LIKE ME, the average Australian is wondering why there’s so much fuss over gay marriage. And you know there’s a fuss when federal politicians decide they must have a conscience vote over it . But what’s this got to do with their conscience? The legal recognition of same-sex unions is a pragmatic decision; it’s about whether or not you want to change the meaning of marriage within the Marriage Act.

If you’re religious or archly conservative then you want to stick with the centuries-old concept that marriage is a legal union between a man and a woman, with the aim of having children. If you’re not religious and of liberal views, then you see no problem in a legalistic re-draft of the Marriage Act to include unions of same sex couples.

Sadly, Australian politicians who are leading this debate have taken a ‘winner takes all’ approach: either same sex marriage or no national and legal recognition of same sex unions.

The last few decades have shown the reality that gay couples are stable and can raise healthy, well-adjusted children. If you have any doubt about this I suggest you view a young American’s passionate Facebook support of his lesbian parents. It is astonishingly honest, articulate and heart-felt: http://frontmoveon.org/two lesbians-raised-a-baby-and-this-is-what-they-got/#

Same-sex marriage is a growing trend across the world, even in countries that have strong religious and moral codes. These include Canada, South Africa and Argentina, as well as Portugal, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Iceland.

That doesn’t mean we have to follow suit of course, but it does mean we should separate the facts of how we recognise gay couples, from the ongoing emotional fear and loathing of homosexuality.

I fail to see how bringing in a politician’s’ conscience helps this kind of debate. It suggests falling back on privately-held belief systems that rate right against wrong, good against bad, and outmoded, gut rejection moral views of homosexuality that dictate … it just ain’t natural.

The reality is that our scientific and psychological knowledge of sexuality has deepened to the point where we no longer regard homosexuality as an illness to be cured.

Despite more enlightened views and a majority of Australians favouring same-sex marriage, many gay couples still feel rejected because it is Australian law that rejects them. There is a sense that their relationship is not valid or is of a lesser value than heterosexual unions. Certainly federal laws, including the Marriage Act reflect this rejection. They deny same-sex couples basic financial and work-related entitlements because as couples they are simply not a man and a woman.

Same-sex couples and families get fewer leave entitlements, less workers’ compensation, fewer tax concessions, fewer veterans entitlements, fewer health care subsidies and less superannuation. They also pay more for residential aged care than opposite-sex couples in the same circumstances.

There are between 20-30,000 same sex couples in Australia with up to 10 per cent of those couples caring for children. So, clearly the country cannot go on ignoring this social change, because it won’t go away.

Lawyer Michael Sexton has a different take. He says that the institution of marriage is basically worthless, and has lost almost all of its use in Western society.

He asks, even if the High Court were to find in favour of the term marriage covering same-sex unions, “why would anyone now want to adopt a status that has no legal or social significance in present-day Australia?”

I think Michael underestimates how important many people still view a stable relationship sanctioned by the state. We know too that the divorce rate is levelling off in Australia, and formal weddings … civil and religious … are on the rise. (In fact, far more civil than religious).

As the new year begins and the gay marriage conscience vote nears, let’s hope we can stick to a pragmatic debate without the emotion of irrational fears, homophobia and discimination.

As one woman internet blogger on this debate says: “Babies are born of same-sex couples, and no babies are born of heterosexual marriages. Surely your God doesn’t discriminate – well mine doesn’t.”

Michael Berry

The Christmas hamper was filled with $600 worth of locally produced food products along with a couple of bottles of French bubbly. The surprised winner is Greg Freney of Chevallum whose lucky ticket came from Maleny’s Concept IT Systems.

Greg had bought a small laptop computer from Concept IT and believes in being loyal to local traders. He says he will share the contents of the huge hamper with his father and the rest of his extended family over Christmas and the new year.

Second prize winners of the dozen bottles of mixed wines were Elsie and Trevor Mulvena of Maleny. Elsie’s lucky ticket was in Maleny Jewellers where she had just bought a pair of stud ear rings. Elsie was shocked when told of her win as she said this was the first prize she had won in her life.

The third prize winner of the locally, cured ham, ham sack and jar of French mustard, is Sarah McMahon. Sarah was in Melbourne when told of her win, but her partner Peter and son James collected the prize on her behalf.

Sarah had been shopping in Sweets on Maple when she filled out her winning entry. Sarah, Peter and James live in Nambour.

The Hinterland Times congratulates all our winners and thanks all those who are committed to shopping locally across the Blackall Range.

Eye of the Storm and The Hunter have been nominated in multiple categories, including best film, for the 2011 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards (AACTA).

Eye of the Storm

120 min M15+ Friday 20 January – 8.30pm

Judy Morris has translated Patrick White’s droll and penetrating prose perfectly to the screen in this adaptation of The Eye of the Storm. The film opens in a grand old mansion in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in 1973, where wealthy matriarch Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling) is dying. Her two adult children, Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis), have reluctantly returned from their respective expatriate locations to be at her side. Although middle-aged, they are still as children, trapped in the emotional web spun by their selfish and manipulative mother.

Long-suppressed but still raw family tensions are re-inflamed and complicated by the around-the-clock presence of Elizabeth’s nurses and her housekeeper (Helen Morse). Valiant family solicitor (John Gaden) is a placatory influence.

Fred Schepisi directs with supreme assurance, turning out an elegant, enjoyably florid last word in dysfunctional family dynamics, and there’s no questioning the across-the-board quality of the film’s rich array of nuanced performances, especially from the three leads.

Face to Face

120min M15+ Saturday 21 January – 3.00pm

Based on a play written by David Williamson and adapted by director Michael Rymer, Face to Face is an intense drama, in the vein of the classic Twelve Angry Men, but following the progress of a dispute-resolution session instead of a courtroom drama. Flashbacks are used to reveal the actions that have brought the characters together.

What appears simple at the start – an angry young man lashing out against his boss for firing him – grows in complexity and intensity as the characters reveal motives and grudges, weaknesses and ambitions that have been festering beneath the surface. As new revelations emerge, the audience is forced to shift their moral alignment.

The screenplay is funny, moving and brilliantly structured. It shines a light on contemporary Australian society and attitudes. The strong ensemble cast includes Vince Colosimo, Sigrid Thornton, Matthew Newton and Luke Ford (Black Balloon, Red Dog), whose raw performance as the central character is perfectly pitched. A powerful, engaging film delivering insight and emotional punch.

The Hunter

100min M Saturday 21 January – 8.00pm

Martin (Willem Dafoe), an industrial mercenary, is sent from Europe by a biotech company to track down the last Tasmanian tiger, wanted for its DNA. In Tasmania local veteran Jack (Sam Neill), arranges for Martin to be based at a remote house with the despondent wife (Frances O’Connor) and spirited children of a missing zoologist.

While Martin lays traps in the Tasmanian wilderness and waits, he builds a friendship with the family, who are watched over constantly, in a possessive way, by Jack. In time, the prevailing environmental conflict (greens versus loggers) and his developing connection to the family and the wilderness, force Martin to confront the reality of his work and personal morality, with dramatic consequences.

Based on an award- winning novel by Julia Leigh, The Hunter has been skillfully crafted by director Daniel Nettheim. Exquisite wilderness scenery and a nuanced soundtrack help to create a dense and compelling claustrophobic atmosphere in this tense eco-thriller.

International drama and documentary filmmaker, Robyn Hofmeyr has combined with Sunshine Coast hinterland Gubi Gubi elder, Bev Hand to produce an intriguing look beneath the surface of Bev’s ancestral land.

Robyn, who directed the confronting Women and War documentary, has employed her directorial skills on this portrait of a hinterland unknown to most white residents.

Here, Robyn describes the making of Walk Talking Country.

BEVERLY asked me if I would assist her to make a film. It was also a personal initiative of mine – I had been out with Bev before and I thought I would love to help her promote her cultural tours.

Beverley Hand performing at the Bunya Dreaming Festival

In the 26 minute film “Walk, talking Country” Beverly Hand, a Kabi Kabi woman, guides us through the Maleny Hinterland, pointing out the significance of local flora and educating us about the Indigenous knowledge of the region.

Beverly pays particular reference to the social, historical, environmental and cultural significance of the Bunya trees that are now scattered around the Blackall ranges. When the Bunya trees were heavy with nuts, Indigenous people would travel certain pathways across the land to the Blackall Ranges where the biggest Bunya trees were located. Beverly recreates the Bunya Festivals in a contemporary way every January to keep this ancient gathering alive. People come from far and wide to the Boroon Pocket dam to celebrate with her.

In the film we follow her along ancient and modern pathways across the Blackall Ranges, through old forests, to the now submerged sites of the Bunya Gatherings that were held at the Baroon Pocket area for centuries. Beverly points out plants and describes some of the ways her ancestors would use them. We see and learn how healthy landscapes

made healthy people and that contained within the landscape are all the natural resources necessary for a healthy life – medicine, fire making, shelter, fibre, nutrition etc.

“Walk talking Country” is a film about aboriginal tradition, culture and the environment. It is also a visual journey through a spectacular landscape.

Making the film has been a real challenge. It is a big story – Beverly Hand is a great storyteller, she is one of the conveyors of the oral traditions and legends of the Maleny Hinterland and Coastal areas. The challenge has been to tell her story in 26 minutes and to capture the beauty and highlight the diversity of this wonderful landscape as well as making sure the film has a strong narrative structure. I have been hampered by a shoestring budget, the weather and our work commitments but with the support of Beverly, my editor, good friends and family I have managed to produce a film that I hope gives viewers an insight into some of the Indigenous knowledge of the region.

Beverley Hand (left) and Aunty Gambril at the Bunya Dreaming Festival.

Peter assures us that the oven works efficiently with the oven being raised and lowered electrically from its steel platform.

“The problem,” says Peter, “is, that the oven is a bit too unwieldy and large for a suburban backyard, and it gets shaded a lot of the time by the surrounding buildings and trees, which impairs the overall efficiency. So, I have decided to donate the oven to a person or organisation in a rural setting, as that would make the most sense. Peter assures us that over Christmas he was able to roast a turkey.

Peter is willing to donate his solar oven to a Hinterland community organisation which believes it could make good use of it.

If you are interested contact the Hinterland Times editor: editor@hinterlandtimes.com.au

Peter says the oven can be disassembled into manageble ‘chunks’ for moving. “I own a stationwagon, it would simply mean another ute and some willing manpower.”

Sam Lucas keeps his eye on a musical future

SAM LUCAS is a young cellist with a career as a classical musician that is well mapped out into the future. His success seems assured not only because of a natural talent but a strong determination to succeed through rigorous practice.

“The constant practice is not a chore for Sam,” says his father Ian Lucas, who with wife Lee run the remarkable Lucas Parklands concert venue in the middle of their Montville rainforest property.

“Practice is something he actually enjoys,” adds Ian. ”In fact it’s Sam’s practice ethic that has allowed him to improve at the rate he has.”

Sam has recently been accepted to compete in the ABC Young Performer Awards in 2012.

Round one is on 30 January and at 15 years old, Sam is apparently one of the youngest to be accepted into the competition. In this round he’ll be required to play a solo recital.

Round two, on 31 March requires a full concerto to be played from memory. If successful after that, the same concerto would be performed in Round three with an ABC orchestra – either the Tasmanian Symphony or Western Australia Symphony. This is Australia’s most prestigious competition and Sam is the first entrant from the Sunshine Coast. Winners of this competition usually go on to become Conservatorium graduates.

Sam has been positively influenced by artists at Lucas Parklands, and has been accompanied by some of the world’s best pianists.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to play with these artists,” says Sam, “and to observe their professionalism and hear their wonderful stories of performing in great concert halls around the world – it makes me try harder.”

The highlights of Sam’s coming year include a master class in Paris with Martine Bailly, principal cellist of the Paris Opera Orchestra. Sam met Martine at the International Cello Festival in Adelaide earlier this year.

Sam will also receive cello lessons in September with leading Bulgarian cellist, Plovdiv.

“I am very lucky to grow up in a musical home,” says Sam, “where every day music is played, discussed and performed.

“Maleny, Montville and Mapleton are all thriving artistic centres,” he adds. “It’s a fantastic learning environment and there are talented people who understand my ambitions.”

Sam doesn’t see that hours of practice mean a loss of social life. He has many interests other than music, having recently joined a local archery club to improve his technique, meet new friends and join their social competitions.

He’s a keen basketball player and will join his team at Nambour Christian College in the Sunshine Coast school competition. Fishing, go kart racing and athletics fill any spare time.

Sam has high ambitions for his musical career and his parents, Ian and Lee, hope he is able to realise his dream of becoming a professional cellist.

“It’s a very exciting time in his life,” says his mother Lee, “and he’s impatient to start university studies- he’s ready to go and we wish him the very best on his journey.”

2011 Wootha Prize judges, Norm Richards, Ashley Sewell and John Whan with last year’s winner, Sandra Skodnik. Her winning entry (inset) is a hardcarved camphor laurel sculpture called Nature’s Design.

THANKS to the support of committed sponsors for the 2012 Wootha Prize, significant cash prize awards will be made to this year’s winners.

Forestry Plantations Queensland, Landcare Queensland and Wasabi Marketing, Maleny, have all committed increased prize monies for the Wootha Prize during this year’s Maleny Wood Expo.

A first prize of $2,500 is generously sponsored by Forestry Plantations Queensland, with Landcare Queensland offering a second prize of $750, and Wasabi Marketing, a third prize of $500.

A $500 People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Forestry Plantations Queensland, will be offered for the first time in 2012.

Judges will also nominate artists to receive the coveted Design Excellence and Craftsmanship Awards.

The Wootha Prize forms the feature exhibition at the annual Maleny Wood Expo, held at the Maleny Showgrounds in early May, and in the past has attracted entries from as far away as Western Australia.

The 2012 competition theme – “One Door” – is open to artistic interpretation, and entries may be contemporary or traditional in design. All works must be constructed of sustainably harvested Australian timbers, or recycled or weed timbers, and may incorporate other mediums.

The Maleny Wood Expo is also accepting applications from woodworkers interested in having a site at the 2012 event.

2012 Wootha Prize Application forms can be downloaded from http://www.malenywoodexpo.org.au

Both Wootha Prize and Exhibitor Application forms can be accessed by contacting Steve McLeish on 0428 674 335 or steve@malenywoodexpo.org.au

Applications for the 2012 Wootha Prize competition are due at the Barung Landcare office in Maleny by Friday 24 February.

SUNSHINE COAST Council will sign a commercial lease with Barung Landcare for the lease of land in Landsborough for a new plant nursery.

Barung Landcare is committed to building a native plant nursery in Landsborough that will supply the surrounding area with tube stock from locally collected seed.

President of the Barung Landcare Association, Eric Anderson said that Council acknowledged the assistance of Cr Anna Groskreutz in making the land available.

“Cr Anna has helped with our vision to turn this abandoned ostrich farm into a native plant nursery,” Mr Anderson said.

“Many volunteers have worked hard last year removing weeds, painting offices and removing rubbish.

“Council has helped by levelling two large pads and providing road base so that a propagation and tube stock hardening off area can be installed.

“Barung Landcare has 800 members, we run workshops, organise community tree plantings and teach environmental awareness in schools.

“We are always looking for more volunteers and could use an excavator and bulldozer at the moment to further progress the development of the nursery,” Mr Anderson added.

There’s no doubt the Chinese are coming; but we’re not ready for them on the Coast and Hinterland, and I think we should be.

I’m not advocating direct flights into Maroochy from Shanghai, or erecting Mandarin signs on our beaches, but I do think we should be on the same page when it comes to the enormous value of international tourism.

Look at it this way. The Coast’s traditional job creators are urban construction, retail sales and tourism. Everyone agrees it’s a pretty thin portfolio even though for years councillors and business development gurus have tried to plant new industries, they’ve seen most of them wither on the vine.

Right now, government and council are actually saying to anyone in the construction industry – “Go north or west young man, the mines are calling.” It’s not exactly the best economic planning model, but we’ve had the boom here, now here comes the bust. Construction as a job creator has collapsed.

As for retail sales, the only activity in many stores from Coast to Hinterland right now is the sound of their piped music. That’s because, say social commentators, we are putting our money in the bank instead of through the tills. You and me feel that really bad economic times are ahead. So, that leaves only tourism with any real growth potential for our region.

I personally think that attracting visitors is the most beneficial long-term future for the Sunshine Coast because it is based on protecting and enhancing our environmental assets. It also supports those businesses that attract visitors – anything connected with the ocean, accommodation, sports venues including golf, the burgeoning natural/organic food growers, artisan craft shops and galleries, restaurants, major entertainment events, theme parks, gardens – indeed anything that makes us look, taste and feel good.

So where does China come in? Well, if you gave an overseas airline ticket to every man woman and child in the UK and they all left Heathrow at once … that’s how many Chinese are travelling overseas in a year … more than 60 million. It’s staggering I know and Queensland is starting to get its fare share.

China is already Queensland’s third-largest international market and one of the fastest growing, with nearly 200,000 Chinese visiting in the 12 months to the end of June this year, 25% more than the previous year. And boy, can they spend. Chinese travellers handed over $381 million on their trips to Queensland in the year ending June 2011 – $48 million more than the previous year.

That’s because there’s now an enormous Chinese middle class who want to travel. As for the seriously rich, in Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai alone there are almost 500,000 millionaires.

Coast tourism bosses have had their sights on the Chinese tourism market for some time, while mining billionaire Clive Palmer unveiled plans to make his recently acquired Hyatt Regency Coolum resort a focus for Chinese visitors. Good for Clive but there is still a lot to do says the new head of Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd, Steve Cooper.

A group of Chinese travel agents I spoke to recently on the Range were polite but underwhelmed by the overall quality of accommodation and public facilities. One even commented that there wasn’t a really good Chinese restaurant on the Coast.

Apart from private investment, part of creating a vibrant tourism industry is building public infrastructure – roads, light rail, commuter services, and public facilities at parks, gardens and beaches.

Remember too, that whatever we do to create a more attractive Coast to attract Chinese, Kiwi or American visitors, we also create a better place for ourselves as residents.

Michael Berry

Dr Greg Blackley with Keith Hopper (left) and Jason Gruenefeld

DR GREG Blackley from Sports Medicine Australia (Qld ) recently awarded Keith Hopper and Jason Gruenefeld both from Maleny with diplomas awarded from the Australian College of Strength and Conditioning.

Greg said Keith and Jason’s awards as Strength and Conditioning coaches was the culmination of 24 months of hard training, and dedication to their sports training.

Greg told HT that Keith and Jason were two of only seven students to have completed the professional diploma since the course started in 2006.

Keith Hopper represented Australia at the recent World Masters, competing in the 100 metre sprint. He also has Australian records in Powersports (Bicep Curls 80kg and Bench Press 200kg). Jason has an Australian record in Powersports with an equally impressive Dead Lift of 200kg, a Chest Press of 200kg x 40 reps.

Both can be found ruining their clients ragged or at Bodytime Fitness Studio, Rainforest Plaza, Maleny.