JONATHON Biggins’ play “Australia Day” focuses on the scuffles of the Coriole Shire Australia Day Organising Committee as it tries to simultaneously navigate both the fraught politics of the day and the complex logistics of a sausage sizzle.
The dingy scout hall set (designed by director Cate Clelland) perfectly captures the flavour of local politics, creating a contrast between the lofty issues the committee debates and their humble resources and capabilities.
Pat Gallagher is perfectly cast as the mayor, a practical and flexible Liberal on the cusp of making a hop into federal politics. His pragmatism makes him the arbiter between the extremists of the group, the openly racist Wally (Neil McLeod) and condescending leftie Helen (Sarah Hull).
Clelland brings out the character in each member of the committee, and while Gallagher gives the most accomplished performance, everyone was convincing as a representative of a type.
Biggins writes excellent dialogue and the play has a great concept, but the plotting is weak: this is not a farce where problems mount, but gag-driven sketch comedy that delves into issues that were sometimes more topical at the play’s 2012 debut.
The play also mounts an enthusiastic defence of casual racism, with the shrill and unlikable Helen a poor balance to Wally’s fiery gravitas. While the play does try to bring left and right together, it is in mutual political sloth rather than genuine compromise.
“Australia Day” has some shonky politics, but the gags and character comedy together make for a fun night of light entertainment.
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![Teacher Vanessa Jones has been living in Higgins since 2001, and while she loves the area, she says she is “fed up” with the neglectful ACT government.
The Higgins shops have been completely abandoned, says Vanessa, preventing the opportunity for residents to have a community-centred space to socialise.
They only received bins nine months ago, she says, and requests for a water station and repairs to the bus station have gone unanswered.
“It’s very, very slow,” says Vanessa.
“I asked for the zebra crossing on Fullagar [Crescent] to be repainted, and we had to wait about six or nine months.
“That’s just such a long time… we pay a lot of rates.”
Vanessa says assistance from the government only seems to go to communities with time-rich and assertive communities, leaving places such as Higgins, where the majority of households have both adults working full-time and English may not be the first language of the family, at an automatic disadvantage.
“If you’ve got two people working, paying a mortgage, raising two or three kids, they don’t have the time,” says Vanessa.
Vanessa says the lack of attention quieter places such as Higgins is receiving is starting to look a lot like favouritism.
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