pellets…but it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, I didn’t remember to do this last time and there was a negative consequence.’”

Sociologist Daniel Carlson, of the University of Utah, on one way of getting men to do more work around the house – women, simply do less.

Note well: Carlson’s research found that sharing home duties leads to more sex.

“It’s all fun and games when we are stealing each other’s money.

When we are messing with a society’s ability to operate, we can’t tolerate it.”

Sue Gordon, former principal deputy director of US national intelligence, on the need to deter ransomware attacks such as the one on a pipeline that carries about half the fuel on the east coast of the US, which shut thousands of petrol stations.

“Even baseball matches are being held currently without spectators.

Why not go ahead with the Games?

The Olympics will happen, even without spectators. Once it begins, everybody will be glad and it will be good for the economy too.”

Japanese politician Kozo Yamamoto on wanting the Games to go on after they were cancelled last year.

BBC I UK

THE NEW YORK TIMES I US

JAPAN TODAY I JN

THE IRISH SUN I IRE

SCIENCE DAILY I US

20 Questions

by Rachael Wallace

01 Whose portrait by Kathrin

Longhurst won this year’s Archibald Packing Room Prize?

02 True or false? In winter, reindeers’

eyes change in colour from gold to blue.

03 Who represented Australia in this

year’s Eurovision Song Contest?

Bonus point: what song did she perform?

04 On average, how many meat pies

does each Australian eat in a year?

05 In which country is the Sihanouk

Trail?

06 In snooker, how many points is the

brown ball worth?

07 Who was the sole survivor of the

Thredbo landslide in 1997?

08 What is the name of the device that

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD I AU

“We had had some hopes that, with last year’s COVID scenario, perhaps the lack of travel [and] the lack of industry might act as a little bit of a brake. But what we’re seeing is, frankly, it has not.”

Randall Cerveny, a climate scientist at Arizona State University, says that climate change ain’t slowing down.

NPR I US

CNN I US

“I watched all 236 episodes. I read a couple of books about Friends."

Ben Winston, director producer of Friends: The Reunion, on preparing for the job. He is clearly a Monica.

VARIETY I US

“It is true, I have been entered several times...not to sound rude but Edna’s been entered more times than she can remember, and Sir Les can’t remember.”

“Taking a sample from the animal is difficult because you never know what can happen… If you do it wrong, it can be even worse because it can hit you, bite you.”

Nelson Kipchirchir, a Kenyan vet taking nasal swabs from camels to research Mers-CoV, the coronavirus that killed hundreds of humans in Saudi Arabia from 2012 to 2015.

Researchers are trying to prevent it becoming another pandemic.

AFRICA NEWS I ZA

FREQUENTLY OVERHEAR TANTALISING TIDBITS? DON’T WASTE THEM ON YOUR FRIENDS SHARE THEM WITH THE WORLD AT SUBMISSIONS@BIGISSUE.ORG.AU

maintains the head on a can of Guinness?

09 What is the only insect that can turn

its head?

10 What is hippopotomonstrosesquip-

pedaliophobia?

11 What is the largest ski resort in the

southern hemisphere?

12 What is the chemical symbol for

silver?

13 Which Nobel Prize and Pulitzer

Prize-winning author wrote the novel Beloved?

14 Who was known as the “Colt from

Kooyong”?

15 Where did the inspiration for Jimi

Hendrix’s song ‘Purple Haze’ come from?

16 At the time of decimalisation

in 1966, how many different denominations of notes were there?

17 Brunch was first conceived of in

1895 for what purpose?

18 The Big Issue launched in the UK

in 1991, Australia in 1996: can you name three other countries where it’s also published?

19 How much did Apple co-founder

Ronald Wayne sell his 10 per cent share in the company for?

20 The Australian soccer team the Jets

call which city home?

ANSWERS ON PAGE 71

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Friend 1: “I have a tomato plant growing in my bedroom; it’s doing really well!”

Friend 2: “What? In a pot?”

Friend 1: “No, it just started coming through the window.

I probably should clean my room actually…”

Overheard on a V/Line train by Grace from Geelong, Vic.

Comedian Barry Humphries on being in more Archibald exhibitions than anyone else. That’s above everage.

11

“This can only last for so long...”

John Lovallo, from Bank of America, on the seven-fold increase in the price of lumber.

An unexpected surge in demand – thanks COVID – has pushed up the price, leaving little to export and making it impossible for people in Australia to do renovations, too.

EAR2GROUND

THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

YE ARS & . . .

G N I T N COU

PHOTO PHOTO

BY BY MARK AVELLINO

12

25

It’s quite the story: from our origins in the UK, to a tiny Melbourne office where the heater would knock out the computers (as well as this new‑fangled World Wide Web thingy), to a national organisation that’s helped put $32 million into our vendors’ pockets – not to mention self‑confidence and a sense of community. Sit back and take in the long and strange history of The Big Issue, where the one constant is the vendors – our heart and soul, from 1996 all the way till today.

LIO NEL ON HIS PIT CH OP PO SIT E FLI ND ERS STR EET STATIO N, WH ERE ISS UE WA S LAU NCTH E BIG HE D ON 16 JUN E 199 6

Graeme Wise founder and former chairman of The Big Issue Pretty soon we were working on a Big Issue mock-up, to convince the board that it was worth giving the idea a go. We worked out of the office

Misha Ketchell founding editor It was really cold the day we launched. It was probably the wrong time to do the launch, in the middle of winter! The vendors were shaking, they were so cold, and they were pretty anxious. Also, anything that was sold on the street corner back then was political or religious.

All those things were against them.

But vendors ended up selling 700 magazines in two hours.

Kirstie Papanikolaou former vendor support | Melbourne | 1996–2018

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

A

n early recollection of The Big Issue in London is spending an evening with John Bird, the founding editor of the original Big Issue in the UK. Gordon Roddick, a wise man whose idea it all was, said “Go and see John if you think it will work in Australia.” I was impressed with the unique and dignified way it had improved the lives of so many disadvantaged but good people. The Big Issue was a magazine the vendors would be proud to sell – and it was not a “pity purchase”. Several pints later we agreed it could work in Australia as it did in Britain. Gordon [who founded The Body Shop with wife Anita] paid to make it happen in the beginning, but he was really intent on it being self-sufficient and kept on at me about making it stand on its own two feet, so to speak. That would be the measure of its success, that it could continue to exist to achieve its purpose: to help people get out of poverty through an accessible but meaningful job.

of the Melbourne University student newspaper Farrago. The mock-up had some pretty embarrassing stories: one was about people who work in costumes, like the person who dresses up in a chicken suit and tries to get you to turn into a parking garage. But somehow that mock-up came out well enough and we got the funding to give The Big Issue a go in Australia.

I remember gathering on the steps of Flinders Street Station to launch the first edition. There were maybe 100 people there and I recall there was a juggler. Only a few weeks earlier had we set up an office at the Wesley Central Mission on Lonsdale Street. It was a bluestone building at the back of a church. When the magazines used to arrive we would form a chain, tossing a stack to the next person in the chain, to get the magazines up the stairs.

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IN THE BEGINNING…

I was living at Ozanam House on Flemington Road – that’s a men’s boarding house – and an elderly lady walks in when we were having breakfast or something and she goes, “Who wants to come out on the street and sell some magazines called The Big Issue?” She explained it was a book from London and all that, and I jumped up because I had nothing to do and said, “Yes, I’ll have a go.” That was back in 96, when I was first on the Young & Jackson corner, opposite Flinders Street Station. Back then, we sold the magazine for $2. And the tree there, on my pitch, it was really small. It used to be like the size of my leg, but now it’s really big.

Lionel Big Issue vendor | Melbourne | 1996–now

GOODWILL AND COFFEE

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THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

Right from the beginning the vendors were our biggest defenders and our greatest critics. When we put out an edition with a cover that didn’t sell so well, they’d come back into the office full of grumbles and suggestions. We decided against the page three girl idea, but many of them we took up and they were very successful. It wasn’t long before we

THE LAUNCH OF SOMETHING TRULY BIG!

were including ideas and writing from vendors in each edition.

The truth is that in those early days we were making it up as we went along. Inventing new ideas, trying out new writers. I remember the comedian Wil Anderson coming into the office. I think he’d been working in the Canberra press gallery and he wanted to contribute.

There were so many people keen to help and get involved; we really survived on goodwill and coffee.

There was one vendor whose personality was just that bit bigger than all the rest: Louis. He owned the Brunswick Street pitch and could talk the leg off a chair. He also had a great sense of humour and when he came back from selling the magazine it was almost impossible to get any work done. There were other vendors too who really took an interest in what we were doing in the small editorial team and did their best to help us out.

Misha Ketchell founding editor My role was super hands-on: training, support and supplying vendors with their magazines on the street each day. That wasn’t always easy – selling isn’t easy, and of course for many people their first Big Issue experience was happening as they managed a host

of other complexities in their lives.

We had this crazy crappy Big Issue van that the CSIRO had donated as a battery‑vehicle project. We got a famous motoring journalist, Peter Wherrett, to review it for the magazine – and he said it was a total heap of shit. Its top speed was 30 km/h. I ran out of power driving it home once on Burke Road, Camberwell, and had to run a power cord into someone’s house overnight to recharge it.

Leon Compton vendor support Melbourne | 1997-98

KEEPING HEADS ABOVE WATER It nearly beat us at times but every time it got really close to folding, the collective support of vendors, contributors, customers, staff and my colleagues at The Body Shop would combine to make us find a way to continue. I am proud that the magazine is still going strong.

Graeme Wise founder and former chairman of The Big Issue In the early days we were so busy trying to survive. As owners of The Body Shop in Australia, Graeme Wise and Barrie Thomas were funding everything. I think we were probably ordering maybe 15–16,000 magazines a run, and probably selling 3000 or 4000 – just to get our circulation up. So when I got to Lonsdale Street in 97, we were building the Great Wall, stacking up all the unsold magazines.

The Rachel Griffiths cover with the crown of thorns on her head was the first time we saw the sales go up. The vendors also loved it because it wasn’t a cover about homelessness. And we were just starting to be seen as a little bit groovy, as a little bit alternative.

I employed an advertising guy, Mark Cowdery, who came from local newspapers. We tried nonstop to get sponsors and advertisers.

Australia Post came on board right at the start. They were fantastic.

Polly Caldow former general manager | 1997–2000

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Except for one break, I’ve been selling The Big Issue this whole time – 25 years. I’m one of the last originals. I like the challenge of talking to people and getting them to buy from me. And I’ve made a lot of friends over the years. I mean, Brunswick Street in the 90s went off. It was like magic. I was at the right place at the right time and it just clicked in. I remember a restaurateur saying to me once “You know Louis, you’re a very important person in the street.” I was a part of the community there. The synergy was good. Getting a buzz out of selling the magazine, it’s like a little affirmation that you’re doing alright. For me, it helps.

Louis vendor | Melbourne | 1996–now

Putting the magazine together in those early days was tough. The internet may have been a thing in the world, but it was hardly a thing at The Big Issue office. Stories and photos and illustrations were delivered on floppy disk, and before long there were floppy disks everywhere, on every available surface. At some point someone said, “Hey do you think this World Wide Web thing has a future?”

The original offices were very cold in winter and the electrical wiring was suspect to say the least. When we turned on the heater, it would blow the power and crash the computers. So as deadline approached for finishing a magazine, it was considered too risky to turn on the heater.

I remember looking over at deputy editor Meg Mundell as she sat at her desk in a big jacket, scarf and beanie and tried to type with mittens on.

Simon Castles former editor | 1999–2003 When I joined the editorial team, it was a pretty shoe-string operation.

We’d curse the dodgy heater, but

When we turned on the heater, it would blow the power and crash the computers.

So as deadline approached...it was considered too risky to turn on the heater.

we knew the vendors were sleeping in unheated rooming houses, or outside in the freezing cold.

I loved talking to the vendors.

They taught me a lot. They all had different stories – the guy who spoke four languages, the maths whiz, the talented poet. They had a big influence on me, both personally and in my writing. They showed me how precarious life can be, no matter who you are, but they were all survivors. Most of all, I remember the humour: I’ve never laughed so much in a workplace.

I especially recall dear old Jim, who’d hold court in the garden, passing comment on everything and swearing his head off. One hot summer’s day I looked out the window to see Jim sitting there, chain-smoking rollies, making wisecracks as people went past, wearing nothing but his Y-fronts.

Meg Mundell former deputy editor and staff writer | 1999–2003

BOXES OF CHOCOLATES The magazine’s vendors are the soul of the place. I remember one old vendor named John, who when asked in a Christmas edition what he wanted for Christmas, said “All I

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

PHOTOS BY ILANA ROSE, JAMES BRAUND

WORLD WIDE WHAT?

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LOUIS STARRED IN ED#12 AND LATER IN ED#600

RACHEL GRIFFITHS IN A CROWN OF THORNS SPARKS A SALES SPIKE IN ED#21

SYDNEY VENDOR ROBERT SIGNS A COPY OF HIS VENDOR PROFILE (ED#149) FOR HIS CUSTOMER – KEANU REEVES

I started selling Ed#4 in Melbourne.

I used to sell at RMIT. I sold 10 copies on my first day! I found out about it through the Salvation Army men’s hostel. Selling in the early days was challenging. Most people thought it was a communist or a Christian thing. I didn’t think it would last more than 12 months.

Now I’ve been selling for 25 years.

Selling the mag has become an addiction to me. I’ve sold in every state except NT. When I sold the mag in WA, it had just started, so I was one of the first WA vendors. I was there for about two-and-a-half years. It was really good selling there. I got to know a lot of the locals and I had lots of regulars.

Now I’ve been selling in Sydney for the last 15 years. One of the funniest things that’s happened was when a policeman in Sydney came to my pitch at Wynyard Station and asked how work was going. I said it’s a bit slow and he said, “Right, I’ll fix that.” He grabbed the next person walking by and said to them: “Buy a copy or I’ll arrest you.” And the guy did!

Dundee Dave Big Issue vendor | Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney | 1996–now

CELEBRATING NINE MILLION MAGS SOLD, IN 2014!

I have so many powerful memories of my years with The Big Issue but the ones etched most deeply are of the vendors: the steely grace of Joe in Bondi, the beaming joy of Elizabeth on Collins Street and the fuck-you irascibility of Queen Vic Market’s Jim all left a mark on me.

But the vendor experience that moved me most was when I stood

Martin Hughes former editor | 2004–2006

A KISS FROM ELLE MACPHERSON This year is my 15th anniversary – I have gathered many great memories and opportunities with The Big Issue. Some of the highlights are getting a smooch from Elle Macpherson, morning tea with Deni Hines, representing Australia at the Homeless World Cup in Denmark and being a pioneer of the Street Soccer Program. I have also participated in many workshops through The Big Issue, such as the writing workshop and spoken word workshop. I was MC for The Big Issue’s 10th anniversary celebrations! To all and sundry who I’ve served, I humbly and gratefully say thank you.

Adam Big Issue vendor | Melbourne | 2006–now The Homeless World Cup we held in Melbourne was certainly significant. At that time, the fragility of the organisation was extreme; it was beyond tight. It seemed to just meander through with a lot of smiles and goodwill, but that wasn’t going to take it on forever. One of the most audacious and bold things that I’ve ever done was in 2006 – we had to bid for the event, and it was just outrageous at so many levels. The people who

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Simon Castles former editor | 1999–2003

PERTH VENDORS PUT THE FUN IN RUN IN 2016

in a vendor’s shoes one winter, at a new pitch, for as long as it took (two days) to sell 20 mags. Despite knowing that I was living in the apex of privilege, a cocky little shit who could go home any time, I was amazed at how vulnerable I felt standing there. I just wanted to hide. It took all I could muster to try and get noticed, and a tremendous faith in the magazine to try and engage with passers‑by.

I’ll never forget the gratitude I felt when a stranger smiled and bought what I was selling. It was a powerful reminder that as editor, my only purpose was to help create something worth selling.

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really want is a box of chocolates.”

By the time Christmas Day rolled around a couple of weeks later, John – who was very well-loved by his regular customers – had been given something like a hundred boxes of chocolates! There were so many stories like this at The Big Issue – stories that spoke of community and the kindness and generosity of ordinary people.

media – The Big Issue was much more satisfying. It is a magazine actually trying to help people.

Alan Attwood editor | 2006–2016 Former editor Alan Attwood held a weekly writing group for vendors.

I was attracted by the free chocolate biscuits but soon became hooked.

We read our own work aloud and I was fascinated by the hidden depths of my fellow vendors and their quirky takes on life. Wayne did a heart-rending piece about his dying father, written with the assurance and restraint of a seasoned professional, yet I doubt he had written anything before. After each session Alan walked around asking how each of us was doing. This made us feel cared about.

THE HOMELESS WORLD CUP TRANSFORMS MELBOURNE’S FED SQUARE IN 2008

Mariann Big Issue vendor | Melbourne | 2001–now ran it said it was more difficult than running the Olympic sites, because of the challenges faced by the players. We had to raise an enormous amount of money in a short time. Even though it was Street Soccer and not The Big Issue, it gave our reputation an enormous fillip. People took us seriously; we got to talk to serious people because we were so audacious.

And because it went off so well, it allowed doors to open for us.

Steven Persson CEO | 2005–now

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VENDOR IS THE WORD As The Big Issue grew and grew, groups of students were interested in coming into the office, wanting to hear about The Big Issue. In fact, the first time I really heard about The Big Issue was when I was in Year 10, through a youth organisation I was involved with. We had a vendor, Damo, come and speak to us – everyone had $3 and bought a magazine, that’s how long ago it was. And I just loved what The Big Issue did. It was an example of how business could do good in the world.

A few years later, in 2009, a pilot Classroom program was launched.

It was a success; they advertised

for a coordinator – and I was really interested in the job. It had such a positive feeling. We employed vendors who were homeless to share their stories with school students. And there was a moment that I realised that one of the guest speakers was Damo, which was actually quite amazing.

Danya Sterling manager Education Enterprises | 2010–now My happiest memories are of breakfast launches outside the old bluestone building off Lonsdale Street, or chatting to a vendor in the courtyard. I remember seeing Lea there, the day her vendor profile appeared in a new magazine. She was just sitting there, re-reading her words and admiring James Braund’s lovely portrait. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t need to. There she was, featured in the magazine: she mattered.

The vendors, and all the people in Big Issue world, kept me involved far, far longer than I’d ever expected to stay – first as a columnist and part-time proofreader, then as the most inept Street Soccer volunteer, then editor and, after that, Big Issue Classroom facilitator. I came from mainstream

The first day I sold The Big Issue – on the Myer Bridge in Perth – I sold 30 and I was hooked. I sold with Adrian, who first told me about The Big Issue. He said it’s similar to The Sunday Times, but it’s a lot better publication. He said, “You get a hold of this, you’ll never go backwards.”

It’s a far-reaching magazine, and I’ve been pretty proud of its content – of everyone who puts effort into writing for the magazine, including the vendors. I’ve met a lot of vendors over the years who are no longer with us. If I was going to do a true article it would be for all of them, because every vendor, past and present, has contributed to the content and the wellbeing of this magazine and should be acknowledged.

Bill vendor | Fremantle | 2003–now I have a whole bunch of small memories of vendors looking out for and supporting each other. One vendor always giving vendors a free mag on their birthday, another always doing the dishes at our magazine launches. Vendors offering their couch to other vendors who are doing it tough, vendors clapping and celebrating when a vendor graduates, vendors often making

small donations to charity collectors on the streets, vendors giving each other a lift when it’s raining. The list goes on. I think it is these small gestures that demonstrate that The Big Issue is like one big family.

Andrew Joske state operations manager | WA | 2015–now

HOOK, LINE AND SINKER I started selling The Big Issue in Sydney in 1997. It was pretty hard selling the magazine because not a lot of people knew about it, and I used to stutter real badly, so I was too scared to speak to people. But I would sit opposite the cinema on George Street and customers would buy me coffee and a doughnut.

I moved to Adelaide 19 years ago and started selling The Big Issue there – best move I’ve ever done. I was one of the first Adelaide vendors; there were about 10 all up – now I’m the only original vendor left. I used to have a fishing pole with a cardboard fish stuck on the end of it and I used to hold it out on my pitch. People would come up to me and say you’re not going to catch anything here and I would say, “I caught you, haven’t I?” Customers from Sydney would

also buy from me in Adelaide. But they’d all be shocked to see me.

One customer from Sydney walked out of a shop and froze, because he thought he was back in Sydney.

The look on his face was priceless.

There was one girl in Sydney who would come and see me for a chat because she was pretty lonely at her uni. I bumped into her in Adelaide and she brought over her parents so I could meet them. The father thanked me for looking after her.

Brian Big Issue vendor | Sydney and Adelaide | 1997–now

WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? I can’t remember how long I’d been at The Big Issue when I asked: “Why don’t we have many women vendors?” So I took myself off to a women’s group and they literally sat me down with a nice cup of tea and said, “So, you’d like women to stand on street corners and sell to mostly men, and the reason they’re marginalised and homeless is overwhelmingly because of domestic violence, and you’re not offering childcare, and you can’t guarantee them an income?” I felt impelled: every time we lift a rock and see a problem it

should be someone’s responsibility to do something about it. And someone just said, “Why don’t we sell it by subscription and make it only women?” And so we went to Parliament to get seed funding, which was an absolute godsend.

Steven Persson CEO | 2005–now I remember that I couldn’t believe that it was finally happening: our first Women’s Subscription Enterprise shift in October 2010.

It was a departure from what we had done with the magazine. I was super excited, as I was involved with the set-up: speaking with agencies about possible women to work, meeting the women, explaining what we were about, hiring and training. We had seven women ready to start and I think just over 600 subs. The first shift had a buzz of excitement and the women connected so easily with each other. The discussions started about how they would spend their first pay. The women hadn’t had the luxury to spend money on themselves – jewellery, a new bra, clothing – it was the little things.

Gemma Pidutti state operations manager and vendor support | Victoria and Tasmania | 1999–now

CHERYL AND OREO SEND OUT MAGS

Cheryl Big Issue vendor, Classroom speaker and WSE | Melbourne | 2007–now

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Gemma from vendor support asked a few female vendors if they’d be interested in doing some women-only work, packing magazines for subscribers once a fortnight for four hours, paid an hourly rate. Of course I was interested, as it meant a guaranteed income.

Our first shift was a bit of a learning curve, but we got there in the end because here we are 10 years later in Melbourne and now have Women’s Subscription Enterprise in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide. It’s given me work, great friendships – as well as new skills. In 2012 all 21 of us from Melbourne did a Certificate I in Vocational Preparation and Certificate III in Business – and all 21 of us passed, which was a great opportunity for a lot of the ladies.

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FEDERATION SQUARE PHOTO BY DAVID SIMMONDS

A BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE...

THE BIG ISSUE

BY NUMBERS

13 million The number of copies of The Big Issue that have been sold.

800

7000

The number of vendors who sell the magazine every year.

The number of people who have sold The Big Issue in Australia.

$ 32 million

support was teaching her how to use the Quest device. I vividly remember her happy face when I tapped my card on her device to buy a magazine and she exclaimed “Look, I’m like a real shop!”

Sally Hines former COO | 2011– 2020

WHAT LIES AHEAD In an ideal world, The Big Issue would not exist. But homelessness is not going away. In fact, it’s getting worse. Until that changes, The Big Issue will be there, reminding people that they matter.

Meg Mundell former deputy editor and staff writer | 1999–2003

The amount of money that has gone directly into the pockets of Big Issue vendors.

The number of subscription copies of The Big Issue that have been packed by women employed through the Women’s Subscription Enterprise.

The number of people who have taken part in the Community Street Soccer Program.

$ 25,000

200,000

The amount the magazine is estimated to save the community per vendor, per year through a reduction in demand for social services like hospitals and welfare.

The number of students who have learned about homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage through The Big Issue Classroom.

WHERE THERE’S BLACK SMOKE...

We launched in Adelaide in July 2002, and our first office was actually a supplies storeroom for an emergency relief centre. It would regularly go above 36°C in summer. We had just one computer between two vendor support staff, which we’d rarely use because sales were reported to head office via ballpoint pen and a fax machine. I remember sitting at that computer and the monitor blew up, and a black waft of smoke emerged.

That’s been the biggest change: technology has allowed us to work more closely together. We’re a

national organisation, rather than a series of offices. We’re growing up as an organisation, and we’re having more impact.

Jeremy Urquhart national operations manager and vendor support | 2002–now My favourite memory of my time at The Big Issue was the rollout of the digital payments. I had worked on the project for five years – speaking to many a tech boffin. The day we launched the digital payments in November 2018, I was in our Sydney office with vendor Rachel. We were preparing to go on ABC Radio together to talk about the payment option and Chris from vendor

Steven Persson CEO | 2005–now The Big Issue is a magnet for exceptional people. Those who work there are very strange indeed. Instead of looking after their own best interests, they champion ours. And their actions go way beyond the call of duty. Ever since I started as a vendor 20 years ago, both the staff and volunteers went out of their way to help me.

In an indifferent and bruising world, it’s comforting to have people in your corner.

Mariann Big Issue vendor | Melbourne | 2001–now

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

10,000

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700,000

Over our 25 years, we’ve faced many challenges, but our greatest challenge lies ahead of us, as we adapt to a COVID‑changed world. The Big Issue has an innate responsibility to people on the margins. We need to deliver the outcomes that we’re very good at, in a sustainable way. And we need to keep focusing on the end game: taking people out of poverty. And as long as we continue to hold true to those things, The Big Issue is in such a good position to take the next leap and show the leadership that I believe it has shown for such a long time. It’s given me an enormous privilege to work for an organisation that truly leaves the world better than it found it.

E H T F SIGN O E N I L E M I T

The Big Issue launches in Brisbane JULY

The Big Issue is shortlisted for a United Nations Association Media Award OCTOBER

Princess Diana dies

FEBRUARY First International Vendor Week is celebrated

2012

The Big Issue wins Best Cover at the INSP Awards AUGUST

FEBRUARY

Google

is founded

Edition 400!

MARCH WSE employs its 100th woman FEBRUARY

The Big Idea is launched JULY

JUNE

DECEMBER Vendors earn $1 million from magazine sales

Women’s Subscription Enterprise is launched

Nelson Mandela dies DECEMBER

Arab Spring

15 years!

World population reaches 7 billion OCTOBER

MARCH Women’s Subscription Enterprise employs its 150th woman

Homes for Homes is launched DECEMBER

Edition

500!

Vendors earn $20 million from magazine sales

David Bowie dies JANUARY

2016

2014

OCTOBER

OCTOBER Malala Yousafzai co-wins the Nobel Peace Prize

Big Issue Classroom welcomes its 100,000th student NOVEMBER

APRIL

Prince dies

JUNE

20 years!

OCTOBER Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature

2017

2015

SEPTEMBER

FEBRUARY First annual CEO Selling Week

OCTOBER

JULY The inaugural Big Lunch is held in Adelaide

2011

OCTOBER The inaugural Big Shift is held during Anti-Poverty Week in Sydney

2013

SEPTEMBER

1999

1998

AUGUST

DECEMBER Same sex marriage is legalised in Australia

illustration by Xenia Latii

JANUARY Vendors begin wearing fluoro vests

2010

The Big Issue launches on the steps of Flinders Street Station JUNE

1997

1996

MARCH The Big Issue launches in Sydney

Edition 100!

SEPTEMBER

Sydney

Olympics

2001

2000

JUNE

JUNE The Big Issue turns 5 SEPTEMBER

9/11

FEBRUARY

Facebook

launches The Big Issue launches in the ACT MARCH

National Apology to the Stolen Generations

NOVEMBER

Community Street Soccer Program kicks off nationally JUNE

The Big Issue

2006

is 10!

Australia wins the Fair Play Award at The Homeless World Cup in Milan

MARCH Vendors earn $27 million from magazine sales

DECEMBER The Big Issue launches its first standalone calendar

A family moves into the first Homes for Homes house

The Big Issue begins accepting digital payments NOVEMBER

JANUARY WSE packs its 700,000th subscription

COVID lockdown stops vendors selling The Big Issue nationwide MARCH

13 million magazines sold by vendors!

2019

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER The Big Issue celebrates 600 editions

FEBRUARY First COVID-19 vaccination is administered in Australia

DECEMBER Vendors earn $32 million from magazine sales

Homes for Homes houses its 32nd person FEBRUARY

JUNE The Big Issue turns 25!

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JUNE The Big Issue wins Best Vendor Contribution at the INSP Awards

2021

Greta Thunberg begins her School Strike for Climate

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

JUNE

AUGUST

2018

The Big Issue hosts the International Homeless World Cup in Melbourne

2020

2009

SEPTEMBER

Edition 300!

DECEMBER

2008

MAY Vendors earn $10 million from magazine sales

MARCH

First Big Issue Fiction Edition is published DECEMBER

JANUARY

2007

The Big Issue Classroom program is launched

Edition 200!

The first iPhone is released

FEBRUARY

FEBRUARY

The Big Issue launches in Perth OCTOBER

APRIL

2004

2002

AUGUST The Big Issue launches in Adelaide

CELEBRATE

BIG

From art exhibitions to literacy lessons, permanent housing to the Homeless World Cup, The Big Issue makes a big difference.

Ron Adelaide

I

’ll be 70 in September. I never went to school when I was younger. I started school when I started at The Big Issue, about four years ago. I had to read something, and I told one of the girls in the office that I couldn’t read. She told me her mother had the same issue, and that really got me going. The Big Issue helped me out with a course.

I’ve got two grandchildren and I read to them often. Little do they know, it helps me more than it helps them! Being able to read to them is lovely. At the moment they’re really into chicken stories and farm stories; there’s one called Ten Favourite Animals that they like.

Help us celebrate big! For more of our stories, scan here to view The Big Issue’s 25th birthday video. thebigissue.org.au/ 25-years-big

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PHOTO BY NAT ROGERS

SP EC IA L BI RT HD AY VI DE O!

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Ron sells The Big Issue at Pirie Street, Zuma Caffe and Elizabeth Shopping Centre.

Gary Sydney

I

’ve met lots of people selling The Big Issue. One regular customer had to go back home to visit her relatives and asked me to reserve the issues for her. When she came back, she bought all the back issues from me!

Another customer offered to get some of the staff at her office to buy the Christmas edition. She took 10 copies with her and sold them all.

I recently fractured my ankle. When I was in hospital two of my customers came to visit me – Sabine and Maria.

People also rang and emailed the office asking what had happened to me. And when I got out of hospital two cards from customers were waiting for me at The Big Issue office. It makes me really emotional.

Makes me feel really positive and valued.

Gary sells The Big Issue at Kent Street, approaching Darling Harbour.

Peter J Melbourne

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THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

T

he Big Issue helped me pull my life back together again. I used to sit at home all day drinking cheap wine. I got physically ill from doing that, and I was tired of never having money. So I rang The Big Issue, and made a promise that I wouldn’t drink while I was working. So far, I’ve kept that promise.

Kirstie in vendor support used to get me to tell my story to the volunteers that came in to help with the vendor breakfast. She was on me about starting with the Classroom program, talking to schoolkids. Eventually I said I’d do one. I really enjoyed it! That was 11 years ago. Since then, I’ve spoken to more than 23,000 kids. And if one kid gets something out of what I say and they don’t make the same stupid mistakes I made, I’ve done my job.

Harjinder Perth

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

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PHOTOS BY AUTUMN MOONEY, JAMES BRAUND, ROSS SWANBOROUGH

W

hen I joined The Big Issue, I was lacking in confidence.

I was feeling worthless, as I had not done anything for months – I was staying in a women’s refuge who were supporting me.

At the Women’s Subscription Enterprise, I was working in a comfortable environment, with all women who had experiences similar to mine. I was able to develop myself as a professional. I took on some extra responsibility as a team leader during the shifts. I didn’t realise that I could be a leader, and I found myself developing new skills.

The Big Issue provided me with the opportunity to do additional work with one of their corporate partners, Bis, as part of their social procurement work. Bis invited me to submit a job application, and in August 2018, they employed me full-time. After a year I was promoted, and I have also joined an emerging leader training program.

Working full-time has given me financial security. I have been able to start studying again and now I am studying a Bachelor in Computer Science.

Beyond work and study, I don’t have a lot of time. I am still quite reserved, and have a small group of good friends, including some of the ladies I met at the WSE. It was amazing to work at The Big Issue – it set me on a whole new path.

Jeromy Brisbane

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THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

Jeromy sells The Big Issue outside Officeworks, Brisbane CBD.

PHOTOS BY KYLIE KLUGER, JAMES BRAUND, ROHAN THOMSON

A

few years ago, I joined up to The Big Issue, and I haven’t left since. Having work that is supportive and flexible really helped me. It meant I could take the time I needed to do what I needed to do, like go to the doctor, or get some extra sleep, or go home early if I was having a bad mental health day.

Getting support from the office really helped me. They’ve put me in touch with people doing food packs and clothing packs, given out numbers for psychologists and psychiatrists. They offer to take you to the hospital. If I didn’t have a phone they’d let me use theirs – just little things to help me get off the street and into supported living.

Even having a mailing address that you can give out to others – it helps you feel more secure, more connected. They really care about making your life better.

People in the community help out too.

They see that you’re wearing a vest and give you a free meal, or come and see you later to buy the mag. People can see that you’re working hard and they want to help you. I just run with that.

Tina Melbourne

I

was so excited and proud to be representing my country at the Homeless World Cup in Wales in 2019. I carried the Australian flag at the opening ceremony – and I kicked four goals. It was sensational. The other players were like sons to me, because that’s how old my three boys are. I met so many people from different countries, and it made me appreciate what I have.

I’ve been playing Street Soccer every week for over 10 years. I was homeless at the start. I was really in the dumps, very unwell. Now I’ve got permanent housing, my fitness has improved – I’ve lost about 13 kilos – and I’ve made a lot of friends. And I’ve got work at the Women’s Subscription. It helps a lot. I’m happy at the moment. Very happy.

Grant Canberra

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Grant sells The Big Issue at Woden Town Square, Gungahlin Marketplace and North Quarter, Civic.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

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he Big Issue helped me get stable accommodation. I live at Common Ground. It’s for people who are homeless and on low income.

Before I found housing I lived at Havelock House. I have also stayed at backpackers.

Now and again, I slept rough.

I like living in my new place because I can buy nice things and not have to worry about them being stolen. Since living in housing, I have given up gambling. I talked to the Gambling and Racing Commission to make some new laws to stop people like me from going back to clubs once their self-exclusion period has finished. The Big Issue has given me self-esteem to communicate.

If I didn’t sell the magazine, I would be sitting at home losing my mind.

Robbie Perth

F

or the past year-and-a-half, as well as selling The Big Issue, I have been working as a forklift driver at SecondBite, two days a week.

Outside of The Big Issue it has been my longest stint at holding down a job. I love the team and the work, and it has given me stability and some extra cash.

I learned many things working at The Big Issue around controlling my moods, taking responsibility for myself and communicating better. All these things have helped me improve my life outside of The Big Issue – from my work at SecondBite, to my living situation, to my relationship with my old man who is now also a vendor.

Robbie sells The Big Issue at the corner of Hay and William Streets.

Daniel K Adelaide

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he Big Issue has helped me fund my art. I can pay for materials like canvases, sketchbooks, pencils and paints. It’s also helped me raise some money to have my shows at the Fringe Festival. I’ve had four Fringe shows by myself and I’ve been in 11 altogether.

I do paintings and sketches mainly.

I’ve done politicians, footballers, cats and Star Wars figures. I did some politicians as Star Wars figures – John Howard as Yoda and Paul Keating as Salacious Crumb. I did a show once of women politicians in Australia’s history.

At the moment, I’m working on a series of birds of South Australia. I’m hoping to have an exhibition in next year’s Fringe.

Daniel sells The Big Issue at Hutt Street, Waymouth Street and Norwood.

Fiona Melbourne

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

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PHOTOS BY ROSS SWANBOROUGH, NAT ROGERS, JAMES BRAUND

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he Big Issue was a life‑changing program for me. Street Soccer was something to look forward to when the rest of my week was a bit chaotic – trying to look for accommodation, trying to get a meal from somewhere. It felt like a family. And the opportunity to go to Queensland for the Nationals was an eye-opener: being on the plane for the first time in my life.

When I came back, my confidence grew, my self-esteem, my self-worth, all those self words – and then I got the gig with Classroom. I shared my story of escaping domestic violence at 14, through to being homeless as a consequence, with more than 12,000 students over six years. Being able to share that journey – and the stuff I did while I was homeless to get my VCE and get into uni – reminded me that I’ve been through so much, but I’m still here.

It played a massive role in my recovery with mental health challenges.

Today, I work as a peer support facilitator at Voices Vic, a mental health peer-led program, where I also deliver training to clinical services and hospital staff. And I work with Independent Mental Health Advocacy to deliver training in mental health advocacy, so people can advocate for themselves.

My purpose is to help anyone and everyone that I cross paths with that’s been through similar sorts of issues.

Please get the support, because the support is out there.

7.25am

The Hard Sell The Big Issue’s Mark captures the pulse of the city from his Adelaide pitch.

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6.25am The alarm on my phone sounds. I roll out of the bed in my boarding house room, careful not to sit on the bung spring in my mattress that will, I’m sure, one day cause me immense pain.

I have no more and no less than 46 minutes to leave my room in order to catch my bus.

It’s always on time. I’m rarely late. But I’m never too early; I hate to wait at bus stops. It’s a fine line.

My first thought is coffee. I have a very large mug, it holds two cups. It suffices. I watch some mindless breakfast TV and gradually get ready for work. I fill my pockets with a wallet, some loose change,

my phone, half a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

Slinging my Big Issue bag over my shoulder I exit at… (for those of you doing the maths)…

MARK SELLS THE BIG ISSUE IN ADELAIDE ARCADE

7.11am ...and head down South Terrace towards my bus stop.

As I get to the bus stop I have just enough time to put on my vest and badge before the bus rolls up. I get on and say hello to my Bus Mum. She is just like my real mum – she nags, she encourages – but I only see her five minutes a day, the time it takes to get from my bus stop off South Terrace, to my next stop on Pulteney Street. I say goodbye and wish her a good day.

I arrive at my pitch, Adelaide Arcade, and pull my first two Big Issues out of my bag.

It’s always a dream to sell a mag to the first person you show it to. It always leads to a big day. A positive affirmation that life is both amazing and worth living… It doesn’t happen today. In fact the first person I offer the magazine to doesn’t even make eye contact with me. Oh well. Miracles don’t happen every day.

At this time of day there are very few people around; it’s mostly just me and the pigeons.

But I will nearly always sell one in the first half hour, so it’s worth waking up early.

This morning my first customer is a regular. A nice man in his fifties, I think he works at the uni campus across the road. We exchange pleasantries and he is on his way. And so am I, my first sale for the day! Hurrah!

8.15am I’m just innocently kicking my foot at the pigeons when I look up and see some strapping lads heading my way.

I recognise one of them as the captain of an AFL team, who will remain nameless. Now, as they get closer, I recognise another from the same team.

A lot of AFL teams have been staying at the Ibis down the road from my spot, so I have been celebrity spotting for most of this season. Not one of them has bought a magazine disappointingly, but today the captain says hello, nice bloke.

10.01am I have sold seven so far, which is about average. Could be worse. I try to sell 25 every six‑and-a-half hour shift. It

doesn’t always work out, but it always surprises me when it does.

I look to my left and see a young girl I know who is homeless coming down the street. I think she is as young as 20. We always have a good chat; she is studying a certificate at the moment, so I always ask about it and urge her to keep going. She’s a bit down today, so I offer her a cigarette and this cheers her up. I wish her well and she leaves with a smile.

10.36am One of my regulars is coming towards me with a grin and a giant coffee in her hands.

The coffee is for me, she says, the biggest one they had. She said I looked cold, which I certainly was, and she thought I needed some warming up.

God bless her cotton socks.

I also needed some waking up for the lunchtime rush that was about to hit. She buys a magazine, which is a bonus.

I tell her she’s my favourite customer of the day, and she laughs as she says goodbye.

Many customers buy me coffees; it’s nothing for me to have six coffees in a shift!

I hate to say no to people’s generosity. Even if it does take a while to go to sleep at night, there’s nothing like sweet, sweet caffeine!

illustrations by Benji Spence

11.51am Alright it’s nearly time for the lunchtime rush, 12 to 2pm. I have sold 15 magazines, a little below par, so I need to be on the ball, energetic and alert.

I have stocked up on mags thanks to the girls in the office; they do a pitch walk to me most days, just before the rush.

I have a bag full of Big Issues, half a thermos of cordial and four cigarettes. Let’s do this.

12.00pm

1.45pm

Before I know it there are dozens of people coming in four different directions.

I select people to make eye contact with who I think might buy the magazine.

This is not easy. You get a bit judgemental with your choices, focusing on the key demographics of the magazine, ignoring others to your detriment at times.

I have one basic rule I try to follow: look for happy people!

I suppose happy people are more likely to help others; it’s not always the case but a good general rule.

It’s easy to get lost in the lunchtime rush, so I hold the magazine high for people to see, and I raise my voice: “Get your Big Issue here”, “Help someone help themselves”, “Great read guaranteed”.

The sales start gradually, a regular here, a random there, and most satisfyingly today, a new customer. I explain the mag to this elderly gentleman and he digs it. So he buys his first one. The first of many, I hope.

I have just one magazine left to sell. It’s been a bloody good day. I’m even friendly to the pigeons, as one of them sneaks in between my feet to grab a crumb. It would be good to sell this last one though, to make the day complete… ...And as I think this I see one of my regulars approaching, a $10 note clasped in his hand. I had forgotten that he said he would come back to get a mag half an hour ago, but here he is!

He beckons for me to keep the change, and gives me a “Go Crows” before he goes. Yet another kind soul.

12.35pm I look down the arcade and I smile. Coming towards me is my favourite customer. He smiles back. A gentle giant, let’s call him Rick, he always gives me 50 bucks and says keep the change. Rick’s from England, where The Big Issue started, and he’s a legend. I imagine I’m not the only person he helps.

A true philanthropist.

I’m not sure if Rick knows but he makes my week every time I sell a mag to him. A donation like that can really make a difference to someone on the breadline.

Rick leaves with a smile and I’m energised to sell the rest of my magazines.

2.06pm I sit in the window seat at Hungry Jack’s, eating my Baconator Deluxe meal, looking out at all the people passing by. All the flotsam and jetsam of the harsh, jagged wheel of life, of which I’m one.

An insignificant piece in the puzzle. But yet a satisfied one.

I have a place to live, food to eat, and a job that I enjoy doing.

It was another good day today, among many good days at The Big Issue.

I hope for more.

A Cover Star Is Born W

hen the first ever group of Big Issue vendors held up the inaugural edition of the magazine all those years ago, it was street performer Shep Huntly who graced the cover. Huntly regularly juggled knives (yes, knives!) for audiences in Melbourne and was happy to show off his juggling prowess – the city’s iconic Arts Centre spire rising high above him – for the magazine’s very first cover. Twenty-five years later, standing in the very spot he juggled knives for our

fearless photographer, Huntly still feels the same joy as when he was The Big Issue’s first cover star.

“It brings back such great memories for me. It was a really special moment in my life. Made me feel validated.

And it was something I could show my parents,” he says, laughing. “It was just a beautiful time.”

Huntly eventually left Australia to perform extensively overseas, a carefully rolled-up copy of that first edition packed in his bag.

25 YE AR S OF BI G CO VE RS

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

JU GG LE R SH STAR S ON EP HU NT LY ED IT IO N IN OU R FI RST JU NE 19 96

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PHOTO BY CHRISTINA SIMONS

To view a gallery of some of the most memorable Big Issue covers over the years – from rockers and Hollywood movie stars to Big Issue vendors and even a very grumpy cat – scan this QR code or visit thebigissue.org.au/25-years-big.

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HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

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HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

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K C A B P STE E M I T IN

Australia’s Population

1996 2021

Average Weekly Household Income

2021

Median House Prices

$868 $2117

Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide

Homelessness in Australia 1996

105,304 116,427 Postage Stamp

COST OF GROCERIES

2021

Perth

$0.45 2021 $1.10 1996

2021

$211,125 $131,000 $148,000 $110,000 $126,625

$1,061,229 $829,509 $593,232 $509,148 $513,566

Flat White

Loaf of Bread

$1.67 2021 $3.40

1996

$1.80 2021 $4.50

1996

1996

Big Mac

$1.97 2021 $6.45 1996

Australian Open Winners

Boris Becker GERMANY Monica Seles US 1996

Novak Djokovic SERBIA Naomi Osaka JAPAN 2021

SPORT

Grammy Album of the Year

Oscars Best Director

Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette

Mel Gibson Braveheart

1996

Folklore Taylor Swift

2021

1996

Chloé Zhao Nomadland

2021

ENTERTAINMENT

SOURCES ABS, MCDONALD’S, DUKES COFFEE ROASTERS, AUSTRALIAN OPEN, IMDB.COM, WOOLWORTHS. PHOTOS BY GETTY

1996

8.5% 5.5%

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

2021

18.3 million 25.7 million

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1996

Unemployment Rate

HOMES FOR HOMES

Building a Future

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DANIEL, JOSH, TRACEY AND NATHAN

More than anything, Tracey needed a home. A home suitable for her family – that’s where Homes For Homes came in.

by Anastasia Safioleas Contributing Editor @anast

The Big Issue’s Homes for Homes raises funds to increase the supply of social and affordable housing.

Homeowners register their property, promising to make a tax-deductible donation – 0.1 per cent of the property sale price – when they sell their home. The pooled funds are then granted to housing providers, who build affordable homes for people like Tracey. Homes for Homes has so far granted more than $1.1 million to social and affordable housing projects, and is on track to raise more than $1 billion in donations by 2050.

“People experiencing homelessness need many things: two of the most fundamental are money in their pocket and a roof over their head,” says Steven Persson, CEO of The Big Issue and Homes for Homes. “For 25 years, The Big Issue has provided no-barrier work opportunities which solves the ‘money in the pocket’ piece. There simply are not enough properties to house people who need it – more money is needed to create housing. Homes for Homes allows property owners to make a real difference in helping to increase the supply of housing for people in need. If everyone gives a little, we can solve the ‘roof over the head’ piece and ultimately, solve homelessness in Australia.”

Housing in Australia is in crisis, with a shortage of more than 600,000 social and affordable homes. In the past 25 years house prices have increased four‑fold and more – in Sydney median house prices have risen by 402 per cent and in Melbourne by a whopping 533 per cent. While that has made some property owners wealthy, home ownership fell to a low of 65 per cent in 2016, reports the Bureau of Statistics. In this unpredictable COVID world, it’s only getting worse. Low interest rates have pushed up house prices, with record highs in most capital cities. Renters on low incomes are also struggling. According to Anglicare Australia’s Rental Affordability Snapshot in March, the decline in average rents has done nothing to improve the situation at the lower end of the market. Of 74,226 properties for rent nationwide, only three were affordable for a single person on JobSeeker. Likewise for those receiving the pension, the parenting payment or disability support.

This is sobering news for families like Tracey’s, who are not only trying to find an affordable home, but also one that is wheelchair-friendly.

“Unfortunately, the rental market does not and probably never will offer accessible housing,” says Philip Wright of Habitat for Humanity. “Most of the time the only option is to pay for a house to be modified, or build from scratch. Obviously, this option is incredibly unattainable for many.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

your home and your family and your life… It’s hard to deal with. I want to take care of my family and to create a home.”

The loss Tracey refers to is the break-up of her marriage. “My husband lives in Indonesia. He abandoned his children about four years ago. I don’t have any support from him so I’m 100 per cent on my own.”

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PHOTOS BY NICOLE REED

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racey had given up on the idea of owning her own home. Somewhere she and her three boys could call their own and that suited their specific needs. They needed room. Lots of it. As well as a modified kitchen and bathroom, and ramps allowing easy access to the house.

Her youngest, Joshua, was born with cerebral palsy – he depends on a wheelchair. He needs the type of home with enough room for him to move around in, giving him longed-for independence. But rental properties didn’t tick any of those boxes and were becoming increasingly unsuitable. Not to mention insecure – it’s difficult being at the whim of your landlord. Tracey feared having to place Josh in full‑time care.

“How I was going to look after Josh and his needs had been a growing concern and worry for me,” a softly spoken Tracey says. “Was I going to be capable of giving him quality of life?” She’s taking my call from the quiet of her bedroom. Middle son Daniel is looking after the bolognese bubbling on the stovetop and keeping an eye on the garlic bread in the oven. They are both waiting for Josh to come home from school. Meanwhile older brother Nathan is at work. He recently moved into a share house to be closer to his job. “When Josh was much younger I could carry him, but now I’ve got to watch my back,” continues Tracey. Lifting a growing teenager just wasn’t an option anymore.

Faced with these challenges, Tracey turned to Habitat for Humanity. They provide housing for low‑income families in need, and with a grant contribution from The Big Issue’s Homes for Homes, in December Tracey and her boys were given the keys to a brand‑new purpose-built house.

“It doesn’t feel like a reality to me yet,” she says happily. “Having a house removes the worry, the stress, the fears, the anxiety… One of the things I’ve found living in this house is it brings a sense of peace into your home. I can put roots down for at least 10 years.

I know that I can build a network. The best way to give people a way up in life is to give them a secure place.

Everything else flows from that.”

Affordable and appropriate housing such as Tracey’s allows people with a disability to participate in all aspects of life. The absence of such housing can lead to homelessness, poor health and lower rates of employment and education, reports the Australia Federation of Disability Organisations.

Tracey has long grappled with the issue of housing affordability, particularly the unsuitability of rentals.

“If we were to stay in a rental, it would be very difficult in the long term. They are just not disability-friendly for people in wheelchairs,” she says. Compounding the problem was the insecurity familiar to most renters. The pressure was enormous.

“I’ve gone through a lot of loss in my life,” says Tracey, “and to keep having that sense of fear that you can be removed from a place where you are setting up

The best way to give people a way up in life is to give them a secure place.

Everything else flows from that.

TRACEY

Tracey’s home is Habitat for Humanity’s first purposebuilt house. “From the beginning they wanted to get this right and make it suitable for my family,” she says. “They had an occupational therapist work with the architect, which was a first. They wanted to get it right for my son.”

Tracey says having her own home is like winning the lottery.

“It gives my son the hope of independent living. And it’s all about inclusion in your own home. My son is now

included in the kitchen, which he couldn’t do in the last home. He’s included in the bathroom – he could never go to the sink before and look at his face in the mirror.

Imagine that? Couldn’t look at his own face in the mirror or even wash his own hands because he couldn’t access it. Imagine if you walked into your home and you were limited in what you could do in there?”

The impact on Tracey has also been huge. By having a home that adheres to occupational health and safety standards, Tracey can now hire a carer to help look after her son. “It gives me more freedom to live. There are things in my life that I can’t do because I’m a carer. Like if I wanted to have a weekend away, I could never do that in a rental house. If I wanted to have a night away, I couldn’t do it. If I wanted to go overseas… There’s a lot of things people don’t realise I would not be able to do.”

Josh is about to turn 16. They are still settling into their new home, and he’s begun talking about one day getting married and having his own job. How one day his new home could be his future family home, with his own partner and children.

“Fourteen years ago I sat in a doctor’s office with my very premature baby who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy,” says Tracey. “The doctor told me the thing I would most need in my life is a purpose-built home. I have been hoping I could achieve that for my family and today that dream has been realised.

A burden has been lifted.”

TO REGISTER WITH HOMES FOR HOMES, VISIT HOMESFORHOMES.ORG.AU.

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“Without access to appropriate and affordable housing, people risk being trapped in poverty and lack a proper foundation to build a better life. Homes for Homes provides vital funding that has helped us build two houses. Both of us are seeking to address the housing affordability issue plaguing our nation.”

Since its inception in 2015, Homes for Homes has funded 10 projects that will house 53 people. Another is Jema’s home, which she shares with her partner Romel and their young daughter Isla. Jema was previously in social housing, but the conditions of the lease meant that Romel was unable to move in with her and Isla.

Today they can all live together in their own home.

More recently, a Homes for Homes grant to Community Housing Canberra is contributing to the construction of a group home to support people with mental illness transition from living with ageing parents to a more independent way of life. And a grant to Housing First will see 36 purpose-designed apartments in Melbourne, created for pregnant women and new mothers who are experiencing family violence and homelessness.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

TRACEY AND JOSH ARE DELIGHTED WITH THEIR NEW HOME

WOMEN’S SUBSCRIPTION ENTERPRISE

CA RO L

RO SLYN

Women at Work Roslyn and Carol met on shift at the Women’s Subscription Enterprise in Sydney, and they’ve been good friends ever since.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

PHOTO BY AUTUMN MOONEY. INTERVIEW BY MELISSA FULTON

I started with WSE about five years ago.

Before that, I had spent virtually 10 years isolated.

I didn’t want to be with anybody, I couldn’t talk to anybody and I knew that if I didn’t get myself out of it, I’d be like that for the rest of my life. Getting the job really helped me out. It wasn’t the financial thing – I think I just needed people around. The girls here made me feel at ease and didn’t judge me. They helped me through what I was going through – stress and anxiety and panic attacks. They helped me come out of my shell.

We like to have fun. I dyed my hair yesterday for our shift packing the magazine, because the mag had a chicken on the cover. We danced the chicken dance and wore chicken hats. I like to see all the girls laughing.

Our social procurement work means we get to work in some nice offices – we worked at the Opera House.

I loved the OzHarvest CEO CookOff – they cook a three-course meal for you to raise money for people experiencing homelessness. Daryl Braithwaite was there!

Larry Emdur too. I got up and danced and went crazy.

When Roslyn first started she was very quiet. She’s a quiet person, but she likes to have a good laugh, and she’s a very keen, hard worker. She’s sweet and kind and takes pride in her looks and in herself – she’s doing a nail course, so we’re all waiting for her to finish it so she can do our nails!

CAROL SAYS

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I started working with WSE about three years ago. A girlfriend told me about it at an outreach centre. I enjoy the nice places we get to work. I’ve worked at Rizer and we’ve done some gift-wrapping; I’ve done some shifts at Westpac in Barangaroo, Business NSW – really nice offices. We packed a lot of good stuff for their businesses.

The women are lovely to work with; they’re really good company. We gather together before work and have a coffee over at the cafe. They’re always really supportive if you’re feeling down or having a bad day.

It’s a pleasant and happy atmosphere.

Carol is really funny – she always brightens up the day. She’s sweet and kind and very outgoing and enthusiastic. It’s always good to see her.

The WSE money helps me live better. I can buy new things like clothes. It’s built my confidence to be social, too. I have more freedom to go out and do the things I want to do. I’ve just started a craft group on Monday nights. I’m waiting to re-enrol in June in my course to be a nail technician.

My WSE work has helped me financially. It enabled me to buy a nail kit for $104 as well as a TAFE uniform. It gave me a big incentive to carry on and finish my studies.

I’m in the right place. I don’t really like to leave work – I’m a bit slow going out the door sometimes!

ROSLYN SAYS

The Big Issue Classroom delivers authentic workshops on the causes and impacts of homelessness. And because our presenters speak from experience, the kids lean in.

W

hen Cody Hammock and his fellow Woodleigh School Year 9 students filed into The Big Issue Classroom, he had no idea what to expect. “Was it going to be just another talk on drug safety or another city man educating us about the history of Melbourne?” he wondered. He’d seen a few Big Issue vendors around the city before, but Cody didn’t really get what it was all about. Who were these people who sold the magazine? And what were they doing out on the streets, spruiking and waving the mag

around? He took a seat with his class and started discussing The Big Issue.

It’s not always easy to engage students in social justice issues, but since 2009, The Big Issue Classroom has been doing just that – offering more than 200,000 primary, high school and university students, as well as corporate and community groups, an empathic education on life on the margins.

These workshops also provide a paid speaking opportunity for our Classroom presenters – both in‑person in Sydney, Melbourne

FOR MORE ON THE BIG ISSUE CLASSROOM, VISIT THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU/OUR-PROGRAMS/EDUCATION.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

WORDS BY MELISSA FULTON WITH CODY HAMMOCK. PHOTO BY JAMES BRAUND

All Class

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CLASSROOM SPEAKER PETER AND EDUCATION ENTERPRISES MANAGER DANYA STERLING

and Canberra, and online through our eClassroom. At the tertiary level, The Social Impact Project also offers students social enterprise immersion experiences, supporting the next generation of social entrepreneurs to make the world a better place.

Cody and his peers took part in a frank, authentic discussion of homelessness, disadvantage and marginalisation, led by a skilled facilitator and a speaker who’s experienced these challenges first‑hand. With open dialogue, question time and hands-on activities, they broke down stereotypes of homelessness and considered the big issues: why do people work? What does it mean to be engaged in a community? What are some of the barriers people have to employment, housing and support? How can we be more inclusive?

“We learned what it’s like to be marginalised and how it feels to be excluded from basic human involvements,” says Cody. “It really changed my perception of what it feels like to be part of a community.

I’m incredibly grateful to have the chance to hear these stories and learn about these issues.”

At the end of the workshop, Cody’s school group heard from presenter and former vendor Peter.

As Peter spoke about his experience with alcohol and drugs, a respectful hush fell upon the teens.

“We got the privilege of listening to a brave man talk about his life and past,” says Cody. “He had been selling The Big Issue magazines for a long time, and has been supported and helped throughout his time with The Big Issue... It was so amazing to see how he has recovered into such a genuine man.”

Cody and his classmates left their workshop with more than just a free magazine and a headful of ideas: “This experience will definitely stay with me forever.”

COMMUNITY STREET SOCCER PROGRAM

Any Given Wednesday Each week, all around the country, footballs are a-flying at The Big Issue’s Community Street Soccer Program.

Everybody’s welcome, and as volunteer Pete Cruttenden attests – the players are kicking all kinds of goals.

by Pete Cruttenden

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THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

Pete Cruttenden is a freelance writer and a volunteer at the North Melbourne Street Soccer Program.

A

battered football arcs through the air, its target an open wheelie bin 15 metres distant.

While the bin contains the essentials to run the North Melbourne Street Soccer Program (cones, bibs, collapsible goals and a dozen or so footballs), it also serves a much higher purpose – bragging rights for those lucky enough or skilful enough to land the ball inside its steep sides.

Zafir,* a strongly built man with lightning-fast feet, has been the undisputed bin champion for months now, ever since work commitments drew away his closest competitor, former

professional footballer Francesco. But in recent weeks Dandenong program stalwart Roger has been finding his range, and has an unprecedented treble to his name. Smiles and encouragement abound, but all eyes are on the prize.

It’s 1.30pm on Wednesday at the North Melbourne Community Centre, a well-worn facility in the shadows of the suburb’s housing commission towers, and a steady stream of players, coaches, volunteers and support workers are arriving in readiness for the 2pm start.

Many players have been coming along for years, so elbows are bumped,

D HEALTH, INCLUSION AN D CUP THE HOMELESS WORL Since 2017, the Federal Department of Health has been the major funding body for the Community Street Soccer Program, which has expanded to 21 locations around the country. This has resulted in a focus on the holistic health of the 300‑plus players who participate each week, with regular presentations on everything from nutrition and quit‑smoking programs to strategies for maintaining good mental health.

National Coach George Halkias says it has been a good partnership.

“We’re always trying to improve the lives of our players, and health is the basis for a lot of our discussions and our mentoring,” he says.

Another focus has been increasing the number of women who play. “There’s challenges for all women participating in mainstream sport, let alone those experiencing disadvantage, so we’re trying to create environments in which they can flourish, participate and be part of a community,” Halkias says.

Then there’s the opportunity to represent your state at the annual national titles, usually held in Sydney, or even to travel overseas with the Australian team to the annual Homeless World Cup. “Whether it’s smaller tournaments or the World Cup, it offers pathways for people to develop skills, to grow confidence, to test themselves, to improve their health, and do something they probably wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to do,” says Halkias, who has led the Street Socceroos’ 10 World Cup campaigns, from Edinburgh in 2005 to Cardiff in 2019.

“To represent your state is a pretty significant thing. And you see the difference when people return – there’s often an increased level of confidence, and a sense of achievement.

“And the Homeless World Cup is another level again. Not many people get to go, but to represent your country is a unique experience and can be completely life-changing.”

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

secured for purpose-built pitches, which resulted in the Fitzroy program moving to its current North Melbourne home, where it has flourished for the past 13 years.

There’s now a women’s-only program on Thursdays, and another 22 Street Soccer programs around the country.

Every Wednesday, North Melbourne attracts between 15 and 30 players, mostly men but also some hardy women. And there are many very fine players on show.

But even the finest player quickly learns that in this program winning isn’t everything. In fact, it isn’t anything at all. No scores are kept and everyone gets a go. The pillars of the program are respect, support, inclusiveness and safety. In a pure footballing sense, this means you play the person in front of you. It might be someone with the type of physical or intellectual disability that means they need more time on the ball, so you give them the space they require to contribute to the game and enjoy themselves. Or they may be an absolute gun, in which case you pull out every trick in your kitbag.

This breadth of footballing ability is mirrored by the composition of the playing group. On any given day there could be players from South Sudan, Turkey, Somalia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, China, India, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, alongside First Nations players and a number of Anglos. Old or young, poor or rich, homeless or housed – everyone is welcome. And it’s this cultural and social richness that’s at the heart of this program’s success, coach Diaz believes.

“Every program has its own distinct flavour, and the North Melbourne program is one of the most diverse,” he says. “There’s lots of players from migrant and refugee backgrounds, along with people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities, and people in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. And I think what makes us quite distinct is we have quite a few that come from the criminal justice system.”

Since 2008 The Big Issue has been running a Street Soccer program in the Marlborough Unit of Port Phillip Prison in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Marlborough is a dedicated unit for prisoners with an intellectual disability, and the North Melbourne program has

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illustration by Daniel Gray-Barnett

greetings exchanged, the weekend’s Premier League results debated, and personal news of the past week shared.

Some saunter off for a surreptitious dart – Street Soccer is a smoke-free program – while others join the quest for that holy grail, the successful bin shot.

Eventually Danilo “Ilo” Diaz, the program’s coach, calls everyone into a circle. New players are introduced, returning players acknowledged and visitors welcomed. The latter could be from law firms, tech companies or government agencies, as Street Soccer is popular with workers seeking a fun but challenging way to fulfil their corporate social responsibility commitments.

These corporate volunteers are here to support Australia’s oldest Street Soccer program. Established as a casual weekly kick around in 2004 at the Fitzroy housing commission flats by then Big Issue editor Martin Hughes and inaugural coach George Halkias, it was inspired by the first Homeless World Cup held in Austria a year earlier. That tournament was organised by members of the International Network of Street Papers as a way to bring people together.

“There was uncertainty about how it would go,” Halkias says. “We weren’t sure whether people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage had more important things to do than play sport, but we reflected on the impact football had on us and what it gave us, and we figured, why wouldn’t it work with other people?

“The first session or two were inauspicious – we had more volunteers than players – but through word of mouth it started to grow and grow, and we started to see positive changes in the individuals, which was rewarding and satisfying, and so we thought it had a future.”

The Community Street Soccer Program was launched nationally in 2007. But the real turning point was in 2008, when Melbourne was selected to host that year’s Homeless World Cup. The tournament was staged at Federation Square and Australia’s media outlets embraced the event, carrying images of the huge crowds that turned up to watch and broadcasting the personal stories of the players.

It was a resounding success and garnered the attention of governments and corporate Australia alike. Funding was

The camaraderie and culture of the program was put to its sternest test during the pandemic. The program was suspended for seven months, and many of the players were subjected to Melbourne’s now-infamous public housing lockdown. But Diaz, Halkias and others worked hard to ensure that connections were maintained and players were supported as well as the circumstances allowed.

“During the lockdown we were constantly making phone calls, we had weekly Facebook catch-ups, there were daily social media posts about health, wellbeing and soccer – anything to ensure that the sense of community was maintained,” Diaz says.

“Even so, after COVID, I wasn’t sure we’d get all our players back. But in the first month back our numbers were strong, and I think it was because players didn’t just want to get out and play football – they also wanted to get their community back.

“And I think that’s a reflection of the ethos of the program: come and play, see your friends, support each other and have fun, and as long as you finish the day happier than you started, then it’s been a good day.” * All players’ names have been changed.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

RIVALDO | STREET SOCCER PLAYER

“They have to learn from these mistakes and start to build their confidence about being in the community again, to demonstrate a level of responsibility.

There’s also a sense of making amends with many of them, and proving that they can contribute in a positive way.”

Rivaldo is one such person. Still an inmate at Thomas Embling, every week for the past two years, accompanied by a support worker, he has travelled to North Melbourne to participate in the program.

“When I first visited I thought This is a really good space. Lots of different people from all sorts of places, all different walks of life,” he says.

“It’s given me a social outlet – a place where I can go and be myself, catch up with the lads, see what they’ve been up to, and of course play football. It’s the highlight of my week.”

FOR MORE, VISIT THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU/OURPROGRAMS/STREET-SOCCER-PROGRAM.

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It’s given me a social outlet – a place where I can go and be myself, catch up with the lads, see what they’ve been up to, and of course play football. It’s the highlight of my week.

proven to be a vital stabilising element for many parolees.

“It’s a huge adjustment from being incarcerated to being back in the community,” Diaz says. “The Street Soccer coaches are familiar faces they see every week inside prison. Inside, it’s so much about routine, but when that is gone it’s like they’re free-falling.

On release their whole life will change – new house, new case worker, new struggles – but if they rock up on a Wednesday they see us again, and it’s kind of an anchor point.”

Former Marlborough inmate Jamie agrees. He was introduced to the program at the prison in 2009, and on his release four years ago was welcomed straight into the North Melbourne program.

“Inside, the soccer meant a good morning – it kept us out of trouble, gave us something to do, some good exercise,” Jamie says. “It was something to look forward to.

“But when you’re out it’s a bit of a challenge because you’ve got so used to being inside, and now you’re trying to adjust to being back in the community.

There’s all the appointments, all the responsibilities – seeing Corrections, paying the bills. There’s a lack of structure, and lots of people can’t cope after being inside for so long.

“But Street Soccer gives structure to your week. There’s Wednesday soccer, every week of the year. For two hours each week I was able to catch up with the boys, the coaches, the volunteers. It did help me to stay out of prison, I think. It gave me an outlet, people to talk to who are not connected with my past. The program’s helped me in a lot of ways, and I’ve met some great people.”

Another long-term partner of the program is Thomas Embling Hospital, a high-security forensic mental‑health facility in Melbourne’s inner north.

Halkias, who is now the Street Soccer program’s national coach and coordinator, believes the program’s philosophy of non-judgemental and welcoming support is particularly important for this group.

“You’re talking about people with mental health issues, possibly an intellectual disability, who’ve made some wrong decisions and left victims as a consequence of their actions,” he says.

by Melissa Fulton Deputy Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF BAWURRA

G

ot a big idea to change the world? For almost 10 years, The Big Issue’s Big Idea competition inspired and supported the next generation of social entrepreneurs to develop their projects. From high-end accessories made by refugee women (Homegirls), to an app connecting not-for-profits with underutilised office spaces (Us3), to 3D-printed custom wheelchair tables (A Tech You), and a community-based theatre program (Samaj Theatre), The Big Idea worked with thousands of students from over a dozen universities across Australia. It offered hands‑on training, immersion, education and mentorship in the not-for-profit sector, building on The Big Issue’s standing as Australia’s leading social enterprise. It’s all about helping the next generation to make the world a better place. So where are they now? We check in with some past winners who’ve made their big ideas a big reality.

EE IT M O RO L R A V IS HO B A W U RP U B L IC S C E A ST

The Bawurra Foundation Jesse Slok is the founder and chairman of the Bawurra Foundation, the 2017 Big Idea winners. They work with Indigenous communities to build a digital library of stories, which are shared with students in NSW schools.

I’m a Gamilaraay man, born in Tamworth, New South Wales. All throughout my schooling I was very fortunate because I always knew I was Aboriginal – my mother always told me. She made sure that I knew that when it came to schooling, Aboriginality wasn’t something that was left at the door when you walked in – it’s something that you always have.

Bawurra is the Gamilaraay word for red kangaroo. It’s a symbol of strength and leadership. That’s what we’re hoping to deliver: an opportunity for people to grow, to be able to learn about culture, and then lead.

Initially our goal was to develop a platform for people to share stories across Australia. That focus

has shifted to the preservation of Aboriginal culture, working with Elders, trying to preserve stories, history and language. We want to provide students an opportunity to learn more about the history of their community. And also ensure Elders understand that their information, knowledge, stories and biographies are valued. We pay respect to those stories and ensure they’re there for future generations to lean on and learn from.

The Big Idea was integrated into our entrepreneurship degree at Macquarie Uni. For us, with the wheels of Bawurra already turning, using a competition such as The Big Idea provided a good opportunity for critique, for challenge, but also for development, to ensure that we’re going about this the right way.

Our school visits are always proud days for Bawurra, because that’s where we get to see the precious cultural knowledge that’s in the library connecting with young people.

Once, on a visit to a community, a school student was observed to have disconnected from the classroom. The student was brought to the staff room and had socially disengaged: no speaking,

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

The Big Idea helped university students turn their ideas into reality, creating social enterprises that are making the world a better place.

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THE BIG IDEA

THINK BIG

Kua Coffee

PHOTO BY FLASHPOINT LABS

Winners of The Big Idea 2018, Kua deliver ethical Ugandan coffee to workplaces in Australia, completely waste-free. Brianna Kerr is the enterprise’s director and head of impact.

The seed for Kua was planted when Darcy Small and Brody Smith found themselves in Uganda in 2017. They were engineering students working with agricultural students from a Ugandan university to improve agricultural practice. They met lots of local farmers and quickly figured out that they didn’t know enough about the context or the location to really be valuable, and so they ended

up just spending a lot of time with the locals and became friends with a group of people that grew up in the east of Uganda, where they grow really high-quality Arabica coffee.

They started talking about coffee culture in Australia, and how we pay $4.50 for a latte. But the farmers were saying that they were selling a kilo of coffee for $4.50. So that inspired the boys to think more critically about supply chains and how they could potentially do something.

Dan, a Ugandan guy, was a catalyst – he convinced the boys to bring some coffee back to Australia.

They got it cupped, found out it was really high-quality and then decided to set up a social enterprise.

Kua does world-positive coffee for workplaces, and we do that in three ways. The first is we direct‑source all our coffee from smallholder farmers in Uganda that didn’t necessarily have access to international markets.

We pay above fair trade prices and we pay hungry‑season bonuses to ensure farmers have cashflow throughout the year.

The second thing is we deliver in Australia without waste. So we deliver in reusable packaging and we collect all the spent coffee grounds and distribute them to a network of community gardens to be used as fertiliser and compost.

The third thing is we are 100 per cent not-for-profit. All profits go

back to the region that our coffee is grown in and fund climate change resilience projects. We work with a local conservation trust, Eco Trust, and they do land regeneration activities, like planting native trees, watershed management projects and land stabilisation to ensure that our supply chain is secure into the future with all of the challenges that climate change will bring.

Kua means to grow in Swahili, which is the bridge language between lots of East African countries. To grow means lots of things around sustainability, both financially and in terms of climate change and the planet. Growth isn’t always the answer, but growing regions is really important.

We entered The Big Idea when the idea for Kua was starting to gain a bit of traction. Doing the competition through UNSW definitely gave us tools; it was a really helpful process. The calibre of the judges the competition attracted was awesome, and they gave really valuable feedback.

Our goal is to sell 10 tonnes of coffee this year – 10,000 kilograms, half a million cups – and so our main short-term goal is to just onboard as many companies as we can.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT KUACOFFEE.CO.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT BAWURRA.ORG.

TH E KU A TE RE CYCL CO FF EE GRAM OU ND S AT E RA ND WI CK CO MM UN IT Y GA RD EN S

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head down, not looking anyone in the eye. Our contact told us, “Well, here you go; here’s the first chance.” And so we gave the child a tablet with our library accessible on it.

The student didn’t want to engage with the library at first, until they realised that their Aunty was featured in our Elders section – they were able to open it up and see a bit of a biography about her. The student’s demeanour completely changed. They sat up, head up, grabbed the tablet, were reading through it, showing us, “This is my Aunty! This is my Aunty!” From reading the content on the Bawurra library, we witnessed that the student had gone from a complete state of disconnect to being happy, engaged, active, and wanting to demonstrate to us that their Aunty was valued enough to be featured on the library. So for us, that was a real lightbulb moment, that this is the content that is required.

Ricky

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‘Ricky seems to think he can learn through osmosis,’ were my physics teacher’s immortal words on my first-term report.

by Ricky French @frenchricky

The Year of That Haircut

T

he year: 1996. Strange to think it was 25 years ago that I got that ridiculous haircut – dubbed a “German helmet” by my friend – in Year 11 (or sixth form, as we called it in New Zealand) and co-led the Avocado Babies to third place in the National Rockquest high-school band competition. You could say 1996 was a formative year for both me and The Big Issue. The magazine took the phrase more literally, but I think a big part of who I am was formed in 1996, when for some unknown reason I signed up for lots of science and maths classes.

I didn’t understand anything. I didn’t try to understand anything. “Ricky seems to think he can learn through osmosis,” were my physics teacher’s immortal words on my first‑term report. Soon after that not even osmosis could help me, as I removed myself from class most days at around lunchtime and wagged school with my friends, walking up the hill to my place to listen to music and smoke pot.

Now from that description you could reasonably picture me as a walking, talking, smoking cliché, a punk-rock rebel. But that was only part of my personality. I was perfectly happy mixing it with the nerds or the sporting types. I sailed my little yacht in Porirua Harbour every Saturday morning, ran in the cross-country, climbed mountains, and was generally a hyperactive class clown who, on the rare occasions I showed up to class, drove teachers mad with incessant disruption.

Looking back, I wonder what parts of that 16-year-old’s personality I still recognise in myself. I think I will always have wannabe Renaissance man traits. I’ve never specialised in anything, always wanted to give everything a go, never believing it was possible to choose one thing and make a life out of it.

I’ve happily discarded other personality traits, although I suspect I’ll always be a bad student.

1996 was around the time I first learned about the internet. Today, I keep in touch with scores of high school friends and acquaintances in that voyeuristic way through Facebook. I left Porirua as soon as I could after school, and I could never imagine living there again. When you move back to your home town after decades away, it must feel as though those intervening years never happened. What were they for? Look, you’re still here.

No, I couldn’t do it. But so many of those high school buddies are still there.

In the photos their kids are dressed in our high‑school uniform, a new generation following the old. They are people comfortable in their skin and happy with their roots, but like me I’m sure they occasionally look back at 1996 and wonder what they could learn from the teenagers they once were.

In this issue we look back at The Big Issue through those formative years, from infant to teenager to adult. What can the magazine learn from where it has come from? At 25, it’s in the prime of its life – mature, grown-up and fit as a fiddle, with clear skin and a bright future. It doesn’t want to be the class clown, despite this columnist’s best efforts. Above all, it knows where it came from. It might have a glossy cover, but it’s still street smart.

When COVID-19 hit last year, the magazine found ways to survive through lockdowns, and now it’s back where it belongs, in the hands of passionate and loyal vendors and readers. That’s the great thing about it – it’s nothing without its community.

We don’t have to be academic to achieve great things if we soak up the lessons that are all around us. One thing that hasn’t changed since 1996 is that I still truly believe we can learn through osmosis.

Ricky is a writer, musician and class clown.

by Fiona Scott-Norman @fscottnorman

The Bug Issue

PHOTOS BY JAMES BRAUND

I

have a vague memory of being a smart-arse at my mother’s 50th birthday party. “Happy half century,” I said, 11 years old and uncharitable. The moment sticks not because of my mum’s tremendous silver dress (which I now own), or the quality of my zinger, but because it made her sad. Turns out being hailed for reaching a half century didn’t make her feel triumphant like Don Bradman, it made her feel old. Personal milestones can be tricky.

They’re more complex to compute than, say, The Big Issue turning 25, which is just pure joy and an untainted triumph.

Humans though, not so much. Give us 10 seconds and we can find the dark side to turning 25. There’s a syndrome known as “quarter life crisis”, which can hit, clinically, any time up to age 30, but essentially refers to the existential horror that hits most everyone when they turn 25 and realise they have left it too late to be an enfant terrible, a child prodigy, Albert Einstein or an overnight sensation. “I was going to have published my first novel by now,” young people tend to muse, miserable as hell in the prime of their lives, because they’re a Quarter of a Century old and clearly it is All Over. “I’m meant to be married by now/running a tech start-up/rubbing dollar bills on my naked body surrounded by hot young ladies twerking in bikinis.” Woe, woe, thrice times woe.

I blame Beyoncé.

Don’t get me wrong, love her – I mean who doesn’t? – but talk about setting an unrealistic example. By the time she turned 25, Beyoncé had already gone solo and Destiny’s Child had disbanded. She joined her first girl group at the age of eight, and her dad quit his job to manage the band when she was just 14. Fourteen!

What were you doing at 14? I was crying in my bedroom and reading books.

One of the worst memes on the internet, because it masquerades as motivational but is totally a TRAP is: “You have as many hours

in the day as Beyoncé.” Oh, up your bum. No you don’t. None of us has as many hours in the day as Beyoncé – not even Beyoncé – because Queen Bey has staff, baby, a multitude of them, and a billion-dollar empire. Yes she works hard, but she be delegating. She has support.

Beyoncé is not waiting for the train, Beyoncé is not doing her own laundry, Beyoncé is not taking her dog to the vet or doing school dropoff or queuing for coffee or managing her own social media. Beyoncé has transcended life.

She is essentially a God. The saying stings, though, as passive aggression does, particularly if we’re still loitering around in our velour Aldi dressinggown after midday. Hypothetically. Because the inference is that IF ONLY we, you know, focused, we could be Beyoncé. That it’s on us for not being so Beyoncian that a research scientist would name a species of Australian horse fly after us. Yes, there is a Queensland-based Scaptia beyonceae, so named because of the golden hairs on its abdomen, which is the kind of back-handed compliment you get if you’re super-focused and have the gravitational pull of a planet. Personally, given that my stomach is white, hairless, and alas a bit lumpy, the best I could hope for re-naming rights would be a sac of hatching spider larvae.

Look, what I’m saying is we can’t all get to sing at Obama’s presidential inauguration. It occurs to me that the army of people working for Beyoncé aren’t Beyoncé either. Most of us are beavering away, living our regular human lives, in service of something much larger than ourselves. And if we’re lucky, it’s something as wonderful as The Big Issue. Happy quarter of a century, you legend, and may someone name a bug after you.

Given that my stomach is white, hairless, and alas a bit lumpy, the best I could hope for re-naming rights would be a sac of hatching spider larvae.

Fiona is a writer and comedian, but no sad sac.

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Fiona

Top 10 Films – 1996 to Now

Annabel Brady-Brown Film Editor @annnabelbb

THE HOST 2006 VOD

AUSTIN POWERS TRILOGY 1997–2002 NETFLIX + STAN + BINGE + FOXTEL + VOD

MEAN GIRLS 2004 STAN + BINGE + FOXTEL + PRIME + VOD

Long before the success of Parasite (2019), South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won over global audiences with this genre-mashing creature feature.

He spins the nightmare of a monstrous mutant tadpole, birthed from Seoul’s polluted Han River, into a bizarro black comedy, lacing the CGI thrills with doofus humour and a keen political edge.

After the basement knuckleheads of Wayne’s World, Mike Myers conjured up this messy trilogy of retro spy-spoof films: three velvet-clad, goofy, gag-packed delights. Come for the riffs on Moonraker (1979) and slacker brat Seth Green as Dr Evil’s wannabe-evil son; stay for the spirited star turn from pre-worlddomination Beyoncé, in 2002’s Goldmember.

Written by Tina Fey, this noughties touchstone sees newbie Cady Heron (teen-queen Lindsay Lohan) befriended by A-listers The Plastics in a high-school experiment that goes horribly, hilariously wrong. This totally fetch teen comedy sparkles for the ages, with addictively quotable one-liners flying thick and fast until the final credits roll.

SAMSON AND DELILAH 2009 STAN + VOD

A landmark of Australian cinema, Warwick Thornton’s award-winning debut feature follows a pair of runaway teens from the Central Australian desert. With only a handful of words, and indelible images, shot

by Thornton himself, it tells a story that is infinitely rich and devastatingly honest.

LOST IN TRANSLATION 2003 VOD

Almost two decades later, film-lovers around the world are still making pilgrimages to the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel, home to the sky-high bar where director Sofia Coppola’s two wayward wanderers – Bill Murray’s washed-up movie star Bob and then-17year-old Scarlett Johansson’s Charlotte – first meet in this sensuous, era-defining romance.

THE MATRIX 1999 PRIME + FOXTEL + BINGE + VOD

SPIRITED AWAY 2001 NETFLIX + VOD

BEAU TRAVAIL 1999 ACMI 3

Like Blade Runner (1982), The Matrix feels just as futuristic and innovative as it did when it first blew audience’s minds last millennium. Blending the glorious kinetics of Hong Kong action cinema with special effects like “bullet time”, and Keanu Reeves in floor-sweeping leather jackets, there remains one word for this super stylised, galaxy-brain sci-fi: “whoa!”

Evil sorcerers, shape-shifting kami and parents transformed into slovenly pigs – this record-breaking animation from Studio Ghibli and revered Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki journeys deep into the spirit world, where nothing is as it seems. A feast for the eyes and the imagination, and one of the all-time greatest animated films.

French auteur Claire Denis’ taciturn masterpiece turns Herman Melville’s novella Billy Budd, Sailor into a dizzying and dangerous dance of bruised pride and homoeroticism in the Gulf of Djibouti.

Features an extraordinary finale, as cult actor Denis Lavant gyrates feverishly, surrendering to Corona’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’.

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FANTASTIC MR FOX 2009 PRIME + VOD

Dandy director Wes Anderson found a perfect home for his idiosyncratic brand of quirky, obsessive storytelling in this stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale about a mischievous fox.

Every blade of grass and whisker is crafted with care. Every second is a delight.

GET OUT 2017 BINGE + FOXTEL + VOD

Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is right to be terrified when his white girlfriend invites him to meet her Obama-voting parents. A razor-sharp social critique that doubles as brilliant popcorn entertainment, this bold debut announced writer-director Jordan Peele, and is also responsible for introducing the powerful metaphor of “the sunken place” into pop culture lexicon.

Top 10 TV Series – 1996 to Now FREAKS AND GEEKS 1999–2000 STAN + PRIME VIDEO

Dappled with teenage ennui circa 1981, this coming-of-age dramedy set in suburban Detroit ran for just a single season, fomenting its nostalgic charm. Early performances from the ensemble cast – particularly the show’s exquisite lead Linda Cardellini – are always worth revisiting.

Aimee Knight Small Screens Editor @siraimeeknight

POSE 2018–21 BINGE

SIX FEET UNDER 2001–05 BINGE + YOUTUBE

The category is: family, pride, belonging, queerness and style. Set in New York City during the 1980s and 90s, Pose vivifies the drag ball subculture that offered not only competitive “houses” but also welcoming homes to young gender nonconforming folk throughout a pretty austere period in NYC history.

Any number of HBO’s early-oughts prestige dramas could – and, some would argue, should – make this list. No shade on Tony Soprano or Carrie Bradshaw, but my sentimental (and slightly morbid) heart lies with LA’s finest undertakers: the dysfunctional Fisher family. That finale still packs a punch.

ATLANTA 2016– SBS ON DEMAND

To some it’s an indictment of consumerism, sexism and social climbing, while to others, Mad Men’s moral compass – liberally greased with Brylcreem – only reinforced a capitalistic status quo.

Either way, it birthed one of TV’s slipperiest anti-heroes, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) – and some far more interesting women.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT 2003–19 DISNEY+

On any given day, I think of at least 17 quips from this endlessly quotable show about a wealthy family who lost everything, and the excruciating matriarch you love to hate to love. Actor Jessica Walter, who passed away in March, imbued Lucille Bluth with delicious acidity, and was the true MVP from go to whoa.

By no means the first workplace comedy, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s corporate cringe-fest (with a heart of gold) certainly broke the mould for small screen mockumentaries. The collar-tugging jokes and papercut pathos inspired facsimiles like Parks and Recreation, Party Down and the nine-season US remake.

THE STAIRCASE 2004–18 NETFLIX

THE LETDOWN 2017– NETFLIX

After a solid innings at pop culture’s watercooler, it seems true crime fanaticism may be receding from the mainstream again.

That said, the twists, turns and disclosures of The Staircase (the original French miniseries from 2004, less so its 2013 and 2018 follow-ups) make it an enduring staple of the genre.

Not only is this ABC series one of the best shows about the messy reality of parenting, it’s one of Australia’s best shows, full stop.

In both ways, it’s kind of like Bluey – just an adults-only version with fewer fruit bats, more abortions.

Co-creator and star Alison Bell is an unsung national treasure.

FLEABAG 2016–19 PRIME VIDEO

Remember when the Hot Priest gently trampled over the hearts of every masochistic, binge-watching, tragicomedy enthusiast in the cultural West? Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ribald, agonising reflections on chameleonic love resound for their bleak humour and relatability. My love for her two perfect seasons may never pass.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

MAD MEN 2007–2015 STAN

THE OFFICE (UK) 2001–03 STAN

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Created by multihyphenate Donald Glover – best known at the time as goofy college boy Troy on Community – this sombre, often surreal trip about fame, social media and identity’s plasticity boasts some of the most beguiling scenes this side of Twin Peaks (never forget Teddy Perkins’ fingers in the ostrich egg).

Top 10 Albums – 1996 to Now HOLE CELEBRITY SKIN 1998

THE STROKES IS THIS IT 2001

Lana Del Rey has always sung about the myths and ruin of America, but nowhere is she as eloquent and profound as on Norman Fucking Rockwell!, her greatest album. Here she chronicles a burned, broken nation, told through the debris of culture: The Beach Boys, Hollywood-sized heartbreak and all the clichés of California.

By 1998, grunge was basically finished, and Courtney Love was sober and a recently minted movie star. Out of this new era came Celebrity Skin, which added a pop gloss to the band’s more ragged and messy edges.

The songwriting was better than ever, with Love surveying death, glory and glamour with newfound perspective.

Guitar music came roaring back with Is This It, undoubtedly the key, canonical record of the noughties garage rock revival.

The New York band channelled The Velvet Underground and Television but added a scrappy, sexy and petulant energy that would inspire a hoard of aspiring indie bands with vocoders for years to come.

Fourteen years on from Kala, nothing – and no-one – sounds like MIA. Plucking out dancehall, reggaeton and Bollywood samples, the Sri Lankan and British artist crafted an indelible, electronic hip-hop album fuelled by political fury that refused to make its radical demands more palatable.

FRANK OCEAN CHANNEL ORANGE 2012

This exceptional debut redefined modern R&B. Sure his honeyed vocals charm and the production is slick and breezy, but it’s Ocean’s granular songwriting that made him one of the most enigmatic stars.

Melding deep introspection with grand scope, Ocean crafted iconic songs about rich kids, strip club sagas and shattering revelations in the backs of cabs.

KENDRICK LAMAR TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY 2015 THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

@itrimboli

LANA DEL REY NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL! 2019

MIA KALA 2007

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Isabella Trimboli Music Editor

Different perspectives and sounds jostle for space in this exhilarating record by the Compton rapper, stuffed with theatrical interludes, jazz eruptions, surreal narratives and incandescent rage.

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS MURDER BALLADS 1996

The 90s saw Cave push past his punk origins for perverse rock theatre on death and love. Nowhere is this better expressed than in Murder Ballads, a vicious record about crimes of passion, which includes a couple of unforgettable ballads featuring Kylie Minogue and PJ Harvey and a rowdy rendition of Dylan’s ‘Death Is Not the End’.

MOS DEF THE ECSTATIC 2009

KANYE WEST YEEZUS 2013

After a couple of lacklustre solo albums, rapper Mos Def (who now goes by Yasiin Bey) came roaring back with The Ecstatic, a thorny, political hip-hop record with such strange cadences and a singular sonic palette that it still astounds.

Personally, no hip-hop song of the past 25 years touches the album track ‘Auditorium’.

There are plenty of incredible Kanye records that could have made this list, but it’s the menacing Yeezus – which samples everyone from Nina Simone to Arca – that stands out. Delivering iconic lines with abrasive, industrial-style beats, this record would inspire the wave of emo-rap that would define the next decade.

LORDE MELODRAMA 2017

On her elegant second record, New Zealand artist Lorde perfectly renders the euphoria and sorrow of youth. An album of heavy intimacy, Lorde swings between wobbly ballads and ecstatic, vulnerable pop songs that are still enchanting dancefloors four years later.

DARK EMU BRUCE PASCOE 2014

Based on the creation of the esteemed Oxford English Dictionary, this non-fiction read focuses on one of its most prolific contributors, William Chester Minor, a retired US army surgeon who also happened to be imprisoned for murder at the time. This tale of “murder, madness and the love of words” is utterly compelling.

Pascoe’s groundbreaking research uncovers evidence of pre-colonial agriculture, engineering and construction by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which dispels the myth that they were purely hunter-gatherer.

Accessible in format, Dark Emu challenges preconceptions, and ought to be on every school syllabus.

UNPOLISHED GEM ALICE PUNG 2006

After the author’s family escaped the killing fields of Cambodia and landed in Australia, her father named her Alice, because he thought this country was a Wonderland. Pung’s memoir straddles cultural and generational worlds brilliantly as she weaves vignettes of assimilation woes with insight, charm and humour.

@thuy_on

KLARA AND THE SUN KAZUO ISHIGURO 2021

Ishiguro’s latest follows a partially self-aware humanoid robot, Klara, Artificial Friend to sickly Josie in a time where genetic engineering has “lifted” children to be optimum versions of themselves.

Questions about technology and the body continue to fascinate Ishiguro, in his cool, controlled prose.

TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG PETER CAREY 2000

Don’t let the title fool you, Carey’s book is fiction and yet another variation on the bushranger’s story. In it, Ned Kelly’s short, dramatic life is laid out in Carey’s approximation of the outlaw’s voice. It’s a lyrical take on a brutal life, a bravura imaginative feat based on fact.

THE LIFE OF PI YANN MARTEL 2001

EVERYWHERE I LOOK HELEN GARNER 2016

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE JK ROWLING 1997

A fabulist book whose main character, aside from an Indian boy called “Pi” Patel, is a tiger named Richard Parker. After the sinking of a cargo ship, Pi and his menagerie (including a hyena, a zebra and an orangutan as well as the big cat), are left to fend for themselves on a lifeboat. The storytelling is pure magic.

It’s difficult deciding which Garner book to choose, but this non‑fiction collection gives a representative sample of her work over 15 years. Lightness and darkness – she writes of both, in forensic detail. From self-scrutiny to personal relationships, to the world at large, Garner’s writing is always lucid.

JK Rowling’s reputation may be tarnished (in some eyes), but there’s no disputing the enormous impact of the Harry Potter series, which was kickstarted with this introduction to the boy wizard, his best friends and arch nemesis. Critical opinion aside, the series is embedded into the cultural sphere forevermore.

WHITE TEETH ZADIE SMITH 2000

The sustained friendship of two wartime friends – Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and Englishman Archie Jones – and their intermingling lives and families in London provide the impetus for this sprawling multicultural tale. It’s a busy, energetic and generous book, in which Smith canvasses class, race and colonial history.

FOREIGN SOIL MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE 2014

Beneba Clarke is also a poet and her linguistic skills are on show in this collection of short stories that bristle with power and shine a light into corners that haven’t been seen before.

African diaspora Australian writing was practically non-existent before the advent of Foreign Soil.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

THE SURGEON OF CROWTHORNE SIMON WINCHESTER 1998

Thuy On Books Editor

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Top 10 Books – 1996 to Now

Public Service Announcement

by Lorin Clarke @lorinimus

You don’t need to give all your money to charity.

You can buy someone a sandwich or keep someone company for a while or assist someone with something that takes them half a day and you five minutes (I’m looking at you, people who are good at technology).

You can have arguments with people and love them anyway.

I was helping someone prepare for an exam recently. If you’ve ever sat an exam you will know how stressful and unhelpful those last few hours before kick-off really are.

There’s nothing you can really do to revise. All you can do is second-guess yourself and wonder how spectacularly

you’re going to destroy your entire future by doing the wrong thing when you walk through the door. But there was helpful old me, helping the examinee by reassuring them that they’d done all the work and going over some last-minute things to remember. What a well-meaning fool! That’s not how you help someone who’s about to do an exam! Here’s how you help someone who’s about to do an exam: make them laugh. They’re actually ready to laugh, because they’re a bit hysterical anyway, but every part of them is attempting to be serious. Explode it. Make them laugh. Lift everything off them in one moment.

Take them outside of themselves. Be the good guy.

Be the person who recognises the thing someone does that nobody else recognises. Is there someone in your house who always folds the washing or puts the bins out or cleans the bathroom? The first step in becoming the good guy is recognising other good guys – the people who are doing the lion’s share. The second step? I’ll let you figure that one out, but here’s a hint: if something’s being taken for granted – if it’s almost invisible in the daily grind – chances are the person who absorbs that burden knows it. Notice, and you’re half way to being the good guy. Change it, and you’re home.

If you’re in a supermarket and someone’s child is being unbearable, and maybe that someone’s not dealing with it terribly well, here’s how to be a good guy: completely ignore it because it’s none of your business and it signals to them that you’re not bothered, or throw them a smile. I was coaxing a small person out of a full‑blown tantrum outside a supermarket recently and a woman walking a dog winked at me. She winked at me! Like a hero! Didn’t say a word. Did manage, though, to communicate the following: Been there. No fun. You’ll be right. It’ll be over soon. All by moving an eyelid.

Public Service Announcement: you can be a good guy. You don’t have to do it all the time. You don’t have to do it for 25 years straight. Just gently, and sometimes, is enough to make the team.

Lorin Clarke is a Melbourne-based writer. The second season of her radio series, The Fitzroy Diaries, is on ABC Radio National and the ABC Listen app now.

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S

ometimes it’s not that easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Study history for long enough and you’ll recognise there are smiling assassins and benevolent gatekeepers all over the place.

Sometimes, though, the good guys are just that.

I’ve been writing for The Big Issue for over a decade now (I know, I’m a thousand years old) and do I have news for you. Although to you The Big Issue might seem like one of the good guys – they are after all both a social enterprise supporting people on the margins, and the publishers of an affordable and consistently quality magazine – let me tell you: they actually are genuinely good guys (I’m using the term “guys” here in a gender‑neutral way).

Now there’s a strong chance that when you hear someone’s a good guy you promptly fold your arms and narrow your eyes and become deeply suspicious.

That’s because good is an absolute term and nobody is absolutely anything (except for things like human, or tall, or a Collingwood supporter). But doing good like The Big Issue has been doing good for 25 years means a whole lot of little stuff that adds up to some big stuff.

It means they look after their people. They think about what comes next. They check in. They celebrate each other’s wins and commiserate over their losses. And they’ve been doing it for 25 years. Who among us can say they’ve been the good guys for 25 years?

Public Service Announcement: no offence to The Big Issue, but it’s not that hard to be a good guy. All you have to do is start small.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Be the Good Guy

THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

Tastes Like Home edited by Anastasia Safioleas

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PHOTOS BY JEREMY SIMONS

Tastes Like Home Katherine Sabbath

The Glamington Ingredients

Method

Serves 12–16

To make the vanilla cake, preheat the oven to 160°C fan forced. Grease three 15cm shallow round cake tins.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until thoroughly combined.

Gently incorporate the flour in three batches, alternating with the milk in two batches. Add the salt, and mix until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.

Divide the batter among the cake tins. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before turning onto a wire rack, upside down, to cool completely. Cover and set aside.

To make the white chocolate ganache, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil (there should be bubbles all over the surface, not just around the edge).

Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Stir in the pink colouring until the desired shade is reached.

Vanilla cake ½ cup (130g) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup (220g) caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 3 large eggs, at room temperature 2⅓ cups (375g) self-raising flour 1 cup (250ml) milk, at room temperature 1 pinch salt

White Chocolate Ganache 1 cup (250ml) single (pure) cream 500g white chocolate melts Pink gel food colouring

Assembly and Decoration 3 cups (255g) fine desiccated coconut 300ml single (pure) cream 125g fresh raspberries

Storage This cake is best served on the day it is made. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Set the ganache aside until it cools and thickens slightly. If needed, briefly chill it in the fridge (for about 5-10 minutes), then stir again until smooth. Once the ganache has reached the right consistency, transfer it to a wide, shallow dish.

To start assembling the Glamington, put the coconut in a wide, shallow dish. Gently dip one of the cake layers into the pink ganache, ensuring even coverage, then dip into the coconut. Place the cake on a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Repeat with the remaining cake layers.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.

Place the bottom cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Dollop a generous amount of whipped cream on top and spread it over the cake. Stud the cream with the raspberries. Spread a little more whipped cream on top to help secure the next cake layer. Add the second cake layer and top with more cream and raspberries. Gently place the third cake layer on top.

SH AR E PLAN TO RECREATE THIS MASTERPIECE AT HOME? TAG US WITH YOUR CREATION! @BIGISSUEAUSTRALIA #25YEARSBIG.

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Many happy returns Big Issue and congratulations on your 25th birthday. What an amazing milestone! May you continue your life-changing work of helping Australians experiencing disadvantage for many years to come. Best wishes, Kat Sabbath.

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

KATHERINE SABBATH’S COOKBOOK BAKE AUSTRALIA GREAT IS OUT NOW.

Bedding for You...

A Bed for a Woman in Need!

Shop Pillows and Quilts at www.gokindly.com.au Use the code "BigKindly" to get $10 off!

50% of profits donated to support women experiencing homelessness Our products are ethically sourced and we use no single-use plastic Free delivery anywhere in Australia Our products are 100% Australian made 120 day return policy!

Follow us on Instagram @Go_kindly and Facebook @GoKindlyGoods

Puzzles

ANSWERS PAGE 73.

By Lingo!

by Lauren Gawne lingthusiasm.com SILVER

CLUES 5 letters Cheroot, eg Chimes Extent, scope Horse’s sound Regal rule 6 letters Being concerned Cavalry attack Quit a job Sport of kings Vocalist 7 letters Burning Decorate Displeasure Judicial trial 8 letters Cutting (off) Falling suddenly

R A H I

G C

S N E

Sudoku

by websudoku.com

Each column, row and 3 x 3 box must contain all numbers 1 to 9.

1 7 5 8

8 4 3 8 1

2

3 1

2 2 7

1 4 5 9 1 8 7 4 3 7 5 2 9

Puzzle by websudoku.com

Solutions CROSSWORD PAGE 45 ACROSS 1 The Big Issue 9 Quarter 10 Century

11 At heart 12 Ski lift 13 Profits 15 Meteor 18 Albury 20 Red tape 24 Emotive 25 Vestige 27 Journal 28 For sale 29 Fortnightly

DOWN 1 Teacher 2 Extra 3 Irritate 4 Incise 5 Sentiment 6 Erudite 7 Squat 8 Mystery 14 Foreigner 16 Basenji 17 Heavy fog 19 Beowulf 21 Privacy 22 Merlin 23 Hegel 26 Strut

20 QUESTIONS PAGE 9 1 Kate Ceberano 2 True 3 Montaigne, ‘Technicolour’ 4 12 5 Cambodia 6 Four 7 Stuart Diver 8 A widget 9 Praying mantis 10 The fear of long words 11 Perisher, NSW 12 Ag 13 Toni Morrison 14 Andrew Peacock 15 From a dream he had about walking under the sea 16 Four – $1, $2, $10 and $20 17 As a hangover cure 18 Ireland, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan 19 US$800 20 Newcastle

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

Using all nine letters provided, can you answer these clues?

Every answer must include the central letter.

Plus, which word uses all nine letters?

by puzzler.com

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Word Builder

The word silver in English and other Germanic languages is related to that in Slavic languages of Eastern Europe, including Polish (śrebro). Silver is an element with the symbol Ag, which comes from the Latin word for the metal argentum, meaning “shining” or “white”. Argentina literally means “made of silver”. A Spanish colony, Argentina was named by Italians after a fable. If Argentina were named by the Spanish it would be Plateado, which is related to English plate, because silver was often processed into wide sheets. Silver has come to represent 25 years through the celebration of wedding anniversaries, and then by extension other 25th anniversary celebrations, with the practice formalising in the Victorian era of the 1800s.

by Chris Black

Quick Clues

THE ANSWERS FOR THE CRYPTIC AND QUICK CLUES ARE THE SAME. ANSWERS PAGE 71.

2

3

4

5

ACROSS

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15 17

16 18

19

DOWN

20

21

22

23

24

25

27

28

26

29

Cryptic Clues DOWN

1 You’ve got this dilapidated eighties bus (3,3,5) 9 Cash found in US neighbourhood (7) 10 Cry about sad tune for a long time (7) 11 Essentially a mad hatter (2,5) 12 Comedy sketch about life detailed way to the

1 Coach reformed cheater (7) 2 Former partner took up painting as well (5) 3 MIFF is running retrospective in leading gallery (8) 4 A bit of zinc is exactingly cut (6) 5 Guys in IT posted first opinion (9) 6 Learned to toss true die (7) 7 New ending for group exercise (5) 8 Mandy eats shucked oysters in secret? (7) 14 Tumultuous reign of Queen (70s chart-toppers) (9) 16 Sabine playing with Jack’s dog (7) 17 Extreme weather affected voyage and leads to

top? (3,4)

controversial? (7)

25 Steve unlikely to accept Instagram’s legacy (7) 27 Daily record of Jupiter’s first and second

moons’ lunar movement (7) 28 Counterfeit loafers on the market (3,4) 29 Attacked Keira on the radio every two weeks (11)

1 Instructor (7) 2 Bonus (5) 3 Bug (8) 4 Carve (6) 5 Feeling (9) 6 Learned (7) 7 Crouch (5) 8 Enigma (7) 14 One from overseas (9) 16 Breed of dog (7) 17 Opaque weather (5,3) 19 Old English poem (7) 21 Seclusion (7) 22 Wizard (6) 23 German philosopher (5) 26 Pompous walk (5)

Solutions

ACROSS

13 Cleans up expert suits (7) 15 Alien more worried about shooting star (6) 18 Lost Blu-ray of Bordertown? (6) 20 Bureaucratic problems tapered off (3,4) 24 Reason for action on the internet is

1 Magazine (3,3,5) 9 Part of AFL game (7) 10 Long time period (7) 11 Fundamentally (2,5) 12 Winter sport infrastructure (3,4) 13 Makes money (7) 15 Falling star (6) 18 City in NSW (6) 20 Bureaucratic stuff (3,4) 24 Arousing intense feeling (7) 25 Trace (7) 27 Diary (7) 28 Able to be purchased (3,4) 29 At 14-day intervals (11)

hayfever (5,3)

19 Bravo, translated woeful old poem (7) 21 Quiet vicar arranged yard in solitude (7) 22 Wizard writes up love dreams? (6) 23 He set philosopher (5) 26 It holds up parade? (5)

SUDOKU PAGE 71

1 7 2 6 5 8 9 3 4

9 5 4 3 2 7 8 6 1

8 3 6 9 4 1 5 2 7

6 9 3 4 1 5 2 7 8

4 2 8 7 3 6 1 9 5

7 1 5 2 8 9 3 4 6

5 4 7 1 9 3 6 8 2

2 8 9 5 6 4 7 1 3

3 6 1 8 7 2 4 5 9

Puzzle by websudoku.com

WORD BUILDER PAGE 71 5 Cigar Rings Range Neigh Reign 6 Caring Charge Resign Racing Singer 7 Searing Garnish Chagrin Hearing 8 Shearing Crashing 9 Searching

HAPPY BIG BIRTHDAY!

1

73

Crossword

Click 2005

Prince Charles, Paul F

words by Michael Epis photo by David Geraghty

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THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

W

hen Prince Charles visited Australia in 2005, he had the honour of meeting Big Issue vendor Paul F. The historic moment took place in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Paul saw his opportunity. He had some inside knowledge – he’d heard Charles had bumped into an old schoolmate selling the magazine when the prince visited The Big Issue’s London office.

“I went to Federation Square and I thought I’d give it a go and sell Prince Charles a magazine. I made my way down the line and asked his minder if he’d like to buy a magazine, and his minder said give it a go,” Paul told The Big Issue in his vendor profile shortly afterwards.

“Prince Charles asked how I was going and how many magazines I’d sold for the day. I tried to get him to sign a magazine but the minder wouldn’t allow it because of some sort of protocol.” Paul came away with a favourable impression of the heir to the throne – “He seemed quite nice.”

Prince Charles wasn’t the only famous person lucky enough to meet Paul. Princess Mary was another. “And I’ve met Priscilla Presley, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Denton – he was funny.”

Paul, who many will remember from his years selling at Parliament Station and the corner of Collins and Queen Streets, was forever grateful for finding The Big Issue. Before it, he had been begging and grappling with drug issues, as he revealed to the magazine. “Things have improved dramatically – my self-esteem, my confidence. I can approach people and talk to them like I never could before. Things are great; I’m paying all my bills, so things are fantastic.”

Paul was on a winner with Prince Charles, who wrote on homelessness for The Big Issue in 1998. Referring to his schoolmate, Clive Harold from Hill House School, he wrote: “It was a vivid reminder that homelessness can happen to almost anyone. We owe a considerable debt to The Big Issue, not only because of the valuable chance it provides to some of the homeless people on our streets to take a real job, but also because it helps to ensure that homelessness is kept at the forefront of our minds.

“We live in an increasingly materialistic and secular world in which people’s identity is determined so often only by the job they do and the money they earn, rather than what they contribute to society.”

Paul F has since passed away. RIP Paul.

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17 APR 2020

THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU

words by Michael Epis photo by Getty

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XXX

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