Welcome to my blog. My cultural celebration and catharsis.
The fact we’re even considering substantial development in villages such as Bondi shows that the NSW Government’s housing affordability reforms need more work. Along with a thriving community, stemming from its working-class origins, Bondi is a trailblazer and should be held up as a benchmark for “density done well”.
The demonisation of Sydney’s local councils has effectively been weaponised by the current government in order to protect itself. Painted remorselessly as the problem child in the room – the troublesome, recalcitrant councils are proving an exceptional red herring for the Premier. It’s a game of “don’t blame us, blame them.”
This is a genuine opportunity and a possible vision for Oxford Street – to be Sydney’s primary weeknight hop-on-hop-off precinct. To position itself as the place to catch-up with friends on the way home. A place for a bite and a sprinkling of culture. Local businesses would benefit from such a revitalisation. The infrastructure is already there.
When it comes to the issue of developer influence in NSW politics, time has only made matters worse. Far from dissipating, influence is now snowballing. Previously – single, controversial developments concerned us. Whereas today, the developer lobby is now one of the primary contributors to our city’s new master plan.
With house prices and rents continuing to soar, young Sydneysiders are feeling justifiably cornered. A solid plan that both combats housing affordability whilst also respecting the core elements of Sydney that locals love, is needed. However, the government’s current plan ostensibly will not achieve either.
As a community, we have a wide range of viewpoints on drug policy. Some think police pressure at these events is needed to thwart a free-for-all. Others think that allowing pill testing is akin to legalising drugs themselves. Whatever our position and despite the professionalism of festival organisers – some people will continue to bring pills into these events, along with the risks associated with them, regardless.
The current conversation about heritage in Sydney is needed. As the housing affordability debate ramps up, as we decide which parts of the city to bulldoze and develop – the words and language used when talking about heritage may help.
These words are particularly pertinent to Sydney. A city immersed in a discussion about housing affordability. As a lust to find any land to redevelop takes hold, Sydney is also a city at a juncture – with crucial questions to be confronted. Namely: how important is our city’s story to us and therefore also its heritage?
A reproduction of the “Afterword” from Tim Winton’s novel Cloudstreet
A Parisian can step into Victor Hugo’s house and an Athenian has antiquity looming on the hill at every turn, but in Western Australia there is nothing like this sort of connectedness. The built environment has no value. Every structure is ephemeral. So the haunts of my own parents would only be visited by an act of imagination. I had to sing them up for myself and make good the loss however I could.
Last week, the NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookey called for higher density living in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He claimed that had apartment blocks built in the east between 2017 and 2022 been ten storeys high, rather than the current average of seven – rents would have been reduced. The east was not taking on its fair share, he said.
Sydney understands the housing affordability issue, because we discuss it every day. However, we need to understand what we’re being asked to get behind, before we advocate for it. We want solid commitments that we the public are the priority here, not the developers. And we want to be able to discuss all of this in a manner that is adult, without the patronising typecasts.
For a city blessed with such superb public spaces, we've developed an unhealthy habit for utilising them terribly. Running deep here is an institutional apprehension that Sydneysiders are still not ready to enjoy these spaces responsibly – which is due to a fundamental issue of trust.
There is no doubt that Oxford Street has been dying a slow death for a long time. Whenever I walk up it or peer out at it from my bus journey home – I feel nostalgia for a time when this once bustling boulevard thrived with life.
As Australia's self-reflection begins to translate into changes, there’s still a vacuum of cultural leadership. Australians are looking for guidance and a destination point from this meandering conversation that often has periods of drift. Some might say these are perfect conditions for talking about how to cut those apron strings — but the republican movement has been noticeably absent.
For most of us, there’d be no need to protest at all if politicians had been doing their job and improving things. Over the past few decades, if they had been listening to what we’ve been talking about, there’d be little need to start shouting for it. Protest is an act of last resort – a desperate cry for change when we feel we’re not being heard.
In the lifecycle of the Australian family story, forebears like Denis are fundamental. The values these plucky men and women brought with them – ambition and determination for a better future – not only infused the spirit of this country, it seeped deep into its bones. This resolute immigrant ethos is intrinsic to the Australian psyche. Our prosperity today derives from all of these courageous single chances – wrought through sweat, into more.
The deep irony here, of course, is that this same backpacker ethos under attack is the very same travelling spirit that has been embraced by swathes of the Australian community for generations.
It is this irreparable dichotomy of emotions that renders the date unacceptable. It celebrates an optimistic perspective from the approaching tall ship, while ignoring the horrible story experienced on the shore.
Sadly, the biggest loser in this whole outsourced approach is the single thing that should be prioritised as paramount – community spirit.
