Latest news with #ConnorCourt
The Age
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
MP Will Fowles cries foul over his bullying complaint
CBD could not contain our excitement when we heard Zendaya was coming to Melbourne. Melebrities of a certain stature (i.e., not us) were beside themselves to receive an invitation with the contents line: 'You're Invited: An Immersive Evening with On & Zendaya.' The storied actor and contemporary icon was coming to Melbourne to host an event at a trendy sneaker shop? First Dua Lipa raves about Helen Garner's This House of Grief, and now this. Praise be to Melbourne! Zeitgeist is our middle name. The invitation continued: 'On is excited to invite you and a guest to an evening to celebrate the launch of Cloudzone Moon – the first footwear co-created by Zendaya and her longtime stylist, Law Roach.' 'Enjoy a relaxed evening of drinks, music and curated moments, as we launch this bold new silhouette and apparel range – the first of a two-part release, with Cloudtilt Moon to follow in October.' But alas, it now turns out that Zendaya is not attending the event. But her Cloudzone Moon shoes will be. And the immersive experience? Presumably, that's trying the shoes on. Man of many talents Former Howard government communications minister Richard Alston 's quiet post-political life upended when he was tapped by former opposition leader Peter Dutton to co-manage the perennially troubled NSW division of the Liberal Party last year. Alston and fellow octogenarian party elder Alan Stockdale were part of a trio of administrators called in after the division failed to nominate hundreds of candidates for local government elections last year. Their control was effectively nuked by Stockdale's off-colour comments, reported in this column, about the party having a problem with 'assertive women'. Now relieved of his duties, Alston can return to his real post-political career as a man of letters. CBD readers might recall the former federal senator and high commissioner to the United Kingdom wrote a tome on medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Alston's latest work concerns a more unfamiliar subject – the great Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, a country he told CBD was an 'extraordinary place'. 'It's a rapidly growing new economy, a president who's been in power for nine years and transformed the country, moderate Islam – they hate extremists – a phenomenal history, and three to four amazing cities,' Alston gushed. Alston was drawn to Uzbekistan because he collects suzanis – a traditional Central Asian decorative embroidered wall hanging. 'They're amazingly colourful, and by our standards, ridiculously cheap,' he told us. Who knew? Another World: An Australian in Uzbekistan was released by boutique conservative publishers Connor Court last month, and promises 'a fascinating blend of personal reflection and historical analysis'. As for Alston's next project, he's beavering away on a book about Australian pulp novelist Morris West. Unless another Liberal Party implosion calls him up to duty. OpenAI wines and dines in Canberra Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, OpenAI has exploded from a little-known not-for-profit to the world's most influential tech company, helmed by its mercurial chief executive, Sam Altman. Having helped send the artificial intelligence boom into overdrive, it was only a matter of time before OpenAI would let its lobbying muscle loose on Canberra, where policymakers have historically been a little flat-footed in the face of tech developments. The OpenAI circus came to town in June for a lobbying blitz, led by its chief economist, Ronnie Chatterji, who met a posse of Labor frontbenchers in relevant portfolios including Andrew Leigh, Tim Ayres, Andrew Giles and Andrew Charlton. Lots of wonky types are called Andrew, apparently. Less attention fell on OpenAI's wooing of senior public servants. After a busy day on the hill, Chatterji hosted a private dinner for top public servants at the Boat House, a modern Australian fine diner on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. On the dance card was the Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson (just days into the job), the Australian Bureau of Statistics' top statistician, David Gruen, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet deputy secretary Nadine Williams, IP Australia director general Michael Schwager and Peter Anstee from the Department of Home Affairs. The Canberra dinner was just another piece in an Australia lobbying effort that is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The firm recently hired former Tech Council of Australia boss Kate Pounder to lead its local push as Australian policy liaison. Before the Tech Council, Pounder co-founded analytics firm AlphaBeta with Labor assistant minister Charlton, who would later parachute from Bellevue Hill into the federal seat of Parramatta. CBD was not a fly on the wall, and although it was a fairly standard reception for a visiting expert — Chatterji was an economic adviser in Joe Biden's
The Age
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
The untold story of the Australians who helped fight Franco
HISTORY Anti-Fascists: Jim McNeill and his mates in the Spanish Civil War Michael Samaras Connor Court Publishing, $39.95 Doubtless European leaders today use the Spanish Civil War as a lesson to harden resolve against Vladimir Putin and Russia. Like Ukraine, the Spanish War came to represent a global struggle against authoritarianism. The Western democracies' milquetoast non-intervention response deteriorated into appeasing Adolf Hitler, failing utterly to check fascism's advance early, leading to the far bloodier war later. Yet, some foreigners understood that fascism could not be simply 'niced away' and considered the Spanish Republic and democracy worth defending, enlisting regardless of their country's official stance. Many had escaped fascism at home, but some came from Western democracies like Australia. Anti-Fascists: Jim McNeill and his mates in the Spanish Civil War is about one group of Australians whose principles and conviction took them to a faraway battleground. Anti-Fascists was knocked back by a dozen publishers before finding a home with Connor Court, a boutique publisher with climate denial in their back catalogue. Author Michael Samaras had already proved his research mettle in 2022 when he made headlines for discovering Wollongong Art Gallery had a benefactor who had been an intelligence agent in the Lithuanian SS. You would think a well-researched history of Australian anti-fascists would easily land a mainstream publisher. The book revolves around Balmain born Jim McNeill but branches into the stories of 'his mates', giving Anti-fascists an episodic quality. The other major figure is renowned English firebrand Ted Dickinson whom McNeill meets when he joins the International Workers of the World (IWW). The pair work together promoting the 'Wobblies' with Dickinson often speechifying in recognisable forums like Sydney's Domain. Like McNeill, his mates are mostly working class, some from very difficult backgrounds. They experience political awakenings through the labour movement which imbues them with a sense of justice and international solidarity. Their convictions are tested on the streets. Depression Australia was preceded by labour violence like the Port Adelaide waterfront strike where the union took on 1000 newly appointed 'constables' armed with rifles and bayonets. Once the Great Depression struck proper, battles took on ideological lines. Australia's The New Guard was a far-right paramilitary group that took cues directly from Hitler and Mussolini and bragged a Sydney membership of 36,000. Their toughs disrupted speeches which often led to all-in brawls and sometimes worse. This background is important because it shows what drove McNeill and co. to take an immense risk to travel to Spain. Most had never left the country, and the dangers began before they set sail. Foreign enlistment was actively discouraged in Australia, as it threatened the claim of neutrality. Passage was also difficult – almost all of Samaras' anti-fascists stowed away on Europe-bound ships, some transiting through the UK where foreign enlistment was a crime for all British subjects, Aussies included. From there they were smuggled through France and across the Pyrenees to Spain.
Sydney Morning Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The untold story of the Australians who helped fight Franco
HISTORY Anti-Fascists: Jim McNeill and his mates in the Spanish Civil War Michael Samaras Connor Court Publishing, $39.95 Doubtless European leaders today use the Spanish Civil War as a lesson to harden resolve against Vladimir Putin and Russia. Like Ukraine, the Spanish War came to represent a global struggle against authoritarianism. The Western democracies' milquetoast non-intervention response deteriorated into appeasing Adolf Hitler, failing utterly to check fascism's advance early, leading to the far bloodier war later. Yet, some foreigners understood that fascism could not be simply 'niced away' and considered the Spanish Republic and democracy worth defending, enlisting regardless of their country's official stance. Many had escaped fascism at home, but some came from Western democracies like Australia. Anti-Fascists: Jim McNeill and his mates in the Spanish Civil War is about one group of Australians whose principles and conviction took them to a faraway battleground. Anti-Fascists was knocked back by a dozen publishers before finding a home with Connor Court, a boutique publisher with climate denial in their back catalogue. Author Michael Samaras had already proved his research mettle in 2022 when he made headlines for discovering Wollongong Art Gallery had a benefactor who had been an intelligence agent in the Lithuanian SS. You would think a well-researched history of Australian anti-fascists would easily land a mainstream publisher. The book revolves around Balmain born Jim McNeill but branches into the stories of 'his mates', giving Anti-fascists an episodic quality. The other major figure is renowned English firebrand Ted Dickinson whom McNeill meets when he joins the International Workers of the World (IWW). The pair work together promoting the 'Wobblies' with Dickinson often speechifying in recognisable forums like Sydney's Domain. Like McNeill, his mates are mostly working class, some from very difficult backgrounds. They experience political awakenings through the labour movement which imbues them with a sense of justice and international solidarity. Their convictions are tested on the streets. Depression Australia was preceded by labour violence like the Port Adelaide waterfront strike where the union took on 1000 newly appointed 'constables' armed with rifles and bayonets. Once the Great Depression struck proper, battles took on ideological lines. Australia's The New Guard was a far-right paramilitary group that took cues directly from Hitler and Mussolini and bragged a Sydney membership of 36,000. Their toughs disrupted speeches which often led to all-in brawls and sometimes worse. This background is important because it shows what drove McNeill and co. to take an immense risk to travel to Spain. Most had never left the country, and the dangers began before they set sail. Foreign enlistment was actively discouraged in Australia, as it threatened the claim of neutrality. Passage was also difficult – almost all of Samaras' anti-fascists stowed away on Europe-bound ships, some transiting through the UK where foreign enlistment was a crime for all British subjects, Aussies included. From there they were smuggled through France and across the Pyrenees to Spain.
