INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

Glebe community celebrates affordable housing win

Bad behaviour from councillor forces meeting to close

SCHAPELLE, SCHAPELLE: Infamous Schapelle Corby in musical form

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

IndieNEWS

Balmain locals lend a hand to the Hawkesbury

BY KATE RAFFERTY t the time of the Hawkesbury floods, the Warragamba Dam was spilling a Sydney Harbour’s worth of water, about 460 gigalitres, into the Sydney basin each day.

While that flood water from the HunterNepean Valley filled the dam, rain battered the NSW coast, washing away homes, businesses and land.

As the devastation stretched on, Ella Kay, a resident of Balmain and full-time nanny, decided to run a supplies drop-off to the Hawkesbury region.

“Just seeing how many people had been affected and how much they had lost, I thought I’d organise something small to help out” said Ms. Kay. Ms. Kay put a call out over Facebook to locals in Balmain, which was soon flooded with messages from locals wanting to help.

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“I put out a few posts saying I wanted to do a small drop-off when the water goes down, and the response was amazing,” she said.

Quickly, local residents were dropping off bags of supplies at Ms Kay’s house, from blankets, towels and sheets, to dog beds.

“Everyone was so generous, just giving anything they could,” she said.

“Wall’s Pharmacy at Balmain even donated boxes of sanitary items, hand sanitiser, shampoo and more”.

With so many willing to help, Ella’s small online call-out turned into a three-time trip to the Hawkesbury and surrounding areas, in a Bunnings van packed to the brim.

“We asked Bunnings if we could hire a van, because we had so many bags in the house my partner and I couldn’t actually move” said Ms. Kay.

Everyone was so generous, just giving anything they could “They were also incredibly generous. I walked around with two girls, Eliza and Bec who just said “take whatever you need”.”

Back and forth from Balmain to the suburbs of Windsor, Sackville, Wilberforce and more, Ella and her mum dropped off supplies to families, businesses and animal shelters that had been soaked by the floods.

Home working?

Drop-off at Blacktown Animal Holding Facility. Photo: Ella Kay

COMMUNITY GENEROSITY COMMENDED The Hawkesbury Animal Shelter was one institution thankful for the helping hand.

“Our shelter staff have been able to use the blankets donated to clean up, and also for the dogs at night, as it begins to get cooler” said Linda Perrine, Director of City Planning at Hawkesbury City Council.

“We’re thankful to Ella for rounding up the donations during this flood recovery and we appreciate the generosity of the people who donated”.

While the act of giving can sometimes seem small, Ms. Kay says a little goes a long way.

“There was such a great spirit amongst the community, and everyone was so grateful for the donations.

“It’s why I’ve always been interested in giving back.

“I have a Samoan background and my Nana, who I was very close to, would always try to help people in any way. I’ve taken that on as well” she said.

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Callan Park pooch policy under review

BY ALLISON HORE allan Park in Balmain has been a popular spot for off-leash dog walking for decades.

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Some days, when community sports aren’t being run, dog owners and their best friends are the only ones making use of the 60-hectare parkland.

IndieARTS:

A NIGHT OF UNDERGROUND FOLK MUSIC As live music returns around Sydney local concert venues are helping to rebuild local communities.

(See p. 22)

Published monthly and freely available throughout the Inner West.

Copies are also distributed to serviced apartments, hotels, convenience stores and newsagents throughout the Inner West local council area.

Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677.

Published by Altmedia Pty Ltd. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, we take no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions.

ABN 52 600 903 348 Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Publisher Assistant: Mal Moody Group News Editor: Allison Hore Arts Editor: Jamie Apps Contributors: Allison Hore, Peter Hehir, Daniel Lo Surdo, Eva Baxter, Rachel Clark, Georgia Robinson, Mark Morellini, Soofia Tariq, Jamie Apps, Irina Dunn, Renee Lou Dallow, Olga Azar, Patrick McKenzie Advertising Managers: Mal Moody 0484 042 615 Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au Cover Photo: Supplied. Ange Lavoipierre Zealot Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: news@altmedia.net.au, arts@altmedia.net.au Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633

If you have a story, or any comments you’d like to share with us: news@altmedia.net.au

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

Technically speaking, off-leash dog walking in the park is illegal outside designated zones. And the NSW Government’s Greater Sydney Parklands Authority, who recently took control of the park, has warned dog owners they could cop a fine.

Although Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne has made it clear council has no intention to enforce the off-leash dog bans, which he calls a “ridiculous solution to a non existent problem”, the looming threat of fines has some owners concerned.

“For many years, members of the public have been able to walk their dogs offleash in Callan Park because it is exactly the sort of place where dogs can run freely without interfering with other park users,” said Mr. Byrne.

“All of a sudden this new agency has decided that their first order of business is to start handing out fines to dog walkers, which is absurd and totally unnecessary.”

But things may be set for change.

A pair of pooches who regularly walk off leash in Callan Park. Photo: Allison Hore

A new Companion Animals Management Plan is being drafted for the park and, if dog-lovers get their way, it may pave the way for legal off-leash dog play in the park.

Speaking on ABC radio, Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said he did not request nor support the issuing of fines for anything other than “behaviour that is illegal and dangerous.”

He said it is the role of the council to fulfill their responsibilities, but agreed it would be “ridiculous” for the council to target dog owners.

DOG OWNERS DEFIANT Despite the official rules, the community has been using other parts of the park, including the harbourside beaches, as off-leash play areas for decades.

Balmain local, Emma Carr, has been walking her dogs at Callan Park since she got them as puppies, “five and a bit years ago.” She said she and her pooches have had “wonderful experiences” with other dogs in the park.

“I’ve had such lovely interactions with other people, especially other dog owners, in Callan Park,” she explained.

“It really makes me feel like part of a close knit community, which was a lovely thing to find when I’d just moved halfway around the world from London!”

Although the dog-walking community has concerns about fines following the announcement, Ms. Carr said she has not seen an increase in council inspectors fining people for walking dogs off-leash and, in all her time walking her dogs there, she has never received a fine herself.

ROB STOKES BARKS BACK

The NSW Government has assured dog owners they are not cracking down on canines.

It really makes me feel like part of a close knit community Throughout April, Greater Sydney Parklands held a number of workshops for pet owners to help inform the new companion animal plan which they say will provide “clear direction on managing dogs in Callan Park.”

Mr. Stokes said through their consultation on the management plan, the parklands authority is “doing the opposite” of banning dogs.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that Callan Park is being properly managed, it hasn’t been for years because it hasn’t had a body to look after it with clear rules,” he explained.

“The reality is, as the law currently stands dogs are supposed to be on leashes. We want to make sure that it’s legal and it’s possible for dogs to be offleash.”

DRAFTING A POLICY

When the consultation period ends in May, Greater Sydney Parklands will outline a draft management plan will identify suitable on-leash and off-leash areas for the park, as well as detail what amenities need to be provided to better facilitate pets.

Suggested amenities include more bins around the park and plastic bag dispensers so owners can properly dispose of their dog’s waste. Bubblers with built in dog bowls and fenced off areas- either for dogs or those who wish to avoid dogs- have also been suggested.

And it’s not only dog owners rallying behind the plan. The Balmain and District Football Club has also given a thumbs up to the proposal for a mix of off-leash, on-leash and time share spaces at the park.

Louisa Larkin, creator of the Callan Park Dog Lovers group, said the support of sporting groups like the football club would enable dog walkers to “legitimately use Callan Park’s green open spaces and dog beach off-leash.”

Ms. Carr hopes that whatever comes of the plan, local people will be able to enjoy the park in a variety of ways, including off-leash dog walking, for many years to come.

“I would like to see a continuation of the current use of Callan Park, so dogs can be walked off leash, children can play sports, the grounds and buildings are protected and the importance of the park as a cherished community hub is maintained,” she said.

Addi Road Writers' An Unruly Festival 2021 Idea We call this a writers’ festival and intend to highlight the literary skills of the best writers we can find, most especially those working locally.

But we are also interested in broader communications, especially at a time when the relationship between individual identity and social engagement is under so much surveillance and pressure.

Addi Road Writers’ Festival 2021 is a new literary and storytelling event in Sydney’s inner west. Created by Addison Road Community Organisation, it functions as an unofficial fringe festival and creative alternative to the Sydney Writers Festival.

Our inaugural theme, ‘An Unruly Idea’, reflects the rebellious spirit and formative energy: looking to stir up conversation and change; and only just being born as we write to you now. We hope this feeling of making it happen close to the edge never leaves us.

Of late, the great French-Algerian author Albert Camus has come back into our vision through his strangely timely novel, The Plague. His messages remain as strong as ever: the ends do not justify the means, and the role of the rebel – even in a struggle that may be impossible to win – is to rebel, nonetheless.

Without voices of dissent and protest, we lose our humanity and are already defeated. In fighting and speaking up, one’s humanity is sustained. This is what makes writers and storytelling so important.

There are four wings to the event: Politics, Music, Poetry and Media. The date for the festival, May 1st, coincides with May Day, also known as Labour Day. One of the agonies of disempowerment and poverty is being denied a voice. At least one panel will reflect on growing social inequality, unemployment and the erosion of labour rights, and the stories of those

who are shut conversations.

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public

Other panels include ‘Blood on the Tracks’, a discussion of rock ‘n’ roll lives with Paul Kelly and Nick Cave biographers, Stuart Coupe and Mark Mordue; ‘Ghosts in the Machine’, an enquiry into citizen journalism and the media with Wendy Bacon and Sonya Voumard; and ‘Lawyers, Puns and Money’, a deep-dive into creative legal issues and dilemmas with John Corker, former CEO of the Australian Pro Bono Centre, and Ross Duncan, a former senior lawyer for the ABC who has worked with Four Corners and The Chaser. Poets and musicians like Ali Whitelock, Tug Dumbly, Eliza Jean Scott and the band Polly will perform. A full list of guests and panels is being announced on social media and at www.addiroad.org.au Based at the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville, Addi Road Writers’ Festival 2021 will be held in our Gumbramorra Hall, with plenty of space outside on the Green to picnic and relax. Koshari Korner, serving delicious vegan Egyptian street-food, is right beside the Hall. It’s a family-friendly and pet-friendly environment.

Please join us Saturday 1st May, from 12 to 6pm. Entry is free.

Addi Road NAIDOC Week Artspace Award

Hair Thee Well?

Thanks to the generosity of volunteer community hairdresser Marilyn Moss, we are able to offer free (or pay-what-you-can) haircuts every Friday from 12 noon at the Addi Road Food Pantry. This service is part of our regular mini-hubs known as Community.a.Fair, where local services and community come together in a relaxed setting. Complimentary tea and coffee, snacks and music are on offer, so please join us to get information and enjoy a chat or a spruce-up before or after your low-cost food-rescue shopping session.

Where: Addi Road Food Pantry Marrickville, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville When: every Friday from 12 – 4pm What: Community.a.Fair mini-hub

Addison Road Community Organisation is delighted to announce the creation of a new opportunity for Indigenous artists to showcase their work during NAIDOC Week. The Award is intended to provide both a platform for creative community engagement and an economic opportunity for an Indigenous solo artist, art collective or studio grouping.

Addison Road Community Organisation (ARCO) is based in Marrickville on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. As part of our commitment to acknowledging and supporting the ongoing struggle for justice, rights and recognition by Indigenous Australians, we are dedicating our 80-square-metre exhibition space, the StirrUp Gallery annually for use by Indigenous artists.

• Opportunity to sell work or merchandise with no commission charged.

• Promotional and planning support for a community-engagement activity run by the artist/group during the exhibition period.

Applications for the 2021 Award are due by the 30th of April, 2021.

To apply for the Addi Road NAIDOC Week Artspace Award please contact stirrupgallery@addiroad.org.au or visit www.addiroad.org.au

The Addi Road NAIDOC Week Artspace Award in 2021 offers: • Exclusive use of StirrUp Gallery from 4th 25th July 2021, valued at more than $1800.

• Promotional support for the chosen project through ARCO’s digital media channels.

• Support for a launch/opening event for the chosen project.

INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Glebe estate a ‘much-needed win’ bordering estates subject to renewal.

“I think [Cowper and Wentworth Park’s] symbolic of what should happen on all sites in the inner-city that the government owns,” Engeler said.

“When I hear the word reimagining, I hear behind that great possibilities; never say never, it’s amazing what can happen when people work together.”

Shelter NSW Senior Policy Officer Cathy Callaghan echoed the sentiments of her colleague, understanding that the waves of activism to be the driving force in delivering stronger outcomes for the inner-city community.

“We’re concerned that Communities Plus has become code for complacency, and when we look at these sites, I think the residents there really put the spotlight on it and probably got a few of the planners back in Land and Housing to pull out the files and have a look,” Callaghan told Inner West Independent.

Public housing residents have rallied to save their block in South Eveleigh. Photo: Daniel Lo Surdo

By DANIEL LO SURDO evised plans for housing renewal on Glebe’s Cowper Street and Wentworth Park Road have been heralded as an important victory for social housing tenants in the City of Sydney Local Government Area.

NSW Government Minister for Water, Property & Housing Melinda Pavey announced last month its intentions to deliver 100 per cent new social housing on Cowper Street and Wentworth Park Road, with a total of 75 new homes to be completed, including five three-bedroom terrace homes for larger families.

Behind, and across from the terrace houses, will be two eight-storey woolstore-style apartment buildings designed by architect Johnson Pilton Walker. Both buildings would have communal rooftop gardens for residents and non-residential ground floor spaces.

Walker’s design was selected after a competitive process which four design teams were invited to participate in.

Under the Communities Plus program, the $34 million estate was originally fixtured for renewal under a mixedtenure approach, whereby approximately 70 per cent of housing would be privatised.

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COMMUNITY ACTIVISM

Shelter NSW CEO John Engeler believes the decision to be indicative of an array of community participation transcending those living in social housing.

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“We’re very emboldened and I see it as a much-needed win,” Engeler told the Inner West Independent.

“Cowper and Wentworth, within a couple of weeks, went from being close to a Communities Plus model to being 100 per cent social housing … and I think we would all be in agreement in saying it wasn’t just one piece of activism, but a whole tapestry of activism working together … to impact and affect that change.”

We’re very emboldened and I see it as a much-needed win Alterations made to the Glebe estate will now offer further and mixed-density dwellings for social housing tenants.

“The re-imagination of the project from mixed-tenure to 100 percent social will provide additional homes for people in need and provide the Government with greater flexibility to help bring forward other redevelopment projects in the City of Sydney,” a Land and Housing spokesperson told the Independent. “[The project] will deliver more social housing that is much better aligned to tenant requirements and demand.”

NSW Parliament Member for Balmain Jamie Parker praised his constituents for their efforts in establishing stronger social housing outcomes in Glebe.

“The community made clear that taking public land and effectively privatising

70 per cent of it was unacceptable.

This decision demonstrates that community action can and does change government decisions,” Parker said.

“I’ve been so proud to see the support for public housing tenants and the effort to maintain our diverse community.”

A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE

With Cowper and Wentworth Park Road the first of the City of Sydney’s social housing facilities to be renewed without private dwellings, Engeler hopes the decision will serve as a model for

“These are huge, valuable blocks of land and we believe every site and every community in NSW deserve a customised look at that site; about the value of the land, the value of future development, what the local area needs, and what’s the capacity of the site financially, commercially, to deliver something better for people in general.”

As part of the NSW Government’s Future Directions for Social Housing, almost 4,300 new homes across the City of Sydney Local Government Area will be delivered, with about 1,300 remaining social housing dwellings.

How the decision to rework the Wentworth Park Road development into one that is 100 percent social housing will impact similar renewal schemes remains to be seen.

Concept art for the new development on Wentworth Park Road and Cowper Street in Glebe.

Photo: NSW Government

IndieNEWS

Inner West Council GM calls it quits F

BY ALLISON HORE ollowing mayor Darcy Byrne’s referral of his own council to the auditor general over its handling of the Dawny refurbishment, a senior official in the Inner West Council has decided to call it quits.

In an email sent to council staff, acting general manager of the Inner West Council, Brian Barrett, announced he would be leaving the role earlier than intended following difficulties dealing with the mayor.

The mayor’s decision [...] was for me an enormous betrayal Mr. Barrett was appointed into the role on a temporary basis in October last year. He had planned to stay on until the end of April, when the council was able to find someone more permanent, however, he has now pulled his resignation forward to the 9th of April.

His decision to bow out of the role early comes after Darcy Byrne

Council GM Brian Barrett (pictured) has called it quits after Darcy Byrne referred council to the auditor. Photos: Inner West Council

decided to refer council staff to the auditor general over the delayplagued refurbishment of the Dawn Fraser baths in Balmain. Mr. Barret said the move was an “enormous

betrayal” to council staff.

“It will come as no surprise to all of you that the mayor’s unilateral decision to write to the AuditorGeneral in relation to the Dawn Fraser Baths project was for me an enormous betrayal of the executive and staff,” he said in the email.

Mr. Barrett was the General Manager of the Marrickville Council between 2013 and 16, before the council was forcibly amalgamated into the Inner West council.

Since amalgamation, the Inner West Council has seen a revolving door of management, with CEO Michael Deegan resigning last year following allegations of corruption and a rocky relationship with Mayor Byrne.

Elizabeth Richardson stepped into the role of acting CEO, she is the fourth chief executive since the council amalgamated.

BATH BACKLASH

The delay to the reopening of the baths, initially planned for boxing day last year, has caused widespread backlash from the community. But

earlier in March, Mayor Byrne wrote to NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford requesting she probe the council staff’s handling of the restoration works.

“While I am very proud to have fought for and delivered the full funding that has secured the future of our famous pool, the ongoing delays to the reopening, which the community was promised would take place last year, have been unacceptable,” Mr. Byrne said.

“This is simply not good enough and in the interests of transparency and probity I have referred the management of the project for independent investigation.”

Following Mr. Barrett’s departure, Peter Gainsford was announced as the new general manager of Inner West Council. Mr Gainsford is currently the general manager of the City of Canada Bay and was previously Deputy General Manager Assets and Environment at Inner West Council.

“I am really looking forward to coming back to Inner West Council as General Manager,” he said.

INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Tunnel works threaten Aboriginal sites

Harbourside spot Yurulbin Park in Birchgrove will be closed down for years. Photo: Sydney New Years Eve

BY EVA BAXTER urulbin Park is set to become a construction site until mid-2025 to support work on the underwater tunnel connecting the Inner West to North Sydney through Birchgrove.

Yurulbin Park in Birchgrove was chosen as the location for the Western Harbour Tunnel works to avoid impacting nearby sporting activities in Birchgrove Oval.

Four Aboriginal cultural sites are identified at Yurulbin Point - Long Nose Point, Yurulbin Cave, Shed Cave and Five Hands Shelter. At these locations, evidence of etchings and middens show the Gadigal and Wanegal people, whose lands Yurulbin Point lay close to the border of, used the waterfront for fishing and conducting feasts.

Deborah Lennis, D’harawal woman, local Elder, and cultural advisor to the CEO of Inner West Council, said there are sites of significance to be found along the harbour foreshore.

“We lived there, we fished there, we were saltwater people,” she explained.

Deborah said the Aboriginal community has been trying to achieve consistent signage in the area to inform the community about the history of the sites and their significance.

She said turning the park into a construction site will affect a project council had planned – three survival memorials in the local government area to stress that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community has “had a lot thrown at us but we’re still surviving.”

The first memorial in Yurulbin Park would express that the Aboriginal community is the oldest living culture, followed by a memorial in Ashfield about “crappy white policies,” and the shared history of Australia, and a final memorial in Marrickville or Tempe to show that the community is still growing, thriving, and surviving.

But the construction of the tunnel has interrupted the way Deborah had planned to tell this story.

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An environmental report by Transport for NSW said they engaged with local Aboriginal parties throughout the development of the design and assessments and held two Aboriginal focus groups. It said no sites are directly impacted by the project but “they will ensure to protect vulnerable sites” by adjusting work methods to prevent damage.

There are sites of significance to be found along the harbour foreshore Transport for NSW told the Independent, Inner West Council did not raise a memorial in its submission on the project’s environmental statement.

It said Council plans to erect memorials within their area, either separate to the project or following its completion, is a matter and at the discretion of Inner West Council.

A map showing the layout of the construction site at Yurulbin Park. Photo: Transport for NSW

INQUIRY INTO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Deborah’s concern, along with others in the community, besides the loss of open

A map showing the location of the tunnel as well as the significant Indigenous sites in Yurulbin Point.

Photo: Transport for NSW

space, is the contamination that will be pulled from the harbour foreground during construction.

A temporary cofferdam will be constructed in Yurulbin Point, which could potentially impact the tidal and current flows in the harbour. The seabed profiling and piling may reduce water quality and disturb contaminated sediments. Spoil removed from Yurulbin Point will be transported via barge to Glebe Island and then transported by truck. 55 trees are to be directly affected.

An inquiry into the potential economic and environmental impacts of the tunnel has been launched in NSW upper house. The effect on Yurulbin point is one of the factors that will be investigated.

The indicative timeframe for the construction site according to the environmental report is 2021 – mid 2025, after which the site will be restored and upgraded in consultation with the original landscape architect Bruce Mackenzie AM to bring his original vision of the park to life.

Groundwater and landfill monitoring is being carried out at Yurulbin Point between the 19th and 24th of April.

IndieNEWS

Climate in crisis and trees “massacred”

BY GEORGIA ROBINSON n areas with less green cover, and more hard surfaces to radiate heat, the Urban Heat Island Effect is increasing.

And with Inner West council tree policies leading to a shrinking canopy cover, the problem is only set to get worse.

But Jamie Parker, Greens member for Balmain, has started a petition- ‘Protect the Inner West Tree Canopy’- in hopes that the management plan will be changed, sooner rather than later.

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We should be planting more trees not making it easier to destroy them “Trees make our city more beautiful and liveable by providing cleaner air, reducing heat and creating habitat for wildlife,” he said.

The Tree DCP which was amended in late 2019, saw the conditions for tree removal on private and public land become considerably more lenient, with residents granted permission to remove trees within two metres of their properties, without Council approval.

The changed planning controls also

allow trees to be removed in order to allow for developments, as well as not requiring property owners to replace removed trees. This saw a massive increase in tree removals from 409 trees in 2018, to a staggering 915 trees in 2020, a statistic which some consider to be evidence of a ‘tree massacre.’

Although the council has dedicated a considerable budget to replanting trees, Pauline Lockie, told the Inner West Independent “Council staff made it clear to us when the Tree DCP was changed that they didn’t have the resources to follow up on replacement plantings, and that’s still the case.”

HEAT ISLAND PREVENTION

The Urban Heat Island Effect sees urban areas becoming hotter as a result of heat reflecting off hard urban surfaces.

Areas with low tree canopy cover get hotter as the natural cooling system is limited. The Inner West is one of these areas with a total tree canopy cover of around only 17 percent.

Although the council outlines a plan to reduce and contain the effect, the Tree Management Development Control Plan currently in place only worsens it.

Greens member for Balmain, Jamie Parker, has started a petition against the tree felling policy. Photo: Jamie Parker

“The Inner West already has a poor canopy cover, it’s getting worse and that will persist for several decades”, Jeff Angel from Total Environment Centre told the Inner West Independent.

To increase the overall tree canopy cover and in effect reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect, more trees need to be planted than removed, and the trees being planted need to be mature trees with a significant canopy.

Although many are on board with the push to change the policy, Lockie says it

ultimately depends on Labor councillors changing their position. Mr. Parker agrees, and urges members of the public who are concerned to get behind the petition.

“In the age of climate change we should be planting more trees not making it easier to destroy them,” he said.

“Sign the petition to tell Labor and Liberal Councillors you want to protect the Inner West tree canopy.” www.jamieparker.org/tree

It’s Time For Holistic Consent Education in our Schools [TW: Discussion of sexual assault] If you’ve been reading the news this month you will agree that there is a problem with the way we are dealing with consent and sexual assault in NSW. The recent initiative started by a former school student under the banner Teach Us Consent saw thousands of testimonies of sexual assault amoungst young people in highschool settings. This has brought into focus the catastrophic failings in the way that consent is taught in our school curriculum.

Thousands of current and former NSW highschool students have now come forward to bravely disclose their experiences of sexual assault while at school, as well as their opinions of the consent education they received which they have shown to be severely lacking. @jennyleong.newtown

It is clear from these testimonials that the systemic lack of understanding of consent amongst young people has led both to lax attitudes towards assault from perpetrators and those in positions of authority, and to general responses of victim blaming, even from survivors themselves. Giving young people a thorough understanding of respect and consent at the right time is vital in dismantling toxic attitudes towards women and sexual activity in general.

Consent education is not a new concept, and it is well past time that the NSW Government brings together experts and young people to develop consent curriculum that is age appropriate, culturally sensitive and effective.

That is why our office is so pleased to sponsor a NSW Parliament e-petition from Teach Us Consent @jennyleong

to bring this matter to the NSW Parliament as soon as possible. The petition has been backed by women MPs from across the political spectrum and requires 20,000 signatures to trigger a debate in the Legislative Assembly on the need for earlier and more holistic consent education in our schools.

Scan the code to sign the petition now.

SCAN ME

Yours sincerely,

Jenny Leong MP Greens Member for Newtown

@jennyleong.newtown

INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Call for Liberals to disendorse “homophobic” councillor

BY ALLISON HORE nner West mayor, Darcy Byrne, is calling on members of the Liberal party to disavow a homophobic councillor and not endorse her as a candidate in the upcoming local council elections.

Councillor Julie Passas, who has served for almost two decades, was found guilty of “unlawful homosexual vilification” in 2019, and ordered her to pay $2,500 in compensation to her neighbour. Now, Mayor Byrne is calling for the Liberal party to oppose her candidacy in the September council elections.

“I call on Gladys Berejiklian, Dominic Perrottet and the State Director of the Liberal Party to intervene today to cancel Councillor Passas’ nomination as a Liberal candidate,” he told the Inner West Independent.

“No-one who homosexually vilifies their neighbour should be in public office in the Inner West or anywhere else.”

Mr. Byrne said as well as flying in the face of the progressive values of the Inner West, the “beating heart of Sydney’s LGBTIQ community,” her behaviour goes against the NSW Liberal party’s new code of conduct, which was revealed in early March.

“The NSW Liberal Party recently adopted, with great fanfare, a new Code of Conduct that has a zero-tolerance approach to vilification of any kind,” said Mayor Byrne.

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“HOMOSEXUAL VILIFICATION”

The Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s ruling against Ms. Passas was over an incident in November of 2017 where she asked her neighbour, Daniel Comensoli, to remove a rainbow flag he had hung from his balcony in the Ashfield town house complex they both lived in.

According to Mr. Comensoli, Ms. Passas said the flag was “offensive to [her] culture and religion” and said he should not have the right to marry until he “could breastfeed and have children.”

The attack continued the next day, and Mr. Comensoli made a formal complaint to police about her “distressing” behaviour. When police visited Ms. Passas’s home she was overheard telling officers “the rainbow flag was as offensive as the flag of ISIS.” Mr. Comensoli said Ms. Passas’s behaviour was at odds with the Inner West council’s moves to strengthen its support of the LGBTQI+ community.

“The Council recently resolved in a meeting to identify options that will strengthen relations with the LGBTI community and actively promote the inner west as a safe, positive and friendly place for them,” he wrote on Facebook at the time.

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

Daniel Comensoli stands in front of his Ashfield house where a rainbow flag hangs. Photo: Facebook/ Daniel Comensoli

“Passas’s behaviour fails to embody these measures in support of the LGBTI community.”

LITIGATION AND DISRUPTION

Directly after the attack, the Inner West Council took no action against Ms. Passas as they determined she was acting as a private citizen. At the time, Ms. Passas was deputy mayor of the council, a role which she had been granted in September 2017 in a deal which ensured Mr. Byrne the mayorship.

Mr. Byrne said while he knew Ms. Passas was “controversial and combative” at the time she was selected as deputy mayor, she had no known record of “homosexual vilification.”

No-one who homosexually vilifies their neighbour should be in public office He added he was also unaware of Ms. Passas’s history of disruptive behaviour in the pre-amalgamation Ashfield council.

In January 2017, Ms. Passas was barred from holding public office for 3 months after refusing to leave the council chamber on 12 different occasions when she was ejected for breaches of the Code of Meeting practice.

Ms. Passas’s legal troubles as a councillor go all the way back to 2003, when she was ordered to pay $100,000 in legal costs to then-Ashfield mayor, Mark Bonano. Ms. Passas sought a Personal Violence Order against the mayor but her application was rejected

by the Local Court. Under appeal, the decision was upheld by the District Court.

Most recently, in July 2020, Passas was found guilty of defaming Robert Balzola, a fellow Liberal Party Member, and ordered to pay a fine of $11,213. At a Liberal party AGM in 2016, she claimed Mr. Balzola was a “criminal” who “beats his wife.”

MOTION AGAINST MAYOR

But some critics of the mayor have questioned the timing of his call to have Ms. Passas disendorsed.

In the April 13th council meeting, Ms. Passas was due to move a motion calling for Mr. Byrne to step down over ongoing performance concerns. These included his controversial move to refer his own council staff to the auditor general’s office over their handling of the renovations of the Dawn Fraser baths in Balmain. Mr. Byrne is also currently under investigation by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Ms. Passas’s motion was unable to be discussed as the council meeting was forced to be adjourned. In a discussion about aquatic center fees, Ms. Passas was interjecting and being disruptive.

Councillors voted for her to be removed, but she refused and said council should “call police on [her]” if they wanted her out.

Mr. Byrne rejected the idea he was disavowing Ms. Passas purely in relation to her motion against him.

He said the timing of his call was related to the NSW Liberal Party’s new Code of Conduct, as well as the upcoming local council elections.

He added he believed Ms. Passas’s motion to have him removed was motivated by his vocal criticism of the NSW Liberal party’s handling of the community grants fund.

“She is seeking to have me replaced by Councillor Macri, who is aligned to the Liberal Party, because she doesn’t like having a Mayor who speaks out against the shocking rorts committed by the Liberal Government in NSW,” he said.

New code of conduct Mr. Byrne said many members of the Liberal party recognise Ms. Passas’s history of homophobia and disrupting council is “embarrassing and unacceptable.”

“There should be no place for homosexual vilification in the Liberal Party or any mainstream party,” he said.

The NSW Liberal Party President, Philip Ruddock, said that a lot of work went into the development of the new code of conduct, which includes a “robust framework governing behaviour and a complaints resolution process to ensure that behaviour that falls short of the standards set out in the Code is dealt with appropriately.”

“There is no doubt that harassment and assault are completely unacceptable in any circumstances,” said Mr. Ruddock.

However, Mr. Byrne said the Code of Conduct would be meaningless if they re-endorsed Ms. Passas, who has been found guilty of defamation and vilification, as a Liberal party candidate.

“If Councillor Passas is renominated by the Liberals, then their Code of Conduct is not worth the paper it is written on.”

IndieNEWS

WestConnex cheats residents out of fair compensation

BY KATE RAFFERTY ermanent acquisition of underground land due to WestConnex construction has left property owners in the Inner West battling the government for compensation.

Under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991, governments can permanently acquire underground land, or substratum, without compensation if it is in the path of project plans.

In the case of WestConnex, this involves any underground land that falls along the route of its WestConnex link tunnel, WestConnex interchange and NorthConnex tunnel projects.

“The government has done a terrible job of communicating the impacts and the process to residents, as well as the reasons why they think residents should not be fairly compensated” he said.

“It is already an extraordinarily stressful process for people…but this government is exacerbating the problem by making residents fight tooth and nail for a fair price.”

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This project is ripping through our community and causing permanent, serious damage Member for Balmain Jamie Parker says providing adequate compensation to substrata property owners is the least the government can do.

“This project is ripping through our community and causing permanent, serious damage to homes,” he said.

“Dozens of residents have contacted me seeking help after learning their land will be acquired, and I’m supporting them”.

While the compulsory acquisition of homes is often compensated by the government for damage and legal costs, substratum is treated differently.

This is because governments work on the assumption

CLASS ACTION CONSIDERED

A house in Haberfield is gutted in preparation for demolition for WestConnex. Photo: GreenLeft

that the market value of the land is zero, and that the homeowner will not experience any damage to their property.

Yet in many cases, WestConnex tunnelling has acquired land greater than five metres under a home, posing real concern for subsidence, and damage to the foundations and walls.

For many, damage has already appeared, including cracking, which seriously devalues a property.

While it is possible for homeowners to seek compensation for potential future loss of property market value, the process is confusing, which Mr. Parker says is cheating residents out of receiving a fair hearing.

A great start at I N T E R N AT I O N A L G R A M M A R S C H O O L

Many lodged claims have already been turned down, which has led Stacks Law Firm to consider a possible class action for the acquisition of substratum by WestConnex in the Inner West.

The firm was contacted by the Inner West Independent, but was unable to comment on the action, although over 1000 clients are said to be registered.

Additionally, the NSW Greens have secured a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the acquisitions process for transport projects, including WestConnex.

Mr. Parker says the inquiry will be chaired by Greens MP Abigail Boyd, and will give a platform to affected residents.

“It’s our hope this parliamentary inquiry will give residents a chance to be heard in public, on the record,” he said.

“I’m confident it will deliver some really strong recommendations which we will push for the government to adopt”.

Submissions are now open, and the NSW Greens are encouraging locals to have their say.

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Council meeting chaos

BY ALLISON HORE echnical issues, conflict and cancellations turned the first inperson Inner West council meeting in 13 months into an “embarrassment.”

With over 40 issues on the agenda, the council meeting on Tuesday 13th of April was set to be a big one. The meeting took place in the Inner West Council’s headquarters in Petersham and the public were invited to attend.

But only 10 items into the agenda, the meeting was forced to be abandoned when councillor Julie Passas refused to leave the chamber after a vote to eject her. During a discussion of harmonisation of aquatic center fees, Ms. Passas was asked to “turn the temperature down” while she was arguing entry prices for swimming pools in the area were too high.

Mayor Darcy Byrne said the tone Ms. Passas was using was “aggressive” and, following several interjections from Ms. Passas and a number of official warnings, he put forward a motion to remove her from the meeting. The vote passed, but Ms. Passas refused to leave.

“I respectfully ask you leave the meeting,” Mr. Byrne said.

“And I respectfully request you call the police and remove me .... I will not be leaving,” Cr. Passas replied.

Mr. Byrne refused to call police and asked for the meeting to be adjourned until Ms. Passas left. Council then tried to continue the meeting in a different room, but Ms. Passas followed. The remainder of the agenda was postponed.

But the problems began before the meeting even started, with “technical issues” meaning the meeting could not be livestreamed by curious members of the public.

And the technology wasn’t much better for those who showed up inperson either. Independent councillor John Stamolis told the Inner West Independent microphones for the councillors were not working, so a single microphone had to be passed around the room. He slammed the technical issues as “low grade.”

“For goodness sake, we spend $15 million on a IT system and we’re in the dark ages,” he said.

“Every other council is ready, every other council is operating, every other council in NSW is working. We have the most expensive IT system and we couldn’t get it working.”

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MOTIONS AGAINST THE MAYOR

Among the 41 items on the agenda were two controversial motions against the mayor.

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

An Inner West council meeting on Tuesday had to be cancelled after Darcy Byrne (left) clashed with councillor Julie Passas (right). Photo: various

One motion, put forward by Greens councillor Colin Hesse, called on Mayor Byrne to withdraw his request the auditor general investigate council staff over their handling of the Dawn Fraser baths refurbishment. Mr. Hesse said the mayor’s decision to report council to the auditor general has led to “further disharmony between senior staff and the elected Councillors.”

interjections and behaviour in Tuesday’s meeting were no different from previous meetings.

It was a very convenient night not to have IT and webcast, wasn’t it?

Legally, council can call for the mayor to stand down but it has no legal capacity to force the mayor to do so. But a motion for him to stand down supported by the majority of council would “send a strong signal,” says Mr. Stamolis.

The other hot motion on the agenda was one put forward by councillor Passas calling on the mayor to step down. Cited in the motion was the Dawny debacle, a lack of communication between the mayor and other councillors and the ongoing investigation of Mr. Byrne by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Ms. Passas said she believed the mayor’s move to eject her from the meeting was a “concerted effort” to quash her motion, which was item 37 on the agenda. She said other councillors who had frequently interjected throughout the meeting were not asked to leave.

Although Ms. Passas is a contentious figure in council, with a history of questionable and unlawful behaviour of her own, Mr. Stamolis claims her motion would have had majority support from councillors. He said her

“It was a very convenient night not to have IT and webcast, wasn’t it, and to kick Julie out. It was a very convenient night to do this,” he said.

“I can tell you right now, a majority of councillors would feel that Darcy should step aside. No question about that.”

When asked about the motion, and whether that motivated his move to remove Ms. Passas from the meeting and call for the Liberal party to disendorse her, Mr. Byrne denied it. He said Passas’s motion was motivated by party politics rather than genuine concern about his performance.

“Councillor Passas is seeking to have me removed as Mayor because I have been a vociferous critic of the Berejiklian Government’s $252 million Council grants slush fund,” he told the Independent.

“She is seeking to have me replaced by Councillor Macri, who is aligned to the Liberal Party, because she doesn’t like having a Mayor who speaks out against the shocking rorts committed by the Liberal Government in NSW.”

MEETINGS SLASHED

Following Tuesday’s council meeting chaos some members of the community have questioned whether council actually has the time to address all the crucial items on the agenda.

Last year council moved to change their meeting schedule from twice a month to once a month. Councillor Pauline Lockie, who supported the change, hoped the new schedule would leave more time for changes to be implemented.

“I’ve been concerned for some time now that our meetings haven’t been effective or efficient when it comes to delivering the best outcomes for our community,” she said.

“The previous schedule left [Council staff] little time to implement decisions, or brief Councillors on matters of strategic importance.”

But Mr. Stamolis said the reduced number of meetings meant issues were not being discussed in full detail, if they make it to the table at all.

“I’m appalled by the fact the council would reduce its workload by half. You could see on the agenda there were 41 items, so all we’re doing is ticking boxes very fast,” he said.

A new meeting date to address the remaining items on the agenda, including Ms. Passas’s motion is yet to be set.

IndieNEWS

Parliament to investigate Western Harbour Tunnel

BY ALLISON HORE n inquiry into the suitability of the Western Harbour Tunnel project has been launched in the NSW Upper House.

The Public Works Committee, who are responsible for scrutinising public works of the NSW Government, will inquire into and report on the impact of the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link Project. This comes after widespread community concern about the potential economic and environmental impacts of the $14 billion project.

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The community has voiced their concerns about the costs and socio-environmental impacts The Western Harbour Tunnel will run under Sydney’s harbour and connect the Rozelle interchange with the Warringah Freeway.

The construction of the tunnel is expected to run from the first quarter of 2021 until 2026, then another tunnel connecting the Warringah Freeway to Balgowlah in the northern beaches is planned.

The NSW Government said the “much needed tunnels” would provide a “missing link” in the city’s motorways

and would be a “game changer” for Sydney. They said the project would not only benefit car drivers, but also allow for more direct bus routes between the Inner West, Sydney and North Sydney.

COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE

Chairing the parliamentary committee is legislative council member Daniel Mookhey of the Labor party.

He said while easing traffic congestion in Sydney is necessary, “the adequacy of the business case, costs, governance structure and consultation methods” of the Western Harbour Tunnel project need to be examined.

“While it is no secret that something needs to be done in terms of the traffic in Sydney, the community has voiced their concerns about the costs and socio-environmental impacts associated with the construction of the Western Harbour Tunnel and related road projects,” he said.

The inquiry will investigate the adequacy of the business case for the project, whether alternative options were given sufficient consideration and the handling of the overall budget of the project.

He said research into the viability and

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE OPTUS MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION WITH 5G AT: 71-91 Audley St, Petersham NSW 2049 (RFNSA Site No. 2049002) 1. The proposed facility consists of the addition of new 5G equipment and associated works as follows: 1 new panel antenna (0.82m long) at 21.35m in height 2 new panel antennas (0.82m long) at 21m in height 1 new panel antenna (0.64m long) at 20.35m in height 1 new panel antenna (2.8m long) at 20.25m in height 2 new panel antennas (0.64m long) at 20m in height 2 new panel antennas (2.8m long) at 19.9m in height 1 new panel antenna (0.75m long) at 19.38m in height 2 new panel antennas (0.75m long) at 19.03m in height 21 new remote radio units (RRUs) Ancillary equipment including but not limited to; new mounts, new fibre and electrical cabling, 2 new GPS antennas • Reconfiguration of existing equipment • • • • • • • • • •

A NSW Parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into the Western Harbour Tunnel project. Photos: WestConnex

necessity of the project all took place before COVID-19 significantly changed people’s work and travel patterns.

“The committee is interested to find out whether the original cost benefit ratio remains current for the purpose of the project,” he said.

The unconventional tunnelling methods proposed for the project have also raised concern about the impact construction will have on the marine environment as well as nearby public sites.

Rather than a traditional tunnelling process, like the one used to dig the tunnels for Sydney’s metro system,

the construction process for the new harbour tunnels would involve a large trench being dug into the harbour and prefabricated concrete tubes being lowered into position from barges above.

This process would disturb toxic sediment which has settled on the harbour floor over decades.

“The committee will also review the processes for assessing and responding to noise, vibration and other impacts on residents, and consider the impact of the project on the environment, especially marine ecosystems,” explained Mr. Mookhey.

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2. Optus regards the proposed installation as a Low-impact Facility under the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 2018 (“The Determination”), based on the description above.

3. In accordance with Section 7 of the C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code, we invite you to provide feedback about the proposal. Further information and/or comments should be directed to Daniel Trees of Ventia at daniel.trees@ventia.com or Locked Bag 2015, South Brisbane QLD 4101 by 5pm 6 May 2021.

Send a CV and writing samples to

news@altmedia.net.au INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Local legend creates community through food He keeps 44 items in the pantry at all times, and when he’s home, he is constantly restocking it.

“Every time someone comes, I go out there and put the items back that they take,” he explains.

“I really wanted to just do something that was me, helping people on a one to one level, and just giving directly to people who need it in what little ways that I can. It’s so simple to do.”

Rick fully stocks the pantry himself, and at the start he probably only spent around $10 a day on it, however, he says as it’s grown in popularity, so has the cost, and although at times this can add pressure to stocking the pantry, it has in no way deterred him from continuing.

I really wanted to just do something that was me, helping people on a one to one level

Rick Everett’s food pantry is restocked daily with fresh supplies to help the needy. Photo: Supplied

BY GEORGIA ROBINSON hen COVID-19 hit last year, Rick Everett, an Inner West local decided to use his free time to start up a series of what he calls ‘kindness projects’.

At the age of 15, Rick was a homeless teen and after coming across a circus doing a dress rehearsal and performing some tricks for them, he was taken on, something he said that saved and changed his life.

Although he’s moved on from circus work, Rick still works as a performer, mostly in stage shows and just recently completed a five-week contract with the Adelaide festival.

While Rick always wanted to start doing kindness projects, constantly travelling and working never gave him the time to properly start them up.

“It was the start of COVID that really gave me the time to get these things started. I went from constantly travelling and performing and then instantly it was a stop,” he said.

His kitchen window faces the street, and so for his first project, he started

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a coffee window where other locals could come by for a free coffee and a chat.

“I just started that [the coffee window] as kind of just a nice thing for people to be able to talk to people as much for me as for other people.”

He says things just rolled on from there, and he began to look into other projects like his community pantry and fridge.

“The main reason I do it is just because I can, I can afford to pay $50 a day to keep this pantry running… a quarter of my wages to feed whoever needs feeding, is really nothing.”

When he sometimes found it difficult to afford to stock the pantry, there were always people behind him willing to offer support.

“I really try not to ask for any help, but when I do really need to, people get my back and that’s amazing.”

He describes it as a weird thing, that “even when I don’t ask for it, when things get really tough for me, and when I find it really hard to afford, something happens, that just makes it easy.”

One instance of this was when

someone left bags and bags of shopping at Rick’s door, plus $300 in cash.

FOOD RESCUE

Rick also participates in food rescue, where he goes to a local bakery chain and collects their food waste, dropping it off at other community pantries in the Inner West, as well as leaving some for his own.

“I take it to the Asylum Seekers Food bank, and Homeless Teen Shelters, and any place that can put it to good use,” he said.

His community fridge came about in July 2020, a little while after starting the pantry, and he started this for the people who don’t have the facilities to make meals from the supplies in the pantry, but can instead have a meal prepared, and simply heat it up.

When he has the time, he spends a lot of it cooking, and preparing vegetarian meals for the fridge. During a three-week work break he spent everyday cooking, packing and freezing 20 or more serves of different meals, so that he can constantly keep his fridge stocked.

However, for Rick, doing these things, is not a big deal, and he sees them as something everyone can try to do.

“It’s all just so simple and small and insignificant, for me, but for the person who comes along and really needs to eat, it’s not insignificant.”

Although he says his youth and the good he has done during hard times contributed in some ways to his passion for community kindness projects, he says it’s more about the fact that he now has the means to do it.

“If something as simple as being able to eat a meal can get somebody, not through their life, but just through their day, every little bit is worth it.”

CREATING COMMUNITY

For him, starting these projects was about providing a place for people “who might be going through some not so great things”, to come and chat and feel that sense of community again while isolating.

This is something that has continued majorly in the community pantry and fridge and he says that a lot of the time people will come to the pantry and take something small but enjoy the company more.

“My target demographic was basically to provide an emergency meal for anyone who needs it and the idea was to make it super local.”

Inner West local Rick Everett is a performer who set up the food pantry in his free time. Photo: Supplied

IndieNEWS

Promised potties undelivered at Newtown park

BY ALLISON HORE f you’ve ever found yourself busting for the loo at Camperdown Memorial Park in Newtown you’ve probably found yourself wondering, why aren’t there toilets here?

Liz Atkins, a Greens candidate in the upcoming Inner West Council elections, is asking the same thing.

In late 2018 the Inner West council unveiled a plan to reduce “anti-social behaviour” at the Newtown park. The plan involved the construction of public toilets among other measures. A budget for the project was allocated, and construction on the toilets was set to begin in 2019.

However, come 2021, work on the promised toilets hasn’t even begun.

Ms. Atkins has started a petition for the promised public toilets to be installed in the park. She says all the important research and consultation into the issue has been done, so she cannot understand what is so hard about putting in the toilet block at this stage.

“There was a motion by Pauline Lockie and Louise Steer, and the council agreed,” she said.

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Locals have often found themselves asking where the toilets are at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park. Photo: Wikimedia

“They said it would be built in 2019, I guess we all know COVID happened but there was plenty of construction during COVID, I can’t see a reason why it would be delayed.”

WHO GIVES A CRAP?

According to the National Public Toilet Map, created as part of the Australian government’s continence program, the

nearest public toilets to Camperdown Memorial Park are in the Newtown library and at Newtown station. These toilets are not available 24 hours a day, and in the case of the station, can only be used by passengers who have tapped on.

Park users often have to head to a nearby pub to relieve themselves.

However, with COVID-19 restrictions

in place, usually these toilets are only available for customers.

“Lots of people don’t want to go to the pub to use the toilet, especially with little kids. And with COVID restrictions you can’t always go to the pub just to use the toilet,” she said.

“There’s all sorts of issues across the board with public toilets in the Inner West, but especially in the Damun ward.”

As well as the public safety plan for the park, the Inner West Council has developed a Public Toilet Strategy which sets the best practice design guidelines for public toilet facilities on council properties and lays out a strategy for upgrading existing facilities and building new ones.

Noted in the strategy was the toilet block planned for Camperdown Memorial Rest Park.

Despite the public showing their support for the strategy, progress on its approval and adoption has stalled since the public engagement period closed in July last year. 68 percent of the people who responded to the council’s survey said they supported the public toilet strategy.

PROPOSAL TO UPGRADE EXISTING MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION WITH 5G AT AUSGRID SUBSTATION, 145 FRANKLIN STREET, MATRAVILLE NSW 2036 The proposed upgrade to the existing facility involves: • Installation of three new Vodafone and three new Optus 5G antennas (six in total) to be located on the new mounts; • Replacement of existing panel antennas with new panel antennas on new mounts. Antennas will measure no more than 2.8m long; • Reconfiguration of existing and installation of new ancillary equipment, including RRUs, GPS antennas, cabling and other items associated with safety and operation of the facility; and • Reconfiguration and installation of equipment within the existing equipment shelter.

Vodafone and Optus regard the proposed installation as Exempt Development under Schedule 3A of State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 based on the description above.

In accordance with Section 7 of C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code, we invite you to provide feedback about the proposal.

Should you require further information or wish to comment, please contact: Jessie Zhao from Nokia Solutions & Networks on 0406 001 832 or at communityrelations.vha@groups.nokia.com by Thursday 6 May 2021.

Further information may also be obtained from www.rfnsa.com.au/2036012.

SPRING LOADED will be performed at the

FACTORY THEATRE MARRICKVILLE on MAY 20, 21, 22

Jason and Katherine come to their 20 year school reunion, looking for someone to help turn their fortunes around.

However, they get a lot more than they bargained for in this comedy drama about husbands and wives, the modern workplace, fathers and sons, bullying and much more.

Come to this new play called Spring Loaded by Inner West Sydney playwright Jon Glass.

Tickets are available on the Factory Theatre website. www.factorytheatre.com.au/event/spring-loaded/ INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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IndieNEWS

Pork barrelling report “damning”

Premiere Gladys Berejiklian admits to pork barrelling but denies it’s an issue.

Photo: Sam Mooy/Getty Images & Pixabay

BY SOOFIA TARIQ Mayor Byrne says that he was never notified of grant applications he NSW Senate inquiry into opening saying, “when the grants the Government’s ‘Stronger round of funding under the stronger Communities Fund’ has delivered communities programme was opened, its’ report, calling the scheme “a clear they deliberately never notified councils abuse of the grants process”. like the Inner West and CanterburyThe inquiry was launched following Bankstown.” widespread backlash towards the “They never notified us that the grants Berejiklian government over their handling of the grants fund, which Labor were open or that we could apply so we were prevented from applying.” and Greens politicians say amounted to “pork barrelling.”

He says that if the funds were distributed “fairly on a per capita basis” Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne, a to amalgamated councils, the Inner member of the Labor party, described West would have received $24 million the report into the $252 million fund, in funding. This money could have gone set up to help amalgamated councils, towards the construction of a new local as “damning.” Despite being an library. amalgamated council, the Inner West Council received no funding through the scheme.

“NO ACCOUNTABILITY” “The Premier and Deputy Premier Byrne describes the scheme as a “slush cooked up this scheme between them fund” and is not confident that the with no proper process, that councils that Government will accept responsibility had dared to oppose the government for the mismanagement of funds or and opposed forced amalgamation implement the recommendations were deliberately punished by being handed down by the inquiry. excluded from applying “No one’s paid any price for funding”, said Mayor No one’s paid any at all,” he said.

Byrne. price at all “I don’t feel confident that The senate inquiry found the problem has been that allegations of ‘pork addressed and I worry barrelling’ were substantiated. that the government now thinks that The majority of councils which received they are above the law,” He added. funding through the scheme were in Bryne will put forth a motion in the next Liberal party control, including the council meeting to endorse the report, Hornsby Council, which did not go including David Shoebridge’s Chair through the amalgamation process. foreword and all recommendations, Committee Chair, David Shoebridge as well as an additional round of grant noted “one of the most remarkable funding to be opened. pieces of evidence before the committee “We’re going to continue to fight to have was how that $90 million was paid to Hornsby Council within 72 hours, without the $24 million that our community was cheated out of returned so that any application form from the council we can invest it in local community and after just a couple of phone calls infrastructure projects.” and emails.”

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Opinion

The toxic threat facing Rozelle residents

BY PETER HEHIR n concert with the aggressive position taken by the fossil fuel lobby the NSW Government continues to deny any connection between the unfiltered stacks and the substantial increase in lung cancers experienced over the past 20 or so years with the M5 East stack at Turrella.

The Monash University Air Quality monitoring study showed that this exhaust stack harvests and releases exhaust pollution from a twin two lane road tunnel just 4.2 klms long and confirmed that the 37 kilograms/ day stated by the then RMS was conservatively estimated at 27 metric tonnes per annum.

However, the expected “harmless dispersal into the atmosphere” quoted by the RMS spielers simply didn’t happen!

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and Cammeray when all of the three and four lane tunnels come into service.

TOXIC TUNNEL

Extrapolated from daily figures released by the RMS; those who reside or work within the fallout zone from the three White Bay exhaust stacks can expect to ingest carcinogenic diesel particles smaller than 2.5 pm (< 2.5 microns across) from these unfiltered stacks, emitted at a rate well in excess of 50 metric tonnes per year!

Excluding the Western Harbour Tunnel and Northern Beaches Link, the entire 33 kilometre multilane WestConnex tunnel network, with an average of three to four lanes in each direction will emit more than 185 metric tonnes via the exhaust stacks in the inner west.

That’s at least one tonne per lane per year!

Anti-Westconnex protesters outside NSW parliament house. Photo: WestConnex Action Group

The smoke test plume conducted quietly at night by the Monash University didn’t soar up into the stratosphere but gently settled over the homes in the Wolli Creek valley and was quickly abandoned. This embarrassing study has somehow mysteriously disappeared.

This is a massive increase when compared to the 27 tonnes spewed out from the single Turrella stack!

Berejiklian’s government continues to peddle the outrageous, bald faced lie that Sydney’s plethora of tolled tunnels employ “the world’s best practice”. This is demonstrably untrue and is almost certainly criminally negligent! In a democracy we do have We would do well to remember that one card left to play both the ALP and the Coalition at State and Federal levels are wholehearted supporters of these denigrated, outdated, Figures provided by the South Eastern hideously expensive, badly designed, Sydney Local Health District show an unlined and unfiltered road tunnels. increase in lung cancers of 44 percent Massive resident protests against in residents who lived downwind of the Turrella plume, while the State average over WestConnex here over the past five years have had little impact. the period of the study fell by 9 percent!

But in a democracy we do have one card The Rozelle stacks will gather vehicle left to play - and that’s the one that you exhaust gases from Homebush, Ashfield, Rozelle, Camperdown, Leichhardt, St Peters place in the ballot box...

COFFIN ED’S NAKED CITY

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JACKHAMMERS ON GEORGE

erhaps the best analogy is somebody who has endless cosmetic surgery, never satisfied with their current appearance and willing to go to great expense and inconvenience to achieve their desired look. That’s George Street in Sydney’s CBD, the city’s landmark thoroughfare but one which has been continually ripped up, dug up and architecturally violated over the past 50 odd years.

What began in the very early days of settlement as virtually a dirt track linking the Rocks with what is now Central Station, has seen numerous changes over the years. Up until the post-war period, most of this development was positive like the introduction of trams which ran from 1899 to 1959. The street was home to some of Sydney’s finest buildings like the GPO, the Sydney Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building.

There was a uniformity in design that defined the character of Sydney at the time but all that was about to change when the 70s and 80s arrived.

This was the era of corruption, an almost complete lack of urban planning and outrageous corporate greed which

Now comes the news that the southern end of George is to be turned into an area of “permanent pedestrianisation”, transforming the section between Bathurst and Railway Square into a “world-class boulevard.”

The worry is that we will see another prolonged period of tearing up the street, similar to that which greatly impacted businesses in Kings Cross and Oxford Street some years ago when the footpaths were widened and repaved.

Sadly if history is any precedent, this may well become just another cosmetic band aid on a city which seems to be in a constant state of flux.

changed the streetscape forever, particularly in the area south of the Town Hall. Both the historic Regent Theatre and the massive Anthony Hordern department store were demolished, leaving gaping water filled holes along the street for a number of decades.

From the 80s onwards the southern end, right through to Railway Square, has evolved as a depressing mish mash of ugly and conflicting architectural styles, tatty discount outlets, sex shops, convenience stores, pinball arcades, late night boozers, burger joints and el

cheapo hotels. The encroaching China Town precinct has brought some vitality to the area but it’s hardly an area of the city you would call welcoming.

When the street was torn up to install the light rail, taking what seemed like an eternity to complete, all of George Street suffered, but the southern end was easily the hardest hit. Businesses folded, shops were boarded up and you wondered whether it could get any worse. It did of course when COVID arrived and now that strip of George has surely reached its lowest ebb.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could get to a stage where large parts of our city remained essentially unchanged for hundreds of years, like London, Paris and New York and the business culture, both big and small, was allowed to thrive. The motto could well be if it’s not broken then don’t f@%# with it. That’s not going to happen in the immediate future and once again the deafening sound of jack hammers will echo up and down what was once considered Australia’s first ever major urban thoroughfare.

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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LOCAL LAUGHTER As the Sydney Comedy Festival ramps up across the city there is an abundance of fantastic local talent performing all around town. Unsurprisingly a number of these acts call the Inner West home.

With this being her debut performance at a major festival Brown said she is “honoured to be here as things slowly return to the way they were” so that she can once again “spread laughter”.

Coming off the year that we’ve had Brown says she also feels “so strange” about this particular show.

“I haven’t performed in over a year now and it’s been so freaking relaxing,” Brown said, before elaborating further.

“Comedy has always been a massive double-edged sword for me because of my anxiety around performing, so having the time off to re-evaluate my priorities has been really important to me. I think I’m at a place now where there’s so much else going on in my life that I can see comedy as a space for me to have fun and let loose.”

Which is perhaps something we all need now.

JEEVES VERMA - HOW TO BREW A CHAI IN 10 DAYS

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 it feels like we as a city got the cheat codes to life Once we got onto the subject of comedian recommendations Verma was bursting at the seams with suggestions, from Steen Raskopoulos to Carlo Ritchie to Chelsea Zeller. Ultimately though he simply said, “See EVERYBODY!!”

ANGE LAVOIPIERRE - ZEALOT

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hoto

: Supplied

n her show show about God, religion and forgiveness awardwinning comedian and ABC journalist Ange Lavoipierre charts the course from 10-year-old evangelist to fully-fledged heathen.

Lavoipierre described her show

As we spoke about the festival Lavoipierre d said “it feels like we lie pp u as a city got the cheat codes to life” as we slowly return to normality.

“That we get to all be together in a room for comedy at 100% capacity is an almost embarrassing privilege and DO NOT tell anyone overseas because they all find it a bit upsetting.”

The topic of audiences brought our conversation to the people of the Inner West and their influence on Lavoipierre’s career.

“The Inner West produces Je e some of the nicest audiences in the world,” she said, but that wasn’t all.

“The Inner West was the warm embrace which took me in when I first moved to Sydney from Bathurst in 2008.

The arts and comedy communities in the a. P

With that in mind Verma says he is “quietly confident” ahead of his Sydney Comedy Festival performances, “in the same way every uncle feels at a pool party when someone brings a limbo stick. Some say this is unjustified confidence, I say “hold my beer.”

In regards to the Inner West’s influence Verma explained that it is his “home and source of inspiration.”

“Inner Westies understand me. We have the same lefty values. The Inner West represents a culture so different to the conservative one I was raised in, and a lot of my comedy comes from comparing the two.”

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“It was nice to have a year off, to be honest, but now I’m itching to get back behind the mic!”

as “a deeply silly show about a very serious topic.” She also explained that this is a unique show in that it isn’t a straightforward stand up show but rather a mixture of “stand up, tarot readings, stories and some curveballs.”

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hroughout his comedy career Jeeves Verma has made it a goal of his to write at least one new show per year, and perform three different shows across the festival calendar. So when COVID hit last year that was the first time in his career that he was unable to achieve these goals, which was both disappointing but motivating.

Ashlee Brown.

Photo: Supplied

ho to :S

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fter receiving rave reviews at the Sydney Fringe festival, Ashlee Brown is bringing her hilarious stand up debut to the Sydney Comedy Festival! This audacious youngster’s show Milennial Fatigue tackles dating, first jobs and self-doubt as Brown attempts to unpack what it means to be a successful young person in an age where everything’s photoshopped.

Ange Lavoipierre.

Photo: Supplied

Rosie Pi per.

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ASHLEE BROWN - MILLENNIAL FATIGUE

Inner West gave me the confidence to get up on stage in the first place.”

ROSIE PIPER - GODDESS

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ustralia’s premier transgender lesbian comedian is once again set to grace the stages of the Sydney Comedy Festival.

When asked what people should expect from her show Piper gave everyone perhaps the greatest motivation to attend you could ever imagine.

“Expect to laugh a lot and then suddenly become a millionaire in the week following the show.”

Reflecting on the importance of the Inner West Piper had a somewhat unexpected answer, “there are so many good gigs in the area but it’s also a place where, as a trans woman, I feel large safe and free of judgement.”

The lack of judgment is an incredibly important factor in the development of a young comedian.

In closing Piper explained the importance of being able to perform live shows again this year.

“It’s very special. Comedy works best in a little room full of people sitting on top of each other to really get a good atmosphere for laughter going, so the fact we can do that again is very encouraging. I might even call for stacks on at some stage during the show just ‘cause we can…”

Sydney Comedy Festival runs until May 16 at various venues around the city. Tickets & Info at www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au 18

INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

IndieNEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF VIETNAM VIBES

BY ALLISON HORE hether you’re a PhÕ fanatic or a Bánh mì babe, Marrickville is known as the place to go for good Vietnamese food in the Inner West. Now, the council is looking to formally acknowledge the suburb’s Vietnames vibes.

In a bid to recognise the contribution of the Vietnamese community, the Inner West Council will formally name a precinct along Illawarra Road

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Marrickville is known for its Vietnamese food Photo: Inner West Council

in Marrickville, “Little Vietnam.”

According to the 2016 census, 6 percent of Marrickville’s population were born in Vietnam and 7.5 percent of those living in Marrickville spoke Vietnamese at home.

Council says, as one of three Sydney suburbs with a significant Vietnamese population, Marrickville is enriched by the Vietnamese community sharing their food, culture and identity. They hope formally naming the precinct will honour that contribution.

The stretch of Illawarra Road between the station and the main strip is home to over a dozen Vietnamese restaurants, two banh mi outlets, three Vietnamese cafes, a Vietnamese pharmacy and a Vietnamese grocer.

The Inner West Council is looking for submissions from the public as to where the precinct should formally start and finish and whether they support the proposed name.

TOWN HALL TUNES

BY ALLISON HORE rom council meetings to contemporary culture; the Marrickville Town Hall may soon begin a new life as a live music venue.

The heritage-listed Marrickville Town Hall opened on the 11th of February 1922 for the Marrickville Council Diamond Jubilee. It is the oldest civil building in Marrickville and the fourth oldest Town Hall in Sydney.

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“We are determined that this magnificent civic building should have a modern artistic use that builds on the Inner West’s heritage as the birthplace of Australian multiculturalism,” Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne said on Facebook.

In September last year, the Inner West Council moved to transform the building into a live music and performing arts venue. Now, the council is inviting Inner West music venue operators to put a business plan forward for consideration.

The historic Town Hall in Marrickville.

Photo: Inner West Council

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Have you hosted a trivia night, costume party, karaoke competition or any other kind of special event?

Send your event photos through to arts@altmedia.net.au along with the who, what when and where and we may print them on the social page of the next Inner West Independent.

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IndieARTS EFFIE - HELLO, GOOD THANKS, BETTER OUT THAN IN

IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT LADY?

BY RENEE LOU DALLOW omedians and magicians thrive on presenting themselves as lone performers in front of an unknown audience. Actors too are adept at one handers, but, what about writers?

Debra Oswald, well seasoned writer of plays, Mrs Bailey’s Minder and The Peach Season, as well as being one of the creators of the TV miniseries, The Offspring, is doing just that. Oswald is presenting a one woman show on the joys and perils of writing for theatre and screen in Australia. A gutsy move and an honest one.

Oswald will talk about the self doubt and the anxieties that are part and parcel of being a writer. Mainly the difficulties of getting work noticed by publishers, agents and producers. The rejections which Oswald refers to as the, “ brutal,

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disheartening damages done to the morale of a writer.” A writer, though, is compelled to write and must find ways to overcome the anxieties in order to take the work all the way.

“Success is worth it. The joys of seeing my work performed far outweighed the pain.”

Oswald first fell in love with the Griffin Theatre at the age of 11 but cannot remember what she saw there. “It was the experience of sitting in the front row and being able to almost touch the actors. I loved everything about it.” So it’s only fitting that her one woman show should be performed on the Griffin stage.

Like so many other artists Oswald despaired a little during COVID but as she explained, “Being an old hand, COVID didn’t really change the rhythm of my life.” In fact it would seem that it has done quite the opposite and created a new kind of energy and optimism for Oswald. The esteemed writer is at this very moment in the process of filming one of her novels, The Family Doctor, for television. Yes she writes novels too. Oswald’s one woman show, an enlightening and humorous storytelling event, however, is all about direct communication with an audience. A chance perhaps to relive the magic of being 11.

Until Apr 24. SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod St, Darlinghurst. $40+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.griffintheatre.com.au

BY RENEE LOU DALLOW ffie Stephanidis (Maria Coustas) is one of our most loved comedians.

The star of Wogs Out Of Work and Acropolis Now is returning to the stage with a show that reflects on the times in which we live and actually brings out the funny side. Is there a funny side in these dark times? Well if we weren’t living it I guess we could certainly appreciate the absurdity of it all. It takes a comedian of Effie’s ilk to bring it home and give us a good belly laugh on those little things that have become the new normal, or, “The New Abnormal” in Effie speak.

The character, Effie, was created by Coustas who describes her as a “love letter to my childhood growing up in Collingwood, Melbourne.” The character is essentially a working class girl who is into being Greek and speaking her truth. She has a big heart, a big ego, big hair and, like everyone else, was shell shocked when lockdown came. She

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couldn’t get her hair done and had to tease it herself to hide the regrowth. By the time she got to the supermarket all the toilet paper had gone” According to Coustas, she then, consoled herself with legumes and horizontal sex with her husband Shane. Her daughter, Aphrodite, had to be homeschooled but Effie is not scholastic.

Disaster! Something we can all relate to.

Hello, Good Thanks, Better Out Than In is a fitting title for this new show which deals with the frustrations of these scary times.

“Comedy is therapeutic and healthy. It’s a way of creating a distance between what pains us and what makes us happy,” said Coustas.

Expect to be a participant too as half the show is improvised and you may be one of its stars.

May 8-9. The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. $45+b.f. Tickets & Info: www. sydneycomedyfest.com.au

SCHAPELLE, SCHAPELLE - THE MUSICAL

BY RENEE LOU DALLOW chapelle, Schapelle - The Musical?

Yes you read that right. Somebody finally put the infamy surrounding Schapelle Corby’s story to music and all one has to do is hear the double barrelled title to shake with anticipation.

Really though, this show is fictionalised and has much to do with the media frenzy that swallowed up Corby’s every word and every move. The show questions why it is we have such a weakness for media sensationalism in this country. Though Schapelle Corby’s ordeal began before the internet became

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

so all consuming the daily news was just fixated. The show, however, does not seek to judge.

The four writers who collaborated on the show, Abbey Gallaway, Jack Dodds, Mitch Lourigan and Gareth Thompson asked many questions and apparently had some very heated debates while writing.

“Essentially though, we had a shared vision and, though there was some push and pull, we all decided that we wanted to look at how women are treated in the media. Corby, a strong willed woman, was objectified not only by the media

but by the public too,” said Director Abbey Gallaway.

All of the songs are original with some big Broadway style numbers merging with pop. “The set designs too are unique. Look out for a set construction idea using Four X gold cans,” Gallaway added. A very Australian musical from a very Australian perspective.

Until May 16. Manning House, The University of Sydney, Manning Rd, Camperdown. $30.60-$50-49+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au

IndieARTS

YOUR MOTHER’S PENSION THE ONE DAY OF THE YEAR

BY MARK MORELLINI heatergoers who have enjoyed past parodies of ethnic groups won’t be disappointed with the latest offering Your Mother’s Pension, a hilarious comedy that director Lucy Miller said reflects the uncertainty of current times.

“With the economic crisis in Greece, more and more young couples are bringing their parents to move in with them to financially assist with their pension. This play is an exaggerated parody but based on reality.”

And what is it about this stage play that should make it a comedic runaway hit?

“Maria and George are one such couple with a daughter, but when you throw

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in the surprise arrival of an unknown gay, movie director brother from the US with his secretary, a romantic poetic cardiologist, a whinging cleaner, a hysterical debt collector, an eccentric saleswoman, a ditsy hairdresser desperate for a husband and two quirky plumbers, you’re in for some huge belly laughs!”

Boasting a cast of 14 performers on stage, this original play written by Greek playwright Maria N. Kitra is having its premiere season in Australia and is spoken in Greek with English subtitles (captions projected on a screen above the stage). “Our play should appeal to all audiences because of the comedic value, themes people relate to, and the well-structured English subtitles which aren’t lost in translation.”

The cast has been working hard during rehearsals but there’s been plenty of laughter along the way.

“Rehearsals are hysterically funny. After a long day, we get together to rehearse and unwind. The script itself is very funny but as our characters evolve and we build on them, the laughs amongst us keep coming. It’s also where our best bloopers come from!” laughed Miller.

5 double passes to giveaway for performance on May 15. Email details to mmorelli1234@hotmail.com May 8–Jun 6. Mytilenian House, 225 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury. $30+b.f. Tickets & Info: bit.ly/tis-manas-sou or call: 0401 655 050

BY IRINA DUNN lan Seymour’s classic 1958 play about Anzac Day is getting a reading from a new generation of actors unfamiliar with the controversy surrounding the original performances of the play.

When first performed in the early 1960s, those involved in the production and the playwright received death threats, so offensive did the public find the subject of the play.

The work pits uni student Hughie against his returned WWII soldier father when Hughie refuses to attend the dawn service and shows up in the alcoholfuelled celebrations of the diggers in the student newspaper.

Samson Alston, who plays Hughie, thinks the meaning of ANZAC Day has changed

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since Alan Seymour wrote the play.

“Yes, especially among people my age...

I think we’re a lot more supportive today.”

Samson goes to his local service most years, and says he is excited to “play a role that has such strong views,” even if the views aren’t the same as his.

I asked him what he thinks the audience will take away from this reading.

“Hopefully,” he said, “the same reaction as I did when I first read it. I had no idea younger people had such views back then.

So I hope audiences learn something new.”

All proceeds go to Actors’ Benevolent Fund.

Apr 26. Fringe HQ (Formerly Old 505 Theatre) 5 Eliza St, Newtown. $40+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.trybooking.com

ADDI ROAD WRITER’S FESTIVAL 2021 STANLEY STREET GALLERY - SAPLINGS

BY JAMIE APPS group show curated

by Emma Pinsent has taken over the Stanley Street gallery as it showcases the saplings of Sydney’s art scene.

The exhibition showcases works by artists Anna May Kirk, Tamara Marrington, Chrystal Rimmer, Catriona Secker, and Rebecca Selleck.

Across their works these artists explore ideas relating to the Anthropocene, natural and social history, biology, ecology, climate change, memory, innocence, and birth and death.

Through sculpture, painting, poetry and various other medium these artists use the theme sapling to look at the natural world through the lens of past experience — challenging outmoded perceptions of human beings as independent from the natural world —

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Catriona Secker, Overstory, 2021, Acrylic on panel, 30cm diameter, Catriona Secker

and also look towards the future. What will become of the greenas-green sapling, with many odds stacked against it? Whilst such a question certainly poses as pessimistic, saplings, is grounded in hope.

If art is good at anything, it is the ability to digest contemporary concerns and concepts; chewing the curd and spitting out the parts it doesn’t like.

Where saplings defines itself beyond that though; is in it’s ability to reflect, draw parallels, challenge and generate conversations about not only the past and present — but the future, too.

Until May 8. Stanley Street Gallery, 1/52-54 Stanley Street, Darlinghurst. FREE. Info: www.stanleystreetgallery.com.au

BY JAMIE APPS spiring writers in the Inner West of Sydney are about to have an annual literary and storytelling event right on their doorstep.

Thanks to the fine folks over at the Addison Road Community Organisation this event will act as an unofficial fringe festival and creative alternative to the Sydney Writers Festival.

The festival’s inaugural theme of An Unruly Idea reflects the rebellious spirit and formative energy: looking to stir up conversation and change; and still being born as a totally new and independent cultural happening. Entry will be free.

The intention of the event is to highlight the literary skills and achievements of the best local writers.

By its very nature as a community development organisation, Addi Road

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has a commitment to social justice, environmental action, and grassroots arts and culture. It’s an ethos that allows them to engage with a national, even international vision while drawing on their immediate world and daily work. As the old saying goes, ‘act locally and think globally.’

The event will be split into four sections - Politics, Music, Poetry & Media.

Across these branches of the festival there will be six panel discussions and performances by poets, musicians, and spoken word artists. Some the speakers on the day will include City Hub journalist Wendy Bacon, poet Ali Whitelock, musician Lo Carmen, journalist Minh Bui Jones, and Nick Cave biographer Mark Mordue.

May 1. Gumbramorra Hall, Addison Road Community Centre 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville.

Info: www.addiroad.org.au

Ali Whitelock

Eliza Scott

Mark Mordue, Artistic Director of the Writer’s Festival

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IndieARTS

TIMOR FUNDRAISING CONCERT A NIGHT OF UNDERGROUND FOLK MUSIC

BY JAMIE APPS s live music returns around Sydney local concert venues such as the Petersham Bowling Club are helping to rebuild local communities for independent musicians. For the curator of A Night Of Underground Folk Music at the Petersham Bowling Club, Darren Cross, this is a crucial first step in reinvigorating the live music scene.

Speaking to the Inner West Independent ahead of the show Cross explained that “we need to start all of these communities up again because we’ve all been a bit lost for a year.” As he went on to explain this is vital not just for the artists but on a “humanistic level” because nothing compares to “sitting in a room with people listening to music... you need to be in the room to feel the emotion and perspective fully.”

As part of the community rebuild Darren has curated a lineup of acts to join himself on stage. Beginning at 7pm sharp the event will feature performances from Tim Evans, Moon And Flood, Jessica, and Darren “D.C” Cross.

Darren was able to gather together these acts through the connections and friendships he has built with each of them throughout his three decades in the industry. When discussing the acts Darren

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said he is excited to see each of them perform for various different reasons.

“Tim Evans has just moved back to Australia from New York... Moon & Flood are a duo from the Blue Mountains who I’ve played many an underground party with in Katoomba. And Jessica is just a really beautiful performer so it’s always a pleasure to see her perform.”

When asked what the audience can expect from this night Darren answered, “the word folk gets thrown around a lot but I think we offer something more. This event won’t be the clap your hands and be joyous style of folk, it’s going to be a more intimate, introspective night.”

In terms of how important the support from a venue such as the Petersham Bowling Club was for the event Darren said, “I think a lot of people need to know that it’s not as easy as just putting the lights back on and opening the doors.

There has been a lot of work behind the scenes, which has been stressful for everyone, but it’s very important. I’m very glad that such a nice place has been able to open the doors again. It’s really great that independent venues like this are able to open up again.”

May 2. Petersham Bowling Club, 77 Brighton St, Petersham. $19.38+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.moshtix.com.au

BY JAMIE APPS ext weekend a special concert will help raise fund to support the cyclone devastated East Timor.

The concert entitled, Charisma: Celebrating The Creativity Of Women, will celebrate the creativity of women both in art and life. The program is filled with an eclectic an eclectic mix of performers, who are predominantly Australian women composers. During the concert a new version of Australian born Scottish resident Jane Stanley’s pieces Limn for bass clarinet and piano and Faery Cup also for bass clarinet will be performed. Nicole Murphy’s work Exchange will then compliment these works. There are descriptive pieces alluding to myths and legends and the seasons by Mirrie Hill, Katy Abbott and Miriam Hyde.

Also on the bill is Amanda Handel’s

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Kanimbla Moon as well as a touch of the blues from American composer Libby Larsen and a crazy Tarantella by Gwyneth Walker.

When the concert series was first envisioned with was simply a celebrate of women but as the planning commenced and the devastating cyclone ravaged East Timor the team behind the event couldn’t help but see this as their way to help.

Al proceeds from these two concerts will be donated to East Timor’s flood relief.

For those unable to attend donations can be made by direct bank transfer to HEL MUSIC PRODUCTIONS (BSB: 814 282. Account No: 1026 4386) with the subject ‘Timor Flood Relief’.

May 1 & 2. 17 Callan St, Rozelle. $30+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.tickettailor.com

David Miller and Ros Dunlop

BOB EVANS - TOMORROWLAND

BY JAMIE APPS omorrowland, the latest album from Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans), continues an impressive streak of five straight beautiful albums for folk-pop fans.

As a songwriter the talents of Mitchell are undeniable and with Tomorrowland this continues. This time though the record arrives with an added grittiness, referencing back to Mitchell’s past in rock group Jebediah. As such Tomorrowland

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is perhaps the best of both worlds with it’s rich melodies, captivating folk hooks and soul, and the charging electric guitar sound used to add a little zing throughout.

For pure Bob Evans fans this will be unlike anything they’ve heard before but for fans of the man behind the name Tomorrowland very well could become a new all-time favourite.

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IndieARTS

FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL

BY MARK MORELLINI he Fantastic Film Festival encompasses genre and alternative cinema which simply doesn’t fit into traditional categories. The program showcases some of the strangest and most wonderful films produced by some of the most daring (and perhaps eccentric) directors and has been especially curated for moviegoers who enjoy bizarre, non-mainstream cinema.

“Genre cinema has an unmatched ability to conjure up a truth that is raw and gets under your skin,” explained Fantastic Film Festival Artistic Director Hudson Sowada. “Having leaped into 2021 with a sense of hope, we should look to those on the fringes to take risks,

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kill our darlings, and help us question reality. From trippy adventures, surreal deep-dives into the human psyche, and a mirror held up to society – expect a program of films like no other.”

The opening night Sundance premiered Prisoners Of The Ghostland stars Nicholas Cage and is described as an ‘absurd acid western’. It’s quintessentially a film that should give audiences a taste of what this film festival is all about.

A documentary that should be of interest is Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad.

Imagine being told, “six million dollars or your father dies!” A raw and terrifying cinematic recollection by the family presented in found-footage format.

A Glitch in the Matrix

HOT PICKS Mother Schmuckers – (Belgium) When two brothers lose their mother’s dog, they have 24 hours to find it, else face eviction. Laughter is infectious in this ‘Dumb And Dumber’ style comedy.

Jumbo – (France) An extremely unconventional love story between a young lady who works at a carnival

and a merry-go-round. A unique fable that should captivate lovers of bizarre cinema.

Siberia – (Germany) A man who simply can’t live in a civilised world withdraws from society to live in the wilds of Northern Canada. Stars Willem Dafoe.

Apr 16-30. Ritz Cinema, 43 St Pauls St, Randwick. $21.50+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.fantasticfilmfestival.com.au

THE UNITED STATES VS BILLIE HOLIDAY

BY PATRICK MCKENZIE n The United States vs Billie Holiday, Andra Day’s impassioned performance as the titular character proves to be the saviour of an otherwise scattered and disjointed film.

It’s evident that Lee Daniels, in his first feature directorial effort since 2013s The Butler, had a bold vision for Billie Holiday: A frenetic biopic of a legendary musician whose struggles with drugs and systemic racism become a metonym for the same social themes of today.

The film foregoes Holiday’s rise to stardom, instead attempting to chronicle the frenetic final decade

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of her life and career in post-World War II Jim Crowe America. Yet, in the midst of multiple stylistic shifts and spontaneous time jumps, something resembling a coherent story is lost.

That said, Day’s performance as Holiday, both in temperament and performance acumen, is electric – and well-deserving of the accolades it has accumulated thus far. Her performance gives the film its essential emotional beats, but the shortcomings in the pacing and screenplay ultimately hold it back from being as striking as its contemporaries that reflect on similar issues.

WW1/2

SUPERNOVA

BY MARK MORELLINI he reality of dementia is depicted in this powerful and highly emotional gay-themed tearjerker that stars Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci delivering absolute career-best performances.

Suffering from dementia middle-aged Tusker (Tucci) is on a road trip holiday with his loving partner Sam (Firth), possibly their final holiday together as dementia slowly consumes Tusker’s life.

“I’m not the guy he fell in love with, I just look like him,” confides Tusker to a friend. “I want to be remembered for who I was.”

Intertwined with themes concerning love, courage, intimacy, and the difficulty in saying goodbye lies the overwhelming atmosphere of hopelessness welcomingly overshadowed at times with

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patches of funny dialogue that deviate from imminent heartache.

The importance of time resonates throughout this beautifully written tragedy complemented by deep and heart-wrenching dialogue such as, “I’m soon going to look at you not knowing who is looking back at me,” leaving audiences tearful.

Mesmerising cinematography captures the beauty and magnificent colours of English landscapes, but darkness ultimately falls in the final scenes as audiences are left pondering whether individuals inflicted with terminal illnesses should have the right to end their own lives with dignity.

One of the year’s best films not to be missed!

WWWW1/2 INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021

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Over 20 hectares of tree canopy have been destroyed in the last 12 months in the inner west.

Help us stop the inner west tree massacre.

Labor and Liberal Councilors have teamed up to dismantle the Inner West Council’s tree policy to make it easier to rip out healthy, mature trees. It is a developers dream.

In just one year, over 37 football fields of tree canopy have been destroyed.

These trees will take decades to replace and their removal means hotter days, more air pollution, fewer birds and less wildlife.

Sign the petition at www.jamieparker.org.au/tree

SIGN THE PETITION Authorised by Jamie Parker MP. Funded using parliamentary entitlements. April 2021.

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INNER WEST INDEPENDENT MAY 2021