The Outatowners
The Outatowners
Over the coming months we hope to sponsor many forums on the demography, issues and people of Western Sydney. So in this edition of It's time we wanted to give you a taste of things to come.
Doug Buckley's novel State of Play (Albatross, 1990) makes interesting reading for those who live on the outskirts of the Harbor City. (See extract below) It is also an interesting contrast with the featured piece for this edition of It's time, Mark Latham's recent speech to the Evatt Foundation, on the changing demography of Western Sydney, which we reprint in full. The demography in Buckley's novel differs from Latham's somewhat, but the idea of a two or three tiered city is a common theme to both. Will we ever reach the point where a passport will be needed to enter Sydney's inner city? That is Buckley's projection of Sydney in 2015. In contrast, Mark envisions an aspiring outer ring of suburbs and a rich inner ring enclosing a poorer middle city group.
Mark Latham's is a more optimistic view. He argues that Federal politicians have to understand, appeal to and work with the aspiring small business owners and workers of the West. But like Buckley, Latham is worried about the impact of Sydney's demography. He writes: "In my 25 years of political involvement in the outer suburbs, there has only ever been one issue. How do we move the jobs and services to where the people have moved? Without adequate planning and provision, commuters are forced to spend long periods of time - up to 20 hours a week - away from their families and communities. Urban sprawl is a barrier to social capital."
Also in this edition of It's time we re-print, for the first time, one of E.G. Whitlam's most futuristic, early political essays. When Whitlam was studying law at the University of Sydney, he was associate editor of the marvellously titled, Blackacre, the Journal of the Sydney University Law Society, before and after his service in the RAAF. After his admission to the Bar in February 1947, he wrote an article "A Review of the House of Review" for the issue of Blackacre which appeared in June 1947. We re-publish that original essay in this edition of It's time and what wonderful reading it makes. The young Whitlam surveys NSW's Upper House and argues: "It is open to question, however, not merely whether there should be a reviewing body of all, but also whether this body has usefully performed the function of review." Was Whitlam forecasting the trouble that he would have with the Senate 28 years later as Prime Minister? This will be one for the historians and we thank Mr. Whitlam for his permission to republish it.
Mr. Whitlam's speech for the indefatigable "Johno" is also published in this edition. It was a night that will be remembered by the faithful and some of the atmosphere comes through from the speech, so it well worth reading.
But now to an extract from State of Play and Doug Buckley's dark forecast of the map of Australia and our city in the future:
"Joe Shanks, the Mullock Gully Truck Driver, had now been an unemployment statistic for two days. Kirsten Mitchell down in HarborCity has been such a statistic for almost three years, and it seemed even longer to her since she had been sacked from her waitressing job.
Not that Kirsten actually lived in HarborCity. The town of Wyong was where she had grown up, a hundred kilometres to the north of the HarborCity thrust. But the Secession Settlement of 2001 had placed HarborCity's northern boundary at the Hawkesbury River, so Kirsten had never been a citizen. She had been permitted to work in HarbourCity but never to sleep there. Her country was Australia, the state of Queensland in fact. But she we also a kind of third-class appendage to HarborCity.
That is Kirsten was an Outatowna, on of the two million souls who lived beyond Brooklyn and McGrath's Hill and Doonside and Lansdowne and Waterfall, but who were licensed to work in HarborCity.
During her working days, the journey into town had been a daily two-hour ordeal from her parents' front door outside Wyong to the catering manager's office at the Sydney Cricket Ground: four hours travelling every day. That afternoon, being out of work, she would need to have a HarborCity visa added to her Oztax card. The trip might take a little longer.
As the train pulled into the border town of Woy Woy, she was the first to jump from her carriage and get to the immigration counter. No, she did not have a job in HarborCity. Yes, she had an Oztax card. Yes, she wanted a 200 pass, one that would last till 2.00 am next morning. Yes, she used to have a job in HarborCity. And her destination this afternoon? The SCG.
The counter staff were polite enough, Outatowners themselves mostly. The clerk gave her Oztax card a final glance, shoved it back, and dismissed her with the final incantation for the day. 'Miss Mitchell' - he gained her attention - 'don't forget. HarborJoy is coming.' Then he turned to the next customer. Kirsten had heard and read the phrase once of twice before in recent days. 'What's all this Harborjoy business?'
He looked at her for a second or two. Then he glanced carefully along the queue. 'Beats me. I only have to say it.'
How accurate are Buckley's dark predictions of 1990 likely to be? Well, he got one thing pretty close. On page 28 of the book Buckley predicted that "Barry Hill was prowling the Swans' goal square. He had kept his place at full-forward". If you substitute Hill for Hall, and think of the poor start to the year old "Plugger" has made, then Buckley is spot on!
Thanks to Doug for his permission to reproduce this extract from Chapter 3 "Kirsten the Outatowna". If you would like to read more of Doug Buckley's very entertaining novel, State of Play can be ordered from Albatross Books, PO Box 320, Sutherland, NSW, 2232.
Could Frank Sartor's successful re-engineering of Sydney City's boundaries be the beginnings of the "HarborCity thrust"? you will only find out if you read the book!
