BULL Magazine 2012 Issue 3

Satire vs parliament Generation Z – the digital natives where to for mental health help? uni days and old school ways

issue 03, 2012 BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 1

2/05/12 10:49 PM

I’m into explanatory journalism – the answer to information overload.

I guess I’m just a frustrated teacher.

ROSS GITTINS Economics Editor The Sydney Morning Herald

See back cover for subscription details

Subscribe, save and stay ahead smh.com.au/usyd

270x210_ROSSgittens_USYD.indd 1 BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 2

smh UNI PASS

20/04/12 11:20 PM AM 2/05/12 10:49

:20 AM

Issue 03 contents

love & politics at eurovision

3

21

13

18

10 Editors

Bronte Lambourne Lawrence Muskitta Misa Han Pierce Hartigan Xiaoran Shi usubullmag@gmail.com Contributors

Arghya Gupta, Beverly Parungao, Bronte O'Brien, Cindy Chen, Claire Burke, Eleanor Barz, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Emily Perrins, Gabriella Edelstein, James Park, Jason Edelman, Katie Davern, Melanie Jane, Natasha Fong, Neroli Austin, Patrick Morrow, Penelope Lauren, Sarah Segal, Tasneem Choudhury, Tim Asimakis.

Design

Carl Ahearn Anjali Belani Steven Ung Publications Manager

Chris Beaumont

www.usuonline.com Like Us Facebook.com/usubullmagazine The views in this publication are not necessarily the views of USU. The information contained within this edition of Bull Magazine was correct at the time of printing.

This publication is brought to you by the University of Sydney Union and The University of Sydney.

Issue 03, 2012

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 3

contents no laughing matter

13

@GenZ #newkidon thevirtualblock

18

finding help

21

school ties

28

Shutter Up News Columns What’s On Interview Campus Chatter Youniversity Food & Booze Travel Fashion Sport Science & Tech The Arts Reviews Club Hub Stop. Puzzletime The Bull Pen

04 05 06 08 17 24 31 32 33 35 36 37 38 40 40 43 45

3/05/12 10:20 AM

4

usuonline.com bull USUonline.com shutteron up what’s

Not a sight always seen

USYD's interior architecture is just as beautiful and intricate as the outside.

shutter up

TAKEN outside the Nicholson Museum.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Natasha Fong I Nikon D90

snap!

Send us your unique, arty or plain cool (as in, not another quad shot) campus snap to usubullmag@gmail.com.

We’ll publish our faves each edition in full page glory. High-res, 300dpi jpegs only – portrait-orientation.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 4

2/05/12 10:49 PM

Issue 03 news

5

1 Chancellor Marie Bashir gets busy baking up cookies for charity.

2 Brace yourself, USU elections are coming.

2

1

NEWS CHANCELLOR’S CHARITY COOKIES

The USU’s Interfaith Council and Student Board Directors went spoon for spoon with University of Sydney Chancellor and NSW Governor Marie Bashir in a charity cookie bake-day last month.

The Interfaith Council, a new initiative started this year as an extension of the highly-successful Interfaith Week program, teamed with the University’s Multifaith Chaplaincy for the event, which was hosted by Our Big Kitchen.

The Bondi-based kitchen is a fullykosher, not-for-profit initiative run entirely by volunteers, and all food is either given away to community groups or sold for charity.

Her Excellency, Professor Bashir, an avid supporter of interfaith cooperation, spoke stirringly about the need to remove prejudices and start open, positive dialogue between cultures.

The Interfaith Council is the USU’s step towards the Chancellor’s vision. It brings together members of faith-based groups on campus, including

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 5

Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox Christian, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist and other groups. It aims to bridge cultural and religious differences through mutual understanding, social events and, of course, food.

For this event, the cookies were sold on campus for a gold coin with all proceeds going to the St George Housing Education Bursary, which helps school-aged children living in community housing afford school supplies such as stationary and uniforms.

And while the Chancellor’s words were typically inspiring, her cookies weren’t quite as wellreceived.

Two types of cookies were baked on the day: shortbread cookies (an Our Big Kitchen specialty) and the Chancellor’s own recipe of ANZAC biscuits.

According to those present, the shortbread was divine, but the Chancellor’s ANZAC biscuits were for an acquired taste.

“They’re really good at first,” said Louise Castle, one of this year’s Interfaith Directors, “but

after a while you get this sharp, bitter taste in the back of your throat, a kind of chemical taste. I think she may have put too much baking soda in it.”

Despite the minor ingredient mishap, the Council sold over 350 cookies that day, raising a substantial amount to help underprivileged children. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Derrick Armstrong, arrived later in the afternoon to support the selling efforts. He declined however, to comment on the Chancellor’s baking abilities.

USU DEBATERS TAKE EASTERS HONOURS The USU took a classic victory at the Intervarsity Debating Championships during midsemester break, defeating the University of Queensland for the title of one of Australia’s largest debating competitions.

The tournament, known as Easters, was held at the Australian National University from 10 – 13 April, with the Grand Final on Friday night. More than 400 participants from 17 institutions across Australia attended the tournament.

The victors, Tim Matthews, Steph White and Michael Rees (USU 3) defeated their rivals in the Grand Final on the topic: “That vigilantism should be a defence to criminal charges in jurisdictions with high crime rates”.

Of the ten teams sent by the USU, a remarkable seven qualified for the finals.

However, due to the threeteam cap per institution to compete at the finals, only USU 1, 2 and 3 were able to go through and compete in the finals.

USU 1 (Alex Downie, Daniel Farinha, Emma Johnstone) made it through to the semi-finals, while USU 2 (Felix Donovan, Evie Woodforde, Caitlin Gleeson) were quarter- finalists.

It was also a great result on an individual level. The USU fielded six of the top ten Best Novice Speakers, including the Best Speaker of the tournament, Daniel Farinha.

ELECTION CANDIDATES PREPARE Seven young hopefuls will vie for the attention of the student voting public as the University of Sydney Union election campaign trail heats up. The candidates are (in ballot order): John HardingEasson, Sophie Stanton, Tom Raue, Karen Chau, Hannah Morris, Nick Coffman and Vale Sloane.

Each candidate will campaign for a spot on the USU Board of Directors, with five positions available. Members of the USU cast their ballots on Wednesday 30 May (29 May in Mallet Street, Rozelle and Conservatorium of Music).

Two weeks before the big day, the nominees will appear at Manning Bar for the official Candidates Soapbox event at lunchtime Wednesday 16 May. In this forum, each candidate will be allowed to give a brief speech on their policies and field questions from a panel of peers and members of the audience. Anyone is welcome to attend.

As is customary, the election trail is sure to coat the campus in colourful chalking, clever (and not-so-clever) puns and sleepdeprived, dedicated campaigners.

Student politics is alive and well in this here establishment. For more information, visit usuonline.com > get involved > elections.

2/05/12 10:49 PM

6

bull usuonline.com columns

columns EDITORS’ NOTE Bronte, Lawrence, Misa, Pierce and Xiaoran

president’s desk

The USU’s President gives you the lowdown on what’s been happening in the busy USU offices.

SIBELLA MATTHEWS

Hi there!

This month you’re given the chance to vote in an election to decide who governs the future of our 138-year-old organisation. Check out the candidates by reading their profiles in the Candidate Booklet or come along to the Candidate Soapbox on May 16 in Manning Bar. On Election Day (May 30) make an informed vote – it’s your Union after all.

The next Board of Directors will be charged with the task of making some difficult decisions. One such decision is the new coffee and tea supply contract from 2013 and beyond. The USU Board recently made the decision to only call for socially responsible coffee producers in the tendering process.You can read more about this process on the Board Blog – www.yourunionboard.blogspot.com.

The need for transparency and accountability in Board decisionmaking is very important to me, and the rest of the USU Board Directors.

That is why we have open Board Meetings, public annual reports and twoway communication channels, where you can tell us your thoughts and ask probing questions. We have these mechanisms so you, as members and the most important stakeholders of our organisation, can be assured that everything we do is in the pursuit of a better student experience.

At a recent Strategy Planning Session, the USU Board and Senior Management decided on three main driving principles for our organisation – Relevance, Community and Sustainability. We look forward to sharing the results of this session and the details of those driving principles in a public Strategic Plan to be finalised shortly.

I look forward to seeing you around on Election Day – and don’t forget to pick up your free sausage sizzle when you vote!

Forget Hunger Games. May is the month of Procrastination Games, when the assignments sneak up and Facebook throttles you as you slide down the special consideration spiral and count the bodies.

Not to miss out on the fun, we programmed an Leader Diary issue for your surreptitiously long and consciously Student Each month, we ask some of the students out in the campus community about their experience. caffeinated timeout. We get tips on winning Juliet Berry Eurovision from Julia Zemiro, the SBS presenter 2012 Indigenous Week Festival Director who will be broadcasting Eurovision from Baku and This year a new festival popped up on the USU Cindy Chen, the Arts student extraordinaire who calendar - the Indigenous Festival. So the semester began with a festival to plan. With the help of the is writing her honours thesis on Eurovision; Tim SULS team who instigated the event last year, Asimakis meets Generation Z, those scary brats the Koori Centre and others, we married ideas and arrived at a largely performance-based week who beat us in Super Mario Kart 3D every time; celebrating Indigeneity. From rap to traditional while Lawrence and Bronte O’Brien crawl through dance and soulful melodies in between, we got a taste for what a range of Indigenous artists are up to. And speaking of taste, our tongues were uni and the internet looking for help. Pat Morrow tickled with the flavours of crocodile and roo burgers which proved explains why we can’t laugh at Julia and Tony delicious for some and still a little too unusual for others. Another highlight was the meaty SULS Indigenous Incarceration panel with a wonderful mix and Joe and Wayne; and Neroli Austin considers of speakers and issues covered, food for thought indeed. the perennial dilemma: can we wear high school The concept behind the festival was to actively engage both mentally physically with as many students and community members as possible uniform to uni? All at the same time travelling with and in knowledge sharing, celebrating culture and recognizing and discussing the sounds of Nepal, going greyhound racing, the past, present and future. So it was only fitting to plan as many outdoor events as possible, however the Sydney weather had other ideas. A last getting tattoos and screaming at One Direction. minute flurry of excitement and phone calls to the weather people ensued So everyone, happy Procrastination Games! And as tents were booked and events shuffled indoors.

And just as quickly as it began, it is now over, but I do hope it triggered may the bell curve be ever in your favour. thoughts, feelings or even encouraged a YouTube search, and I look forward to watching this festival grows now that the seed has been planted.

BULL xx

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 6

2/05/12 10:50 PM

SUSF

2

for

$29

*

s s a P m y G d Trial the Gol !

9 2 $ t s u j r o f for 2 weeks

Sign up to a trial Gold Pass today and experience access to: • Modern weights and cardio equipment at both facilities • Over 65 group fitness classes per week • Indoor 50m heated swimming pool • The Ledge indoor rock climbing centre • Free towel and locker hire • Much, much, more!

Open to the entire community to enjoy!

Sign up today, offer ends May 27.

Drop into one of our facilities, visit www.susf.com.au, or call: Sports & Aquatic Centre: 9351 4978 The Arena: 9351 8111 * Promotional period: May 7 – May 27 2012. * Maximum of 1 trial gold pass per person.

SUSF_2for29_BullAd.indd BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd1 7

24/04/2012 11:28:08 AMPM 2/05/12 10:50

8

bull USUonline.com what’s on

WHAT’S ON MON

TUE

For the FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS – head to USUONLINE.COM AND CLICK THE CALENDAR. Clubs and Socs – remember to submit your events on the website!

WED

THU

FRI

02

03

04

08

09

10

11

Humanitarian Week

Humanitarian Week

Humanitarian Week

Humanitarian Week

Humanitarian Week

Comedy Open Mic + Poetry Slam 12pm, Hermann's Bar [Prizes up for grabs.]

Debate: Trafficking of Human Body Parts 1pm, Manning Bar

Funch + Climb For Change 1pm, Eastern Ave

Amazing Race 11am, Manning House

Wrap Up Party 4pm, Hermann's Bar [Feat. BBQ , Beatles tribute band + Hippy dress-up theme.]

15

week 09 (may)

07

week 10 (MAY)

14

week 11(MAY)

21

week 12 (may)

week 08 (MAy)

01

28

29

30

31

01

Vegetarian Society

USU board elections

USU Board Election

Mallet Street / Rozelle / Conservatorium of Music

Camperdown / Darlington campus

Weekly Spanish Conversation Group

Anti-Flag

All You Can Eat Lunches 12pm, Manning Sunken Lawns

ote

ote

16

17

18

Weekly French Conversation Group

Beat The System Weekly Gigs

SUDS Play - Proof

23

24

25

MiniMUN

Tonight Alive

5.30pm

8pm, Manning Bar

Running to 26 May.

5pm, Hermann's Bar

1pm, Manning Courtyard

22

Theatresports Weekly Jam

®

3pm, Holme Common Room

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 8

8pm, Manning Bar

4pm, Hermann's Bar

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 what’s on

MONDAYS

EVERY WEEK

FREE FILM SCREENING

THERE WILL BE POPCORN! 6pm, International Student Lounge

DARCYSOC AGM & CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH 11am-1pm, Isobel Fidler, Manning

POKER

ARTS REVUE AUDITIONS

6-8pm, Manning Bar

TUESDAYS

WEEK 9 MONDAY 7 MAY

(Mon, Wed and Thurs on weeks 8-9) 2-4pm, Reading Room/ Bodhan Bilinsky, Holme Building

EVERY WEEK

Tuesday TV

12-3pm, Manning Bar

Rock Ya Balls Bingo

REDEFINING WHAT’S POSSIBLE – LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE VILLAGE LEARNING LAB

HERMANN’S TRIVIA

6.30-9pm, Eastern Avenue Auditorium

5-6pm, Manning Bar

1-2pm, Hermann’s Bar

TUESDAY 8 MAY

WEDNESDAYS

EVERY WEEK

FORNIGHTLY MARKETS

11am – 3pm, Eastern Ave (7 March-16 May)

FORNIGHTLY FUNCH (fun @ lunch)

1pm-2pm, Eastern Ave & various locations (14 March-6 June)

MANNING TRIVIA

5-6pm, Manning Bar

FILM SOCIETY FREE FILM SCREENING

6pm, International Student Lounge

SUNSET JAZZ

6:30-9:30pm, Manning Bar

PROJECT 52 COMEDY

7.30-10.30pm, Hermann’s Bar

THURSDAYS

EVERY WEEK

THEATRESPORTS®

1-2pm, Manning Bar

SEAGULL THURSDAYS $2 CHIPS

3-5pm, Manning Bar

POOL COMPETITION

4-6pm, International Student Lounge

FRIDAYS

EVERY WEEK

FOOD CO-OP GM 1-2pm, Barnard Eldershaw, Manning

KESUS GM 6-7pm, Law Library Study Room

WEDNESDAY 9 MAY STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE AGM

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 9

WEDNESDAY 16 MAY SUPA WEEKLY MEETING 11am-12pm, SUPA Office

USU ELECTION CANDIDATE SOAPBOX 12.45pm, Manning Bar

Student Life General Meeting 1-2pm, RC Mills Room 209

SURCAS WEEKLY TRAPEZE CLASS 3-5pm, The Ledge Climbing Gym

THURSDAY 17 MAY SUGS FORTNIGHTLY BBQ 11am-2pm, Chemistry Building BBQ

SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP

WEEK 11 MONDAY 21 MAY

8pm, Bosch 1A, Lecture Theatre 4

THURSDAY 10 MAY dEUS 8pm, Manning Bar

SHADES Speaker Night 6.30–9.30pm, Law Lounge, New Law Building

SUPA ELECTIONS 12-3pm, SUPA Office

SURCAS WEEKLY TRAPEZE CLASS 3-5pm, The Ledge Climbing Gym

FRIDAY 25 MAY 8pm, Manning Bar

SOUTH EAST ASIA LAW SOCIETY IGM

Sunday 27 May

7-9pm, Isobel Fidler, Manning

7-11 May, Around Campus Can social justice ever be fun? I hear you ask. Humanitarian Week will kick off with a Comedy Open Mic + Poetry Slam on Monday at Hermann’s Bar with great cash prizes up for grabs.

Tuesday Debate will see speakers from Care on a soapbox discussing the trafficking of human body parts, while on Wednesday, Eastern Avenue will be transformed into a playground; enjoy FUNCH with live music; Climb for Change on an awesome rock-climbing wall.

Missed out on this year’s The Amazing Race audition? Meet in front of Manning House at 11am to compete in the Great Amazing Race: Humanitarian Edition. Wrapping it up on Friday is All Your Need Is Love - embrace Peace and Free Love at Hermann’s Bar by dressing up hippy-style and letting your flower-strewn hair down.

Don’t forget to post a wish on Wishing Tree, get a Fair Trade coffee and donate food to the USU Food Drive throughout the week!

SUDS Presents: Proof 16-26 May, Cellar Theatre

Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS)

brings the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway production to an Australian campus – literally.

The SUDS adaptation is set in an Australian university and promises to offer something for everyone – math geniuses and theatre geeks alike.

Facebook.com/SUDSusyd

Tonight Alive

FRIDAY 11 MAY

Eurovision Screening and Party 7pm, Hermann’s Bar

WEEK 10 monDAY 14 MAY UNIMATES AGM

TUESDAY 15 MAY

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE

Humanitarian Week

6-7pm, Merewether Lecture Room 4

SUMS AGM

WEEKEND WARM-UP DJs

7-11pm, Hermann’s Bar

Accounting and Auditing Society AGM

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

5-9pm, Carslaw Lecture Room 452

4-7pm, Manning Bar

top picks

1-3pm, Isobel Fidler, Manning

$5 EVERYTHINGS

1-4pm, Manning Bar

MUSE GM 5-6pm, Holme Common Room

9

SU Triathlon Club AGM 1-3pm, Isobel Fidler, Manning

WEEK 12 TUESDAY 29 MAY USU ELECTION DAY Mallet Street, Rozelle, Conservatorium of Music

WEDNESDAY 30 MAY USU ELECTION DAY Camperdown, Darlington

2/05/12 10:50 PM

10

bull usuonline.com feature

Baku to the Future:

Love and Politics

at Eurovision

Cindy Chen waxes lyrical about the Eurovision Song Contest.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 10

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 feature

11

The Final Countdown

Here’s a sneak peek of some of this year’s not-to-be-

missed grand final entrants.

Russia: ‘Party for Everybody’ Buranovskie Babushki Buranovskie

Babushki (literally, the ‘Grandmothers from Buranovo’) are six talented ladies singing in their native Udmurt language about preparing the ovens and kneading dough while waiting for their children to come home, after which there will be – you guessed it – a party for everybody. With an average age of 75 and attired in shoes made from lime bark, get ready for a performance that will get you tapping your walking stick.

United Kingdom: ‘Love Will Set You Free’Engelbert Humperdinck The UK’s

derisive attitude towards Eurovision (and Europe in general) really reveals itself in full force when it comes to choosing an entry each year. See the bizarre nomination of Blue in 2011, and Scooch’s hilarious aviation-themed performance in 2007. But this year they’re turning that around by deploying the international music fossil legend and king of romance, Engelbert Humperdinck, to charm the pants off of Europe with a lovelorn ballad.

Gaze at his sideburns and swoon.

Montenegro: ‘Euro Neuro’- Rambo Amadeus Amadeus was a major figure

I

f your friends have started snapping up Kylie hot pants and posting suspiciously Communist music videos on Facebook, don’t be alarmed, for ‘tis the season of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Each year, more than 40 European nations (plus Israel) seemingly abandon all sense of dignity, taste and restraint to submit a performance for the judgment of their continental neighbours and the rest of the world. As last year’s champion, Azerbaijan will have the prestigious honour of hosting Eurovision 2012 in its capital city, Baku, drawing the attention of Eurovision’s 125 million viewers. Those numbers rival major televised events like the Superbowl, yet Eurovision spectators rarely admit to anything exceeding ironic appreciation. In fact, France in 1982 famously declined to enter the contest, calling it a ‘monument to drivel’. (They came crawling back the following year

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 11

to finish eighth.) However, although Eurovision may not be a monument to style or innovation, it has always been a glittering reflector of Europe’s sociopolitical zeitgeist.

Created in 1956 by the European Broadcasting Union, Eurovision was designed to promote harmony and greater linkages between European nations. Its success came early. Of the seven participating countries in the very first Eurovision, six went on to sign the Treaty of Rome, which led to the founding of the European Economic Community. The first contest painted a sentimental picture of European unity that became a common theme

of the 1990s Serbian-Montenegrin alternative music scene, having invented a genre called ‘turbo folk’. His entry ‘Euro Neuro’ is a rap in broken English which reflects on pressing current affairs issues, such as the European debt crisis (“Monetary break dance/Give me chance to refinance”) to the bureaucratic response to climate change (“Need contribution from the institution/To find solution for pollution”).

He may radiate creepy, drunk uncle vibes, but his satirical take on the state of the European Union will likely strike a chord with many citizens of Europe. Plus, he has a donkey.

San Marino: ‘Facebook, Uh, Oh, Oh’- Valentina Monetta A powerful

piece dissecting the effects of social media addiction; Monetta reveals how the internet has irrevocably shifted our patterns of communication. Insightful.

She croons, “Do you wanna be more than just a friend? Do you wanna play cyber sex again? If you wanna come to my house, then click me with your mouse!” On another level, Monetta deplores the founder of Facebook for his pervasive invasion of users’ privacy: “Mark Zuckerberg’s hammerin’, clamourin’ around the bend”.

Unfortunately, the entry’s hard-hitting lyrics were deemed in breach of Eurovision’s policy forbidding commercial messages, and was banned.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

12

bull usuonline.com feature

“Eurovision may not be a monument to style or innovation, but it has always been a glittering reflector of Europe’s socio-political zeitgeist.”

Hosting Your Own Eurovision Party The Eurovision Song Contest is a three hour-long marathon, so for a memorable Eurovision bash, keeping your guests entertained and well-liquored is a must.

1. The Decorations Set up the

party area with balloons, silly string, banners, and a shrine to the great former Eurovision narrator, Terry Wogan. The tackier the decorations, the better. Don’t forget to throw confetti and howl in French

when the winner is announced.

throughout the years, especially after the collapse of Communism and the Berlin Wall. The call for the reunion of the divided East and West through the power of song is a familiar refrain.

In 1990, as Germany’s process of reunification radically shifted, the face of European politics, Eurovision, held that year in Zagreb,Yugoslavia, was awash with sentiments of unity and political emancipation. Norway and Austria’s entries-, ‘Brandenburg Gate’ and ‘No Walls Anymore’directly referenced the fall of the Berlin Wall, while Italy won the competition with the moving anthem ‘Together: 1992’. Eurovision is, despite the European Broadcasting Union’s insistence otherwise, an inherently political event.

This is made clearer each year with the contest’s controversial voting system, seen to unfairly favour clusters of nations colluding and voting for each other. Performance scores are based on public phone voting combined with national juries of music professionals, and no-one can to vote for their own country. But this hasn’t managed to stop regional biases from influencing results. A backlash has emerged in recent years against the rise of Eastern European nations, which have won six of the past ten contests, despite allegedly inferior performances.

Case in point: Azerbaijan’s victory last year.

Disputes over the results erupt every year, but are often overshadowed by political crises in the real world. In March, Armenia withdrew from the contest after border skirmishes with Azerbaijan reignited historic tensions. Georgia similarly threatened a boycott at the 2008 contest in Moscow, but instead entered a song titled ‘We Don’t Wanna Put In’, a thinly-veiled jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a more positive political message, the 2009 Song Contest featured a duet by an Israeli Jew and an Israeli Arab singing about peace in the backdrop of the Gaza War. For most channel surfers on a quiet Saturday night though, the quarrels of a continent in steady financial decline play second fiddle to cheap entertainment, and cheap

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 12

entertainment is where Eurovision truly excels.

From ABBA’s breakthrough performance of ‘Waterloo’ (complete with a conductor dressed as Napoleon) to Celine Dion’s inexplicable representation of Switzerland in 1988, Eurovision has always been the harbinger of chart-topping tunes. Throw in some crazy costumes and lots of diehard fans, and it’s nearly impossible to not enjoy the spectacle.

Eurovision’s underbelly may be rife with political wrangling, but at heart, it is a kitschy karaoke session set in a world where the worst thing you have to worry about is finding someone to dance with.

It’s probably for the same reasons that Eurovision has been met with such success on our shores. Around 503,000 of us tuned in to watch the Contest in 2011, making it the second most watched program in SBS’s yearly schedule.

Hardcore fans regularly make the pilgrimage to Eurovision itself. Scour the live audience and you are bound to find an inflatable kangaroo jostling with European flags.

Dr Anika Gauja, lecturer at University of Sydney Department of Government and International Relations, has a theory on why Australians seem to love Eurovision as much as the Europeans do. “For the performances, for the glamour, and for their allegiance to a particular country,” says Dr Gauja.“For many, it is a matter of national pride.” Indeed, Australia’s special relationship with Eurovision dates back further than some competing countries. Olivia Newton-John performed ‘Long Live Love’ for the UK in 1974, and three-time winner, the man known as ’Mister Eurovision‘ himself, Johnny Logan, was born and raised in Melbourne before bringing Ireland untold success.

Geographic nuisances aside, there is no question that Australians could show Europe a thing or two about cheeky camp. “If only Australia were part of the European Broadcasting Union,” laments Dr Gauja. “We should be. Kylie, where are you?”

2. The Costumes It’s not a Eurovision party without triplets dressed in matching, metallic suits and a dwarf with blue face paint. Guests may come in traditional European dress (speaking in their chosen country’s accent is mandatory), or general 80s Eurokitsch. Bonus points for stiltwalkers, drag queens and Terry Wogans.

3. The Food From bratwurst to souvlaki, the Eurovision buffet is a chance for guests to pass judgment on competing nations before the yodelling even begins.

Try sourcing obscure European food from markets, hipster convenience stores and Ikea. Half-naked men smeared in glitter as waiters optional.

4. The Drinking Game

Obviously, the most direct form of entertainment will be the Eurovision performances themselves, and what better way to celebrate them than with a hearty toast?

Or 12. Sip, take a shot, or down your drink whenever you catch sight of the following: • Costume change during a performance • Perversion of national dress • Uncertainty over whether lyrics are English • Overt displays of cleavage/man-chest • Gratuitous pyrotechnics • France sings in English • Wardrobe malfunctions (accidental or intended) • Commiseration drinks for any country with nil points.

Given the high probability of all these events occurring, a low-alcohol beverage is recommended. But then, that wouldn’t be in the spirit of Eurovision now, would it? As they say in Azerbaijan, Afiyæt oslun!

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 feature

13

WELCOME TO PARLIAMENT HOUSE. STRICTLY: NO LITTERING NO LOITERING NO HUMOUROUS OBSERVATIONS

No Laughing

Matter

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 13

PATRICK MORROW TRIES (AND FAILS) TO THROW A PIE IN THE FACE OF THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

14

bull usuonline.com feature

F

rom this university’s humble revue program all the way to masterpieces like Keating:The Musical, it’s pretty clear that Australians love to take the piss out of our leaders, especially our federal politicians.

It probably doesn’t seem like a very difficult task, with the likes of Bob Katter and Barnaby Joyce running around on a flat earth with no gays, Tony Abbott being… well, Tony Abbott, and good old Craig Thompson out the back having more fun than the rest of them combined.

Hookers for everyone!

Nonetheless, it’s not as easy for Australian funnymen and funnywomen to deflate the little darlings as it is for their counterparts abroad.

It has nothing to do with their professional ability, nor with the quality of the objects of their humour. It’s all about access.

In 2006, then Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock boldly proclaimed that satire would hold an esteemed position in the realms of creativity and copyright. A raft of amendments to the Copyright Act saw a large-scale freeing up of copyrighted materials to the domestic satirist, as their expertise became a feature of fair use. After all, as one parliamentarian put it, our parliament owed a responsibility to safeguard “Australia’s fine tradition of poking fun at itself”.

Well, to safeguard it to a point. In spite of outwardly fighting for freedom of speech and the freedom to mock, the government of the day, and all governments since, have declined to remove one eency weency little provision

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 14

that continues to hold back our renowned national wit – the provision that applies to them.

The law currently states that “broadcasts [of parliamentary proceedings] may only be used for the purposes of fair and accurate reports of proceedings and must not be used for: a. political party advertising or election campaigns; b. satire or ridicule; or c. commercial sponsorship or commercial advertising.” In other words, footage of parliament itself is completely off-limits. While the first and final clauses are understandable, in the modern context the second hangs conspicuously like a limp, vestigial, middle leg.

These restrictions were imposed with the popularisation of recording technology in 1996, though precisely why or on what grounds is unclear. Craig Reucassel, veteran of Australian vanguard satire troupe The Chaser claims that it is chiefly a matter of ignorance that perpetuates this dated legislation.

“A lot of parliamentarians that we’ve spoken to, in fact the majority, are completely unaware of this rule,” says Reucassel.

“The public isn’t aware of it, and a lot of the journalists don’t know about it. It’s only really observed in the breach.”

Reucassel says that he has yet to actually come across a politician who is willing to defend the legislation.

It’s not hard to see why. University of Sydney Associate Professor and Sydney Law Review editor David Rolph believes that it’s unclear “whether it’s there to protect the dignity of the parliament itself, or merely the personal sensitivities or reputations of the politicians”.

While the law has been described as to preserving the dignity of the house, Reucassel insists that it is “not really a concept that exists in democratic principle”. Indeed, it would be absurd to argue that restricting Australians’ perception of what actually goes down in the House and the Senate is in any way conducive to a healthy democratic process. Most Australians would probably be in for a bit of a shock; just ask anyone who has ever spent time in the public gallery. Watching question time is often as vulgar as any Quentin Tarantino film. Comments are often rude, heated and unashamedly underhanded.

That being the case, why should this footage deserve greater privileges than any other material, especially when all it does is show our elected representatives doing nothing more than what we are paying them to do?

One excuse is that there is a need for the public to respect those who govern, and without doubt, our parliamentarians’ opposite numbers in Pyongyang and Beijing would be inclined to agree. Of course in this country, by comparison, balanced against that need for respect is the public’s right to scrutinise the goings on of parliament.

Associate Professor Rolph believes that despite the fact that our parliaments are open and public institutions where anyone can see what is going on, it doesn’t equal widespread awareness of the parliamentary innerworkings. “Unless you are particularly motivated by a particular issue, or on a school excursion, most of us don’t have the time (or, let’s face it, the desire) to go down to Canberra.”

Rolph suggests that, as against the dignity of the parliament, there is an expectation of public officials to act with a thicker skin, and cop criticism where criticism is due. “There have to be certain circumstances in which politicians have to accept that they’re in public life,” says Rolph. “People are going to say adverse things about them, fair or unfair, true or false.

“Unfortunately, being in political life means they have to have broader backs than private citizens.”

The law imposes a blanket ban on using the footage in satire, rather considering on a caseby-case basis. While this was less of a problem for the War on Everything, the Chaser’s more recent and more politically acerbic Hamster Wheel saw several of its scripts cut.

From a legal standpoint, Rolph describes the policy as “indefensible”. He believes so because it deals with access to the footage “at the level of how you characterise the whole nature of the program, rather than the level of the actual purpose to which the footage is being put”. This blanket ban means that agencies not expressly satirical in nature are free to use the footage despite the fact that, as Rolph puts it, “straight news reporting on major networks can be less than deferential”. The ABC’s Insiders is just as apt to be scathing and The Morning Show has made many an attempt (noble or otherwise) to make light of parliament, and yet the best in the comedic business are excluded from their share of the footage as a matter of policy.

As Rolph argues, those who decide whether a program is satire or not “tend to be of a very particular age, and of a very particular demographic”. In this instance, of roughly the same age and demographic as many of our politicians, and with similar views on the boundaries of taste and humour. Funny that.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 feature

15

“I would hope that what satire does is to take political debate to a broader audience... it often puts things into perspective.”

- Craig Reucassel -

Even so, Reucassel contends that satire is not something to be feared by the everyman, nor even by its targets. In fact, he sees it as a force for immense good.

“I would hope that what satire does is to take political debate to a broader audience... often a younger audience, and it often puts things into perspective,” he says.

Some kind of point or message is what separates ridicule from mockery, and satire from mere jest. Rudd picking and eating his own earwax is a cheap laugh, while The Hamster Wheel is an accessible, hip and happening teacher. This carries an ironic implication. “If you were to strictly apply this law, you could make jokes at the expense of parliament, so long as they didn’t have any substance to them,” says Reucassel.

At the end of the day, all this law prohibits is the making of valid points about Australia’s democratically elected leadership.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 15

Far from encouraging democracy, this provision only serves to stifle valid debate.

In the 2009 Andrew Olle Media Lecture, a speech delivered annually to the Australian media corps on issues affecting the industry, Reucassel’s comic comrade-in-arms Julian Morrow stood in staunch defence of the satirist.

“Choosing who, when, how and why you anger or offend is something you have to take responsibility for,” said Morrow.

“But you cannot let the targets of your comedy be the judge of what is acceptable.”

Reucassel backs his Chaser partner up in summing up this whole confusing mess.

“Politicians are doing a very good job of taking the piss out of themselves,” he says. “But I think it’s time they let us help them.”

2/05/12 10:50 PM

INTERESTED IN HEALTH AND WELLNESS? FIND OUT MORE ABOUT A CAREER IN CHIROPRACTIC For a career with excellent employment opportunities and a great work-life balance, train as a chiropractor and travel the world with your skills.

Find out more at: The University of Sydney Medicine & Health Careers and Research Fair on Wednesday 23rd May 2012

6 Harrison Road Mt Wellington, Auckland New Zealand

Tel: +64 9 526 6789 info@nzchiro.co.nz www.chiropractic.ac.nz

usubullmag@gmail.com

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 16

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 interview

INTERVIEW Julia Zemiro

17

Don’t miss

the Eurovision finals party 7pm sunday 27 may at hermanns bar

Prizes for best dressed.

Complimentary food & drinks provided.

CLAIRE BURKE gets the goss from SBS’s Eurovision expert on Azerbaijan and burning down the Cellar Theatre.

“Once I got into SUDS I made friends and felt good about what I was doing. It was fabulous.”

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF SYDNEY UNI? My first year at uni was 1985, and it was hideous.

Absolutely hideous. I didn’t really know how to cope with a very big environment. After high school, where it felt like everything was done for you, I just found it very overwhelming. I enjoyed the classes I was doing, but didn’t know what to do in the downtime, and I was probably a bit shy in thinking whether I could even join the Dramatic Society or a club or anything like that. It wasn’t until the end of first year when a guy I knew from high school asked me if I wanted to join a play he’d written for SUDS, and I never looked back. Once I got into SUDS I made friends and felt good about what I was doing. It was fabulous.

WORD ON THE STREET IS THAT YOU NEARLY SET THE CELLAR THEATRE ON FIRE… It wasn’t me! It was actually the daughter of John Bell [of Bell Shakespeare Company]. She was in a play down there, and they were doing a two-week run; they did the show, locked up and went home, and a fire started. It could have been cigarettes – we were all still smoking inside buildings back then.

Azerbaijan and the capital, Baku. The best bit about the competition is definitely the free trip to Europe every year.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF AN ‘ASIAVISION’ SONG CONTEST? DO YOU THINK AUSTRALIA WOULD GET INTO IT? Absolutely. Asiavision’s been in the works now for a while – I first heard about it two or three years ago, but haven’t heard what the latest is.

But Australians would be in like a flash. It’d be fascinating to see – I think there’d be a different kind of kitsch quality, and also really good singers and musicians as well.

HAVE YOU SEEN SAN MARINO’S ENTRY, ‘FACEBOOK’?

COULD IT BE THEIR WAY OF ENSURING THEY DON’T HAVE TO HOST NEXT YEAR? I haven’t watched all 42 entries yet – that’s the homework I have before I go. We’re filming RocKwiz at the moment so I’ll have to get onto it soon. But you don’t have to enter it, so maybe San Marino really think they’ve got a great song, and the crazy thing is some people will vote for it. But a country like Greece has to be careful, because if they get through, they can’t afford to host it. I think that’s happened before, and another country has decided to put it on for them. The European Broadcasting Union contributes money anyway, but if Greece won it, I don’t know if they could do it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES A GOOD EUROVISION? It’s not always to do with money. In Moscow, they were just so keen to make a good impression, they blew their budget, but it didn’t necessarily make it any better. On the other hand, in Norway they didn’t have that much money to throw at it, but it was a lot more concentrated. Last year, Germany did have a big budget and were really smart with it, and they DO YOU EVER GET SICK OF BEING TOLD YOU’RE FUNNY really put on an incredible show. So Azerbaijan AND SMART AND GOOD-LOOKING? should be pretty interesting this year – Baku is an exciting new city, they’re building lots of facilities, No, not really. It’s important to remember that there’s a lot of hair and makeup involved, and and culturally it’ll be quite different. It’ll if you saw me going down the shops, you’d go, probably be on a smaller scale, but having ‘Oh, we look the same’. said that, they have built a whole new stadium called the ‘Crystal Palace’.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, AND ENJOY BAKU! Thanks! One last thing – I don’t want to give HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO AZERBAIJAN? you the wrong information, so I want to point We didn’t even know where it was! out that I never finished by BA. I did 8/9 of it, Whoever wins has to host the following but I’ve still got third year English to go. I’ve year, and we were watching the tally at the actually just written an email to ask how I can end of the competition last year, thinking, finish it. Hopefully I can just do the unit online, ‘where is Azerbaijan?’ So we’re going to make but if I have to start from scratch, I’ll do it. a little documentary while we’re there, about

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 17

2/05/12 10:50 PM

n o d i k e n G Z w @ k e c n o # lbl a u t D pil V – D Palm il

D r VD

dless phone r o C – e CD-ROM – Car p ph Ta r – o te

ssette – Mag a C ne o e n a o l s Com tic Vid – Per pu r e g

W

bile Mo

r C ss DB ur ag ne r in Em g a

GPS – Tablet – Wi-Fi – So – s App – 4G Network – Streamin cial TiVotion-sensing consoles g – RS Medi – 3D a Mo - TV S F e e – B – C ds lu lo – et ud On oo e b W – – I nstan st lin ide W or d t orl Phone Laptop compute Me

lu Ray – USB B – l l yPa P2P – Skype – Smartph a ita P g o ne – er – Di d h r e s i v a e l F l – ab -read orrent c I –e tT i M B D g – – H min iki’s amera – th -ga – W igitae lWc D – Instant SMS b e e e y Wid Mess a d l r b g o agi – Se E W a – ot ng a

ne

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 18

o

Television Radio Print media Book Landline Telephone Post

Pa

the vir

r ild h c

re en a

tes Tim Asimakis. ure, wri t u f ur

2/05/12 10:50 PM

19

e

S

ometimes, when I sit very still and think very hard, I can take myself back and picture the early days of the internet. There were the computers that now appear positively pre-historic; the low-resolution screens, the noticeable lack of processing power, the clunky keyboards, and the mouses that were rendered useless by broken and missing ball bearings. As ancient as that sounds, however, I can go back even further, to the time before the internet; that phenomenal era characterised by home-owned encyclopaedias that were once trawled through, parents on hand, to find the elusive information required for a year two project on Saturn, hand-written and illustrated on A2 card.

–S ng ea DV rc D h

ne GEN Z

arch engine MS Se a S mer

e l ca gingita eny Di

Eb a

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 19

GEN Z

GEN Z

THE WORLD WHERE YOU LIVE Each new generation is born into a world far different from the generation before. The technology and opportunities that surrounds you as you grow up form your baseline of what’s normal and what’s possible in the world.

From then on, each new technological advance and gadget is a marvel that the next generation will have to luxury of taking for granted. Advances in communication and information techonology in particular have exploded in the space of only a few generations. No other industry sees such relentless and rapid advances. Most of us can still remember when the internet was barely present in daily life. For the youth of today, however, it is as omnipresent and vital as the very air we breathe. Below we can see how each generation is born into an increasingly digital age.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

? what Generation are you?

What subculture do you relate to best? a) Hippies b) Punks c) Emos d) Hipsters

Your fave footwear is… a) Leather Sandals b) Doc Martens c) Converse High Tops d) Nike Air Force 1’s

You went crazy for… a) Yo-yos b) Rubik’s Cubes c) Tamagotchis d) Angry Birds

You remember where you were when…

a) John F Kennedy was shot b) John Lennon was shot c) The Twin Towers fell d) Michael Jackson died

Fashion accessory best forgotten…

a) Bell bottoms b) Leg warmers c) Baggy three-quarter p

ants d) Crocs

Mostly: d’s - Generation Z c’s - Generation Y b’s - Generation X a’s - Back to the nursing home, gramps

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 20

“Kids aren’t allowed to be kids these days and they’re made into little consumers at a very young age.”

- Andrew Fuller -

It is this quaint memory that defines me as one of influences even the language used by their the very last members of Generation Y. There are practitioners. English is changing and evolving as it now increasing numbers of individuals for whom adapts to technological developments. The youth are such a memory is as foreign a concept as writing a by no means incomprehensible, and some actually letter. Collectively, those individuals are known as laud the new age of brevity and succinctness that Generation Z. digital communication has inspired. However, even Generational definitions are by no means an the spriteliest and most tech-savvy members of elder exact science. Pigeonholing mass numbers of generations, the people who have been utilising ‘lol’ individuals into categories based on birth dates for years, run the risk of being baffled by the acronym appears does seem to be an ineffective system. It overload. Apparently ‘TMWFI’ (take my word for it) tends to paint groups of individuals as homogenous, is a thing. Seriously, TMWFI. automated wholes, scarcely accounting for differences Of course a discussion of Gen Z would be in circumstance or situation and never allowing incomplete without the obligatory mention of social individuals to display individual qualities. However, to media. The prevalence of Facebook amongst the the extent that a generalisation is made, Generation Z youth is common knowledge: it is easy to picture is loosely defined as compromising of children born that obnoxious eight-year-olds with 4,000 friends around or after 1995. whose status is changed upwards of 50 times a day.

Your typical Gen Z-er wakes to their ‘sleep cycle’ The important thing to note, however, is that while app; immediately checks the weather in real time; many still consider Facebook and social media to be a updates their Facebook status and checks up on their developing tool for communication, for Generation Z 200 closest friends – all before putting a foot out of bed. it’s merely another reality of the world that they have This generation’s most significant characteristic is their been immersed in since birth. total lack of exposure to life without mass computer Another interesting trait of the Digital Natives of technology. The members of Gen Z are born into a life Gen Z is the developing exposure to a complex global completely immersed in the wonders of the internet, issues and a world perspective. There is something with information on every topic imaginable just a few surreal about hearing an eleven-year-old voice a keystrokes away. surprisingly well-informed opinion on environmental Statistically, Generation Z functions within a issues, and yet this is increasingly becoming a digital world. As far back as 2008, the Australian normalised event. The concerns of adults are no longer Bureau of Statistics estimated that 95 per cent of considered to be issues that will bore or be ignored by children connected to computers regularly, a figure children, but instead are issues with which children that has only risen. But more than that, Gen Z are can engage on some level. “We’re seeing an erosion mobile. For Gen Z, it is not enough to be connected of childhood,” says child psychologist Andrew Fuller. to the digital landscape via a computer, or even “Kids aren’t allowed to be kids these days and they’re a laptop, but rather it is normal to be constantly made into little consumers at a very young age.” connected. This is a condition fostered by a world of By being forced to grow up younger, members of mobile technology: smart phones, tablets, wi-fi, 3G, Generation Z are learning more and facing the world and now 4G. As much as Gens X and Y are thankful with a certain wisdom. Indeed, it is the more-adult for such technologies, for Gen Z they are the norm mindset of Generation Z that has led many social and all that has ever been known. The Australian analysts to predict that we could well see the most Mobile Telecommunications Association report that educated generation in history, as greater numbers of over 90 per cent of secondary school students own a our youth seek degrees, diplomas and other forms of mobile phone, as do increasingly large proportions of tertiary education, equipping them with the skills to primary school students. Anthropologist Mike Walsh tackle the problems of the future. aptly describes the relationship between Gen Z and The world of Generation Z is a world that soaks computer technologies. “The things we have had to its inhabitants with information, education and an learn – communications, downloading content, online unprecedented understanding of our societies and transactions, research, networking – is entirely natural planet. While I am defined by a half-forgotten memory to them. They were born into it.” It is this distinction of a pre-digital age, members of Generation Z have that has earned its members the title ‘Digital Natives’, a no such memory. In its place is a fast-paced attitude of label coined by pedagogical researcher Marc Prensky. informational and material consumption, pushing Gen Such cultures of instant, informal communication Z headlong towards our future.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 feature

21

FINDING

HELP

Illustrations by Misa Han

T

he leading cause of death in people aged 15 to 24 is not road accidents, cancer or violent crimes. It’s suicide.

Bronte O’Brien and Lawrence Muskitta go on a mental health service crawl

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 21

For many of you, this is no shock. From television to toilet door advertisements, billboards and Facebook newsfeeds, mental health is being talked about everywhere.

And so it should. Leading experts claim that one in four young people experience mental health difficulties. This can interfere with daily life, relationships, work and education. So, perhaps we uni bums who struggle to find motivation to get out of bed, shower regularly or attend lectures are actually impelled by poor mental health.

Seventy-five per cent of mental illnesses begin before the age of 25, making early intervention and prevention strategies critical.

For many, university is a prime time to address mental health concerns.

Mental health difficulties come in all shapes and sizes, like stress, sadness, addiction, depression, anxiety, psychosis, mood disorders and eating disorders. Unfortunately, finding the right options to suit individual tastes, circumstances and needs can be a bit of a bitch.

So, to sketch out some of the options, we went on a bit of a service-crawl through campus and online. Sort of like a pubcrawl, except with a marginally less painful hangover.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

22

bull usuonline.com feature

On-campus Services

Two months ago, a handful of students from different organisations, a few from the faculty of Medicine, some from Law and a couple representatives from the USU and Senate, met to talk about what students could do to promote positive mental health.

“So,” someone asked, “what mental health services are there on campus? And “Online how are they different counselling from each other?” is a relatively new Blank faces and shrugged shoulders area but synchronous all round. No-one interventions are proving really knew.

Could this to be useful... it’s underwhelming essentially face-to-face response be attributed therapy without to the University’s lack of an overarching the face.” strategy to effectively deal with mental health issues among students? Or perhaps failure on the part of the services that do exist to market effectively? Or plainly just a student’s unwillingness to do any work finding important information until they actually need it?

Probably a bit of each.

The University actually has three separate on-campus mental health facilities: Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS), headspace and the Psychology Clinic.

Perhaps the best known of the three, CAPS is a free counselling service that Information is funded and run by the University Websites and therefore doesn’t require Medicare beyondblue.org.au or a GP referral to access. It is, however limited to a 10-sessions-per-year policy. au.reachout.com CAPS came in contact with 2,200 students last year, some of whom were Online dealing with issues such as self-harm, Counselling psychosis and major mood or anxiety kidshelp.com.au disorders. But you don’t have to suffer eheadspace.org.au a mental illness to come to CAPS. Most students go because they have been stressing about uni work; have been Interactive having problems with their partner, Training family, or friends groups; or simply Modules haven’t been feeling 100 per cent. ecouch.anu.edu.au What sets this counselling moodgym.anu.edu.au service apart from headspace and the Psychology Clinic is accessibility.

Apps Anyone with a current student card can make an appointment. And unlike MoodyMe the other services, CAPS even allows DBT Review half-hour sessions for those who walk in with an emergency issue and don’t Hotlines have an appointment.

Lifeline However, CAPS isn’t equipped to 13 11 14 offer specialised care. Although the staff are qualified and do a superb job on Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 the majority of cases, the centre lacks

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 22

the resources needed to handle more complex cases that require more time or supplementary expertise. For these, it’s best to look at the other services.

A block behind the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, opposite the Buddhist Reading Library is headspace, a multidisciplinary service specifically for young people aged between 12 and 24.

The multi-disciplinary model of headspace means clients can get comprehensive and specialised care without having to be referred to a splattering of other services first. Their team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists, GPs, social workers, occupational therapists and a male mental health nurse. This means they can employ a more holistic treatment plan that involves an effective arsenal of approaches that attack the problem on psychological, medical and social levels, all under one roof.

Headspace operates under the Medicare system. This is pretty good if you’re an Australian citizen because you can get up to 10 free sessions a year.

Many mental health professionals, however, say this isn’t enough. “It’s very medical model still,” says Toni Ovinni, the clinical lead at headspace. “You can see a psychiatrist once a week on Medicare, whereas you can only see a psychologist for therapy only 10 times a year. Go figure!”

This is a common sentiment as drug-prescribing psychiatrists have long been given disproportionately more government funding than therapybased psychologists, even though rates of remission are lower with the latter treatment. That’s not to say psychiatry isn’t important; it absolutely is. It’s just to point out a harsh inequity in the way mental health is funded.

The situation is starker still for the 22 per cent of the University community who are international students. Without medical rebates, they must have either private health insurance, which many don’t, or cough up around $200 per session. A more cost-effective solution for international students (and local students who have expended their 10 free Medicare sessions) could be the third and final service on our list.

On the other side of campus is the Psychology Clinic, a training centre for new clinical psychologists staffed by trainees and their teachers. Dr Judy Hyde, the director of the Clinic, is confident this doesn’t adversely affect the quality of treatment because the trainees have each been vigorously tested to get to this point and all sessions are overseen by a senior professional, many of whom are leaders in their field. This model also means

clients receive the most up-to-date, evidence-derived therapies.

There is, however, a slight problem with the Clinic when it comes to cost.

Currently, the government doesn’t provide a medical rebate to such training centres. This means they aren’t able to bulk-bill and clients must pay for service up-front. But for students, the total cost for a one-hour session is a mere $10. That’s less than a Manning Grill Burger.

Although the people and quality of service is impeccable, the Clinic building itself can be used as a poignant metaphor for the way the University sees non-research services. Not only is it hidden away in the far end of the Mackie Building, it is very literally falling apart. Two years ago, the University was told that the building was sinking into Parramatta Road and that they had to make a decision to either rebuild or have it temporarily underpinned. Because it was cheaper, they chose the latter.

“I think they made a mistake,” says Dr Hyde, when asked about the monstrous crack tearing its way from the ceiling down the hallway wall.

New Tech-Services

Actually going to a service or talking to a counsellor in person can be daunting.

But by getting online, downloading an app, or making a phone call, you could find an easier outlet for your mental health difficulties. If you need some downtime, or if you’re feeling casesensitive, this could be the domain for you. There are a torrent of options you may like to be a client of.

Accessing technology-based services offers many benefits and previously unseen opportunities. Those who feel uncertain about face-to-face support, have a hectic lifestyle or live in an area where support is limited can find these technologies seriously seductive. The ability to remain anonymous is also enticing.

Doug Millen is 23-year-old University of Sydney student who works for an Australian-based international research centre that explores the role that technologies play in improving young people's mental health and wellbeing. “University students, on the whole, are more connected than ever, providing a unique opportunity for the use of technologies in mental health promotion and treatment for mental health difficulties,” says Millen.

The question though, is how

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 feature

effective can such technology be at solving an individual’s problems? Liesje Donkin, clinical psychologist and PhD candidate at the University believes there’s no clear answer yet. “It’s often hard to tell until people have given them a go,” says Donkin. So, let’s give them a go.

Many go online for help when they’re having these difficulties.

However if your Facebook friends don’t respond to your distressing wall-posts; or if Googling ‘psychopath’ to find a diagnostic test hasn’t helped, there’s e-mental health. There exist useful, dedicated websites if you can bypass the trolls and unwanted cases of ‘cyberchondria’ to find accurate and supportive online resources.

Once you beat your way past the mob of pseudo-experts on Yahoo!Answers, sites like BeyondBlue and headspace offer detailed information on the spectrum of mental health concerns. They also have other practical information like where to find face-to-face therapy, how to help a friend, or how to cope with a family member who is experiencing difficulties.

Donkin also points to several self-help programs where users

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 23

can learn skills and techniques to address mental health difficulties. e-couch and moodGYM offer interactive exercises, various modules, automated feedback and the ability to track progress over time. “Evidence shows these are effective if utilised as designed,” she says.

Mental health forums and chat rooms are other options.

However, opinions are mixed about the benefits of these online communities. Properly-moderated spaces, such as ReachOut and the Australian National University’s BlueBoard increase chances of receiving beneficial support. Just be mindful of detrimental advice and other users who think these are adult dating services.

Bridging the online and face-to-face divide is instant messaging or direct email services connecting people with mental health professionals through online counselling. Trained professionals are available to chat, give information, provide advice, or offer therapy in real-time.

Eheadspace and KidsHelp in particular offer web counselling for those up to 25. “This is a relatively new area but synchronous interventions are proving to

be useful,” says Donkin. “It’s essentially face-to-face therapy without the face. Lucky them.”

You can also add mental health apps to your collection, in between that fruit-slicing game and the app for breast augmentations. Portable and easily accessible, they can help manage, monitor and prompt coping. There are lots, but play around with MoodyMe and DBT Review to get a feel for what apps can offer.

And, let’s not forget the ancient art of telephony. Phone lines can be used to chat, get advice, or receive crisis support from a trained professional. Anonymity and the ability to get help out of hours are clear advantages here. Give Lifeline, eheadspace and Kids Helpline a go.

So whether you decide to visit one of the friendly on-campus services or find support elsewhere through the magic of technology, remember: you are not alone.

In the words of the late Albus Dumbledore, “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it”.

Hogwarts we are not, but the sentiment stands. Imperfect as it is, there is help to be had and all you have to do is ask.

23

CAPS

Level 5 of the Jane Foss Russell Building • Drop-in appointments • Convenient location • Free for all current USYD students

Headspace

97 Church Street, Camperdown NSW 2050 • Specialised service • Multi-disciplinary model • Free for Medicare card holders

Psychology Clinic

Mackie Building, 2 Arundel St Forest Lodge • No 10-session limit • Opportunity for new, evidence-based treatment • Cheap alternative for international students requiring long-term help

2/05/12 10:50 PM

24

bull usuonline.com.au campus chatter

CAMPUS CHATTER Dear Jong-Un,

GETTING A HAIRCUT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN SHOOT ROCKETS.

I’m not a stalker, but...

TO THE MUSLIM GIRL AT THE AUJS EVENT, Let's start a MuJew alliance.

Shabbatman TO THE CUTE TICKET-GIRL AT EDGECLIFF STATION, I'd like a round-trip to your pants.

Student single TO THE FRO-TASTIC VEGESOC GUY, You're hotter than the tofu curry on Tuesdays and as sweet as pineapple halva.

Keen bean

Toodles, Daddy Kim

TO THE EGYPTIAN GIRL IN MY FIRST YEAR PHILOSOPHY TUTE, Be my Cleopatra?

Kant stop thinking about you to usu debaters, Just remember: no one cares.

Legend to legend, Don't be jelly.

USU Debaters (Champions, baby)

TO LISA ZADRO, Get out of my mind, you filthy telepath!

Charles Xavier Meryl Baby, We still on for brunch?

Hillz C Honi Soit, There are grave consequences for misquoting the dead.

Christopher Hitchens Dear Ordinary Victorian Literature Tutor, Necessity compels me to use you.

Young Rochester Dear Michael Spence, You're shorter in person.

Underwhelmed Orpheus, I'm at Bosch. I don't know how I got here, but I'm going to have some food at this here cafe.

Eurydi

vox pops question Who do you think will win Eurovision?

Rohan Burn, Arts III

“Who’s in Eurovision?

Europeans right? Is Australia in it?

If we’re not, we should be.”

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 24

Daniel Cohn, Economics III “Probably France.

My family's from France.”

CAITLIN KENNY, Arts - hon & Steph Grey, Masters of primary teaching

“Funny thing, Eurovision is like this pseudo-political thing where everyone’s like, ‘Oh you can just vote for whoever’ but if Scandinavia doesn’t vote for Scandinavia and the Eastern bloc doesn’t vote for the East, then they will actually be in a war in six months time.”

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 campus chatter

Please, have a cow Got beef with something?

Spill your guts in 400 words or less to usubullmag@ gmail.com

Penelope Lauren will not be taking your order.

‘Large-soy-chai-latte-with-ahalf-shot-of-espresso-and-nofoam.’ It’s these sorts of orders that frustrate me. Perhaps it’s understandable at a cutesy provincial café. It’s one thing to be a connoisseur. It’s another to be overly fastidious, especially at the Fisher coffee cart or in the Campos line.

Either way, you’re unlikely to become the chummy regular who conveys their wish with a single nod of the head. Rather, the very people who smile so sweetly from the counter will labour over your over-engineered creation and mutter perversely under their breath.

Faced with the additional waiting time, I muse over (read:

judge harshly) the possible reasoning behind such orders.

First, it is unlikely that you are a connoisseur. These sorts abhor coffee carts. Second, you suffer from an allergy, or 10. Delicate dispositions require orders that amount to prescriptions.

This is an acceptable reason, but there is no objective way of backing this up. Or third, an especial order attests to your especial personality. Does personality even cover it? You’re an individual.You cannot be expected to step into line with the rank-and-file.

Finalising this analysis would be easiest through conversation.

This I cannot do.You intimidate me. If you happen to have ordered before me, I bear the burden of ordering equally elaborately on the spur of the moment, or risk look like a simpleton. This, however, has the

There was a time when boy bands were a big deal. The kings of the gelled, blonde-tipped spiky hair and leaders of the heartfelt, emotional breakup-song genre; they were gods and the 90s were their Olympus. They taught us young’uns the coolness of matching outfits/suits/jumpsuits; the art of picking up and even basic math (U+Me=Us. Calculus, anyone?).

Now, boy bands, like Backstreet, are back, reincarnated in the form of the British One Direction. They may have younger faces for a new generation of squealing tweens, but underneath is the same boy band formula with the same time-tested tricks.

Pointing. So much pointing at the screen.

Who are you pointing at? ‘OMG, THEY’RE POINTING AT MEEEE! I love you Harry!’

And then there's a different guy every verse.

Every verse. Sometimes they even switch midverse. Now that’s talent.

Even if you’re not mesmerised by all the pointing and switching, there’s always the guilty pleasure of jumping and dancing around in your room, singing wildly to the fun, beep-boppy rhythms.

So let’s hear a hurrah for these bands of boys! Why? Because I want it that way. [smoulder-pout-smoulder] And you should too.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 25

potential to turn into blurting out ‘triple-shot-green-tea-no-sugar’ before I exit in disgrace. No, that would not do. It’s safest to order as per usual even if I feel your double-shot glare reproving me.

I return to my musings; the conclusion must be the third. But surely a person so particular as you, has somewhere pressing to be? A tutorial cannot truly begin without your input and presence, surely? An efficient order would actually be in your favour.

Really, though, throughout all this it is I who am judging myself.

Am I so boring that I can place my order in one breath? Do I betray myself as one who merely requires something – anything – warm in an over-enthusiastically air-conditioned library?

I suppose my real gripe is that whilst the Campos staff can’t manage to spell my name, they don’t even blink at your order.

AGAINST

FOR

Sarah segal lines up to touch Harry Stiles' luscious locks

25

locking horns Disputed: Boy Bands

Gabriella Edelstein stays at home and listens to "real music"

Let’s get something straight here: there is a difference between boys who play in a band and boy bands. We’re not talking about The Beatles, we’re talking about a group of cookie-cutter barely-teens who get picked up by a producer and are told to be musicians. And boy bands always seem to go in One Direction: their fame is as sudden as their swift return back to the storage box of Who Gives a Fuck.

Surely the first indicator of their unworthiness is that they are the fixation of preteen twits everywhere, using teenage hormones as a moneymaking mechanism.

Furthermore, the use of autotune doesn’t mean that you can sing or that you know what constitutes musicianship (sight reading, anyone?). They’re given identities such as ‘the charming one’ or ‘the funny one’, which basically means that there’s a plastic fantastic he-child for every hysterical and lonely girl out there. As pre-packaged prince charmings, they are nothing more than manufactured morons as a trumped-up teenage fantasy.

Their fame isn’t lasting, their beauty isn’t eternal, and they always disappear into the nothingness of pre-show bands (if they’re that lucky). Besides, everyone knows that Justin was only cool post-*NSYNC.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

SHIP ACCESS MEMBER

...............

. . . . $110

hip . . . . . . . . . . . . . $90 Annual Members p ................ hi rs be em M 11 Renewing 20 *

25% embership - Savear ting with $110 st ar ye by ar ye sing (Save $70) * Based on purcha . . . . . . . . . . $220 ............... . . . . . . .

(Save $95) . . .

85 . $2 ar . .

3 Ye .............. . . . . . . . . . .

20) . . . . . . . $350 (Save $1 4 Year . . . . . . ............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Year . . .

Life of Degree M

CCESS CARD AT: A R U YO T E G !

W JOIN NO g Road g House, Mannin vel 1 Mannin

, Le ce Road • The ACCESS DeskGr e Building, Scien ound Floor Holm s, es Dr ic em ing • Acad Foss Russell Build , City Road ntworth Building • U Shop, Level 1 Jane We 3 l ve Le r, te un co ck , City Road Ba ing e, ild or • Campus St 4 Wentworth Bu ts Lounge, Level en ud St l na tio • Interna bership card. your Access mem ded in the price of member discounts ents only and is inclu ts will vary. Access This offer is for stud of individual even es Pric es. pric 2 Based on average discount. entr y to up to 50% can range from free

1

S AVE

10

$

. 23

USYD Canvas Bag x1

S AVE

12

$

USYD Custom Hoodie

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 26

x1

S AVE

13

$

.50

3 Piece Graduation Hire

S AVE

24

$

Mt Franklin Water (600ml) from USU outlets 2/week

S AVE

36

$

Pie + Sauce 2/week

S AVE

40

$

SMH Uni Pass1 Annual

S AVE

45

$

Manning Burger from Manning Grill 1/week

S AVE

54

$

Sandwich 2/week

S AVE

60

$

Regular Coffee 4/week

S AVE

63

$

Access Member Goodie Bag

USU-branded bag+diary +pen+pencil case speaker

S AVE

1 14

$

Entertainment/ Events2 Based on 15 events

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Get your Herald Subscription …..at no cost to you!

Included in the cost of your USU Access Card

Your Access Card will pay for itself over and over again with great on and off campus Access savings. With the SMH Uni Pass included at no extra cost to you, you’ll be kept informed and up to date with a 2012 Herald subscription delivered the way you want it.

Choose your package when you get your Access Card:

Print + Digital

Digital Pass

Choose 7-day home delivery OR 3-day weekend delivery with weekday campus pick up – both valued at more than $540*

A Sydney Morning Herald Digital Edition subscription valued at more than $180*

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

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

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

LITTLE MASTER’S MISERY

GOOD WEEKEND

WEEKEND SPORT

On-campus outlets where you can pick up your complimentary SMH Monday to Thursday.**

2012 FACES TO WATCH SPECTRUM

WEEKEND

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

January 14-15, 2012

MEET THE $10b HEIRESS

PAUL McGEOUGH

Year of job pain to hit banks, shops Gareth Hutchens ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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

But the Herald has established the job cuts will total as many as 1000 by the end of this year, which will be more than the bank shed at the height of the global financial crisis.

They come a day after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced plans to close its investment banking business, leading to the loss of more than 200 jobs in Australia.

Economists have warned Australia is vulnerable to a recession this year with a wholesale funding squeeze in Europe raising debt costs for banks such as ANZ. Experts have warned thousands of jobs will be lost from the industry this year as banks scramble to adjust to an era of low credit growth and higher funding costs.

This comes on top of cuts of 2150 jobs between March 2009 and last September in ANZ’s Australian division. ‘‘We have run a policy of shedding jobs through attrition since October last year,’’ an executive said. ‘‘Temps have not been rehired once their contract has expired.

Secondments have been stopped. We have outsourced two whole floors of operations staff from a [Melbourne] office to Manila [in the Philippines]. If

ANNE SUMMERS

BOMB BLAST THAT ROCKED THE WORLD NEWS REVIEW

NEWS, PAGE 6

700 2100

ANZ jobs to go this year

Australian jobs cut by ANZ in past two years

200

Local jobs lost in Bank of Scotland closure you count all those jobs since October, along with what will be announced in the next week . . . we will lose more staff than we did as a result of the GFC.’’ The national secretary of the Finance Services Union, Leon Carter, criticised the bank for shedding jobs when it had record profitability. ‘‘Yet again the first time anything gets tough in finance the only trick in their locker is to put jobs on the line,’’ he said. ‘‘It continues to be a highly profitable organisation that is making multibillion-dollar profits. They have an obligation to keep everybody employed.’’

The Financial Services Minister, Bill Shorten, said: ‘‘We haven’t been briefed specifically on any decisions of the ANZ in term of jobs.We regard any job losses as unfortunate.’’

Experts say banks will be for-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANZ staff wait for axe to fall — Weekend Business

SILENCE LIKE A CANCER GROWS NEWS REVIEW

• • • •

Who’s for a dip? But there is a dark side

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

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

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

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

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

In NSW classes are offered

through an Education Departentry to existing pools, which is a ‘‘We have kids who are doing ment, two-week intensive probarrier to some socio-economic nipper training, who are resgram in schools for students in groups, and the increasing cost cuing kids their age on days years two to six. of bus transport. when the surf is a bit tricky,’’ said The program – the most ‘‘The Department of Educathe nipper manager at North affordable in the state – is offered tion tries to minimise the cost Bondi Surf Life Saving, to 100,000 students but is not but there are some limitations Jim Walker. compulsory. on that. It’s just a sign of our ecoNorth Bondi has 1400 children The peak industry body AUST- nomic times at the moment. doing nipper training, up from SWIM said in recent years issues People are being pinched a bit.’’

850 a few years ago. of cost had made some parents On the plus side, Surf Life SavA Bondi resident, Julia Palmer, reluctant to send their children ing is enjoying a boom in the was raised in England and for lessons. number of young people becom- wanted her daughter, Tabitha, to The chief executive, Gordon ing involved in the volunteer res- gain a better understanding than Mallett, said: ‘‘If there is no local organisation. guide to she had of safety at the beach. advisory days: yourcue five-page starting university pool, despite any efforts the This year it has 30,000 nippers ‘‘We offered for her to do it and Department of Education may on its books and the number has she loves it. She’s much more make, it starts to get more diffibeen rising annually for the past confident now in the surf than cult. Then you’ve got the cost of four years. she was,’’ Ms Palmer said.

Footbridge Station Wentworth Campus Store Bosch Cafe Caffe Tra Baci

• Manning Kiosk • Engineering Building • Snack Express

STARTS PAGE 12

Come in spinner: Fiji pays Washington lobbyists for image makeover FESTIVAL OF THE COUCH Dylan Welch SUVA, FIJI ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

THE Fijian regime of Voreqe ‘‘Frank’’ Bainimarama has recruited one of Washington’s most notorious lobbyist firms – that has been raided by the FBI and represents repressive regimes in the Middle East and Africa – to help manage its reputation and lobby foreign journalists.

And diplomatic sources believe the firm, Qorvis Communications, may be behind the decision by Commodore Bainimarama to lift the widely condemned public emergency regu-

Frank Bainimarama ... advice. lations, only to enshrine them in a permanent law.

The company is represented in Suva by a fresh-faced former business journalist, Seth Thomas Pietras, who has been in the

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

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

It is likely Mr Pietras, described

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

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

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

summer

News Review Fiji’s future of uncertainty Monday January 2, 2012

Anna Patty ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Only available at

ubank.com.au

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

The son also rises

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

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

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

‘‘Our clients are facing some challenges now,’’ Mr Pietras told The New York Times. ‘‘But our long-term goals to bridge the differences between our clients and the United States haven’t changed. We stand by them.’’

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

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

Rates current as at 13 January 2012. The comparison rate is based on a secured loan of $150,000 over the term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and You should consider the terms and conditions for UHomeLoan, available from ubank.com.au, before making any decisions regarding this product. Fees and charges and lending criteria apply.

Last year, during the Arab Spring, Mr Pietras was Qorvis’s spokesman when its role in defending Middle East regimes was

theworld subject ofof debate.

The the box-setreputation addict after

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

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

Howard honoured, for Queen and country ISSN 0312-6315

News — Page 3

Weather, or not

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

What’s it all mean?

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

6.14 UHomeLoan

Paul Sheehan, Opinion — Page 11

Road toll falls

%

The 2011 road toll was the second lowest since 1944, according to provisional figures from the NSW Centre for Road Safety. Last year, 376 people were killed on NSW roads, down from 405 the previous year. The toll has dropped from 524 over the past 10 years.

p.a.

Variable and comparison rate

News — Page 5

different comparison rate. UBank is a division of National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686.

UBA526/smhfp1_G3982327AB Exceptionally meritorious services ... Mr Howard at home in Wollstonecraft yesterday. ‘‘It’s a compliment to Australia,’’ he said of his award. Photo: Quentin Jones Kelly Burke ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

NOT since Sir Robert Menzies has the monarchy bestowed such approbation on an Australian politician.

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

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

Mr Howard, along with the British artist David Hockney,

INSIDE Bowser blues

NSW drivers could face more petrol price rises when the government bans regular unleaded fuel, pushing up demand for ethanol-blended and premium unleaded, the industry has warned. From July, petrol stations will no longer be allowed to sell regular unleaded in a bid to promote renewable biofuels.

9 770312 631063

Have you let your home loan go?

ROAD RULES

TRAFFIC across the city would Pedestrians in the city be slowed to 40km/h as part of centre: 600,000 City of Sydney plans.

Vehicles in city centre: Terry Lee-Williams, a trans85,000 port strategy manager at the City International safety speed: of Sydney, told the NSW Parlia30km/h ment’s joint standing committee City of Sydney safety on road safety that the council speed: 40km/h would like a “blanket” 40km/h speed limit across the city in “predominantly residential through the reduction of speed areas”. He said 20 per cent of the limits, as is international best existing city speed zones were practice. On any given working day, there are 600,000 pedestri40km/h. ‘‘Once we do the CBD, that ans in the city centre and 85,000 would take it up to about 35 per vehicles. The slower the vehicle, cent and we would progressively the less risk of severe trauma to like to roll that through. I say the pedestrian.’’

A spokeswoman for Roads and progressively because it is a cost issue,’’ Mr Lee-Williams told the Maritime Services said it had “received a copy of the concept committee late last year.

The costs include hundreds of proposal for a speed zone reducthousands of dollars in studies tion from the City of Sydney on ‘‘and hoops we must jump Christmas Eve and is reviewing it charges. terms, fees and or other loanthis amounts early year”. might result in a throughDifferent for the RMS [Roads The former Labor premier Maritime Services]’’.

The NSW Labor MP Walt Kristina Keneally and the City of Secord, who is a Staysafe com- Sydney lord mayor, Clover mittee member, said he dis- Moore, agreed to a plan to slow agreed with the council plan to traffic within the city centre to introduce the 40km/h speed 40km/h by early 2011 in a zone across the city, saying it memorandum of understanding dated September 13, 2010, when would further congest traffic. ‘‘Recently at a Staysafe parlia- Mr Secord worked as chief-ofmentary hearing, the staff from staff for Ms Keneally.

A spokesman for the NSW Sydney City Council were advocating changing the entire city to Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, 40 kilometres,’’ he said. ‘‘While I said the minister had not yet understand they have safety seen the City of Sydney proposal.

Mr Lee-Williams told the Stayconcerns, I fear that it could slow safe committee in late Novemcity traffic to a snail’s pace. ‘‘This would make journeys ber that someone hit by a car at across Sydney even longer in 40km/h was far less likely to die duration and slower, especially than if they were hit at 60km/h. ‘‘Internationally it is 30km/h, at night.’’

A spokeswoman for the City of but because it has taken about Sydney said it was the responsi- 12 years to get the RTA down to bility of NSW Roads and Mari- 40km/h, we did not want to push time Services to approve any the envelope to 30km/h,’’ he said. ‘‘Traffic also flows better in changes to the speed limit.

“The RMS is responsible for crowded areas at a slower speed signposting and speed limits because . . . you do not get compression between intersections: throughout NSW,” she said.

“The City of Sydney supports the vehicles are moving easily; improving road safety and min- they do not have to accelerate, imising the risk of injury and decelerate, accelerate, decelerdeath in pedestrian areas ate.”

First published 1831 No. 54,364 $1.50 (inc GST)

IN GOOD COMPANY

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

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

The Order, founded by King

1HERSA1 A001 as may have rendered exceptionally meritorious services in Our Crown Services or towards the advancement of the Arts, Learning, Literature, and Science or such other exceptional service as We are fit to recognise’’.

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

Mr Howard becomes the ninth Australian appointed, following in the footsteps of the philosopher Samuel Alexander, the intellectual Gilbert Murray, scientists Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Howard Florey and Robert McCredie May, former chief justice of Australia Sir Owen DixEdward VII in 1902, carries no on, artist Sir Sidney Nolan and title but is considered an soprano Dame Joan Sutherland.

Mr Howard is expected to extremely high mark of honour and a personal gift from the receive his Order of Merit – an eight-pointed cross bearing the Queen.

According to the Royal Family’s imperial crown to be worn website, it is to be given ‘‘to such around the neck – at a ceremony persons, subjects of Our Crown, later this year.

First Tuesday

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul appeared to be running neck and neck in Iowa before tomorrow’s first vote on the candidates vying for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, with Rick Santorum mounting a late charge. Contenders have been blitzing shopping malls, public meetings and local media.

World — Page 8

Classic stoush

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

Third placed Rochelle Gilmore also called for change.

SportsDay — Page 32

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

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

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

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

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

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

Research indicated it was likely that since the end of the

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

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

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

Switch your new Smartphone to an Optus SIM for MORE.

vices for the foreshore clean-up, she said.

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

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

The Herald understands that staff were unwilling to work with

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

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

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

such as mangrove swamps, the NSW Maritime spokeswoman said.

The agency expects to restart the program using volunteers provided by a non-government organisation in the first quarter of next year, another spokesman said.

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

SYDNEY CITY sunny 18°-26° LIVERPOOL sunny 15°-31° PENRITH sunny 16°-33° WOLLONGONG sunny 18°-26° GOSFORD sunny 15°-28° NEWCASTLE sunny 18°-26° CANBERRA partly cloudy 15°-35° ARMIDALE mostly sunny 10°-27° DUBBO sunny 17°-35° COFFS HARBOUR partly cloudy 16°-26° DETAILS PAGE 18 ISSN 0312-6315

9 770312 631018

Search Optus SIM.

Terms & Conditions: ~Must attach to your Optus Rewards membership before 15 March 2012. Triple points apply until 31 December 2012 to services held in the same name as the new service and attached to your Optus Rewards membership. You must be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member and an Optus Rewards member and link OPTUS13728/SMH/7x11 your membership to earn points. Points are only earned once payment is made for eligible Optus services through a validated Optus account which has been added to your Optus Rewards membership. Full Terms and Conditions at optus.com.au/points. SingTel Optus Pty Ltd ABN 90 052 833 208.

1HERSA1 A001

smh UNI PASS

*This offer is for students only, and subject to availability. Print and Digital subscriptions start within 2 weeks of USU sending confirmation of new subscription to Fairfax. Print and Digital subscriptions end on 31 December, 2012. For full terms and conditions visit uni.smh.com.au. Academic Staff Uni Card is available from $60 at Footbridge Station and Wentworth Campus Store. The subscription is included in the cost of your Access Membership Card. Values based on newsagent recommended retail price and subscription period. **Only for on-campus package.

JOIN ACCESS NOW! BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 27

2/05/12 10:50 PM

28

bull usuonline.com features

School T es Neroli Austin convinces students to wear school uniforms to uni.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 28

I

t seems to be the inevitable question upon meeting a new person at uni: ‘So, what high school did you go to?’ If I had known this was the way things would go, I would have brought my uniform.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 Feature

29

“It’s comforting to know that whatever thing there is to excel there will probably be an Old Boy there. Just kind of look at each other across the quad and give a silent nod.”

For many, high school friends fall to the wayside as involvement in university life breeds new friendships and acquaintances; though for others, university is an extension of school, where many of the same people populate and define the landscape.

Although it would be comforting to think we all start university on the same footing, high school bonds give some students an instant connection to university life that leads others to feel excluded from it. Perhaps it is unrealistic and uncalled for to expect people to drop it like a Snoop Dog hit.

Stef, who attended a private international school overseas, says she was asked by every student she ever met what school she attended.

When she told them of her international education, they seemed confused. “It was almost as if they hadn’t thought of anyone not growing up in Sydney,” says Stef. “They would’ve preferred me to go to a crap Sydney school rather than a school they had never heard of.”

Edwin, who attended a selective school in Sydney, agrees with Stef’s opinion. “If you recognise the name of the school, you attach to the person a certain image - you are part of a certain group,” Edwin says.

However, he believes that’s not necessarily a good thing. “If people don’t recognise your school, that can be an advantage as well because then you have more control over the image you project,” he says. “But at the same time you don’t get the automatic recognition that you belong to certain circles.”

Meanwhile, having attended the ‘right’ school can be met with equal disdain. Doug, an alumnus of a private school in the Eastern suburbs, found that people had a “pretty negative” perception of his school. “People who aren’t from the Eastern suburbs or the North Shore and didn’t go to schools like it, are often a bit put off by it and write you off as being wealthy and elitist. I don’t often like telling people where I went to school,” says Doug.

Edwin faced no such stigma attached to his high school. “I never had anyone be like, ‘oh, you went to Sydney Boys’. I always get a worse response when I tell people I do law,” he says.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 29

In first-year when you meet someone, asking what high school they attended seems as obvious as asking what degree they’re undertaking.

“When you are in high school it’s kind of your whole world. If it is all you know, it is all you have to talk about,” Stef explains.

“Eighteen-year-olds aren’t good at making conversation… so taking school out of the conversation makes it that much harder for them to talk to you,” she says.

This is a reasonable explanation for the fascination with high school during the first year of university. But the persistence of the question is astounding (I am now in my sixth year at Sydney University but was nevertheless asked only a few weeks ago what high school I attended).

On the face of it, it would seem a benign question that “just pops out”, as Edwin puts it. “When they start telling me a few things about the sports they do, what people they know, I start to get an idea where they might have gone to high school, it’s like a template I have in there already, so the question naturally comes out,” he says.

Some though, would put a more cynical read on this search for information. Stef believes that often it is “absolutely a way of ascertaining your socioeconomic background”. But if this is the case, given the prejudice some experience as a result of attending private schools, it would seem that there may not be a favourable answer.

Many would argue that it is merely another way of getting to know someone. “I’ve probably been more the person to bring it up at irrelevant moments more than anyone else I know,” says Doug. “It doesn’t affect how I view them; I find it interesting. I like knowing where they come from, where they spent time when they were young… It shapes part of who they are.”

Stef echoes Doug’s view that high school affiliation is irrelevant to how you judge a person. “I don’t care. It doesn’t affect me,” she says. Doug even goes further to acknowledge that most of his friends “couldn’t give a shit and wouldn’t even think about it. Most wouldn’t know where half of their friends went to school.”

This indifference is undoubtedly shared by most students at this university. But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain

2/05/12 10:50 PM

30

bull usuonline.com feature

advantages that accrue from attending a particular school. Edwin believes having many people from the same school at university can be a comforting experience.

“I come across people from Sydney Boys and essentially we’re part of a club. It’s comforting to know they’re there,” he says.

“It’s comforting to know that whatever thing there is to excel at there will probably be an Old Boy there. They’re not necessarily wanting to wear it on their sleeve. Just kind of look at each other across the quad and give a silent nod.”

These network benefits may be as simple as meeting friends of friends. Doug recalls this helped him early in his degree. “I became very good friends with a guy in first year who went to Sydney Grammar, which is very similar to my school, and I became friends with a lot of his friends,” he says.

“When large chunks of your year group do go to uni it does make it easier to meet other people because you meet people that they met at uni.”

However, for some, having so many acquaintances at university may be a stifling more than beneficial experience. “I’ve heard it is possible to be too connected. I’ve come across other groups of Sydney Boys High people here

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 30

at Sydney Uni [whose] social mentality hasn’t changed at all since high school,” says Edwin.

This is particularly the case in a college context, where living in close quarters can keep high school bonds very strong. “A lot of people do get stuck at being the same person if they have a lot of school friends at college,” explains Doug. “I rarely see the guys I went to school with at uni, were we in a college setting I probably would’ve.”

“It keeps you in the schoolboy school-girl mentality a lot more. I know people who really did get trapped,” he says.

Part of the issue is that university classes don’t make it easy for people to go beyond their pre-existing friendship groups. Doug continues, “It is very rare that I became friends with people in my tutes who I wasn’t already friends with.

“I think it is difficult.You’ve got to want to break out of your mold.You’ve got to want to make friends.”

The advantages of having a social network from high school may go beyond the comfort of friendly faces at university. “A lot of people I knew at school were quite well established in certain groups and fields: philosophy, debating, certain clubs and societies,” explains Edwin.

“Perhaps [they] give you a little bit more advice than usual about how to get a position.

“It didn’t really feel as if I was just depending on that network of privilege that I had back in high school. It was nothing like that. There was the understanding that we had been a group of friends and friends help each other out.”

Given this, it could be difficult for those without high school connections to break into the fabric of the university. “You not only have to be good at what you do” Edwin argues, “you have to break into networks that others already have. A lot of it is simply dropping a lot of names because it is actually really easy to get in.

“It is almost like a game of

Chinese whispers. One person ticks these boxes, and then they become a box you can tick, and they give a reference to someone else.”

It would seem as though high school is relevant at university only to the extent that it gives you a conversation starter, a way in, a name to drop. Although attending a particular school may give you a ready-made group of friends, going beyond that will always take effort, and you may even feel trapped by them.

For others though, not having attended a prestigious school in Sydney can be an isolating, yet satisfying, experience. Stef found in law school that she “absolutely” felt out of place.

“I think it is not necessarily that I didn’t go to the right school, but that I don’t have the right attitude,” she says.

“It is more about not fitting the mold. Not having the polo shirt with the neck popped, the brand glasses and the mini sundresses. A lot of it is image, but school is a big part of it.”

Edwin would argue that some of the isolation Stef feels is unwarranted. “A lot of people do put on the façade of being good friends or acquaintances when really they’re not so much,” Edwin says.

“And any outsider observing this may feel excluded for all the wrong reasons. But that was as much of a problem back in high school.”

The high school badge at university is what you make of it. For many it will become an answer to a question quickly forgotten as mutual interests build new friendships. Others may find themselves content to cling to old ties. For them, university can feel just like school, with the same people providing the same ladder to climb.

Although school connections may help a few get ahead, like a John Hughes film, it is always possible for a new kid to break in – all you need is a willingness to loosen the old ties, forge new ones and get an ASOS account.

“It’s comforting to know that whatever thing there is to excel there will probably be an Old Boy there. Just kind of look at each other across the quad and give a silent nod.”

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 feature

31

youniversity

Your Country Needs You

Misa Han chats to students who took a long march to university.

T

here’s an urban legend in Singapore known as ‘Pulau Tekong Third Door Bunk’. A soldier is found dead with a knife in his stomach, but with the blade protruding outwards rather than in.

Home to the microstate’s military training centre, the island of Pulau Tekong is haunted by many such stories of young men conscripted into the National Service. Matheus Yeo had barely graduated from high school when he received a letter listing the military schools he could report to, Pulau Tekong among them.

Despite such myths, Singapore’s army is not as nasty as it seems. Neither is Matheus the only veteran at the university.

A number of overseas students do a compulsory ’gap year’ as part of their country’s military conscription right before coming to the university or in the middle of their academic study. “They promote it as a resort and it does have resort-like facilities – swimming pools, running paths, and catered meals,” says Matheus.

It’s not all mud and gunplay either. After being injured, Matheus was posted to the army museum where he researched army history and put together exhibitions. “They started to send new recruits to the museum to indoctrinate them to the army. It felt really weird other servicemen were being bombarded by this stuff I’d created,” he says.

“When people think of military service, they typically look at the fighting aspect. But there are people in less ‘glamorous’ positions – in logistics, cooking, transport and stores.”

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 31

For some, this less glamorous work means homework. A classroom in the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) looks like a typical university tutorial, with 18-year-olds practicing Indonesian and studying English literature.

But these cadets have been up since 6am for room inspection, and spent an hour planning a strategy to deal with a hypothetical full-scale military invasion before lunch.

“not your typical tutorial.”

Third-year International and Global Studies student Nai Brooks had recently returned from a gap year when she joined ADFA at 19.

Her reasons for joining seem to be read right off an Army Reserve recruitment ad. “I wanted to explore the world and challenge myself. I saw the defence as a professional organisation that provided careers,” says Nai.”I specifically wanted to go into intelligence.”

Despite attempts to separate the academic from the military life, Nai says that it is the physical training, not academic interest, that drive many at ADFA. “A lot of people did not care. There was a guy who used to copy off my work; learning for learning’s sake isn’t the done thing.”

The Defence Academy is a universe all unto itself, with its own rules and customs. Cadets are not allowed to go off campus, except on weekends, for three years. “When a bunch of people are shoved together and you’re so far away

from your regular support systems back home, all you have is each other,” says Nai. One result of this is a particularly vicious rumour mill, in which even the smallest gossip tends to snowball out of control. “A couple of friends spread a rumour for fun.

It takes three or so days for it to come back.”

When Nai ended a relationship with another cadet in her division, his friends started a ‘Go Fuck Yourself Brooks’ petition and got people to sign it. “They were my friends but, because boys choose boys’ side at ADFA, they felt like they had to make a decision to intervene in our relationship,” says Nai. “It’s hard to escape and it’s hard to train with these people when you’re there 24/7.”

Things took a violent turn when, in a tragic case of mistaken identity, another cadet assaulted Nai’s sister with a glass at ADFA’s local watering hole. One visit to casualty and five stitches later, Nai left ADFA for the greener and freer pastures of University.

“At ADFA there is a rule against walking on grass. About a semester in at Sydney I would be walking with a friend and still pull them away from the grass,” she says.

“I felt this overwhelming sense of liberation. It was so nice to walk around a campus where no-one knew who I was.”

Like Nai, Matheus found coming to university after serving in the military liberating. Two days after completing military service, he was in Sydney, ready to start his degree.

“It was quite a transition,” says Matheus.“In the military, you have to follow orders. At university you take responsibility and you answer to yourself.”

Matheus, as an ex-pat, is now exempt from the annual refresher military training for ex-servicemen, but is not free from the grips of the army. “At the end of the day, everyone is eligible to be called up,” he says.

Would he go back to Singapore if he were called up? “I think it’s my responsibility to go.”

2/05/12 10:50 PM

32

bull usuonline.com food & BOOZE

food & BOOZE

Before Too La-Ong Arghya Gupta Can See Iew.

U

pon graduating from the University of Sydney, a student leaves with several phrases engrained in their vernacular. ‘I’ll have it in

by Monday,’ and ‘sidere mens eadem mutato’ are probably not among them. ‘Pad see iew chicken (/beef/pork/tofu), please... take-away,’ however, is a given. It slides off the tongue as smoothly as the flat egg noodles slink down the gullet after a cheeky chew or seven.

While little else separates Sydney Uni from neighbouring tertiary institutions, the dining options down King Street make every student here evolve into a food critic at the level of a Pattayan sous chef, and with good reason. The Thai eateries along Newtown’s iconic street are world-famous, and cater to even the most

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 32

meagre wage. But with more than a dozen Thai restaurants in such close promiximity (seven on the uni side of Missenden Road), students can really be spoilt for choice.

Despite the seeming overabundance of Thai eateries, there are subtle differences. Some lunch-goers base their decisions on the ready availability of duck (Newtown Thai I and II); some are willing to pay a higher price for more niche ingredients (Atom, Chedi); some enjoy the convenience of a short walk from uni (Thai Noon and Night); while others are lured by reputation, lack of corkage fee, or just old times’ sake (Thai La Ong I, II). All but a few of the high end ones will offer a hearty serving of any dish for under $7, generally making choice of venue a question of loyalty or experimentation rather than thrift.

But the competition on the other side of the coin does not create as much tension as might be expected.

“We get along really well with each other.

We even have staff parties with the other restaurants,” says the manager of Thai La-Ong, Pongsathorn Patanan, aka ‘Eagle’. In fact, Newtown’s Thai restaurateurs seem downright neighbourly towards one another.

“If we ever run out of a certain ingredient, we can just borrow from another restaurant, and vice-versa,” says Eagle.

And it appears business is thriving. The original Thai La-Ong alone currently serves anywhere between 3,500 to 4,500 meals a week during semester, suggesting this stalwart will remain a staple of the Usydneian diet, notwithstanding some patrons’ ambivalence.

“Taste-wise, [TLO] isn’t exactly traditional standard,” says student Cindy Ariyamethe. “But despite the salt and sugar overload, you get all the essential food groups and it can feed you for two meals.”

Even factoring in price increases after 4pm, it doesn’t come close to what you would pay for dinner in many other places on the same street, especially if, like Cindy, you can squeeze two meals from a serving. Further, the Sydney University Thai Students’ Association (SU Thai) receives member discount at TLO and several other nearby establishments.

Nonetheless, not everyone’s a fan. “Every time you go [to TLO], at least one person's order is guaranteed never to show up, and the vegetarian will inevitably be served meat,” says Arts student Rebecca Saffir.

“And yet, we go back,” Rebecca continues.

“Against all reason, all logic. I don’t know what they do to us, but if they could patent it, they would make a mint.”

Recent graduate Jessica Kirby meanwhile believes it’s about more than just delicious food (and it is delicious). “What makes it really special is that it’s become part of the tradition of being a student at Sydney,” says Jessica.

“Everyone who’s been to Sydney Uni in the last ten years can remember awkward lunch dates, post-tutorial feeds, pre-pub crawl fuelling sessions... It's almost a ritual, and fundamental to the genuine Sydney Uni experience.”

RECIPE STUDENT BUDGET PARTY PÂTÉ This wonderful little recipe makes a whole heap of pâté – over a kilo – and costs about $10 to make, assuming you already have access to some cooking brandy. If you don’t, go get some – that shit is useful.

Rock out this pâté at your next house party; feel free to set it in that R2D2 baking mould you bought on eBay for extra effect if you like. Or don’t. But if you’re going to, make sure you oil it first so it’s easy to get out of the mould.

What you need

• 500g chicken livers (available from butchers, chicken shops) • 2 onions, roughly chopped • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 500g butter • 5 tbsp cooking brandy • 2 tsp dried mixed herbs

How to make

• Chop onions and garlic; melt butter in a pan over medium heat.

• Cook onion and garlic until soft.

• Add livers and cook for about 5 minutes (ensure livers are still pink on the inside).

• Stir in herbs and brandy; season with salt and pepper.

• Cool, then blend in batches until all done.

• Refrigerate 24-48 hours (the longer the better).

• Garnish with fine-chopped parsley.

NOTE TO P-PLATERS

As written here, there will be enough alcohol on your breath from eating this pâté to register on a breath test. To avoid this, add the brandy when you add in the livers to cook out the alcohol.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 travel

country nepal

Look and Listen Emily Perrins finds out what Nepal has to offer the eary traveller.

Y

ou hear the dull metallic jangle of cowbells and flatten yourself against the rock wall just in time for a procession of yaks to amble past on the precariously narrow mountain path.

First rule of trekking in Nepal, our guide was sure to point out to us, is to listen out for cowbells so you have time to place yourself mountain-side of the trail to avoid being thrown off the rocky edge by any wobbly heads of cattle that may come racing around the corner ahead of you. Considering the hundreds of yaks and donkeys-cum-pack mules you pass on any of the trekking routes in the region (as they provide the main means of goods transportation up and down the Himalayas), as well as the extreme height from which your flailing body would fall and never be recovered – it’s a sound worth listening out for.

This is no different to many of the unique sounds to be heard in Nepal, which together help to ‘create’ the place in your consciousness.

Considering the strong link that studies have found between music and emotional memory, we shouldn’t be surprised at the impact sounds have on our travel experiences.

Some people make the most of it, tapping into the emerging trend of ‘audio tourism’ and following their favourite band across a continent (otherwise known as groupies). Some go on pilgrimages to the Mecca of their favourite genre – Memphis, Tennessee or Salzburg, Austria.

Others collect locally-produced CDs to add to their world music collection, bolstering their status as a cultured individual.

But what does Nepal have to offer these audio travelling trendsetters? Most notable are the rusty yak bells and tranquil mountainhigh silences (a contender in the genre of postmodern music, perhaps -- but is it art?), but Nepal offers a completely assorted smorgasbord of sounds. Not only does the chilled

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 33

bar scene offer the out-of-context house beats of David Guetta, but alongside it, a sample of local reggae blended with a vein of Bollywood pop. Then there are the traditional folk songs of the region. One in particular, ‘Resham Firiri’, stands out as a favourite of our trekking guides, in which the lyrics describe the local porters as ‘donkeys’ carrying the heavy loads of the lazy ‘monkeys’ (tourists).

Additionally, there’s the meditative ‘om mani padme hum’ of the Buddhist chants heard in the remote monasteries tucked away in the mountains, as well as from stereos on the streets in Kathmandu. A captivating sound that goes around in your head for days.

Other sounds are not quite so welcoming: the whurr of a mountain rescue helicopter flying overhead; a military alarm in the streets to warn of an imminent strike (a fair warning to any traveller to find a way out of the vicinity quicksmart); or, depending on your perspective, the out-of-tune warbling of your trekking group semi-delirious from altitude and in need for musical interlude to distract from the chill.

Other sounds again just seem blatantly out of place. For instance, the repeated playing of Bryan Adams tunes, from dingy pubs in downtown Kathmandu to high-altitude midHimalayan townships carved into the sides of mountains. This is probably because Bryan Adams became the first international artist to perform in Nepal, when he gave a concert early last year, and since then his stardom there has only increased.

Finally, you get the sounds that perhaps you’ve never appreciated before, such as the

33

SURROUND

SOUNDS

With search tags such as ‘creaking’, ‘reverberance’, ‘nature’, ‘chimes’ and ‘whispering gallery’, listed among others, the Sonic Wonders website (sonicwonders.org) offers sound travel advice – literally. Run by a Professor of Acoustic Engineering from Salford University, the site invites users to tag locations around the world where sound is a major attraction.

successful landing of your tiny diesel twin-otter plane on one of the world’s shortest runways (Lukla, at 460m), with the screeching of tyres and the echo of the propellers reverberating around the mountains that surround the airport (the alternative sound being the crash as you overshoot the runway or miss it altogether).

Then there are the squeaky high-pitched choruses of ‘namaste’ from grubby-faced local children greeting you in small townships.

Together, not only do these melodies, everyday noises and croons make for one fabulously eclectic travel soundtrack, but they characterise much of Nepal as a place. From the silence of the mountain trails high in the Himalayas (apart from the rare Yeti call) to the hectic cosmopolitan of Kathmandu and everything in between.

travel 2/05/12 10:50 PM

2 1 0 2

!

Y T R A P & G YR N A I N M E bA E 7 R S ’ 2 ANN SC Y dA ERM N7PM, h u S oM fR

SSEd T dRE S E b foR PRIzES

CoMPlIMENTA R & dRINkS PRo Y food vIdEd

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 34

2/05/12 10:50 PM

!

R

d

d

Issue 03 fashion

35

STUDENTS TALK INK. No Pierce Hartigans were harmed in the making of this piece.

O

nce upon a time in Western society, a tattoo marked its owner out as being a certain type of person. Generally, it meant they were badass. Irish bareknuckle boxers, prison inmates and hairy bikers alike could rock their true colours right there on the birthday suit, and it was grand.

Perhaps it was the pain involved, the devil-may-care approach to permanence or the assumption that the wearer would probably die before it got saggy, but in any event, a tatt bespoke the kind of (usually) dude you were. And that dude was tough.

Fast-forward to the trampstamp – out now in a porno or trailer park near you – the cheeky “friendship” on a tanned ankle, or the preponderance of sailor tatts among Sydney’s hipster community (hi again!) and it becomes pretty clear that the once-great tattoo has evolved into something completely different.

Notwithstanding the rise of the cultural tattoo, especially the Polynesian ‘sleeve’ which remains at least an attempt at badassery, most ink floating around Sydney today has more to do with selfexpression than with intimidation.

Like these bad boys...

Mason McCann

Ujala Rao

Brigid Dixon

What does your tattoo show?

It’s a shamrock, a four-leafed clover.

Position: Elbow.

Why did you choose that design?

It’s for good luck, but I also have an Irish family background, so it made sense. I was actually going to get a star there, but apparently it means you’re gay, and I didn’t want to give the wrong impression. That’s what the tattoo guy told me when I went in, anyway.

Where did you have it done?

House of Pain on Parramatta Road.

It’s a pretty dingy little place but they do good work.

What does your tattoo show?

It’s a dandelion that turns into birds. I still need to get the rest of it done, though. It’s going to end up being a half-sleeve.

Position: Forearm.

Why did you choose that design?

It’s a couple of different things.

First up it’s a symbol of freedom, and I guess going on with time as well. It’s also dedicated to a friend who died in a car crash a few years ago, so it can mean different things for me every time I look at it. I really love that.

Where did you have it done?

I had it done at Wicked Ink in Penrith.

What does your tattoo show?

I actually have two. The first one I got is a heart with big drips coming out of it; the more recent one is a series of butterflies.

Position: Right and left sides of the ribcage, respectively.

Why did you choose that design?

The first one is pretty difficult to explain, so I won’t. I think that’s part of the beauty of tattoos – they’re supposed to capture feelings or thoughts or experiences that words can’t. The butterflies are for me and my sisters, one each – we have some good juju going with butterflies.

Where did you have it done?

I got the first one at Steel Lotus in Sydney, the other at Victims of Ink on Chapel Street in Melbourne.

I have plans for more (including one for my brother, who missed out on the butterflies) but I’m waiting until I get to New York, where a lot of my family are, before I get them.

Arts III

Education I

fashion BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 35

Law V, USU Board Director

2/05/12 10:50 PM

36

bull usuonline.com sport

sport Who Let The Dogs Out? Xiaoran Shi discovers just how ruff it can be in a dog-eat-dog world.

T

ucked away from the hustle and bustle of the main traffic arteries, one of this city’s forgotten empires lies languishing.

It stands formidable in all its concrete glory, nestled amongst the wide, leafy boulevards and flashy high-rises of the inner, inner- west. The Fish Markets are a good guess, except you’d be wrong. No, it’s not Carriageworks either, and the Annandale it ain’t.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 36

What’s at stake here is Wentworth Park Sporting Complex: the premier facility for greyhound racing in Sydney and home of the world’s richest greyhound race, the Golden Easter Egg, with prize money set at a comfortable $250,000.

Less than half an hour’s walk from Sydney Uni, Wentworth Park holds weekly greyhound races on Friday and Saturday nights. If the caricatures of greyhound racing enthusiasts drawn in The Simpsons are anything to go by (and Matt Groening is never, ever wrong), you can only imagine WPSC is where hapless drunks and inveterate gamblers come out to play.

But reality is a little more glamorous.

Socceroo star, Tim Cahill, is himself a dishlicker fan, and co-owns champion greyhound, Fancy Dean. The core remains middle-aged, blue collar males, but moves are being made to reach out to a wider demographic. Wagga Wagga Greyhound Race Club President, Darren Hull, last month moved to make the sport a wholesome family pastime, by giving away free Easter eggs to the first 100 children through the racetrack gates.

Bucking the international trend of declining profits and attendance rates, greyhound racing in Australia has actually risen in popularity by almost 10 per cent in the past 20 years. It now is responsible for a fifth of all gambling revenue in the country. That’s a lot of money for what some might consider a degenerate blood sport.

The sport has not always been so stigmatised.

Greyhounds enjoyed lofty status in the courts of ancient Egyptian nobility and formal greyhound racing purportedly has its origins during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when the first official rules of coursing – which is essentially making a spectacle of the canine pursuit of game (usually hares) – were introduced. The real gamechanger came in 1906, when American Owen Patrick Smith invented the mechanical lure for an adapted circular racetrack. His little bunny revolutionised greyhound racing into what we know it to be today.

Like all animal-related sports, modern greyhound racing has been dogged by animal rights concerns for years. There are no legislative provisions for the treatment of greyhounds.

Instead, the Australian Greyhound Racing Association and the relevant state and territory associations self-govern greyhound welfare.

They enforce policies providing that dogs sleep in kennels, exercise and roam freely during the day, and are subject to regular veterinary checks for parasites, malnourishment and doping.

When there is no concrete evidence that industry self-regulation isn’t working, it is not difficult to see why the sport’s viability has been called into question. Recently the media’s attention was captured by reports of shocking abuse of racing greyhounds in Macau, where at least one is killed per day. This is especially worrying when Macau imports a majority of its racing greyhounds from Australia.

The truth is that greyhounds are bred to win, not for the companionship of a pet. So when the average lifespan of a racing hound’s career is four years, the cycle of demand for strapping, young whelps results in a surplus of hounds past their prime. These old dogs need to retire, and unfortunately, often the easiest way to do so is to retire them the way a Blade Runner retires a Replicant.

Thankfully, many adoption programs have been established to provide homes for greyhounds whose track days are over. The United States is trialling a number of programs such as Second Hand Greyhounds and Purple Heart Greyhounds, which more than just give them a fresh kennel; they aim to give them a fresh lease on life by partnering them with prison inmates or soldiers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.

And lest we forget the heart-warming story of Santa’s Little Helper and his escape from an existence of abject abasement. It seems things aren’t so bad for greyhounds, after all. But, damn, don’t even get me started on those horses.

2/05/12 10:50 PM

Issue 03 science & tech

37

Just Plane Antiquated BrontË Lambourne investigates whether Al Qaeda could bring down a plane with a Furby

W

e’re flying in a Lockheed Eagle Series L-1011. It came off the line 20 months ago and carries a Sim-5 Transponder tracking system. Are you telling me I can still flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?”

So exasperated Toby Ziegler in the pilot episode of TheWestWing, and for an observation produced over a decade ago, it’s astounding that nothing has changed in the way of airplanes and their apparent Achilles’ heel: personal electronic devices.

The fictional White House communications director is not the only one outraged. Last year, 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin, was notoriously escorted from an American Airlines flight after he refused to abandon his (admittedly addictive) game of ‘Words with Friends’ on his iPhone.

Flight attendants and aviation authorities have remained dogmatic in their insistence on turning off all electronic equipment during taxi, take off and landing.Yet recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US released a statement that they had decided to take a ‘fresh look’ at the regulations.

Policies banning the use of electronic devices are up to 30 years old and no formal testing has been conducted since 2006, before iPads and Kindles. No results were produced that indicated a positive interference. In fact, any evidence that points towards a hazard appears to be anecdotal at best.

The lag in testing has largely been explained by the time and cost intensity of the experimental process. Every plane in every fleet of every airline must be tested individually against every version of every gadget (Apple’s frequent model updates foil us once again).

Yet the FAA have agreed to renew inquiries, intending to update its bizarre index of approved

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 37

Well perhaps one or two electronic devices, which includes electric razors and voice recorders, iPads won’t produce but not calculators. But before dangerous levels of electrical talky travellers get too excited, interference, but once this smartphones are not yet right is extended to the on the agenda. hundreds of passengers While aboard we’ll run into Australian airports problems, right? tend to follow the Nick Bilton from recommendations the NewYork Times put of the this theory to the test, International visiting EMT labs that Civil Aviation monitored the number Organisation, of volts per metre emitted aircraft authorities all from a device. While the FAA interact in an osmotic Never trust requires planes to withstand a Furby. way. Considering that up to 100 volts per metre planes must obviously of electrical emissions, an cross international borders, there’s Amazon Kindle produced just a need for standardisation. All 0.00003 of a volt per metre. “Five aviation authorities, here and Kindles will not put off five times abroad will look to this American the energy that one Kindle would,” research.

EMT labs testing manager, Kevin Surprisingly, in December last Bothmann said, “If it added up like year pilots were allowed to replace that, people wouldn’t be able to go their hardcopy flight manuals and into offices, where there are dozens charts with iPads – that’s right, of computers, without wearing just a few centimetres away from the critical aviation equipment. protective gear.”

Common sense dictates, if electrical emissions really were that harmful, authorities wouldn’t even allow electronics on board in the first place – airport security is hardly one of the most lax divisions. As Bill Ruck, principal engineer at CSI Telecommunications, described, “The only reason these rules exist from the FAA is because of agency inertia and paranoia.”

As e-readers, tablets and smartphones continue to flood the market and travellers become increasingly querulous about the standards of in-flight service, passengers find it difficult to understand why they can’t finish a round of ‘Draw Something’ during their 20-minute delay. Why buy an overpriced magazine from the airport bookstore when you already have hundreds of digital versions stashed away in your carry-on. Call it impatient, but isn’t that the expectation of our fastpaced generation?

science & tech 2/05/12 10:51 PM

38

bull usuonline.com section the artsheading

“The Producers – a Jewish stage production about Jewish stage productions…”

Laughing ‘Til You Cry

(and vice versa) jason edelman shines a light on Jewish humour.

T

here’s a rogue academic out there who once proclaimed in a lecture on Jewish influences in American popular culture that the root of American humour was essentially Jewish humour. But the fact of the matter is, he was only half right because, you see, the man failed to realise the international implications and connectivity of the Jewish joke.

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 38

For those of you not already acquainted with Jewish humour, let me just say: a) Have you been living under a rock? b) Think about any half-decent comedy you’ve ever seen and, well, it’s probably Jewish. c) There may be no set of humour more laden with history, philosophy and psychology than that of the Jews. That is, unless you want to debate the Freudian aspects of a poop joke.

It’s no secret that the Jewish people experienced, and still are, unfortunately, victims of, anti-Semitism and persecution. So much so that it is often joked that the Jewish sense of humour developed as a defence mechanism against whatever instance of stabbing/shooting/ gassing/raping they had to deal with at the time.

When those things happen constantly for the last 2,000 years, you kind of need a funny streak to be able to get through it all, a trait portrayed poignantly in the Mel Brooks films, History of the World: Part I, and The Producers.

As a group of people who have produced Kant, Maimonides, and Judge Judy, it’s not surprising that the Jewish people created the show which represented the ultimate insight into how people converse and act in everyday life.

I’m talking, of course, about Seinfeld, the 1990s sitcom sensation, and the fact that it covered just about every topic known to man in the most hilariously awkward way possible. And if you’re wondering about how true to life Seinfeld actually is, just find a Jewish couple and listen to them talk for ten seconds.

Jerry and his wacky friends aren’t the only ones doling out wise-cracking wisdom, either.

Take Woody Allen, the (in)famous Jewish writer/ director/comedian who applied intellectual ideas to everyday life with hilarious results , such as the ideas of Primo Levi and Dostoevsky in his film, Crimes and Misdemeanors.

One would be hard-pressed to find a Jewish name absent from any of the successful works of American comedy created in the last 100 years.

Maybe it has something to do with their major contribution to the industry in the early 1900s, and bringing that humour to the screen. Or maybe it has a little something to do with the fact that Jews worldwide share this deranged, survivalist sense of humour. Go anywhere in the world and you’ll find Jews swapping the same one-liners with each other.

Even our own Sydney Uni bubble has a Jewish humour presence manifest in the upcoming Jew Revue entitled CurbYour Judaism. It appears that no matter where in the world you are, the core tenets of Jewish humour remain indefatigable, not unlike the Jewish spirit has been for thousands of years. Thus, even here in Sydney, the traditions of our forefathers, Mel, Woody, and Jerry remain.

JEW REVUE: CURB YOUR JUDAISM Thursday 10th & Saturday 12th May, 8pm Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre

the arts 2/05/12 10:51 PM

dEUS (Belgium)

10 may

+ The Paradise Motel

FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS

12 may

+ William Elliot Whitmore + The Smith Street Band + Jen Buxton

25 may

TONIGHT ALIVE

+ Dangerous Summer (USA) + Totally Unicorn

ANTI-FLAG (USA)

1 jun

+ Strike Anywhere + The Flatliners

3 jun

Rock n Roll Markets

Entry by donation - From 10.30am

EVIL INVADERS IV Feat. INQUISITION (USA)

9 jun

+ Hobbs Angel Of Death + Astriaal + Mournful Congregation + Impetuous Ritual + Lord + Destruktor + Heresiarch + Vomitor + Denouncement Pyre + Rituals Of The Oak + Mongrel’s Cross Friday July 6 to Sunday July 8 – Sydney Cuban Salsa Congress www.sydneycubansalsacongress.com.au for more info

manningbar.com usuonline.com

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 39

2/05/12 10:51 PM

40

bull usuonline.com reviews

REVIEWS DVD Drive Nicholas Winding Refn

TV Sherlock Season Three

CD Happy To You Miike Snow

CD Port of Morrow The Shins

Drive chronicles the life of a Hollywood stuntman, garage worker and getaway driver for robberies (Ryan Gosling), who becomes trapped in the dangerous criminal underworld after falling for his neighbour (Carey Mulligan). It’s no surprise the film was envisioned as a Hollywood blockbuster starring Hugh Jackman. Those anticipating a Fast and the Furious-style epic, however, prepare to be disappointed.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn transforms the film into an amalgamation of style, story and genre effortlessly interweaved to create a contemporary work of art. The film presents an aweinspiring depiction of revenge, madness and the inherent darkness of mankind set against a seedy Los Angeles cityscape. In turn, it celebrates the film noir classics of the 1940s and the heist action films of the 1980s, while fearlessly standing on its own as a unique product of modern cinema.

The film’s initial slow-burn progression may frustrate some, but it effectively provides the suspense before the film’s utter descent into chaos. The eclectic interplay between the film’s hyperstylised violence and ethereal, almost dreamlike score elevates the film into a nightmarish fairytale.

Darkly captivating and undeniably cool, Drive is above all, a thrilling cinematic experience.

Those who waited eagerly for the return of the 221B Baker Street detective will agree that season two doesn’t disappoint. The threepart series is a highly-creative reworking of Doyle’s classic stories; a compelling, mind-twisting drama.

‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ begins with the protagonists’ lucky escape from the evil, yet comical Jim Moriarity. The deduction begins, and Sherlock and Watson find themselves as London’s latest tabloid celebrities.

Benedict Cumberbatch remains the perfect Sherlock, delivering his characteristically fast-paced conjecture with ease.

Sherlock as a character develops; his cold and smug demeanour begins to show cracks with the onset of a short-lived love affair with dominatrix, Irene Adler.

Soon enough the media and Scotland Yard are second-guessing Sherlock’s genius and it is here that Cumberbatch shines, embracing a human side with moving perfection.

Thankfully the homoerotic undertones in the Sherlock/Watson dynamic remain a constant source of giddiness.

Sherlock ends with a cliffhanger, prompting viewers to post endless theories online. But standout episodes such as ‘The Hounds of Baskerville’ brilliantly capture the modern adaption’s seamlessness and will surely be watched again and again.

Miike Snow have released another good album, this much is certain.

But have the Swedes released another great album? It’s unclear.

Happy toYou is the follow up to their hugely-popular 2009 self titled debut, and has quite a few catchy riffs running through it.

It has some great tracks and as a whole, takes you on a journey – though perhaps that journey is really only into the mind of a producer.

The first listen is enjoyable, as is the second and third, but by the time you’ve done that, many of the songs start to blend into one.

The repetition of lyrics in songs such as ‘Paddling Out’ becomes monotonous and boring – in fact, at times it makes you want to skip a track. Many of the tunes lack the bite and kick that were present on their debut album. When you go back and listen to Miike Snow it makes you appreciate the simplistic beauty of songs like ‘Animal’ and ‘Burial’.

That simplicity is certainly what’s lacking from the over produced, overly-complex tracks on Happy toYou. It’s good, but it’s not great.

It has taken James Mercer five long years to straighten up, pull together the band and produce a new record, but his time away has given The Shins’ new album a breath of twinkling fresh air.

Showcasing a different sound to their past three albums, The Shins have received a positive response overall for this latest, ten-song production. Striking the perfect balance between breezy moods and quality melodies, the newly-outfitted band gives a deeper, more holistic sound to Point of Morrow than their previous efforts.

The album opens with ‘The Rifle’s Spiral’ and ‘Simple Song’; the two songs getting the most rotation on radio stations at the moment, and most deservedly. ‘Bait and Switch’ is another catchy tune more aligned with their older music.

The songs are slightly slower and reference darker ideas but The Shins totally rock their more mature sound, despite lacking some of that youthful lyrical zing the band is renowned for.

Mercer’s amazing vocal ability is evident more than ever, effortlessly reaching falsetto tones and sonorous depths.

Some fans will be disappointed and others thrilled with Port of Morrow, but I give The Shins’ new album… 4 out of 5 stars.

Melanie Jane

Beverly Parungao

*****

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 40

James Park

*****

Katie Davern

*****

*****

2/05/12 10:51 PM

Issue 03 REVIEWS

Film

The Hunger Games Gary Ross

41

classic countdown

Failed Comebacks

Sometimes, things are meant to to be forgotten for a reason, as Bronte Lambourne explains.

5

Limp Bizkit Anyone who has seen the ‘Gold Cobra’ video can be forgiven for thinking it’s an excellent satire of early-2000s nu-metal.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t Fred Durst’s attempt to take the piss. Highlights include a yellow Lamborghini, booty-shaking, foxy boxing, more rampant misogyny and a guy in a gladiator outfit. Antiquiet got it right when they called the Bizkit’s return: ‘music for the sneering scumbags who find kinship in the dregs of cultural rot.’

T

he Hunger Games is a thrilling and at times unnerving film that is, for the most part, well executed. The film transports you to the futuristic dystopia of Panem, a nation divided into 12 districts surrounding the wealthy Capitol (inhabited by the most narcissistic and absurdly dressed people outside of USyd). District 12, the poorest of all, is home to the two protagonists. The premise of The Hunger Games is simple: as punishment for a previous rebellion, each district must select a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight to the death for the chance of being the sole survivor and returning with glory and bounty. The ‘Games’ are broadcast live to all in Panem.

The film suffers from some pacing issues. In particular, the rigid structure where the first half is pure exposition setting up the all-action second half. It feels jarring considering the film’s 142-minute runtime; just 15 minutes shaved off would’ve made for a more satisfying experience.

Less ‘shaky cam’ camerawork would also have been welcome.

The script does a good job of hiding these problems; with so much content to cover, just enough time is spent on acquainting the audience with the protagonists for you to actually care about their plight during the Games. Expectedly, the script is strongest during the second half of the film where it unearths more dimensions to the characters as they struggle for their very lives.

The reality-TV aspect is marvelously integrated throughout, shining a mirror to the cruel and callous nature of the society facilitating such barbarism, and in our minds, puts them under the microscope.

Additionally, you can’t help but question the authenticity of what the characters do and say; how much of it is real and how much of it is fake?

The film is well-cast; Jennifer Lawrence brings just the right mix of maturity and vulnerability as the headstrong Katniss Everdeen, and Josh Hutcherson is endearing as the well-intentioned but slightly-out-of-hisdepth Peeta. The supporting cast aren’t given much to work with, but still do an admirable job with Woody Harrelson as the likeable Haymitch and Stanley Tucci, brilliant as the TV host Caeser Flickerman.

This isn’t a kid’s film. It is quite violent at times, and seeing children slicing at each other’s throats and beating each other to death is always a bit confronting. Aside from that, let the games begin!

Tasneem Choudhury

*****

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 41

4

Macaulay Culkin Once the highest paid

child star ever, Macaulay is now recognised for cameo appearances on WWE, a short-lived television series and multiple drug convictions.

After burning out at age 14, Culkin sought to lay low for a few years before failing to resurrect his stardom on Broadway in 2000. In the words of his own mother: ‘Face it, until the day you die you are always going to be the Home Alone kid.’

3

K-Rudd The soap opera of Kevin’s 18-month

bid to regain the leadership of the Australian Labor Party ended in embarrassing 71-31 ballot landslide defeat that left Julia Gillard holding the Prime Minister reigns. Rudd’s attempt to pit his public popularity against Gillard’s party support was a serious error in judgment, and not for the first time: eating your earwax? Not ok. For Kevin the lemon, things really have gone sour.

2

Thorpey It was always a risky move for

Australian television personality, fashion designer and part-time swimmer, Ian Thorpe, to stage a return to the pool. The five-time Olympic gold medallist’s comeback ended abruptly after he managed only the twelfth fastest time in the semi-finals of the 200 meters freestyle earlier this year. And when you’re talking about Olympic qualifiers, it’s sink or swim… literally. We can only hope his appearance at the London Olympics – as a reporter - will prove less of a bellyflop.

1

The Hawaiian Shirt Fashion designers have

an uncanny ability to transform would-be ridiculous ensembles into esteemed creative masterpieces, but even Prada couldn’t resurrect this atrocity with their 2010 ‘Aloha print’ collection.

While hipsters might attempt to justify the kitsch Hawaiian shirt in their tirade against mainstream fashion, we need look no further for an authoritative judgement than George Clooney, who said of his wardrobe in recent film The Descendents, ‘yeah, that was almost ending all masculinity.’

3/05/12 10:20 AM

42

bull usuonline.com caught on campus

indigenous festival 17-19 APril

H

eavy rain didn’t dampen spirits as the Doonooch dancers and Yung Nooky officially opened the USU’s inaugural Indigenous Festival.

Purple Goanna really got the party started with some tasty bush food while we all got together to celebrate Indigenous culture.

caught on campus Photos by Eleanor Barz

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 42

2/05/12 10:51 PM

Issue 03 club hub

club

CREATIVE STREAKS It’s not just Beat The System blazing

trails for up-and-coming talents – check out other clubs helping students perfect their art and go on to great things.

hub

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY RADIO GROUP (SURG) SURG

Beats and Meets

Eleanor Harrison-Dengate drops the bass with one of the biggest music societies on campus – Beat the System.

B

eat the System (BTS) is all about giving new music a stage here on campus. Operating under the slogan: ‘Fostering local bands, DJs and new music at the University of Sydney,’ BTS does not discriminate when it comes to music. Vice-President Angus Farrell says it’s about music – not a genre. “We play everything from female hip-hop to acoustic to scream,” says Farrell. “In the end Beat the System is an opportunity for people to listen to music they ordinarily wouldn’t have.”

The Society offers something for everyone, from the musically-illiterate to aspiring musicians. Each Thursday night, they run gigs at Hermann’s Bar that allow members to play and match individual musicians with other musicians. If you’re really good you could go a step further and gain exposure on the BTS stage at Beachball or Snowball.

Joss Engerbretson founded the society in 2010 when he saw a gap in the Clubs and Societies scene. The USU had seven music societies covering all things orchestral and madrigal, but none for contemporary music.

Since then, the Society has grown into one of the most prominent on campus. Last year BTS swept an impressive four Clubs and Societies Awards, including Best Club(with more than 100 Members), Best Involvement in a USU Event, Best New Club and Best Non-Major Event for their Thursday night gigs at Hermann’s.

Part of their success comes from their keen involvement in most of the major music events on campus. This year, the Society’s launch party included some great up-and-coming musicians such as The Correllians, Rufus and Politiks, as well as BTS DJ director, DJ Shorty. They also held the Battle of the Bands Competition in O-Week where student bands went head to head for a chance to a place on the line-up at the inaugural O-Week Festival Day. At last year’s Snowball, the biggest Semester Two party on campus, BTS was in

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 43

43

charge of the two Check out supporting Band up & coming and DJ stages, as local artists well as providing Every Thursday night @ some input into Hermann’s from 5pm the main stage Interested performers, email: line-up. beatthesystemmusic Beat the @gmail.com System also played a major role in the rise of local band, Rufus.

Thanks to BTS the trio gained major exposure by getting to play at Beachball and Snowball.

Rufus then went on to play a string of festivals including Parklife, Big Day out and Field Day. Other rising bands such as Lime Cordiale and Louis London have also played BTS’ regular gigs.

Hosting so many bands can lead to some spontaneity and confusion. President James Alexander remembers when a solo electronic artist named Tomás Ford showed up out of the blue without having been booked. The Society’s executives decided to let him play what Alexander describes as “the weirdest concert ever.”

On another occasion, Ford brought his own music and visuals. “He had everything perfectly timed, and he was really into the audience getting involved,” Alexander recalls.

“At one point he even ran down City Road – it was really good, but bizarre.”

started as a pirate radio group broadcasting out of makeshift studios.

Now housed in the Holme basement, SURG offers opportunities for students to broadcast across Sydney on 91.5FM and online over 13 weeks in Semester 2 and during the Verge festival. SURG broadcasts shows on anything from music, ‘hard news’, politics and even relationships.

SURG also runs workshops on topics from presentation to defamation and partners with community radio stations such as 2SER, Eastside and FBi. facebook.com/SURGFM.USYD

FINE ARTS SOCIETY

The Fine Arts Society hosts regular sketching sessions, with its subjects ranging from classic (the Neogothic Sandstone Architecture otherwise known as the quadrangle) to downright sketchy (burlesque life drawing at The Arthouse Hotel). The Society also organises gallery visits, often at a discount.

FAS recently visited the Archibald Prize exhibition at the NSW Art Gallery, the reopening of the MCA, and went on a local gallery-crawl ending at the White Rabbit Gallery for drinks and music from FBi. Who says art is boring? facebook.com/sydney.fineartsoc

LITERARY SOCIETY (LITSOC) The Literary

Society aims to inspire creativity by encouraging members to share and discuss each other’s written work. LitSoc hosts monthly pub nights at the society’s spiritual home - the Royal Hotel, to discuss a set topic. LitSoc invites writers to submit their work on the topic and publishes the works on its blog.You can read the great variety of works on the latest topics on the LitSoc blog. usuliterarysociety.wordpress.com

2/05/12 10:51 PM

Hermann’s bar

hermannsbar.com / usuonline.com

Corner City road & butlin avenue

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 44

2/05/12 10:51 PM

ISSUE 03 STOP. PUZZLETIME

45

STOP. PUZZLETIME WIN A MOJOSNOW WEEKEND ADVENTURE! a hassle free snow weekend. We arrange everything for you (see below). So escape the city and your homework for an awesome weekend away. Simply email usubullmag@gmail.com with your name and details by 31 May for your chance to win. Winners will be notified via email.

For more information please go to: www.mojosnow.com or call 66395100 Prize details: 2 Day/2 Night Mojosnow Adventure Departs: Friday 22 or 29 June, 5:15pm from Sidebar, 509 Pitt St, (across from Central Station). INCLUDES...

WIN!

TRANSPORT: Round trip transport from Sydney to Jindabyne SHUTTLE: Daily Shuttles up to Perisher FEES: National Park Entry Fees

ACCOMM: Cabin accommodation at The Station Resort (2 nights) FOOD: 2 hot breakfasts, 1 awesome dinner MOJO GUIDE:To make sure everything’s cool!

E

A

SUDOKU 9 3 6 5 7 9 5 3 2 6 9 5 8 1 6 7 3 4 8 3 1 5 2 9 7 8 2 8 4 2 6 7

WHEEL WORDS

1

BULL 03_17 CARL v001.indd 45

W

S

N E

A S

R

Create as many words of 4 letters or more using the given letters once only but always including the middle letter. Do not use proper names or plurals. See if you can find the 9-letter word using up all letters.

8 GOOD

12 VERY GOOD

16+ EXCELLENT

________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

5/3/12 10:31 AM

46

bull usuonline.com the bull pen

the bull pen Fight for Your Right to Party

A

s election candidates prepare to go toe to toe for votes and free sausages, we managed to obtain a draft speech from a candidate: that guy you kinda know from college formal dinners, high school, or some society you never participate in...

“Attention all ACCESS Card Holders!

It brings me no great pleasure to inform you that we are currently under attack. From Michael Spence. He has managed to gain terrible PR for the third year in a row, so bashing him will still get me votes despite the USU’s current track record of not having him savagely deposed. But past candidates have told me they can do that, apparently. At least, before they’re elected.

So, that’s the core message sorted.

I should let you know in advance that I originally wanted nothing to do with this. But as I thought about it more and more, I began talking to people who off-handedly said we need someone to change the face of Sydney Uni and that they just might endorse anyone who did. I realised that I felt the same way as them. I realised that I am the person I have been waiting for.

After great introspection as to how to get on Board despite being a closet Young Liberal, I have decided to run as an anti-establishment independent that just somehow happened to attend a private school and be spontaneously endorsed on sight by every Liberal public figure I’ve met. I will not acknowledge the irony of being on a union board despite being ideologically opposed to unions.

I do not believe elections are won by ground games, pandering, or getting friends of friends of friends to vote on election day. I believe they are won on ideas. These ideas include covering every conceivable surface with fluorescent chalk, offering bar tabs to my inner circle of volunteers, pledging funding to alcohol-related causes and restoring the right of students to smoke indoors. I will also singlehandedly secure funding to hire Chuck Norris to stage a sit-in and make threatening gestures at Michael Spence until he un-fires everyone he’s fired, about to fire, or thinking about firing. Failing that, I will ask him for Samuel L. Jackson’s number.

The financial disadvantage of many students on campus is one I can deeply empathise with. To raise awareness of this issue, you can approach me with your concerns at any stage during the election campaign and I’ll retweet them immediately from my iPad 3.

It has also come to my attention that the limitation of campaign funding has proven completely restrictive to maintaining a healthy electoral atmosphere. In light of this, I welcome all donations to my Super PAC, Restoring My Future, which I will not communicate with in any way, shape or form until after people start paying attention.

In conclusion, a vote for me is a vote for you, which, if you think about it, is still technically a vote for me. But you’ll always be on my mind, dear voters, especially when you start raging about me in a letter to Honi. If you want to make a true difference to society today, then like my Facebook page. I mean, it’s worked for curing cancer, AIDS and ridding the world of Joseph Kony, right?”

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 46

2/05/12 10:51 PM

Not sure who to vote for? Hear the candidates speak about their policies.

You and a panel can ask them the hard questions.

Candidates Soapbox Wednesday 16 May Manning Bar - 12.45pm

ElEction 2012

Voting 29 may

Mallet Street / rozelle / CoNServatoriuM of MuSiC

30 may

CaMperdoWN / darliNgtoN CaMpuS Cast your vote and enjoy a complimentary lunch*

comE along to thE ElEction night Party

HerMaNN’S - 7.30pM, 30 MaY Free entertainment and live updates as the votes are counted! *Conditions apply

BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 47

2/05/12 10:51 PM

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

LITTLE MASTER’S MISERY

GOOD WEEKEND

WEEKEND SPORT

2012 FACES TO WATCH

ACCeSS MeMbeRS!

SPECTRUM

WEEKEND

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

January 14-15, 2012

MEET THE $10b HEIRESS

PAUL McGEOUGH

BOMB BLAST THAT ROCKED THE WORLD NEWS REVIEW

NEWS, PAGE 6

ANNE SUMMERS

SILENCE LIKE A CANCER GROWS NEWS REVIEW

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

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

But the Herald has established the job cuts will total as many as 1000 by the end of this year, which will be more than the bank shed at the height of the global financial crisis.

They come a day after the Royal Bank of Scotland announced plans to close its investment banking business, leading to the loss of more than 200 jobs in Australia.

Economists have warned Australia is vulnerable to a recession this year with a wholesale funding squeeze in Europe raising debt costs for banks such as ANZ. Experts have warned thousands of jobs will be lost from the industry this year as banks scramble to adjust to an era of low credit growth and higher funding costs.

This comes on top of cuts of 2150 jobs between March 2009 and last September in ANZ’s Australian division. ‘‘We have run a policy of shedding jobs through attrition since October last year,’’ an executive said. ‘‘Temps have not been rehired once their contract has expired.

Secondments have been stopped. We have outsourced two whole floors of operations staff from a [Melbourne] office to Manila [in the Philippines]. If

700 2100

ANZ jobs to go this year

Australian jobs cut by ANZ in past two years

200

Local jobs lost in Bank of Scotland closure you count all those jobs since October, along with what will be announced in the next week . . . we will lose more staff than we did as a result of the GFC.’’ The national secretary of the Finance Services Union, Leon Carter, criticised the bank for shedding jobs when it had record profitability. ‘‘Yet again the first time anything gets tough in finance the only trick in their locker is to put jobs on the line,’’ he said. ‘‘It continues to be a highly profitable organisation that is making multibillion-dollar profits. They have an obligation to keep everybody employed.’’

The Financial Services Minister, Bill Shorten, said: ‘‘We haven’t been briefed specifically on any decisions of the ANZ in term of jobs.We regard any job losses as unfortunate.’’

Experts say banks will be for-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANZ staff wait for axe to fall — Weekend Business

Fri Jan 20 10:10

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

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

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

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

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

In NSW classes are offered

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

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

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

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

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

People are being pinched a bit.’’

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

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

‘‘We have kids who are doing nipper training, who are rescuing kids their age on days when the surf is a bit tricky,’’ saidMonday January 2, 2012 the nipper manager at North Bondi Surf Life Saving, Jim Walker.

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

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

Anna Patty

Come in spinner: Fiji pays Washington lobbyists for image makeover Dylan Welch ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Frank Bainimarama ... advice. lations, only to enshrine them in a permanent law.

The company is represented in Suva by a fresh-faced former business journalist, Seth Thomas Pietras, who has been in the

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

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

It is likely Mr Pietras, described

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SYDNEY CITY shower or two 19°-23° LIVERPOOL shower or two 17°-24° PENRITH shower or two 18°-24° WOLLONGONG showers clearing 18°-21° GOSFORD few showers 17°-23° NEWCASTLE few showers 20°-23° CANBERRA shower or two 12°-24° ARMIDALE showers, storms 12°-22° DUBBO shower or two 15°-31° COFFS HARBOUR storms 19°-26° DETAILS PAGE 19 ISSN 0312-6315

9 770312 631063

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

6.14

Only available at

ubank.com.au

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STARTS PAGE 12

summer

The son also rises SPORTSDAY

First published 1831 No. 54,364 $1.50 (inc GST)

Howard honoured, for Queen and country

INSIDE Bowser blues

NSW drivers could face more petrol price rises when the government bans regular unleaded fuel, pushing up demand for ethanol-blended and premium unleaded, the industry has warned. From July, petrol stations will no longer be allowed to sell regular unleaded in a bid to promote renewable biofuels.

News — Page 3

Weather, or not

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

What’s it all mean?

ROAD RULES Pedestrians in the city centre: 600,000 Vehicles in city centre: 85,000 International safety speed: 30km/h City of Sydney safety speed: 40km/h through the reduction of speed limits, as is international best practice. On any given working day, there are 600,000 pedestrians in the city centre and 85,000 vehicles. The slower the vehicle, the less risk of severe trauma to the pedestrian.’’

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

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

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

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

Paul Sheehan, Opinion — Page 11

Road toll falls

The 2011 road toll was the second lowest since 1944, according to provisional figures from the NSW Centre for Road Safety. Last year, 376 people were killed on NSW roads, down from 405 the previous year. The toll has dropped from 524 over the past 10 years.

News — Page 5

Exceptionally meritorious services ... Mr Howard at home in Wollstonecraft yesterday. ‘‘It’s a compliment to Australia,’’ he said of his award. Photo: Quentin Jones Kelly Burke ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

NOT since Sir Robert Menzies has the monarchy bestowed such approbation on an Australian politician.

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

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

Mr Howard, along with the British artist David Hockney,

IN GOOD COMPANY

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

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

The Order, founded by King

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

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

as may have rendered exceptionally meritorious services in Our Crown Services or towards the advancement of the Arts, Learning, Literature, and Science or such other exceptional service as We are fit to recognise’’.

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

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

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

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

%

p.a.

Variable and comparison rate

Rates current as at 13 January 2012. The comparison rate is based on a secured loan of $150,000 over the term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. UBank is a division of National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence You should consider the terms and conditions for UHomeLoan, available from ubank.com.au, before making any decisions regarding this product. Fees and charges and lending criteria apply.

UBA526/smhfp1_G3982327AB

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

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

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

Research indicated it was likely that since the end of the

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

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

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

vices for the foreshore clean-up, she said.

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

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

The Herald understands that staff were unwilling to work with

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

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

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

First Tuesday

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul appeared to be running neck and neck in Iowa before tomorrow’s first vote on the candidates vying for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, with Rick Santorum mounting a late charge. Contenders have been blitzing shopping malls, public meetings and local media.

Jessica Wright ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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

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

World — Page 8

such as mangrove swamps, the NSW Maritime spokeswoman said.

The agency expects to restart the program using volunteers provided by a non-government organisation in the first quarter of next year, another spokesman said.

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

Classic stoush

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

Third placed Rochelle Gilmore also called for change.

SYDNEY CITY sunny 18°-26° LIVERPOOL sunny 15°-31° PENRITH sunny 16°-33° WOLLONGONG sunny 18°-26° GOSFORD sunny 15°-28° NEWCASTLE sunny 18°-26° CANBERRA partly cloudy 15°-35° ARMIDALE mostly sunny 10°-27° DUBBO sunny 17°-35° COFFS HARBOUR partly cloudy 16°-26° DETAILS PAGE 18 ISSN 0312-6315

9 770312 631018

‘Our great trade union movement is important to Australian society and to representing the needs of working people.’ Julia Gillard

1HERSA1 A001

Switch your new Smartphone to an Optus SIM for MORE.

>> usuonline.com/ NEWS, PAGE 7

Search Optus SIM.

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

OPTUS13728/SMH/7x11 1HERSA1 A001

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

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

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

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

and factions in a speech to the national conference.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer – Page 26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coming after earlier reduc-

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

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

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

Buzzcut Pentagon prepares to slash spending.

World – Page 8

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

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

Get the Herald delivered the way you want it

smh

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

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

SportsDay — Page 32

Harbour rubbish pile on the rise after prison drain gangs get the brush-off Debra Jopson THE amount of litter and waste Sydney Harbour garbage collectors pick up each year has plummeted to the lowest level in more than a decade after NSW Maritime suspended a long-running clean-up program that used prisoners on periodic detention.

The environmental services team, which clears debris ranging from plastic drink bottles to fallen trees from more than 5000 hectares of waterways, collected just 2284 cubic metres of waste last financial year, almost 500 metres less than the year 230686cubic .

2011 a year in weather

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

DY YNASTY THE TENDULKAR DYNASTY

The world of the box-set addict

Call to cut city speed limits to 40km/h

Have you let your home loan go?

UHomeLoan

summer FESTIVAL OF THE COUCH

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

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

SUVA, FIJI

When children’s shows become naughty

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

STATE POLITICS

THE Fijian regime of Voreqe ‘‘Frank’’ Bainimarama has recruited one of Washington’s most notorious lobbyist firms – that has been raided by the FBI and represents repressive regimes in the Middle East and Africa – to help manage its reputation and lobby foreign journalists.

And diplomatic sources believe the firm, Qorvis Communications, may be behind the decision by Commodore Bainimarama to lift the widely condemned public emergency regu-

Remember, a subscription is included in the cost of your membership.

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

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

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

insurance against China’s rise.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The local health district Continued Page 2

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

9 770312 631032

1HERSA1 A001

Choose your package:

Print + Digital

40

$

Save up to $500 Choose 7-day home delivery OR weekend delivery with weekday campus pick up

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

Digital Pass

30

$

Save up to $150 on a Sydney Morning Herald Digital Edition subscription

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

Subscribe, save and stay ahead smh.com.au/usyd *Staff rates available - $80 for print and $60 for digital.

smh UNI PASS

Terms and conditions apply. Offer ends May 31, 2012. Subscription dates from February 15, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Savings based on current newsstand rates.

270x210_packages_USYD.indd 1 BULL 03_17 AB v003.indd 48

20/04/12 11:07 AM 2/05/12 10:51 PM