Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on
Director Lee CunXin trains with the Queensland ballet
The World Premiere of a new production of Copelia will launch Queensland Ballet’s season next year, while the Nutcracker will become a regular Christmas feature and crowd pleaser, starting here in 4101 on 5th December.
Running from April 14 until May 10, the ballet will be choreographed by Greg Horsmann. Mr Horsmann told the ballet faithful at Brisbane Town Hall on Monday that Copellia has framed his career.
Director of Queensland Ballet, Lee CunXin, known to many as Mao’s last dancer, presented the 2014 program, announcing that the ballet has Sir … Romeo Juliet, with three international stars performing in the main roles at various times, giving both audiences and dancers a taste of the heights of this soaring art form.
The famous production of Romeo and Juliet, choregraphed by Sir Kenneth McMillan to Prokiev’s music has been closely guarded by McMillan’s widow and it is considered a real coup to have the performance here from 27 June to 5 July.
The crowd pleaser, though, both at the launch this week and for the programs to come will be the Nutcracker Suite as a regular Christmas treat. The first outing kicks off here in 4101 in two months. So popular is this ballet set to Tchaikoskvy’s music that the season has sold out and new shows have had to be added to the program by popular demand.
The expansion of coal mines west of Brisbane will double the amount of coal rumbling through the suburbs residents of Brisbane’s inner Southern suburbs heard at the Yeronga Bowls club last night.
Merryn Redenbach from Doctors for the Environment and Peter Faulkner from Oakey Coal Action Alliance brought very different perspectives to the topic.
Dr Redenbach provided a raft of evidence about those health impacts, including asthma and heart disease. She covered the damage caused by different particle sizes. Smaller particles are more dangerous as they get deeper into the lungs where the body’s defences are less able to deal with them.
The plume from a blast at the New Hope Acland mine
Most monitoring only picks up particles of 10microns or larger in diameter as only these coarse particles are governed by law. The fine particles (2.5 microns in diameter) have guidelines but are rarely measured and the ultrafine particles (1 micron) are rarely measured at all.
Doctors for the Environment has research indicating that the cost of coal’s impact on human health is around 6.2 billion dollars. If we included this in the cost of coal fired electricity, renewables start to look very attractive indeed.
All corporations try to externalize as many costs as possible but Doctors for the Environment don’t want to let them off the hook on these health costs.
Peter Faulkner’s down to earth style makes people sit up and listen
President of the Oakey Coal Action Alliance, Peter Faulkner, is in the thick of those attempts by coal mines to reduce those costs west of Toowoomba. His main concern is that our food sovereignty and regional communities are under threat as the government paves the way for international energy companies to ravage the landscape in a short sighted dream to make Australia the Saudi Arabia of the twenty first century.
“We are not second class citizens,” he asserts, “and we should not be thrown off our land and give up our food security because some shareholders on the other side of the world want to make money from it.”
His group agitated to raise awareness about New Hope’s expansion plans and have watched in dismay as the company has divided the community with a PR war by throwing money at the local paper, school committee and “any body with their hand out who is prepared to go quiet on the impact of coal.”
The New Hope Acland mine is about eight kilometers from the town of Oakey and is expected to double in size. New Hope has exploration licenses across vast swathes of Queensland from the NSW border north in a band that runs from Toowoomba in the East, West to Dalby.
Peter presented a range of photographic evidence showing the effects of mining on the community. An inspiring speaker, his down to earth style and factual approach had the audience firing questions with a passion.
The evening was organized by Clean Air Queensland, which is well connected to Stop Brisbane Coal Trains, Lock the Gate, Bridging the Divide and the many local groups trying to salvage their communities and their farmland in the face of this onslaught from energy companies with the full backing of the government.
Twenty year old Annerley local, Ally Burnham, has beaten hundreds of aspiring film-makers and actors to be one of just 10 young Australians to participate in ‘The Shoot’ a short film initiative by Samsung Electronics Australia.
Ally will fly to Sydney for a six-day workshop with one of Australia’s leading creative and performing arts schools, the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), where she will also receive mentoring from internationally acclaimed Australian director, Baz Luhrmann. The short film created by Ally and the other winners will premiere at a prestigious event hosted at the Sydney Opera House as part of the iconic landmark’s 40th Anniversary celebrations on October 24.
Ally was selected from more than 700 entries as the writer for The Shoot. Ally has always wanted to be a storyteller, she has dreamt of being a screenwriter since she was 14 years old, growing up in the country town of Murwillumbah. Her writing is inspired by life experiences and she is looking forward to learn from the best in the filmmaking industry during the workshop with NIDA.
“I am elated to be a part of The Shoot. This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m very excited,” Ally said. “I am absolutely humbled that Samsung and NIDA thought I was worthy enough to be the screenwriter for their short film, a role I am very excited to take on.”
“Samsung is excited to work with Ally and we’re proud to be able to help showcase her talent as a screenwriter in The Shoot,” said Arno Lenior, Marketing Director, Samsung.
“It is an honour for Samsung to support young Australians through initiatives like The Shoot, allowing them to work with our passion brand ambassador Baz Luhrmann and use to our latest technology while creating a short film at NIDA. I’m thrilled that we can give young Aussies the chance to share their passion and talent with the country while learning from the best in the business to help them on their own creative path,” said Lenior.
Along with nine other winners, Ally will receive:
· A master-class with Baz Luhrmann;
· Six day intensive film-making course at NIDA;
· A VIP ticket to the blue carpet premiere of their short film at Sydney Opera House’s 40th Anniversary celebrations, which will be attended by Baz Luhrmann and other VIPs; and
· Samsung Creative Communications pack, including the new Samsung GALAXY Note 3* and Samsung GALAXY Gear*.
About the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is Australia’s national education and training institution for the dramatic arts, providing elite training in a range of disciplines, including acting, costume, design, directing, music theatre, playwriting, production, properties and staging through its undergraduate and graduate programs, and offering training across Australia for children, young people and adults through its public courses. NIDA students gain an unrivalled foundation in their chosen fields and graduates become leaders and innovators within the arts and entertainment industries. To learn more about NIDA, visit www.nida.edu.au
Brendan Barclay was born and grew up in West end. After a long time away from the area, Brendan has returned home.
“I moved back to settle down. It’s the best place in Brisbane. There’s a real community vibe, there are gardens on every corner. Everyone is really friendly and lovely. They like bringing everyone into their homes and sharing their lives with everyone. It’s the best community around, easily in Brisbane.”
“There’s no place like home. I think West End is one of the last places in Brisbane that still has culture. I like the Valley and New Farm, but West End still has a lot of old culture. It’s still holding onto it, whereas new development has really changed the city. West End is the most amazing place.”
“What’s your day been like so far?”
“I had some coffee and breakfast at Blackstar. It’s a cafe that’s tucked away in Thomas Street. It’s serves amazing coffee. Now I’m going to buy a lantern at Dandylion. I love that shop. I’m like a kid in a candy store there.”
“Later on I’ll go out for evening drinks at Rumpus (Rumpus Room). It’s happy hour for all of Monday. It has a really nice evening feel too. It has a garden outside and a lot of the locals will gather around that area. You can drink and smoke at the same time. It’s a nice little place to hang out.
Brendan’s advice for life: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
The hugely successful Australian cricket coach, John Buchanan, graced the South West chamber of commerce last Thursday and shared his five tips for leaders.
President Alice, John Buchanan and Manager Roger at the SW Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
His relaxed style and bottomless kit bag of yarns kept the members of the commerce glued to his talk right up until the 8:30 curfew, when some of us had to run away to open the doors of our own businesses. There was still an excited crowd around the man as I drove off.
Part of the fascination was the level of personal honesty he portrayed as he discussed the life journey that he took which eventually led to his coaching of the Australian cricket team. “Taking a good hard look at yourself and working out who you are, is absolutely essential if you are going to excel at anything,” he said.
Knowing your vision is the first rule in Buchanan’s five pillars of success. Understand your vision clearly. Be absolutely sure of it with every fibre of your being, be able to describe it in ten seconds, and be happy that your whole life is going to revolve around it.
Powerful as this message was on its own, coming from a man who has excelled at the pinnacle of international sport, it reinforced the key message at the COSBOA business breakfast covered by Westender in July. (see related story – http://westender.com.au/mobile-media-future/)
The logic is simple. The focus and determination required to succeed require a single mindedness that simply cannot exist if you have doubts, second thoughts or other distractions that take your focus off the game.
Knowing who you are and what you want is the starting point for all of life’s endeavours.
The other four pillars took much less time to lay out. Partly because they are less important, partly I expect because this presentation was a little shorter than those he is used to giving and he needed to abbreviate his schtick to get us out the door on time.
Leadership culture comes next. Buchanan’s point is that the organisation follows the leader. What the leader does, so will the organization. The leader’s behaviour, then, determines the culture of the organization. There is no point in sitting down with a wish list of what the organization’s culture should look like, if that is at odds with the leader’s own style. Far better, John Buchanan says, to get someone to make a few notes about the main positive character traits of the leader and synthesise that into an expression of the organizational culture.
Learning environment is third on John’s list. His thesis is that every leader should be in the business of making themselves redundant. You want people to be able to lead in your absence. You do not want the entire organization grinding to a halt while you have a moment to yourself. You really should be working for the day when your business just keeps making buckets of money without you working your guts out to keep the machine going.
That can only be achieved if you allow people the scope to learn, encourage them to learn and support them in that learning.
Developing talent is the key to growth. Obviously success comes from improvement and that improvement has to come from somewhere. Finding raw talent and developing it is part of that process. The other key that stops many people succeeding is the development of talent that is different to the leader’s. This is especially true where the leader may be weak in an area and needs to complement that weakness. There is a natural tendency in many of us to become defensive and avoid exposing our weaknesses. A good leader though acknowledges them and fills the organisation with a range of talents that complement each other.
Measurement is the final pillar that underlines all the others. Being able to determine if the other pieces of the puzzle are working is essential to managing to a plan and refining the plan as external circumstances force us to rip it up and start again.
Many readers will have come across similar templates for success. The joy in this presentation is that John Buchanan has a down-to-earth style that makes them ring true. This is not a high pressure presentation with a lot of hoopla. It is a real bloke that the audience feels they can identify with, who is quite open about some the challenges he faced along the way, talking about how success comes from the determined application of a few key principles.
For the members of the South West Chamber who were there, the recommendations resonate all the more for that directness and personal touch. I’m sure I was not the only attendee who took the time to check out http://buchanancoaching.com
Arts Minister Ian Walker has announced Brisbane songwriter Seja as the winner of the $25,000 Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship at an event at the State Library of Queensland.
Mr Walker said Seja impressed the judges with her song-writing accomplishments, both as a band member and as a solo musician.
“The panel believe this opportunity will be instrumental in taking her career to the next level,” Mr Walker said.
“She has selected New York as her destination where she will build on the extensive networks she has already made in the US.”
A former member of Brisbane bands Sekiden and Regurgitator, songwriter Seja Vogel has toured internationally and is also a noted visual artist. She has recorded two albums: We have secrets but nobody cares (2010) and All our wires (2013). She has performed her solo material as support for Australian tours of headline acts such as Goldfrapp, Sarah Blasko, Warpaint and Holly Throsby.
The Minister congratulated 2013 finalist Edward Guglielmino, whose song Mary, was awarded Song of the Fellowship by the McLennan family.
“The McLennan family felt this song captured the essence of Grant’s own song-writing and asked that it be given special recognition,” Mr Walker said.
He also thanked the judging panel – Adele Pickvance, Ian Haug and Tylea Goold.
Seja said of her win, “The Fellowship will give me the space and time to both nurture and develop my creative output and encourage me to think about my goals and future aspirations.
“It supports involvement in new and exciting creative communities offshore whilst giving me the opportunity for autonomous development,” she said.
The $25,000 Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship, established by Arts Queensland, honours the musical legacy of Grant McLennan, who passed away in 2006.
