Vertigo Magazine - Issue 6

VERTIGO 2012

Issue 6 International Students at UTS The Future of UTS Superwog Interview

FAQs

What’s happened with the Where’s Wireless campaign and what now?

What’s the plan with student housing?

The upgrading and adding of wireless access points and ancillary

The Students’ Association ran student consultation meetings and

devices to improve coverage in those difficult to cover places and

a survey that identified a range of university locations where

to improve the overall experience for the UTS community is an

wireless access was required. ITD has rolled out almost 400 new

ongoing process for ITD. These activities are taking place across

access points to cover those locations and many more, public

all of UTS Housing.

areas, general study areas, classrooms, lecture halls and offices right across the city and Kuring-gai campuses. It is now harder to find places on campus without coverage than with!

What can I do to make the most of UTS-WPA coverage?

Laptops generally perform better than tablets or mobile devices so if you are settling in, better use the laptop – it can be a lot faster than a mobile device.

In relation to student housing we are investigating alternatives to provide the Wireless and possibly additional ISP services to these areas.

Did anything change in the library?

The city library wasn’t part of the Wireless Expansion project but a number of access points have been installed this year so if you haven’t tried the network there lately, give it a go. We hope you’ll

Why is the availability of wireless different every time?

be pleasantly surprised.

Connectivity is really more about where you are rather than when

Where can I get help?

you access the network. We have added about 400 extra access points so there is now coverage right across the city and Kuring-gai campuses so this shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

There’s a whole section of UTS Web dedicated to wireless at www.itd.uts.edu.au/wireless/ or you can always call or visit the IT Support Centre.

How do I connect to my email with my mobile device?

Our Service Desk Knowledge base has instructions for connecting a wide range of devices to UTS-WPA. We can provide assistance and support with iPhone & iPad, Android phone and tablet, Laptop Windows 7, XP and MacOSX, Windows Phone 7. Please contact the IT Support Centre for any support or assistance. www.itd.uts.edu.au/services_facilities/it_support.html

www.sa.uts.edu.au

editors Martha AZZI Jezelle Boughaleb Mariam Chehab Lisa Dieu Azal Khan Jessica Looi CREATIVE directors Ben WALKER Elle WILLIAMS Contributors Ryan AUBERSON-WALSH Joshua BOULIS Tabitha CHAN Sally COLEMAN Katie COX Bridget FARMER Nour HAYDAR Miles HELLYER Jackelyn HO Zeynab GAMIELDIEN Sunny LAI Jules LeFEVRE Sean MALIN Cyndall MCINERNEY Cara NOVAKOVIC Callum RHODES Jessie SCHATTNER Tom SMITH John SOMERVILLE Hannah STORY Mayank TERIA Xun WANG ADVERTISING Stephanie KING WITH THANKS TO JADE TYRELL ET AL. SPOTPRESS PTY LTD, MARRICKVILLE COVER ART Jessie schattner Vertigo and its entire contents are protected by copyright. Vertigo will retain reprint rights, contributors retain all other rights for resale and republication. No material may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the copyright holders. Vertigo would like to show its respect and acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land, the Gadigal and Guring-gai people of the Eora Nation, upon whose ancestral lands the university now stands. More than 500 Indigenous Nations shared this land for over 40,000 years before invasion. We express our solidarity and continued commitment to working with Indigenous peoples in Australia and around the world, in their ongoing struggle for land rights, self-determination, sovereignty, and the recognition and compensation for past injustices.

CONTENTS 8 international students at uts Mayank Teria & Xun Wang

10 the future of uts Cyndall McInerney

12 superwog interview Martha Azzi

EDITORIAL WHAT’S HAPPENED CALENDAR IN A NUTSHELL DEFAMER SHOWCASE ART SHOWCASE WORDS DID YOU KNOW? PHOTOJOURNALISM 8-BALL WORKPLACE CULTURE CARTOONS COLUMNISTS FITNESS SPORT BEST OF RANDOM RANT RECIPES REVIEWS GAMES SA FINANCIALS SA ELECTION NOTICE SA & COLLECTIVE REPORTS

4 5 7 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 31 32 34 35 36 37 38 40 44 46 47 48

EDITORIAL A word from your editors

Hey there guys!

How have you all been keeping? C’mon guys, not long to go ‘coz you’re halfway through before our summer break. With all the events that have been happening here at UTS, you can’t really complain can you? We’ve had everything from an ice-rink, a small animal farm and even a Paralympics in our Kuring-Gai campus! Oh and let’s not forget about the giveaway ‘trip to Japan uni snow week’. Seriously, I ask you, which other uni would organise these exciting events and prizes?

To your nostalgia (or not), take a look at What’s Happened - you might be one of the lucky people to be featured. Have a look at uni life through the eyes of our international students and find out how our uni will (hopefully) transform from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan with the redevelopment. We take you into the life of the oh-so-popular Theodore Saidden aka Superwog before facing some of the deadliest creatures in Australia for Did You Know?

We move on to exploring the wonders of Iceland and kick off the 8-ball debate with the question: does anyone still watch TV? Because we definitely don’t – we’re too busy working on this amazing magazine! Find out about how your workplace environment can affect your performance, and don’t forget to follow Jackelyn’s fitness tips to get into shape after winter. In preparation for summer we have attempted to provide you with a recipe for healthy muffins but unfortunately the mini chocolate self-saucing cakes might counteract the benefits.

By the way, if you feel like you’re being bombarded by emails, posters, student rep’s in coloured t-shirts and student talks before lectures and tutes, well, it’s because it’s that time of the year again when elections are happening. So keep an eye out, you might come across someone you’d like to vote for or you might even decide to nominate yourself.

Make sure you catch us on Facebook and visit our website, and for crying out loud SUBMIT your work to us. We need them oh-so-much... submissions@utsvertigo.com!

See you around, Martha and Lisa

4 VERTIGO Issue six

clubs day 2012

WHAT’S HAPPENED

Photography LISA DIEU

WHAT’S HAPPENED

clubs day 2012

Photography ALLAN HOANG & SEAN JACKSON

SEPTEMBER/ october

Words JEZELLE BOUGHALEB

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Clubs trivia night

11

12

Grill’d @ Markets every Tuesday 12-2pm.

Buy a $3 drink and get a free sausage.

Light the Night - Outside St Mary’s Cathedral to support cancer survivors

18

19

17 Vice Chancellors week until 28th

Graduation ceremonies commence

The Love Vintage Clothing Show and Sale until 16th at Canterbury Racecourse

13

20

DAB Postgraduate Info Evening, 6PM

25

26

Labour Day – public holiday.

21

27

28 Examination timetable for Spring semester available Fiesta Nights entertainment in Darling Harbour

1

2

3

15

16

22

4

5

23 NRL Grand final ANZ stadium

Closing date for undergraduate UAC applications

Oktoberfest Glasshouse bar 12pm-1am

October session commences (ends 9 November)

14

Australian University games (Adelaide) until 30th

UTS Business School Postgraduate Course Information Evening 6PM, Haymarket

24

sunday

AACA Band Comp State Finals at Manning Bar

The Union’s first ever Burlesque party at the Loft at 6pm

10

saturday

29

30

Fiesta Festival, celebrating all things Latin, free concerts at Darling Harbour (till the 7th).

6

7 VERTIGO Issue six 7

University through the eyes of International Students

Local students seldom hear the perspectives, stories and opinions of international students, especially those to whom English is their second language. How do they find the group work? What do they think of local students and the education system here in Australia? Vertigo asked two international students – Xun Wang and Mayank Teria – to reflect upon their university experience here at UTS.

xun wang My name is Xun Wang, I’m an international student from China and I’m currently doing a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Accounting and Finance. I’ve been studying at UTS for one and a half years, and I’ve been enjoying it so far.

I was studying English at UTS: INSEARCH through a program called DEEP (Direct Entry English Program) for five weeks before I started my course. That was a nice experience because I got to learn about academic writing, which is very useful for preparing my reports and assignments at UTS. Also, I took part in lots of English writing and speaking workshops last semester, which were run by HELPS (Higher Education Language and Presentation Support), in order to improve my English skills. They were quite helpful. I strongly recommend international students to use the HELPS resources and services.

I would not say that it’s easy to learn any new languages, but it will become easier if you work really hard at it.

I found that it was a bit hard to understand lectures and tutorials when I first started my studies at UTS. Australians are wellknown for being fast speakers. I can always understand more of what an international student says than what a local student says.

And sometimes, when I ask “Pardon?” local students just quickly repeat what they said before with the same speed, which I cannot understand no matter how many times they repeat. Also, there is lots of Australian slang in conversations with local students. As an international student, there is no way I can understand those slangs like avos (avocados) and mozzies (mosquitoes). However later on, I started to use the sentence “Could you please reword that?” instead of just asking “Pardon”. Luckily, Australian students are generally kind and they are normally happy to slow down their speed of speaking and sometimes explain the slangs to me.

As an international student from China, it did take me some time to get used to the Australian university system as the assessments are quite different from the Chinese ones. In China, for almost every university subject the only assessment is the final exam. We are hardly involved in any research, thus, all we need to do is to get a high mark in the final exam. However, the assessments here are quite different. I can’t say which one is harder or easier, but I think the one in Australia is more useful and makes more sense. In order to know more about the Australian university system, I’ve attended a couple of HELPS workshops to

8 VERTIGO Issue six

get more of an understanding of these assessments, and I’ve read the subject outlines very carefully to make sure what the tasks are.

However sometimes I still could not understand the requirements even though I tried my best to do so. In that case, I sent emails to my tutors or lecturers to ask for their help. They are generally kind enough to reply to my emails and answer my enquiries. It is always a good idea to talk to your tutors or lecturers to clarify your tasks and marking criteria to avoid misunderstanding.

As an accounting and finance student, I do get some assignments that involve group work. I did not have much group work when I was studying in China, but in contrast, group work is quite important here in Australia. At first, I found it hard to find group members. People are used to forming groups with fellow students who share the same nationalities as them. I did not really get the chance to use English in group discussions. However, as time goes, I tried to get out of Chinese groups and make more local friends. Local students are normally polite and welcoming, but the communication obstacles are then raised. The first issue is the language barrier. The poorer international students’ English is, the less likely that they would actively talk and discuss ideas in the group. Sometimes, I could not follow what local students were saying, and I was afraid that they would get annoyed if I kept asking them to repeat. So I sometimes did not speak in the group meetings. This normally would not impact on my results, but I lost the chance to contribute my ideas (maybe better ideas) to the group and therefore, potentially, I lost the chance to get higher marks. Also, the Chinese culture is not like Western culture. The Chinese usually do not want to voice their ideas because the culture tells them to hide their wisdoms. Moreover, even if I sometimes had different ideas than local students, I was more likely to agree with them because firstly, they are local students and they know more about the assessments and Australian university rules, and secondly, there’s very little chance that I could win the debates as English is my second language.

From my perspective, being silent doesn’t mean I don’t care about the group work or I don’t want to do it. As long as I could make sure what my task is, I would put all my effort into it and try my very best to do it. However, from local students’ perspective, they may feel that international students are unhelpful, and they contribute nothing to the group. I think it’s a kind of culture misunderstanding. As international students, we should

push ourselves more into Australian culture and push ourselves out of the shield. We should participate more in the group discussion, and should not be afraid in voicing our own opinions.

I’m much more comfortable to talk with local students and join every discussion now that I have pushed myself to make some changes. It wasn’t very easy to force myself out of my comfort zone, but after I got out of it, I actually felt quite well and much better than before. Local students would welcome you to join them if they could feel that you are really keen to get into their culture. As local students, they need to respect every different culture and try to help those who cannot speak English very well. Every time when I feel helpless and lose the sense of feeling secure, I miss my family and friends in China. I wish they were here with me. Their love can always give me strength to overcome any obstacles and push me to move forward.

Mayank Terina I am Mayank and this is my story of UTS. I’m from India and I’m studying a BA in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies plus BA in International Studies.

You can attribute the deliberately dramatic manner of writing to my degree.

I’ve been here roughly a few weeks and there is absolutely nothing to complain about!

I am sure this would come as a shock to international students. They might as well go on to call me bonkers but I’ve had a fairly international upbringing.

English might be my second language but I am as fluent in it as my native language. So the pace or accent doesn’t trouble me at all.

The best part of my experience was that all the anxiety, worrying and fussing-over as to how I would adjust or how things and people would be was futile. The people here are so friendly, helpful, polite and approachable. I hardly think anyone who has moved here would ever have any trouble because you can actually turn to the person next to you, ask and seek help. Even if you can barely speak English, folks here are kind and patient and do their best to help or at least to guide you towards help.

On my first day at university, I had my big hoops on with

music blaring in my ears. I walked in pretty confident and you know, a fair bit cocky. Then suddenly I lost it all when I saw such a huge congregation in front of the Great Hall. I fumbled, I mumbled and I had absolutely no idea what the heck was going on. Then, these wonderful folks from Peer Network helped me out and I was back on my feet. Honestly, I can’t thank them enough. University can be an overwhelming experience I can tell you, and more so for an international student. It’s like being out of the frying pan and into the flames. The cultural shock can be unnerving alone and then there is the change in the education system. I sought help – I talked to the Peer Networkers, International Office, Student Centre – they made it all so easy… I made a lot of friends; people think of me as funny and cool too, which is new to me. I am not sure if I was more confused or awestruck!

The classes are amazing. It’s all so much more practical than what I have been used to. In the first few minutes of the lecture I spotted about ten differences in the Indian and the Australian education system. There was no such thing as reading or preparing for lectures in my life before. We were explained everything in class. Yes, there were projects, but the assessments for most subjects were split in two parts: project work and annual exams. But the projects were more like just making a theoretical file and barely anything that could be called practical. There was no such thing as plagiarism or referencing to worry about. We hardly ever discussed theories in class. The system here is radically different and one that makes sense. It is pragmatic and prepares a person for their career. Embodies radical thought in students or so I feel. The practical projects and group work are so exciting so there is nothing I regret about my decision of being here. What I found a little difficult was keeping on top of the readings because if you don’t do it you are faring in troubled waters.

Down here, it’s not about working hard or smart; it’s about working smartly hard. Carefully measuring your steps and efforts, where to put them and when. As long as you have a plan and as long you know what you’re doing I feel life is perfect.

Sometimes, I could not follow what local students were saying, and I was afraid that they would get annoyed if I kept asking them to repeat.

VERTIGO Issue six 9

Remember when MC Hammer decided to don parachute pants?

Today, whilst he is still recognised as a talented rapper, nobody forgets to make a snide comment about his ridiculous pants. It is for this reason that UTS and MC Hammer have shared lives of misunderstanding. Whilst UTS is renowned for its stellar academic performance, the UTS tower has been persistently and officially titled the “ugliest building in Sydney”.

To some, the obvious response would be to develop a more traditional and aesthetically pleasing campus. Currently, UTS has invested close to $1 billion in a ‘Master Plan’ to redesign and expand the city campus. But don’t expect these plans to appease criticism. Stop. It’s hammer time.

Studies show that UTS students are 43% more awesome than other university students*. UTS students have chosen not to lead a university life surrounded by rolling green hills, vast open spaces and little ducklings down at the pond. With wisdom far beyond our years, we have known all along that inner beauty is of the greatest importance. We have stood tall and represented the “ugliest university in Sydney” with pride. Whilst the plan for an interconnected and accessible campus is positive, the conceptual design of the buildings has become the subject of scrutiny.

This has caused one business student, Kate, to beg, “Oh God, why?!” But, as Law student Lauren Piggott points out, “Even our university has succumbed to the belief that UTS appears to others as an inferior learning facility due to its Jenga-like qualities”.

10 VERTIGO Issue six

Planners assert that the purpose of this re-design is to create a “sticky” university, making the city campus the “heart of UTS”. However, regardless of these aspirations, it is unclear as to whether the aim is to simultaneously rid UTS of its “ugly” reputation, or to smugly stamp itself with the labels branded onto it by pretentious banter.

The most contentious of these three developments is the new Business Building.

World famous for his creative and conceptual architectural designs, Frank Gehry is responsible for what is surely another pimple on the face of UTS. However, this is not because it is necessarily ugly. Designed to look like “a cluster of tree houses,” the building juxtaposes a reflective glass wall on its west side and sand stone bricks on the front face. You could call it a contemporary crack at modern art.

Officially known as the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, this structure promises controversy. Medical science tutor, Miles, believes that this building is a “bold and innovative move” in the face of harsh architectural scrutiny. Adversely, Law student Kristen Troy suggests that the building looks like a “crumpled, brown paper bag”. Business student Ellyce Horan described the building as “looking like a piece of plastic that has been set on fire and left to melt”. Regardless of your opinion, it is certain that the UTS preference for innovative architecture is destined to forever tarnish the university as “ugly”.

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH? Will the new UTS Master Plan make our campus look beautiful? Cyndall McInerney looks at how the redevelopment might affect our ‘ugly’ reputation.

However, there is one vital thing to note. Frank Gehry designs his buildings from the inside out. This is true for much of the UTS Master Plan. The new Library Retrieval System under construction behind the Tower, the new Broadway Building and even the new Great Hall has been designed from the inside out.

Each of these designs are not only unique in their exterior, but have been designed to promote an interactive, modern and accessible campus for students. Lecture halls can expect to have swivelling chairs to allow for lecture interaction, and classrooms will be smaller, with group tables and interactive whiteboards.

Even the Brown Paper Bag, aka the Business Building, boasts “10 graduate seminar rooms... a 120 seat bowl classroom, 4 flat floor graduate computer labs and 2 oval classrooms.”

By 2014, students can expect an abundance of shops, cafes and eateries, sitting areas, grass areas and group learning spaces, sure to diversify the UTS student experience. Whilst UTS may have succumbed to the pressure to create a “sticky” campus like other universities, the dynamic design of buildings will certainly not make the campus any less outstanding on the Sydney city skyline.

It appears that in 2018, when the majority of construction is complete, the UTS campus will continue to exude a kitsch clash of design elements. So perhaps, like the bullied kid in the playground, (and like MC hammer) it is time to grit our teeth and bare the insults.

‘‘

It is unclear as to whether the aim [of the Master Plan] is to simultaneously rid UTS of its “ugly” reputation, or to smugly stamp itself with the labels branded onto it by pretentious banter.

As Leo Tolstoy once proclaimed, “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” It is our great fortune that the student body of UTS is one of ethnic, cultural, spiritual and personal diversity. In separate pieces the university buildings appear unique, diverse and inspiring. In combination, they appear as a cluster of mismatched designs that somehow present a beautifully unique unity.

Love it or hate it, the new Master Plan stands for a classic cliché. It is what is on the inside that counts, and the inside of this campus promises an exciting progression for student life.

Sure, pretentious students are likely to turn up their noses, but the fantastic thing about ugly is that it demands to be noticed. * based on my astute observations.

VERTIGO Issue six 11

Nathan Saidden (left) as Brian and Theodore Saidden (right) as Ryan, The Difference Between Wogs and Aussies: Selling a Car

interview

SUPERWOG

24-year-old Theodore Saidden created his YouTube alter ego Superwog while studying a combined degree of Business/Law at UTS. Saidden, who is of Egyptian and Greek background, began the satirical instructional videos as a way of fulfilling his passion for acting and impersonating others. With his videos receiving more than one million hits and 100,000 subscribers, the uphill ride for Superwog has not been without its obstacles – namely, a lawsuit from DC Comics. Martha Azzi caught up with Theodore to discover the story behind Superwog.

What inspired you to begin Superwog?

I’ve always liked impersonating people. When my brother [Nathan Saidden] and I see people we just somehow seem to impersonate their characters. When I went to school I mainly spent most of my time with Asians but there were also a lot of wogs in my year and when I saw how the wogs were talking I was like “shit someone needs to make fun of this ASAP”. My brother and I saw Batleb [a comic show by Merrick and Rosso about a Lebanese fighting duo] and we started talking about making one character that can represent and make fun of all ethnics and that’s how we came up with Superwog’s character. I also saw Chris Lilley’s Summer Heights High and I really liked his style of editing. The character Jonah acts really tough but he isn’t and I thought that’s really relatable with wogs.

Was acting something you’ve always liked and known you had a talent for?

I went to Trinity Grammar, an Anglican private school, and when you’re in that school, if you don’t play rugby and you’re not in the top teams, you don’t have the right to be a drama student.

That was the culture and deep down me and my brother loved doing drama. We felt like we couldn’t do it because the culture was very against ethnics doing drama and so I refused to do drama at school. After doing the Superwog video, I wanted to explore playing different characters and so I studied at The Actors Pulse in Redfern for a year and then I realised that there are a lot of weirdos in acting who were really deluded. They would talk about being in Hollywood and this is in Redfern. I realised that there was a lot of people who enjoyed the thought of acting.

I did learn some things; that it is very important to really submerge yourself into the character; how to perform live because every lesson you were forced to perform in front of 30 people and that gave me confidence in front of other people.

12 VERTIGO Issue six

Theodore Saidden as Fiona, Phone operator

There are currently a number of people on the internet that have satirical videos about wogs, what made you think yours was going to be different?

Superwog is very character-based. The whole premise to Superwog is that he is this guy who is giving advice to people that is very flawed. Anyone who actually follows Superwog’s advice has to be an idiot and will get put in jail or get assaulted in the street.

Unlike Superwog, other shows like Fat Pizza have multiple characters in one and they are not really giving advice, the show is more of a narrative. Whereas Superwog is speaking directly to you and saying “listen you know, listen to me bro, this is how you do it,” and the audience finds it funny because it’s different.

Do you feel the need to sometimes distance yourself from Superwog since it’s something that can lead to trouble if people do tend to follow his advice?

Yeah, I have to make sure that what is being said is obviously a joke and Superwog isn’t being serious. There are heaps of videos on Youtube, like Teddy [ImMrTeddy], where it’s clear that the person is not acting and the guy is being serious whereas Superwog is a character that I am playing, and me as Theo, I’m very distant to Superwog.

You were studying a combined degree of business/law when you took on making these videos. How did you manage to juggle your Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and two YouTube accounts?

I was working at Mallesons law firm as a paralegal as well and that place drove me insane so when I quit Mallesons, I made those videos as a creative relief because it was just too clinical,

‘‘

Superwog is very character-based.

The whole premise to Superwog is that he is this guy who is giving advice to people that is very flawed.

Theodore Saidden as Superwog, Getting kicked out of school

too legal, no one has a personality and I find it difficult to work around lawyers because no one can have a laugh. It also wasn’t all at once. I guess it first started with one channel and then a video every three months. People began to ask for new videos and I was quite slow. Now I work two days a week so it allows me to manage all those things that you mentioned.

It is common for employers to do a Google search of their prospective employee. Do you think having satirical videos has hindered your ability to enter the workforce at all?

When I started I knew exactly what was going to happen. About a year ago I applied at Clayton Utz which is where I am working now as a paralegal. They didn’t know anything about my videos at the time, but just in case, I said very finely that I am interested in acting and that I performed in a few YouTube videos at the bottom of my resume. After I got the job it spread insanely around the whole building. Even my bosses found out and they were all very positive about it because they knew at the end of the day I can work, I can do my job and it’s just the charater.

But I think I was lucky that they didn’t know during the interview process and now it would be very hard to find a job as a lawyer in commercial law.

Do you have to think twice when making your videos – whether you might be crossing a line?

Twice isn’t the number, multiple times. How do you think we are able to make so many videos about wogs especially MiddleEastern without touching on things like religion? Before uploading, every scene has to be checked. We have to make sure it doesn’t offend anyone. We have to stay away from politics and

religion. Our planning takes a minimum of four hours, just like when doing your reading at uni, you just sit down and write. We discuss it, we then film for another four hours and editing can take up to ten hours.

You had an incident where you were almost sued at one stage. What happened?

I registered the old Superwog logo as a trademark and so they put it into an IP [intellectual property] magazine to let everyone know that this person is registering that logo and if you have any issue come forward. DC Comics saw it and went to their lawyers Baker & McKenzie, and since Nathan registered the logo he received a letter from their New York office requesting to take down the website, the videos and everything associated with the logo. At that time, I had a manager who took care of it.

He got lawyers to liaise with them saying we were just having fun and won’t register it as a logo. I was told by our lawyers that we would have probably won if we decided to fight it but I didn’t think it was worth it, for me it was about the comedy.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I’m not sure, I just want to keep going with comedy and see how far I can take it. Just keep writing, and keep putting up videos. I’m even thinking of doing theatre shows as well, live comedy. I just want to keep going with online comedy and maybe try to write some live shows for TV. Maybe write a sitcom for ABC. I wish I can do that in the next few years. That’s what I’m aiming for.

Subscribe to Theodore’s YouTube channel superwog1, or follow him on twitter @superwog1 to be kept updated on his latest videos.

VERTIGO Issue six 13

IN A NUTSHELL

end of the cancer era?

You may only have heard about it back in April 2010, when K Rudd first announced to the world that he was planning to enforce the plain packaging of cigarettes in Australia. However, talk surrounding the overhauling of cigarette packaging had been in the works for many years already. In the face of mounting scientific evidence in the late 1980s, public belief in the hazards of smoking began to gain credence. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that global tobacco use causes up to 6 million deaths every year.

Jessica Looi investigates.

Since the late 1980s, governments have been attempting to discourage people from taking up this costly habit. There were conflicting views in the 1990s surrounding proposals to create a new type of cigarette packaging both in Australia and internationally – an approach which encompassed large health warnings and generic packaging. The mid 90s saw the Australian Medical Association and Canadian Standing Committee on Health announcing their support for plain packaging of cigarettes - the latter releasing a report entitled Towards Zero Consumption: Generic packaging of Tobacco Products. However these views were rejected by the advisor to the (then) Health Minister, Carmen Lawrence, and Community Affair References Committee who cited a distinct lack of evidence to support generic packaging.

The issue was largely side-lined until Senator Steve Fielding introduced the Plain Tobacco Packaging (Removing Branding from Cigarette Packs) Bill 2009 which was later supported by the National Preventative Health Taskforce, who recommended plain packaging within a holistic approach to fulfil Australia’s target of being the healthiest country in the world by 2020.

2010 saw Kevin Rudd announce his support for plain packaging and later that year Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, introduced the respective bill to Parliament.

However, the assenting of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 in late 2011 was not without controversy. British American Tobacco claimed the law was unconstitutional and challenged it in the High Court of Australia.

Castle, Darryl used this to prevent the government from demolishing his house in favour of building a highway.

However, this was struck down by the High Court of Australia on August 15 this year and the legislation was ruled constitutional. Subsequently, as of 1 December 2012, all cigarette packets will need to comply with the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011.

So what is all this fuss about ?

The plain packaging legislation dictates that cigarette packets will be almost identical in look and feel. They will be of a dull brown colour (the original olive colour was overruled due to links with the Australian Olive Association) and pack material will be standardised. No branding – including colours, imagery, corporate logos or trademarks – will be allowed. Instead manufacturers are only authorised to print their brand names in a mandated size, front and position on the box. Graphic health warnings currently in use will continue to grace the face the cigarette packets but will now cover 90 percent of the front and 70 percent of the back. is this the Death of big tobacco?

Plain packaging will remove an integral medium for cigarette suppliers to distinguish their brands from competitors.

Given current restrictions on advertising, packaging facilitated one of the only avenues available for branding. Since the 1970s governments have been incrementally reducing the advertising of tobacco products in Australia. This began with restricting advertising on the television, radio and billboards and soon spread to sporting sponsorships. Warning labels making statements such as “Warning – Smoking is a health hazard” soon followed and were altered to include graphic images covering the effects of smoking in 2006. Plain paper packaging restricts one of the last avenues that tobacco companies can promote and distinguish their brands from other competitors.

Nicola Roxon explained that cigarette companies will still own their trademarks, but will be restricted in how they use them.

K Rudd said in April 2010 – “This will be the most hard line regime for cigarette packaging anywhere in the world; for which we make no apology whatsoever.”

“This will be the most hard line regime for cigarette packaging anywhere in the world; for which we make no apology whatsoever.”

The Challenge Tobacco giants British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco have rallied against the legislation on a number of grounds.

The latter criticised the government calling it a ‘nanny state’ and both claim it won’t reduce the number of smokers. In fact, those such as Russell Zimmerman from the Australian Retailers Association feel that a generic tobacco packaging will make it easier to reproduce fakes. Subsequently, he expects to see a rise in black market trading of tobacco. However, Cancer Council CEO Ian Olver doesn’t agree, arguing that Australia will be impacted differently to other countries. Olver explains that Australia is not as susceptible to cross-border smuggling.

However, Tobacco industry’s main complaint centres around issues of constitutionality. Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, claimed the government was simply trying to override existing intellectual property laws - the Trade Marks Act 1995 – and could introduce a policy of plain packaging without it. Futhermore, Phillip Morris International, Japan Tobacco Inc, British American Tobacco Plc and Imperial Tobacco have threatened to sue Australia for infringing their trademarks. British American Tobacco spokesman, Scott McIntyre, claims the legislation is unconstitutional as the government has effectively extinguished the value of their trademarks – or intellectual property - without giving them ‘just compensation’ as required under s 51(xxxi) of the Constitution. Section 51(xxxi) deals with the acquisition of property on just terms. For those familiar with the movie, The

What’s happening in the world?

In light of the Australian High Court ruling in August, countries such as Canada, the UK, Norway and Turkey are now considering similar bans.

New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, approves of Nicola Roxon’s actions, calling her a “rock star among those… who are trying to save lives”. Washington has also recognised Roxon as a ‘Global Champion’ in her fight for plain packaging.

However, August 24 of this year saw a failed appeal in a Washington appeal court which ruled that the US government cannot follow Australia’s lead with graphic health warnings.

VERTIGO Issue six 15

the

Defamer

Assange’s Achilles’ heel?

16 VERTIGO Issue six

By Tabitha Chan and Mariam Chehab

Prince Harry’s latest scandal did not amuse Nan at all.

DISCLAIMER:

The images and text portrayed are not intended to defame any individual, group or organisation.

This is our attempt at satire; apologies if our sense of humour is not in line with yours.

VERTIGO Issue six 17

showcasing

JESSIE SCHATTNER

My name is Jessie Schattner. I create photographs, artworks and design pieces that reflect my individual style. My works have a soft artistic edge and are a bit left of centre. I like to try and capture the true person and essence of the moment in my photos.

This series of photographs is titled ‘Lady of Death’, where I photographed Tal Chodos in a modern representation of a Mexican Goddess.

18 VERTIGO Issue six

VERTIGO Issue six 19

Fire-cracking Words SUNNY LAI I. Firecracker in disguise, you’re not an old flame; you’re a malfunctioning, oddly charismatic pyrotechnic mishap that I can’t help watching.

II. When I first met you, I knew next to nothing of fire, but the sparks you sent flying before my eyes made me decide to wing it.

III. I didn’t fly like Icarus did, and you were never the sun.

But all the same, I got too close, and just like in the myth, I burned and fell.

IV. I can swim, though, so it’s alright.

V. It was a pain, nonetheless, dragging myself to shore, wringing the ocean from my bones, cutting my feet open on jagged rocks and narrowing my eyes against a wind that seared like the fire I wanted to forget.

I followed the light of colder blazes home, hissed curses beneath freezing breath, wracked with the disorientation of impact.

VI. By the time the starshine had faded, the incorrigible iridescence of your voice had returned.

I struck match after match, watching each one burn, as I considered the nature of smokescreen construction.

VII. You threw me off cloud nine, and I think the view was worth it.

But the next time I make a trip at terminal velocity, I’m taking you with me.

20 VERTIGO Issue six

Words SUNNY LAI

Illustration FINLAY DOWNES

Antarctic Eyes Antarctic eyes and pyrite lies together will splinter and crack her skies, and the plane she tries to fly away has broken wings and an engine that will make her crash on the edge of day and pitch her into night.

In the mess of metal she will stay until the voices go away, and all that’s left to listen to will be the hiss of broken breath beneath fractured ribs that curl around a heart that beats without a sound.

And as she watches in the dark, a twist of smoke, a dancing spark will leap to view and light on fire the plane that’s now a funeral pyre.

And in the heat of one more demise, she will long for the ice of Antarctic eyes.

VERTIGO Issue six 21

DID YOU KNOW?

KEEP YOUR DISTANCE

Australia is not without its dangers. Home to some of the most painful and poisonous creatures, MARTHA AZZI looks into a few animals you don’t want to have the privilege of meeting.

Funnel Web Spider (Atracinae) If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by this highly venomous spider you have two hours to go to a hospital and find treatment before your heart stops. Ranging between 1-5cm, a funnel-web’s venom disrupts your nerve signals by switching them on all at once causing an overload in the body’s nervous system. The toxic protein in the venom attaches itself to your nerves preventing them from turning off. Your sweat glands, saliva glands and tear ducts all function uncontrollably. Your muscles begin to spasm and blood pressure rises and falls to dangerously low levels.

Located in all states except Western Australia and found in tree trunks, burrows in the ground, stumps or ferns, they aren’t easy to come across – unless you like to poke your hands in deep, dark places.

A rather interesting fact though is that many creatures such as mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs and cats have proven to be relatively immune to its venom often surviving up to 100 times the lethal human dosage.

Blue-Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena Maculosa) It may be small being under 12cm with a body the size of a golf ball, but size definitely does not matter. With enough poison to kill 26 humans and a painless sting you are under the risk of becoming paralysed within 10 minutes and dead in as little as 30 minutes. The toxins however will immediately act leaving you with signs and symptoms such as nausea, numbness and weakness. Instant treatment via pressure-immobilisation is crucial (same as a snakebite).

Found along the coastline of Australia in warm, shallow waters they tend to live in reef flats and tidal pools, in rocks, crevices, dead shells and discarded cans. Be aware though their usual colour is a mottled brown/orange and the vibrant blue rings only appear when they feel threatened – not a good sign.

Although there is no anti-venom, rest assured there have been no deaths since the 1960s and hospital admissions are very rare. You also have to be a real pest and work very hard at annoying this octopus in order to get bitten as it’s very reclusive.

Oh and it has blue blood and three hearts!

and taking pain killers is necessary since the pain is agonising.

However if you do happen to be stung while swimming alone it is unlikely you will make it back to the shore as the pain can put you in immediate shock.

It’s located in Australia’s northern oceans along the northern Western Australian coast as well as Queensland all year round but is more likely to be found during the wet season.

Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus Microlepidotus) With the most toxic venom amongst all the land snakes in the world, the Inland Taipan is a snake you want to stay far away from. 110mg from one bite was the largest yield recorded by the Taipan – that is enough to kill 100 humans. A neurotoxin extracted in the venom causes paralysis to those who are unlucky enough to get bitten shutting down brain and muscle communication. That’s not all though, the neurotoxin also acts as a myotoxin meaning that it gradually eats away your muscle tissue turning your urine reddish-brown and passing through your kidneys causing major complications.

Luckily no deaths have been recorded and those who are unlucky to have been bitten were snake handlers. Nevertheless, it is also not an aggressive snake and tends to keep to itself, presenting less of a threat than others.

Potentially it can kill a human in 45 minutes, a long time of pain, but this also means more time for help. If you remain calm it can take hours before any form of paralysis takes effect and so using a bandage to apply pressure can buy yourself time – hours, if not days, to get help.

The true range of the deadly snakes’ distribution has not been determined but some sightings have been made in Northern NSW and Northern SA.

your sweat glands, saliva glands and tear ducts all function uncontrollably.

Your muscles begin to spasm and blood pressure rises and falls to dangerously low levels.

Australian Box Jellyfish (Chironex Fleckeri) With a sting compared to being branded by red hot irons, there is no chance of survival unless immediate treatment is available.

Transparent and pale blue in colour, it is barely visible in water and for many years swimmers suffered unbearable pain and sometimes death without a known cause.

It has four distinct sides giving it the title of box jellyfish, measuring up to 20cm along each side and can weigh up to 2kg.

The severity of the sting is dependent on the size of the box jellyfish, the number of tentacles attached to your skin and where the sting occurs on your body. If you do find yourself stung, removing the tentacles is a must by pouring vinegar (removing them without vinegar may result in more venom to be released)

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus) Venom isn’t really needed when you have a jaw that can crush your bones with one bite. Regarded as natures killing machine the saltwater crocodile is the largest reptile in the world, averaging a size of 5 metres and a weight of 450 kilograms. On land they are fast and in the water they are skilled predators with an ability to keep their large bodies hidden from sight until ready to strike its clueless prey. On average 1-2 known deaths per year are caused by salt water crocs with 4-10 non-fatal attacks per year.

The strikingly large animals usually grab a head or limb ending a life instantaneously or by drowning the prey so they can have their chance to dismember their victim as they please.

Although crocodile brains are smaller than most mammals, they are very complex with the ability to learn at a fast rate and tendency to track routes of prey seasonally. They are dangerous predators and attack anyone crossing their marked territory.

Zones to stay away from are mangrove swamps, riverbanks, waterways and other coastal river systems and if you do find yourself in the surrounding area you might want to stay in a 4WD or a sturdy boat for some sort of protection.

VERTIGO Issue six 23

AN ICELANDIC VOYAGE

Helgafell Camp Sign I often had the feeling that civilisation is only clinging to the side of this place.

Every village or truck stop along the route feels like a tiny sanctuary. This was outside an empty summer camp at the foot of a mountain called Helgafell. The wind was so strong that just walking against it was hard, and combined with the constant rain taking a clear photo was almost impossible. A local postie drove me out but I had to make the four-hour hike back to town on my own. My coat was still damp days later.

Iceland was a lot of firsts for me. It was my first time travelling alone. My first time in a place where I couldn’t speak the language. My first experience with really bad weather. It’s a tiny country on the other side of the world, but it’s held my interest for years. Icelanders speak the same language as the Vikings did more than 1000 years ago. They live in bleak, dramatic landscapes created by primal forces. And they have names like Björk.

Words & Photography Callum Rhodes

Faxi Waterfall During summer the country becomes choked with tourists. It can be hard to enjoy the view at the most popular sights when you’re continually trying to dodge other people and their umbrellas. While on a tour of these travel-agent favourites, our guide took the minivan off the more travelled path and onto one of the scariest roads I’ve ever been on, to a small waterfall called Faxi. We five were the only people for miles; it was a nice change.

Heimaey I travelled to Heimaey, in the Westman archipelago, with the hope of catching a glimpse of one of the island’s supposedly numerous puffins. The island also has some interesting history: it was subject to a slave-raid by Barbary pirates in 17th century, and in 1973 the Eldfell eruption forced all 5000-odd residents to flee.

With less than four hours before the last ferry back to the mainland, I decided to hike the path along the top of coastal cliffs. It might be hard to see, but this photo contains the only puffin I have seen to date. I was proud.

Fjord in Akureyri To get to Akureyri, the northernmost city in Iceland, I found a carpool from Reykjavík. The city sits on a bay called Eyjafjörður, slightly below the Arctic circle. Travelling in the car with me was a migrant Swede who invited me to play a round of golf with him on the world’s northernmost eighteen-hole course.

Golf is bizarrely popular here. I played badly, but the view was worth it.

24 VERTIGO Issue six

Vík The village of Vík has what must be one of the most stunning beaches in the world: a thin strip of black volcanic sand wedged between the freezing north Atlantic and the glacial valleys of Mýrdal. It’s a rather dangerous spot: up the valley is a glacier covering a powerful active volcano, Katla. If Katla erupts, it could cause a flash flood that would sweep the entire town into the ocean, save the local church, high on a hill. Katla last erupted in 1918 and is considered overdue.

Hiker’s Lodge in Thórsmörk Hands-down the most beautiful place I have ever been, Thórsmörk (properly written “Þórsmörk”) is a national park in the south.

Mountains jut out of the flat, stony riverbeds carved by ancient glaciers. It’s a strange experience, being able to walk up and touch something so colossal. Within hours of my arrival in the park another hiker turned up at the lodge: he’d come from the eastern part of the island and had been walking for weeks. The first thing he did was order a beer.

VERTIGO Issue six 25

8 ball

Does anyone actually watch tv anymore? yes no Words NOUR HAYDAR

Once upon a time television was used as a means of disseminating information to the masses – news programs dominated the airwaves (game shows were pretty popular too). Society viewed television as an accessory not a necessity.

Today all you need to do is look around and you will realise that television has become a central part of our existence. I bet that your lounge room is arranged around your television. I bet that you fight with your siblings for the best strategically placed seat (admit it you have a Sheldon Cooper-esque complex too).

I bet that when you meet up with friends or colleagues conversationveers towards what was on television the previous night whether it was Q&A or Keeping up with the Kardashians.

To prove the popularity of television I undertook my own quantitative research. If Twitter trends are anything to go by, then yes many people still watch television. Among the many declarations of undying love to Justin Bieber, “insightsbs” and “Disneychannelclassics” were trending during my ‘data collection period’. This demonstrates that people of all ages are still watching television and engaging with different genres too. Admittedly though, not as attentively as before the existence of Twitter, as people seem to be more interested in tweeting criticism or praise about what they are “watching” rather than actually watching.

Nevertheless people are still, let’s say, switching on their TV and facing their eyeballs in its direction.

To further prove my point, I will use myself as an example (yes personal reflection is a legitimate research methodology).

I am a full-time university student, work part-time and yet I still manage to get my daily dose of television. Whether it may be free to air, pay TV or online I clock about three hours of various fictional and factual programs (this is significantly higher during assessment period). In fact, while writing this I watched over four hours of television. Ironically I watched Episodes, a series about making a TV series. Come to think of it I also watched Friends. Two Matt Le Blanc series in one night, is that sad?

I owe television for teaching me a lot about… stuff. I am pretty much a qualified criminologist thanks to Criminal Minds.

Thanks to CSI and Law & Order I can now undertake a forensic analysis of any crime scene AND prosecute the defendant too.

I am a pair of glasses short of being Horatio Caine.

Perhaps we watch a little too much television – I know I do.

Words MARIAM CHEHAB

Perhaps if I lived during a generation that solely relied on the radio, newspaper and TV for news and entertainment I would be answering ‘yes’ to this question, but what with the marvels of technology nowadays, you don’t actually have to watch TV to watch TV. On the train to uni I see commuters watching TV shows on their laptops, iPads, phones and other gadgets. I can only assume that these people don’t have time to sit in front of the box when they get home, and I bet you a million bucks they love the fact that they’re not having to sit through ads about dishwashing liquid and car insurance. Simply, it’s more convenient – you carry the ‘television’ in the palm of your hand when you watch and place it in your pocket when you’ve had enough. There’s no fighting about the remote or the best seat and you get to choose what section of a show or program you want to watch, whether it be seven seconds or an hour.

Everything’s put online now because media organisations recognise that we’re all pretty time poor. My peer reviewed (i.e. my friends nodded) hypothesis is that the older we get, the less TV we watch because we actually have responsibilities and it becomes less appealing. I’m sure that when we were kids we all used to wake up early for cartoons and miss our mouths when eating breakfast. But really, who has time to watch TV like they did when they were younger? I certainly don’t – infact, I don’t watch TV at all these days. The most I can clock up is around an hour or two a week. Even with the holy of holies – the Olympics – I watched about ten minutes of the Opening Ceremony and didn’t even watch a single event.

I can’t exactly pinpoint the moment when my eyes and my butt and my brain had the life-changing disconnect. I think the seeds of ‘distraction’ were sowed when my academic workload increased and I progressively became glued to my laptop in a YouTube and assessment frenzy. With the TV absence, my heart grew fonder for about a week and then all urgency to watch TV just vanished over the months.

Now, TV has lost all its appeal and the screen is nearly always off. I’ve come to conclude that despite all the distractions that fed this absence, the number one fact is that for me, there is nothing on TV worth watching. Seeing promos of ‘reality’ shows like the The Shire and Being Lara Bingle not only make me cringe but they make me question whether TV producers have lost all of their creativity. I’m sure there are some wonderful shows out there, with high production values and amazing storylines, but when TV stations rely and endlessly promote badly scripted and generally stupid TV shows, well then I will turn off and YouTube funniest Seinfeld moments instead.

VERTIGO Issue six 27

Illustration JULIE FLESTADO

The office culture - Madmen versus Breaking Bad When you picture yourself arriving at work are you popping a coffee from the Nespresso machine, while sitting around on couches brainstorming ideas? Or sharing stories with your friend over an English breakfast tea? Does the company you’re planning to work for pay for a beer at lunch or make you desperate to hunt one down at the end of the day?

While it may not be on your radar now, once you’re working full-time considerations such as desk space and parking spot may rise up your list of priorities. Here’s a few reasons why finding a work culture that works for you pays off. The first is kinda obvious, the others you may find surprising.

• You’ll be happier and more successful - who doesn’t like ‘perks’ with their job?

• You’ll be more successful – you can’t argue with science • It’s a predictor of company performance – aka Google What is workplace culture? What can you do?

Culture is simply ‘the way we do things around here’. The application of the word was applied to corporations in the 1980’s to denote shared values and norms of people interacting. At your work - does everyone know that meetings never start on time so it’s ok to arrive 5 minutes late? That a hallway conversation is informal, but an email is serious? And if you want to know what’s going on to ask the bosses’ PA? But none of this is written down!

How can you change it? Culture is cultivated by the environment and authority figures we learn to adapt to for security and acceptance. Take for example, at home: Are your flatmates ok with bikes in the hallway because there’s no space to put them elsewhere? Do you always take your shoes off at your parents place because Mum insists? Our environment and the authority figures within it shape the way we think, behave and act. To drive effective culture change, you have to change the system.

When a lecturer asks you to be on time each week - are you? If

28 VERTIGO Issue six

you knew they always started on the dot with the weekly popquiz - would you?

Ever thought about a career in culture change? Sounds pretty fluffy and ambiguous, right? Not at all. As they say - the soft stuff is the hard stuff. Far from being on the fringes, in today’s world, shaping company culture is both an Executive mandate and highly valued skill.

How can you measure it? Just like any performance management - the trick is to foster and reward all the behaviour that produces the result you want. The target you set should never be the result itself (eg. increased market share), but the behaviour that achieves it (eg. increased customer satisfaction). You may need motivated, innovative people - but you’ll never achieve that simply by telling them to be motivated and innovative. It’s not just about people, it’s the systems you put in place to support your people – for example, something as simple as tea and coffee.

Introducing The Kitchen Game What’s the Kitchen Game you ask? Just a little dalliance of mine at one of the many offices I’ve had the opportunity to work in during my career as a Management Consultant (after graduating from UTS!).

If you thought the problem of who does the dishes is just a flatmate thing, beware, it continues in the workplace. The bitching about the offender when they’re not there just gets replaced with passive aggressive signs requesting people clean up after themselves because ‘you wouldn’t do that at home’.

So the lunchroom room was once considered a hive of activity, ideas and inspiration. However, as the pressure of the bottom line grows, an increasing number of workplaces are now considered bleak and barren. Imagine a bare kitchen that doesn’t stock tea, coffee or biscuits? Where people have simply stopped giving a damn. I set about instigating change and revitalising the kitchen as a place to connect.

The little (and big) things that matter in the workplace Whether you’re a first year playfully pondering career options or a third year nervously toiling over job applications - have you ever stopped to consider not just where you want to work, but the environment you want to work in? Former UTS student and Senior Management Consultant Bridget Farmer discusses real-life culture change.

Current culture – colleagues’ comments when I floated the idea: • “Why spend your own money when work should pay?”

– Business Analyst • “There’s no point - people will steal the mugs and cups and keep them at their desks, they’ll be gone in a week” - Project Manager • “No one likes instant coffee anyway” - Contractor • “People don’t clean up after themselves - I’d rather it be empty than have to walk past a disgusting mess each day” - Personal Assistant • “Most people don’t care” - Manager This is the sad, but often common reality of modern workplaces.

Some amount of you may have already encountered this in your part-time job.

The kitchen game – gloves off So we went and experimented with a new approach to see how that this would affect morale. We cleaned the kitchen, labeled cupboards with goodies and provided basic utensils. Each week we continued and added to our new system:

The proof is in the pudding - Google Here’s the logic behind those bold claims I made - that the culture of the company you choose to work at will affect your personal happiness, career success and the company’s success.

You know this story (yawn) - Once again in 2012, Google heads Fortune Magazine’s Best Place to Work list in Australia and the US, measured by factors including: level of employee trust, respect for it’s leadership team, and job security. Is it a coincidence that Google is famous for keeping employees happy, and is one of the fastest growing, most successful companies in the world? Of course not.

Google aims to make it less like work and more like hanging out at your mate’s place - you know that friend with the best liquor cabinet and the parents who are never there. There are heaps of reasons to arrive early, and not hurry home like the free food and gym.

At Google, chefs provide free breakfasts, lunches and dinners. But there’s also no problem getting in late, or taking an extended lunch.

But, one culture doesn’t fit all.

Executives need to know what attracts the employees they want. Google’s style is a bit too Play School for my liking.

At their Pyrmont office, the decor seemed a thin distraction from their many traditional grey cubicles and meeting rooms.

All I was thinking about was that if I was having a bad day the blow up turtle had better pray that there were no thumbtacks nearby. All I’m saying is that lava lamps aren’t everyone’s style.

Having a great workplace isn’t about the perks; it’s about the trust in you that they demonstrate. Having everything under lock and key, determined by policies, is the polar opposite of trust.

A fridge stocked with drinks and healthy snacks sends the right message. We are providing facilities because we trust you and

Does the company you’re planning to work for pay for a beer at lunch or make you desperate to hunt one down at the end of the day?

• Week 1 - Cleaned up every day at 3pm, and put plants and magazines on the two kitchen tables • Week 2 - Provided coffee, tea, and snacks every day at 11am • Week 3 - Stocked shared cupboard with food, introduced piggy bank and noticeboard asking if people wanted to play ‘the kitchen game’ – by helping wash up, contributing food or money, and providing feedback and suggestions • Week 4 – Updated noticeboards with results so far What happened? The results were interesting.

But first - back to why culture matters....

VERTIGO Issue six 29

you’re worth it. We know you are responsible, and the value that you bring to this company far outweighs the cost of a few cans of coke.

Companies need to understand that the dollars spent make sense.

But not just because where you stay longer, you’ll work longer.

The investment isn’t evil corporate manipulation. It’s just science.

Positive psychology and corporate babble Perhaps Sergey and Larry (Google founders) should get an honorary degree in neuroscience from their alma mater. Here’s the positive psychology they understood intuitively: Happiness fuels success. An environment where people feel trusted, valued, supported and encouraged to pursue their ideas (and to make time to be healthy and have fun together while they’re at it) produces motivated, stimulated, and innovative teams – and the best results.

So now to some business-speak: Our modern day focus on making sales targets is behind the rationale for firing staff and budget cuts - not the way to fix it. In the industrial revolution, when people dug holes for rail roads and their only choice was to work, or not - financial bonuses produced results. This still works for basic tasks today if you pay time and a half on Saturday. Sure supermarket shelves get stacked faster but where is the inspiration? When your job is to solve problems and ‘think outside the square’, bonuses and deadlines don’t help you think differently. In fact, they motivate most people to do the opposite.

Everyone thinks the same. How do I get from A to B fastest?

‘‘

An environment where people feel trusted, valued, supported and encouraged to pursue their ideas produces…the best results

Culture is the new black So now we understand the importance of culture, here are some careers that focus on tapping into and shaping the culture of customers and organisations. If this has piqued your interest, you might want to check out some of the following: • Community Manager – developing ways to generate higher engagement levels on Facebook, Twitter etc.

• Customer Research & Development Manager – encouraging suggestions from Customers for your next product • Change Manager - helping companies reduce the risk, increase the benefits and speed the adoption of moving to new ways of working. It’s not just about comms (communication) and training. It is ensuring the system supports the change, involving you in business strategy, policies, roles, responsibilities, performance management and more.

The Kitchen Game - The results The smiles were back on people’s faces over a biscuit. Although it was meant to be anonymous, the number of people I didn’t know, who made the effort to find out, came up to my desk in person to thank me for taking the initiative was great. The question was: would people fund tea, coffee and snacks themselves?

Absolutely. The piggy got pretty porky ($21 in just one day!)

This shows that tea and coffee really make a big difference.

Feedback left on the communal message board commenting on the changes: • “Nice to have tea and coffee back again” • “Monday morning and a smile on my face” • “I could bring in magazines I’ve read and leave them for others” • “How can I contribute?

• “Here’s $10 – I have to work late, and just realised I can still get a cup of coffee! ” And that’s how we upgraded our Kitchen Culture from something growing at the bottom of the fridge, to a place where people, sat, chatted and shared what they were working on. l

COMIC RELIEF

Hi all, the name is Miles. I have cartooned casually for years and recently decided I should force them upon the internet. I try to do a few a week and will draw anything that comes to mind so the quality is varied. I like walks on the beach, drinks with umbrellas and long talks about emotional commitment. I once bench pressed 200 kg but no one was there to see it and there was no video evidence...so just take my word for it.

Words on a page

The dangers of complacency

A mule with a spinning wheel

Albania: “is so small but so good”

Words Joshua Boulis

Words JOHN SOMERVILLE

As I stream through the internet with the blankest of expressions, the rapid speed at which every webpage loads contrasts that of my dial-up connected enthusiasm. This tepid soul cannot help but feel a lack of optimism, satisfaction and gauging zest for the information that awaits. The previously rapid internet now mimics the behavior of a helpless sloth as I anxiously near my fate: exam results. Thoughts of negativity run through my mind, unsure if I have excelled in my academic studies or entered a miserable chapter in my tertiary record. I ponder the consequences of a potential mishap, sensibly concluding that it will leave me homeless with no career prospects for the foreseeable future. I stop to venture into the land of positivity only to be halted by a sign reading “Not going to happen”. Suddenly, the white page erupts into a plethora of numbers and letters. The combination of the two brings a sense of relief rather than anticipated delight; a feeling I’ve become all too accustomed with.

The general consensus among diligent university students such as those within our beloved institution is that “P’s get degrees”. While this is true to an extent, it remains debatable whether scraping through mind-numbing content with the skin of your teeth brings success in your desired industry. In the cases where mediocrity manages to catapult you to stardom amongst employers and organisations alike, the skills that you would have learned from dedicating yourself to grueling hours of study will be small, if existent at all, in stature.

I do not claim to be a self-professed nerd who constantly engages in tantalising conversation with professors about issues challenging the very operation of our judicial system. In fact, I have been found wanting at times for my lack of enthusiasm towards information of the scholarly sort. However, as should be the case with every aspect of our lives, being content with mediocrity is a dangerous habit. If you sit there and remain content with average results in your studies, conventional performance of your fitness and the comfort of your enclosed social circle to name a few, opportunities to improve will remain limited.

Choose to study the way you think and operate, revise what needs to be improved, sit the exams within your life and the results themselves are sure to offer more than mere relief.

It would seem that over the uni break roughly 90-95% of Australian uni students descended on the crumbling dynasty that is (was) Europe. Of this mass only a few will have discovered the hidden gem of Europe that is the Republic of Albania.

Sitting at the end of the Ionian peninsula, that is just down from the much more popular Croatia and a short ferry ride from the Greek island of Corfu, Albania is a country in transition.

Paris will always be Paris but Tirana hasn’t even begun to be...

Tirana yet.

A very brief summary of the Albanian experience can be divided into four categories: Architecture If Frank Gehry’s modernist imagination rubs you the wrong way you’re sure to love the no nonsense lines and soviet era warmth of Albanian architecture. The concrete rectangles of apartment blocks that line the foreshore of the south coastal town of Saranda give a glimpse of what the French Riviera might look like if the iron curtain draped as far west as France.

Wildlife Another interesting feature of Albanian architecture is its propensity to be inexplicably half demolished and inhabited by wild goats. Applying squatters’ rules, Albanian livestock arguably have a higher rate of home ownership than some portions of mortgage belt America. Some of the world’s unhappiest goats, donkeys and cows take shelter from the punishing sun during the day under the remains of iron scaffolding and concrete rubble.

People One of Albania’s genuinely redeeming features. Shopkeepers and bus drivers are all friendly, proud and seemingly appreciative of your tourist dollar: “You love Albania? Is so small but so good”. Hostel owners practice a distinctly Albanian ‘no is not an option’ brand of hospitality. Don’t plan on carrying your own bags or walking yourself anywhere.

Beaches Albania can rival the nearby Greek Islands for the best beaches on the Ionian. They shimmer turquoise when hit by the evershining sun and offer a great respite from the heat. Also unique to Albanian beaches is the fact that no matter how small your little sandy alcove, it will contain at least one or two of the 70,000 bunkers built by former communist dictator Enver Hoxha to repel an in his mind, imminent invasion. Fortunately or unfortunately for ‘ol Enver, the invasion never came. However judging by the used condom wrappers on the floor of some, they have not gone entirely to waste.

32 VERTIGO Issue six

Have you been doing the kookaburra eye?

Who have you been checking out?

Have you been checking someone out at uni? too shy to let your feelings be known? take your admiration to a whole new level. SMS 0415 360 818 and let that special person know. also, Don’t forget to leave your name/alias and faculty.

fitness

5 things to try this month

Photography LISA DIEU

Words JACKELYN HO It’s getting to be really cold these days, which means we can get lazy when it comes to looking after our health and fitness. I’m not letting you slack off this semester, especially since I can literally see summer and skimpy clothing in the horizon. Here are some easy ways to sneak healthy living habits into your busy schedule. These five things will change your life!

1. Drink more water. It’s suggested 3 litres for the average male and 2.2 litres for the average woman. Water makes up 60% of your body and it’s important that you replenish its supply!

2. Take the stairs. You burn about 10 calories per minute when you take the stairs. It doesn’t seem like much, but if you add it all up, you can earn yourself an extra treat by the end of the day. Plus, it’s usually faster to take the stairs rather than wait for a lift or stand on a travelator.

3. Just don’t buy it. If you don’t purchase junk food, you won’t be tempted to eat it at 2AM. Simple as that. Don’t place it where it’s convenient and you won’t fall for it!

4. Schedule it in. People continue to complain that they don’t have enough time to work out. If you write it in your diary then you are more likely to make time. Plus, a 1-hour workout only makes up 4% of your day. You have no excuses!

5. Cook. Buy your own fresh produce and meats to create healthier dishes. You never know what secret ingredient restaurants are stuffing into your meals – might as well be in control of what you put into your body.

34 VERTIGO Issue six

Move of the month: Butt Blasters Begin by laying on your back, bending your knees to bring your feet in. Start with your hips on the ground and then slowly raise them up so that a straight line is created from your knees to upper back. Repeat this move to your favourite song until you feel the burn!

SPORT

Olympic Glory and Rural Neglect Words TOM SMITH Even if you hate sport, it was hard to escape the Olympics.

Every second ad on TV was Cadel Evans cycling in front of the Big Ben or those two charming buffoons from McDonald’s re-enacting various events to sell a product that’s suspiciously similar to The Simpsons’ fabled Ribwich.

And if you weren’t one of the millions of Australians that risked sleep deprivation by staying glued to Nine’s coverage of the Games, chances are you’re pretty annoyed that the government tips so much money into athletic pursuits rather than any number of valid alternatives – schools, hospitals, roads, welfare, tax cuts, or if funds are directed towards extra-curricular activities, the neglected arts sector.

Like it or lump it, that’s never going to change. Politicians love votes about as much as Australians love sport. My concern isn’t that sport gets money. It’s that the wrong sports get money at the wrong levels.

This is a well-worn argument that comes sharply into focus in the aftermath of London. David Crawford’s 2009 report won many admirers for its blunt rejection of the AOC’s ambition to shore up a ‘top five’ Olympic ranking. I’m certainly a disciple of the Crawford bible.

The government does not directly finance our Olympians, but via the Sports Commission and the Institute of Sport, John Q. Taxpayer shoulders a huge portion of the expense. Academic James Connor conservatively estimates that a gold medal costs $40 million. With the greatest of respect to the hard work those athletes pour into their craft, that is an abject waste of money when you consider what $40 million can buy.

I sat in front of my TV in the wee hours cheering the green and gold on to Olympic glory – but that only lasts two weeks every four years. Since James Tomkins carried the Australian flag into Beijing’s Bird’s Nest in 2008, our famous Baggy Greens have represented the country in 48 Test matches, the Kangaroos have run around 22 times and the Wallabies have notched 55 caps. With 22 million other Australians, I raised a glass to Aussie gold in London, but those achievements mean nowhere near as much to the Australian population as the mainstream sports

we celebrate on a weekly basis. $40 million is too high a price for a once-every-four-years treat when you consider how that coin could be spent elsewhere.

The government must take more responsibility for sport in rural areas, which is currently under immense strain. Bush footy clubs’ coffers are creaking under the pressure of increasingly expensive insurance policies, in particular, while support from sponsors and pools of players dry up. The social benefit that sport derives in rural communities is obvious, but additionally, the health of regional participant sport is absolutely crucial to top-level competitions.

In last year’s All Australian team, 15 of the 22 AFL footballers selected (Scarlett, Glass, Enright, Murphy, Reid, Davis, Thomas, Pendlebury, Franklin, Goodes, Cox, Ablett, Kelly, Dal Santo, Petrie) hail from the bush. In this April’s Anzac Test, eight members of the Australian outfit (Slater, Inglis, Hodges, Uate, Thurston, Taylor, Thaiday, Hannant) cut their teeth in the country. If bush footy didn’t exist, these players mightn’t have ever picked up a Steeden or a Sherrin. The upper echelon owes so much to regional areas but sport in the sticks is struggling at the moment, and while millions are being tipped into niche Olympic events, country football is being left to fend for itself.

The Olympics are fun but there’s no doubt that the major football codes – Australian rules and rugby league – generate the most social benefit for Australia, both from a spectator’s point of view (just ask the 4 million who tuned into the Origin decider), and from a participant sport perspective. So when you bring to mind the enormous contribution rural areas make to those codes, and their current lack of funding, you’ve got to query the government’s decision to finance minnow events in the hope of Olympic gold, rather than supporting the meat-and-veg sports that we love to play and watch every week.

Crawford acknowledges how difficult it would be for the government to shake up their sports funding in light of the heavyweights in the AOC’s corner. But if you look at the social good, sending some cash the way of the West Wyalong Mallee Men or the Yarrawonga Pigeons seems like a no-brainer.

VERTIGO Issue six 35

BEST OF: mexican

Mexican food is all the rage at the moment, and who better to advise us where to eat than Vertigo’s allknowing food critic ZEYNAB GAMIELDIEN.

MAd mex

guzman y gomez

El Cuervo Cantina

815 George St, Sydney

5/188 Pitt St, Sydney

200 Enmore Rd, Enmore

In the short time Mad Mex has been open Like Mad Mex, Guzman Y Gomez is a near UTS, students have been flocking franchise with several branches. But don’t there in droves. If students are there, you confuse franchise with flavour loss, or you’ll know two things about a place: it’s cheap, be the one experiencing the loss. and it’s tasty. The branch near UTS is a Guzman Y Gomez have a great range cute little corner along the busy strip near of burritos, quesadillas, and everything else Central station, complete with window that you may associate with Mexico (aside seats for people-watching. (This may or from anything drug-related). Their fillings may not be a good thing, depending on the include steak, pork and barramundi, and people who decide to watch you in return). as with Mad Mex, you can choose the Mad Mex is a franchise with branches level of spiciness according to your ability popping up all over the place. With four- to withstand chilli. As it so happens, the teen locations in NSW, it’s hardly threat- ‘spicy’ burrito is pretty mild, so there’s no ening McDonalds, but it’s on its way up danger of overheating the engine. the greasy, oil-lined fast food ladder.

The serving sizes are large, with a Mini The thing about Mad Mex is that it’s Burrito being just fine for me, admittedly really neither of those things. Sure, you a mini-sized person. The veggie filling is can get nachos covered in cheese, but like deliciously crunchy, with mushrooms and Subway, you have the choice when it comes sautéed onions adding extra texture. The to fillings. With great power comes great guacamole is particularly fresh and tangy, responsibility: sour cream, or no sour offsetting the (mild) heat from the spicy cream? Spicy sauce or mild sauce? (Mild sauce. It would be good if it were included sauce is for weaklings, just saying). Rice in the non-vegetarian filling free of charge, inside my burrito? Carbs, come at me! The but alas, it’ll cost you all of $1.00 to get it. health-conscious will be comforted by the Guzman Y Gomez have numerous presence of a ‘Naked Burrito’, aptly named branches in close proximity to UTS, for its lack of external wrapping. including one in the spiffy new Westfield Mad Mex also have Mexican drinks on Pitt Street. Fight your way through the and churros, so there’s a lot to love. They lunchtime crowds for this one, amigos. also have a loyalty card, something which I recommend UTS students use and abuse Flavour H H H H because then your tenth meal will be free. Ambience H H H Challenge accepted, Mad Mex. Price H H H ½ Overall H H H ½ Flavour H H H ½ Ambience H H H Price H H H H Overall H H H H

36 VERTIGO Issue six

El Cuervo Cantina is a newish addition to the foodie heaven that is on Enmore Road, joining the esteemed ranks of the likes of Sultan’s Table and Faheems Fast Food. Tough competition, but El Cuervo is more than up to the challenge. It’s even open until 3AM on weekends, making it a handy spot for late-night revellers. They also have some live entertainment, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

Complimentary corn chips and salsa arrive as soon as we take our seats, a quite thoughtful touch for the already hungry customer. The menu is slightly different to the standard taco and burrito fare, with an emphasis on authentic and hearty Mexican food. The service is a little bit patchy, but eventually the enchiladas and fajitas arrive.

The enchiladas are slightly disappointing, lacking the spicy tang I expected from the sauce. However, the bean mix is wellcooked and a cut above your average fast food joint, as is the lovely fresh guacamole.

El Cuervo Cantina gets pretty busy on weekends, so it’s best to book in order to avoid disappointment or its close relative, queuing. At around $20 a head, it’s pricier than a takeaway joint, but that’s only to be expected for the experience and location.

Bring a group of friends for a fun night out, Cantina-style.

Flavour H H H H Ambience H H H H Price H H H Overall H H H ½

RANDOM RANT The Gender Olympics

Words HANNAH STORY It’s time for the Olympics, yet again. Every four years we gather together to watch Australians win shiny medals in far-off lands.

We drink and we chat about all of our Olympic hopefuls and our hearts swell with something like pride.

Except that pride only seems to extend to male Olympians.

I don’t intend to go in-depth into how women’s sports are relegated to the bottom of the barrel. I’m not going to talk about how women tennis players are mocked for their attractiveness, unattractiveness or their grunting; or about how TV coverage of females competing is scarce. Those are issues for another Random Rant. This time we’re talking about the Olympics.

First of all, there is the issue of female flag-bearers. We finally had a woman carrying the flag at the Olympic Ceremony. In over 100 years of the modern Olympics, only 3 other women have ever done so. Yet people just weren’t annoyed about it. They didn’t mind. Thankfully Lauren Jackson was bestowed the honour – the captain of the three-time silver-medallist women’s basketball team. But still, we should be annoyed. 4 women. 4. It’s not exactly an even split. And our athletes are more than deserving. They’re not any less successful than their male counterparts. They don’t train less and many of them compete in repeat Games, like 5-time Olympian beach volleyballer, Natalie Cook, who we all watched win gold in Sydney back in 2000. Leisel Jones swam in her fourth and was the first Australian swimmer to do so. These three women have achieved as much, if not more, than their male counterparts.

Secondly, you had the fact that some women’s teams are sitting in economy on their flights over - whilst the men luxuriate in business class. This problem is not an Australian one. In Japan, the hugely successful women’s soccer team is treated similarly. Yet, in both cases, the female teams in their respective competitions are faring better. The Australian

basketball team is second in the world, yet the males who have never succeeded on an Olympic level are being treated better.

And it’s not because the men are taller (they aren’t). Apparently each team has a budget that they allocate themselves, yet the media has no confirmation that the Opals and the Boomers are even receiving the same amount. This is bullshit.

Last of all, of course, it’s what’s been happening overseas.

Women are questioned about their gender if they are too successful, if they don’t look as feminine as one would like. Take for instance last month’s boxing championship; Australian Susie Ramadan won the world title, but her opponent Usanakorn Kokietgym has been subjected to questioning– she’s just too good to be a woman, her testosterone levels must be too high.

If a male athlete seemed too successful, they’d be called extraordinary and cheered. But women have their careers smeared when they are forced to undergo sex testing. The conventional attractiveness of a woman does not in any way figure into their sporting ability or intelligence, although studies have shown that “beautiful people” are offered more opportunities than their less attractive friends. Neither do testosterone levels affect one’s sporting achievements. Higher testosterone does not make you a better athlete. Fun fact.

Conclusion? Sexism in sport is a thing. Sexism in the Olympics is a thing. And as women or as empathetic men, we should be angry. We should be appalled. This should matter.

And until women’s sports are appreciated at the same level as men’s machismo and “supernatural” athletic ability, these conversations must continue. Whether for the sake of your girlfriend who plays in Uni Games, or for your future daughter who decides she wants to be a gymnast. She ought to be considered equal, because she is. She might even be better than the boys in her class.

VERTIGO Issue six 37

recipes

CHOCOLATE PROTEIN MUFFINS Words LISA DIEU Makes 12 muffins Preparation 10 mins cooking 25 mins Ingredients ¼ tsp salt ½ cup Splenda ½ tsp baking soda 1 cup oat flour 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder 3 tbsp baking cocoa 4 egg whites 100ml almond milk Non-stick butter spray 200g of berry flavoured baby food

38 VERTIGO Issue six

Method 1. Mix all the dry ingredients (oat flour, vanilla whey protein, baking soda, salt and baking cocoa), except the Splenda, in a large bowl.

2. Now mix all the wet ingredients (egg whites, Splenda, berry-flavoured baby food and almond milk) together in a separate bowl.

3. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk together well.

4. Spray muffin tray with non-stick butter spray and add batter to the tray allowing room for the muffin to expand.

5. Bake 25 minutes in oven until batter rises.

6. Remove from tray and ready to serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION 96 cals 1.4grams fat 10 grams protein 12 grams carbs

Mini chocolate self-saucing cakes Words JEZELLE BOUGHALEB Makes 16-20 cakes Preparation 15 mins cooking 10 mins Ingredients 100g plain flour 100g butter 100g caster sugar 2 eggs One block of dark chocolate Thick cream or vanilla ice-cream to serve (optional)

Method 1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Grease cupcakes trays and place paper cups.

2. Place caster sugar, eggs and then flour into the bowl of a food processor and process till smooth.

3. Using a smaller bowl melt butter and dark chocolate in the microwave ensuring no lumps are present.

4. Fold the melted chocolate with the processed ingredients and spoon into cups.

5. Bake for 5-8mins or until top appears crispy when pressed gently. Serve while hot with some ice-cream or thick cream.

VERTIGO Issue six 39

EVENT

reviews

THE SMALLEST GIG, A COSY WINTER

17th June, 2012

A cosy loungeroom, Newtown.

★★★★★ Words SALLY COLEMAN For many UTS students, including myself, the words ‘live music’ conjure up a number of mental images, mostly involving pubs and conversations screamed into the ears of strangers. In a society where music is increasingly becoming the playground of auto-tuned teenagers, it can be hard for local acts to find a receptive audience. The Smallest Gig, run by Sydney students, opens up backyards and living rooms across the city in an attempt to give musicians a place to be heard and music-lovers a place to come together. Despite being an enthusiast of the

40 VERTIGO Issue six

mosh pit, I went along to discover what makes The Smallest Gig so very appealing.

It’s late on a Sunday afternoon, and a small crowd is gathering on the front lawn of an impressive old terraced house in Newtown. I am amongst them, here to attend my very first ‘Smallest Gig’ in the living room of a complete stranger. The atmosphere is relaxed, but I’m feeling a bit out of my depth; despite the ‘cosy knitwear’ dress theme, everyone is looking surprisingly stylish, cardigans flawlessly accenting fashionably vintage outfits.

“Hipsters…” grumbles my boyfriend, withdrawing, tortoiselike into the depths of his hoody. I sigh, and hand him a bottle of mulled wine in an attempt to placate him. “At least it’s BYO…” he mutters, taking a swig. A few minutes later, it’s time for the evening to get started, and we are summoned inside.

Tonight has been organised by two Sydney students, Holly and Eloise, who’ve been running the event for over a year now.

Tired of seeing musicians becoming increasingly disheartened by ‘the pub scene’, Holly and Eloise decided to hold their own gig night – in Holly’s backyard. With a talented line-up that included the now famous Matt Corby, the night was a huge success, and the prelude to Corby’s subsequent Secret Garden Tour. From then on, says Holly, there was no looking back: “As soon as we had the one gig, I think we fit sixty people in

Photography Rohan Venn, Jake Terrey & Julian Machuca the backyard and then within two days we had about threehundred Facebook fans – we were like ‘How did that happen?

There were only 60 people there!’ So from that we just knew we’d hit a chord with a need in Sydney.”

From then on, Holly and Eloise were organising regular gigs, with a growing fan-base and an increasing number of eager volunteers offering their homes as the next event’s venue.

However, as well as providing a space for musicians to perform to an attentive audience, The Smallest Gig has become an event which inevitably creates a sense of community between everyone who attends.

“There’s just kind of this really friendly vibe,” Eloise tells me.

“I don’t know, it’s a weird feeling, but you step into this room and it’s like you’re all friends, but these are all strangers. And you’re just sharing this really productive, creative space of time.”

As we all shuffle down the hallway to the living room, the common sense of anticipation from fellow gig-goers does start to make me feel like I’m sharing something. But it’s the room itself that really creates the vibe for the evening. It’s large, with wooden floorboards and an old fireplace on one side, the microphones standing stagestruck in the corner under the glow of two large lamps. In fitting with the ‘cosy’ theme, the decoration is undeniably homey – tiny candles sit in glass jars on the mantelpiece, crocheted woollen squares hang from the ceiling,

and the curtains are tied back with bundles of French knitting.

We shuffle to the back of the room, take out our blankets, and sit down to face the makeshift stage.

Once the music starts, the silence that envelops the audience is almost as incredible as the musicians themselves – but not quite. The intricately looped harmonies of Eirwen Skye leave everyone spellbound, and the infectiously energetic Rusty Spring Syncopators have the room jumping around in a spontaneous hoedown. When my previously sullen boyfriend stands up to join in the do-se-does in his hoody, I start to realise what Holly and Eloise were talking about.

“What I love about The Smallest Gig,” Holly tells me, “is seeing what performers get out of it; it’s like ‘Wow, this crowd is giving me such a good vibe!’ and that can completely change their set… seeing music live is – it’s seeing it in its raw form, and you get to be part of that creation and time. That’s the appeal.”

As the night goes on, the strangers squished next to us on the floor gradually become neighbours, and we share food and conversation as well as sharing music. By the time the evening comes to a close, I’ve been converted by the charms of the small gig. It’s different to the thrill of a packed mosh pit, but the quality of the music and the enthusiasm of the crowd remind me that Sydney is a city of opportunities, and that sometimes the smallest opportunities turn out to be the biggest.

VERTIGO Issue six 41

HOT DAMN! EVENT

Every Thursday night, 8pm-5am 44 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, NSW

the bourne legacy

Directed by Tony Gilroy FILM

In cinemas now

★★★½

★★★★

“It’s Friday morning. You slept through your alarm. You just woke up next to someone you really shouldn’t have. Your boss doesn’t believe you are really sick when you try to avoid work for the fifth week in a row. The bathroom is covered in vomit.

Your wallet is empty. You lost your phone. The same stamp is all the way up your arm. The stench of alcohol sweat makes your stomach churn. You don’t remember how you got home. There is a half-eaten Hungry Jack’s burger on the table. Cigarette butts on the floor. Your life is a mess. F**k you, Hot Damn!”

This is the mantra of every single 18-24 year old who fills up The Exchange Hotel on Oxford Steet every Thursday night for Sydney’s largest punk and hardcore club. For the past six years Hot Damn! has housed “Sydney’s best worst kids,” hundreds of international and local bands and the crazy antics of punk youths partying like there’s no such thing as Friday.

Four bars, four rooms, three DJs, pool tables, a hot chip dispenser, photo booths, old school arcade games, an occasional ball pit and a bathtub that’s seen one too many Hot Damn! nights comprise this coven of debauchery. It may sound overwhelming but with friendly bar staff (Stefan is your new best friend) and security (look for Brendan, he’s got your back) and a general mood of light-heartedness amongst the crowd, it doesn’t take very much to fit in.

A minimum of four bands plays the venue downstairs each week, and with the club’s reputation of a ‘no lock out’ policy, there’s rambunctious fun to be had from 8pm until almost 5am.

With $5 drinks all night, $8 double-shot buckets and potent speciality drinks on theme nights, it’s easy to lose your head. It’s definitely worth a visit if you can look past the less charming features. Patrons assure me that the horrendously sticky floor, heinous graffiti on bathroom walls and that big red couch with the funky smell is all a part of its grunge appeal. Hot Damn!

The Bourne Legacy is born again into success with Tony Gilroy, as he steps up from his role of being co-writer of the prior three film installments to director, taking the reins of blockbuster success from Paul Greengrass.

Now focused on a new outcome operative, the film follows Aaron Cross ( Jeremy Renner of The Avengers fame) and his dire need to survive against his very own as he bands together with another target, medical researcher Dr Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz).

Accompanying them onscreen, a small proportion of the original cast reappears (Edward Norton being a personal favourite), along with an array of fresh faces. One can safely say that Shane Jacobson’s days as the notorious Kenny are long over, his emergence out of the portaloo that is primetime Australian television an obvious credit to Tinseltown casting.

Working on the successful four films thus far, Gilroy knows very well how to keep up the rapid action pace that sent the initial trilogy of spy thrillers into a chaotic spin of worldwide fame. His directorial take on Bourne is not to be missed, with a number of truly exotic filming locations that range from (with the worst of puns intended) a mountain range in Alaska, to the bedlam streets of South-east Asia, all accompanied by that epic surround-sound action music that shakes every cinema seat.

The audience may, however, be left feeling cheated and desperately seeking a proper conclusion as they gain attachment to the two new ridiculously handsome middle-aged heroes.

Perhaps it’s not the end for the Bourne series after all?

Despite not featuring the Hollywood heartthrob abs of Matt Damon, you’ll be utterly content with Renner’s sweaty shirtless scenes in Manila’s humid back alleys. Ladies (and gents), prepare yourselves.

Bumped up to 4 stars for Renner’s excellent stomach tan and Weisz’s ability to fake cry.

Words Cara Novakovic

42 VERTIGO Issue six

Words Ryan Auberson-Walsh

THE MOMENT

ON THE ROAD

Mia Dyson MUSIC

Black Door Records Out now

Directed by Walter Salles FILM

In cinemas September 27th

★★★★

★★★

Mia Dyson’s fourth record is not so much a musical exploration of blues and Americana (although it delivers that in spades), as much as it’s about what happens when you go through the triple whammy of losing your partner, your band and ending up broke and alone in the US. Perhaps because of all of this, The Moment is Dyson’s most fleshed out and refined record yet. A heady mix of liquidy blues solos, big melodic hooks, Springsteen choruses and Dyson’s own irrepressible husky drawl The single “When the Moment Comes” is a huge blues pop rush that’s destined to be a crossover smash, before “Pistol” cuts deep as Dyson begs “Use this pistol on my heart/ Take me out before it starts”.

Dyson’s playing is elegantly restrained. On slow burner “Tell Me”,every guitar line has a marble cool impact, and on bouncing “Fill Yourself ” she shoves the piano front and centre. It’s a session player’s maturity, and every spindle of guitar, piano or harmonica cushions rather than clashes with the surroundings.

From salty wound lickers “The Outskirts of Town” and “To Fight is to Lose”, to the epic ebb and flow of “Jesse”, Dyson covers a lot of emotional ground. Standout track “Cigarettes” is a throwback to Dyson’s previous records- a gritty blues jam cloaked in Hammond organ smoke and evoking midnight whiskeys and Lucinda Williams. “Two Roads” rolls the record away with nips of harmonica over thick piano.

It may have been a long road to get here, but Mia Dyson’s moment has finally arrived.

Truman Capote once complained that Jack Kerouac, the American novelist at the head of the Beat Generation, did a lot of typing but very little writing. It is fitting, then, that the first major production of Kerouac’s preeminent work seems stranded in a similar liminal space. A raucous entertainment without much literal or figurative direction, Walter Salles’s On The Road walks a more convenient path than one expects from the source.

Paradise (played by Kerouac stand-in Sam Riley) and his pals, bored with the postwar American lifestyle, take a few dollars from their relatives and begin driving across the country seeking thrills. Cars break down, bail-outs are needed, and night clubs are frequented.

As Paradise-cum-Kerouac, Riley lacks the inherent compassion to anchor the spirit of the film and is positioned here as the most boring, subdued, and indecisive of his crew.

He discovers Moriarty, electrically embodied by Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), and Dean’s teenage wife Marylou (the expertly cast Kristen Stewart). Like Sal, Dean and Marylou always seem to be starving and poor, but their appetites for adultery entice Paradise enough that their happy trio becomes virtually inseparable. As the overly loving couple, Hedlund and Stewart are sublime – Stewart, in particular, reflects the fear and excitement that accompanies many a teenager’s bad decisions.

The director and screenwriter are best known for collaborating on the Che Guevara biopic, The Motorcycle Diaries (2003).

But rather than celebrating the journey of the characters, Salles and Rivera strand their figures with poverty, sexual confusion, and a transient dread that does not let up.

Kerouac’s classic tome is often seen as a humanistic exploration of the American dream, but in the hands of Salles and Rivera, On The Road reflects a more sombre and scattered remembrance of a time widely considered the happiest in stateside history. Perhaps with more writing and less typing, a more collected picture may have emerged.

Words Jules LeFever

Words Sean Malin

VERTIGO Issue six 43

SUDOKU

Scoping out that hottie in your Econ 101 class? Didn’t have the nerve to ask them out? Send us a text on 0415 360 818 and let ‘em know.

MEDIUM

WHO’S CHECKING YOU OUT?

games

To the cute guy that does taekwondo that I met on Club Day, you taught me how to kick. Care to teach me anything else?

-Curious, Communications.

To the hottie at the chinese medicine clinic... Can you prescribe me with something? I think I have yellow fever.

-We Have Chemistry, Science.

To the only female in engineering.

You can erect my building any day.

-Coffee date, Faculty Unknown.

To the girl who couldn’t find a seat in our last design lecture. So long as I’ve got a face you’ve got a place to sit.

-Sit on my face, Design.

Dear L from last issue, please stop harrassing me. It’ll never work out...

We’re co-creators. Not procreators.

-B-Creative, Vis Comm.

44 VERTIGO Issue six

ANSWERS [ISSUE 5]

To the guy that always studies alone at My Cuppa, you were wearing dark green beanie last I saw you. Study with me!

HARD

-Forever Alone, Engineering.

Create and solve your Sudoku puzzles for FREE. Play Sudoku and win prizes at:

prizesudoku.com The Sudoku Source of “Vertigo”.

We’ll let you do all the talking.

Submit to Vertigo Submissions@utsvertigo.com

UTS STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION NOTICE OF

STUDENT ELECTION

To be held on all campuses Between 15 October and 17 October 2012 Wednesday 12 September 2012 nominations will open to currently enrolled students for the following positions A President A Secretary A Treasurer A Postgraduate Officer to be elected by and from postgraduate students A Women's Officer to be elected by and from women students An Overseas Students' Officer to be elected by and from students who hold an Overseas Student Visa An Australian Indigenous Officer to be elected by and from Australian Indigenous Students 10 Student Representative Councillors 7 delegates to the National Union of Students Vertigo Editorial Team BROADWAY CAMPUS

To be elected by and from students whose primary place of study is Broadway Campus:

A Convenor, A Secretary and 10 Campus Committee Members A Women's Officer elected by and from women students whose primary place of study is Broadway MARKETS CAMPUS

To be elected by and from students whose primary place of study is Markets Campus:

A Convenor, A Secretary and 10 Campus Committee Members A Women's Officer elected by and from women students whose primary place of study is Markets Campus

KURING - GAI CAMPUS

To be elected by and from students whose primary place of study is Kuring-gai Campus:

A Convenor, A Secretary and 10 Campus Committee Members A Women's Officer elected by and from women students whose primary place of study is Kuring-gai

Campus

Nominations must be submitted on the prescribed form which may be obtained from the Students' Association office at Broadway. (Ph. 02 9514 1155). Candidates statements and photographs (to be published in Vertigo) must be submitted with the nomination forms before the close of nominations.

NOMINATIONS CLOSE AT 2:00PM Wednesday 26 SEPTEMBER 2012 NOMINATIONS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS TIME Nominations may be received at the Association Office on each campus on Wednesday 26 September 2012 from 12 noon to 2pm OR alternatively, may be mailed to reach the Returning Officer’s postal address no later than 2pm Wednesday 26September 2012 Christine Kibble Returning Officer POSTAL ADDRESS: The Returning Officer, UTS Students' Association, PO Box 123 BROADWAY NSW 2007

Depreciation Profit/(Loss)

Profit/(Loss) before tax and dep'n Income Tax

Administration Grants Bookshop Education Vertigo Magazine Council elections SRC Orientation handbook Orientation

499,216 364 -­‐ 2,501 74,628 248 221,627 30,591 829,175

2010 $

NET ASSETS

TOTAL LIABILITES

NON-­‐CURRENT LIABILITIES Provisions Total Non-­‐Current Liabilities

CURRENT LIABILITIES Trade and other payables Short term provisions Total Current Liabilities

1,940,701

6,437

6,437

1,902,893 31,371 1,934,264

2010 $

1,936,251 1,863,849 1,936,251 1,863,849

48,350 59,676 26,360 17,176 74,710 76,852

7,084 -­‐ 7,084 -­‐

81,794 76,852

1,936,251 1,863,849

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2011 2011

$

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents 1,988,626 Trade and other receivables 25,483 Total Current Assets 2,014,109

NON-­‐CURRENT ASSETS

Property, plant and equipment 3,936 Total Non-­‐Current Assets 3,936

TOTAL ASSETS 2,018,045

EQUITY Retained earnings

TOTAL EQUITY

143,523

25,000

232,018

167,823

32,746

20,671

70,456

1,875

6,286

700,398

128,777 -­‐ 1,799 5,402

72,403 123,375

166,437 25,000 222,932 182,587 27,117 24,683 108,067 2,935 4,872 764,630 74,202 -­‐

INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011 2011

$

REVENUE

Funding 519,178 Campaigns and activities 2,712 Orientation 3,701 Member subscriptions 2,153 Interest received 100,802 Sundry income 984 Bookshop sales 178,586 Vertigo advertising 30,716 838,832 EXPENDITURE

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION

JADE TYRELL SA President

What are you up to for the rest of the year? The agenda for the Students’ Association is jam-packed with campaigns, events and activities this semester. We know that students are typically pressed for time, but if you have any moment to spare at all we always welcome volunteers. Here are just a few things we have been up to, and ongoing campaigns that you can become involved in – whenever you get a chance: Fund Our Future: Quality is not a casual matter Hopefully by now you have heard of the Students’ Association campaign being run through the Education Action Group (EAG) regarding a Faculty and Social Sciences (FASS) guideline. This policy or guideline means casual academics don’t automatically get paid to attend lectures or watch films for subjects they have previously taught. This directly affects Communications students, many of whom have raised concerns that their questions in tutorials can’t always be answered because their tutors are unable to adequately engage with lecture content. This is an issue that significantly impacts the quality of our education, and also highlights broader issues surrounding the casualisation of the academic workforce. If you would like to become more involved in the campaign there are various ways you can help, so please don’t hesitate to contact Lyndal Butler, our Education Vice President (EVP) at butlerlyndal1@gmail.com or contact me at sapresident2012@uts.edu.au.

UTS Student Forum on future of learning Along the same vein, UTS held a student forum on the future of learning, which I attended with Lyndal, our EVP. The feedback from students was that we have the best learning experiences when we are engaging with each other and our tutors or lecturers in an environment that tests our understanding and offers opportunities to interact in a dynamic way. We look forward to supporting more opportunities for students’ voices to be heard on changing learning environments, and will monitor how this feedback is implemented to support positive teaching and learning experiences at UTS.

48 VERTIGO Issue six

Fair fares for all students We believe that all students – regardless of whether they are local or international, part-time or full time, working or not – should be entitled to a concession rate for travel on public transport. This fight has been building in the past couple of years, and New South Wales students still have not seen any changes to the system. As we know, life is already expensive enough without having to worry about paying full fares on public transport.

So, we ask you to sign our NSW-wide petition addressed to the NSW Legislative Assembly to allow these students’ access to concession cards. Simply drop by the Students’ Association during our office hours (9am – 4:30pm) and show your support for fair fares.

Housing affordability: students shouldn’t have to choose Our Education and Welfare departments have also been working on a campaign around housing affordability for students. We already suffer great financial difficulty by virtue of being students, and we need increased access to affordable and safe housing AND more support from the Government through increases to rent assistance and a lowering of the age of independence from 22 to 18. I had the opportunity to ask the UTS Council members at their recent town hall meeting whether there are plans to increase access to affordable housing in the near future.

While Yura has already been constructed to provide additional housing places for students at UTS, it does not appear that there are additional plans in this regard. I hope this situation can be changed. Many UTS students have already taken part in the video campaign to tell their story, which is directed at the Federal Government and our university. To make your voice heard on this issue, email Lyndal Butler: butlerlyndal1@gmail.com or contact me: sapresident2012@uts.edu.au.

All the best for your studies in the weeks ahead, Jade Tyrrell President, UTS Students’ Association sapresident2012@uts.edu.au

lyndal butler Education Officer & Vice President

Hey there! I hope you’re having a good semester so far and aren’t too snowed under with work and assignments. There’s been a lot going on for the Students’ Association and the Education Action Group this semester, read about it below!

Fund Our Future BBQ at Kuring-Gai! The Education Action Group held a free ‘Fund Our Future’ BBQ at Kuring-Gai at the beginning of semester. It was great to hear from Kuring-Gai students about issues facing the quality and accessibility of education at their campus, and to take note of student concerns that we can raise with the university. We heard that students are particularly concerned about the loss of parking spaces that will come into effect at the end of the year, as UTS has sold off the land. UTS must provide an alternative to students who have limited public transport options and so rely on campus car parking to attend class.

Blue Stockings Week Blue Stockings Week is a week to celebrate women in higher education and is a joint initiative between the National Union of Students’ (NUS) Women’s Department and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). This year the Students’ Association Women’s Collective, along with members of the Education Action Group marked the occasion with an Ironic Bake Stall on the Concourse, with cupcakes made by our very own UTSSA President Jade Tyrrell. The stall was well received, and the cupcakes were a huge success. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to have a chat about women in higher education and issues facing female-identifying students on campus.

strong message to the university that students will not tolerate lapsing quality standards or poor working conditions for our tutors and demonstrators.

To find out more or get involved in the campaign, don’t hesitate to contact me! butlerlyndal1@gmail.com Education for Sustainability Global climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, and as such our economy has to be restructured to cope. This means that the job market is also changing. Our degrees at uni have to reflect this change, and must equip us with knowledge of sustainable practices and development that we will need in order to secure employment in future.

You can take part in this campaign by signing one of our sustainability postcards! The Education Action Group will be distributing these postcards around uni, so grab one, sign it, and we’ll send your message to UTS to give a strong voice of support for sustainability in education! Contact me butlerlyndal1@ gmail.com to get involved!

Until next time, I hope you keep well, have fun and enjoy uni life!

All the best, Lyndal Butler Education Vice President, UTS Students’ Association butlerlyndal1@gmail.com

Quality is not a Casual matter!

As Jade mentioned, the casualisation of the academic workforce impacts on the quality of our education at university. You can help us demand the degrees we signed up for by taking part in our ‘Quality is not a Casual matter’ photo petition! Just grab a ‘FOF’ poster (see the Students’ Association to pick one up), take a photo and send it to butlerlyndal1@gmail.com. This sends a

VERTIGO Issue six 49

ENVIRO COLLECTIVE In the last couple of weeks, members of the collective have been traipsing around NSW and the ACT helping local campaigns against coal and coal seam gas. These trips included a community blockade of a coal mine in Boggabri and meeting locals in Dalton to support their campaign against the proposed largest coal seam gas plant in Australia.

We visited a blockade set up in the Leard State Forest, near Boggabri, where the coal industry wants to dig a new open-pit coal mine, and expand two. Already 3% of the forest is mined, but the mines would clear around 70% of the forest, wiping out habitat for at least 26 threatened species and decimating a climate refuge as prime agricultural land.

Aswell as the immediate impacts of the expansion on the local area, the mines would also produce between 30-50 million tonnes of coal a year, an unacceptable increase in Australia’s greenhouse emissions, and an increase in asthma rates due to coal dust along the transport route.

We’ll be keeping in touch with the camp, and are planning some more trips over the semester, as well as supporting in any way we can from Sydney.

We also travelled with students from other environment collectives to see the site of a proposed gas-fired power plant in Dalton, just west of Goulburn, which would be the largest in Australia. The concerns raised by the locals we met were noise, pollution, use of the local water supply, poor treatment of local residents by AGL, devastation of tourism and security of local business.

We’ve attended some exciting information and strategy meetings held at UTS over the past few weeks: the first for the campaign against uranium exploration in NSW (the 26 year ban was overturned in March), as well as a meeting about how Sydney anti-coal activists can support the campaign against the development of the fourth coal terminal in Newcastle, which would double the export capacity of the world’s largest coal port.

This is a crucial time for the campaigns around NSW against the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, and it’s been inspiring to learn about and support them together. To learn more about these campaigns contact Alex (alexmcinnis92@gmail.com) or Rhea (rhea_demelo@hotmail.com)– we can get you in touch with the campaigns and let you know about upcoming meetings, trips or actions.

Thanks for reading!

ALEX MCINNIS The UTS Enviro Collective

50 VERTIGO Issue six

ethno-cultural COLLECTIVE The Ethno-cultural collective has recently rejuvenated! At the end of August, the World Fiesta night ran as part of the new launch of the collective.

With the aim to celebrate the diverse cultures that UTS students bring, the event encouraged all students to dress up in their traditional costumes.

In addition, the collective met fortnightly after the event to discuss international social justice issues. We hope to raise awareness of racial discrimination and provide opportunities to bridge cultural differences at UTS. The collective also aims to celebrate the multicultural atmosphere by creating more crosscultural events as well!

If you are interested in joining the collective, you can email the collective at utsethnocultural@gmail.com and like us on facebook at : www.facebook.com/pages/UTS-Students-Association-Ethnocultural-Collective!

Angelica Casado The Ethno-Cultural Collective

Are textbooks crippling your budget?

Save up to 50% at the Students’ Association Second-Hand Bookshop For some 20 years now, the UTS Students’ Association has helped students save money on textbooks through our not-for-profit second-hand bookstore.

Rather than spending hundreds on spanking new books which you probably only need for 6 months, you can buy up-to-date books at a reduced price, and then resell with us after your exams to recover your money.

Broadway Store Level 3, Tower Building near the foodcourt.

Haymarkets Store Haymarkets Store Room 12, Level 1, Building 5A, in the green space.

For hours and catalogue go to sa.uts.edu.au/books

Students get the Herald for less Fri Jan 20 10:10

WHY THIS MAN SPENT $17,000 ON A NEW NOSE

LITTLE MASTER’S MISERY

GOOD WEEKEND

WEEKEND SPORT

2012 FACES TO WATCH SPECTRUM

WEEKEND

OVERSEAS INVASION

When children’s shows become naughty

2011 a year in weather NEWS, PAGE 7

summer

F Foreign-made car ttops sales NEWS, PAGE 3 Wednesday January 4, 2012

First published 1831 No. 54,366 $1.50 (inc GST)

There’s action aplenty as the five-day game takes its lead from Twenty20, writes Malcolm Knox.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

THE Prime Minister has dismissed a call by the Labor elder Bob Hawke to slash the power of unions within the ALP. Julia Gillard defended the factional and union influences that were responsible for the destruction of Kevin Rudd’s leadership in 2010.

Mr Hawke, a former prime minister and boss of the ACTU, said in an interview with the Fairfax publication The Australian Financial Review that while his ‘‘first love’’ was the trade union movement, its influence over the Labor Party had grown to ‘‘suffocating’’ proportions.

‘Our great trade union movement is important to Australian society and to representing the needs of working people.’ Julia Gillard But yesterday Ms Gillard said the unions were the champions of ‘‘working Australians’’. ‘‘I believe our great trade union movement is important to Australian society and to representing the needs of working people,’’ she said. ‘‘It was the trade union movement, shoulder to shoulder with the Labor Party, that fought back and got rid of Work Choices.’’

Responding to Mr Hawke’s advice to the ALP to recognise the perceived negative association with the unions, Ms Gillard said the matter had been adequately addressed at the party’s national conference last month.

She tried to soften the public rebuke to Mr Hawke, once the nation’s most popular leader, saying he was an important part of the ALP’s history. ‘‘Bob Hawke is of course a living legend,’’ she said. ‘‘Bob is right to say that the Labor Party needs to keep modernising.’’

His criticism of undue union influence within the ALP mirrored the view of another former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who savaged the power of the unions

and factions in a speech to the national conference.

Mr Rudd said the party had failed to take any significant steps to rein in the power of factions and union bosses. ‘‘While some claim we have moved forward on party reform, the truth is we have barely moved at all,’’ Mr Rudd said. ‘‘The stark alternative remains: either more power to the factional powerbrokers or more power to the 35,000 members of the Australian Labor Party.’’

An internal review by the former premiers Steve Bracks and Bob Carr and Senator John Faulkner recommended a guaranteed say for unions and Labor supporters in party preselections and aired dire warnings that the party faced a membership crisis.

Senator Faulkner has repeatedly warned that the ALP risks a wipeout of its membership – as ‘‘a small party getting smaller, [and] an old party getting older’’.

Ms Gillard welcomed the review but resisted the suggestion that the unions be given a say in policy and parliamentary decisions. ‘‘As Labor leader I will insist on the right to freely choose the executive of the federal parliamentary Labor Party,’’ she said at the time of the review’s release. ‘‘I have chosen my team of ministers and parliamentary secretaries and I will continue to do so.’’

Mr Hawke also addressed the leadership question that continues to dog Ms Gillard, saying he believed she was the best person for the job. ‘‘I don’t think they should change leaders,’’ he said. ‘‘There has been a lot of criticism of Julia, but you have got to give her credit for a lot of achievements and tenacity. ‘‘She has shown a lot of courage and determination, particularly on the carbon tax and the mining tax. When those things are bedded down they may even become positives.’’

Ms Gillard has refused to address questions about the leadership this year, telling reporters on New Year’s Day to ‘‘check the transcripts’’ of last year for her answer.

It is more than 20 years since Mr Hawke was prime minister of Australia but the ‘‘Silver Bodgie’’ has enjoyed a resurgence in the media, most recently in a renewed spat with the former prime minister Paul Keating.

The pair showed the passing of time had done nothing to ease the rancour in their relationship with Mr Keating this week blaming Mr Hawke for the wage explosions of the 1970s.

Mr Keating said that Mr Hawke, as the ACTU national secretary, had ‘‘nearly destroyed the economy twice’’. The spat coincides with the release by the National Archives of the 1982 and 1983 cabinet documents.

AS IF obligated to compete with the evening’s entertainment, 22 Test cricketers of Australia and India romped through three bright and breezy sessions. The batsmen clubbed the ball to all corners when they weren’t losing their wickets. The bowlers served up bouncers, wides, late outswingers and unplayable in-duckers, with the occasional nagging length ball for variety.

Fieldsmen fell asleep if the ball hadn’t come to them in an over.

What is this new thing, and how can it be stretched to five days? Perhaps each team needs three innings in a Test. Perhaps there is no problem. Test matches have a natural duration of 31⁄2 days, and we should celebrate the plebeian uprising of the bowler.

While M.S. Dhoni and R. Ashwin were together, putting on 54 in 81 balls for India’s seventh wicket, an anxious Australian voice in the Churchill Stand muttered, ‘‘They’re digging in now – we need a wicket, Hilfy!’’

Resurgent Punter holds key to series If the opening day was all about Sachin Tendulkar, the central character leading into today is Ricky Ponting.

Summer – Page 26

How good is James Pattinson? ... Australia’s hottest new quickie celebrates the wicket of Virender Sehwag. Photo: Steve Christo

Bowler Ben Hilfenhaus did his bit, and concerns about a partnership lasting more than an hour were allayed. Mexican waves couldn’t even make a full circuit as a wicket fell first.

When security guards seized beach balls, they weren’t booed, because something had happened on the field to distract the crowd’s attention. Bill Lawry surely couldn’t cry ‘‘It’s all happening!’’ for fear of understatement.

When Dhoni won the toss, the crowd cheered – they were going to see Sachin Tendulkar. Of course, they never considered the Indian top three might bat all day, and they were right, though it did look, for a moment after tea, as though they might be back in for their second innings.

Tendulkar did not make his 100th international century. Two constants of his career – that he scores runs in Sydney and that his teammates let him down – collided, resulting in his dismissal for 41. He came to the crease at 2-30 when not one ball had been hit convincingly in front of the wicket.

From there it was a contest of his cover drive versus Australia. The bowlers fed the shot. He laced drive after drive between point and mid-off, then dragged one onto his stumps. As wickets go, it was a cheap buy.

In general the bowlers didn’t have to strike any bargains. Hilfenhaus rediscovered his fast bouncer to remove Ashwin. Then, like a child who remembers last year’s Christmas present was even better than this year’s, Hilfy used Continued Page 2

Economic woes hit US defence ambitions Daniel Flitton ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

AUSTRALIA is about to confront the biting reality of US military decline as its cash-strapped ally moves to abandon the longstanding doctrine of being ready to fight two wars simultaneously on opposite sides of the globe.

The New York Times reported yesterday on cuts expected to be announced this week by the Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, to slash hundreds of billions of dollars in defence spending across ground forces, navy, air force and the nuclear arsenal.

Coming after earlier reduc-

tions, the US’s formal strategy to fight two large adversaries at once – as it did during World War II against Nazi Germany in Europe and Japan in the Pacific – will also be surrendered.

For 60 years the Defence chiefs in Canberra have had the luxury to assume Washington will be free to come to Australia’s aid, no matter what the US entanglements outside the region.

But those days are gone as a teetering economy forces deep cuts to the US defence budget – at the same time as many are concerned about China’s growing military ambitions.

Buzzcut Pentagon prepares to slash spending.

World – Page 8

The troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, of which Labor has committed to buy between 14 and 100, is also reported to be targeted.

Despite the cuts, the US would remain the pre-eminent military power with the ability to fight and win one major conflict and ‘‘spoil’’ a second adversary’s ambitions in another part of the world. But The New York Times

MEET THE $10b HEIRESS

PAUL McGEOUGH

BOMB BLAST THAT ROCKED THE WORLD NEWS REVIEW

NEWS, PAGE 6

Gillard Wickets tumble as Test cricket hits fast-forward button rebukes Hawke on unions Jessica Wright

FIRST PUBLISHED 1831 NO. 54,375 $2.50 (inc GST)

January 14-15, 2012

reported that the cuts inevitably posed questions such as whether a reduced aircraft carrier fleet could counter an increasingly bold China or whether a smaller army could fight a long ground war in Asia.

Australia has already made plain its hope to see a greater US engagement in the ‘‘Asian century’’ as the Obama administration withdraws from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The agreement to train up to 2500 US Marines near Darwin, announced during Barack Obama’s visit to Australia in November, was widely interpreted as

insurance against China’s rise.

The US has also made clear a desire to shift the focus to Asia and Mr Obama used his speech to federal Parliament to pledge the US was ‘‘here to stay’’.

The shift from fighting two simultaneous wars against major forces recognises the significant changes to warfare during recent decades, with insurgent conflicts the norm and the growing use of drones and other high technology.

The Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd, would not comment on the change.

Year of job Who’s for a dip? But there is a dark side pain to hit banks, shops

Killer given passport, licence and freedom Saffron Howden and Alicia Wood

700 2100

Gareth Hutchens

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

TRENT JENNINGS packed his passport, driver’s licence and, unsupervised, took off in a stolen car from a prison psychiatric hospital.

As authorities scrambled yesterday to shift the blame for the bungle that allowed the killer to walk free on Friday and outsmart police hours later, the nationwide hunt for him continued.

Jennings, 26, stabbed a man to death eight years ago during a casual sexual encounter.

He was granted day leave rights from Morisset Hospital, near Newcastle, only a month before he absconded from custody and allegedly arranged over the internet to meet a man, 50, at his home in Sydney’s Zetland.

Last Thursday, Jennings, pictured, tied the man up with his consent then stole some of his belongings, including his black Mercedes four-wheeldrive, police say.

That night he returned to hospital after curfew, having contacted staff to tell them his train was running late.

Satisfied with this explanation, hospital staff allowed him out unsupervised at 2pm the next day, the eighth anniversary of the night he stabbed Giuseppe Vitale, 32, in the neck after binding him at the hands and feet in a park at Narwee.

Jennings did not return on Friday evening and, four hours later, he was pulled over by police in the stolen car south of Coffs Harbour. His licence and vehicle registration were checked, he was issued with some fines, and allowed to drive off.

Last night, police across Australia were searching for the former Sydney waiter, who in 2005 was found not guilty of Mr Vitale’s murder because a court concluded he was in a druginduced psychosis at the time.

Yesterday the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, ordered a report from all relevant departments into the circumstances surrounding the getaway and the delay in notifying the public. ‘‘I share some of the concerns about the lack of information about his release or his escape,’’ he said.

This week the NSW chief psychiatrist, John Allan, will review Jennings’ case and patient leave procedures at Morisset Hospital.

The local health district Continued Page 2

ANNE SUMMERS

SILENCE LIKE A CANCER GROWS NEWS REVIEW

AUSTRALIA is on the cusp of a white collar recession with insiders warning that thousands of ANZ jobs to go this year jobs are at risk in the finance sector, after it emerged yesterday that ANZ planned to cut 700 jobs.

But the Herald has established the job cuts will total as many as Australian jobs cut by ANZ 1000 by the end of this year, in past two years which will be more than the bank shed at the height of the global financial crisis.

STARTS 12 They come a day afterPAGE the Royal Bank of Scotland announced Local jobs lost in Bank of plans to close its investment Scotland closure banking business, leading to the loss of more than 200 jobs in you count all those jobs since Australia.

Economists have warned Aus- October, along with what will be tralia is vulnerable to a recession announced in the next week . . . this year with a wholesale fund- we will lose more staff than we ing squeeze in Europe raising did as a result of the GFC.’’ The national secretary of the debt costs for banks such as ANZ. Experts have warned thous- Finance Services Union, Leon ands of jobs will be lost from the Carter, criticised the bank for industry this year as banks shedding jobs when it had scramble to adjust to an era of record profitability. ‘‘Yet again low credit growth and higher the first time anything gets tough in finance the only trick in funding costs. their locker is to put jobs on the This comes on top ofNo. cuts of $1.50 First published 1831 54,364 (inc GST) 2150 jobs between March 2009 line,’’ he said. ‘‘It continues to be a highly and last September in ANZ’s INSIDE Australian division. ‘‘We have profitable organisation that is run a policy of shedding jobs Bowser bluesmaking multibillion-dollar prothrough attrition since October NSW drivers could facefits. more They have an obligation to petrol price rises whenkeep the everybody employed.’’ last year,’’ an executivegovernment said. bans regular ‘‘Temps have not been rehired unleaded fuel, pushing up The Financial Services Minisdemand for ethanol-blended and once their contract has expired. ter, Bill Shorten, said: ‘‘We premium unleaded, the industry has warned.

From July,haven’t petrol been briefed specifically Secondments have been stopstations will no longer be allowed any decisions of the ANZ in ped. We have outsourced two to sell regular unleadedon in a bid to promote renewable term biofuels. of jobs.We regard any job whole floors of operations staff News — Page 3 from a [Melbourne] office to losses as unfortunate.’’

Experts say banks will be forManila [in the Philippines]. If

200

Tertiary advisory days: your five-page guide to starting university

summer FESTIVAL OF THE COUCH

The world of the box-set addict

THE TENDULKAR DYNASTY DY YNASTY

The son also rises SPORTSDAY

Monday January 2, 2012

Call to cut city speed limits to 40km/h Anna Patty STATE POLITICS ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

TRAFFIC across the city would be slowed to 40km/h as part of City of Sydney plans.

Terry Lee-Williams, a transport strategy manager at the City of Sydney, told the NSW Parliament’s joint standing committee on road safety that the council would like a “blanket” 40km/h speed limit across the city in “predominantly residential areas”. He said 20 per cent of the existing city speed zones were 40km/h. ‘‘Once we do the CBD, that would take it up to about 35 per cent and we would progressively like to roll that through. I say progressively because it is a cost issue,’’ Mr Lee-Williams told the committee late last year.

The costs include hundreds of thousands of dollars in studies ‘‘and hoops we must jump through for the RMS [Roads and Maritime Services]’’.

The NSW Labor MP Walt Secord, who is a Staysafe committee member, said he disagreed with the council plan to introduce the 40km/h speed zone across the city, saying it would further congest traffic. ‘‘Recently at a Staysafe parliamentary hearing, the staff from Sydney City Council were advocating changing the entire city to 40 kilometres,’’ he said. ‘‘While I understand they have safety concerns, I fear that it could slow city traffic to a snail’s pace. ‘‘This would make journeys across Sydney even longer in duration and slower, especially at night.’’

A spokeswoman for the City of Sydney said it was the responsibility of NSW Roads and Maritime Services to approve any changes to the speed limit.

“The RMS is responsible for signposting and speed limits throughout NSW,” she said.

“The City of Sydney supports improving road safety and minimising the risk of injury and death in pedestrian areas

Howard honoured, for Queen and country

Weather, or not

through the reduction of speed limits, as is international best practice. On any given working day, there are 600,000 pedestrians in the city centre and 85,000 vehicles. The slower the vehicle, the less risk of severe trauma to the pedestrian.’’

A spokeswoman for Roads and Maritime Services said it had “received a copy of the concept proposal for a speed zone reduction from the City of Sydney on Christmas Eve and is reviewing it early this year”.

The former Labor premier Kristina Keneally and the City of Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, agreed to a plan to slow traffic within the city centre to 40km/h by early 2011 in a memorandum of understanding dated September 13, 2010, when Mr Secord worked as chief-ofstaff for Ms Keneally.

A spokesman for the NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said the minister had not yet seen the City of Sydney proposal.

Mr Lee-Williams told the Staysafe committee in late November that someone hit by a car at 40km/h was far less likely to die than if they were hit at 60km/h. ‘‘Internationally it is 30km/h, but because it has taken about 12 years to get the RTA down to 40km/h, we did not want to push the envelope to 30km/h,’’ he said. ‘‘Traffic also flows better in crowded areas at a slower speed because . . . you do not get compression between intersections: the vehicles are moving easily; they do not have to accelerate, decelerate, accelerate, decelerate.”

The most miserable summer in Sydney in 50 years. The coldest autumn nationally in more than 50 years. Record flooding in Victoria. A Christmas Day in Melbourne with hailstones the size of eggs. Massive floods and cyclone Yasi in Queensland.

What’s it all mean?

ANZ staff wait for axe to fall — Weekend Business

Sun, sand and fun ... Tabitha Palmer, 6, centre, plays with Liv Knight, 7, and Harry Hamilford, 5, at North Bondi. The girls are in the under-7 nippers. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

Economic conditions are preventing children learning to swim, writes Nick Ralston.

LIFESAVERS have a simple explanation for the spate of near drownings and a record number of rescues in recent weeks. ‘‘There was pretty poor weather leading into Christmas and I think that everyone was frothing at the bit to get out to the beach,’’ said Dean Storey, the lifesaving manager of Surf Life Saving NSW. ‘‘Then the sun came out. At the same time we had the big swell . . . and it all came together to create a couple of weeks of

carnage.’’ The solution to the problem is not as simple. Water safety groups are concerned that pool closures and entry costs are denying young children the chance to learn to swim.

While an estimated 1.2 million children have private lessons, experts conservatively predict that each year at least 50,000 children nationwide graduate from high school without being able to swim 50 metres.

In NSW classes are offered

through an Education Department, two-week intensive program in schools for students in years two to six.

The program – the most affordable in the state – is offered to 100,000 students but is not compulsory.

The peak industry body AUSTSWIM said in recent years issues of cost had made some parents reluctant to send their children for lessons.

The chief executive, Gordon Mallett, said: ‘‘If there is no local pool, despite any efforts the Department of Education may make, it starts to get more difficult. Then you’ve got the cost of

entry to existing pools, which is a barrier to some socio-economic groups, and the increasing cost of bus transport. ‘‘The Department of Education tries to minimise the cost but there are some limitations on that. It’s just a sign of our economic times at the moment.

People are being pinched a bit.’’

On the plus side, Surf Life Saving is enjoying a boom in the number of young people becoming involved in the volunteer rescue organisation.

This year it has 30,000 nippers on its books and the number has been rising annually for the past four years.

Dylan Welch SUVA, FIJI

Paul Sheehan, Opinion —

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

11 THE Fijian regime ofPageVoreqe ‘‘Frank’’ Bainimarama has reRoadmost toll falls cruited one of Washington’s The 2011 toll was the second notorious lobbyist firms – road that lowest since 1944, according to has been raided by the FBI and provisional figures from the NSW Centre for Road Safety. Last represents repressive regimes in year, 376 people were killed on NSW roads,–down the Middle East and Africa to from 405 the previous year. The toll has help manage its reputation and dropped from 524 overFrank the past Bainimarama ... advice.

10 years. lobby foreign journalists.

News — Page 5 And diplomatic sources be- lations, only to enshrine them in lieve the firm, Qorvis Commu- a permanent law.

First Tuesday nications, may be behind the The company is represented Mitt Romney and Ron Paul Exceptionally meritorious services ... Mr Howard at home in Wollstonecraft yesterday. ‘‘It’s a compliment to Australia,’’ he said of his award. Photo: Quentin Jones decision by Commodore BainiSuva appeared to be runningin neck and by a fresh-faced former neck in Iowa before tomorrow’s asmarama may have rendered exceptionKelly Burke to lift the widely conbusiness journalist, Seth Thomfirst vote on the candidates ally meritorious services in Our demned asParty’s Pietras, who has been in the IN GOOD COMPANY NOT since Sir Robert Menzies vying forreguthe Republican Crown Services public or towards emergency the ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

has the monarchy bestowed such approbation on an Australian politician.

John Howard’s decade-long prime ministership and his dogged adherence to a constitutional monarchy have earned him admission to an exclusive club with a capped membership of just 24 after Buckingham Palace announced yesterday he had been appointed a member of the Order of Merit.

Only Menzies’ Knight of the Order of the Thistle, to which the Liberal Party founder was invested in 1963, carries more kudos. ‘‘I’m very honoured,’’ Mr Howard told the Herald from his home in Wollstonecraft. ‘‘It’s a compliment to Australia and a recognition, among other things, of the respect the Queen has for this country. I’m very grateful for it.’’

Mr Howard, along with the British artist David Hockney,

On merit ... clockwise, from top left: Baroness Thatcher, Prince Charles, Sir Tom Stoppard, David Hockney and Sir David Attenborough. who was also appointed to the order yesterday, will join luminaries including the former British prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, the naturalist Sir David Attenborough and Prince Charles.

The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, said she warmly congratulated Mr Howard on receiving such a distinguished award. ‘‘This is a rare and singular honour for his service to Australia,’’ she said.

The Order, founded by King

Edward VII in 1902, carries no title but is considered an extremely high mark of honour and a personal gift from the Queen.

According to the Royal Family’s website, it is to be given ‘‘to such persons, subjects of Our Crown,

advancement of the Arts, Learning, Literature, and Science or such other exceptional service as We are fit to recognise’’.

Although writers and artists have traditionally dominated the field, politicians appointed to the order have included Sir Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Baroness Thatcher.

Mr Howard becomes the ninth Australian appointed, following in the footsteps of the philosopher Samuel Alexander, the intellectual Gilbert Murray, scientists Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Howard Florey and Robert McCredie May, former chief justice of Australia Sir Owen Dixon, artist Sir Sidney Nolan and soprano Dame Joan Sutherland.

Mr Howard is expected to receive his Order of Merit – an eight-pointed cross bearing the imperial crown to be worn around the neck – at a ceremony later this year.

Only available at

presidential nomination, with Rick Santorum mounting a late charge. Contenders have been blitzing shopping malls, public meetings and local media.

World — Page 8

country on and off since October. A contract published by the US Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act reveals that in October the Fijian Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, signed a deed with Qorvis worth $US40,000 a month for a year. In return, Qorvis has agreed to provide ‘‘public relations services relating to business and investment to the government of Fiji’’.

But it appears to the Herald, which spent the week in Suva being lobbied by Mr Pietras, that his ambit is far greater than spin.

It is likely Mr Pietras, described

as Qorvis’s chief speechwriter, helped draft Commodore Bainimarama’s recent speeches, including his New Year’s Day address announcing the lifting of emergency regulations.

Several countries with an interest in Fiji expressed a belief to the Herald that, given the timing, Qorvis might have played a role in Commodore Bainimarama’s decision to lift the emergency regulations.

A diplomatic source also expressed concern that the kind of role played by such lobbyists in the Middle East and Africa was being imported to the Pacific.

News Review

‘‘We have kids who are doing nipper training, who are rescuing kids their age on days when the surf is a bit tricky,’’ said the nipper manager at North Bondi Surf Life Saving, Jim Walker.

North Bondi has 1400 children doing nipper training, up from 850 a few years ago.

A Bondi resident, Julia Palmer, was raised in England and wanted her daughter, Tabitha, to gain a better understanding than she had of safety at the beach. ‘‘We offered for her to do it and she loves it. She’s much more confident now in the surf than she was,’’ Ms Palmer said.

BONUS

Come in spinner: Fiji pays Washington lobbyists for image makeover

ROAD RULES Pedestrians in the city centre: 600,000 Vehicles in city centre: 85,000 International safety speed: 30km/h City of Sydney safety speed: 40km/h

ced to cut staff numbers for the next few years to protect profit margins. The high levels of consumption and lending they enjoyed in recent years will not continue.

At the start of 2007 Australia’s banks, excluding ANZ Asia, employed 155,000. Four years later that figure had grown to 178,000 people, an increase of 23,000.

In ANZ alone, the number of employees in the group’s global operations increased by 12,000 since September 2008, from 36,900 to 48,900.

But ANZ’s Australian division has shed more than 2100 jobs in the past two years – from 19,922 to 17,768 – as it sends more jobs to offshore.

The job losses could exacerbate conditions in Australia – already vulnerable to recession. The chief economist at JP Morgan, Stephen Walters, said: Australia has not undergone adjustments observed elsewhere ... it remains vulnerable to shocks.

Economists also say we might expect a further shake-out in the retail industry, which employs 1.2 million people, following the jobs losses last year.

The Grattan Institute’s Saul Eslake said: ‘‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised if 2012 was a year in which some of the almostinevitable consequences for employment in retailing of the deterioration in retail trading conditions over the next couple of years came to a head.’’

Last year, during the Arab Spring, Mr Pietras was Qorvis’s spokesman when its role in defending Middle East regimes was the subject of debate. ‘‘Our clients are facing some challenges now,’’ Mr Pietras told The New York Times. ‘‘But our long-term goals to bridge the differences between our clients and the United States haven’t changed. We stand by them.’’

In 2004 when Qorvis was raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into whether an advertising campaign it helped run broke federal law by not disclosing Saudi funding.

At the time, Qorvis was the beneficiary of a six-month contract with the Saudis worth almost $US15 million to help improve its reputation after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Last year an Egyptian steel tycoon with ties to the Mubarak regime retained Qorvis to manage his public relations during a trial regarding claims of widespread corruption. He was eventually sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The company has also represented the man widely known as ‘‘Africa’s worst dictator’’, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

SYDNEY CITY shower or two 19°-23° LIVERPOOL shower or two 17°-24° PENRITH shower or two 18°-24° WOLLONGONG showers clearing 18°-21° GOSFORD few showers 17°-23° NEWCASTLE few showers 20°-23° CANBERRA shower or two 12°-24° ARMIDALE showers, storms 12°-22° DUBBO shower or two 15°-31° COFFS HARBOUR storms 19°-26°

Summer Holi days Digital Acces s

Fiji’s future of uncertainty

Mr Pietras, an executive vicepresident of Qorvis’s geopolitical solutions section, is at least the second Qorvis employee to travel to Fiji, after Tina Jeon, an Olympic archer and Qorvis spinner.

In early November Ms Jeon posted on Twitter a photo of herself and Commodore Bainimarama aboard a boat in Fiji with the caption: ‘‘No better place to write a press release’’.

DETAILS PAGE 19

ISSN 0312-6315

9 770312 631063

Have you let your home loan go?

Classic stoush

Chloe Hosking won a thrilling first race of the Bay Classic and promptly called Union Cycliste Internationale boss Pat McQuaid ‘‘a dick’’ for failing to implement a minimum wage for women.

Third placed Rochelle Gilmore also called for change.

ubank.com.au

Take control and refinance with a UHomeLoan, and receive an incredibly low variable rate of 6.14%p.a. This great rate includes a Lifetime Loyalty Discount of 0.20%p.a. and is available on all new applications.

6.14 UHomeLoan

%

p.a.

Variable and comparison rate

SportsDay — Page 32

Harbour rubbish pile on the rise after prison drain gangs get the brush-off Debra Jopson ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

THE amount of litter and waste Sydney Harbour garbage collectors pick up each year has plummeted to the lowest level in more than a decade after NSW Maritime suspended a long-running clean-up program that used prisoners on periodic detention.

The environmental services team, which clears debris ranging from plastic drink bottles to fallen trees from more than 5000 hectares of waterways, collected just 2284 cubic metres of waste last financial year, almost 500 cubic metres less than the year

Dirty business ... litter lines the foreshore at Iron Cove.

Photo: Jon Reid before, NSW Maritime’s latest annual report reveals. ‘‘One can draw the conclusion that there would be more litter in the harbour,’’ said Peter McLean, the NSW chief executive of Keep Australia Beautiful. ‘‘I hate to see

programs like this not continue in some form. It would certainly be very detrimental. We have millions of people living in that catchment.’’

Research indicated it was likely that since the end of the

drought more rain has meant more litter washed into waterways, he said.

Most of the man-made refuse consists of food and drink packaging dropped on streets and swept into the harbour through stormwater drains, a NSW Maritime spokeswoman said.

While the fall was partly caused by Maritime’s environmental service losing its flagship vessel for more than six months as a replacement was built, it also followed a decision in December 2010 to stop using detainees provided by the Department of Corrective Ser-

vices for the foreshore clean-up, she said.

Minimal risk detainees began working with government waterways cleaners 17 years ago and the program has contributed between 12 and 28 per cent of the volume of waste collected every year up to 2008-09, official figures show.

However, the program was suspended when the Department of Corrective Services began to phase out its periodic detention program last October, according to NSW Maritime.

The Herald understands that staff were unwilling to work with

higher-risk detainees receiving intensive correction orders, which have replaced periodic detention.

The detainees’ assistance was hailed as a success in previous years, as NSW Maritime crews worked to remove boating hazards and rubbish from Sydney Harbour and the navigable waters of the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers over a combined foreshore length of 270 kilometres.

Four minimal risk detainees worked three times a week with government staff to clear debris in areas inaccessible to boats,

Switch your new Smartphone to an Optus SIM for MORE.

SYDNEY CITY sunny 18°-26° LIVERPOOL sunny 15°-31°rate is based on a secured loan of $150,000 over the term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. UBank is a division of National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686.

Rates current as at 13 January 2012 . The comparison sunnyfor 16°-33° You should consider the terms and PENRITH conditions UHomeLoan, available from ubank.com.au, before making any decisions regarding this product. Fees and charges and lending criteria apply.

UBA526/smhfp1_G3982327AB such as mangrove swamps, the WOLLONGONG sunny 18°-26° NSW Maritime spokeswoman GOSFORD sunny 15°-28° 1HERSA1 A001 said.

NEWCASTLE sunny 18°-26° The agency expects to restart CANBERRA partly cloudy 15°-35° the program using volunteers ARMIDALE mostly sunny 10°-27° provided by a non-government DUBBO sunny 17°-35° organisation in the first quarter COFFS HARBOUR partly cloudy 16°-26° of next year, another spokesman said.

Mr McLean said volunteers were difficult to attract. He warned that the loss of extra assistance with garbage collection coincides with the NSW government setting a target in its new state plan of achieving the lowest litter count per capita in Australia by 2016.

DETAILS PAGE 18

ISSN 0312-6315

9 770312 631018

Search Optus SIM.

Terms & Conditions: ~Must attach to your Optus Rewards membership before 15 March 2012. Triple points apply until 31 December 2012 to services held in the same name as the new service and attached to your Optus Rewards membership. You must be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member and an Optus Rewards member and link your membership to earn points. Points are only earned once payment is made for eligible Optus services through a validated Optus account which has been added to your Optus Rewards membership. Full Terms and Conditions at optus.com.au/points. SingTel Optus Pty Ltd ABN 90 052 833 208.

OPTUS13728/SMH/7x11 1HERSA1 A001

SYDNEY CITY shower or two 20°-32° LIVERPOOL shower or two 17°-39° PENRITH shower or two 18°-39° WOLLONGONG storms, showers 20°-32° GOSFORD shower or two 16°-34° NEWCASTLE shower or two 20°-31° CANBERRA shower or two 18°-34° ARMIDALE shower or two 12°-29° DUBBO partly cloudy 19°-37° COFFS HARBOUR mostly sunny 18°-29° DETAILS PAGE 16 ISSN 0312-6315

9 770312 631032

Choose your SMH Uni Pass Semester Two Package: 1HERSA1 A001

Digital Pass

20

$

Save over $120 on a Sydney Morning Herald Digital Edition subscription

Access to the Digital Edition, an interactive replica of the newspaper on your computer or tablet

Print + Digital

30

$

Save over $400 Newspaper on campus pick up (Mon-Thurs) + home delivery (Fri-Sun)

PLUS 7-day Digital Edition access on your computer or tablet

Subscribe, save and stay ahead at smh.com.au/uts or your participating campus outlet.

Scan the QR code now to subscribe online.

*Staff rates available - $60 for print and $40 for digital.

Terms and conditions apply. Offer ends October 31, 2012. Subscription dates from July 9, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Bonus summer holiday Digital Edition access from 1 Jan 2013 to 28 Feb 2013. Savings based on current news stand rates.