SYDNEY BRIEFING February 2005

News this month

In the wake

Among the casualties of December's Asian tsunami is Australia's opposition Labor Party. Mark Latham resigned as party leader on January 18th, after only 13 months, amid controversy over his failure to issue a statement of sympathy for the tsunami's victims. An attack of pancreatitis kept Mr Latham at his home in Sydney’s western suburbs. His silence over the tsunami and the state of his health fired media speculation about his leadership. In an impromptu press conference near his home, he announced he was quitting parliament altogether. A by-election date for Werriwa, his west-Sydney electorate, has yet to be announced.

At 43, Mr Latham had promised to revive Labor’s electoral fortunes, only to lead the party to its fourth successive defeat, at the hands of John Howard's conservative coalition, last October. On January 28th, Labor installed Kim Beazley, a former party leader and veteran politician, to succeed him. Pundits reckon the change can only help: polls show support for the government are high and rising, with Mr Howard's approval rating at 67%, partly due to the government's generous response to the tsunami's victims.

Free at last?

Mamdouh Habib, an Egypt-born Sydney resident who has been held by American authorities at Guantánamo Bay for three years, will soon return to Australia. Mr Habib was arrested on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in October 2001. But no charges were ever pressed, and his lawyers insist that his alleged confession (that he trained the September 11th hijackers in martial arts) was extracted under torture. His Sydney-based wife has always maintained that her husband was looking for an Islamic school for their children when he was arrested.

Australia's government apparently asked for Mr Habib's return after Washington finally admitted that he would not be charged. But Mr Habib’s status remains unclear: the government has suggested he remains a security interest. Meanwhile, David Hicks, an Adelaide resident who also has been at Guantánamo Bay for three years, will soon face a military commission. Human-rights activists, lawyers and the press have attacked Australia's government for its inaction over the imprisonment of both men.

Point that thing elsewhere

Visitors to Bondi Beach may soon have to leave their cameras at home. Waverley Council, the local authority, has proposed this in response to complaints that women and semi-naked children had been snapped by sleazy amateurs. On January 16th George Newhouse, Waverley’s deputy mayor, said the ban would apply to all cameras, including those in mobile telephones, and to the entire beach, including changing rooms.

Smoking was banned last year on Bondi and other Sydney beaches in zones patrolled by surf lifeguards. But the camera ban will probably generate more resistance. Regular beachgoers, parents and tourist companies have slammed the idea, and Bob Carr, the premier of New South Wales, questions whether it could even be enforced.

The power of words

Sydney's literary scene is in turmoil after the resignation of three judges from the Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia’s leading literary prize, in late December. The exodus was prompted by a dispute with the award's trustee company, which recently announced a new charter that reduces judges' terms from six years to three and removes their role in managing how the prize is run and promoted. David Marr, a Sydney journalist and author, Kerryn Goldsworthy, an Adelaide writer, and Mark Rubbo, a Melbourne bookseller, resigned in protest, stating that the dilution of judges' power went against the award's tradition and spirit.

The Sydney-based annual award of A$42,000 ($32,000), for a novel that presents “Australian life in any of its phases”, is Australia's richest literary prize. It was established in 1954 with a bequest from Miles Franklin, a novelist and feminist, best known for her novel “My Brilliant Career”, to encourage Australian literature.

A colourful mix

Sydney is a model multicultural city, according to a recent academic study. Researchers from Macquarie University in Sydney and the University of Bristol in Britain observed Sydney’s experience with a large proportion of immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds. They concluded that multiculturalism had not imposed strains on the city’s social fabric, despite claims to the contrary. Their research, published in the latest edition of Australian Geographical Studies, found that Sydney was “an exemplar of ethnic mix”, with none of the “ghettos which characterise many American cities”.

A quarter of Sydney’s population now comes from non-English-speaking backgrounds, compared with only 4% 50 years ago. Some Australian researchers have claimed that multiculturalism has produced two Sydneys: a rich, English-speaking one in the well-to-do districts, and a poor, “ethnic” one in the sprawling outer suburbs. The latest study debunks this, saying the claim ignores the fact that the children of immigrant families quickly integrate into the wider city as soon as they start supporting themselves.

Catch if you can

February 2005

“The Daylight Atheist”

Until 20th February 2005

This co-production by the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia is the first play by Tom Scott, a New Zealand writer, political commentator and film-maker. It is a challenging piece of self-reflection. Mr Scott relentlessly examines his own life through the character of Dan Moffat, a brooding, boozy misfit who ends up in self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world in a room in an anonymous town. There, he reminisces about his early years in Northern Ireland, his emigration to New Zealand and the people who have disappeared from his life.

As Moffatt, Max Cullen handles the challenge of this one-hander superbly; the play is worth seeing for his performance alone. Mr Cullen extracts the wit, poignancy and sadness from the caustic dialogue with expert timing.

Wharf 1, Sydney Theatre Company, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay. Tel: +61 (02) 9250 1777. Performances Mon at 6.30pm, Tue-Sat at 8pm, Wed and Sat at 2pm, Sun at 5pm. Admission: A$66. See the theatre's website.