Burning the Midnight Oil over Domain use

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This was published 6 years ago

Burning the Midnight Oil over Domain use

Updated

Peter Garrett's claim that "if The Domain was good enough for Paul's mentor Jack Lang it is good enough for Midnight Oil" rings hollow ("Keating accuses Garrett of squatting on a sacred Sydney site", November 11-12).

A rock concert in a public domain certainly does not equate with a political rally. Soap box spruiking in The Domain encouraged public participation and was free. In addition, these past rallies did not run over 16 days, necessitating two-metre high spiked fencing. Excluding the public from public spaces for personal profit is a highly objectionable misuse of public land by a profit-motivated government. I totally agree with Paul Keating that Midnight Oil is "squatting" on public land for personal gain (even if Midnight Oil pays the fee levied by the Botanic Gardens Trust).

Illustration: Matt Golding

Illustration: Matt Golding

Jean Byrne Eastwood

Could Garrett tell us whether fencing, some topped with spikes, was erected around the perimeter of The Domain (between NSW Parliament and the Art Gallery) when Lang held political rallies? And on that subject Peter, did Lang charge admission fees for the public to attend his rallies?

Geoffrey Williamson Woollahra

I agree with Keating and Ian Kiernan that The Domain should be used for recreation. Every weekday at lunchtime, hundreds of people working in the city spill out of their offices hoping to play team sport on the public land held in trust for them.

You report that the number of people working in the inner city is increasing rapidly ("Jobs boom puts strain on Sydney" November 9). Everyone knows that exercise is not only fun, but is good for our health and wellbeing. The Domain is held in trust for the public; it is not owned by the Botanical Garden and Domain Trust.

A spokesman for the BGDT said that commercial activity is only 10 per cent of the time. The truth is, these commercial events include days to set up and take down the marquees etc, as well as frequent "fields closed for regeneration" resulting at least partly from these events.

Dan Katz Glebe

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Perhaps Keating is unaware that The Domain, RBG and Centennial Park Trust has, thanks to present neo-liberal policies, now to fund 70 per cent of its budget for their maintenance and management. Any concert like that of Midnight Oil is just one of many fee-paying events held in such venues to raise these funds. I've documented dozens. Although public parks are a public good, and supposedly free, someone has to maintain them. If councils or trusts won't or can't find the funds, the public is doing so through private events which they are charged for – and for which the parks get a percentage. The alternative is to charge fees every time you enter a park – quelle horreur!

Warwick Mayne-Wilson Woolloomooloo

I wonder how much revenue the respective authorities receive after covering damage and repair costs, and how that financial benefit justifies the enormous loss of an essential public amenity to the people of Sydney. Aren't there specific entertainment venues, or stadiums, etc where such events can be staged without turning every blade of precious grass into "money-earners"? Green space is vital for human well-being. It's not a luxury.

Barbara Tuckerman Woolloomooloo

The closure of certain sections of The Domain is not a new thing. About 10 years ago I found myself trapped in the middle of a "rave" party when I was making a trip around the perimeter of the Botanical Gardens from the Finger Wharf to the Quay. After visiting an old friend, I had taken this beautiful journey homeward many times without mishap. On this occasion I was accosted by two beefy security guys and escorted off "the premises". My other alternative was to retreat, which I refused to do because when I last checked it was public land, but this time I needed $100 to join the ecstatic crew of young people who were floating legally inside to a beat I had no desire to share. Jack Lang spoke to people in The Domain for free. To use public places as venues for paying customers is not in anyway what the Gardens or The Domain were designed for. Private venues should be used for private, commercial events, even if they do attract many customers.

Lyndall Nelson Cremorne


Unlike Keating I would like to thank the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust for allowing us Midnight Oil fans the chance to have such a wonderful time on Saturday night.
Lance Nichols Lakemba

If Mr Garrett is looking for an alternative to The Domain, he would be very welcome at the wonderful Paul Keating Park, out here, Bankstown way!

Derek Lewis Condell Park

NBN takes us back to Stone Age with speed of service


Like the Monty Python routine - "we lived in shoebox in street " - we live with an NBN that barely creeps in the front door. I checked my speeds on the speedtest site and found that we are powering along at download and upload speeds of 3 mbps - courtesy of our provider Telstra.
This makes their Australian average download speed of 21.96 mbps look like a winner ("Go mobile for fastest downloads, tests show", November 10). Yes please – sign me up today!

Bill Murrie Sapphire Beach


I would like to thank Telstra and the NBN for an unexplained outage that has left us without WiFi for two days. I have often tried to turn the internet off but the kids have always outsmarted me.

They whinged but eventually emerged from their bedrooms looking for something to do. They asked us what we did in the olden days. The horses always needed grooming I said as they ventured into the backyard. One found a basketball and the other two filled balloons full of water and played catch with them. A target was painted on the wall and a soccer bullseye game was declared.

The Finnish log throwing game Finska was found and the score tallied with chalkboard the fence. The dog joined in as sticks and water bombs rained down. The youngest decided to bake a cake and then we all went to the beach for an afternoon swim.


Thanks Telstra, take your time fixing that Wi-Fi. As I'm happy to pay extra if you keep it off.

Michael Troy Fairlight

Honour in doing the right thing

Malcolm Turnbull says John Alexander has done the "honourable thing" by resigning ("Citizenship crisis", smh.com.au, November 11). The "honourable thing" would have been for Alexander to check his credentials when citizenship became an issue months ago.

Michael Walsh Ashfield

If Alexander had as much common sense as he claims he does he would have resigned a number of weeks ago. Perhaps he should save us the tears.

Dimitris Langadinos Concord West

I can't say I've been a fan of Mathias Cormann but I was impressed and moved by his Remembrance Day address. The Belgian-born senator reinforced my view that we have had, and do have, little to fear from heritage citizenship.

MPs should take the appropriate oaths re Australia and government. Renouncing previous citizenships which they should hold dear in many cases, should be a matter of personal choice. Our melting pot is a wonderful mix. We will, of course, need to amend (abandon/rewrite) the constitution if we can't find a way around this historical, increasingly irrelevant, document.

Alan Taylor Earlwood

Bumbling along on TPP

Arguably the biggest winners from free trade agreements, the Americans withdrew from the TPP on the basis of "chronic trade abuses". Now the Canadians, as biggest losers under the North America Free Trade Agreement, have pulled out of TPP discussions ("Canada's PM Justin Trudeau sabotages trans-Pacific partnership, shocking leaders", smh.com.au, November 11). Meanwhile the Australian government bumbles ever onwards towards a TPP agreement in the misguided hope that it represents a win-win for all.

Renata Bali Strathfield

Can we please swap Malcolm for Justin? At last, someone who stands up for his beliefs and his nation's best interests. And Canadians happily take refugees too. Pretty please?

Robin Humphrey Springwood

Shame on protesters

On Friday night I decided to attend a protest rally to show my deep shame for what our government is doing on Manus Island. ("Abbott's sister caught in 'ugly' Manus protest", smh.com.au, November 11). I left in horror after watching a few protesters behave like animals. I don't like what our government is doing but I equally don't like what I saw tonight! I went to protest -peacefully. Shame on those protesters who behaved spat, threw things and grabbed clothing. No change comes from that!

Gwyn Denton Artarmon

A boozy spat in the pub and we are all labelled racist ("Dastyari incident proves Australians are racist", November 11-12)! I think not. If you set out to seek attention, don't be surprised when it is not all good.

Breda Kelly Drummoyne

Recently, two small groups of Australians were featured on our evening TV. One, a group of elderly men referred to loosely by newsreaders as "now in their 90s", who would all have been in the mid- to late-90s, in Canberra for the 75th anniversary of the recapture of Kokoda in WWII. Veterans of the Kokoda Track campaign, they still had two months of hell in the swamps of Buna and Gona ahead of them. The other consisted of two males and three females, all in the mid-20s, about the same age as those young men had been, who showed what they could do for their country by climbing the sails of the Opera House and brandishing support for whatever spurious cause might be their flavour of the month. Poor fella, my country.

Ron Elphick Buff Point

Jacarandas rebound

Around Sydney Uni main quad, Jacarands may have fallen and new saplings been planted but sidere mens eadem mutatorules, and sibling trees are in abundance around campus for Stuvac and the Exams,
Dr Ivan Head
St Paul's College, Camperdown

Public housing sense

In the 1960s I gazed many times at the Sirius building from the window of a passing train ("Why its time to get Sirius about brutalist architecture", November 11). At the age I then was I'd never encountered the term "brutalist architecture" or even heard of social housing. All I knew was that I found the building admirable and fascinating, and I wondered about the lucky people who happened to live there. Having since overcome some of my youthful ignorance, I have become aware that the position is exactly right for low-income accommodation: close to employment opportunities in city offices, hotels, shops and restaurants. It is totally illogical that a hotel chambermaid or office cleaner, for instance, should spend several hours a day travelling to their job from a remote suburb, and at the cost of much of their hard-earned income. Rather than building more luxury apartments and five-star hotels, planners should look to more public housing in and around the city centre. The Sirius building should remain, be conserved, perhaps updated internally as needed, and continue to serve the purpose for which it was built.

Mona Finley Darlington Point

'​Stink pipes' not the first

Being an ex-Marrickville kid, I was interested to read Nicole Frost's item regarding Sydney Water's heritage listed sewer vent at Premier Street ("A whiff of opportunity with towering heritage", November 11-12). What really interested me was that the local estate agent referred to the underlying "stink pipes". As a young teenager in the early '60s my mates and I were using that very term to describe the associated sewer pipe bridge that crossed Cooks River nearby. At the time it seemed so much more sensible to cross "Cooksie" on the top of the stink pipes rather than trudge all the way upstream to the Illawarra Road bridge.

Ironically, my first job in 1966 after leaving high school was as a drafting assistant with the Sydney Water Board. Needless to say I didn't mention my previous pipeline experience at the job interview.

Robert Christie Cleveland (Qld)

Ellyse Perry the model for a new century

For some weeks now cricket commentators have debated the issue of who should bat at No.6 for Australia. The weekend provided the answer: Ellyse Perry ("Australia take command", smh.com.au, November 11).

Don Firth Wooli

Perry's comments regarding her double century against England in the Ashes Test are a tribute to this young person. Her recognition of the value of her young fans who waited patiently after the match and her willingness to remain behind to sign autographs are the hallmarks of a true sporting role model. Many of our other so-called sporting heroes could take a long, hard look at the manner in which Perry conducts herself and perhaps at least restrain themselves from the boorish behaviours in which they indulge.

Peter Cooper-Southam Frenchs Forest

William at the rugby

Interesting to see our future head of state Prince William at the Wallabies v Wales rugby Test match at the weekend. No doubt he was disappointed that "his" team (Wales) wasn't able to secure a victory over the foreign team (Australia).

Martyn Yeomans Turramurra

Lost minute of peace

It is a curious thing that almost no one stood silent for a minute at 11 o'clock on Armistice Day. Anzac Day, the celebration of a defeat, is known to all yet the day that the war ended is almost unknown and as for the way it is supposed to be celebrated, forget about it. I suppose it is in tune with the drift into flag-draped, tub-thumping warmongering that this so ignorant of war love so much.

Tom Loveday Erskineville

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