CAPRICORN (Dec 23 to Jan 20)
Rather than build new ones, you figure that whenever the state's south-east dams look like drying up in future, wouldn't it be cheaper just to organise a Woodford Folk Festival for the following weekend?
AQUARIUS (Jan 21 to Feb 19)
It makes your day when you see a car bumper sticker that says: "Is it true ....or did you read it in The Courier-Mail?"
PISCES (Feb 20 to Mar 20)
Having scratched off a Crosswords instant scratchie ticket that came oh so close to being a big winner, you rush back to your local newsagency and ask whether it's possible to buy an extra vowel.
ARIES (Mar 21 to Apr 20)
You hear somewhere that Campbell Newman has trouble sleeping at night because he tosses and turns with the worry that there's perhaps one car space left out there within a 10km radius of the city that he's forgotten to stick a parking meter on.
TAURUS (Apr 21 to May 20)
Following the collapse of talks in Copehhagen, you single-handedly save the plant by inventing a McDonald's paper serviette dispenser that only releases one at a time.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 21)
You wonder if there's anyone else out there who doesn't know what the "7" in the soon-to-be-opened Clem7 tunnel stands for?
CANCER (June 22 to July 23)
One way is going to cost a $7 toll?
LEO (July 24 to Aug 23)
There are seven entrances?
VIRGO (Aug 24 to Sept 23)
Or seven exists?
LIBRA (Sept 24 to Oct 23)
It goes for seven kilometres?
SCORPIO (Oct 24 to Nov 22)
It's on average 7 metres underground?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 to Dec 22)
Or was it just a way for the people at The Independent to pad out these really silly and totally unbelievable starsigns?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
How green is this Valley?
Leading the way into 2010: Year of Sustainability, is Fortitude Valley State School, with students proudly showcasing their determination to conserve and recycle. They do this through a water tank, solar panels, astro turf, community vegetable garden, drought resistant plants, frog-breeding pond and recycling.
They are also using laptops instead of notebooks, and even the parents have said “no” to airconditioning and plastic wrap around their kids’ lunches.
The garden sign, designed and painted by proud FVSS parents at the front of the school, says it all. FVSS is a community school in turn supporting the Valley community as they support the school.
Volunteers are always welcome to assist in the garden, so please contact the school and register your interest. The school holds its “vegie delight market” every Tuesday from 3pm and all community members are welcome.
All the proceeds go straight back to the garden and it’s cheap too. Just last week I bought two eggplant, a handful of basil and fresh chilli all for $2 ... a bargain! Well done FVSS – keep up the great work, I hope you get the chooks you want next year.
Kimberley Stanton
Feast for the eyes
Exhibitions
Brisbane residents and visitors have only until Christmas Eve to catch four Museum of Brisbane (MoB) exhibitions showing in City Hall before the dear old girl is closed for up to three years for much-needed repair work.
The exhibitions are City Machine, Brisbane Celebrates: 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards, Karla Dickens and Up the Coast: Day tripping, weekenders and getting away.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says MoB would be relocated in early 2010 with two gallery spaces set within 157 Ann Street while City Hall undergoes restoration.
“MoB has become well-known for its informative and entertaining exhibitions that tell many important stories about Brisbane,” Cr Newman said. “Through its exhibitions, MoB will continue to lead conversations about Brisbane’s diversity, its community and our City’s place in the world.
“City Hall holds a special place in Brisbane’s history which is why MoB is located here. “The next few weeks are a great opportunity to take a cultural journey and catch some fascinating exhibitions in the building’s pre-restoration state.”
City Machine (Space 2) reveals Brisbane’s building blocks and how the city was ‘made’. The exhibition features historical photographs, documents and illustrations from the last 150 years such as proclamations, plans and diagrams of Brisbane’s first roads, bridges, reservoirs and tramways.
Brisbane Celebrates: 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards (Space 3) is an exhibition of more than 150 photographic works including winning and finalist entries from the 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards, which pay tribute to how Brisbane celebrated memorable moments and events throughout our 150th year.
Karla Dickens: In loving memory I found the black virgin (Space 4) is a solo exhibition of colourful collaged paintings exploring the artist’s journey of self discovery. Up the Coast: Day tripping, weekenders and getting away (Story Hall) celebrates the affinity Brisbane residents have for coastal getaways to the Sunshine Coast from the 19th Century to present day.
Open 10am-5pm, seven days a week, MoB is located on the ground floor of City Hall. Admission is free.
Bahman Omidvar of Sinnamon Park has won the People’s Choice category in the 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards with this entry, A Feast of Food, Friendship and Faith, showing an Iranian New Year (NowRooz) celebration in Brisbane. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said A Feast of Food, Friendship and Faith illustratedthe importance of diverse cultural celebrations in Brisbane’s community.
Brisbane residents and visitors have only until Christmas Eve to catch four Museum of Brisbane (MoB) exhibitions showing in City Hall before the dear old girl is closed for up to three years for much-needed repair work.
The exhibitions are City Machine, Brisbane Celebrates: 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards, Karla Dickens and Up the Coast: Day tripping, weekenders and getting away.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says MoB would be relocated in early 2010 with two gallery spaces set within 157 Ann Street while City Hall undergoes restoration.
“MoB has become well-known for its informative and entertaining exhibitions that tell many important stories about Brisbane,” Cr Newman said. “Through its exhibitions, MoB will continue to lead conversations about Brisbane’s diversity, its community and our City’s place in the world.
“City Hall holds a special place in Brisbane’s history which is why MoB is located here. “The next few weeks are a great opportunity to take a cultural journey and catch some fascinating exhibitions in the building’s pre-restoration state.”
City Machine (Space 2) reveals Brisbane’s building blocks and how the city was ‘made’. The exhibition features historical photographs, documents and illustrations from the last 150 years such as proclamations, plans and diagrams of Brisbane’s first roads, bridges, reservoirs and tramways.
Brisbane Celebrates: 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards (Space 3) is an exhibition of more than 150 photographic works including winning and finalist entries from the 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards, which pay tribute to how Brisbane celebrated memorable moments and events throughout our 150th year.
Karla Dickens: In loving memory I found the black virgin (Space 4) is a solo exhibition of colourful collaged paintings exploring the artist’s journey of self discovery. Up the Coast: Day tripping, weekenders and getting away (Story Hall) celebrates the affinity Brisbane residents have for coastal getaways to the Sunshine Coast from the 19th Century to present day.
Open 10am-5pm, seven days a week, MoB is located on the ground floor of City Hall. Admission is free.
Bahman Omidvar of Sinnamon Park has won the People’s Choice category in the 2009 Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards with this entry, A Feast of Food, Friendship and Faith, showing an Iranian New Year (NowRooz) celebration in Brisbane. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said A Feast of Food, Friendship and Faith illustratedthe importance of diverse cultural celebrations in Brisbane’s community.
Yungaba battle all but lost
Yungaba Action Group have held a last-ditch protest rally on the grounds of the former historic immigration centre at Kangaroo Point, only days before the building and its riverside grounds were officially handed over to developers.
Group spokeswoman Del Cuddihy said about 70 demonstrators had gathered on the grass on the riverside at Yungaba last Sunday morning to show the State Government had made a tragic mistake in selling off the Yungaba building for residential development.
The historic building and its riverside grounds were handed over to developer Austrland on Tuesday, December 15.
Built in the late 19th Century by Queensland’s government architect J.J. Clarke, Yungaba was an immigration centre for much of the first half of the 20th Century and Yungaba Action Group had fought hard to keep the colonial Yungaba house in public hands as an immigration museum.
The Government sold Yungaba and its riverside lands to Australand in 2003 for an amount that Works Minister Robert Schwarten has always declared “commercial in confidence”. Following this week's formal handover, Australand plans to convert Yungaba into 10 luxury exclusive apartments and will also build three nearby residential towers on the 1.9 hectare site.
Australand has undertaken to build a multicultural centre worth several millions of dollars on the edge of the site but Yungaba Action Group has said such a centre will be a white elephant, with no real connection or relevance to the history of immigration in Queensland.
Yungaba Action Group has been buoyed by recent national coverage of the sale, with a recent weekend edition of The Australian running a major news feature, with actor Geoffrey Rush and writer David Malouf both calling on the government to retain the building in public hands as a museum.
Architect Robert Riddel who was on the heritage council that assessed Australand’s plans, also questioned the sell-off.
Malouf wrote: “What a gift it would be to a generation of Australians, 50 years from now, if some part of the place were preserved, and its archaeology of feeling made visible and passed on.”
Parking woes to worsen?
News
The introduction of a new bus service from Newstead through the Valley to the city and West End could see the removal of dozens of on-street carparks, the local councillor warns.
Cr David Hinchliffe (Central Ward) says the council is considering the fate of carparking along Ann and Wickham streets as part of the new “City Glider” service. Cr Hinchliffe said he had lodged a petition on behalf of 16 traders in the Ann St area earlier this year asking for one-hour parking in Ann Street on weekends to encourage “turnover”' of parking.
The response from council was: “Brisbane Transport (BT) are currently finalising the proposal to implement the City Glider Bus Service which is likely to impact on some of the current parking restrictions along Ann Street.
A decision regarding the impact of the City Glider on future parking restrictions should be known by late January, early February 2010.' Cr Hinchliffe called on the council to state clearly whether parking will be impacted and how.
“I support the City Glider service, but I also think it’s vital that council consult with all businesses in the Valley and the general public about whether whole lanes of parking or traffic will be dedicated to the new service or not.
“We know the general issues, but the devil is always in the detail. This service is a good initiative, but good initiatives can be undone by sloppy detail.
“It’s time for the council to take the community into its confidence and tell it like it is. Will the Valley lose a lot of on-street parking? If so, where and how much?”
The introduction of a new bus service from Newstead through the Valley to the city and West End could see the removal of dozens of on-street carparks, the local councillor warns.
Cr David Hinchliffe (Central Ward) says the council is considering the fate of carparking along Ann and Wickham streets as part of the new “City Glider” service. Cr Hinchliffe said he had lodged a petition on behalf of 16 traders in the Ann St area earlier this year asking for one-hour parking in Ann Street on weekends to encourage “turnover”' of parking.
The response from council was: “Brisbane Transport (BT) are currently finalising the proposal to implement the City Glider Bus Service which is likely to impact on some of the current parking restrictions along Ann Street.
A decision regarding the impact of the City Glider on future parking restrictions should be known by late January, early February 2010.' Cr Hinchliffe called on the council to state clearly whether parking will be impacted and how.
“I support the City Glider service, but I also think it’s vital that council consult with all businesses in the Valley and the general public about whether whole lanes of parking or traffic will be dedicated to the new service or not.
“We know the general issues, but the devil is always in the detail. This service is a good initiative, but good initiatives can be undone by sloppy detail.
“It’s time for the council to take the community into its confidence and tell it like it is. Will the Valley lose a lot of on-street parking? If so, where and how much?”
Valley project gives hope to our city’s homeless
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman has announce a $18.5 million Fortitude Valley housing project with Brisbane Housing Company (BHC) to help Brisbane’s homeless.
Brisbane City Council owns the Constance Street site and invited BHC onto a 1200 square metre portion of the site to provide a landmark development tackling affordable housing.
The building will feature 80 units with two levels of commercial space, earmarked for community groups who provide support services to the homeless.
The Lord Mayor (pictued above in front of a drawing of the project) said the development would be located next to council’s Green Square office headquarters, developed by Leighton.
“Council is tackling the issues of affordable housing and homelessness on a number of fronts. Working with developers and housing providers to encourage more affordable housing is an important part of that approach,” he said.
“And the problem of affordable housing is growing. Take the West End, which because of the chronic lack of supply, recorded the highest annual increase in weekly rental prices of about 40 per cent to $460 according to RP Data.”
Cr Newman said BHC could get access to council’s Affordable Housing Incentive Package and Housing Affordability Fund Infrastructure Charges Reduction Scheme schemes that could provide up to 87 per cent off infrastructure charges.
“Discounts off infrastructure charges can be significant savings, which is why we already offer a 35 per cent discount to developers to encourage the supply of new homes, and offer more again to non-profit agencies and providers of social and affordable housing,” he said.
“This development will provide Brisbane’s homeless with both good quality units and vital support services located inside the same building to help them back onto their feet.”
Brisbane City Council has provided Brisbane Housing Company with more than $14 million over six years.
Have your say on heritage
The Queensland Heritage Council’s Our Shared Heritage project invites the community to suggest places they’d like to see on the Queensland heritage register for future generations to enjoy.
“As the state’s independent advisor on heritage matters, one of the Heritage Council’s main jobs is to ensure the Queensland heritage register accurately tells the story of our state’s development – for all Queenslanders,” council chair David Eades said.
“We’ve been grateful for the efforts of the State Government’s state-wide heritage survey which has identified about 200 places so far that may be worthy of state heritage listing. “Now we are going direct to the community to ask which local places are important to them and need the protection of the Register.”
Mr Eades said the community’s suggestions would be forwarded to the Department of Environment and Resource Management’s Heritage Branch where they would be considered as a supplement to the statewide heritage survey and depending on research may then come before the Heritage Council for a decision on listing.
“Don’t miss out on the opportunity to protect the special place that you think is important to the state. Together we can ensure the Queensland heritage register captures iconic Queensland places of all descriptions,” he said.
What’s wanted
Name a place in Queensland that is not yet heritage-listed but which you believe should be by emailing your suggestions to the Queensland Heritage Council on heritage. council@derm.qld.gov.au before January 26, 2010.
The place nominated must fit at least one of the following criteria: • Rare, uncommon or endangered part of Queensland’s history
• Part of Queensland’s development
• Able to tell us something new about our state’s history
• A great example of its type
• Visually significant
• Creative or technically innovative for Queensland
• Special to a group for social, cultural or religious reasons
• Linked to an outstanding Queenslander or Queensland group
• Likely to reveal archaeological fact about Queensland’s history
• And not already on the State heritage register.
How do I find out if the place I’m thinking of is already heritage listed?
Check out the Queensland Heritage Register at http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/heritage/registers_and_inventories/queensland_heritage_register.html
Reservations expressed over rate rise
Property insights
A leading property researcher says the latest interest rate rise could prove to be a deterrent to first-home-buyers. PRDnationwide research director Aaron Maskrey (pictured) said the 0.25 per cent rate rise may take some of the momentum out of the expected rush of first home buyers to the market before the reduction to the home owners boost in late December.
“With the holiday season’s extra expenses – first-home buyers could think twice about buying with the latest rate rise as some could be priced out of the market,” he said. Mr Maskrey said recent rises to the rates have seen little “kick back” or change in spending or confidence.
“However, every increase now gets us closer to upsetting the fragile state of the economy, especially when you consider the turmoil which several major international economies find themselves in,” he said.
“So far, the RBA has had its movements spot on, as they help navigate the economy through turbulent times.
“The most recent rise should have little immediate impact to investors, but we could see long term, an increase in the number of investors re-enter the market due to the departure of first home buyers.”
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ .called the decision by the Reserve Bank to increase the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.75 per cent “premature considering Australia’s economic recovery is still in its infancy”.
“The increase also seems to go against the Reserve’s most recent comments on monetary policy which indicated that only if economic conditions evolved would a gradual adjustment of the cash rate be required over time,” REIQ managing director Dan Molloy said.
“The Reserve must be confident the current economic recovery is sustainable to increase rates an unprecedented three times in as many months.
“As there has been no substantial change to the economic forecast since the Reserve’s November meeting, another rate rise just a month later seems a little heavy-handed,” Mr Molloy said.
“While it is fair to say economic conditions in Australia haven’t been as dire as previously predicted, unemployment is still at its highest level in nearly eight years.
“Inflation is also easily within the Reserve’s target band and global conditions remain patchy, so it would have been preferable for the central bank to adopt a wait-and-see approach.”
Master Builders’ director of housing policy, Paul Bidwell, said that the rate rise “takes some of the gloss off strong approval figures in Queensland”.
“It remains to be seen whether the rate rise will undermine the emerging recovery in building activity. Movement in unemployment over the coming months will be a major factor in determining whether the emerging recovery continues.”
A leading property researcher says the latest interest rate rise could prove to be a deterrent to first-home-buyers. PRDnationwide research director Aaron Maskrey (pictured) said the 0.25 per cent rate rise may take some of the momentum out of the expected rush of first home buyers to the market before the reduction to the home owners boost in late December.
“With the holiday season’s extra expenses – first-home buyers could think twice about buying with the latest rate rise as some could be priced out of the market,” he said. Mr Maskrey said recent rises to the rates have seen little “kick back” or change in spending or confidence.
“However, every increase now gets us closer to upsetting the fragile state of the economy, especially when you consider the turmoil which several major international economies find themselves in,” he said.
“So far, the RBA has had its movements spot on, as they help navigate the economy through turbulent times.
“The most recent rise should have little immediate impact to investors, but we could see long term, an increase in the number of investors re-enter the market due to the departure of first home buyers.”
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ .called the decision by the Reserve Bank to increase the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.75 per cent “premature considering Australia’s economic recovery is still in its infancy”.
“The increase also seems to go against the Reserve’s most recent comments on monetary policy which indicated that only if economic conditions evolved would a gradual adjustment of the cash rate be required over time,” REIQ managing director Dan Molloy said.
“The Reserve must be confident the current economic recovery is sustainable to increase rates an unprecedented three times in as many months.
“As there has been no substantial change to the economic forecast since the Reserve’s November meeting, another rate rise just a month later seems a little heavy-handed,” Mr Molloy said.
“While it is fair to say economic conditions in Australia haven’t been as dire as previously predicted, unemployment is still at its highest level in nearly eight years.
“Inflation is also easily within the Reserve’s target band and global conditions remain patchy, so it would have been preferable for the central bank to adopt a wait-and-see approach.”
Master Builders’ director of housing policy, Paul Bidwell, said that the rate rise “takes some of the gloss off strong approval figures in Queensland”.
“It remains to be seen whether the rate rise will undermine the emerging recovery in building activity. Movement in unemployment over the coming months will be a major factor in determining whether the emerging recovery continues.”
Gambaros stands the test of time
Review: Gary Balkin
AT A GLANCE…
Gambaros Seafood Restaurant 33 Caxton Street
Phone 3369 9500
Hosts: Michael, John & Donny Gambaro
Licensed
Parking: On premises
RATING …
Food - 17
Wine List - 18
Service - 17
Ambience - 17
Over 50 years ago, at a time when most readers of The Independent were each a twinkle in the eye of a spawning oyster, there were three seafood havens in our Brisbane town – a Sandgate restaurant named Baxters (famous for its fresh mudcrab, oyster soup and black rye bread and where one could dine privately in a curtained-off alcove), a plainly furnished, totally unpretentious South Brisbane noshery Burleigh Marr’s (famous for its oysters shucked to order, and of course its sandies and mudcrab), and a tiny takeaway café (famous for its fish and chips and fresh crustaceans) run by the Gambaro brothers in Caxton Street, adjacent to the then small pub.
Whew, what a puffy statement! But the seafood was so exciting and good in those 1950s havens that we were all breathless with superlatives when describing the respective experiences at the three icons. In this 21st Century, only Gambaros lives on to sate our sense of seafood heritage.
The Nineteenth Century Baxters just faded away ever so sadly; Burleigh Marr’s, then also the great wholesaler to hundreds of hotel and restaurant outlets, suddenly closed its bustling diner when Burleigh Marr the man himself sold at a price he could not refuse. However the Gambaro boys, Michael and Dominic, steadily worked away, and they built an extended room next door for a small number of diners. This mushroomed in popularity, and the extensions gathered steam over a couple of decades. The fare was consistently very good, the Gambaros worked hard and were “always there” as genial, versatile hosts, cooks and waiters.
They also invested in prime New Farm property, operated a supermarket on the corner of Brunswick and Sydney streets, while their fresh, well-cooked unpretentious food in Caxton Street won over legions of fans. When Gambaros became licensed, the offerings were less than a dozen wines. But demand grew rapidly, new premises were built across the road in Caxton Street, and more renovations over the years built the business into what it is today – one of Australia’s most popular seafood restaurants. I have dined on Gambaros seafood twice this year – firstly in October at the Paddington Hotel bar celebrating the annual “Mad Monday” for the Broncos’ wiser and older generation – yes, the 1990s premiership players, coaches, staff and directors like to reflect and rejoice but drink comparatively moderately these days. Then after a few schooners Alfie Langer and Chris Johns arrange, with the Paddo’s blessing, some seafood from Gambaros for the 30 or so “good ol’ boys”. Michael Gambaro rolled up this year with platters of scrumptious prawn cutlets, crumbed whiting, calamari and sea scallops.
The Caxton Street godfather patted Wayne Bennett on the back, as they are indeed old friends (Wayne was given his first job as a 14 year old at their New Farm supermarket), and Michael, genial as ever, was assured that we all loved his seafood. I regarded it as superb. Fresh produce, still with the whiff of sea-salt and with the texture of perfection.
Last week, I visited Gambaros for a restaurant review, along with an Irish colleen born in England. Colleen, though English if you get my drift, embraces all things Irish with great enthusiasm. Michael was at the door, greeting us each by name, as Colleen is a local regular, and Michael has known me since the 1950s fish café days and later as a fellow seafood restaurateur at Pier Nine.
I didn’t reserve a table, but arrived at 5.30pm to ensure we’d be accommodated, supposedly anonymously. We were seated in a warm, welcoming manner in the exquisitely furbished restaurant, offered drinks, the classic wine list and the menu. Throughout the evening, the waiting staff and management were very professional, unobtrusive yet helpful and pleasant.
The menu is a far cry from the original, even that of the 1980s, featuring innovative dishes as well as those of the retro style. I was interested in how the average diner out celebrating, but on a limited budget, would fare, so we ordered accordingly. Colleen started with a Chandon champagne-style wine ($11) while I was keen on a draught Cascade light ale ($3.50) to go with her entrée of Crumbed Sea Scallops ($25.50) and my Old-Fashioned Crab Bisque ($12) with crab meat laced with brandy, drizzled with cream. The scallops were pronounced juicy in Colleen’s practised Celtic twang while I was glad the Irish Dish suggested I should order the damper croutons on the side, as the crunch really worked with the strong texture of the delicious, potent bisque.
For mains, I opted for the 20 year old house favourite Michael Special Barramundi ($36.50), dipped in parmesan, egg and cream, crumbed and pan-fried; and Colleen ordered the entrée sized garlic prawns ($25.50, $37.90 main), flambéed with brandy, shallot greens and cream, with a timbale of saffron rice. My barra was good, and the prawn I was offered had perfect texture though I considered the garlic cream a little bitter. I love garlic, but it’s horses for courses, neigh?
More innovative dishes include the Schezuan Pepper Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna with avocado, pickled ginger and wasabi mayo @ $25.50, and for the same price Ceviche of Clearwater Scallops and compressed watermelon. While I sipped my Bleasdale Potts Catch Verdelho, Langhorne Creek S.A. @$7.50, m' Irish pal-tra-la happiy giggled her way through a glass of Forest Hill Boobook unwooded Chardonnay, Great Southern W.A. @ $8.50. Good drops, with the giggle juice winning by a half-head, so thought m’ Colleen.
Mine Hosts in 2009 are Michael, John and Donny Gambaro, as Dominic retired several years ago. The Gambaro family also operate their wholesale market at South Brisbane and a café at New Farm on the site of the old supermarket shop. This café is run by youngest brother Frank, and it’s a good local seafood café for we New Farmers, especially when the efficient Frank is on the job there. Fresh fish is not so abundant here, except for the easily accessed Atlantic salmon.
If one is lucky, one can arrive early to buy fresh local snapper, but an unsympathetic laugh may greet you if you arrive too late in the day. But I can really recommend Frank’s snapper in crisp batter when he has the fresh fish in store.
Letting a boy’s imagination run wild
Where the Wild Things Are (PG)
Director: Spike Jonze Stars: Max Record, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper Rating: 4/5 101-minutes, now screening
Beloved children’s author Maurice Sendak had always been a little reticent about granting film rights to his legendary picture book, Where the Wild Things Are. After all, while the pictures themselves are fiercely evocative, there’s really only a hundred or so actual words in the slim title, and the narrative is even slimmer: little boy gets angry at his parents and wanders off into his imagination to lick his wounds.
But Sendak found a safe bet in his friend Spike Jonze, a young director whose career, while primarily featuring music videos, has occasionally diverted into the surreal, collaborating with the likes of Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation). In adapting Sendak’s book, Jonze relocated to Australia and began the complicated process of bringing to life a little boy’s imagination.
The result is quite astonishing. After he confronts his Mum (Catharine Keener) and her new boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) – the little feller has had a bad afternoon courtesy of his sister and her friends – Max runs off, jumps into a little boat, and sails to a new land filled with giant trees and populated with… well… scary monsters. But the diminutive Max overcomes his initial terror and bluffs the little group of monsters into believing he is their new king. Jonze has been quoted describing his film as less a children’s film, and more of a film about childhood, and it’s a fair call – he has expertly tapped into the psyche of a small boy coming to terms with his inner demons and learning to cope with them.
Max Record is simply astonishing as the boy in question, as are the various monsters, including the barely controlled Carol played by James Gandolfini. With glorious visuals and a wild, unrestrained soundtrack, this really is a masterpiece.
Feast awaits over Xmas break
With a veritable cornucopia of films coming up over the next few weeks, and as The Indie taking a break over the festive season,let’s highlight a few films I’m looking forward to at the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010.
Always worth waiting for, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has once again collaborated with the gorgeous Penelope Cruz in Broken Embraces (December 17). And it might be a case of ‘believe the hype’ when it comes to James Cameron’s Avatar (Dec 17), which has been 10 years in the making, and is rumoured to have cost almost half a billion dollars. I’ve seen a sneak preview of some of this sci-fi pic, and it does look incredible.
Boxing Day is traditionally one of the more lucrative dates on the cinematic calendar, and there are some big titles in the offing. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones (pictured below) which is based on the novel of the same name by Alice Sebold and is a compelling murder mystery starring Saorise Ronan, who was last seen in Atonement. And there have been some promising reports about Jane Campion’s period romance, Bright Star that tells the little known story of the romance between legendary poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Sam Taylor Wood’s Nowhere Boy is a finely crafted bio-pic about John Lennon’s life before The Beatles; and if you’re looking for some grubby French post-Christmas fare, you can’t go past the very funny coming-of-age film, The French Kissers. Finally, January will see the release of Australian director John Hillcoat’s superb adaptation of The Road by Cormac McCarthy; George Clooney stars in Up in the Air, a comedy about what one man will do for frequent flyer miles; and Brisbane’s own Spearig brothers release their antidote to Twilight, in Daybreakers.
The Binge
Oz offerings on DVD worth a look
Dead Snow (R)
Lucky Country (M)
Balibo (M)
Samson and Delilah (MA15+)
The Cove (M)
Ghost in the Shell: 2.0 Redux (M)
(all now available through Madman Entertainment)
If you’re looking for some ideas for pressies in the countdown to Christmas, you can’t really go past a DVD; and there are numerous titles being released in time for the wrapping. Made by two Norwegian graduates from Bond University, Dead Snow is a zombie film with a difference: reanimated Nazis attacking stupid preppies on a ski trip – ’nuff said.
Three Aussie titles are being released, with Queensland’s own Kriv Stenders directing the gorgeously shot period piece Lucky Country starring Aden Young as a disillusioned farmer in the Victorian bush at the turn of the twentieth-century; Robert Connelly’s award-winning Balibo starring Anthony LaPaglia tells the story of six journalists who were murdered during Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor; and Warwick Thornton recently picked up a gong for Best Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for his beautiful film about young love in remote Australia, Samson and Delilah.
Doco lovers can’t go past The Cove. Directed by Louie Psioyos, this suspense-filled film exposes the practices of a very dodgy village in Japan that indulges in an annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins, and then passes the catch off as whale meat in the domestic market. And finally, something for the anime lovers out there, Mamoru Oshii has released a digital reproduction of his legendary Ghost in the Shell, (pictured below) the landmark animated film that inspired films such as The Matrix.
Less alcohol doesn’t have to mean less flavour
I don’t want you to think I’m a problem drinker, but I have to say that for me, low-alcohol wine almost always tastes like low-alcohol wine. The “almost” is there because there are a few well-flavoured low-alcohol wines out there. It depends a bit on your definition of low alcohol.
The subject arises because there’s a big drive on in some northern hemisphere countries – Britain and France leading the way – for winemakers to supply such wines. We read that retailers are “gearing up to stock a wider range of low-alcohol wines in the run-up to Christmas, in response to growing consumer demand and increasing health concerns about drinking”.
Research apparently tells them that British drinkers are knocking back more units of alcohol than they were nearly 10 years ago because of the prevalence of extra-strong lagers and high-alcohol wines. It suggests that consumers who want to buy low-alcohol wines prefer better-tasting products.
Important changes in European regulations, which have traditionally hampered the growth of this market, are also set to increase the pace of change. It is now legal to sell wine which has had its alcohol by volume reduced by up to 2 per cent through the use of two specialist techniques, reverse osmosis and the “spinning cone” method.
There’s a catch and it is that the processing required to lower the alcohol content of wine tends to affect its flavour. But figures from the market researchers Nielsen show that the broader category of low-alcohol drinks, which includes no-alcohol beers, wines and ciders, has seen sales grow 11 per cent in the past year.
The fact is that around 10 per cent alcohol by volume can deliver some lovely wines (e.g. Hunter semillon.)Lower than that you can expect the wine to have some degree of sweetness and there’s nothing at all wrong with those great German rieslings or indeed our local moscatos.
I like this hint, from somewhere in cyberspace: The single best way to create a wine that tastes like wine but has less alcohol in it is to add water, just like you do in the pub when you order a spritzer. This way, you take a good, balanced wine and simply dilute it. It won’t be quite so perfect but you can at least still taste the structure and detail of the original drink.
Here are three widely differing and delicious Australian wines, low in alcohol:
• Mount Eyre 2009 Three Ponds semillon is a fine example of how well this grape does in the Hunter _ grassy, lemony, vibrant with a crisp dry finish and a moderate 10.5 per cent alcohol by volume. Around $15
• Terra Felix Moscato Gold 2009 is sweet has low alcohol (5.7 per cent) and zippy and “comes in a clear glass bottle to let the golden hues shine through’. Last year’s vintage all went to China and sold out. Around $30.
• Jean Pierre sparkling brut delivers light-bodied fruit aromas, quite low alcohol (11 per cent), fresh and fruity without being overly sweet, crisp finish and a moderate price. Around $7.
Melba range worth singing about
Any entrepreneur who puts the words wine and opera in juxtaposition or even close to each other may be fairly confident that your reporter will make something of it. Which is why de Bortoli scores a mention here with its Melba range.
You will know a bit about Dame Nellie: this country’s first and one of its greatest operatic divas when that word meant rather more than it does in today’s gossip magazines.
She was pretty much queen of a big part of the western operatic stage and social scene for decades. Born Helen Porter Mitchell, she was the first Australian to gain international fame as a classical musician. Early on she married Charles Nisbett Frederick Armstrong, the son of a baronet, who managed a property near Mackay. They had one son, George. Although theoretically the marriage lasted almost 20 years, in practice it was over within two. Melba majestically moved on.
On one of her return trips to Australia in 1909, she bought a property in Coldstream, Yarra Valley and called it Coombe Cottage, after a house where she had stayed while singing at Covent Garden. She retired in 1928, died in 1931 and was buried in Lilydale cemetery.
The Melba range, de Bortoli tells us, is in her honour. Questioned about who is the opera-lover in the company, chief winemaker Steve Weber nominated his wife Leanne (nee de Bortoli). On more technical matters: “These wines are our interpretation of cabernet blends made in claret styles. “We are using most of eh Bordeaux varieties as well as syrah, sangiovese and nebbiolo to produce three distinct styles of claret, some of them closer to the cabernets from Bolgheri than from Graves. All wines are deliberately fine and medium bodied".
The wines are: 2007 Melba reserve, described as typical of the classical styles made famous by the valley’s pioneers. Touch of merlot. It is made to be long-living and comes in a heavy bottle. $60 and well worth it. 2007 Melba Lucia blends cabernet and sangiovese to produce a wine “that is quite Mediterranean in style"’. Dame Nellie must have done a pretty good Lucia di Lammermoor, as of course did Dame Joan, happily still with us. Delicious at $31. 2008 Mimi, she of the cold hand in La Boheme, inevitably another Melba role.
And by the way, Mimi’s real name, she tells us, is Lucia. Here are cabernet, syrah and nebbiolo, combining to produce a distinct “elegance, savouriness and brood’’. Romantic and lovely. $31.
The subject arises because there’s a big drive on in some northern hemisphere countries – Britain and France leading the way – for winemakers to supply such wines. We read that retailers are “gearing up to stock a wider range of low-alcohol wines in the run-up to Christmas, in response to growing consumer demand and increasing health concerns about drinking”.
Research apparently tells them that British drinkers are knocking back more units of alcohol than they were nearly 10 years ago because of the prevalence of extra-strong lagers and high-alcohol wines. It suggests that consumers who want to buy low-alcohol wines prefer better-tasting products.
Important changes in European regulations, which have traditionally hampered the growth of this market, are also set to increase the pace of change. It is now legal to sell wine which has had its alcohol by volume reduced by up to 2 per cent through the use of two specialist techniques, reverse osmosis and the “spinning cone” method.
There’s a catch and it is that the processing required to lower the alcohol content of wine tends to affect its flavour. But figures from the market researchers Nielsen show that the broader category of low-alcohol drinks, which includes no-alcohol beers, wines and ciders, has seen sales grow 11 per cent in the past year.
The fact is that around 10 per cent alcohol by volume can deliver some lovely wines (e.g. Hunter semillon.)Lower than that you can expect the wine to have some degree of sweetness and there’s nothing at all wrong with those great German rieslings or indeed our local moscatos.
I like this hint, from somewhere in cyberspace: The single best way to create a wine that tastes like wine but has less alcohol in it is to add water, just like you do in the pub when you order a spritzer. This way, you take a good, balanced wine and simply dilute it. It won’t be quite so perfect but you can at least still taste the structure and detail of the original drink.
Here are three widely differing and delicious Australian wines, low in alcohol:
• Mount Eyre 2009 Three Ponds semillon is a fine example of how well this grape does in the Hunter _ grassy, lemony, vibrant with a crisp dry finish and a moderate 10.5 per cent alcohol by volume. Around $15
• Terra Felix Moscato Gold 2009 is sweet has low alcohol (5.7 per cent) and zippy and “comes in a clear glass bottle to let the golden hues shine through’. Last year’s vintage all went to China and sold out. Around $30.
• Jean Pierre sparkling brut delivers light-bodied fruit aromas, quite low alcohol (11 per cent), fresh and fruity without being overly sweet, crisp finish and a moderate price. Around $7.
Melba range worth singing about
Any entrepreneur who puts the words wine and opera in juxtaposition or even close to each other may be fairly confident that your reporter will make something of it. Which is why de Bortoli scores a mention here with its Melba range.
You will know a bit about Dame Nellie: this country’s first and one of its greatest operatic divas when that word meant rather more than it does in today’s gossip magazines.
She was pretty much queen of a big part of the western operatic stage and social scene for decades. Born Helen Porter Mitchell, she was the first Australian to gain international fame as a classical musician. Early on she married Charles Nisbett Frederick Armstrong, the son of a baronet, who managed a property near Mackay. They had one son, George. Although theoretically the marriage lasted almost 20 years, in practice it was over within two. Melba majestically moved on.
On one of her return trips to Australia in 1909, she bought a property in Coldstream, Yarra Valley and called it Coombe Cottage, after a house where she had stayed while singing at Covent Garden. She retired in 1928, died in 1931 and was buried in Lilydale cemetery.
The Melba range, de Bortoli tells us, is in her honour. Questioned about who is the opera-lover in the company, chief winemaker Steve Weber nominated his wife Leanne (nee de Bortoli). On more technical matters: “These wines are our interpretation of cabernet blends made in claret styles. “We are using most of eh Bordeaux varieties as well as syrah, sangiovese and nebbiolo to produce three distinct styles of claret, some of them closer to the cabernets from Bolgheri than from Graves. All wines are deliberately fine and medium bodied".
The wines are: 2007 Melba reserve, described as typical of the classical styles made famous by the valley’s pioneers. Touch of merlot. It is made to be long-living and comes in a heavy bottle. $60 and well worth it. 2007 Melba Lucia blends cabernet and sangiovese to produce a wine “that is quite Mediterranean in style"’. Dame Nellie must have done a pretty good Lucia di Lammermoor, as of course did Dame Joan, happily still with us. Delicious at $31. 2008 Mimi, she of the cold hand in La Boheme, inevitably another Melba role.
And by the way, Mimi’s real name, she tells us, is Lucia. Here are cabernet, syrah and nebbiolo, combining to produce a distinct “elegance, savouriness and brood’’. Romantic and lovely. $31.
Those dark days are behind us, right?
Last Wednesday was December 2 and for Queenslanders it marked a significant turning point in our state’s history. On that day in 1823 explorer John Oxley sighted the mouth of the Brisbane River, and set in train a series of events that led ultimately to establishment of the Moreton Bay and eventually the state of Queensland. Of course December 2 also marked the election in 1972 of the doomed federal Labor Government under PM Gough Whitlam.
The date also marked the 1989 election of the doomed Labor Government in Queensland under Premier Wayne Goss. The Labor Party held a big dinner at the Brisbane Convention Centre to mark the occasion and your columnist was pleased to be invited along as a guest of a Labor pollie. W
hy I received the invitation is a mystery, but the pollie in question professed a deep admiration for my jottings over the years and emphasised the point by regularly placing a hand on my upper thigh and giving a gentle squeeze now and then. Still, I must hasten to add that your columnist maintained her journalistic independence and did not respond to the overt hints of physical desire.
Nevertheless, it was a pleasant evening and as the night wore on, it started me thinking about how much has changed in the past 20 years at the state government levels. Those of us around in the dark days of the Bjelke-Petersen regime and those of his successors up to December 1989 would remember that our state was run by governments that had, at best, a prickly relationship with trade unions. They were keen on privatising services, starting with prisons. They were seen to be unduly open to the influence of developers and others who made big donations to the ruling party. They tried to impose an unwanted dam on a sleepy south-east Queensland community. Ministers were going to jail for official wrongdoings. And they had plans to hive off formerly sacrosanct national park, notably on Lindeman Island, for private accommodation.
Thank goodness those dark days are far behind us.
****
Like me, you would have seen state government adverts on TV urging motorists to slow down at roadworks and obey the signs telling us to obey lower speed limits, usually 40kph. A good idea, of course. But like me you no doubt also have come across the 40kph signs at places or at times when no roadworks are in progress.
In recent weeks, while piloting my trusty 1965 Land Rover around near-city suburbs, several such signs have told me to slow to 40kph. But in all cases there were no roadworks as such, the only activity being building work that ended at the fenceline. At one site, the 40kph sign was on show, but once through the roadworks there was no sign to tell drivers to resume normal speed.
If the government wants to instill in drivers’ minds the idea of routinely slowing down at roadworks, it needs to make sure the signs mandating a lower speed limit are not used and abused.
***
Former federal Labor Party leader, former alternative prime minister, and well-known walking pile of unadulterated political bile, Mark Latham, has a regular column in the Australian Financial Review. In a recent column he urged the federal government to sell the ABC radio, television, and now internet network. His argument was based on a belief that the commercial network owners could fill the gap left by the disappearance of our national broadcaster, while the government could raise several billions of dollars to boost the budget’s bottom line.
If you are someone who believes the current offerings of networks Seven, Nine, and Ten outshine those of the ABC for quality and depth of coverage, then Mr latham may convince you to offload a national and international broadcasting institution. But from my point of view, it would be difficult to sell the idea that Today Tonight or A Current Affair could take the place of the 7.30 Report, Lateline, or Foreign Correspondent.
It is also relevant to note that of all the new free TV channels started in the past few months, it is the ABC’s third channel that actually has a lot of new content, including Australian-made programs. Channel 10’s One focuses on sport, while Channel Nine’s Go channel and Seven2 are take up by reruns, usually of US-made shows. How many more times can we watch I Dream of Jeannie?
It is difficult not to come to the conclusion that Mr Latham is grasping at straws in a bid to remain part of our public discourse. Thankfully not many people take notice of him any more.
The date also marked the 1989 election of the doomed Labor Government in Queensland under Premier Wayne Goss. The Labor Party held a big dinner at the Brisbane Convention Centre to mark the occasion and your columnist was pleased to be invited along as a guest of a Labor pollie. W
hy I received the invitation is a mystery, but the pollie in question professed a deep admiration for my jottings over the years and emphasised the point by regularly placing a hand on my upper thigh and giving a gentle squeeze now and then. Still, I must hasten to add that your columnist maintained her journalistic independence and did not respond to the overt hints of physical desire.
Nevertheless, it was a pleasant evening and as the night wore on, it started me thinking about how much has changed in the past 20 years at the state government levels. Those of us around in the dark days of the Bjelke-Petersen regime and those of his successors up to December 1989 would remember that our state was run by governments that had, at best, a prickly relationship with trade unions. They were keen on privatising services, starting with prisons. They were seen to be unduly open to the influence of developers and others who made big donations to the ruling party. They tried to impose an unwanted dam on a sleepy south-east Queensland community. Ministers were going to jail for official wrongdoings. And they had plans to hive off formerly sacrosanct national park, notably on Lindeman Island, for private accommodation.
Thank goodness those dark days are far behind us.
****
Like me, you would have seen state government adverts on TV urging motorists to slow down at roadworks and obey the signs telling us to obey lower speed limits, usually 40kph. A good idea, of course. But like me you no doubt also have come across the 40kph signs at places or at times when no roadworks are in progress.
In recent weeks, while piloting my trusty 1965 Land Rover around near-city suburbs, several such signs have told me to slow to 40kph. But in all cases there were no roadworks as such, the only activity being building work that ended at the fenceline. At one site, the 40kph sign was on show, but once through the roadworks there was no sign to tell drivers to resume normal speed.
If the government wants to instill in drivers’ minds the idea of routinely slowing down at roadworks, it needs to make sure the signs mandating a lower speed limit are not used and abused.
***
Former federal Labor Party leader, former alternative prime minister, and well-known walking pile of unadulterated political bile, Mark Latham, has a regular column in the Australian Financial Review. In a recent column he urged the federal government to sell the ABC radio, television, and now internet network. His argument was based on a belief that the commercial network owners could fill the gap left by the disappearance of our national broadcaster, while the government could raise several billions of dollars to boost the budget’s bottom line.
If you are someone who believes the current offerings of networks Seven, Nine, and Ten outshine those of the ABC for quality and depth of coverage, then Mr latham may convince you to offload a national and international broadcasting institution. But from my point of view, it would be difficult to sell the idea that Today Tonight or A Current Affair could take the place of the 7.30 Report, Lateline, or Foreign Correspondent.
It is also relevant to note that of all the new free TV channels started in the past few months, it is the ABC’s third channel that actually has a lot of new content, including Australian-made programs. Channel 10’s One focuses on sport, while Channel Nine’s Go channel and Seven2 are take up by reruns, usually of US-made shows. How many more times can we watch I Dream of Jeannie?
It is difficult not to come to the conclusion that Mr Latham is grasping at straws in a bid to remain part of our public discourse. Thankfully not many people take notice of him any more.
No budgie protest recorded
By Mungo MacCallum
Tony Abbott can afford to feel a bit happier after the weekend’s by-elections – but only a bit. The Liberals certainly avoided the backlash feared by the party’s nervous nellies, and held their safe seats without the humiliation of going to preferences.
In Bradfield, their primary vote was down by 3.7 percent, but most of that went to the heavenly host of Christian Democrats on the ballot paper, and came back to the Libs in preferences. In Higgins the primary vote slipped by 1.9 per cent, but after preferences the Libs actually picked up 1.5 per cent on the 2007 result, suggesting that far from having a strong personal following, the departed Peter Costello may actually have been a negative factor.
Certainly there was no evidence of a protest vote because of climate change, factional brawling or even Abbott’s appearance in budgie smugglers. But nor should there have been: protest votes are used by the electorate to chastise governments, not oppositions. With some justice the Libs point out that there were no Labor candidates standing to protest against; but any genuine anti-government vote should, to be at all useful to Abbott, have translated itself into support for the Liberals on offer. Normally by this stage in the electoral cycle even popular governments suffer a swing against them in by-elections of around 2 to 5 per cent as the voters remind them that they are not to be taken for granted. The fact that this did not occur indicates that Abbott has a lot of work to do if he is to generate any momentum for change next year. But he already knows this.
He emerged from the chaos of the last fortnight more or less by accident, and then only after Joe Hockey disqualified himself from serious consideration by answering “maybe” to what was always a yes-no question on climate change. There is much sympathy for Hockey on the basis that he was always a reluctant candidate, persuaded to stand in order to save the party from complete destruction, and then promptly pushed over a cliff by an ungrateful party room. But in fact Hockey may be the lucky one.
There is some evidence that Nick Minchin and his fellow terrorists had planned to use Hockey as a sacrificial lamb: he would become leader and save some seats at the 2010 poll, after which he would be tossed aside like a worn-out sock and Abbott would take over for the more winnable 2013 election.
Instead the roles have been reversed, and Abbott could well suffer the fate of so many of his predecessors. It is rare indeed for losing Liberal leaders to be given a second chance. Still, once Minchin and Alan Jones made it clear they would wreck the whole party rather than bow to Malcolm Turnbull and his views on climate change, and then Hockey refused to abandon his principles – well, not all of them – there was no choice left: as Labor had done in 2003 with Mark Latham, the only option was to kick high and chase and hope for a lucky bounce.
It was unquestionably what Sir Humphrey Appleby would have called a courageous decision; according to the polls Abbott was the least popular candidate on offer, with views shared by less than one third of the electorate. He was certainly the choice of the bedrock, rusted on, grass roots, heartland (choose your metaphor) of the party, but they were the ones who had nowhere else to go, except possibly to the Nationals or to fringe independents; they certainly weren’t going to vote Labor.
To win back government the Libs need the middle ground, which has never been Abbott’s preferred territory. But as he says, at least there will now be clear points of difference on just about every issue, and in some ways this is a good thing for politics in general. In particular, it means that the government has to pull its collective finger out and start working up climate change as a political priority.
For more than a year it has been allowed to drift, allowing the deniers, rent-seekers and loonies to make the running, and as a result public enthusiasm for action has dwindled. If it had remained at its earlier level Minchin’s Al Qaeda would never have gained the acquiescence of the backbench for scepticism and rejection. Now Abbott has put himself forward as the caped (well, speedoed) crusader who will save us all from the greenie communist scourge.
Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong will have to get back in the field and this time run a well-planned and consistent campaign to explain the science, the threat and the way to meet it. It actually doesn’t matter if the average punter does not understand exactly how an emissions trading scheme works; the average punter doesn’t understand exactly how a television set works either, but television sets are regarded as necessities in most households.
Rudd’s ETS may look a bit like a black and white HMV set, but at least it’s a start; we can upgrade to the HD flat screen plasma digital model as time and circumstance allow. The important thing is to allay the doubts and fears in the electorate which Abbott, aided by the above mentioned deniers, rent-seekers and loonies, will be seeking to exploit. Given that the overwhelming mood in the electorate is still for action of some kind, that should not be too hard. Abbott’s formula – that any cost can be either avoided altogether or deferred – is neither defensible nor credible. Rudd has now missed his Copenhagen deadline; he can afford to postpone his projected double dissolution election until the second half of next year, when it will be the best fit both technically and politically.
That gives him plenty of time to restore rationality to the debate – and for Abbott to become the third Liberal leader to self-destruct over the issue.
Tony Abbott can afford to feel a bit happier after the weekend’s by-elections – but only a bit. The Liberals certainly avoided the backlash feared by the party’s nervous nellies, and held their safe seats without the humiliation of going to preferences.
In Bradfield, their primary vote was down by 3.7 percent, but most of that went to the heavenly host of Christian Democrats on the ballot paper, and came back to the Libs in preferences. In Higgins the primary vote slipped by 1.9 per cent, but after preferences the Libs actually picked up 1.5 per cent on the 2007 result, suggesting that far from having a strong personal following, the departed Peter Costello may actually have been a negative factor.
Certainly there was no evidence of a protest vote because of climate change, factional brawling or even Abbott’s appearance in budgie smugglers. But nor should there have been: protest votes are used by the electorate to chastise governments, not oppositions. With some justice the Libs point out that there were no Labor candidates standing to protest against; but any genuine anti-government vote should, to be at all useful to Abbott, have translated itself into support for the Liberals on offer. Normally by this stage in the electoral cycle even popular governments suffer a swing against them in by-elections of around 2 to 5 per cent as the voters remind them that they are not to be taken for granted. The fact that this did not occur indicates that Abbott has a lot of work to do if he is to generate any momentum for change next year. But he already knows this.
He emerged from the chaos of the last fortnight more or less by accident, and then only after Joe Hockey disqualified himself from serious consideration by answering “maybe” to what was always a yes-no question on climate change. There is much sympathy for Hockey on the basis that he was always a reluctant candidate, persuaded to stand in order to save the party from complete destruction, and then promptly pushed over a cliff by an ungrateful party room. But in fact Hockey may be the lucky one.
There is some evidence that Nick Minchin and his fellow terrorists had planned to use Hockey as a sacrificial lamb: he would become leader and save some seats at the 2010 poll, after which he would be tossed aside like a worn-out sock and Abbott would take over for the more winnable 2013 election.
Instead the roles have been reversed, and Abbott could well suffer the fate of so many of his predecessors. It is rare indeed for losing Liberal leaders to be given a second chance. Still, once Minchin and Alan Jones made it clear they would wreck the whole party rather than bow to Malcolm Turnbull and his views on climate change, and then Hockey refused to abandon his principles – well, not all of them – there was no choice left: as Labor had done in 2003 with Mark Latham, the only option was to kick high and chase and hope for a lucky bounce.
It was unquestionably what Sir Humphrey Appleby would have called a courageous decision; according to the polls Abbott was the least popular candidate on offer, with views shared by less than one third of the electorate. He was certainly the choice of the bedrock, rusted on, grass roots, heartland (choose your metaphor) of the party, but they were the ones who had nowhere else to go, except possibly to the Nationals or to fringe independents; they certainly weren’t going to vote Labor.
To win back government the Libs need the middle ground, which has never been Abbott’s preferred territory. But as he says, at least there will now be clear points of difference on just about every issue, and in some ways this is a good thing for politics in general. In particular, it means that the government has to pull its collective finger out and start working up climate change as a political priority.
For more than a year it has been allowed to drift, allowing the deniers, rent-seekers and loonies to make the running, and as a result public enthusiasm for action has dwindled. If it had remained at its earlier level Minchin’s Al Qaeda would never have gained the acquiescence of the backbench for scepticism and rejection. Now Abbott has put himself forward as the caped (well, speedoed) crusader who will save us all from the greenie communist scourge.
Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong will have to get back in the field and this time run a well-planned and consistent campaign to explain the science, the threat and the way to meet it. It actually doesn’t matter if the average punter does not understand exactly how an emissions trading scheme works; the average punter doesn’t understand exactly how a television set works either, but television sets are regarded as necessities in most households.
Rudd’s ETS may look a bit like a black and white HMV set, but at least it’s a start; we can upgrade to the HD flat screen plasma digital model as time and circumstance allow. The important thing is to allay the doubts and fears in the electorate which Abbott, aided by the above mentioned deniers, rent-seekers and loonies, will be seeking to exploit. Given that the overwhelming mood in the electorate is still for action of some kind, that should not be too hard. Abbott’s formula – that any cost can be either avoided altogether or deferred – is neither defensible nor credible. Rudd has now missed his Copenhagen deadline; he can afford to postpone his projected double dissolution election until the second half of next year, when it will be the best fit both technically and politically.
That gives him plenty of time to restore rationality to the debate – and for Abbott to become the third Liberal leader to self-destruct over the issue.
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