What would you have?

This blog is ultimately a forum of written spaces to encourage thoughts and judgements about the precinct called Kings Cross.

Hopefully there has been enough critical appraisal, personal statements and theoretical issues to wade through and contribute the forming of your personal opinion on the potential for change in Kings Cross.

The first result for the Google Image Search of Kings Cross. NB: The paddy wagon, the strip, the McDonalds. Institutional versus Cultural change.

Like all ‘problem’ or issue bedded areas across the globe that have a somewhat infamous tag, nickname or stigma, the Cross, for Sydney will no doubt carry its share of the burden and yet for that, we respect it. We respect its publicity, its opening hours, its strip. We are bombarded by the folklore around its criminality, its serious hotbed for violence, the alcohol fueled violence and drug use it incites, the state governments posterboy for political action, and interests groups from all social spectrums lobbying for something. I would really like to say ‘change’ however I use it in a very specific mode – calling for change and the potential of cultural and social shifts in planning and attitudes towards Kings Cross. Unfortunately, ‘change’ is usurped by the large interests groups of owners, clubs and other fiscal stakeholders, where ‘change’ presents a larger slice of the late night dollar and encroachments on what constitutes a ‘night out’.

I can’t argue with the place, but I can argue for the place, for the potential it possess and the iconography it so propagates.

Just because we respect it, doesn’t mean we have to like it.

 

From draught to craft…

The difference between instittuionalsied change as opposed to cultural change lies around the personal liberies enacted though self or state. Cultural change is shapperoned by insituional change and vice versa, however of late, an imbalance in this delicate relationship has seen it blur into a Public dialectic of ‘same same but different’.

Kings Cross has become a hotbed of government intervention on the back of mediated qualms and stances surrounding the issues of alcohol fueled violence and incidences of ‘out of control’ behavior. It’s a cauldron of millennial’s and their right of passage in Sydney’s night life on one hand, and an executor of nanny state paradigms on the other. Controls are needed but to what extent?

Institutional change specific to Kings Cross highlights the broader topic of ‘Alcohol & Australians’. In the mediated form, it would revolve around binge drinking and Australia’s relationships and attitudes towards alcohol. Cultural change would involve shifting the Australian experience of alcohol from the macro to the micro, from draught to craft. Right now, there is a blurring of these distinctions and its spawning an extreme polarity in reactions. From restrictions on alcohol and higher duties, to more pubs and clubs to support a waning (by the numbers and statistically speaking) publican base, the ambiguous nature and cahoots of Institutional and cultural change around alcohol needs to re address  the fundamental boundaries of change.

As a larger piece of the puzzle, alcohol, like its associated issues of alcohol fueled violence and the like, is a hot topic for Kings Cross and the need to distinguish Cultural change and institutional change is ever growing.

…its like distinguishing Kings Cross From St Kilda.

Up and About ‘Art & About’

The Golden Mile? Think again, one of Sydney’s ‘Art & About’ installations.

Sydney’s cultural fringe got active recently with the successful running of the Sydney ‘Art & About’ festival, a public art festival, utilizing the public spaces of Sydney as Artist canvas. During the exhibitions citywide, public domains, streets, laneways, parks and gardens served as gallery spaces, installations, impromptu performance spaces and wall hangings.

It was a unique lens to witness the beauty of Sydney through, and exhibits the cities willingness and appetite for artistic and cultural initiatives and innovations. The City of Sydney was the principal partner of the festival and further reinforces the notion that the City of villages is on board, along with Lord Mayor Clover Moore in broadening the arts and cultural avenues by which to promote the city in tourism and iconography.

Strangely noted however, was the distinct lack of events, exhibitions or public installations around the Potts Point Kings Cross precinct. One would draw the conclusion, that from observing the utilisation of other Sydney icons adorned in pop up art galleries and installations, Kings Cross would feature to some extent. However you would be remiss, as no actual public art found its way to the precinct. Strangely, the work of  Caroline Rothwell and her bronzed sculpture installation of hooded youth (seemingly linking to the social welfare of teens, an occasioned sight in the Kings Cross precinct) was installed down the annals of Martin Place instead of the steps of the El Alamein memorial fountain.

It’s an interesting case to consider, as the cultural tendencies and planning of these events would not have been easy, and no doubt they were exercising the CBD as defined by city, as the principal (and as evidenced) canvas to be used in the installations. Nonetheless, there is growth in this initiative spreading to other, inner-city spaces that also make up the city of villages that is Sydney. Kings Cross should easily be able to sustain its own ‘Art & About’ within its own laneways and streets.
Just a matter of time?

Alcohol in the home

Paul Stanley has been on a campaign to stop binge drinking and residual violence associated with the act. Paul Stanley was faced with the terrible reality of losing his 18 year old son to a drunken assault at a party. A fatal punch was all it took for Paul’s son’s life to be cut short at the tender age of 18.

Since then, Paul has visited over 150,000 school students to educate them on the dangers of drinking and aggressive behaviour associated with binging on alcohol.

“I ask everybody in the room to close their eyes and to think about the person they know and love the most in their life,

“And it finishes with: ‘Think of that beautiful look on their face when you walked around the corner the other day and they were there, the look of happiness and the big hug you got. Now, open your eyes and just imagine that was the last time you ever saw them.'”

Stepping away from statistics and police scare tactics, emotional conditioning is perhaps a way to get through to our youth and to encourage them to drink responsibly. Kings Cross is a hotspot for binge drinking and it is time that more educational methods are in place to make sure the youth of Australia are not so thrilled at the idea of drinking in excess.

A flood of raging 18year olds into Kings Cross is hardly what is needed.

The French culture, for example, introduces alcohol to their youth at ages of 12 or even younger. This, although it might seem ludicrous at first, is allowing children to become used to the effects of alcohol. Due to age restrictions on alcohol consumption and strict rules about supplying alcohol to minors, it seems Australian laws dictate that until the day you turn 18, no alcohol should be consumed. Perhaps this is the wrong way to go about it.

If we allow our youth to experience alcohol in their homes prior to turning 18, perhaps we are reducing the risk of binge drinking and we are taking away the excitement of alcohol. This ‘off-limits’ attitude is doing more damage than good, as 18year olds are flooded the streets of Kings Cross and drinking past their limits, resulting in unnecessary violence and even leading to drug abuse.

Do you think minors should be introduced to alcohol in the home before they reach the legal drinking age?

To read more on Paul Stanley’s campaign, follow this link –> http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/dads-education-campaign-against-alcohol-fuelled-violence-dedicated-to-son-matthew-stanley-who-died-after-being-punched-at-18th-party-walk-away-chill-out-and-matthew-stanley-foundation/story-fndo45r1-1226435070823

You have the power!

After all this talk of social change, I think it’s time that we took it step by step. Person by person.

As an individual, we all have the power to provoke cultural and social change. Take it upon yourselves to alienate binge drinkers from the cross.

Let’s promote healthy drinking in small bars and lounges.

Let’s go out for late night dinners and enjoy a glass of red wine with friends rather than a shot of tequila and a late night maccas stop.

Get involved and help move Kings Cross towards a brighter future!

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE!!!

Brute Force: Have we gone over the top?

Roberto Laudisio Curti died in the early hours of the morning on March 18th. In recent stories it has been revealed that police used their taser guns 14 times and excessive force to take down the Brazilian born man shortly before his death. Curti was under the influence of LSD, a hallucinogenic drug. 

Currently undergoing trial it got me thinking about the methods of our police force and whether or not their actions are creating a nanny state, where individuals are childish and out of control in need of excessive policing. 

If the police are willing to use excessive force to control a single man who stole two packets of biscuits from the convenience store, what kind of measures are they willing to take to control the Kings Cross strip? 

This instance may be rare, but is it coming to a point where our Police are forcing us to act out in rebellion and continue the drug and alcohol fuelled violence within Sydney’s Kings Cross. 

To read more about Roberto Laudisio Curti click the following link:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/robertos-last-frenzied-moments-20121008-279hp.html

 

The repercussions of Hollywood

A little slow on the uptake, but the other night I watched the movie, Project X. After watching it I had two thoughts. 

1. Holy shit, that was awesome. 

and 2. Let’s go out. 

After eventually calming down and realising that this was just a movie, I started think about the repercussions of these glorified Hollywood films. Project X made me want to go and riot through the city with a million friends and shots of tequila. Are we too impressionable as the youth of this world and do we get caught up in the beauty of Hollywood?

I think it is time to tear ourselves away from the ‘cool’ stigma associated with binge drinking and drugs. What do you think? Take a look at the trailer and see what kind of emotions you get at the close….

 

Propagating a Late Night Economy.

The late night economy of Kings Cross is synonmous with the mediated issues of alcohol fueled violence, drug use and organized crime. So what is an economy that turns over almost half of the city of Sydney’s total night time dollars doing about its image?

Beyond State Government red taping, not much, but this should change.

With the girth of Sydney’s after dark economy being soaked up in the liquor and gaming sectors, its time to revisit the need for reforms around planning and zoning measures in the city of villages, as condoned by its Clover Moore. This is where the very nature of establishments can be reformed to create opportunities for new ventures, innovations and of course, new avenues to revenue and economizing in the after dark culture.

Simply put, the variety in these establishments need to vary. While I’m not exploring the cultural and social changes that face the after dark economy, its merely progressing and pushing the envelope of what constitutes as after dark activity. With the lessening of ‘beer barns’ and the increasing of hours of operation, a blurring of closing time and miller time needs to occur. The ‘knock off, piss on’ prerogative is a missed opportunity for business opportunities, to close up early almost in defeat. If these behaviors were altered by staying open longer past 5 or 6 PM, new market positions could be exploited. however this is addressing cultural and social behaviors, something that comes hand in hand in solving mediated issues that arise around them. Suffice to say that is another area of Australian civil liberties that i won’t go into.

A stunningly simply methodology to compliment much needed planning reform, especially for the after dark economy, is by asking what the public want to see. A simple survey and canvassing of public opinion, surveys and vetted forums are the key to showing weight behind this assertions of potential and systematic change.

Dear Kings Crosser: I wonder what you would like to see here?

Link

The Cross: then & now

This is a cool function I found on the SMH website which allows you to slide between then and now pictures of Kings Cross.

Interesting to note the amount of people in picture 4 of the Kings Cross Fountain. Once a daytime social outing, now quite empty in the day and a place for drunken visitors to make a fool of themselves at night.

Do you think much has changed between the photos and the attitudes surrounding Kings Cross?

The Golden Mile: are we attracted to the thug life?

We’ve all seen some, if not all of the Underbelly series which gave a glimpse into life in Kings Cross in the late 80’s to the late 90’s. We watched as big name gangsters came to life on the TV screen and we were transfixed by the drama that unfolded. But is all of this completely damaging the the Cross’s reputation. As we understand it, the media paints a rather tainted image of the cross and the drug and alcohol fuelled violence which occurs week in and week out, but is this constant media presence and the glorification of the gangster/thug life making it hard for the Cross to turn the long overdue corner?

Perhaps the media and the glamourous life of television is standing in the way of Kings Cross moving away from the thug lifestyle. After watching the video above I was blown away by the type of comments young YouTube users were posting and I couldn’t help but think that this television drama made the Cross appealing for all the wrong reasons and is the main standstill for change when it comes to cleaning up the streets of Kings Cross.

YouTube user comments on the Underbelly 3 fight scene with Danny

Are we enticing our youth into the Kings Cross strip with drugs and alcohol? ‘Monkey see as Monkey do’ – This is a continuous ripple effect throughout the generations and will continue to be a drug and alcohol hub unless we can change that train of thought. The above comments showcase that thug mentality – where the youth are in awe of gangsters and thugs thinking that they are ‘cool’ and that drinking and fighting in bars and clubs shows just how tough they really are. “Wata maad cunttt” – aside from grammar and spelling being uncool, it seems that our impressionable youth are more and more eager to jump on the alcohol and violence band wagon and run riot through Kings Cross. It’s time for change people!!! Let’s clean up Kings Cross.