City Hub 21 May 2020

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POTTS POINT BUSINESS DEVELOPS LOCALLY BASED DELIVERY APP TO RIVAL UBEREATS & HELP LOCAL RESTAURANTS

BY KIRSTA CHEUNG s the hospitality industry is progressively relying on big delivery platforms, restaurants are becoming less busy as there’s a huge selection of local restaurants to choose from on the platforms.

Restaurants that were originally dine-in only began to transition to include takeaway services to adapt to the changing consumer trends.

This trend inspired Hamilton Kings, the owner of Potts Point’s pan-

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asian restaurant Honkas, to create a localised delivery platform, Love Local. Since launching six weeks ago the online platform now hosts over 20 local restaurants from a broad range of cuisines delivering to various locations in Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay, Rushcutters Bay and Woolloomooloo.

Australians are spending approximately $2.6 million a year on food delivery services,

according to news.com, mostly due to the convenience of food being delivering to our front door.

One of the most popular delivery platform is UberEats, which is great for consumers, but not too great for restaurant owners, as with each order the platform charges a commission of 30%.

Unfortunately many small businesses, who cannot afford to partner with a big delivery platform under this 30% commission

model, have been forced to close. A difficulty which has been exacerbated by the pandemic as patrons are further encouraged to stay at home to limit the chances of catching COVID-19.

The Love Local food delivery platform was designed to support the local businesses in this difficult time, charging commission of a much reduced rate of 12% compared to UberEats and Deliveroo who charge Continued on page 2

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CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020

30-35%. Kings told City Hub, “we’re to directly engage with the restaurant and returning more money to restaurants, boycotting UberEats as that is not viable getting big players to lower their fees and income stream for them. helping businesses survive COVID-19 social Some other local restaurants, that are still distancing.” The Sydney food entrepreneur listed on the UberEats delivery app, are adds, “people are very community focussed beginning to bypassing them by offering a and are very open to the idea of using a new 30% discount to encourage customers to service that charges less commission.” pick-up in house or to have a staff member do One of the first restaurants on the platform, delivery.

Melo’s Italian from Potts Point As delivery platforms that hosts a said, “we love being part of huge selection of local restaurants Love Local, and look forward don’t provide customer feedback to the platform continuing to to the restaurants, the local grow and deliver our food to businesses are not able more people.” to better understand their Besides Honkas restaurant, customers needs or know many local restaurants are whether to adapt their menu items beginning to do their own or prices. deliveries to keep their staff You can help support a local employed. Chin Chin from Surry business and keep your favourite Hills have implemented a restaurants open takeaway service since by ordering the forced closure takeaway of its dining room or delivery and have also options started to take directly from orders online and the business over the phone. themselves With this growing rather than trend of delivery pouring For more and pick-ups money into information about restaurants are the coffers LOVE LOCAL head to beginning to of chain www.lovelocal.com.au encouraging food delivery Photo: Supplied the customers services.

FEATURE

HubNEWS

How Green bans saved Sydney’s heritage (See p.8)

Gay-hate murder arrest

BY ALEC SMART 49-year-old man was arrested on 12 May for the 1988 gay-hate murder of Scott Johnson, whose naked body was found on a rock ledge at the base of a cliff near Manly on Sydney’s North Shore.

On 10 Dec 1988, the 27-year-old American maths prodigy was discovered on a rock ledge at the base of Blue Fish Point, two days after he was last seen alive. He had plummeted 50 metres from the cliff top above - an isolated bush-enshrouded region half way between North Head, at the mouth of Sydney Harbour, and Manly’s Shelly Beach.

Blue Fish Point is sheltered behind a threemetre high sandstone wall that obscures the headland from the path behind. Entry is through a hole in the wall.

Over three decades after the tragedy, detectives from Strike Force Welsford, the team established by NSW Police to investigate Johnson’s murder, arrested prime suspect Scott White in Lane Cove.

White was taken to Chatswood Police Station and, later in the day, charged with murder and refused bail.

A HubARTS: George St Cinemas set to be demolished and replaced with residential tower and significantly smaller cinema (See p. 10)

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Blue Fish Point near Manly where Scott Johnson was murdered in a gay-hate crime in 1988. A suspect has been arrested. Photo: Alec Smart

The three inquests into Mr Johnson’s death recorded three very different verdicts: suicide, ‘open’ and murder. Scott’s death is one of only two legal cases in Australian

Marsh’s mural mocks coal-ition

Group Editor & Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons News Editor: Alec Smart Contributors: Alec Smart, Mike Hitch, Meredith Burgmann, Joseph O’Donoghue Cartoonist: Sam Mcnair Arts Editor: Jamie Apps Contributors: Erika Echternach, Irina Dunn, Madison Behringer, Mark Morellini, Olga Azar, Renee Lou Dallow, Rita Bratovich, Olga Sedneva Advertising Manager: Georgina Pengelly Cover Photo: Supplied. Hamilton Kings Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: news@altmedia.net.au, arts@altmedia.net.au Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Website: cityhubsydney.com.au

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history that convened three separate coronial inquests (the other was Azaria Chamberlain - the baby taken by a dingo at Uluru).

Scott Marsh, satirical wall mural artist, unveiled another painting in central Sydney mocking the federal coal-ition government. Photo: Alec Smart

by ALEC SMART cott Marsh, satirical wall mural artist, has unveiled another topical painting in central Sydney mocking the federal coal-ition government and their mining and media connections.

On 18 May Marsh shared his colourful

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new piece, titled Ivory Tower, on social media, which features a few familiar scenes from Australia’s summer of Apocalyptic bushfires. Above the dramatic fire-scape of fleeing fauna and a burning home, huddled in an ivory stone tower, are seven key politicians, industrialists and media figures central

to fossil fuel extraction and climate change denial in Australia.

Protected from the raging bushfires below on their white castle wall tower are Prime Minister Scott Morrison, mining agnate Clive Palmer, disgraced former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, shock-jock radio DJ Alan Jones, mining billionaire Gina Reinhardt, reactionary commentator Andrew Bolt, and above them publishing tycoon Rupert Murdoch glowers.

In his social media posts to promote his new artwork, Marsh explained: “People talk about the ‘Coal Lobby’.

Our government is the coal lobby. The Coalition, coal industry and conservative media are one intertwined beast. As long as we have a coalition government we will have zero meaningful climate change policy.”

The mural is located on the corner of Grafton and Shepherd streets in Chippendale, a neighbourhood that’s become synonymous with Marsh’s large and controversial paintings, where several decorate the ends of terraced houses.

CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020

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HubNEWS

Alan Jones retires?

DJ Alan Jones said he’s retiring from radio due to health issues, but he might go into TV instead. Photo: Facebook

BY MIKE HITCH ustralia’s most influential radio broadcaster and infamous shock-jock, Alan Jones, claims he will retire at the end of May after doctors advised him his workload was “detrimental” to his health.

79-year-old Jones announced his retirement on 12 May during his radio show on Sydney’s 2GB and Brisbane’s 4BC, ending his 35-year radio broadcasting career at the end of May. During his career, Jones’ breakfast program amassed a record-breaking

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226 consecutive wins in ratings. He has also paid out a considerable sum in legal damages.

“I have listened to the experts and I am taking this opportunity to indicate to my radio family that I will be retiring from radio at the end of this month,” he said.

Jones’ departure comes earlier than planned with his retirement from 2GB initially set for the end of his contract in June 2021.

Politicians such as Tony Abbott took to Twitter to share their disappointment over the news of Jones’ early retirement.

Despite Nine Radio paying Jones $4 million a year, Jones’ Breakfast show suffered an advertising boycott which lost the show 50 per cent of its revenue last year in the wake of comments Jones made about New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern.

In August 2019, Jones said Scott Morrison should “shove a sock” down Ardern’s throat. It follows on from other controversial statements he has made in the past.

However, according to the Daily Mail, Alan Jones could be set to take on a lucrative new TV deal, so we may not have heard or seen the last of him.

Vale Jack Mundey

BY MEREDITH BURGMANN he true saviour of inner-city Sydney, Jack Mundey, died on 10 May 2020, aged 90.

Sydney would be a very different place if the NSW Builders Labourers Federation (BLF), under Jack’s leadership, not saved green space, historic buildings and workers’ housing by placing world-first ‘Green Bans’ on the shocking over-development proposed in the early 1970s.

Having grown up amidst rainforests, Jack was an environmentalist before that term was used. But what Jack brought to the struggle was his view that workers should campaign around the social responsibility of labour, think about the work they do and the environment in which they live.

Green Bans saved: The Rocks and Woolloomooloo from being turned into a forest of high rise ‘executive suites’; Glebe from being split into three islands by two major expressways; Centennial Park from being turned into a giant sporting complex; Victoria Street, Kings Cross from destruction; Surry Hills from excessive high-rise; Ultimo from an Expressway; and the

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Jack Mundey in the midst of saving The Rocks from developers’ wrecking balls (Meredith Burgmann behind him). Photo: Supplied

Opera House fig trees from becoming a car park.

Individual buildings saved by Green Bans include: State Theatre; Pitt St Congregational Church; and Colonial Mutual, National Mutual and ANZ Bank buildings in Martin Place.

Jack understood that, on the whole, bans only halt development to allow time for political solutions. Jack and the men and women of the BLF did indeed save a city.

Dr Meredith Burgmann is a former Green Bans activist and Labor MLC. She is author (with Verity Burgmann) of Green Bans, Red Union: The Saving of a City.

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Opinion

Irish luck, Australian visas

BY JOSEPH O’DONOGHUE y great-grandfather, Denis, arrived in this world without much luck. He was born poor when Ireland was still reeling from the Great Famine. No decent education. Good jobs and romantic love were scarce. The community relied on booze to numb things and most of his mates wound up marrying their cousins.

Stuck in a bleak present, all Denis could expect was a bleak future. Yet, bogged down in this heavy space, my great-grandad saw light in a brave decision.

By selling everything he owned and saying goodbye to everyone he knew (most he’d never see again) – he rolled the dice for a better future on the other side of the world in Sydney. He was 20.

Most Australians have at least one of these daring souls in their family tree who gambled all for a single shot at something better. I call them the “sacrifice generation”,

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because they sacrificed the good years of their own lives for the fortune of their family coming after them.

Many of us benefit from seeds of luck planted in the foundation soils of our families by ancestors like Denis. But luck for them was rare. All they could do to get by was work hard, grit teeth, build resilience, mourn the memories of home and never give up.

VIS-À-VIS VISAS

Had my great-grandfather arrived in Australia today, he’d be here on a Temporary Skilled visa rather than a passport.

Whereas citizenships were basically handed out back then, today they must be competed for by wrestling up a ladder. And if Denis was living here during this Corona crisis, he’d probably be out of a job or worried about losing one – all without the support or opportunities now available to me.

I have a couple of friends on

temporary visas at the moment and when I hear what they’re going through, I’m embarrassed we’re not helping more.

Most of those on temporary visas are simply here to commence that same long road my great-grandfather took. But that road is a tough one. A long way from families and home, they have none of the networks we have and often worry if their English is acceptable.

Yet these people bring with them the same ingredients that Denis did: guts, drive and a dedication to hard work.

Priceless lessons for their young children, who will one day talk with our accent and call this place home.

For our brave guests there is room for far more empathy in our welcome. It’s in all of our interests to give them a chance at a better future. If we can assist and provide them with a place to sow their seeds of luck, that is something all of us will prosper from.

HubNEWS

Joseph’s great-grandfather, Denis, left the Great Famine in Ireland to find a home and work in Australia. Nowadays, under Covid-19 restrictions on foreign workers, he’d have a less welcoming experience.

Photo: Joseph O’Donoghue

COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY

WELCOME TO THE NEW ABNORMAL

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“

ovidiocy” – a new word that has just been coined to describe an inept and irrational response to the current pandemic.

If and when we get completely on top of the current pandemic there are many things that I personally never want to see or hear again – like endless Zoom screens of choirs and other community get togethers, celebrity chefs flogging easy to prepare meals during TV news broadcasts and that much parroted platitude “we’re all in this thing together.”

Clearly we are not all enveloped in a glorious solidarity, especially when it comes to the international stage. The forces of economic expediency have quickly overtaken common sense, and the sanctity of life in many countries, headed by such pillars of democracy as Trump, Bolsanaro and Putin. We have all been told to prepare for the ‘new normal’ but the reality is, are we ready for the ‘new abnormal’?

It’s anybody’s guess what Australia will look like in a year from now but pseudo-futurologists like myself, are more than happy to speculate. There is a plethora of some almost Bladerunner

By Sam Mcnair #thatsneakyrabbit

possibilities, but let’s begin with the already contentious issue of social distancing.

Without a workable vaccine I’m prepared to say this will see a revolution in the way the hospitality industry operates.

Small bars for example will become ever smaller, often limiting to only two patrons at a time. We will also see the rapid growth of a new phenomenon – the telephone booth style solo bar.

Not much larger than a portaloo, I’m

predicting thousands of these Tardis like boozers will pop up all over Sydney.

With the swipe of your credit card and a virtual reality headset the solo drinker can call up the environment of their choice from a traditional Irish pub to a western suburbs bloodhouse. Interacting with virtual bar staff and other patrons, the solo drinker has access to a full range of alcoholic beverages, touch screen pokies and a flip up toilet contained in the barstool.

Plans are already underway to turn Sydney into a 24 hour city, with people working staggered hours and the traditional peak hours softened to create a safer flow of social mingling.

The Government will introduce a special night time incentive package for those who choose to become entirely nocturnal. Parks and beaches will be fully illuminated at night and selected sporting events scheduled to start at 3am. Those who chose to start their working ‘night’ after sunset will be affectionately known as ‘possums’.

Enclosed cinemas, where contagions can easily spread, will eventually give way to a whole new string of drive-ins where movies will screen around the clock. Ultra bright LED screens will create a new daytime experience although any hanky panky in the back seat will be more visible.

Some may see it as a kind of dystopia, a brave new world where all civil liberties are sacrificed in the name of medical containment. Others will no doubt welcome the kind of enterprise that it will spawn. Let’s just hope that ‘covidiocy’ does not spread as rapidly as the virus itself.

CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020

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TANYA PLIBERSEK MP COVID-19 UPDATE

THANKS TO YOU,

WE ARE SAVING LIVES & STOPPING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19

Observe social distancing

Practice good hygiene

STAY HOME IF YOU CAN

Strict limits on public gatherings

Follow the self-isolation rules

COVID-19 OFFICIAL APP My family and I downloaded the COVIDSafe app because we want to know quickly if we’ve been in contact with someone who has the virus.

I encourage everyone to download it so that it is as effective as it can be. The app doesn’t track where you go. It acts like a call and response feature so you know if you’ve been in contact or near someone who has Covid-19, for more than 15 minutes.

Federal Labor will continue to closely monitor the privacy implications of the app.

TANYA PLIBERSEK MP

DOWNLOAD HERE: Authorised by Tanya Plibersek MP, Australian Labor Party, 1A Great Buckingham St, Redfern

Plibersek COVID Hub Full Page Page 1V1.indd 1 HUB 21 MAY City 2020 6 20200505CITY

5/5/20 4:44 pm

JOBKEEPER

& CASUALS The JobKeeper wage subsidy will give 6 million workers a fortnightly income of $1,500 through their employer.

However, the JobKeeper scheme’s restrictive eligibility rules exclude millions of other workers, in particular short-term casuals and temporary visa holders.

Federal Labor has worked hard to try to ensure casuals, freelancers, temporary migrants, NDIS workers, local government employees, charity workers, teachers, university staff, and childcare workers who face severe financial struggles due to job losses and business closures, don’t miss out.

We will keep up the pressure to make sure no one is left behind at this time.

COVID-19

SUPPORT Financial support If you’ve lost your job, lost hours, or are suffering financial hardship, find out what support is available, including wage subsidies: www.treasury.gov.au/coronavirus.

Support for businesses & sole traders If you’re a business or a sole trader, find out what support is available at: www.business.gov. au or 13 28 46.

Support for renters The National Cabinet has agreed to ban evictions over the next six months for commercial and residential tenants in financial distress who are unable to meet their commitments due to the impact of coronavirus.

For help: NSW Fair Trading at www.fairtrading. nsw.gov.au or 13 32 20 or the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service at www.tenants.org.au or 02 8117 3700.

For the latest advice, information

JOBKEEPER

RULES

If your employer is in receipt of JobKeeper payments:

f You must receive $1,500 per fortnight as a minumum (no exceptions)

f One in, all in - Employers in receipt of JobKeeper can’t choose which workers receive the payment, and which don’t. All eligible employees must get it.

f No Takesy Backsies - Employers can’t

charge admin fees or ask you to pay back part of the payment, or withhold your payment. If they’re getting it, you must be getting it too!

& resources: www.health.gov.au NSW Health: www.health.nsw.gov.au

+

If you have concerns about your health, seek medical advice.

National Coronavirus Helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

1800 020 080 Translating & Interpreting Services

131 450

Further Assistance If you need further assistance, please contact me on 9379 0700 or at Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au

TANYA PLIBERSEK MP Federal Member for Sydney

20200505 Plibersek COVID City Hub Full Page Page 1V1.indd 2

5/5/20 4:44 pm CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020 7

FEATURE

GREEN BANS SAVED SYDNEY

BY ALEC SMART reen bans’ is a term synonymous with collective action to conserve heritage and preserve the environment. The green bans imposed by the NSW Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) union in the early 1970s, which halted major construction projects and cost investors millions of dollars, were, arguably, what saved many of Sydney’s most important historic buildings and parks.

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Despite the inconvenience to vested interests, the bans were vital in rescuing crucial premises from the encroachment of high-rise during a time when there was no heritage or environmental protection legislation in NSW. The green bans’ success also impacted on the rorts of corrupt leaders whose hands were in the pockets of developers and organised crime - although the latter fought back with a vengeance. (See below).

Many sites rescued from bulldozers are now tourist attractions, annually conveying millions of dollars into the economy.

FIFTY-FOUR SHADES OF GREEN Fifty-four green bans were decreed from 1971 - 1975 in NSW alone (they were also enacted in other Australian cities).

The bans were initiated by elected representatives of the building site labourers, those unskilled and semiskilled workers who do the hard graft on construction projects.

Under the leadership of Jack Mundey, the NSW BLF, of which he took control in 1968, demanded higher wages for employees, encouraged female workers, and aligned themselves with the growing anti-Vietnam War movement and the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

Mundey rose to national prominence when he led the feisty NSW branch’s green ban policy, along with fellow BLF leaders Joe Owens and Bob Pringle.

This extraordinary and unprecedented conservation campaign refined the character of Australia’s primary cities, and defined Mundey’s career. In a January 1972 letter to Sydney Morning Herald, Mundey articulated the union’s ambitions: “Yes, we want to build.

However, we prefer to build urgentlyrequired hospitals, schools, other public utilities, high-quality flats, units and houses, provided they are designed with adequate concern for the environment…”

In an interview at his home in April 2015, Mundey recalled, “Of the things that happened in my life, the green bans were the most important, because they brought together the enlightened upper 8

CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020

‘Green bans’ in the 1970s saved The Rocks and other important historic buildings and parkland from demolition by developers. Photo: Alec Smart

middle class with the progressive working class around issues that hadn’t been raised before…”

The BLF led a network of community groups and conservationists in a stand against NSW Liberal Premier Bob Askin and the powerful construction companies that enriched him - some bankrolled by organised crime.

Askin’s 10-year reign from May 1965 to January 1975 was marked by a significant increase in public works programs, which he achieved by abolishing Sydney City Council in 1967 – to minimise political resistance. He also moved municipal electoral boundaries.

After Askin’s death in 1981, the Australian Taxation Office audited his multimillion-dollar estate. Although finding no obvious signs of criminality, the ATO determined a substantial part came from undisclosed sources. Detractors allege Askin’s extraordinary wealth was derived from bribes paid by organised criminals, facilitated by corrupt NSW Police Commissioner Norman Allan.

GREENING THE CITY

The NSW BLF’s first green ban was used to preserve Kelly’s Bush, a sock-shaped section of bushland on the Woolwich peninsula above Parramatta River.

A residents’ group, ‘Battlers for Kelly’s Bush’, which Hunters Hill Council reportedly dismissed as “13 bloody housewives”, launched a pioneering directaction campaign after unsuccessfully pleading their case in several meetings with Askin.

On 16 June 1971 the BLF announced they would prevent construction work on Kelly’s Bush and the first green ban in Australia was enacted. The bushland was subsequently saved and in April 1999 it was heritage-listed.

All of the ensuing green bans were, at the BLF’s insistence, instigated after discussions with the communities

impacted by construction work, saving not just properties but whole suburbs. Some, like Glebe, Ultimo and Pyrmont, were scheduled for subdivision to make way for highways. Others, such as Woollomooloo and Surry Hills, faced mass demolition of old terrace houses for replacement with Hong Kong-style apartment towers.

However, organised crime syndicates backing Premier Askin were not so forgiving. The case that illustrates this best is that of journalist Juanita Nielsen, who was murdered for challenging developers.

As owner-publisher of Kings Cross independent newspaper Now, Nielsen championed BLF green bans to halt development work and published articles calling for residents’ resistance to highdensity housing schemes around Kings Cross area.

Nielsen also campaigned against property developer Frank Theeman’s $40 million Victoria Street building scheme, which comprised three 45-storey apartment complexes in Potts Point to replace a row of historic terrace houses.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENTS

The BLF imposed a green ban in July 1973 after the leader of the Victoria Street residents action group, Arthur King, was kidnapped by two men, bundled into the boot of a car, and driven to a motel on the NSW South Coast. He was held for three days before he was released under threat of death if he revealed details of his ordeal.

Meanwhile, forces opposed to the radical NSW BLF were beginning to unite. The media, including Sydney Morning Herald, alleged Mundey was motivated by a desire to overthrow the government, whilst Premier Askin described the BLF as “traitors” intent on causing “rioting and bloodshed in the streets of Sydney.”

Askin and his associates offered assistance to Norm Gallagher to suppress the NSW BLF and impose his own command. Gallagher, a high-profile

member of the Communist Party of Australia who became the BLF’s national treasurer, complied and launched a coup on the NSW leadership.

A Maoist in his political beliefs and one of the most vociferous critics of the NSW branch’s progressive green outlook and community inclusion, Gallagher opposed environmental activism as a diversion from class struggle. He dismissed the NSW BLF’s leadership and resisted discussion with union members, calling them “poofters.”

Gallagher also cancelled several green bans, including the one halting construction work in Victoria Street, and

by March 1975, when the NSW BLF office in Sydney Trades Hall was mysteriously burgled and its records stolen, no more green bans were issued.

With the green ban lifted on Victoria Street, coinciding with rumours that developer Frank Theeman had personally ordered Gallagher to annul it, Nielsen appealed to the Federated Engine Drivers & Firemen’s Association (FEDA), which imposed their own green ban. Gallagher retaliated by bringing in scab labourers when a group of FEDA crane drivers went on strike.

On 4 July 1975, Nielsen went to the Carousel Club in Kings Cross for an appointment with Edward Trigg, a club employee. She was never seen again.

The Carousel was owned by notorious criminal Abe Saffron and managed by James Anderson, whom it later transpired owed $260,000 to Frank Theeman, who in turn – according to Abe’s son Alan in his 2008 biography of his father - owed a considerable amount of money to Saffron.

Abe Saffron routinely bribed NSW Police officers, their payments couriered by Alan, who admitted this in his book, and they patronised Abe’s strip joints and illegal nightclubs.

Despite a lackadaisical police investigation into the disappearance of Juanita Nielsen and the progressive NSW BLF branch taken over and neutered by Askin’s yesman, Norm Gallagher, it was the revelation that organised criminals were involved in NSW construction projects that ultimately shone a spotlight on a dirty industry and weakened Askin’s powerful influence.

On 14 May 1976 the ALP won NSW elections and directed state investments away from high-rise offices and apartments into public transport.

In 1977 the NSW Heritage Council was formed and empowered to provide permanent protection to buildings and parkland via conservation orders. This reduced the need for builders’ unions to police construction projects by acting as a de-facto defender of the state’s environment and heritage.

HubARTS

Instead of touring her new record Atkins has been stuck at home doing live streams (See p.11)

SILVER GULL PLAY AWARD LIVES ON

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he iconic Silver Gull Play Award has found a new home at New Theatre. The award was previously supported by an independent theatre company, but now with its new home it will continue to support and encourage NSW playwrights.

The Silver Gull Play Award was originally created to help upcoming playwrights and celebrate new Australian work. After five successful years being hosted by Subtlenuance. Artistic Directors of Subtlenuancce, Paul Gilchrist and Daniela Girogi, issued a statement on their website explaining their decision to no longer host the award.

“We’ve decided that Subtlenuance, with its nonmainstream aesthetic, political, and philosophical values, is not the most appropriate company to host a literary award.”

OA | TV: OPERA AUSTRALIA ON DEMAND

Artwork: Michael Tonkin

Thankfully, The Buzz From Sydney, that had been previously sponsoring the award agreed to continue funding the scholarship and New Theatre agreed to host the award. Artistic Director at New Theatre, Louise Fischer, is excited to have secured this partnership.

“I’ve always been passionate about developing new work, but it is often cost-prohibitive,” says Fischer, “So New Theatre is hugely grateful for The Buzz’s generosity.”

The Silver Gull Play Award 2020 will recognise an outstanding play by an NSW-based writer that aligns with New Theatre’s commitment to producing ‘Plays With A Purpose,’ and grant the recipient $5000 in prize money. Most importantly the Silver Gull Play Award will continue to enable new talent to share new stories.

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SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY VIRTUAL CLASSES

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he arts and entertainment industry in this country has taken a massive hit due to the Coronavirus, just as the sports industry has, but unlike the NRL players whining about vaccinations and refusing to take it on the chin in the name of the game, many arts and entertainment companies are working hard to find ways of adapting and evolving with the times.

Professional dancers, for example, rehearse day in and day out in pursuit of perfection just as football players spend hours and hours training. A dancer’s body too is equally fit and toned as that of a football player.

Good dancers start young. Very young.

Sydney Dance Company has trained many such dancers over the years including Paul Mercurio of Strictly Ballroom fame.

“We have a genuine connection with our students. Classes are not prerecorded but are live streamed. The emphasis is on fun and not just on outcomes,” said Polly Brett, head of

Lily Sophia-Dashwood

open programs. “When students enter the virtual class the teacher chats with them first about their learning needs. Youth classes are capped and we make sure that each student gets individual attention with pointers on technique and style.”

Launching their Virtual Dance Studio in March, Sydney Dance Company was

ahead of the game with their classes.

The chance to learn dance techniques and practice new dance moves in your very own home with, excuse the pun, step by step guidance is an opportunity not to be missed. (RLD) Unlimited Virtual Classes $28 per week. Info: www.sydneydancecompany.com

Dame Joan Merry Widow 1988.

Photo: William Moseley

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pera Australia’s extensive collection of live performance recordings will now be live streamed for free through the new online streaming service OA | TV. Artistic director, Lyndon Terracini spoke of this free on demand service as something he had always wanted to launch prior to “this devastating time for the company not being able to perform live.”

“But to see Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour filmed the way it looks in movie theatres around the world and all these amazing live performances of Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland that you can’t see in the theatre anymore is incredibly exciting,” Terracini said.

Besides live performances, also available on the service is a series of chat show style interviews with Lyndon Terracini, as he meets some of the most interesting artists and key backstage crew in sharing with the audience a unique “behind the scenes” of their exclusive dance and singing performances live from the studio.

“I’d be hearing about their life stories and finding out what makes them tick, they all have amazing stories that I think the audience would be really interested to hear.”

While unable to perform live, Opera Australia will be continually sharing weekly content with opera fans, Opera in Sydney Opera house, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, Best Of Dame Joan Sutherland, and interviews with Lyndon Terracini through OA | TV free of charge during this difficult time. (KC) Info: www.opera.org.au CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020

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ISOPHOTOGRAPHY

AND RECONCILING WITH THE NEW NORMAL

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SOphotography means exactly what you would think. A linking of objects or subjects in isolation through the lens of a camera. The concept is an idea that is based on mindfulness and is being explored as a means of self expression in a time when many of us are lost for words. Karen Merry, a former teacher and now a corporate photographer, has developed this idea into a whole new form of therapy and is interested in using ISOphotography to help others cope with anxiety.

As a professional photographer Merry has managed to combine her skills to help

others and is in the process of developing a step by step training program on the art of ISOphotography which she plans to present on Zoom. This will include the practice of choosing a subject along with the alignment of shapes and the right lighting conditions to express a feeling, mood, emotion or all three at the same time.

It is a lot more than just taking a snap with a mobile phone and involves really studying what it is people intend to photograph and the way in which their choices express what is going on inside them. Then, of course, there is the editing

and processing which may include special effects or the overlapping of im-ages.

For example Merry explained, “I was going through a very difficult time with a relationship and for some strange reason I was drawn to prickly things in the environment for my photographs. It helped me identify my feelings.”

Her advice to those seeking to use their photography skills to capture a moment in time which best illu-minates what is going on with the inner self is as follows.

“Anchor your awareness in the present moment by framing your image, photograph it as if seeing it for the first time and allow the moment to be exactly as it is without judgment. Mental health professionals define something as therapeutic if it enhances insight into yourself, promotes the awareness and expression of feelings, and moves you into new, more helpful directions.” (RLD) For more info head to www.merryimages.com.au

GEORGE STREET CINEMAS TO BE DEMOLISHED

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ydney’s iconic George Street Cinemas have been earmarked for demolition following the City of Sydney’s approval of two Mirvac development applications to be constructed on the site. In its place two new mixed use towers, approximately 150 and 270 metres tall, will rise into the Sydney skyline.

These two new towers will be comprised of commercial spaces, a child-care facility, hotel accommodation, 507 residential apartments and a boutique cinema.

Currently the site plays host to the

Event Cinema complex which boasts 4,170 seats across 16 screens, the largest room seating 805 patrons.

According to planning documents procured by the City Hub the proposed new cinema complex will see those numbers fall to just 262 seats across four screens, with the largest room seating 166 people.

Whilst this is a significant change as the development applications of both Mirvac and Event Hospitality stated, ”There are no applicable planning provisions requiring retention of the

existing cinema or provision of new cinema of the same size.”

The George Street cinemas have been an institution of the city since the 1970s, playing host to countless movie premieres and red carpet events. This proposed redevelopment will undoubtedly see a shift in the city’s film scene and the cinema going experience, a sentiment echoed by City

of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

“It’s still special to go out to the movies, but the way we do that is very different to when cinemas on this site were in their heyday,” she said. “New cinema developments at Broadway and Central Park are indicative of the change to a model where theatres seat a smaller audience, in a more intimate setting.” (JA)

SYDNEY SOUTH AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL “South Africa is a land of great beauty, tragedy, vibrancy, complexity, humanity, and colour. It’s rich in unique stories that need to be told, which is why it produces outstanding cinema,” explained Festival Director Claire Jankelson. (MMo)

HOT PICKS Beyond Moving

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he Sydney South African Film Festival is one of the first film festivals to go online nationally this year as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the country.

With a program of only four feature films, four documentaries, and one short, it’s a virtual film festival offering a limited program to ensure that only the most insightful and highest quality films are screened.

The films will be followed by interviews with the directors, and viewers will also have the opportunity to connect with the filmmakers in Q&A sessions.

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BEYOND MOVING – A documentary which delves on a young boy’s gifted talent in ballet. He ultimately gains recognition in the professional world of ballet. A Billy Elliot style story.

JOHNNY GLEGG, THE WHITE ZULU – Music enthusiasts should enjoy the story of one of South African’s most prominent musicians.

FIELA’S CHILD – A drama about a mixed-race woman who takes in a lost child only to lose him years later to a family of woodcutters who claim he’s their son.

May 16-26. Screening online. $8.00 per view. Info & Screenings: www.ssaff.org.au

Photo: Tracy Allison

HubARTS

NICOLE ATKINS

BY JAMIE APPS inger-songwriter Nicole Atkins should have been on the road touring with her upcoming album Italian Ice for the last month. Instead she has been locked down at home in Nashville doing weekly live streamed concerts. This streaming process has been aided by her incredibly supportive fans via crowd funding platform Patreon as Atkins ramps up towards the albums official release May 30.

Speaking to City Hub from Nashville amidst the lockdown Atkins said, “I’ve kind of disassociated with the pandemic, particularly all of the bad stuff and weirdness that is coming along with it.” For Atkins this strange and historic time is reminiscent of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 crime film, Goodfellas. “I kind of think of it like the movie Goodfellas when they’re all in jail but they’re cooking really good food, it kind of reminds me of that. My husband and I have been staying in the house, cooking tons of food.”

Conveniently for Atkins her husband has

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actually been her “secret weapon” in this new live streaming world. Atkins’ husband is a sound technician who has been able to assist her in bringing her live streaming endeavours to a level which would have otherwise been unattainable had she been going it alone.

Together Atkins says she and her husband are relishing having these weekly live streams to work towards each week.

“Every week these streams give us a project to figure out the best way to present these songs.

I live for entertaining, my favourite thing to do is to make something out of nothing... Working with the restrictions that are currently in place forces you to be more creative and in fact almost makes it easier to be creative.”

However, none of this would be possible without the support and backing of her fanbase. Just before COVID-19 hit Atkins launched her Patreon page to help fund her music career and support her whilst touring.

“I mulled it over for a year before I launched it because I wanted it to be right. I wanted to offer something really cool in exchange,

CUSTARD - RESPECT ALL LIFEFORMS

I so I kept thinking about old comic book fan clubs and the cool stuff you’d get from those,” explained Atkins. “I’m a visual artists as well so I found a way to combine my illustrations with my music and launched the Patreon two weeks before we were supposed to go on tour, which was coincidently when the lockdown happened.”

Patreon was built on the idea of patronage for renaissance artists which Atkins believes is making a resurgence in the current climate, “people are finally coming around to understand that without grass roots support from fans artists can’t do what they do. A group of a few hundred people putting in $3 a piece can totally change everything.”

Streaming every Saturday at www.smarturl.it/NatkinsFunhouse

ndie rock fans can rejoice – Custard is releasing its latest album Respect All Lifeforms. ​A music video for the album’s leading single, Funky Again, has already been released and delivers on all artistic levels from an intriguing jazzy sound to striking visual appeal.

Appropriate for our time, the music video features social distancing along with two of Custard’s other favourites: Jacobean architecture and late 70s New York funk.

Respect All Lifeforms is Custard’s eighth album and will contain eleven fresh tracks, including titles like Couple’s Fight and A Cat Called No. (EE) WWW1/2

The Good Neighbour Project Supporting responsible cat ownership Protecting wildlife and feline welfare Keeping your cat happy and healthy Join our Good Neighbour Project. Visit catprotection.org.au

Rehoming Organisation Number R251000224 CITY HUB 21 MAY 2020

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