Sustain Your Rage

When you google Di Riddell, the top links are to a life coach. ‘Di Riddell brings out the best in people,’ her website reads. For the new ANU Student Centre in Kambri, this seems like a wonderfully aspirational namesake. But the first Di Riddell has no links to ANU. Dig a little deeper, and a second Di Riddell appears.
Di Riddell, born Diana Gould, moved to Australia in the early 1960s, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A friend’s request that she fill in a week-long vacancy at the ANU Student Association led to a 30 year career at ANU. At the time she joined the Association, it was the only association with a leader elected democratically.
During her time, she placed herself at the centre of a David and Goliath struggle for student representation at ANU Council. In doing so, she became an important advocate for students.
She facilitated campaigns for health services at ANU, particularly during drug crises. She also took a stand against the lack of condoms in Canberra. In 1972, she organised a condom vending machine to be brought from a brothel in Sydney, to enable safe sexual practices for students. In a 1977 edition of Woroni, one student publicly thanked Di for helping him find emergency housing.
She became known for averting crises, organising food and beds for activists and negotiating with the police. She established strong relationships with ACT officials while bailing out mass arrested students.
“When a student demonstration was pending,” Detective Sergeant Ron Dillon told The Canberra Times in 1995, “I knew Di would be putting aside the Bail Money.”
Di Riddell’s administrative tasks ultimately spread across almost all social and political campaigns of the late 20th century. She was at the heart of ANU’s campaigns for women’s rights, against Vietnam War conscription, and even the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. She organised blankets for fasting East Pakistan protesters in Canberra in the 1970s, and facilitated boycotting of the Springboks.
In 1990, the Student Association was dissolved, and Di moved to the ANU Arts Centre. The Arts Revue was what drew Di to the Student Association at first instance in the 1960s. As time went on, her interest in the Arts increased, and led to her eventual nineties move.
The lessening of student activism in these years was clearly another motivator for Di’s move. Speaking to The Canberra Times in the 1990s, she said “They couldn’t sustain their rage… They’re only interested in themselves.”
Today, essential places of community engagement and grassroots activism are indebted to Di Riddell for their institution at the ANU and in Canberra. The Drill Hall Gallery, the Food Co-op and Radio Station 2XX all have links to Di’s tenure.
The ANU Naming Committee’s choice to have the Student Centre adorned with Di’s name pays homage to the strong role ANU has historically played in activism and political engagement throughout Australia. Her influence has continuing significance for activists on campus today.
The Di Riddell Student Centre is home to Admissions, Access & Inclusion, Overseas Student Health Cover, ANUSA, PARSA, Student Experience & Career Development, Global Programs, and Woroni.

Bella Dimattina

The Double-Edged Sword of Living Off-Campus

I am what they call a ‘townie.’ I’m a Canberran through and through and I have never set foot in a Residential Hall. This particular way of life as a student at the ANU provides me with a good set of advantages. Simply making the transition from studying at a secondary level to studying at a tertiary level was sufficiently anxiety-inducing for me. I cannot imagine how stressful it must have been for the students who had to leave their home towns, their families and their comfort zones and essentially restart their lives in an entirely unfamiliar environment on top of starting a degree. I consider myself incredibly lucky that I had my parents to guide me through this huge change in my life. Students who had to move on-campus might not have been so lucky in this way.
Getting to stay at home during my time at university has also meant that I have learnt to be an adult slowly and incrementally. Aspects of adulthood were introduced to me one at a time and only when I was ready for them. First, I agreed to wash the odd dish every once in a while. Then my mum taught me a couple of easy dinner recipes that I could cook for the family. After that, I learnt how to vacuum and take care of my cat. All of that was part of a slow-burning process, as if I were participating in a year-long program about how to adult. From what I’ve heard from some of my on-campus peers, they don’t have a year to learn these skills. They have weeks or days. Their learning curve is significantly steeper than mine and takes place in a completely new living situation.
I do genuinely like living off-campus. The balance between being immersed in campus culture on a regular basis and still having somewhere to go back to at the end of the day means that I don’t have as much of a risk of getting stuck inside of the ‘uni bubble’ that everyone talks about. But despite this, I believe that living off-campus – or rather, never having lived on-campus – has been detrimental in some noticeable ways.
Trying to actually get to campus can be a nightmare for me. I live in the inner-south, which is on the other side of the city from ANU. For a number of reasons, I don’t have a driving license, meaning that I have to rely on Canberra’s slightly dodgy bus system. On a good day, it takes me half an hour to get to uni, whereas for an on-campus student, it might only take 5 minutes. But this isn’t really anything more than a mere inconvenience for me.
My main stumbling block as a result of living off-campus is that I have struggled for both of my two years here at ANU to make friends. When you’re living in a residential hall, college or lodge, you’re around people all the time. Whether you cook with them in the communal kitchen, hang out with them at Hall events or even live with them in a shared room, you are constantly interacting with people. But for me, being not just an off-campus student, but an introverted off-campus student, has really taken a toll on my social life. Luckily, however, there are ways in which I am able to overcome this. Being involved with Woroni for the past year as both a writer and a sub-editor has enabled me to connect with other students from all walks of life through my love of writing. While I am not a part of Griffin Hall, ANU’s non-residential hall for off-campus students, this is great option for those in a similar situation to mine who want a few more opportunities to be part a community. If all else fails, making friends in tutorials is definitely something that happens! But I still can’t help but feel as if living on-campus would have given me a more immediate source for making friends.
Living off-campus presents somewhat of a double-edged sword. You get the comforts of living at home but can sometimes feel disconnected from the rest of the student body. But right now, I am comfortable with how I’m spending my time at uni. That’s all that matters to me.

Phoebe Lupton

Canberra: the once and future great city

When asked which city serves as Australia’s capital, most of the world will believe Sydney to be the answer (probably has something to do with the iconic opera house). That is wrong. Canberra is not only Australia’s capital but also the world’s greatest city. No, seriously, it is. You may remember how the Lonely Planet picked Canberra last year as the 3rd Best city in Travel for 2018. But little do people know that we’ve also maintained our position as the city with the highest quality of life index for five years running now.  
 
Canberra has a population of 400,000. Once upon a time, this was my main reason for choosing Canberra over Sydney or Melbourne for university, as I wanted a “campus uni” setting over an urban city. Like many people I had my initial difficulties settling in and desperately wanted an out. But having spent three years here during my formative adult years, and having finally settled down again in this place after a seven-month absence (due to going on exchange), I’ve finally come to fully appreciate the world’s greatest city. In fact, one of my favourite activities to do in Melbourne lately is to catch a bus back to Canberra.
 
Canberra is a beautiful outdoor city with traces of urban planning surrounding the area.  This makes it such that seeing a kangaroo in my backyard never gets old. A well-planned city within a developed country, you’ll generally never have problems with electricity, water or Internet supply. The people of Canberra are a wholesome bunch. Not only that but there are constant cultural events and things to do. Floriade, the annual flower festival, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year!
 
I strongly look toward Canberra’s potential as the new Hollywood. As recent projects Secret City and Blue World Order were shot in Canberra, this is a clear demonstration of Canberra’s booming media industry. With Canberran Cate Shortland being due to direct the upcoming Black Widow movie, I believe we’ll soon finally get the recognition we deserve.
 
Canberra is a place of change. I remember the time when Supabarn was still the main supermarket in Civic, and Union Court was a mainstay I thought would last forever. It’s been a pleasure to see Canberra slowly evolve throughout the years. From the time we briefly had the Patissez milkshake store at Civic and international flights to Singapore, many things that seemed like permanent fixtures turned out not to be. Although the promise of a swimming pool at ANU once seemed like a dream to come, it’s quite easy to forget that it’ll literally be here next year.
 
2019 will be a year that demonstrates our patience finally paying off. With the light rail estimated to be finishing in December 2018, people from Gungahlin will be able to get to Civic much faster. Let us not forget ANU’s own Kambri court, as not only will ANU’s construction days come to an end, but there will be a bold new campus experience for all. It’s also the year I graduate (if all goes well), and I think it will be a poetic way to end my university life.
 
I suppose it’s fitting it all comes back to Canberra. I remember how we’re defined by how we choose to react to being challenged. And in a place like Canberra, there will always be someone or something to challenge you.

Brandon Tan

Exploring Canberra

The ACT is filled with many hidden gems to explore. Places that seem untouched and tranquil are only a stone’s throw away from campus. So with the end of winter near and spring around the corner, head to some of these places for a mystical time away from campus. Grab some sturdy shoes and your phone and get exploring!
Recommended by an avid outdoors-explorer, Jozef Meyer.
See the end of the article for some useful pages full of free and detailed maps!
Let’s start with the basics:

Black Mountain – the classic

A standard location for many – it’s close, it’s quiet, it’s easy to walk to but can also be challenging depending on where you go. You can also choose to drive to the top. The views of the city are beautiful, and if you go there at night, the city sparkles. It’s free and right behind campus.  

Mount Ainslie – perfect views of the Nation’s Capital

Mount Ainslie Lookout is another popular destination. It’s located in the city centre and a 13-minute drive from Campus. Mount Ainslie will give you stunning views of Anzac Parade and the Parliamentary Triangle. If you want to hike it, you will need approx. 1.5 hours (return) and again, it’s free.  

Mount Majura Circuit – the quieter one of the bunch

Although its views of the city are not as noteworthy as its neighbour Mount Ainslie’s, Mount Majura offers you a more remote location where you can have time to be alone and away from the hustle and bustle of campus. Think open grassy areas and more rugged trails – but still a relatively easy walk. There is a carpark at Hackette Gate, right at the base of Mount Majura, which is an 11-minute drive from the campus. Free entry.  

Mount Stromlo – Schmidty’s favourite

Many people will be familiar with Mount Stromlo – it houses the Mount Stromlo Observatory, which is the headquarters of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The mountain itself isn’t particularly special to hike, but it offers one of the greatest mountain biking facilities in Australia and the stargazing is beautiful. The drive to the top will take you approximately 22 minutes, which is worth it considering the beautiful night sky.  
Now onto some funky places:

Yankee Hat Mountain Walk – the top pick from the list

This place will take you about an hour’s drive to get there, but it is a standout. The location is full of history and is home to many ancient Indigenous rock paintings. If visiting these beautiful artworks, keep in mind that the artwork is vulnerable – do not touch the art or the rock surface, and be respectful of the heritage and culture that these artworks represent. The total distance of the walk is 6km and is suitable for all levels of fitness. Note that there is no phone signal in this area. Free entry.

Mount Painter – the dramatic ending

This is one of those places that is all about the destination, and not the journey. The views at the end are unmatchable, and it is relatively close to campus (right behind Black Mountain). It will take you an 11-minute drive to get there, and approximately an hour return to walk the trail, unless of course you get caught up in the beauty of it all. Free entry.

Gibraltar Falls – for those who really want to explore

Located in Namadgi National Park, Gibraltar Falls is a 45-minute drive from campus and offers stunning waterfall views. The falls have a 50 meter drop, and offer unmatchable views of the valley. Think Yosemite vibes, but on a smaller scale. The trails aren’t well marked, so definitely bring a map (see links below). Free entry.  
Always remember to take an updated map whenever you’re exploring. We recommend heading to the following sites for some great maps!
SIX Maps: https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au
SIX Maps Etopo: https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/etopo.html (for more intense walks)

Jozef Meyer

Canberra in Bloom

If you’re like me, then winter is a really difficult time. It’s cold, it’s dark and everything can feel quite gloomy. Getting out of my warm bed is difficult and productivity levels plummet. Which is why spring is easily my favourite season. It’s a sign that summer is coming: life flows back into the earth, days are longer and the sun is brighter. We’re now two weeks into spring, and with that in mind, here are some ideas for your spring weekends.
Sculpture in the Paddock 2018, 22 September – 7 October
Located in Yass, Sculpture in the Paddock celebrates art in a rural landscape. Home to fresh produce and beautiful landscapes, this exhibition is free for students and only a 40-minute drive from Canberra. There are many exhibiting artists, such as well-established artist Michael Le Grand, who was the previous Head of Sculpture at ANU, School of Art and Design until 2007. Heads up, dogs on leash are welcome, so expect to see some doggos – what more could you want?
Floriade 2018, 15 September – 14 October
Coined as “Australia’s biggest celebration of spring”, how could a spring weekend guide not include this iconic event? If you’re feeling extra fancy (and have the money) then you can book a high tea session. Each garden bed has a different theme, such as Music Icons, Puzzling Panoramas and Superhero Alley. Entry is free, opening hours are 9:30am – 5:30pm and it’s held in Commonwealth Park.
Weston Park, Yarralumla
About a 10-minute drive from campus, Weston Park is a charming little park with a café and a nursery. Visit in springtime to see flowers in the nursery come to life and blossom. Pick yourself up a plant-friend to take care of, grab a coffee and take a stroll through the park. Also – it’s a dog park, which means more dogs for you (sensing a theme here with the dogs).
Black Mountain
Don’t roll your eyes – Black Mountain is incredibly unique and wickedly cool. Yes, it’s right behind us and often used by university students and IB runners as a form of fitness, but it’s spring, which means it’s wildflower season on Black Mountain. It’s home to over 4000 species of flowers and is covered in native eucalyptus, and with stunning views and easy access (literally right behind campus and you can drive up the mountain), there is no excuse to not have a wander.
So get exploring, soak up some rays and smell the fresh air this spring!  

Madeleine Sinnis

Childish Things

Of this decade’s many leadership crises, this one is by far the most infantile. We should not stand for it.
One of the saddest condemnations of the state of Australian politics is that the last Prime Minister to serve out a full parliamentary term was John Howard. In the five prime minister-ships we’ve had since, only one was brought to office by the ballot box rather than by party room coup (Tony Abbott in 2013).
That the Prime Ministership is an uncomfortable and precarious chair to sit in is one of best elements of the Westminster system. Our democracy is stronger because prime ministers are never fully secure, always needing to be cautious and responsive to the pressures of Parliament and the people. No one is irreplaceable on Parliament Hill, and any prime minister who forgets this finds themselves out of power.
However, the act of disposing a government should be a decision made only in circumstances of actual need, where a change of leadership is necessary for the functioning of government, the good of the party, or for a closer reflection of the will of the people. The threat of a leadership coup is more useful than the reality, to bring prime ministers to heel and reign in the executive government from any excesses.
An argument could be made that the coups of 2015, 2013 and 2010 met these criteria to varying degrees. Abbott in particular – with a slew of broken election promises, a deeply unpopular policy agenda, tendency to make captain’s calls and low levels of public support probably serves as the best example of a coup in the public interest. Rudd, for all of his popular support, had a deeply problematic cabinet leadership and executive management style.
In each case, an argument could have been made that the successor had a better chance of leading the party to an electoral victory.
And then there is… this.
Let us be very clear. No one is arguing that Peter Dutton has anything even close to popular support – what little polling numbers exist indicate that his numbers are abysmal, verging on non-existant. No one is arguing that Dutton would have a higher chance of winning an election. No one is making an argument that Dutton could better manage cabinet or run the government. No one is saying that Dutton has better policies, more popular policies, or is indeed talking about his policies at all.
The only reason why this appears to be happening is that a single poor Newspoll presented an opportunity for the right to seize power. And that was the only consideration, along with the opportunity for personal ministerial advancement among MPs.
In fact, there is nothing about Australia in this leadership debacle. The Commonwealth has been disregarded, the public interest thrown to the wayside as the Liberal Party engages in one of the most spectacular exercises of collective self-absorption that has ever blighted Parliament.
It is puerile, selfish, destructive and an insult to the people and Constitution of Australia. It is a disservice to the hundreds of thousands in the APS who serve to make the Government work.
It is time for us to put away childish things. This transcends partisan allegiances or factional squabbling. Should the government fall, as citizens of the Commonwealth our singular demand should be an immediate dissolution of Parliament and an immediate election.

Howard Maclean

In the Spotlight: ANU Flautist Serena Ford

ANU student and 2018 winner of Canberra Youth Orchestra’s Concerto Competition Serena Ford will be a highlight performance at the upcoming CYO concert on 30 June. The CYO, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017, performs four concerts a year at Llewellyn Hall and is the premier youth symphony orchestra in the ACT and wider region. I caught up with Serena before the big performance to ask about her musical journey:
‘I first started playing the flute in grade 5 with the Instrumental Music Program like many young Canberrans. I started because I really enjoyed, and still do, playing with other people. There’s a kind of ritual to playing music together and it doesn’t matter what music style you are exploring, it’s just such a communal, human experience, so that’s what first got me into music.’
‘I do feel this is a milestone for me. In the past I just played music because I enjoyed it, so I never did exams or any of the prestigious stuff to formally recognise the level I was at. This concert has become a symbol of all the work from my past years of practise, so that’s a really good feeling. The piece I’m playing is called Flute de Pan and it’s based off the Greek mythology creature, Pan, who I’m sure many of our classical studies students would be interested in. It’s a really interesting story since Pan is actually often credited as the inventor of the flute since he was chasing a nymph who transformed herself into reeds, which he then snapped and began to play as a flute.’
Alongside her musical achievements Serena is studying a Bachelor of Asia-Pacific studies here at ANU. I asked Serena how she manages to balance studying with being a committed flautist.
‘It has been quite a busy few years at university! I have to do a lot of intense planning at the start of semester to make sure I meet all my musical aims and academic aims in time and at a good level, and I practise every day. Although music is also an intellectual process in many ways, it helps me to practise a bit of flute in between massive study sessions so that I’m stimulating my brain with new tasks and keeping myself energised.’
Serena’s career at ANU started in year 12 at the Open School of Music, which she said exposed her to a new level of music learning. ‘In a more abstract way, I’ve found that through my other non-music specific studies at the ANU, the emphasis has always been on thinking about concepts in novel ways. Interestingly, this has really helped with the way I approach new pieces, since I realise there is a depth of thought and complex processes that go into writing a piece of music from the composers.’
Despite the concert’s prestige, Serena said she isn’t feeling too apprehensive about performing yet:
‘The funny thing is that it doesn’t really hit me that I’m going to be in-front of people performing until two seconds before I actually get on stage. So for the moment I feel pretty relaxed, but I know what’s coming! Sometimes I get so into the zone from performing that I don’t actually have solid memories of playing. I don’t remember any details between the moment of getting on stage and getting off. So I think I prefer to let the nerves come to me when they do and just focus on my technique and sound for the moment.’
I asked Serena about why students should get involved in Canberra’s orchestral scene and how other budding musicians can get motivated.
‘I think the main aversion most young Canberrans have toward the orchestral scene comes from the belief that it’s only traditional, classical music. We actually dabble in a whole bunch of different stuff, with the CYO playing alongside the jazz trumpeter, James Morrison last year, an a cappella group, The Idea of North, and plans to play a student study favourite later this year – film soundtrack music.’
‘Orchestral music can explore all sorts of human experiences and emotions. When you’re watching musicians onstage, they are engaging in a medium of human communication, since they are interpreting the collection of sounds and feelings and presenting it to the audience, who also have the chance to experience and interpret it in a different way again. It’s really magic and I highly recommend listening to as much live music as possible, since each new live performance is an expression of a mood and orchestral music covers the whole spectrum of emotion and styles.’
‘Following passions you have outside of study life really enriches your everyday life. When I’m stressed out about my studies, I practise my flute and that makes me feel better. When I’m stressed out about my flute, I study! The important thing is to pursue things that will give you satisfaction and which allow you space from only doing one task your whole day or week. It’s not about distraction or procrastinating, it’s just a really nice way to fulfil yourself and spend time cultivating the things that make you feel most content. I guess my last bit of advice is that getting into the zone and focusing deeply on whatever you’re doing, whether it’s practising the piano for fun, cooking in between study sessions or studying itself, feels dang good! And it’s good for you, too.’
Musical director of the CYO and ANU convener Leonard Weiss said that CYO is delighted to feature one of its own in the upcoming performance.
‘For me, it’s such a pleasure to conduct an orchestra that inherently brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to each rehearsal and especially the performance,’ Leonard told me. ‘For the most part, every musician is approaching this repertoire for the first time, so there is a genuine hunger for and appreciation of each new piece that we perform, which I think is evident to our audiences.’

Alisha Nagle

What’s the deal with Canberra nightlife?

If someone told me after my first week in Canberra that the local nightlife was not limited to trashy vibes and mainstream clubs, I would not have believed it. Ten months later, and two whole semesters of exploring the corners of the capital, I should retract my statement. Canberra nights have real potential.
It would be wrong to describe Canberra as a boring capital or without culture. Admittedly, it is true that Melbourne or Sydney have distanced it in the eyes of the Australian youth. As an outsider used to the Parisian nightlife, I took a critical look at Canberra. I observed my fellow students following the same rhythm all semester. A back and forth from Mr. Wolf to Mooseheads, where the only originality was the booking of an interstate DJ on Fridays. For too long, public authorities have not considered the role of night culture in the attractiveness of the city. Besides, most students seem to enjoy this routine, limiting even further the possibility for Canberra to proclaim quality and original parties. Today, this is changing.
The trigger? A new generation. There is now a momentum and dynamism in Canberra with many events at night, but also during the day, especially around the artistic scene. Since January 2018, the parties on offer have been more intense than ever. Outdoor raves led by local crews, edgy warehouse nights with international DJs, all-out art parties like Renaissance: local actors are shaking up Canberra.
They are young and willing to create an alternative night, outside the traditional venues. One of them, Nick Trivett, DJ and co-president of Univibes explains: “There are not enough good nights-out and clubs run by the current institution in Canberra. Univibes, Pickles, Orbit, all that shit was started by local kids who aren’t happy with what’s currently happening – which means the honor falls on us to throw proper events.” All those names, including CBR House Social and Good Content are the leading party collectives in Canberra you should check for your next weekend.
Although the diversity of models multiplies, they all gathered under the same desire: creating a more progressive, aesthetic and inclusive night. Mission accomplished for the Degenerate & Six’s team. These students and artists have proven their ability to bring an audacious concept to the capital. On Saturday gigs, a new crowd embraced the pop-up gallery where art pieces blended with dancers.
I believe the power of the night shouldn’t be diminished. The party is our way to express ourselves and blossom. We share political questions, try to call out, to create a timeless place.
Giving a quick glance around you during a gig should draw your attention to the representation issue within the club industry. That’s why initiatives such as Woroni DJ training for women and non-binary people or all-female lineup are necessary, and should inspire more eventplanners to respect gender equality. As revolutionary as it sounds for a place like Canberra, locals promoting queer or women DJ are still ahead of most of the parties in the country. Any party-goer should be aware for example that women represent only 23 per cent of Australian festival lineups!
Our current clubbing culture reflects many social issues, as questions of domination, gender, race and sexuality. Today, we must stop minimising the political dimension of the night and start to consider party spaces as a relevant location for empowering minorities. It is not about tokenizing by inserting a few diverse people into the lineup, but rather giving people the opportunity to assert their identity through an event.
This is the ambition of Canberra’s new night scene. I believe this change of mentality is essential because it could transform Civic nightclubs from a place where we go to mindlessly dance or drink to a living space of innovation, liberation and culture.

Romane Fuentes

Meanwhile, in Canberra… #6

Budget Night is one of those weird Canberra spectacles. Journalists emerge from the lock up, where they have been held for six hours, cut off from the internet and holed up with the Budget papers. And then the treasurer appears at the despatch box, tasked with making the government sound wonderful.
Last week, there was certainly a need to sound wonderful. An election is due in the next 12 months. As the clearest statement of a government’s intent, the Budget sets up a lot of the premise for the upcoming campaign.
Gone are the days of Tony Abbott’s and Joe Hockey’s Budget emergency. The debt and deficit disaster is history now. The only emergency that matters is the one in the opinion polls.
And what do you do when you are faced with electoral defeat? Cue up some personal income tax cuts, spread so far out over the forward estimates – the projection for years after the present budget – as to be basically meaningless. Just make sure there is something small to kick in from July.
In the lead up, the government was touting their “Boomer friendly” Budget. At least they know their base. What they should have said was bland.
But not bland in the “it doesn’t really matter way”. Bland in the sense of being completely devoid of vision or character.
If you believe the government, the economy is in great shape, jobs are being created and next year treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver a slender surplus.
Why, then, should we accept a cut to the ABC of $83.7 million over four years? The government wants to freeze the national broadcaster’s funding over forward estimates and subject it to another efficiency review. It will be the 10th review in 15 years.
Morrison says the ABC has to “live within its means”. (He also revealed himself to be a fan of Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, hoping that it would survive Aunty’s funding cut.)
Cutting ABC funding is a pretty clear statement that a government has no regard for the intelligence and education of Australians. It sends a loud and clear signal that the government doesn’t see the importance of Australians telling Australian stories, of grappling with our national identity in intelligent, accessible forums.
The ABC’s managing director, Michelle Guthrie, told ABC staff after the announcement: “In the coming year Australians will head to the polls for the federal election. More than 80 per cent of Australians value the ABC – a point that shouldn’t be lost on anyone seeking government.”
SBS will have funding returned after the government couldn’t legislate to allow it to accept more advertising. It isn’t a real increase.
But it’s not just the ABC facing cuts.
Since coming to power, the Coalition has cut more than $50 million out of the Screen Australia budget. Now, the government is putting $3 million towards the “development of Australian film and television content.”
The government has also announced a $140 million fund to encourage big Hollywood productions to film in Australia. It’s good for local workers and tourism, they say.
It smacks of cultural cringe, investing in others to make Hollywood blockbusters rather than investing properly in Australian film.
National institutions will also face cuts. While the National Gallery is getting some money to help with refurbishments, the National Archives and the National Library will lose 10 and 12 staff respectively.
Making all of this worse is the $48.7 million over a four years earmarked for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s first voyage to Australia. As the debate whether we should change the date of Australia Day has reached the mainstream, this decision shows a government not interested in any kind of reckoning about our country’s past.
Cuts to the arts and libraries and the ABC might seem like prudent budget measures, victimless crimes with no real effect, but they are not only detrimental to the cultural life of the country, they reveal what kind of vision the government has for us: a vision of a blank face being crushed by the boot of parochialism forever.
When I covered the Budget in 2016, I wrote in the Herald that, “For most young Australians, this Budget is not for us. We don’t benefit. We haven’t been offered our election pitch.” I could write the same again, and note once more the lack of action on housing affordability or climate change.
It is good that there will be more places at universities for regional students and that access to Youth Allowance will be made easier for them, but it’s hardly a consolation in an environment which has prioritised cynical survival-instinct politics over the kind of long-term thinking students and young people need.
It’s a shame for students that the Budget isn’t required to include tables of opportunity costs. It would cast very different shadows over what kind of Budget a government can get away with presenting.
Over the next 20 years, the cost to the Budget from lower income tax receipts as a result of fewer students going to university will be between $2.2 billion and $3.9 billion, modelling commissioned by Universities Australia claimed.
The Cadence Economics report found that the total economic impact of the higher education sector funding freeze would be between $6.9 billion and $12.3 billion over the next two decades.
Belinda Robinson, Universities Australia chief executive, told The Guardian: “It’s a simple equation – less university funding means fewer skilled graduates, a hit to labour market productivity and less tax revenue for government.”
But to see that, you’ve got to look beyond the ballot box at the next election and the Budget bottom line next May.
And at the moment, the Turnbull government doesn’t have the right vantage point.
Jasper Lindell is Woroni’s political columnist and a former news editor

Jasper Lindell

Disappearing Space on Campus

Over the last year, countless spaces at ANU have disappeared behind fences, into piles of rubble and under scaffolding. Navigating campus has become akin to the constantly moving maze I have a recurring dream about – every time I spot a gap in the cyclone fencing, I see it move out of the corner of my eye and turn around to find myself enclosed.
I can make do with this inconvenience, though – and I’m privileged to experience it as a mere inconvenience, rather than a genuine impediment to me accessing many spaces on campus. Not everyone is this lucky. The campus is undeniably less accessible than it was a year ago, physically closing out disabled students for whom having to walk further, use stairs or navigate busy crowds might just not be an option. It is not good enough.
Over time, other detrimental effects on the community are emerging, that weren’t quite so apparent at the outset. Slowly, alongside the physical changes, something less tangible is changing. As communal spaces disappear and morph, so too, it seems, does the community that inhabits them.
Without a central space for events, events become smaller and more isolated. They’re forced to the peripheries of the campus, or cease to be held at all. With such limited parking, accessibility becomes a minefield, and even moving equipment and supplies becomes a logistical nightmare. Events play an important social role; more than that, they’re a way of expressing values. With less visible spaces to protest or to celebrate, there’s less opportunity for groups to express their collective identity.
Day-to-day, different parts of the university feel more distant. We carve out our own paths, sometimes physically (see: Chifley Meadow), travelling between the specific buildings we need. But crossing campus is just that much harder, and that much less worthwhile just for a better study spot or a sunnier lunch location. Our routines on campus have become more localised. The divisions between faculties seem to grow in more ways than one. Lacking a central space, the feeling of social interconnectedness that seeing familiar faces all over campus brings gets weaker.
It feels hyperbolic, to link construction to such substantial shifts in the way we experience campus. But it is no new concept – there is a rich academic tradition of exploring the effects of physical space on the ways in which we inhabit, experience and participate in the world. Sociology and anthropology examine the ways in which spaces include and exclude, and the forms of socialising and community building they facilitate. Human geographer Allan Pred puts it beautifully, arguing that the organisation of physical space is “inseparable from the reproduction and transformation of society in time and space.”
This period of change is not limited to the ANU, either. Globally, public space is eroding, as parks, town squares and malls become privatised and commercialised. Public space has important and beneficial impacts on health, happiness and community, and so scholars and advocates and politicians worldwide are beginning to ask what this means. They worry that social inclusion is being irreparably diminished by increasing land pressure that eats away at public and green spaces in cities.
Perhaps online spaces are filling the metaphorical space left behind. Facebook groups become meeting places and forums for discussion, reminding us that we’re part of a collective whole. They bring with them their own parameters which facilitate and limit interaction much like the material confines of a physical space. Specific post formats, community standards defining “appropriate” content and algorithms controlling the dissemination of information bound our experience online, much like the fences on campus do in “real” life.
ANU is a different place than it was a year ago, when the grass on Chifley Meadows was still lush and green. In a year, or two, when Kambri opens and the construction eases up, the new spaces will make it different again. It is hard to say what has changed, and even harder to imagine what might – but we have to ask. The materiality of campus is too intertwined with our experience as students to let it go unnoticed and unquestioned.

Mia Jessurun