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Paul Bishop plays the mayor at QPAC and is a Redcliffe councillor by day
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre board has demanded in writing that a jokey reference to Campbell Newman was excised from the play, Australia Day, between the premiere and opening night.
Writing in Art Hub today, Ben Eltham details the sequence of events that led to the censorship of the light hearted joke. The section that was cut ends with the line “Two words: Campbell Newman.”
It appears the two words weighed heavily on the board’s mind.
Regular readers of Westender’s news feed will remember that we broke the story of the cuts to a dozen institutions last October. Since then, the Arts community has been understandably sensitive about what may or may not affect its funding.
As we put it at the time:
“Having heard Newman wax lyrical about the government’s support for the classical artforms, especially when they uphold politically “incorrect” attitudes to power, sex and politics, it is clear that the arts sector is in a very difficult position.
“If they call out the philistines in George Street then they are relegated to the outer circle with womens reproductive rights, environmentalists, paedophiles, judges and bikies. If they do not, they are complicit in assisting the government in manufacturing a make believe fairyland that masks the chamber of horrors under the pink, glittery frosting.
“You can rely on Westender to keep peeling back the marzipan to reveal the maggots that have inhabited the meal.”
Former Powerhouse director Andrew Ross is quoted in the Arts Hub article pointing out that self censorship through fear is more effective and cheaper to implement than actual directives from the government.
While Newman is busy kicking the stuffing out of any creative endeavours, Lord Mayor Quirk is busy selling Brisbane as a cultural hub and a new World-City.
Dr Rob Ruberry welcomes his son John into the business
Dr John Ruberry joined West End Medical Practice in late January this year. Studying medicine was a fairly late decision, he tells Westender.
Before that he had finished a degree in electrical engineering and spent some time in the air force, an experience that has been very valuable.
“But I found myself wanting a bit more human interaction and the satisfaction of helping people,” he said. A career in Medicine has always been on his mind, as his father is a doctor.
He looks forward to learn from his new, more experienced colleagues and especially working with his father, Dr Rob Ruberry.
Family owned and run businesses help give West End its close knit community character.
Caption: Dr Rob Ruberry welcomes his son John into the family business
Commercialisation Australia offers information about grants
If you have developed and tested an idea and need help funding the process to take it to market, have a look at the Commercialisation Grants available from the federal government.
The beauracrats reckon it is “It is a competitive, merit-based assistance program offering funding and resources to accelerate the business building process for Australian companies, entrepreneurs, researchers and inventors looking to commercialise innovative intellectual property.” Whatev. If they are funding the bill we’ll let them call it as they must.
To keep up to date with the latest shifts in government policy keep an eye on the Commercialisation Australia website
A great market atmosphere adds a new destination to shopping in Boundary St
Despite a number of missed deadlines and trips around the roundabout, the same players are jockeying for position to purchase and develop the Absoe site in the middle of West End.
The plan, as Westender understands it, is for the building to be redeveloped as a mixture of housing, commerce and industry in a sensitive manner consistent with West End cultural values. It will include an underground carpark open treed space and at least some of the refurbished existing buildings.
This is partly governed by the Brisbane City Council’s Riverside Neighbourhood Plan and will guide the development application submitted by the eventual owner. What that means in practice depends somewhat on who becomes the eventual buyer. David Devine had a contract over the property, missed a critical deadline but is now back in play again.
Meanwhile the onsite Artisan markets are ramping up their presence with a marquita multicultural food spectacular on dates yet to be announced. The weekend markets have slowed down a little since their big launch in December although no official change in times or approach has been forthcoming.
Local business owners along the section of Boundary Street between Mollison St and the police station watch with interest.
John Dwyer watches his favourite coup on set at the client’s
The South West Chamber of Commerce is breakfasting at the Loft again this month with marketing guru John Dwyer working up the Wow factor over breakfast at 7am on Thursday 6 February.
John’s company assists business in developing marketing programs that have that Wow factor and he will impart the secrets of his success over breakfast next week.
John was the Rocktober festival organiser in the eighties and has worked with Woolworths, News, KFC, Coca Cola and Caltex. His most treasured gig though is securing Jerry Seinfeld for the Greater Building Society’s advertising campaign.
The Chamber enjoyed breakfast at a few different venues, trying the menus, last year. Looks like the Loft might have got the nod, or be closing in on the deal so we can expect a few more business breakfasts coming our way.
Get yourself to the Loft a little before seven so you can be comfortably seated before the Wow factor whacks you for six. Members and non-members are welcome to attend.
Terri Butler and Bill Shorten campaigning in Griffith
Newcomer to the Griffith by-election, Terri Butler doesn’t have a profile in the electorate that could in any way equal that of her predecessor Kevin Rudd, and on top of that, she is up against a well-known and well-liked opponent.
On the plus side, Ms Butler is new: this can bring its own energy and freshness, and the old Labor leadership battles are no longer the ‘front and centre’ distractions they were in 2013.
While Ms Butler sees herself as the underdog in terms of financial resources, she considers she has the backing that will really count come election time.
“Though the LNP candidate has a lot more money to spend on this campaign than I do, I have more grassroots support,” she told No Fibs.
Yet in her campaign speech this week, Ms Butler warned her supporters: “Do not be fooled. We are right up against the wall in Griffith.”
In my first interview with Ms Butler, she said of herself: “I am someone that people can relate to. I’m a young mum, I’ve got a successful career, and like a lot of people in this electorate, I juggle the responsibilities of looking after my family with full-time work.”
Ms Butler said Labor’s volunteers (which some have dubbed ‘Butler’s Battlers’ as a retort to the ‘Glasson’s Gladiators’ tag), “are working on this campaign because they strongly believe in what we stand for: a fair go for the people of Griffith, and they’re working alongside me to engage with people as much as possible.”
Ms Butler said that Labor is keeping the campaign local. “We’re doing street stalls, meeting and greeting people at train, bus and ferry stops, making phone calls, speaking directly with local businesses, sending letters, and attending community meetings, among other things”.
As to the local issues, Ms Butler said people are concerned about: “The inequity in access to high-speed broadband, and concerns about Mr Turnbull’s second-rate broadband plan,
LNP backflipping on education funding”, and cited access to quality childcare and aircraft noise as other topics of concern for the electorate.
“More generally”, she said, “people are concerned that the Abbott government is not what they expected when they voted. We were promised no surprises and no excuses, but we seem to be getting plenty of both”.
“This by-election is people’s first opportunity to express an opinion about the Abbott government. From the conversations I’ve had, I don’t think people want to give the Abbott government a tick of approval,” she said.
Asked why she considers Labor is best placed to represent the interests of the people of Griffith, Ms Butler said: “We have wall-to-wall LNP governments. We don’t need yet another person agreeing with Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman. It’s important to restore some of the balance. Our community deserves a strong voice.”
Ms Butler said that the by-election is about the future. “It’s an opportunity for people to send a message to Canberra about the Abbott government’s performance, and about the type of government we expect and deserve.”
Over the past week, Ms Butler has had Labor Leader Bill Shorten at her side as they have taken to the streets. She told No Fibs: “It has been great to have had opposition leader Bill Shorten in Griffith this week. Bill has provided tremendous support to me right throughout the campaign, including campaigning with me at bus and ferry terminals across the Southside, making phone calls, meeting with local community groups and formally launching my campaign.”
Mr Shorten launched the Labor campaign on Wednesday evening with a fiery speech to a (mostly standing) whistling and hooting crowd of supporters in cramped footy clubs in Hawthorne. This was the Bill Shorten Labor people have been waiting to see.
At the conclusion of her campaign speech on Wednesday, Ms Butler said: “Everyone in this room knows that universal healthcare, a great education system, high speed broadband, and accessible affordable childcare, are, and always have been, Labor priorities, and we all know that only a Labor member will stand and fight to protect them.”
Ms Butler has a Facebook site and website and tweets as @TerriMButler
– See more at: http://nofibs.com.au/2014/01/25/griffith-grudge-match-glassons-gladiators-vs-butlers-battlers-griffithelects-reports/#sthash.cMNbqhmg.dpuf
