Author: thecoburgmeddler

The coming midsummer dawn sky will reward the early riser. From January 27-29 the planets Mercury and Mars will be a spectacular duo in the twilight, separated by only 0.2° on the 28th. Mercury will be the brighter one, but is speeding sunwards and in a few weeks will be lost in that greater light. Look to the eastern horizon at about 5:45 am.

On February 8 & 9, the almost-New Moon will be next to a striking lineup of Venus, Mars, and Mercury, very low in the east, after about 5:50 am. In the following mornings, brilliant Venus will approach Mars, to be within 1° during Feb 21-24. The alpha-Centaurid meteor shower can be seen between Jan 31 and Feb 20, with a good chance of spotting one falling out of the sky on any of these nights. These meteors are known for their blue or yellow fireballs, with trains that can last up to several minutes. The peak rate, of about 6 falls per hour, will occur on Feb 9. (The Moon, being New at this time, will not be a hindrance to good viewing).

What other sights does the summer night sky offer? The Saucepan asterism is one of the best known and easiest found, and doubles up as the belt and scabbard of Orion the Hunter. In Greek mythology Orion boasted that he could hunt and kill any creature on Earth. This angered Gaia, the Earth Goddess, who sent a scorpion to fight, and eventually overpower him. Zeus rewarded the combatants by placing them in the heavens- but with Scorpius and Orion on different sides of the sky, to prevent any further brawling.

A possibly even older story comes from the Mer (Murray Island) people of Torres Strait. Long ago, Tagai was a great leader, and also a hunter. He set out spearfishing in his canoe with his friend Kareg as steersman, and a crew of twelve rowers, six each side. The day was hot, and the crew drank all the water rations, including Tagai’s and Kareg’s. In his rage at this, Tagai threw the crew out of his canoe, casting each line of rowers far into the skies. Then Tagai himself went up into the sky, taking Kareg with him, and became a mighty and renowned constellation, standing on his canoe with outstretched arms, one of them holding a spear. His right hand is represented by the five bright stars of the Western constellation Corvus, his left hand by the five stars of the Southern Cross, his head and body by the stars of Lupus, Centaurus, and Hydra constellations. His canoe is Scorpius, and Kareg can be seen sitting in the boat, steering, as the bright orange star Antares. The banished crew can be found restrained far away from Tagai in the heavens: six as the star group the Mer people call Usiam, which we know as the Seven Sisters, or Pleiades; and six as the Meriam Constellation Seg- which we call the Saucepan.

By Vlack

Brand Faces Backlash for So Many Things

Following the recent uptake of an article published in the Meddler in 2023, further revelations have surfaced about the ‘ethical’ fashion brand, SÜK Workwear. The original article raised questions over the ethics of a “responsible and inclusive” business which has links to live animal exports to Israel through SÜK’s co-founding director Alan Schmidt’s Otway Livestock Exports company (‘Otway’). In 2020, Schmidt was found by the Supreme Court of Victoria Court of Appeal to have breached his duties as a director of Otway, and ordered to pay a sum of around $3.6m to two former partners following his misappropriation of contacts from a joint business. These contacts involved Israel’s two largest importers Bakar Tnuva Limited Partnership and Dabach Slaughterhouse Ltd, both of whom have made headlines in Australia for their abusive abattoir practices. The original Supreme Court decision was decided on 2 April 2019, the same date that Schmidt ceased his position in SÜK as a director. In 2021, external administrators were appointed to Otway Livestock Exports.

In response to the recent media furore, SÜK creative director Mimosa Schmidt posted a statement which temporarily appeared on SÜK’s official Instagram page. Her comment appeared to diminish the links between SÜK and the live animal exports company, of which she was a director between 2008 and 2015. SÜK, who state explicitly on their website that they operate “on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri people’’ responded to questions over their links to Zionism with a desire for “peace”, referring to the stolen lands of the Palestinian people simply as “those areas”. The creative director, whose “all femme” marketing campaigns often front diverse gender and ethnic identities and body sizes, stopped short of criticising Israel due to being “unaccustomed to weighing in on political issues.”

Mimosa and her mother, Rachael, also run another company called ‘Mimra Holdings Pty Ltd’. It is unclear what function Mimra serves, however it is the sole shareholder in a company called ‘Ethical Textile Manufacturing Co’. This company, starting in mid-2019, shortly after SÜK did, was originally under the directorship of Mimosa and Rachael, however in 2022, Mimosa’s brother, Rudolf Schmidt, became its sole director. At the time of SÜK’s statement being published, Rudolf was noticed to have been quietly unfollowing accounts on his personal TikTok, including “Israel.4.eva.1948”.

Many commenters on social media have thus far been unimpressed with SÜK’s response to the connections to the live animal export industry and providing business to the Israeli state. One former worker has now come out with allegations of worker mistreatment, and a former SÜK model and social media producer was “deeply disappointed” by the lack of response from the company.

SÜK’s brand depends upon their reputation as responsible, worker friendly and ethical. The latest revelations cast further doubt upon their commitment to these values.

New customers to SÜK are unfortunately too late to purchase items from their militaresque ‘Camo Collector’s Edition’, but the Cowhide and Oxblood are still available for the morbid shopper.

By Edwina Snagge

A mystifying salute has been directed at the noble cow from local clothes company SÜK. The brand’s latest ‘Cowhide’ line can only be a gesture of some sort to the animal that helped the company get off the ground. The company, whose public face is in Brunswick East but is based in South Yarra, was co-founded in 2018. The family-owned company sells workwear for different types of bodies, creating fashionable and comfortable options for workers. Body positive and ostensibly produced in fair trade factories in Pakistan, SÜK states that it donates some of its profits to various not-for-profit organisations.

Alan Schmidt, inaugural director of SÜK when it began in 2018, has had a long career in live cattle exports, primarily shipping livestock to Israel, and is the current CEO of Global Meats Pty Ltd and AustAgri. In 2015, his company (Otway Livestock Exports) made news when leaked footage of inhumane practices at a destination abattoir in Israel led to a temporary shut down of the facility.

While Schmidt’s company took action to help improve conditions at the abattoir, they have since been involved in ship malfunctions resulting in extended voyages of high-stocked vessels. This is perhaps unavoidable in such a trade, which, in addition to its entanglement with questionable and difficult to regulate abattoir practices, raises concerns around the stress of long-haul journeys on animals in crowded conditions (sometimes in extreme temperatures). The increased risk of international virus transmission is also an ongoing concern associated with live exports.

Activists and federal government ministers alike have proposed the phasing out of the controversial industry since 2014. For instance, New Zealand has recently committed to banning all live exports from April 2023, and while the Albanese government has stated plans to phase out live sheep exports, it has yet to commit to a timeline.

While Mr Schmidt stepped down as SÜK director after a year, his wife Rachel, who co-owned Otway Live Exports, still has 50% ownership of the clothing company.

The ‘Cowhide’ line isn’t the only confusing messaging to come from the workwear brand. Earlier in the year, SÜK announced the return of its ‘Oxblood’ line, which, on reflection, might be a hark back to the Israel saga.

By SS and BB

NB: This article was published in hardcopy January 2023 – reproduced on request

Tambo Ciek – meaning, ‘can I get one more?’

Tambo Ciek is a newly opened Indonesian restaurant and mini-market, nestled away in Coburg’s Walkers Arcade. The restaurant serves Nasi Kapau –  a Padang-style dish consisting of rice topped with a mix of curries and other dishes of the customers choice. 

On arrival, we were warmly greeted by a person behind the bain-marie, as soft jazz permeated the bright room. The walls show beautiful hand paintings depicting the idea behind the food being offered; you select from a range of enticing dishes that have been prepared that day. 

One wall of the restaurant displays a modest selection of packaged Indonesian snacks, such as tapioca crackers, fish ball crackers, squid crackers, nuts and dried banana chips. A fridge stores fresh cheese and cake based desserts. 

We opted for one vegetarian Nasi Kapau ($17) and one standard Nasi Kapau ($18.50), served up from the bain-marie.

The options for both meals remain consistent throughout the week, but Saturday visitors will encounter the Saturday special – a meal we are yet to experience (please write in).  

For the vegetarian plate, we opted for a fried onion fritter, stir fry tempeh and beans, stir fry spicy potatoes and cassava leaf curry. The fried onion fritter had a mild flavour of onion and carrot and was not too oily. The tempeh dish was packed with flavour and the beans were only lightly cooked, giving the portion a satisfying snap. The ‘spicy potato’ dish lived up to its name; a punchy meal with large cubes of potato that managed to remain soft inside despite a crispy exterior. Finally, the cassava leaf curry was a nicely dense curry, giving you the sense that you’ve well and truly had your government recommended serve of vegetables for the day. 

For the plate with meat, we chose beef rendang,  jackfruit curry, a potato cake and spicy eggplant. The beef rendang was lightly charcoaled with a distinctly smokey, spicy flavour. It was a stand out dish, with hints of anise and black cardamom. The jackfruit curry had a noticeable heat from its spice, but didn’t overpower the jackfruit’s natural sweetness. The eggplant was slightly oily, but it was well cooked through, and the potato cake was curiously ‘meaty’. 

Overall, the dishes are eclectic (sharing is recommended), but the curries are united by their strong spices and coconut milk. 

Tambo Ciek is an exciting new addition to the culinary options in Coburg, which has not had many dedicated Indonesian options available. 

These reviewers say: not just one more, we’d like many more. 

Tambo Ciek
4/471-474 Sydney Rd
Inside Walkers Arcade
Coburg Open Tues-Saturday 11.30-6pm

By Pandora and Anon

Melbourne Airport’s unpopular new proposal 

In an unprecedented display of public-spiritedness, Melbourne Airport has recently launched a ‘community newsletter’. Residents of Merri-bek who have read their copy will now be aware of the airport’s runway expansion plans, which are looking to go ahead despite persistent protest from environmental groups. 

By way of context, Melbourne Airport has been a two-runway operation since it was opened in 1971. The original runways have been extended over the decades in order to accommodate bigger planes and more traffic. 

Recently, Melbourne Airport has re-ignited a proposal to build a third runway in order to increase the capacity of the airport. Melbourne Airport states that the introduction of a third runway will allow an additional 136,500 aircraft movements a year. In their report on the project, Melbourne Airport noted that ‘this represents 40 per cent more passengers and 43 per cent more aircraft movements’. 

This isn’t the first time Melbourne Airport has proposed a third runway. The original plans for the airport formulated in the late 1950s made provisions for the future introduction of a third and fourth runway. Melbourne Airport has been making formal steps towards actualising this dream since they drafted plans in 2013. In fact, in their community newsletter, Melbourne Airport mentions that they have futureproofed their plans to accommodate a fourth runway.

Environmental groups have railed against a third runway since Melbourne Airport began advertising its plans. No 3rd Tulla Runway (‘N3TR’) is one such group. N3TR points to air travel being one of the big contributors to climate change. According to a recent EU report, there are significant CO₂ and non-CO₂ climate impacts from aviation. The International Civil Aviation Organization has recently estimated that if aviation operations stay on their current trajectory, emissions could triple by 2050 from 2015 levels, even taking into account the potential development of newer fuel-related technologies. 

With the federal and state government committing to net zero emissions by 2050, it seems like a corollary to this commitment would be to reduce the potential for corporations (like airlines, who are not held accountable for failing their own set emissions goals) to increase harmful and largely unfettered operations. 

This may be a convincing argument to take up with a government body, however in 1997, Melbourne Airport was privatised. Operations were then entrusted to the Australia Pacific Airports Corporation (APAC), who signed a 50 year lease with the Australian Government.  

In Australia, very few regulatory limits currently exist on emissions from corporations.

According to a report compiled by APAC, the two runways will exceed their operational capacity by 2026, and a third runway is therefore crucial to meet future needs. APAC expects that the additional runway will bring in 23 million more passengers a year, and also an additional 136,500 aircraft movements per year. To put this into perspective, last year, there were almost 13 million passengers, and almost 127,000 aircraft movements at the airport. APAC is therefore seeking to facilitate an enormous increase in emissions from aircrafts by roughly 2026-7, when the third runway will likely be constructed if the development is approved. 

Under the Airports Act 1996, the Melbourne Airport is required to provide the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development (currently Catherine King) with a master plan every 5 years, and if there are large developments, a major development plan must also be approved. Recently, the federal minister approved the master plan from APAC, and is due to consider the major development plan regarding the third runway. 

Readers may know that in September 2022, the federal government passed the Climate Change Act 2022. This act legislates Australia’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. How the government intends to achieve this whilst approving major works to increase profits and growth for corporations like APAC remains to be seen. 

What is clear, is that there is a troubling rhetoric adopted by companies and government alike, that attempts to reassure both environmentalists and shareholders. There will be net zero emissions and growth. There will be another runway, but emissions will be reduced. 

An interesting comparative analysis can be made by looking to the UK. In 2020, Heathrow Airport’s third runway plan was ruled unlawful due to its disregard of the government’s climate change commitments as outlined specifically in the Paris Climate Agreement. While the decision was later overruled by the Supreme Court on the basis that the Paris Agreement was not incorporated into domestic law and therefore does not constitute government policy, legal battles, among other factors, have significantly delayed the project which has yet to go ahead. Hopefully, Melbourne Airport’s plans face similar and bigger hurdles, now that Australia’s Paris Climate commitments have now been expressly adopted in the Climate Change Act 2022. 

N3TR is currently pushing for an independent environmental impact assessment of greenhouse emissions which would result from the project, and an assessment on the effect on neighbouring woodland. 

If the environmental destruction is not enough to light your fires, according to an interactive third runway flight path tool on Melbourne Airport’s website, the new third runway will introduce a flightpath directly over Coburg. This means more noise, and more social media posts from locals asking why there are so many planes in the sky. 

One other thing we learned from Melbourne Airport Community Newsletter is that they will be popping up at the Midsumma Carnival in late January to talk to festival goers about their (the Airport’s, unfortunately) plans. 

By Edwina Snagge

 

On January 5^th the Sun will appear the brightest and largest of the year, as the Earth reaches perihelion, the closest approach to the Sun during its elliptical orbit. By way of contrast, three days later the Moon will be at apogee, the greatest distance from Earth, in its monthly orbit. 

  On the night of Jan 7, looking to the northeast, the full Moon can be seen passing through the Gemini constellation very close to the twin stars Castor and Pollux.

For the Boorong people of northwestern Victoria (who prided themselves in knowing more astronomy than any other Aboriginal group), the Moon is a man called Mityan, whose  counterpart on Earth is the Eastern Quoll, a promiscuous and rather antisocial creature. Mityan falls in love with one of the wives of Unurgunite, who is a constellation in the night sky, as well as being Jacky Lizard on Earth. Mityan urges the wife to run away with him, but they are discovered by Unurgunite, who, smaller but braver and fiercer, attacks Mityan and chases him off. Ever since then Mityan has been wandering through the heavens, with no fixed home. (It should be noted here that the star known to western astronomers as Sigma Canis Majoris is, since 2017, known internationally as Unurgunite- one of only four stars so far to be given Aboriginal names.) 

Fleet-footed Mercury returns to our morning skies briefly in January, and on the 20^th & 21^st, may be seen near the almost-New Moon very low in the East, from about 5:30 am.

 Venus is now prominent, low in the evening twilight, and moving to meet Saturn. On Jan 22 they will be separated by less than 1°, as on the 23^rd, when they will be even closer and more spectacular next to a very thin crescent Moon. Look west at about 9 pm- but not much later, as setting time is about 9:30 pm.

  The alpha-Centaurid meteor shower will be active in February, peaking on Feb 8 with an hourly rate of about six – not the most prolific, but they sometimes display bright yellow and blue fireballs, with trains that can last for minutes. Their apparent source is around Alpha Centauri, brightest of the two Pointers, next to the Southern Cross. A possible detraction will be the almost-Full Moon, rising at about 11 pm.

  On Feb 19, Mercury and the Moon will repeat their appearances in the early dawn sky, with the Moon even closer to Mercury than in January. Look low in the east soon after 6 am.

  On Feb 22 at about 9 pm, low in the west, the two-day old Moon and Venus will only be 1° apart, with Jupiter near- and nearing. Look here again at about 8 pm on March 2 for another great spectacle: Venus and Jupiter, each more brilliant than the brightest star, Sirius, separated by only 0.5°.

By Vlack

Happy election weekend to everyone. We wanted to produce a hard-hitting election edition, but we blew our budget on a political cartoonist. Please enjoy our poster made in the spirit of democracy. Or print it out to clean your barbecues tomorrow.

The following article is drawn from a document that Gary Vines produced after learning of Council’s plan to replace the Harding Street Bridge with a large, flat, truss style bridge with 3m high walls.

The proposed bridge has had very little opportunity for locals to access input (save for a survey on the colour and width of the bridge on the Council’s website). However, there has been a long and concerted effort by local residents and environmental groups to repair the damage of 150 years of neglect and abuse of the creek valley. Much of the native vegetation and attractive character of the creek is the result of local people working together. Social history of this crossing and the former bridge should be considered.

Additionally, with any major project along the creek, potential discovery of Aboriginal artefacts should be considered- such as was the case during the creation of the DeChene Reserve bridge. Therefore, an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan should be undertaken, even if it is not mandatory under the regulations. Consideration should also be given to an assessment of potential historical archaeology on the site.

Ultimately, the combination of through truss and handrail that is being proposed is a tidy engineering solution, but it limits the aesthetic opportunities. Cable-stayed and suspension bridges are intrinsically more attractive, as evidenced by the recently completed bridge just north of Ceres.

It is important to note that the most environmentally sustainable option would be to retain and reuse the existing structure as much as possible. Timber is a renewable resource, and while it needs periodic replacement, the replaced members can themselves be recycled to other uses.

The existing bridge suspension towers are more than 2.5 metres between members, so the required width can be achieved by reconstructing the deck and handrails reusing the existing suspension cables. If necessary, new timber (or steel) trussed side rails, deck and cables could be employed if the existing materials are deemed unusable. By suspending a new wider truss railing outside these, even greater width can be achieved with just a small pinch point at each end. Reusing the original towers would also mean that no vegetation would need to be removed and Melbourne Water would not have issues with any new structures in the floodway. It might be necessary to upgrade the cables and reinforce the towers, but the existing structure could be employed as a platform for threading new
cables, reducing construction costs.

Even if the reuse option is not followed, the proposed through-truss is a very poor design. It creates far more of a visual barrier both as an intrusive element in the otherwise natural appearance of the creek corridor, and for people using the structure. A better option might be to use a deck truss design, since there is no particular need to maximise clearance under the bridge. This would of course require a separate handrail, but most of the engineered structure would be below the bridge and so a lighter railing and safety fence could be used.

The most important aspect of the proposed reuse and reconstruction option is that it recognises the value of the local community in the restoration of the Merri Creek, through the hard work of thousands of people over many decades as well as ensuring the continued enjoyment of the creek by all users.

By Gary Vines

A campaign to ‘Save the Harding Street Bridge’ has been created by locals interested in keeping the current bridge.

The campaigners assert that more bridges are useful and that taking the Harding St Bridge down is unnecessary, and are asking for a second, more accessible bridge to be built nearby.

Visit https://chng.it/LwSdkYwjQY to join in on the campaign.