Issues
Local news, local stories
Right Outta Redfern A suburb and its history through one woman’s eyes
Ronda is a Redfern identity, an icon, heart of gold and everyone’s friend. “It’s because I talk to everyone even the junkies and drunks, “she says. “They’re just people.”
2018: A Space Odyssey How Sydney artists are re-entering the inner city
"Somewhere that is a place for ‘the other’, the people who fall a little bit through the net.”
Roads to Nowhere A city besieged by construction
"We've put up with it because we are building tomorrow’s Sydney. We must do our bit. That’s life in the big city. We’re not anti-development, we’re just…. exhausted."
A Change of Venue Ethnic clubs, fringe culture and strange alliances
Repealing the lockout laws alone is not a silver bullet for Sydney’s live music scene. When not penning tantrum op-eds about this city’s demise, Sydneysiders might begin to imagine a future that aims higher than the live music landscape that directly preceded these laws.
The Boat on Dal Lake A letter from Kashmir
Even Google Maps refuses to commit to a border: the region is a tangle of dashed lines on my phone.
Indefinite Leave to Remain A letter from London
Inner-city London is a civic space carved up and meted out according to the dictates of capital returns on the global market, rather than the needs of local people.
Car City Blues A letter from New York
"Traffic crawls at 4.7 miles per hour in Midtown Manhattan mocked by the towering deco architecture evoking speed. A double espresso and you’re walking faster."
The Man in Chippendale Macca’s Moments in time
While waiting in line for my lunch...
Braving Town Hall Station Frayed nerves and fire fears
“The odorous humidity of the place remains at the heart of a collective unease human beings seem to have when they enter this decaying six-platform netherworld that’s so central to the functioning of our city.”
$40 a Day Are you worth it?
You can't afford to connect in a society where capital is the price of participation in public space.
Pleasure and Pain The medical cannabis debate
The image problem the drug has doesn’t fit our western dualistic thinking. How can something be both good for you and fun at the same time?
Something in the Night A letter from Berlin
"In the cold months you sometimes feel Berlin is operating on a sort of skeleton crew; this metropolis that can feel totally desolate at midday."