Category: News

The Queensland Centre for Photography has released its schedule for 2014. During the first exhibition period of 2014 the gallery is showcasing artists who focus on storytelling in photography.

That includes exhibitions by Dean Butters (ACT), Barbara Doran & Penelope Cain (NSW), Christophe Canato (WA), Alexia Sinclair (NSW), and Katelyn-Jane Dunn (QLD). The Undergraduate Bridging Program features Paul Dielemans (QLD) from CATC Design School. The International Bridging Program features Alma Haser (UNITED KINGDOM).

Dean Butters: Batman & Robin

Dean Butters uses the tropes of Batman in constructed scenarios to portray the often-stark reality of an unfulfilled life, contrasted against the hopes and aspirations of childhood idealism. Butters images examine the ideas of protracted adolescence and social disconnection, amalgamating realistic situations with the fictional stories that we consume, to ultimately talk about a failure of identity through process of growing up and accepting the real world.

Christophe Canato: Ricochet

The series Ricochet delves into the psyche of childhood, a time when darkness hides all sorts of threats and time itself seems endless. Christophe Canato’s images reflect the style of evocative renaissance paintings, put together to create an elaborate storyboard for a greater unseen tale. Canato uses the French description of the word ricochet to reference a rock skimming across water, defying logic before the reality of gravity brings it to an end, and relates the word to the dreams and fears of childhood.

Barbara Doran & Penelope Cain: Fractured Fairy Tales

Through the use of storytelling, Barbara Doran and Penelope Cain examine the contemporary urban condition, responding with hyper real narratives to make sense of where humanity stands in the modern era. Doran’s series At’Onement’ INCorporeal considers the social structures and hierarchy that we encounter in the workplace. This is combined with Cain’s series Nightgarden, exploring the qualities of the worlds we create outside our bodies in our individual dialogues between nature and culture, to form Fractured Fairy Tales.

Alexia Sinclair: A Frozen Tale

In A Frozen Tale, Alexia Sinclair weaves the historical narrative of Skokloster Slott, a baroque castle constructed in 17th century Sweden. She recreates the castles settings and the visits of its many important guests through a combination of historical snippets, digital manipulation and highly controlled studio shoots, to produce images reminiscent of traditional European paintings. The resulting works give an impression of life in the castle, from moments of significance to the simplicity of daily routine, encapsulating the myth and legend of 17th century Europe.

Katelyn-Jane Dunn: Sugar

Katelyn-Jane Dunn series Sugar presents an ambiguous and personal narrative, exploring the existing tensions of femininity, womanhood and coming of age in the male-dominated culture of regional towns. Based in her grandmothers’s home, Dunn combines documentary style images with site-specific performance to reconcile, reclaim and reflect upon a multidimensional femininity, ultimately asking, “What is it to be feminine in a regional context?”

International Bridging Program: Alma Haser (UK)

For this month as part of our International Bridging Program, where we showcase the work of international artists on the LED screen at the QCP gallery entrance, UK based artist Alma Haser’s series The Cosmic Surgery will be presented. Haser graduated in 2010 with a BA (Hons) in Photography, being named as one of the four best graduates of 2010 by the British Journal of Photography.

Undergraduate Bridging Program: Paul Dielemans (CATC)

Showcased in our window gallery is the QCP Undergraduate Bridging Program, which presents work by emerging artists who are currently studying photo media at an Australian higher learning institution. The month we are presenting Paul Dielemans, a student of CATC Design School, and his series Concrete Clad, which analyses the tensions between the ever-advancing front of human construction and the natural environment.

The Queensland Centre for Photography (QCP) is a non-profit organization based in Brisbane Australia, dedicated to the exhibition and publishing of photo-media art. It is the leading institution of its kind supporting the development of Australian practitioners and their global appreciation.

Australia’s honey industry is preparing for a difficult 2014, with abnormal weather conditions set to deliver the lowest national honey yields in at least a decade.

A combination of excessive heat, flood and drought has hit prime honey producing areas in recent times and led to honey supplies falling by over 50 percent.

The honey producing process requires the right mix of temperatures and rainfall for nectar producing crops to grow, set buds, flower and then have bees collect the nectar to ripen into honey. Erratic temperatures, both hot and cold, have meant spring production was very low.

Australia’s hottest year on record has severely hampered honey flows for bee keepers, with high temperatures causing stress and erratic behaviour in local bee populations. In extreme heatwave conditions beeswax honeycombs can melt inside the hive. The heat forces bees to remain inside and collectively fan their wings in an attempt to keep the hive cool.

According to Trevor Weatherhead, Executive Director of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, the honey shortage has the potential to rock the industry in the short term.

“It is a dire time for the honey industry with both apiarists and honey packers bracing themselves for the next 12 months.

“We have witnessed a ‘perfect storm’ of negative weather conditions.

“Because of this, honey stock is now the scarcest it has been in over ten years and honey packers are finding it very difficult to secure supplies,” Mr Weatherhead said.

“This will no doubt make it very hard for some companies to meet contracts with supermarkets and supply their full range of products.”

Mr Weatherhead said it was more important than ever for Australian’s to support the local honey industry.

“An estimated 65 per cent of agricultural production in Australia depends on pollination by honeybees with pollination services to Australian agriculture being valued at more $1.7 billion per annum.

“Domestic Australian supermarket retail sales for honey are in excess of $150 million a year and honey is a growing multi-million dollar source of export revenue for Australia.

“Conditions will once again return to normal, but like any agriculturally based business, during this period there will be a number of hardships that will have to be endured.

“Over the next 12 months we can greatly assist our Australian bee keepers and honey producers by continuing to buy honey as you would normally,” Mr Weatherhead concluded.

This article has no connection to the Hot Brown Honey reviewed on Jan 1.

Queensland Civil Liberties Union met last night to plan their support of a series of rolling protests against the Queensland Government’s attack on Civil Liberties. The first of these actions will be the Freedom Day Rally at the Roma Forum in Roma Street, Brisbane at 11am on Sunday January 26th.

This Rally has inspired international support around the world including rallies in London, Toledo California and Canberra.

The meeting was opened by Peter Simpson of the Electrical Trades Union who pointed out that up to 200 electricians will be banned from working in July if the legislation goes ahead.

“Decent working men with families to feed and no criminal record or history of criminal activity are going to lose their jobs because they choose to socialise with bikies.”

He quoted the acting attorney general, David Crisafulli as suggesting that the electricians “simply resign from the gangs.” The VLAD legislation, however, specifically identfies that resignation does not exclude someone from being categorised as illegal.

The Queensland Government has said that all registered trade and professional organisations are required to exclude members who the government has declared to be associates of criminal organisations from July this year.

Significantly, the legislation does not mention bikie gangs or any other specific group and it allows the attorney general to simply declare any corporation, incorporated association or group of three or more people as a criminal organisation.

“This legislation was ready when this government came to power. It does not mention bikies because it was drawn up to criminalise anyone opposing the government. The bikies simply got in the way.”

This week, Premier Newman confirmed that he decided to target bikies as a result of public outrage over shootings by bikies. Those shootings took place before and after the 2012 election.

Civil liberties activists, human rights organisations and legal experts around the world have universally condemned the laws, but conservative governments in the UK, EU and USA as well as other Australian jurisdictions have indicated they will study them and the public reaction to determine if they should follow suit.

It was the general mood of the Queensland Civil Liberties Union that the international focus and widespread opposition is all the more reason why concerned Queenslanders should join the protests in large numbers.

The opposition to these laws includes:

• Day of Freedom Rally – Jan 26
• Civil Liberties Union
• When they come for you … poster
• March in March rally

Tourism industry associations’ plea to GBRMPA over permit for dumping of port dredge spoil in waters of the Great Barrier Reef

Four Queensland peak tourism industry associations have this week expressed grave concerns to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) over the consideration to dump 3.5 million cubic metres of port dredge from Abbot Point Coal Port into the waters of the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.

The Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, Queensland Tourism Industry Council, Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association and Dive Queensland have written to GBRMPA requesting that they do not issue a permit to allow dumping of port dredge inside the Marine Park waters.

Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators Col McKenzie said the four industry associations expect that the GBRMPA act on the organisation’s own report findings about management of the reef.

“The ecosystem health of the Great Barrier Reef is rated as ‘poor to very poor’, which is why we are asking GBRMPA to not issue a permit for offshore dumping of industrial volumes of spoil inside the reef’s waters,” Mr McKenzie said.

“GBRMPA’s own report states ‘the reef’s health is declining, and without additional management intervention the region’s ecosystem, it is likely to continue to deteriorate’.

“We ask GBRMPA to heed their own findings which state ‘Strong steps are needed now to secure the long-term future of the reef. A history of increased nutrient and sediment loads entering the region, combined with a decade of extreme weather, has affected the region’s ecosystem.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council Chief Executive Daniel Gschwind said the interests of all coastal industries- including tourism – must remain significant and competitive alongside other government interests.

“Tourism in Queensland directly contributes $22 billion to the state’s economy and more than 136,000 Queenslanders are directly employed through tourism,” Mr Gschwind said.

“The reef alone produces an Australia-wide value-added economic contribution of $5.7 billion generated in the Great Barrier Reef catchment with employment of almost 70,000 people.”

“It is essential that the correct balance is achieved in regards to port development and the environmental protection of the Great Barrier Reef.”

Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association President Tony Brown said all users of the marine park should follow the best environmental practices.

“The cost to a business should never be part of the equation in deciding if a permit should be given. Just because it is more expensive for the Ports to build wharves to deeper water, should have no bearing on the permit approval process,” Mr Brown said.

“If the best environmental outcome is to build the wharves, then that is the way it must be if that user wants to operate within the marine park.”

Dive Queensland President Steve Moon said it is time for GBRMPA to take the ‘strong steps’ they themselves say are needed if there is a chance to not only halt but reverse the decline of the reef’s health.

“Any way you look at it, there will be an escalation in sediment loads on the Great Barrier Reef, in particular on the already stressed inner coral shelf,” Mr Moon said.

“We don’t have five, ten or twenty years to decide what to do – the only sensible action from here is to reduce man-made sediment loads immediately.”

 

I am Travis James Windsor.

I will be your effective representative for Griffith.

I am here because of personal calls from a wide range of electors of Griffith.

This makes me confident I will be truly representative and I will certainly be independent.

This morning, I wish to cover three items.

Firstly, I am extremely likely to be the new Member for Griffith.
Secondly, I want to talk about who I am and what I have already done in the seat of Griffith
Thirdly, I want to provide some understanding of my ‘political position’.

Therefore, firstly, let me state that I have full confidence that the electors of Griffith will choose wisely and I will be your representative in Griffith after 8th February.

Secondly,
I am a mentor with Queensland’s largest business assistance program, Small Business Solutions.
Small Business Solutions has helped 5000 businesses in the past 6 years. I am one of the leading mentors in terms of numbers of businesses helped and also the highest success rates of improving their businesses. I write the programs and train the mentors. I do business development for the program and in the last 2 years have helped triple and then double the number of businesses assisted. I have conducted 35 business seminars in the seat of Griffith and assisted over 50 businesses in this area.

When distressed businesses call up, I am the one who helps them.

When something goes wrong, I am the one who is sent in.

I am active in many business organizations and forums including committee roles and as a key note speaker to the 3 Chambers of Commerce in the Griffith electorate. I founded the Australian Motorcycle Business Chamber for business owners who ride motorcycles. My international connections include the Hong Kong Australia Business Association and the Australian China Business Council. I am also a past member of the Australian Institute of Export

I have owned or managed businesses for over 20 years. I ran a job network recruitment agency with thousands of clients and 20 staff. I have set up numerous workforce development projects across South Brisbane for the Australian Industry Group. I’m on the board of SCIPS, who as many in this area would know, is a leading not for profit that links schools, government, industry, business and training organisations. I have contributed behind the scenes to thousands of local young people finding their career of choice and local businesses overcoming workforce issues.

I have a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Global Trade Management, a Bachelor of Business in Enterprise Development, a Diploma of Management and qualifications in Real Estate and Training. I lectured in business at Latrobe University for 5 years and at Charles Sturt University for 1 year. I have also taught in the TAFE systems in Queensland, NSW and Victoria for over 8 years.

Thirdly, in relation to policies, I believe the critical issue is to think globally and push locally. My approach is based around bringing people together with the purpose of achieving outcomes.

An example is my last week were I set up a multicultural business development program in conjunction with a local council, set up a business improvement program in an outback Queensland region and brought together a number of parties to develop a program for small businesses in Rockhampton. All from the seat of Griffith.

I stand for a healthier, better educated electorate with full employment.

How will I do this? I will bring groups and people together and solve problems together.

For example, West End is an unofficial musical nursery and a great place to eat. Let’s combine local venues with creative industry expertise and make it an iconic part of Brisbane to visit that excites a new generation of musicians.

We need a water polo specific pool for the Carina pool complex. Australian water polo is in the top 10 in the world. We are always 2 or 3 players off top 5 and when you are in the top 5, anything can happen. Queensland is already the powerhouse in Australia and with a water polo specific pool at Carina we will find those 2 or 3 players.

Small business is by far the biggest employer and the engine room of the electorate. We must ensure all small businesses have access to assistance. If we need more programs we need to develop them. This is critical

The TAFE system has just undergone under a major overhaul and is in real danger of becoming obsolete. The TAFE system needs to be supported not left out to dry. Pathways between school, TAFE and University need to be developed and strengthened. Links between schools, industry and business need to be strengthened

I will look to ‘dampen down’ emotional issues that get too much media attention and become ‘politically hot’ as this prevents possible calm resolutions of the matter.

On conscience issues that are forced to a vote, I will vote in according to what I understand is the majority view within the electorate, because, I work for you

I am Travis Windsor – and I look forward to being the Griffith Member of the House of Representatives after 8th February. It’s your choice – Choose wisely, Choose Windsor.

The carpark under Westpac in Boundary Street last night hosted a Brisbane Free University panel discussion titled Reporting the G20 Brisbane conference to be held in November this year.

Panellists included Nic Seton, community strategist for Greenpeace; Jim Beatson, founding member of 4ZZZ and activist in the Joh Bjelke years now adviser to Bryon Shire’s Green mayor, Simon Richardson; another ZZZer, Andrew Bartlett, community activist, then Democrats Senator and now convenor of the Queensland Greens; and Ben Pennings author of Generation Alpha and active member of BrisCAN-G20 an umbrella group coordinating the communities response to the G20.

The panellists all referred to the struggle to get fair representation in the mainstream media and emphasised the important role of independent media such as 4ZZZ and the Westender.

The challenge is that the mainstream media portray the G20 as a benign and beneficial conference showering millions on the people of Brisbane. A long list of opponents, though, recognise the G20 as a primary mechanism in the dominance of a small ruling class over small independent business and the other 153 nations of the world.

That list includes governments of developing nations, independent states, climate activists and those opposed to Free Trade Agreements. Free Trade Agreements grant corporations legal rights to sue governments for interference in trade thereby stripping governments of their sovereign rights to control pollution, slavery and abuse of workers within their borders.

The Australian tobacco regulations and pharmaceutical benefit scheme are two pillars of Australian society that the G20 specifically want to see removed.

Westender attended the discussion as part of its ongoing coverage of the G20 summit and the impact it will have on the people of Brisbane. We are in close contact with the authorities planning the summit as well as the groups opposing it. Our role is to accurately report the events and the issues. The next major piece will run in the February print edition, due on the streets on February 1st.