Letters to the editor
OH FATHER
I would like to report that I had a very pleasant stroll from Taylor Square to Circular Quay wearing the humble traditional habit of our Order. In addition I carried a simple hand-lettered sign saying ANNOYING.
However, en route I seemed to annoy no-one. Rather I risked only a grievous violation of holy humility and a temptation to vanity and pride, always a danger to Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, due to the warm and generous and encouraging response of people along the streets of our city.
Therefore I feel confident in recommending to all our faithful to make a similar leisurely pilgrimage of their own here and there in Sydney, and I authorise, for the duration of the visit of His Holiness, all who do so to assume honorary membership in the Order of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and wear our habit, viz. a long black tunic and scapular, white guimpe, band and wimple and a black veil.
Others may choose to assume a cassock and collar, soutane, biretta, feriola, zucchetto or even a cappa magna.
I understand His Holiness is very fond of the traditional end (in vesture at least).
-” Mother Inferior O.P.I. (Mother Abyss of the Order of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence)
SET UP TO FAIL
Re Bureaucracy gone mad by Scott Abrahams (SSO 925), how true it is! On Monday 30 June, I sat and listened to the discussion among Sydney’s councillors who knew very little of what they were discussing in relation to the Imperial Hotel. Condemned to remain silent, Tony Pooley, Verity Firth and Michael Lee made sense of what can only be described as a farce.
Cr John McInerney asserted illegal works were carried out, referring to a wall which was supposed to be suspended in midair, despite a site meeting where he admitted there were no illegal works carried out. Why did you say that, Cr McInerney?
Cr Clover Moore promptly reminded the objecting residents about their right to complain, but forgot to mention that those complaints should be based on truth.
I am referring to an incident that took place when a resident rang Newtown police to complain about noise coming from the Imperial Hotel smoking deck. When the resident was told by the police officer that the Imperial Hotel is closed, she replied, I am complaining for the future.
And what about the resident who broke down and cried at a recent court hearing, telling the commissioner it’s caused by sleep deprivation because of the Imperial Hotel -¦ forgetting the Imperial Hotel had been closed for the past nine months.
Come on Cr Moore, give business a bit of a go.
Cr Chris Harris applied a nonexisting floor space ratio formula to arrive at the number of patrons he wanted to put forward, after being misled by the town planning staff that invented a formula and then told the councillors the court used this formula to arrive at a patron figure in the 2005 court case. This is simply not true. Council and the Imperial Hotel agreed on the numbers and asked the court to condition those agreed numbers.
There have only been a few noise complaints about the Imperial in 25 years. Surely it deserves some credit for this.
I will be lodging a new DA for hotel numbers and the stiletto. I will try to convince the councillors that the amenity of the area is better served by getting 360 extra patrons inside a soundproof, controlled environment than leaving them lined up on a narrow footpath, on a busy road outside residents’ bedroom windows, and potentially subjected to homophobic violence.
Talk about being set up to fail during a trial period.
-” Shadd Danesi, owner, Imperial Hotel
GREAT IDEA
Restoring the tramline along Oxford St (SSO 926) is a fabulous idea. Trams would improve the look and ambience of the Oxford St precinct in many ways. First of all, trams are cleaner and much quieter than buses.
Because trams do not lurch and jerk their way through traffic, they are more comfortable to ride, carry more seated passengers and are safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike. Unlike buses, trams have their own dedicated lane of traffic and, therefore, can move people across the city faster.
Well-designed light rail trams are also seen as adding visual appeal to the urban landscape. This should be an important consideration for revitalising the Oxford St precinct.
Furthermore, there is a symbolic value to having a light rail system. Owing to the cost and effort required to install, it can be seen as proof that the New South Wales Government is truly committed to public transport.
Presently Oxford St is a major bus thoroughfare. Noisy, diesel-belching buses competing with the ceaseless car traffic are unpleasant and discourage a vibrant street life.
Oxford St is one area in particular where traffic-calming measures are desperately needed to achieve the outcomes of creating a safer and more pleasant entertainment district. But we will never attract commuters out of their cars by offering them a bus. Trams are the way to go.
And while they are at it, why stop at just Bondi Junction? Certainly a tram loop from Central along Oxford St to the Moore Park sporting grounds, Centennial Park and the University of New South Wales should also be given serious consideration.
I think any sports fan who has had to hike up Foveaux St from Central would agree a better mode of transport is needed.
-” Adam, Sydney
PUMPED UP
As a foundation member of Gold’s Gym, joining some eight months prior to the gym’s opening, I had been a member right up to the end of April 2008 when I sensed some major changes about to occur, and declined to renew the membership, thank goodness.
I wholeheartedly agree with Rob and Ed of Ryde (SSO 926) and given what has already been stated about the owners and the gym, there appears very little that I can add to the litany of neglect and bad management that we, as members, were subjected to over the years.
However, it appears the owners had decided many months prior to the closure that they were no longer going to retain the gym. It seems they were prepared to abandon the gym and its members well ahead of the advertised closure date, giving little concern for those loyal members who had remained with the gym from the start, let alone any new members who were signed up within the last six months of the gym’s existence.
Perhaps we are left to feel the same way Rob and Ed feel: forever suspicious of gay businessmen seeking to purportedly cater for the gay community.
-” Tony, Bexley
NOT LOCALS
I note that The Gaff has resubmitted their development application. As the resident of a terrace immediately downhill from The Gaff and a participant in the local community for the last 21 years, I am very concerned about this resubmission.
The Gaff has no interaction with the local community. It attracts backpackers and those from outlying suburbs. Its customers show no respect for the neighbourhood, they urinate throughout Riley St, endlessly smash bottles which the Council has to clean up, damage the trees, throw junk into properties, knock over garbage containers, scream. Nobody involved in the local neighbourhood performs like this.
There is nobody inside who belongs to the community. How would these people feel if we went out to their homes and performed like this?
Any expansion of The Gaff will increase this problem. The presence of The Gaff increases the aggression and danger of the area and any expansion of the venue will greatly increase this.
We can take initiatives in how we build our community to lead our young people with wit and style, while everyone can have a great time. The Gaff has a downstairs dancefloor which it could run successfully by attracting the local community. It has made some effort since having its last DA rejected by having fewer people cluttering the Oxford Square stairs, but clearly any effort is lip service.
-” Michael, Darlinghurst
WELCOME POPE
Regarding the Pope’s visit to Australia and World Youth Day, with deep joy I offer Pope Benedict XVI my fervent good wishes on the happy event of his pilgrimage of faith to Australia and World Youth Day.
The Holy Father is an inspiration and a model witness to the life of Christ, a shepherd of truth constantly guarding his flock so that Christ might find faith on earth when He returns. Immersed in profound humility and immense love for both God and man, he has always been a source of strength, encouragement, confidence, optimism and enlightenment not only to Catholics but to all men of good will.
A champion of the poor and ardent exponent of Christian unity, the German pontiff has also been, in such capacities as teaching, governing and sanctifying, both a beacon of light and salt of the earth. He never ceases to offer fresh hope for defeating the forces of tyranny, cynicism and moral relativism hovering like a dark cloud on the horizon.
Successor of Peter and vicar of Christ, he is the world’s most influential and uncompromising defender of the dignity of human life. His tenacious pleas for the development of a culture of life and parallel denunciations of the culture of death have been instrumental in rallying opposition to the immorality of war, terrorism, abortion, euthanasia, contraception, homosexuality and embryonic-tissue research.
May the lord of all graces and giver of every gift bless Pope Benedict XVI during his historic visit to Australia.
-” Paul, Canada
RELIGIOUS PORN
I’ve been wondering how average Australians, and Sydneysiders in particular, are going to react to the Stations of the Cross show during the Catholic World Youth Day celebrations.
It’s been quite a while since there’s been a public flogging in the streets of Sydney, and as far as I know there’s never been a crucifixion in Australia.
While Sydney in particular loves a good parade, as evidenced by the enthusiasm shown for over 20 years for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, I’m not sure that many of us are really up for the sort of religious porn that the Catholic church is promising. At the very least, it might show to people the medieval anachronism that the church really is.
-” Murray, Wamberal
REMEMBER THE SAINTS
Over the past weeks I have watched the dialogues in the various GLBT newspapers in regard the Pope’s visit to Sydney. Living in Cambodia in many ways isolates me from much of the interaction that is happening in Sydney and beyond. That said I feel I need to add a few words to the discussion.
Having been raised in a strong Protestant family and having been a pastor in Metropolitan Community Church for almost 20 years I have much to say about the Pope, the institution that is the Roman Catholic Church and the dogma and bigotry that have destroyed the lives of many people over the years. That, however, is a discussion for another time.
I want to talk briefly about the people of the Roman Catholic faith that are in many ways the saints of our community. Those of us who were around during the early days of HIV/AIDS must remember the sisters at the Sacred Heart Hospice or St Vincent’s hospital or the brothers at the St John of God Hospice. When even doctors refused to touch people with AIDS these saints embraced our sick and dying with dignity, love and compassion. I particularly remember the peace that Sister Margaret Mines brought to my own partner in his last days.
Let us also not forget the many other faithful people from the Roman Catholic faith who were and are involved in organisations like Ankali, Day Centre and PFlag, to name a few. Good people driven by their love of God, their church and humanity.
It is also worth remembering that one of the only facilities in Australia owned by our community, Metropolitan Community Church Sydney, was made possible by the faith and love of a Roman Catholic man.
Here in Phnom Penh I see the work of good, faithful Catholics who see beyond the dogma and the bigotry of the greater church to bring compassion and love into a land where it has long been missing.
So demonstrate loud and hard against the Pope and the church and stand up for the rights of our people, but in doing so please remember the wonderful saints of the church who care for us and feel our pain and share our frustrations.
-” Rev. Greg Smith, Metropolitan Community Church, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
CHECKS AND BALANCES
Clover Moore’s recent email newsletter unfairly claims that amendments to the Sydney 2030 strategy supported by me at Committee would have converted the strategy into a ‘series of options for consideration, bogged down in feasibility studies.’
I do not resile from calling for greater financial accountability. My major objection was this Council signing up ratepayers to an unfunded blank cheque for the future.
My amendment was merely the addition of a simple reassuring note advising that the major projects in Sydney2030 (estimated to cost $20 billion) were subject to detailed cost feasibilities and reported to a future Council.
It is responsible to expect that not one more dollar would be spent on Sydney2030 without a detailed business case being established and approved by the Council. For example pulling down the Cahill Expressway may cost $500 million but how do we actually pay for it? Is the money better spent elsewhere in out community?
Moore’s Independent Party Councillors (they are now a registered political party) over-rode these checks and balances and simply voted with no consideration to costs, to pull down the Cahill, demolish the Western Distributor and the Convention Centre, close George St for a mall, build over Central Station and build hundreds of mini power stations throughout the city. All projects worthy of consideration but that no responsible government can even consider without careful economic planning.
Not to do so would seriously jeopardize this council’s very economic sustainability.
In the end my responsible amendment was an inconvenient truth to Clover Moore’s ratepayer-funded Sydney 2030 election campaign promising the world but not expected to deliver in her lifetime.
-” Councillor Shayne Mallard, City of Sydney
It is good that our Prime Minister has recognised that the financial needs of youth do not suddenly vanish at 16. That is true even for those still supported by their parents.
It is even harder for the 17 years olds who have to live away from home to attend Uni, at least for those who do not have financial support from the family. Keep in mind that these students are also building up a huge loan that they have to pay back in their early years of earning.
In the meantime, they have to cover the expenses of rent – quite often in a city – public transport to Uni daily, study expenses and {shock horror!!} food too! All this on under $200 a week [less than the dole]! Woe betide these students if they do not find a casual or part time job, or if they are out of work for even a few weeks.
And yet our leaders keep telling us that they want to build a “smart” Australia.
I’m well and truly over the indiscriminate and thoughtless Catholic-bashing that’s been going in the GLBT community during the last little while, so I was pleased to read Rev Greg Smith’s thoughtful letter. Thank you for bringing some perspective and balance to this. Yes, there’s a lot to protest against in the Catholic Church and yes, there are also many wonderful Catholics, devout in their faith, who work tirelessly in the pursuit of social justice. It needs to be remembered that the Catholic Church is very big and encompasses every shade of opinion from the right-wing Francoist priests in Spain who established Opus Dei to the brave liberation theologians of Central America who cast their lot with people struggling for justice under brutal repressive regimes. One of these, Archbishop Oscar Romero, was murdered by an El Salvadorean death squad in 1980 while saying Mass.
While I’m opposed to the expenditure of state funds on a religious gathering and I was appalled by the state government’s draconian legislation, nevertheless I have to admit that I’ve quite unexpectedly enjoyed World Youth Week. The city’s been full of people from every continent bar Antarctica, and there have been no ethnic tensions, no drunken brawling, no stabbings, and no-one’s been taken to St Vincent’s suffering from ice-induced delusions. Everyone’s been very good-natured and there’s nothing wrong with spontaneous outbursts of singing and dancing. On Friday, I was even thinking ‘Blessed are the Catholics for they have cleared the streets of traffic’.
AN ACT HERO:
Jon Stanhope is a cool man, he has completly wiped-out all ACT legislation that discriminates same-sex couples in the statutes for good! The last piece was the “Parental Leave Legislation Amendment Bill 2008” [See http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/b/db_32703/default.asp%5D I would like to personally thank him for being an excellent advocate on equal rights, regarding all hetersexual and GLBT people. He should get an award for this!
NSW ON NOTICE:
I have noticed that the “Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Bill 2008” is NOT in force yet – What is the on-going hold-up with the new NSW legislation? I do know that after “assent” on the 11 June 2008, legislation comes into force 28 days later, and it is well over 28 days now and still the legislation has NOT come into force – We are still waiting, what gives?.
The solutions to Oxford Street violence are pretty obvious. First we need to build relations with police, not antagonise them. Then we have to get street smart and recognise that Oxford Street does attract more of the ugly element, with 3 am lockdowns in the city etc. And we need to stop acting like we have some invisible protection because we own the street, because the thugs don’t see it that way at all.
Pete,
When I hear the gay ‘community’ complaining about homophobia I always feel like shouting at the top of my voice, “you are most discriminatory group of the lot even worse than some of the right-wing Christian groups.”
Sydney Gay ‘community’ = body + youth Nazis !
Sir:
Once again the “Star” is showing that beautiful buffed bodies sell gay papers. Amen to that.
However, we are all getting older every year and some of us have disabilities that make beauty competitions something we can only ogle at. Imperfection is a part of our lives as gay men and women. There must be many of us who don’t go out because venues don’t provide enough comfort. I would like to see more venues cater to people who are less than young, muscular and agile.
For instance, I visited a “Bears Night” briefly. There was nowhere to sit and I was faced with standing in a crowded space. Nice to press up against all those men- if you can comfortably stand for an hour or two. Most bars are noisy and crowded as well as uncomfortable. There are gay walks and bush dances but they are a bit challenging for those of who are not manically fit.
There are a number of gay saunas in Sydney. Almost all have many flights of stairs- difficult to negotiate as one’s knees get creaky. One has an ancient, small lift, if you don’t mind waiting ten minutes for it to arrive. Where are the quiet bars and saunas where you can sit comfortably, have a drink and chat with other men?
I know that ACON takes on a lot of issues but guys, how about taking up the bat for those of us who are partly or fully disabled? We need to build a community in which all of us can take part, whatever our level of fitness. Not one in which body Nazis rule.
Colin, it’s a very cheap shot to blame one person alone, Clover Moore, for all the ills of Oxford St while yourself failing to suggest viable solutions and dismissing current plans and strategies before they get a chance to work.
You give the impression that you apparently don’t understand how local Councils, as collegiate bodies, work. It’s not a monarchy. It’s a democratic body in which plans and strategies are standard processes of good local governance.
You also seem to disregard the difference between local and state government responsibility. Law and order issues are largely a state issue under the responsibility of Premier Morris Iemma and NSW Police.
Frankly, we all need to open our eyes. Violence is not restricted to the Rainbow Mile, it is by no means the worst there, and it does not just affecting gays. Shortsightedness and isolated fingerpointing will not solve this growing problem. Criticism is healthiest when practical solutions are the result.
Mallard is right. Clover has promised a lot but delivered little. It’s all plans and strategies. Pie in the sky rubbish. What about the state of Oxford St? Community safety? My friend got bashed outside the Oxford Hotel the other week. Clover is meant to be a friend of the GLBT community but actually I reckon things have gotten worse for us. I’m sick of endless consultations – I want action now to fix the problems we all know exist.