#the west australian

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Black Sails star Luke Arnold headlines Stan’s excellent new series, Scrublands, based on Chris Hammer’s novel

For Black Sails star LukeArnold, being front and centre in the small screen adaption of Chris Hammer's bestselling Australian novel, Scrublands, is a collision of his own two worlds.

The Aussie actor, a graduate of WAAPA (Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts) who shot to fame playing Michael Hutchence in the 2014 INXS mini-series Never Tear Us Apart, is also the author of three fantasy novels.

His Fetch Phillips series, published around the world in multiple languages, means he now balances taking acting gigs with devoting time to his burgeoning career as a writer.

And this gig, based on Hammer's compelling crime story, came at the perfect time.

"Doing a great mystery, where I get to be the journalist on the trail, I think this was something I was really hungry for about it, and then doing (the SBS series) True Colours," he tells STM.

True Colors saw Arnold step into the role of a detective, investigating an accident in a remote Indigenous community — Scrublands sees him playing an investigative journalist, Martin Scarsden, whose career has been derailed.

Scarsden is dispatched to Riversend, a small country town, to do a "puff piece" on how the residents are faring a year on from their village priest taking out a gun and shooting dead five of his congregation after Sunday Mass.

Jay Ryan plays the murderous priest Byron Swift, and he's terrific in the role — acclaimed actress Bella Heathcote steps in to play another character central to the story and she's equally compelling.

This series is Aussie Noir at its finest — perhaps unsurprisingly when it has Wolf Creek's Greg McLean as its director — and it paints a dark tale, beautifully realised.

And as Arnold's character pieces together what actually happened that fateful day, it only gets more compelling.

Arnold admits he was equally taken when reading the scripts, written by writer and producer Felicity Packard.

"I hadn't read the book, but I was definitely aware of it... wo when the opportunity came up, I started reading it and I really loved (it)," he explains.

"At the same time, I was reading the scripts, and actually, (they) are quite different from the book."

"The book is so beautifully in Martin's head, and like a lot of great novels, it is very internal. I think Felicity, and other writers on this show, have been really smart and really savvy in the way they have taken of the book, and the characters, and made it something that really pops on screen."

Arnold believes that fans of the novel will also find plenty to connect with in its screen adaptation, "but also, you are still in for a bunch of surprises, because it does go it own way," he admits.

Though the novel was set in NSW's Riverina area, this production was filmed in the Victorian country towns of Castlemaine and Maldon, which doubles for Riversend in the series.

Arnold says he relished his time shooting there with the show's cast and crew, providing, as it did a welcome change from his solidarity life as an author.

"The beauty of acting is that you generally work for big chunks and then have some big time in between, which is really great for lots of things, but as author it's fantastic," he says.

"I think I enjoy acting more, but writing is working out really well, because I now have this other outlet which is all me and my ideas, and I get to wake up every day and go to work. It feels really freeing and exciting to be able to have my own stuff. But after a few months of being alone in a room with my own mind, it's such a joy to do this other thing."

As long as it's possible, Arnold, who has several projects coming up, says he hopes to be able to continue to straddle these two worlds.

"I get excited about getting to write more stuff, and if opportunities come up as an actor, it can be tempting to do more of then. I have got to keep reminding myself that I have this other career that is on the way up as well", he explains.

"I feel really lucky that this other one is going really well, and I get to bounce back and forth."

Source: The West Australian (paywall)

big thanks to friend from Sunder City server for help with the screenshot!

[newspapers-front-pages]

The West Australian frontpage newspaper about faces of war - Vladimir Putin

[inbarfink]

[omgthatdress]

United States of America! Part 2!

Cowboy boots, Steston Shoe Co., 1910-1920, The FIDM Museum

[dozydawn]

[dance-world]

Joshua Ballinger - West Australian Ballet - photo by Niv Novak

[lovelyballetandmore]

Heath Kolka | West Australian Ballet

[sillystringsimpsons]

Just realised I never shared this omg

Meet the redesigned (and present-day) Jono! I realised I'd originally subconsciously coded him as Aboriginal in some little chunks of experimental writing I made of him and Memphis, and I wanted to make him explicitly so because a) NO SIMPSONS ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIAN CHARACTERS? NOT ONE? b) I thought him having ties to the Stolen Generation (on his mother's side) brought valuable depth to his character (and the Stolen Generation is also something I've wanted to explore a bit in my work) and c) I was already subconsciously writing him as Aboriginal and there's literally only one rough artwork of him made before all the development I gave him, so why go against my instincts for his character?

For context, this is only other appearance in a visual work, back when he was just a two-dimensional placeholder, haha.

[phantomchristinesuk]

Amy Manford in her 3 Christine wigs

(West end, Australia, Greece)

Pictures: Amy Manford instagram

[nelll-s]

New signs for the Free Palestine rallies.

The Albanese/Labor Gov will be remembered as the most craven leadership in Australian history. By not calling for a ceasefire, or applying any pressure on Israel/USA to cease the genocide and illegal occupation of Palestine, it's made clear that Australia has lost its autonomy. We behave as if we are naught but a spineless satellite state for the US. Albo doesn't care to be a leader of a sovereign nation. he'd rather be the gimp on the end of Biden's leash.

[thetismingtrades]

hello! i'm a new trader, and i would love to trade with anyone! my collection is largely & Juliet, which is my special interest, but i would love to grow my collection! i have my lists & rules on my carrd, which can be found here.

i record audios of australian musicals, and i'm happy to trade my audio masters :) i've only really been trading for about a month or so now, and my collections are very small.

my dms are open if anyone wants to trade!

GIFTING: CLOSED

[newsbites]

In AFL news, Essendon captain Zach Merrett will miss the Anzac Day blockbuster in a hammer blow to the Bombers’ hopes of upsetting Collingwood after failing to have his one-match suspension overturned at the AFL tribunal.

[skydarcyedwards]

Jam thief!

It's a silvereye, Zosterops lateralis.

Sky Edwards

2024

Canon R7

Canon EF 100-400 L IS USM

[ruby-dooby-doo-22]

I both can and can’t believe how long this took me to draw. Won’t lie, got tired, gave up on the trees haha.

Not bad for my first Cityscape

~ Digital illustration of Perth City

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #674

West Australian dhufish!

These reef fish are quite long-living, having a lifespan of about 40 years or even more. The dhufish grows slowly during its life, but it can reach an impressive 120 cm (~4 feet) and 25 kg (57 lbs), making it the biggest species of pearl perch (family Glaucosomatidae)!

[coochiequeens]

Women’s safety is more important than men's gender feelz

By Genevieve Gluck April 2, 2024

Recent landslide victories secured by a women’s football team with five trans-identified male players have sparked controversy, leading one club manager to reveal that at least 20 female players have excluded themselves from the sport in recent weeks in order to avoid competing against the men.

Frank Parisi, president of St. Patrick’s Football Club, spoke with Reduxx and revealed a range of problems that had arisen as a result of men playing in women’s football matches, as well as an incident in which a female player’s leg was broken in two places.

The Flying Bats Football Club in North West Sydney, Australia, has on its team five males who identify as transgender. The team was awarded a $1,000 prize after winning the North West Sydney League pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup on March 24, following a season of winning every game they played in the Women’s Premier League matches, 10-0.

As previously revealed by Reduxx, one of the five men on the women’s football team is trans activist Riley Dennis, who was previously accused of severely injuring women while participating on another women’s team. However, the problems created by the male players on The Flying Bats team aren’t limited to safety risks and fair sport for women. Female players have been self-excluding from the sport by the dozens, says Parisi, in order to avoid competing against the trans-identified men.

The information first came to light when an audio recording of Parisi speaking during a meeting on the evening of March 20 was leaked on social media.

The meeting, held at Christie Park, was organized by the Northwest Sydney Football Association in response to an informal discussion among football club presidents that had taken place three days prior. That initial gathering was convened on March 17 in order to address “concerns around how implausible it has become for any team to win against the Flying Bats as well as physical safety concerns.”

In the audio clip, Parisi can be heard describing an incident that took place “a couple of years” prior in which a female player was so severely injured by a trans-identified male player that she was no longer able to participate in the sport.

“A couple of year ago, one of the Flying Bats players broke one of our players’ legs in a game. It was a clumsy tackle from behind. Our player had her leg broken in two places and she’s no longer playing football. It was a direct result of a real bad, tall player… he didn’t get a red card. Accidents happen, but this could have been avoided,” Parisi said at the meeting.

“One of our players rushed over to try to help her, she was screaming in so much pain. At that time, she made a derogatory remark to the Bats player, which we apologized for. [She was] suspended. The Bats player, nothing happened to [him].” Parisi clarified that following this incident, the player was suspended from matches for a total of eight weeks. Parisi further revealed that 24 women had recently withdrawn their registration with his football club as a “direct result” of the possibility of competing in a match against the males on the Flying Bats team. “They’ve all said to me, ‘Frank, we do not want to play against the Bats players.’ I’m going to say it straight, there’s men playing in a women’s competition. And that’s wrong.”

Speaking with Reduxx, the president of St. Patrick’s Football Club confirmed that the player who had broken the female player’s leg was a male playing on a Flying Bats team in the 2022 season, but was unable to provide the personal identities of those involved. He emphasized that the male player could not have been Dennis, despite his history of injuring female opponents, as at the time he had not yet transferred to the Flying Bats from Inter Lions, and that the injury occurred in a different division.

Parisi also explained that of the total of 24 women who deregistered from the St. Patrick’s Football Club within the past several weeks, at least 20 stated that they had done so in response to becoming aware that they would be expected to play against The Flying Bats’ male team members.

“There’s a massive impact. I’m a very small club, we’ve only got seven teams in my club, and now I’ve lost both my women’s teams, and it was a direct result of members of The Flying Bats who were male playing in a female competition,” Parisi told Reduxx, though emphasizing that he was hopeful for an eventual resolution.

There are a total of at least nine trans-identified males playing football within the women’s leagues, “not just the five” in The Flying Bats Women’s Premier League, Parisi added, citing a comment made by another of the club presidents in attendance at the March 20 meeting.

According to regulations put forward by the North West Sydney Football Association (NWSFA), “players may register and participate on the basis of their gender identification.”

“This is not about the sexuality of the players, because I have had a lot of players on my team who are lesbians. So it’s got nothing to do with that. It’s the fact that there is a number of males… It’s more than five. And everyone is just remaining silent on this, and it’s just so wrong in so many ways.”

Last year, after winning a title, one of Parisi’s women’s teams turned down the opportunity to be promoted to the Women’s Premier League, the highest level before players can enter state-based competitions.

A Flying Bats Club Committee Member accepting a Fair Play award following the severe injury of a female player in 2022.

“Our girls played in Women’s All Age One, where there were no Flying Bats players. We then by winning that competition should have been promoted up to Women’s Premier League, and our girls rejected that. They didn’t want to play up in the women’s Premier League, because there was that Flying Bats team stacked full of male players.”

He continued: “I told the association, no, that I’ve lost a lot of players, and we can’t do that. They said, Okay, we’ll put you into All Age One, which is the next level down, a competition that we won last year.”

In 2022, the year in which a female player for St. Patrick’s FC had her leg broken by a trans-identified male associated with The Flying Bats, club president for the latter group, Jen Peden, was honored with a Fair Play award presented by the NWSFA – a fact announced to the club’s Facebook page with the comment, “We play nice.”

Last week, massive public outcry ensued after news broke of the five trans-identified players on the WPL Flying Bats team. In response, LGBTI Rights Australia, a Facebook community with over 250,000 followers, made a public statement mocking “TERF Nazis.”

“Congratulations to The Flying Bats Women’s Soccer Club who recently won the Beryl Ackroyd Cup! Transgender women have been proudly part of the Bats for 20 years, yet it took TERF Nazis up until this week to take notice,” reads the post. An image accompanying the statement is captioned, “To all the transphobes complaining, we suggest you train a bit harder.”

Flying Bats president Jen Peden told Daily Mail Australia last week: “As a club, the Flying Bats FC stand strongly for inclusion, and pride ourselves on safe, respectful and fair play, the promotion of a supportive community for LGBTQIA+ players, officials and supporters, and the significant physical, social and mental health benefits that participation in sport brings, especially to marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are a club that values our cisgender and transgender players equally.”

She continued: “We strongly support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport.”

During the March 20 meeting, which was attended by CEO of Football NSW John Tsatsimas and convened by CEO of NWSF, Matthew Geracitano, attendees were told that a decision to boycott participation by forfeiting matches against The Flying Bats would result in “disciplinary action” being issued.

“If there was a concerted effort by teams to forfeit games against a particular opposition that would be viewed as an act of discrimination,” said Chris Salmon, Chair of the Board of Directors for NWSF. While incidents of discrimination are weighed on a case-by-case basis, possible penalties include suspensions, from as little as two months to two years.

Football Australia’s Anti-Discrimination Policy defines “excluding people on the basis of their sex and / or gender identity status from participation in a competitive sporting activity” as a prohibited form of discrimination.