2023: Volume 2

MAY 2023

Vol.2

Dispatch: the Fossil Frontier ASTON BROWN

The Silence of Extinction: Investigating the Earth’s 6th Mass Extinction

CLAIRE MATTHEWS

For the price it is, it’s just not accomodating enough’: International students return.

TYBERIUS SEETO

Photo Essay: Trans Day of Visibility Rally RODGER LIANG + CLAIRE MATTHEWS

CONTENT WARNINGS

Vertigo readers should be advised that there are content warnings before relevant pieces.

Please keep this in mind as you enjoy our magazine; your health and safety are important to us.

Contact the UTS Counselling Services on 9514 1177, or visit the UTS Counselling Services website to find out more and access the extensive online self-help resources.

Vertigo and its entire contents are protected by copyright. Vertigo will retain the right to republish in any format. Contributors retain all other rights for resale and republication. No material may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the copyright holders.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

OF

“The University of Technology Sydney would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians and Knowledge Keepers of the land on which UTS now stands, and pays respect to Elders past and present.”

Vertigo would like to extend an acknowledgement to the Traditional Custodians and Knowledge Keepers of the land on which we lived and worked as editors and designers during the creation of this magazine. We pay

As students, we must acknowl edge the Indigenous contributions to academia that have enriched our understanding of Australian history and culture. We exist on stolen land, and recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded.

Axel, Bronte, Claire, Joseph, Sapphire, Siena, and Yvonne pay their respects to the Gadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora nation. Arshmah and Gökçe pay their respects to the Cabrogal people of the Dharug and Dharawal nations. Mary and Fiona pay their respects to the Wallumedegal and Dharug people of the Dharug nation, and Angelique pays her respects to the Gweagal people of the Dharawal nation.

Maree Graham, Deputy Director, Students, and Community Engagement Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research

respect to Elders past, and present, and extend this respect to any First Nations’ people reading this volume.

EDITORS' LETTER

Dear readers,

Summarising everything noteworthy that has occurred in the two months since we published Vol. 1 is like trying to describe a work of arthouse cinema to your artsy Melbourne-chic friends. It doesn’t matter how big your vocabulary is, eventually you just have to accept that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Fortunately, I love a good arthouse film and, by virtue of editing a uni magazine, have no shortage of artsy Melbourne-chic friends, so here goes nothing:

In the time since you last picked up a print issue, Sydney exploded into a monthlong celebration of parties, Pride marches and pink-washing; NSW painted the last mainland state red; and Australia watched on as Trans-rights activists confronted a flock of nameless, faceless neo-nazis outside Victoria’s Parliament House.

Yet, in a nonchalant demonstration of ruthless omnipotence, time ushered us onward. Despite the world around us, regardless of the insanity and drastic circumstances, we all continued to settle into the new semester: working, procrastinating, praying and pub-crawling. Come late Autumn and we each find ourselves on a different page. Some are keen to plough through to the mid-year break, while others would be content to call it a year.

Likewise, 2023: Vol. 2 is tied to opposite poles, oscillating between light-hearted relief and hard-hitting calls to arms. From Siena Zadro’s dinosaur questionnaire to Claire Matthew’s harrowing analysis of an extinction in progress; from Tiana Plywaski’s trial-and-error critique of the star signs in bed to Bronte Skinner’s coverage of BDSM experts at UTS. Read Tyberius Seeto’s exposition on life as an international student, Aston Brown’s exposé on the Narrabri Gas Project, and Rose Tate’s guide to queer allyship after World Pride. Maintain the activist stance with Rodger Liang’s photos from the Trans Day of Visibility, or embrace a different kind of visual content with Liam Davies’ and Wennie Fu’s showcase works. If that wasn’t enough to pick from, Gianluca Pecora and Mia Davies fulfil your literary desires in the Creative Writing section, giving you a choice between feminist poetry and a short story about an incel spider (no, seriously).

Regardless of where you find yourself, I sincerely hope we provide the comfort, consolation, persistence or rage that you require – to keep going or to curl into a ball and cry, whatever feels right to you. Welcome back.

friendship,

In

Joseph and the UTS Vertigo 2023 editorial team

EDITORIAL TEAM

Joseph Hathaway-Wilson — Editor in Chief • Arshmah Jamal

— Managing Editor • Fiona Wang — Showcase Director • Angelique Birrell — Politics + Law Editor • Axel Connell —

Creative Writing Editor • Bronte Skinner — Student News Editor • Claire Matthews — Arts + Lifestyle Editor • Yvonne

Hong — Society + Culture Editor • Gökçe Çalişkan — Student News Editor • Siena Zadro — Art Director • Mary Morrish — Designer • Sapphire Goldberg — Designer

CONTENTS

Beneath the tower: UTSSA office-bearer reports ‘For the price it

Dispatch: The Fossil Frontier by Aston Brown

Latex, Leather and Limitations: ‘Uncensored’ explores the intersection of BDSM and consent by Bronte Skinner

it’s just not accommodating enough’: International students return by Tyberius Seeto

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie; ally, ally, ally! by Rose Tate

by Siena Zadro

The Silence of Extinction: Investigating the Earth’s 6th Mass Extinction by

Tiana Plywaski

Photo Essay: Trans Day of Visibility Rally by Rodger Liang + Claire Matthews

Excerpt from Tobias’ Web by Gianluca Pecora

Mia Davies

Fu

Liam Davies

Claire Matthews

BENEATH THE TOWER:

CONTENT TRANSPHOBIA,WARNING: HOMOPHOBIA.

DISABILITIES OFFICER: George Pond

FACEBOOK: UTS Disabilities Collective

EMAIL: accessibility@ utsstudentsassociation.org

This month, the collective has been busy meeting with several higher-ups within the disability space at university. We met with National Union of Students (NUS) Disabilities Officer, Isabella Harding, again in regards to the hybrid learning campaign that the NUS is currently running. The campaign comes after a statement from the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency about the need for overseas students to return to in-person learning after July 2023. This statement has led to many learning institutions, such as UTS, completely scrapping online learning for many of its degrees, which has had a catastrophic effect on disabled students. There was a rally in Bankstown on March 10, although the campaign is now shifting towards an online space to accommodate for more people. A successful campaign would require mass emailing, phone banking and a petition to be submitted to the Minister of Education. In addition to these collaborative efforts for hybrid learning, I have also been in touch with the UTS Academic Liaison Officers (ALOs). It is their job to ensure that disabled students get the best possible access to education at UTS for their respective faculties. I emailed all of them and several have gotten back to me with more information on how hybrid learning is being run between faculties and courses. I have arranged meetings with others to further discuss this and other issues.

ENVIRO OFFICER: Boris Tam

INSTAGRAM: @enviro.uts

FACEBOOK: UTS Enviro Collective

EMAIL: environment@ utsstudentsassociation.org

Hi, this is Boris (he/they), the Enviro Officer for 2023. You may have seen me and the Enviro Collective in front of Building 1 holding a rally for the Climate Strike! Otherwise, we are often meeting and holding workshops in the Activist Space. You may also see us at UTS Green Week, where we have a stall and a movie screening. We aim to give students an opportunity to participate in the climate movement, with a focus on systemic change rather than individual actions. In 2023, we want to provide more avenues for students to join the movement. That means you will see more creative events, screenings, seminars and discussions, rather than just protests. After a year of a new government, there is a growing unrest due to the slow and inadequate changes being made to ensure climate targets are met, let alone exceeded. We are not convinced we are on the right track to a better future, and this is the stance we are taking throughout 2023.

UTSSA OFFICE BEARER REPORTS

QUEER OFFICER: Sara Chaturvedi

INSTAGRAM: @utsqueerco

EMAIL: queer@ utsstudentsassociation.org

It’s been a scary time for Queer students this month, with the presence of Kellie-Jay Keen in Australia, the resurgence of neo-Nazis, and a trend of violence against the Queer community. The Queer Collective emphasises now more than ever the importance of trans rights and protection. Recent rallies and protests have been cancelled as a result of safety concerns and growing sentiments of hate have been seen in the media. On March 22, UTS FASS held an event for guest speaker Peter Boghossian, long-time collaborator with white supremacist Stefan Molyneux. Much of Boghossian’s career is based in debunking gender studies. The UTS Dean of the Arts, meanwhile, has been condemning trans activists for their pushback against Kellie-Jay Keen, and reposting harmful, fear-mongering articles against trans people. The majority of collective members did not attend this event, save for a few members who attended to deliver an open letter to Boghossian, critiquing his viewpoints. The letter is yet to have a response. This, alongside transphobic comments made by USYD emeritus staff Bronwyn Winter and Colin Wight, show that transphobia is not an issue which exists solely outside of the university setting. This is happening on campuses, and it is happening to us. The Queer Collective will continue to provide a safe space for students who are impacted by the current trend of events.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ OFFICER: Joy (Jiacong) Xu

INSTAGRAM: @utssa_international_ collective

EMAIL: international@ utsstudentsassociation.org

In March, I conducted multiple media interviews in my capacity as the International Students’ Officer at the UTS Students’ Association to address collective concerns over Opal concession, support from UTS, a pathway to permanent residency and so on. I also attended the Federal Government’s public hearing on Tourism and International Students conducted by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Department. The International Collective’s social media is continuing to grow, meanwhile, is continuing to grow, consistently attracting more members.

WORDS BY Tyberius Seeto

PHOTOS BY Siena Zadro

International students return

"For the price it is, it's just not accommodating enough":

International students have returned to UTS after borders reopened to a post-COVID world. However, they have returned to a country gripped by a cost-ofliving crisis and an education sector that is financially dependent on their enrollment.

The past three years have thrust Australian universities into new territory for students, staff, and management. First-years who started Semester One on that fateful February of 2020 became familiar with Zoom rather than campus. International students who arrived earlier in the year would find themselves masked up on a plane back home after spending only a few months on what would have been a lifechanging exchange. Those who didn't head home faced an indefinite lockdown in Australia. The lack of international students also saw millions of dollars lost for universities across the country.

The 2020 UTS annual report found that the loss of international students resulted in a deficit of $38 million, resulting in a 9% decline in revenue compared to 2019. The dependency on international students is not limited, with universities across Australia facing similar financial losses. With the return of international students, universities are not only expected to reach pre-pandemic enrolment numbers but also pre-pandemic profit from the enrolments of international students. So how are these new international students finding their new home?

Unlike domestic students, most international students are not eligible for Centrelink payments or Opal concession cards. As Australia grapples with its cost-of-living crisis, several international students have spoken to Vertigo about their experiences during this unprecedented crisis.

Rachel Salvador, an interior architecture student from the United States, said the lack of concessions for international students like herself is a downside of her experience in Australia.

“It’s greatly inconvenient to have to balance work-life to pay it off and uni at the same time,” she said.

“For [bank] loans as well, there’s a cap at $3000 which is approximately only 2% of the tuition coverage. It’s not close to enough to properly help, especially since some banks don’t provide loans.”

While commending UTS for some services to international students, Salvador urged the university to do more to support international students, citing the exorbitant amount she is paying for her degree compared to domestic students.

“For the price it is, it’s just not accommodating enough,” she says. “Yes, you have to have a certain amount of money to get the student visa and yes, you need to do research on what you’re signing yourself up for, but for someone who saved up and is constantly working on to support myself, it’s a certain pressure to maintain my role as an international student.”

“We, as international students, get the same experiences as residents here but with a significantly higher price difference.”

Jackie Jin, a Visual Communication student from China, shared similar sentiments to Salvador. While he was grateful about the cost of his degree compared to

what his brother was paying at the University of Sydney, both Jin and Salvador shared concerns over the cost of living, with Jin paying around $480 a week for an apartment in Zetland with another person.

“[The price of] meals has doubled since 2018. Water or anything you need to use to live has gotten more expensive,” Jin said. “I wish the college fees were cheaper, I wish they were free.”

Despite their concerns, both students are happy with their return to campus, with having the “normal” uni experience and making friends through classes and clubs being a highlight. However, their previously mentioned concerns are still an issue that many students have faced.

These concerns were not limited to UTS. Postgraduate international students from four universities in New South Wales (including UTS) recently shared their experiences at an inquiry into tourism and the education sector held by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

USyd Senate Fellow Yinfeng “Benny” Shen raised concerns to the committee on working rights, postgraduate visa issues, migration pass rates, as well as access to Medicare for international students.

With rental vacancy rates in their record lows (sitting around 1.7%), some international students have been priced out of their rentals, with some even forced to stay in hostels on top of dealing with the rising cost of living, making studying extremely difficult according to Shen.

Jumping off Shen’s concerns, Western Sydney University (WSU) student Samanda Mularachchi found housing close to her Bankstown campus non-existent or too expensive, forcing her to commute via public transport without a concession card from Parramatta to Bankstown.

“It's really challenging; you will spend close to $12 to $15 a day, which is a lot,” she said. “Also, given we don't have an income during placements, it's hard to manage so much rent while paying a bond for a new house."

“In general, moving places seems almost impossible for me at this time. I know that

“We as international students get the same experiences as residents here but with a significantly higher price difference.”

Rent, concessions and support

my housemate, for the longest time, has been trying to find a place somewhere closer to work. Because she can't find or afford a new place, she's currently living with me. I know that's the case for all of my international friends who are also doing placements with me.”

While these concerns have been raised to WSU, Mularachchi says there is only so much the university can do in terms of support.

Staying on the topic of housing, UTS Students' Association International Officer Joy Xu said universities should hold some responsibility reviewing the eligibility of hosts who offer housing through off-campus housing databases, recalling a homestay experience in which her host family started borrowing money off her.

Speaking to Vertigo, Xu said UTS was providing relevant support and resources through UTS International, however wishes for more collaboration between the International Collective and UTS International. Xu also said she wishes for more collaboration between clubs and the collective, but internal policies within the UTSSA have essentially made any form of collaboration tedious.

After approaching UTS for a statement regarding how the university is supporting international students, the university said:

“UTS International provides a dedicated International Student Centre for all enquiries so that arriving students can be triaged and supported through their learning journey, no matter when they arrive in Sydney or if they are still studying online. The UTS Orientation team delivered a comprehensive two week program for those who were able to travel to Sydney for the start of Autumn 2023 and can deliver a ‘Welcome Anytime” session for those who were not able to arrive prior to 17 February. There are also a range of videos to assist students settle in to studying at UTS as an international student. There is also additional Accommodation assistance available to assist international students find suitable places to live.”

Reliance on international students by universities

The committee also heard from Chancellery representatives of UTS, University of Sydney (USYD), the University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Wollongong (UOW) and Macquarie University regarding international students’ experiences and their importance to the higher education sector.

In opening statements to the Committee, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor of UOW Professor Alex Frino highlighted the importance of international students to the university, calling them a “lifeblood” for the sector, while Vice President for External Management for USyd Kirsten Andrews said international students were a “national asset”.

In his opening statement, Deputy Vice Chancellor for UNSW Professor Merlin Crossley said the reliance of international students for the higher education sector is only a “last resort”. This “last resort” by public universities across Australia is a direct result of lack of funding from past governments which came to rely on international students. With funding for research at the forefront of public universities priorities, this reliance on international student fees has become essential to funding for research as well as development.

In the previously mentioned statement provided to Vertigo, UTS did not answer why the university was reliant on international student fees.

Education reforms under former Minister for Employment, Education and Training

Richard Dawkins in the late 80s through to the 90s not only saw the introduction of the HECS system, but the exportation of Australia’s higher education to the international market, uncapping fees for international students. While some have lauded these reformations by Dawkins for building an educated national workforce, these reformations have now created consequences for international students in a world that no-one in the 1990s would have seen coming.

Out of the 38 countries in the OECD, Australia is spending around 1.4% of its GDP into funding public universities, well below the OECD average of 2.68%

Years of government policy failures in the funding of the higher education sector has put international students into an uncomfortable position. With the cost-of-living crisis being exacerbated by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, the struggles are set to continue until drastic change is made.

Leather and Limitations:

WORDS BRONTEBYSKINNER

‘Uncensored’ explores the intersection of BDSM and consent

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY MORRISH

UTS Vertigo conversation on fetishes, BDSM, kinky sex and consent presented by UTS Respect.Now.Always on February 28.

Experts on the topic included Mistress Tokyo, a dominatrix and kink educator; Thomas Seggie, a representative of Pride of The Hide and producer of The Kink Kloset podcast; and Zain Warsi, who is competing for the title of Sydney Mr. Leather in the 2023 competition.

Kinks and co

Speaking to Vertigo after the panel discussion, Mistress Tokyo discussed the need for mandatory consent conversations in both her personal and professional life.

“Consent is essentially the way that we can map our journey into a kink experience together. BDSM is where we often hand over our power or agency to another person. Without consent, BDSM could be construed as abuse or abusive,” she says.

Tokyo states that consent is not tacit and isn’t something that should be taken for granted in any type of relationship. Charting the activities of BDSM, as they may push personal boundaries, is essential.

“When we come out of that experience [we want to have] had the most cared for, most loved, most supported, most conscientious, most emotionally intelligent, and most beautiful experience possible,” she says.

Mistress Tokyo’s Mindful Consent Model (2021) was brought to the forefront of conversation during and after the panel. Inspired by Betty Martin’s ‘Wheel of Consent,’ Tokyo maintains that the Mindful Consent Model is accessible and designed for normal human interaction, while the former model is more complex and unintuitive.

Zain Warsi stated that the panel talk gave them an opportunity to destigmatise and educate university students on BDSM and fetishes, including the misconceptions surrounding fetish communities.

“I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that it’s all either very sexual or that people who are involved in the fetish community have a certain persona, but honestly, behind all that gear, is a paramedic, is a primary school teacher, is a vet,” he says. On the panel-talk, he likened leather to being a part of their identity.

“It’s honestly like a second skin. The way it feels, both physically and emotionally, it does give you a sense of belonging –it gives you that confidence that empowers you,” he says.

Warsi says that winning the Sydney Mr. Leather 2023 competition would mean more credibility and a platform for them to advocate for the leather community.

Thomas Seggie also spoke to the misconceptions that surround people in the fetish community, as brought into the spotlight on his podcast The Kink Kloset. In The Kink Kloset, he asks a member of the fetish community to “Tell me who you were before you were a fetish person.” Despite this being a simple question, Seggie says it is hard to answer.

“It encourages people to think about their own journeys and the steps they’ve taken to get to where they are today,” he says.

He sees an overarching theme of people beginning with a curiosity to explore that side of them.

THE

“[The Mindful Consent Model] can potentially be applicable to all beings who recognize these process dimensions, thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations as a component of their experience when they’re making a decision,” she says.

According to Tokyo, the model must be seen at an intersection between social and relational power and privilege and that “people must support others with less privilege to make decisions that have the same social valence and social currency.”

“There’s been a common theme of people saying, ‘I’ve always known it to be inside of me, I just didn’t know how to express it,’” Seggie says. Speaking to Vertigo, Seggie reflected upon the steps that he took at his first Pride of the Hide social event during Mardi Gras 2018, in which he had to scale the fire escape stairs to get into the venue at Kings Cross. He describes these spaces as forming a welcoming and inclusive community, sentiments which were shared by Warsi in the panel talk.

“On that note, the BDSM culture in the fetish community helps create foundations and structures that people can operate in. There’s conduct, there’s protocols, there’s traditions, there’s identity, and there’s the tribe aspect that helps people foster those experiences and makes them feel good.”

MINDFUL CONSENT MODEL

Dispatch: The Fossil Frontier

Millions of eucalypts rise tall out of red, sandy soils; the forest floor morphs from open grasslands where kangaroos graze to a thick impenetrable scrub, a haven for native birdlife. This is the Pilliga, 5000 square kilometres of wilderness in north-western NSW, the largest native forest west of the Great Diving Range. It’s also the site of one of the most controversial fossil fuel projects in Australia’s history – the Narrabri gas project.

“For the Gamilaraay nation, it’s our umbilical cord, our cultural tether… every person on the Gomeroi nation knows about the Pilliga,” said Gomeroi activist Suellyn Tighe, as she guided me and eight other students through an Aboriginal cultural site in the forest, on a field trip last October.

Led by Suellyn, we spent the morning following a trail around the base of sandstone caves that were once a gathering place for her ancestors. The caves rested atop a knoll in the landscape, protruding from the ground like a rocky outcrop. Raised above the eucalypts with long sightlines, they were an obvious gathering place amongst the flat expanse of forest.

Santos, one of Australia’s largest oil and gas corporations, has federal and state government approval to establish a gas field nearby, across Pilliga’s eastern flank and into nearby farmland. They plan to drill over 850 gas wells deep underground to extract coal seam gas (CSG). Over its 25-year lifetime, the project will emit an estimated 100 million tons of carbon dioxide and release vast quantities of methane gas into the atmosphere as the gas is extracted.

The project ignores the many unanimous pleas from across the world – voiced by the United Nations, International Energy Agency, and the latest IPCC reports – to end fossil fuel expansion if humanity is to have any hope of avoiding the most horrific effects of climate change.

Santos says the project will secure domestic supply in a turbulent market, provide jobs to the nearby town of Narrabri, and only contribute to 0.1 percent of Australia’s annual emissions – although this figure is heavily contested. But to many farmers, environmentalists, and Gomeroi – the regions Indigenous peoples – the project spells disaster to their way of life, the Indigenous connection to the land, and the planet.

Suellyn is watching her land change. Flowers bloom earlier, the movements of migratory birds are more sporadic, and increasingly intense bushfires are transforming the thin canopy – climate change is the culprit. But now the land and what lies underneath it faces an even more imminent threat.

To extract the gas, Santos will need to clear 10 square kilometres of forest to drill through the Great Artesian Basin – an ancient underground aquifer system that stretches from the upper reaches of NSW and SA to Australia’s top end. It's one of the largest underground water systems in the world and is a crucial freshwater source for much of inland Australia.

Santos says that the drilling is highly regulated and safe and uses slick marketing videos to assure their sceptics. But for many farmers across the region, who for generations have thrived off the artesian waters that are their lifeblood in drought, drilling through the aquifer is a needless risk.

The science here is complicated, compromised by vested interests, difficult to validate and impossible to settle.

Yet what would the average punter make of, say, drilling through aquifers millions of years old to access an outdated fossil fuel to line the pockets of a billion-dollar corporation – that has paid just 2.36% of tax on their total income in the last

“For the Gamilaraay nation, it's our umbilical cord, our cultural tether...every person on the Gomeroi nation knows about the Pilliga”

02. The Pilliga Forest

eight years – while exacerbating the effects of climate change?

In fact, you needn’t imagine. In 2020, after over a decade of gas exploration in the region by Santos, and three years after Santos submitted a proposal to build the gas field, a public meeting was held. The forum – a government-appointed independent planning commission (IPC) – saw a record 23,000 written submissions from the public, 98 percent of which were against the project, and over seven days heard from 367 speakers, only six percent of whom were in favour of Santos. Despite this, the IPC ruled in Santos’s favour granted “stringent conditions” were met.

Back in the Pilliga, we came to the trail's end and had lunch quietly in the spotted shade of a gum tree. As we ate, Suellyn spoke about the Native Title Tribunal, which until recently, was one of the last major hurdles in the way of the project.

Last year the Gomeroi voted against the proposed project in the Pilliga East State Forest, which is on their sacred lands. Their statement, “Gamil”, meaning no in their traditional language, was clear.

But Santos didn’t listen. They took the Gomeroi to the Native Title Tribunal, a body that has overwhelmingly ruled against Indigenous people's native title rights. “[The tribunal] demonstrates that there’s a definite bias against Aboriginal people maintaining their connection to land and country,” said Suellyn.

In December the Native Title Tribunal ruled in Santos’s favour, stating that the Gomoroi’s concerns were “outweighed by the public interest”. The Gomeroi Native Title Group have appealed the decision.

With the tribunal out of the way, Santos is expected to make a final investment decision on the project by the end of this year. Considering they have already invested over $2 billion in the project since 2008, a desire to go ahead and turn a profit will leave few surprised.

“We’re on this slippery slope now… we’re looking at an economy where all of this infrastructure has already been put into place or is being set up [for the project],” said Suellyn.

Santos has already established over 40 pilot gas wells in the Pilliga and a small power station to burn the gas. While relatively small in scale compared to the planned 850 wells, these operations have caused 23 wastewater spills in the Pilliga over the last decade, including the release of waste containing heavy metals and excessive salt concentrations into the forest.

Santos describes these spills as “small” and says they have spent millions of dollars rehabilitating the affected areas.

In an imposing show of state capture, Santos has also employed significant political

capital to get the project over the line. From the dubious gas-led covid-19 recovery plan that fast-tracked the project's approval to meddling in the Narrabri community, Santos has used its influence to push the project ahead. Not to mention their generous donations to the Labor party last election – who back the project despite their commitment to the Paris agreement and 2030 emissions reduction target of 43 percent.

As we drove through town on our way back from the Pilliga, this influence came into focus. Glued to goals posts, printed across full-page ads in the local paper, and plastered across their slick shopfront in the centre of town – Santo’s logo is hard to avoid.

And beyond their sponsorships and marketing tactics, they have used their influence to secure the support of the local council and the Narrabri Aboriginal Land Council; which any Indigenous person living in the area is entitled to join, unlike the native title applicant group, which requires Gomeroi ancestry.

As a teenager said in town on his way home from rugby training, “I love Santos. They pay for everything. They sponsor all the clubs and pay for all our footy gear.” As put by a speaker at the IPC, “the only people who want coal seam gas are the people with a vested interest in it.”

Much of the support for the project is driven by a promise of new local jobs in Narrabri – a regional town that is troubled by an uncertain future.

The project will employ an estimated 1300 people during the three-to-four-year construction phase, all of whom will be housed in Narrabri, but less than 10% of this workforce will be Narrabri locals. Once construction ends, just over 300 jobs will remain in Narrabri, although less than 100 of these are expected to be locally employed.

Surveys presented at the IPC found that twothirds of people in town and 90 percent of the wider community – many of whom are farmers concerned about groundwater contamination – are against the project.

One of these farmers is Sally Hunter, who lives and works on a large cattle farm half an hour out of town. Sally and her dachshund greeted us at the gate as we turned off the main road. It was our last stop on the trip.

Ready for a long day’s work in a wide-brimmed hat and fluoro blue shirt covered in cartoon pot plants,

03. A spill site in the Pilliga Forest

Sally launched into a tour of the domestic side of the property. First, to her untamed, low-maintenance veggie garden that produces food for her family all year round; then a DIY chicken coop on wheels that doubles as a lawnmower; and finally, to her rooftop solar system, battery, and electric car.

As she grew up, Sally watched as her parents fought a losing battle against CSG on their family cattle property in western Queensland. In Queensland where the CSG has run rampant for years, hundreds of bores on properties have run dry and many more risk becoming contaminated. After holding out for years against CSG as they watched it contaminate their land, they decided to leave for good.

“It didn’t end well for my parents,” Sally said. “When we moved here, and we heard that there was gas development happening here, I was pretty interested in it and trying to think through the implications for the region and started to get quite involved.”

After moving to the Narrabri shire over a decade ago, heeding her parent's experience and concerned by expanding coal mines visible from the fertile plains of her property, as well as the Narrabri gas project, Sally joined forces with other farmers and started ‘People for the Plains’.

Set up to oppose fossil fuel expansion in the area to protect their land, the group has since become closely affiliated with Lock the Gate – a national grassroots landholder movement that opposes CSG. “It’s our belief that the benefits of the [Narrabri] gas field do not outweigh the negative impacts, especially if you are a local, a landholder, or if you care about the climate,” said Sally.

Wanting to do more, a few doors down from the Santos shopfront, Sally opened the doors of Geni.Energy – a non-for-profit that is supporting the growth of renewable energy in the community. Geni energy provides locals with advice on solar and battery installation and

is hoping to support the installation of a community battery in town that Labor promised at the last election.

“We were just frustrated by the lack of renewables in the district… we knew this big transition was coming at us and we could see that if we weren't actively engaged in that transition, then we would just be left behind,” said Sally.

And this imaginative approach doesn’t only exist in Narrabri. While Santos may like to think that the Narrabri gas project is essential infrastructure, promising to supply all gas extracted to the domestic market, they fail to mention that Australia has more than enough gas for ourselves. It’s just that over 80 percent of Australian gas is exported overseas for corporate profits – which have skyrocketed since the war in Ukraine. We don’t have to bend over to polluting fossil fuel corporates, that exacerbate climate change, drain taxpayer funds in annual subsidies of more than $10 billion, and give back little to the economy. There is another way. Like Geni Energy, Australia – with a little ingenuity and grit –can use existing renewable technology to rapidly transition away from gas, and why not coal and oil while we are at it? This won’t only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will bring power bills down in the long term, prevent respiratory conditions caused by gas appliances in homes, as well as protect farmland and Aboriginal cultural sites from hazardous practices like CSG extraction.

04. Sally Hunter

"We don't have to bend over to polluting fossil fuel corporates, that exacerbate climate change, drain taxpayer funds in annual subsidies of more than $10 billion, and give back little to the economy. There is another way."

The great electrification awaits, if only we had the political will to get on with it.

‘FARMS NOT COAL’ reads the side of a grain silo, as our van sped past on the New England Highway. The large red letters were impossible to miss as the road snaked down the Hunter Valley on our way back to Sydney, weaving its way through some of the largest open-cut coal mines in the world. As we drove, tall grassy berms appeared on each side of the road concealing the mines behind them, a strategy to keep them out of public view. Yet occasionally, over the tops of the burns, or through thick groves of eucalypts, the mines came into view.

From above (or a quick glance on Google Maps) their full extent is revealed – vast grey scars on the landscape – as if some celestial being, looking down from space, took a grazing swipe at the Hunter Valley’s rolling plains.

We stopped for fuel in Bulga, a town that is now just a few kilometres from the Warkworth mine open cut mine following its expansion. In the local Indigenous language, Bulga means ‘isolated hill’, and as we drove up its side that much of the town is perched on, orchards gave way to mountains of grey rubble extending to the horizon. Residents went to court and tried to block the mine expansion but failed. The expansion went ahead and now the noise of heavy machinery and dangerous coal dust blanket the town regularly; Voluntary acquisitions of some properties ensued, others who could afford to left, and those who couldn’t stayed.

Yet amidst the environmental destruction, the Hunter and its surrounding regions hold the key to defeating the Narrabri gas project. Santos needs to build a pipeline through hundreds of private farms to transport the gas from Narrabri to just shy of Newcastle – a proposal that landholders on the route overwhelmingly reject.

“The level of landholder opposition is overwhelming on a project like this,” said landowner Peter Wills, who has worked to organise more than 200 properties along the route to block the pipeline. “It's quite clearly showing in the numbers of landholders who have signed land access agreements. In the last three years…only 29 People actually signed land access agreements.”

Since meeting with Peter on our way back to Sydney, former NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean has given Santos means to force their way onto people's properties by issuing an Authority to Survey. Tense standoffs between Santos, police and landowners are expected to follow in the coming months.

“The question is, will Santos trespass on people's properties…that are owned by families, some for multiple generations, against our consent? That's the question at the end of the day,” said Peter.

The fossil fuel industry has already peaked in the Hunter. Coal-fired power stations are closing, and the mines slowly emptying. CSG may not be as visibly destructive as the monolithic open-cut mines of the Hunter Valley, but the consequences of the Narrabri gas project – its carbon emissions and the risk of groundwater contamination – may be just as devastating for the lands’ future generations.

As we take the M1 exit and head south toward Sydney, leaving the Hunter Valley, I wonder if its story foretells the fate of Narrabri, the Pilliga and the Gomeroi people. •

05. Farms not coal

06. X1

ally,

CONTENT WARNING: HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie; ally, ally!

WORDS BY ROSE TATE

Life after World Pride

In a whirlwind of colour and excitement, 2023 brought World Pride to Sydney, Australia. For 17 days, Sydney hosted parties, performances, parades, and more to promote awareness and visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community. As exciting as it was to see so many people draped in colour and the streets rainbow-washed to the extreme, World Pride exposed some of the cracks in Sydney’s story. Over the past month, multiple accounts of hate crimes and hate speech have surfaced, often based in anti-trans sentiments.

In an interview on Triple J, author and former Miss Universe Australia, Maria Thattil, recounted a homophobic encounter that her brother and his boyfriend endured at Mardi Gras. Maria received a call from her brother after they were spat at and taunted by a group of men who pretended to gag at the sight of them. She was told they felt unsafe and were leaving as a result. Despite there being hundreds of people around in rainbow and glitter apparel, no one reacted or came to the mens’ defence, apart from a woman who told them “not to worry” before asking if she could get a picture with their outfits. This kind of behaviour shows the performative activist culture that many straight people at Mardi Gras cultivate.

In a similarly worrying event on Friday, March 3, a group of 30 men walked down King Street in a “Christian prayer march”.1 They intimidated locals and bargoers and tried to enter Queer venues. While an alleged assault is still being investigated at the time of writing, no arrests were made despite this demonstration being an unauthorised protest that was clearly anti-queer in nature. The response from the police? Walking beside them. Remind me again what gives them the right to then walk beside us in the Pride Parade?

Later that same month, neo-Nazis attended an authorised anti-trans rally hosted by Kellie-Jay Keen in Melbourne on Saturday, March 18. Men in masks marched down Spring Street chanting “White power,” while yelling homophobic and transphobic slurs.2 This comes at a time when transphobic hate and violence are rising. The most heartbreaking thing about these events that continue to occur is that, once again, police were standing in front of these “activists” and protecting them from counter-protesting Queer people. In doing so they were pushing and physically blocking Queer people, while letting Nazis stand proud.

On a personal level, I have felt unsafe on countless occasions as a Queer person in Sydney. Just the other day, while catching a train into the city at about 9pm, I removed my headphones when I heard four men enter my carriage yelling “Hail Mary,” and “Fuck the gays, they can go to hell”. This was the day after the event in Newtown. I was alone. I tried to move carriages but was at the end of the train, which kept skipping stops because it was late. I moved to the end of the train next to the conductor’s carriage and hid behind a seat. As soon as the train stopped I ran off. If I’m being completely honest, I haven’t gotten over it.

Understanding intersectionality

Despite most members of the LGBTQIA+ community experiencing discrimination, intersectional identities mean that some members experience more than others. It’s important to acknowledge that when women don’t centre men in their lives, they are often faced with violent repercussions. This is what makes the lesbian identity so unique; catering away from the male gaze. The repercussion of this has become a sense of tolerance towards gay men and exiling of lesbians (including trans and gender diverse lesbians). This comes from the intersection between misogyny and homophobia. Misogyny, after all, is a foundational thinking pattern for homophobia. Sydney hosted World Pride despite not having one lesbian bar or club. Furthermore, Queer people of colour also experience intersectional discrimination and higher rates of homophobia. One study from Western Australia noted:

“While [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island] people experienced both forms of discrimination, racism was most frequently observed as more problematic because sexuality or gender identity could be hidden, whereas one’s skin colour cannot”3

This manifests in hate crimes against Queer people of colour being more common. It is vital that we acknowledge these layers of intersectionality in our strive for equity.

Representation and legal recognition

Aside from anecdotes, Australia’s history with the LGBTQIA+ community is painful, as in most countries. Debates began hundreds of years ago in colonialist societies that brought homophobia to diverse Indigenous peoples. However, systemic homophobia and transphobia still have a firm grip on Australian society. It still stands that people who are transgender are unable to change the sex listed on their birth certificate without gender reassignment surgery in NSW and Queensland.4 Similarly, in Western Australia, one requires a ‘reassignment procedure’ such as hormone therapy in order to

change the sex on a birth certificate.4 In 2013, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act 1984 was revised to include new protections from discrimination in many aspects of public life based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status. It is vital for Australia to introduce further policy to protect LGBTQIA+ people as they remain a group at higher risk of experiencing violence, mental health issues, homelessness and discrimination.5

Queer voices continue to be silenced. We have advanced a long way from the criminalisation of homosexuality, but the protection of LGBTQIA+ people is still being compromised. Funding for policy research that looks into helping minority groups such as the Queer community are often informed by statistics. However, there was a distinct lack of questions based around queer identities in the 2021 Australian census questions. The inclusion of questions regarding gender and sexuality could have improved our knowledge on how much of the population is impacted by unequal legislation. This in turn could have seen more government funding allocated to LGBTQIA+ organisations.

Schooling and queer health

As LGBTQIA+ issues have become increasingly politicised over the last four decades and people continue to “debate” minority groups’ livelihoods, we have heard a lot of arguments against our “way of life”. In Australian schools, providing what could be life-saving support for queer kids is seen as supporting a political agenda rather than just being a caring human being. The ramifications of the “No’’ campaign against marriage equality continues to manifest in several private and religious schools’ policies and statements, condemning gender and sexual diversity. According to a 2021 study, “9 in 10 LGBTQ+ students say they hear homophobic language at school, and 1 in 3 hear it almost every day”.6 In 2021, the NSW Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020 was proposed. If passed, this would have prohibited teachers from discussing gender and sexuality diversity. It would also have allowed schools to revoke teachers’ accreditations for offering targeted support to Queer students.6 Bills like the Religious Discrimination Bill 2022 are still being proposed in 2023, providing more opportunities for homophobes and transphobes to once again disguise their hatred as “different political beliefs’’. These alternate avenues of discrimination, designed for the purpose of firing Queer employees at religious schools, oppose the very reasons that the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 was passed to begin with.

It is clear that Australia is not doing its best to support the LGBTQIA+ community. Even as we have achieved marriage equality, we still have a long way to go with legislation and mindset before Australia can call itself a truly inclusive nation. With a surge in transphobic protests and hate crimes and lack of action from the police, the Queer community and its allies are reminded that we still have so much left to fight for.

Photographer: FJ Gaylor

Sleeping with the stars.

BY TIANA PLYWASKI

To the chagrin of many straight men, we have arrived at a pivotal point for online dating: all major dating apps now display star signs at the front of our profiles. Part of me understands the eyerolls. The surge of Tumblr zodiac posts that flooded Instagram in the early 2010s certainly gave astrology a bad name, assigning each sign a type of soda or chip flavour based on little to no reasoning. For many people, the idea that the stars and planets have anything to do with who we are as people is often held as ridiculous and silly. For some (Jesse from MAFS, I’m glaring at you), it’s even a deal breaker.

Social impressions of astrology are highly gendered, and we can’t overlook the undercurrent of misogyny that runs beneath many dismissals of astrology as an indicator of unintelligence or a lack of critical thinking. I don’t plan my life around retrogrades, but I do stay home to read Tarot on full moons and I’ve spent countless nights drunkenly analysing the charts of girls I meet at parties.

I also keep a list of the signs of people I’ve slept with. Sure, you can tell me astrology is bull, but then explain to me why I always have an incredible time with Sagittarians, but I’ve never dated a water sign. Explain to me why, when I asked my Instagram followers for zodiac sex reviews, everyone had the exact same things to say about each sign.

With that said, I am proud to present you with a definitive rating and ranking of what you can expect from each sign in the bedroom, based on painfully thorough and highly professional research (personal experience and an Instagram answer box). Check your partner’s sun, Mars and Venus signs if you aren’t sure what these are, there are plenty of apps and websites such as Co-Star (even Snapchat has a natal chart feature now). Sun signs rule your core ego and identity, but Mars is all about sex and aggression, and Venus manages all things love and pleasure, so these often dominate people’s charts. in the bedroom!

SCORPIO 3/5

Scorpios think they are the designer handbags of the zodiac: hard to earn, harder to actually get, but worth it all in the end. The pickiness with which they choose a partner leaves them feeling like they need to prove themselves. Mysterious and guarded with a point to make? It’s a recipe for an intensely attentive partner. If you can get a Scorpio in the bedroom, they’ll be open to whatever you want, and love every moment they’re able to spend with you. They are water signs though, so go heavy on the cuddles afterwards.

GEMINI 3.5/5

Geminis, apparently, believe in telepathy. They assume their partners will inherently know their quirks, and that they know intuitively what’s best for their partner. Geminis are dynamic and easily bored, so maybe they’re just trying to skip the small talk and cut to the chase before they lose interest. All that said, when Geminis stick around, they position themselves as the sole protector and provider of their partner’s pleasure, dedicating time to learning the ins and outs of their partner’s desires (pun intended).

CANCER 2/5

Cancers are emotional and sensitive, which translates very well to the bedroom if you’re looking for an attentive partner. It translates less well if you’re looking for someone to fulfil your 365 Days fantasy (in which case, I’d recommend a therapist), as they focus more on sensuality than intensity. To put it plainly, Cancers either are pillow princesses, or they want one.

ARIES 4/5

Go ahead and ask your Aries hookup: their BDSMtest.org results will be saved to their phone. They bring passion to everything they do, and once they start, they tend to forget where to stop. There’s a certain confidence, a swagger, if you will, to an Aries, that drives their impulsivity and makes it seem miles more intentional than it is, so never forget that not even they know what their next move will be.

VIRGO 3/5

Virgos are meticulous and controlling in all that they do, and this often means they know just what to say to get someone undressed. In the bedroom, they’re dominant and determined, but can also be egotistical creatures of habit. Fortunately, Virgos are also very happy to break those habits — if there was a Grammarly for sex, they’d be premium subscribers. Since we haven’t quite reached that point as a society, they usually settle for detailed feedback and communication from their partners.

LEO 2/5

Leos will make sure that you are well-looked-after. They’re experimentalists and love to show off with athletic positions, but there’s sometimes a lack of passion. Sure, they care about your pleasure, but they care a little bit more that you tell your friends exactly how good the sex was.

AQUARIUS 2.5/5

Aquarians are stereotyped as determined and logical, which can translate to a stilted and seemingly disingenuous presence in the bedroom. They embody a strange balance of having their head in the clouds, and being in complete control to make sure their needs – as well as yours – are met along the way. Your Aquarius partner probably identifies as dominant, but in such a way that they might feel slightly threatened by constructive criticism, so tread lightly.

CAPRICORN 2/5

Capricorn’s responsibility can hinder them in the bedroom as they struggle to communicate desires. When their intuitive tendencies match with their partner, you can expect sparks, fireworks, TNT… the whole shabang. But when it’s not an immediate match, their pessimism often rears its head to declare an ‘ick’ and cut things off.

TAURUS 4/5

Taureans are ruled by Venus, which is the planet in charge of love and pleasure. They’re known for their sensuality and materialism, so it’s no surprise that they pull out all the stops in the bedroom — toys, touches, and teasing all included. They definitely take pride in a partner who’s well-satisfied, but they don’t accept mediocrity when it comes to their own pleasure – they expect to take just as much as they give.

PISCES 4/5

Much like Leos, Pisces want people to know exactly how intimate and loving and generous they are in bed. They can be a little disconnected on a bad day, but their water sign emotionality makes them perceptive to their partners’ needs. They notice the little signals about your experience and act on them, meeting their partner wherever they are with enthusiasm.

LIBRA 4/5

Nobody has ever tried to deny that Libras have game. They’re the flirts of the zodiac and they know it, but that reputation can get to their heads – in the bedroom, they can be a little self-centred. They know exactly how pretty they are, and sometimes forget that looking good doesn’t quite cut it without, you know… personality. Regardless, they’re silver-tongued enough in the streets to get people to the bedroom, and good enough in the sheets to get people back for round two.

SAGITTARIUS 4.5/5

Sagittarians are experimental and spontaneous in life and in love. They’re game to try nearly anything, so they’re not interested in anyone without an open mind and the ability to keep up with their frankly insane pace. Sagittarians are what Leos want you to think they are – genuinely turned on by their partner’s pleasure, and caught up in the moment almost too easily.

ART BY SIENA ZADRO

WHAT DINOSAUR ARE YOU?

Because we’re all bound for extinction anyway. Tally your answers as you go!

[BY

SIENA ZADRO]

Pick a Jurassic park related career.

A] Palaeobotanist

B] Entrepreneur

C] Lawyer

D] Palaeontologist

E] Computer programmer

F] Chaotician

Pick a Jeff Goldblum film.

A] The Switch

B] Independence Day

C] Thor: Ragnarok

D] Jurassic Park

E] The Fly

F] The Grand Budapest Hotel

You enter The Underground and are faced by a pack of velociraptors – what do you do?

A] Run

B] Attempt to take them on in hand to

claw combat

C] Use your intelligence to trick them into letting you escape

D] Start throwing beer glasses at them

E] Electrocute them using the highly advanced audio system

F] Let them eat you since it’s better than continuing your course

You’re grabbing a drink after class –which pub do you go to?

A] Old Claire

B] The Underground

C] The Loft

D] The Eveleigh

E] Bar Broadway

F] The Lord Gladstone

You’re finding a bag to cram your laptop in – what do you grab?

A] Marc Jacobs ‘The Tote’

B] Jansport backpack

C] Adidas backpack

D] Crumpler messenger bag

E] No bag

F] New Yorker tote bag

Pick a Jurassic Park quote you can see yourself using.

A] “Hold onto your butts.”

B] “We’re gonna make a fortune with this place.”

C] “Life finds a way.”

D] “You did it. You crazy son of a

b*tch, you did it.”

E] “Clever girl.”

F] “Look, we can discuss sexism in survival situations when I get back.”

MAINLY [A]: BRACHIOSAURUS

• Peaceful

• Extrovert

• Long neck (probably)

• Works well with others

• Probably studies Nursing

MAINLY [C]: VELOCIRAPTOR

• Popular

• Cunning

• Scary when you need to be

• Loves to network

• Probably studies Law

MAINLY [B]: TYRANNOSAURUS-REX

• Independent

• Knows what they want

• Prone to silly moments

• Short arms

• Probably studies Business

MAINLY [E]: DILOPHOSAURUS

• Sometimes has to remind people that you’re there

• Timid but highly intelligent

• Might wear a hat indoors

• Suffers from social anxiety

• Probably studies Engineering

MAINLY [D]: SPINOSAURUS

• Introverted

• The underdog in most fields

• Looks mean but wants to be your friend

• Chronic back issues

• Probably studies Design

MAINLY [F]: STEGOSAURUS

• Painfully indecisive

• Says they’re an introvert but is an extrovert

• Witty but gets defensive easily

• Lots of friends but still feels a little lonely

• Probably studies Communications

The Silence of Extinction:

BY CLAIRE MATTHEWS

THEINVESTIGATING EARTH’S 6TH MASS EXTINCTION

When I was in high school, I did a presentation on Eastern blue tongued lizards. A boy I knew approached me after class to tell me that his dad had found one in their backyard. He told me how it had hissed in protest as they picked it up, a deep guttural sound, and how it’s eyes had gone red with blood. In my curiosity, I asked what they did with it. ‘We put it on the driveway and ran it over with the car.’ he replied nonchalantly. ‘I didn’t know what it was’. I was horrified. I am privileged enough to have a family which frequently took trips to the bush and a father who instilled in me a deep sense of respect for all animals – snakes, salamanders and spiders alike. But as green spaces shrink, and become harder to access, and more and more people migrate to cities and rapidly expanding urban areas, it’s not hard to believe that we are losing touch with nature. But how can we get people to protect and care for creatures they don’t even know exist? As global warming continues to amplify extinction rates, we are heading into what has been named Earth’s sixth mass extinction. 1 2

WHAT IS AT STAKE?

Generally speaking, extinction is a natural part of this planet’s history; out of the 4 billion species that have evolved on Earth, 99% are now lost to the contemporary world. 3 However, since the turn of the century, a number of studies have called for recognition of the fact that we are entering (or in the midst) of a sixth mass extinction, one which would be uniquely caused by human activity, including but not limited to climate change. 3 4 5 While scientific opinion varies on certain details, there is an overwhelming consensus that we are in a crisis of biodiversity. The large majority of species are in population decline and extinction rates are rising at a concerning pace.2

This finding is set against a backdrop of frightening statistics from an array of recent works which highlight the interconnectedness of environmental issues. Namely, in 2019, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provided a report which evaluated the health of the global biosphere and concluded that a “systematic extermination” of living things and ecosystems is occurring. 6 Contemporary extinction rates are estimated to be between 100 and 1,000 times higher than they have been historically. 7

These extinctions do not occur independently of one another, and as keystone species are disappearing, they are having unexpected ripple effects on broader ecosystems. Currently, 97% of the planet’s terrestrial surface is no longer ecologically intact, meaning it has been impacted by human activity.8 The human population is everexpanding and economic growth is prioritised as urbanisation and agriculture lead to an increasing loss of biodiverse ecologies such as wetlands and coral reefs.2 As oceans continue to degrade due to both plastic and greenhouse gas pollution, fossil fuel corporations are only gaining in wealth. All of this stands in the shadow of anthropogenic climate change, a factor which is sure to exacerbate mass extinction.

Mass extinction takes place when a species loss of 75% or more occurs within less than two million years.9 Diverting from the usual dry and non-emotional language of science, conservative estimates from one study have ‘confidently concluded that modern extinction rates are exceptionally high, that they are increasing, and that they suggest a mass extinction is underway’, while another has labelled our current loss as ‘biological annihilation’. 4 10 Regardless of where we are in the timeline of mass extinction, it feels futile to be caught up on the specifics considering we know for certain that the world is rapidly losing its diversity.

Species are disappearing faster than we are able to both record or conserve them, raising an ethical conundrum: how can we even capture the enormity of what is being lost?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

It is undeniable that the cause of the current extinction crisis is human activity.4 Specifically, climate change increases the likelihood of the extinction of at least 10,967 species on the list of threatened species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.11 Additionally, habitat loss, often a result of expansionist industrial and agricultural policies and resource exploitation, such as logging and mining, has played a key role in declining global biodiversity.12 Dominant views towards land and resource use have long been driven by neo-liberal, growth-based approaches which present the earth as an infinitely productive resource, despite early reports denouncing these exponential growth theories as threats to human and ecological stability.13 In simple terms, the earth is not an infinite resource.

Neo-liberal ‘solutions’ such as the phenomenon of ‘de-extinction’ which has been supported by advocates such as Brand [14] perfectly capture this prioritisation of economic growth above all else. Bringing back extinct species both denies previous histories of pain and mismanagement and places short-term technological advancement over the long-term survival of all current living beings. As Van Dooren & Rose powerfully question, ‘what sense does it make to dream of returning the thylacine … when we cannot even ask people to make room for dingoes?’.15

In the Western world, property law arose in part to serve the violent purposes of the British empire and its dominion over the global South, established through resource extraction.16 As Whyte has argued, ecological domination, destruction, and ownership of land forms a crucial part of the settler-colonial system.17 These deep historical inequalities have increased the vulnerability of certain communities to environmental issues while others reap the economic and political benefits.18 Those who contribute the least to extinction, paradoxically, are those who are suffering the most.

The latest IPCC report has, for the first time, pushed for recognition of the fact that colonialism has exacerbated the impacts of climate change and that this has in turn increased the vulnerability of specific groups and places.19 It is not unlikely that this reasoning can be extended to the impacts and causation of mass extinction and the current biodiversity crisis. By pushing for unlimited growth, capitalist and colonial systems are perpetuating mass extinction. As such, the role of these systems should not be overlooked when addressing solutions to extinction.

Earth’s sixth mass extinction is shrouded in silence, both literally and metaphorically. Krause has heartbreakingly captured the sounds of extinction – or rather, the silence – as animals disappear from the soundscape forever.20 However, there is also an alarming political silence which surrounds the current mass extinction. In comparison to climate change, which is hotly debated, there are very few policies, debates, and government investigations around mass extinction. 21

Where to from here?

The complexity of human history and the tremendous power imbalances resulting from ongoing systems such as colonialism should not be swept under the rug in order to create an impression of a singular, shared humanity. For many millennia, Indigenous ontologies concerning land have sat in stark contrast to Western concepts of private property. While it is important to note the diverse identities and perspectives within global Indigenous communities, there exists a common underlying respect for land and an understanding of the interreliance of all living beings. 22 Effectively, in Indigenous cultures, ‘the notion of self does not end with their flesh, but continues with the reach of their senses into the land’. 23 Indigenous knowledge systems are some of the oldest and most well-developed on earth. 24 Despite Indigenous peoples making up less than 5% of the world’s population and their land being 20% of the Earth’s territory, they hold 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. 25 This should be regarded as a testament to the quality and success of Indigenous cosmologies and land management systems, and points to the return of this land through decolonial methods as a viable way forward.

Human relationships and control over land will be a decisive factor in the fight against mass extinction. While philosophies of care and connectivity such as the ones put forth by Rose are an integral part of resisting neo-liberal approaches to extinction, a focus on de-colonialism and the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous peoples should be prioritised. 26 We cannot afford to stop at the theoretical; we must instead work to implement concrete policy-based solutions that have already been put forth. 27 28

The loss and grief arising from extinction reverberates through local ecosystems and communities, impacting long-established ways of life. We can never, and will never, fully comprehend the magnitude of our loss in relation to the rich, unique ecosystems and species which have slipped away under our negligence. We grieve partially for the unknown; for the potential of a different world. Human existence is heavily reliant on global biodiversity, making the current political inaction around extinction the equivalent of sawing off the branch on which humanity is sitting on. So let us not go gently (or silently) into extinction. Instead, we must listen and uplift the voices of those who are already disproportionately impacted by this crisis, and acknowledge the role that neo-liberal and colonial systems are playing in perpetuating environmental injustice and destruction

Photo Essay: Trans Day of Visibility Rally.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RODGER LIANG

WORDS BY CLAIRE MATTHEWS

CONTENT TRANSPHOBIA,WARNING: VIOLENCE.

To celebrate Trans Day of Visibility and make a stance against transphobic hate and violence, on the 2nd of April around 3,000 people rallied in Newtown square. The protest took place on unceded Gadigal Land and was organised by members of Pride in Protest.

There was a strong union presence, as well as contingents from the Dykes on Bikes and the UTS Women’s collective and Queer collective.

“Our agenda is one of equality. Our agenda is one of Pride. Our agenda is one of recognising the intersectional discrimination that our communities face… All of these are one struggle, one fight- and we are taking to the streets to say that this is what we demand!”

“To have true visibility, we need safety”

- Jenny Leong (Greens Member for Newtown)

- Liz Atkins (Greens Inner West Councillor)

“I am not interested in being reasonable. I am interested in seeing full equality for all our communities… To the nazis, the fascists and the homophobes: I am saying to those people that we are done with being reasonable and we are taking to the streets and to parliament.”

“We know full well that the advancement of religious discrimination laws is actually an agenda to try and undermine the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.”

- Jenny Leong

- Jenny Leong

“Sex work and sex workers need to be recognised on the Anti-Discrimination Act.”

- Wei Thai-Haynes (Sex worker and trans activist)

“If you do not support sex worker rights… you are not supporting the trans and queer community.”

- Wei Thai-Haynes

Stay

With Me My Darkest Hour:

A SUITE OF POEMS BY

Being a Woman

And preaching a faith that

Red lipstick, French tip cocks, Winnie blues. Being a woman Is the inability to be anything Other than just that. A woman. Passed through starved arms and held down by the will of God.

What do I want?

Being a woman, Is not knowing if you enjoy womanhood.

I will rip my womb in half just to create another life Like it’s all I’ve been programmed to do. What I have been created to do. Created for recreation

And the eyes of God are telling me I’m on the right track And I’m doing just fine Yet he still pins me here

MIA DAVIES

What do I want?

To be held by the arms of those around me in my darkest hour?

To perish by the will of God? The devil is in my ear. But you are in my lungs, Heaving every last breath of mine own.

I give. I give. I give.

The more you take the more I have to give. Bleeding out every last drop.

I breathe so you can run. I stand so you can fly. But what about me?

You take. You take. You take.

And the less I have to give, the more you are willing to take.

But who I am, If not a woman?

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY MORRISH

The Seasons

My rosy cheeks will fade As the snow melts, As the children grow.

The blue of my eyes will go, A lover who wakes up the next morning, Ready to go back to their normal life.

Until the next Friday night at No number of words Or amount of knowledge Will turn heads As I walk across the room.

February 14th

Its February 14th

And I can still taste you in my teeth. If I breathe heavy enough I start to seethe That night you showed up at my door

With nothing to show for

But a wilted rose.

I brought you mice because I thought that was what you liked, I didn’t realise They were alive

The horror on your face should have told me otherwise

But all I’ve known is hate

So, I mistook it for

Love,

Tobias’ Web

A criticism of performative male feminism for the purpose of getting laid, as a subgenre of the ‘incel’ and misogyny.

Now can someone please just have sex with me?

by Gianluca Pecora

BY SIENA ZADRO

Chapter 1: Incel

Tobias had never been one for manscaping. He saw it as an incursion on his masculinity. However, concluding that getting laid was more integral to his virility, he sacrificed this touchstone. But, where a cut rendered other spiders chic and cultivated, Tobias was only really further degraded by his efforts. Patchy and coarse, Tobias now possessed the vulgarity of someone far too deprived to attract. It is often argued that spiders are less pests than servants to their ecosystem. Tobias disproved these academic ramblings. Despite being his subservient instinct, he was well and truly a sex pest. He hated the female, and even more so the alpha male. Tarantulas were swingers these days, with seemingly endless stores of web fluid. Safe to say, Tobias hadn’t spun a complete web in months, though the occasional strand was honest work! But he knew it would take more than a rogue thread to capture a moth or a fly, much less the eye of a lover. Eight eyes would always find eight other places to look.

Oh, how he longed to be called daddy long-legs as was his birthright, and yet he couldn’t even solicit a onenight rodeo in the red-back district, and

everyone knew those whores would bite even the dustiest bottom. After several months of attempting to woo some other Araneae desperado, Tobias had had enough of this futile lusting. He needed time away from the hustle-and-bustle of it all.

So, he tore down what feeble strands he had left in his corner of the garage and ventured inside under the guise of night. Tobias arrived at a bedroom. Perched over a pink bed, Tobias found solitude atop an ornate mahogany wardrobe. The dust accumulated there was of a similar consistency to the webs he had perved being spun by the backyard spider-chads. They were a substitute cushion for the failed arachnid to lie on. Accordingly, Tobias lied too, if just to himself, that they were his own web.

Amidst the dust, a bygone girlish sock became Tobias’ sleeping bag. Its embroidered princesses caressed him in his sleep creating a delirious orgy for the lonely spider. He slept well in it…

[Chapter 1 of Tobias’ Web is an excerpt from a larger, satirical novella.]

Deep Sky Astrophotography

BY LIAM DAVIES

Deep Sky Astrophotography is the process of photographing nebulae in our night sky. Australia has a beautiful vista of the Milky Way, making it one of the best places in the world for photographing objects invisible to the naked eye. A highly-specialised telescope and camera is used to take these photographs, however, many of these objects are still captured so faintly that they require up to 20 hours of total exposure to reveal.

The dynamic colours are combined from natural hues of Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulphur gases. All pieces are taken over the course of 18 months from Davies’ backyard in the Central Coast.

[Fig 1.0]

[Fig 2.0]

[Fig 3.0]

[Fig 1.0] Fighting Dragons of Ara

[Fig 2.0] Carina Nebula

[Fig 3.0] Eagle Nebula

When the Sound Stops

ByWennie Fu

When the Sound Stops focuses on sustainable making while simultaneously exploring the sound existing in a photographic memory. With a focus on zero waste cutting, this collection offers an expedition into the touch and hearing senses to celebrate personal yet unforgettable memories.

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ANGELIQUE BIRRELL • ARSHMAH JAMAL • ASTON

BROWN • AXEL CONNELL • JOSEPH HATHAWAY-

WILSON • BRONTE SKINNER • CLAIRE MATTHEWS

• FIONA WANG • GIANLUCA PECORA • GOKCE

CALISKAN • LIAM DAVIES • MARY MORRISH • MIA

DAVIES • RODGER LIANG • ROSE TATE • SAPPHIRE

GOLDBERG • SIENA ZADRO • TIANA PLYWASKI •

TYBERIUS SEETO • WENNIE FU • YVONNE HONG

• ANGELIQUE BIRRELL • ARSHMAH JAMAL • ASTON

BROWN • AXEL CONNELL • JOSEPH HATHAWAY-WILSON

• BRONTE SKINNER • CLAIRE MATTHEWS • FIONA

WANG • GIANLUCA PECORA • GOKCE CALISKAN • LIAM

DAVIES • MARY MORRISH • MIA DAVIES • RODGER

LIANG • ROSE TATE • SAPPHIRE GOLDBERG • SIENA

ZADRO • TIANA PLYWASKI • TYBERIUS SEETO •

WENNIE FU • YVONNE HONG • ANGELIQUE BIRRELL

• ARSHMAH JAMAL • ASTON BROWN • AXEL CONNELL

• JOSEPH HATHAWAY-WILSON • BRONTE SKINNER •

CLAIRE MATTHEWS • FIONA WANG • GIANLUCA PECORA

• GOKCE CALISKAN • LIAM DAVIES • MARY MORRISH

• MIA DAVIES • RODGER LIANG • ROSE TATE •

SAPPHIRE GOLDBERG • SIENA ZADRO • TIANA PLYWASKI

• TYBERIUS SEETO • WENNIE FU • YVONNE HONG

by