Port Phillip Review Local

Sarah Gaul will debut her musical theatre at The Butterfly Club this week with bravado, taking aim at everything from those My Family stickers to militant vegans.

The opera-trained 22-year-old has had a rough time of it this year, with a bad break-up followed by dropping out of the VCA after already dumping law school.

“I’ve had a bit of a crisis,” she laughs, flashing a confident smile. “I don’t really know what I’m doing or where I’m going. The one thing that’s certain is this show.”

She could have saved herself a lot of grief if she’d stuck with her gut instinct when she was nine, when her parents dragged her kicking and screaming to see Lisa McCune perform in The Sound of Music. “I sat there for three hours staring open-mouthed at this thing. It was absolutely magical.”

The singing bug stayed and has been the one constant in her life. She started penning her own material at 15 for a school competition. “I was really offended when it didn’t get past the first round. At the same time I’d just discovered who Tim Minchin was, and that was probably the next stage in realising what I wanted to do.”

With My Piano and Me, Gaul harnesses the power of musical comedy to be thought-provoking as well as entertain. “Most of the songs are about things that make me really angry, sad, or things I want people to talk about. It’s a narrative of where I’ve been over the last few years – all over the place.”

One song explores her ongoing commitment to meat, despite her ethical queasiness at some of the conundrums that throws up. “I’m a full-on carnivore myself but I think veganism is fascinating. It becomes almost religious, because vegans try and convert you. My mum’s vegetarian and bleats while I’m eating lamb.”

Those pesky car stickers get lampooned too. “The family opposite me have this big Volvo thing with the mum and dad, four kids, the cat and the dog. The people who made these stickers are probably millionaires now, and that’s extraordinary. Why would you stick them on your car? It’s crazy that it’s even a trend.”

SCHOOLS should shift the emphasis of sex education classes away from “fear, disease and shame” to focus on love and intimacy, according to researchers  at Deakin University.

The study recommends that sex education should start in prep instead of years 5 and 6, but under a co-ordinated approach with parents, teachers and community health organisations.

The study found that 38 per cent of parents surveyed do not want sex ed taught in schools, but nearly 60 per cent  want schools to  give advice on how to  discuss it with their children. Children said they wanted to learn more about love.

Victorian government schools are required to provide sexuality classes as part of physical education and health lessons, although each school designs its own program.

Deakin Burwood researcher Dr Debbie Ollis said every student had a right to sex education and schools needed programs that were age-appropriate and culturally sensitive.

The findings come after a sex ed program was introduced to 1700 prep to year 9 students at Geelong’s Northern Bay P-12 College.

Dr Ollis said schools still needed to address issues  such as sexually transmitted infections, contraception and discrimination, but was surprised at how much  students wanted to learn about love.

“In school-based programs, they forget about how important it is to learn about issues like love and intimacy,” she said. “By the time students move through primary school, they should have a sound understanding. They should have a positive view of sexuality rather than a negative one steeped in fear and shame.”

Education and parenting consultant Shona Bass agreed that a whole-school approach was needed,  but said topics such as personal space and relationships were “the sorts of things which should come out naturally in the curriculum”.

“Basing research on what children say they want is tricky to interpret accurately. Most [primary students] would have no idea what sex ed is,” Dr Bass said.

Parents Victoria chief executive Gail McHardy said, “Whatever schools deliver has to be done in consultation with the school community. Not everyone is going to feel comfortable.”

Anti-US protests by crowds whipped into fury by a film that mocks Islam erupted across the Muslim world, as violence exploded in Sudan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Yemen leaving five dead on Friday and dozens injured.The protests broke out when Muslims emerged from mosques following the main weekly prayers to voice their anger at the anti-Islam film made in the United States.President Barack Obama vowed Friday to stand fast against anti-US violence in the Arab world, as he witnessed the return to US soil of the remains of four Americans killed in Libya.Their sacrifice will never be forgotten, we will bring to justice those who took them from us. We will stand fast against the violence on our diplomatic missions, Obama said at Andrews Air Force base outside Washington.In Khartoum, guards on the roof of the US embassy fired warning shots as a security perimeter was breached by dozens of Islamic flag-waving protesters, part of a crowd of thousands who had earlier stormed the British embassy and set fire to the German mission, an AFP reporter said.

A police vehicle near the US embassy was also torched as hundreds of demonstrators broke through an outer security cordon after one protester was hit by a police vehicle and killed, a medic and the reporter said.The body of another protester was later found outside the embassy compound, but the circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.Police had earlier fired volleys of tear gas in a bid to prevent the 10,000-strong crowd marching on the US embassy after they had swarmed over the German mission, tearing down the flag to replace it with a black Islamist one before torching the building.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso condemned the embassy attacks as against the rules of the civilised world.Nothing justifies these kinds of attacks, he said.In Tunis, police firing live rounds and tear gas drove angry protesters from the US embassy, some of whom had stormed the compound, with clashes there killing at least two people, an AFP journalist said.The demonstrators had managed to clamber over a wall after setting several vehicles alight. Protesters also ransacked and torched an American school in Tunis, the TAP news agency reported.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki in a television address called the attack an unacceptable act against a friendly country.Violence also erupted in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, where a crowd of 300 Islamists attacked and set fire to a KFC restaurant, sparking clashes with police in which one person died and 25 were injured, security sources said.The attack came as Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Lebanon for a three-day visit, calling for Christian-Muslim coexistence and attacking religious extremism.And with tempers boiling across the Muslim world over the movie since the US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on an American consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday, the Pentagon said it has sent a team of Marines to Yemen.The announcement came as tension spiraled again in Yemens capital Sanaa, with security forces firing warning shots and water cannon to disperse crowds trying to reach the American embassy.Security forces blocked all roads to the mission, after similar confrontations left four people dead on Thursday, an AFP reporter said.With much of the anger directed at the United States, where the film was made reportedly by a Coptic Christian and promoted by a rightwing pastor, Washington had earlier ordered heightened security at its embassies worldwide.

We’ve all been there. You’ve considered all the requirements, spent quality time with your whiteboard, consulted with colleagues, even muttered to yourself while walking the dog.

It’s time to conquer a particularly thorny area of a client’s new website.

You develop a prototype, and over the following days, weeks, and months, you poke it, prod it, tear it down, and build it back up…only to very closely resemble the prototype you developed in the first place!

When working with clients on complicated areas of a new website—whether it a be a multi-faceted product table for a financial services company or an index of programs and departments for a major university—we start by developing an initial approach the client can take around the block a few times. And more often than not, we end up right where we started.

It may sound like a waste of time, but it isn’t. This process enables the client to “try on” different permutations of their site; exploring what doesn’t work is just as important as learning what does.

Critical to a successful website project is ensuring the process remains collaborative, interactive, and efficient. ProtoShare, as a cloud-based prototyping tool, allows clients to experience their prototype at a high-enough fidelity to draw real conclusions: “reviewer mode” allows clients (and test users) to initiate conversations about particular elements of the prototype, and the “multiple design” feature makes it easy to archive previous iterations. Ending where you started is just a click away.

In the end, this process gives our clients what they need to move ahead with confidence. And with a tool like ProtoShare, people like us can remain efficient (and calm!) as we circle the solution with our clients.

Port Melbourne Colts’s WRFL season is over after a devastating five-point loss to Hoppers Crossing.

WHILE Prime Minister Julia Gillard is on her education ”crusade” in the west, Kevin Rudd has been making himself highly visible at schools – and giving students some pastoral advice for when ”you run into brick walls in life”.

The former PM has visited four schools in the past two days – he will be at four more this week – keeping followers up on what he’s been doing through Twitter and YouTube videos.

In his tweeting Mr Rudd has highlighted his government’s ”building the education revolution” program, rather than the Gonski reforms on which Ms Gillard is concentrating. ”Fantastic morning at St Ita’s at Dutton Park. St Ita’s has used Oz Govt school funding to build a fantastic new library,” he said.

Mr Rudd has noticeably lifted his profile in the past fortnight, although his prospects of getting the leadership have receded as Labor has marginally improved in the polls, and Ms Gillard has got onto a more positive agenda after the start of the carbon tax. The apparent poll improvement stalled yesterday, however, when the ALP primary vote in Newspoll fell from 35 per cent to 33 per cent.

When he addressed students at Iona College in Brisbane on Monday, Mr Rudd said many young people asked him what they should do to go into politics. ”My answer to them is as follows. ‘Tell me, young man, young woman, what do you believe in and why?’

”And the second question I ask them: ‘Well, if you know what you believe in and why, then ask yourself this question – what can I do about it?’ And then the third question I put to them is: ‘OK, what are you now going to do about it? Yourself, in your life, where you are?’ ”

In a backhander to certain colleagues, Mr Rudd said that too often he ran into people in political life, including in his own party, who could not answer that question properly.

Musing on his own political career he said, to the amusement of his audience: ”It’s been full of a few ups, and a few downs – mainly downs in recent times. Have you ever been – not too much laughter up the back there – a member of your college football team when you’ve come in first, and it’s premiers in one season, and you’ve dropped to the bottom of the table the next season?

”Life’s like that. It’s not just one even, smooth trajectory to the top of whatever you’re doing. So when you run into brick walls in life … things that go wrong, things that happen which you’re not planning on, the really important thing is to go back to those basics of ‘What do I believe in and why? And therefore, what should I do about it?’ ” His office said he had a standard address for school students about values and what motivated them.

Yesterday he tweeted one of his favourite lines: ”More than a fair shake of the sauce bottle out at the Griffith Uni Young Labor BBQ today.” On the accompanying video he said: ”I really appreciate their support, and as we head towards the next federal election I’m going to need their support.”

Lauren Bloch, winner of a Discover Your Own Backyard Campaign contest, with Port Phillip mayor Rachel Powning and Neil Croker from St Kilda Tourism Association.

Mrs Bloch, 30, said Balaclava’s superb craft beer and coffee offerings were what made the neighbourhood stand out from the crowd.

She won a $650 prize package including dinner for two at St Kilda’s Donovans and Stokehouse restaurants and tickets for the Palais theatre.

The campaign, which encourages locals to get out and about in their own area, is being run by Destination Melbourne and Port Phillip council.

POWER House is through to the semi finals of rugby union’s Dewar Shield after a remarkable 32-5 win over Harlequin on Saturday.

Harlequin finished third on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season while Power House came sixth. The teams met in the final home-and-away round, when Harlequin won 20-17.

The reversal in the finals a week later means Power House will now meet unbeaten minor premiers Melbourne in the next stage.

Against Harlequin, a Tom Gilbert try in the first 10 minutes to give Power House the best possible start and they led 20-5 at half-time.

They then held Harlequin scoreless in the second half as they ran in another two tries. Coach Paul Hamer said it was an outstanding win for Power House.

“Our workrate, our discipline, our desire to work for each other and our support for the ball-carrier was paramount,” he said.

He said the narrow loss to Harlequin the previous week had helped.

“We knew their strengths and weaknesses and we played to our strengths a lot better than they did,” he said.

He said the Melbourne match would be a huge challenge.

“It’ll be a cracking match,” he said.

A PROPOSAL to build a $5 million footbridge over Queens Road to link St Kilda Road residential and commercial areas with Albert Park has been thrown open to the public.

Residents have until September 2 to comment on the proposal, designed to help pedestrians and cyclists cross the busy road into Albert Park.

There is no pedestrian access to the park along the two-kilometre stretch of Queens Road, which is fenced off between Kings Way and Lakeside Drive.

The structure would replace the temporary footbridge installed each year for the grand prix. The council’s report recommended the bridge, expected to cost $4.2 to $5 million, be built at Hanna Street or Arthur Street because of good public transport links.

The south side of Hanna Street is considered most practical because it is closer to the “mid-point” between signalised crossings at Kings Way and Lakeside Drive.

Arthur Street was also being considered but concerns from residents overlooking the footbridge ramps have been identified as a possible problem. Junction ward councillor John Middleton, who is lobbying for a permanent footbridge over Queens Road, said Arthur Street was the best location for the structure because it provided access to a range of activities.

Port Phillip council plans to seek state government funding for the project if it is approved. Details: visit portphillip.vic.gov.au/haveyoursay

BEAU DONELLY

POLICE will investigate an illegal prostitution business that advertises on Chinese social media and operates in Melbourne’s top hotels.

Following a Review Local investigation, website Sweetybabe.net shut down – but it has assured its

clients it will be back in business.

The mobile-brothel operator closed its website after an article was published last week exposing its operations at three hotels, including Crown Metropol, Hotel Grand Chancellor and Flagstaff City. All three have denied any knowledge of illegal prostitution.

Last week Sweetybabe assured its clients via Chinese-language social networking website QQ that it was not under police investigation.

“We have been checking every day,” one of Sweetybabe’s posts said. “We are not being investigated.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the police were “committed to investigating all reports of matters of this nature and will look into the allegations made in the article”.

She would not provide details of ongoing investigations, but said translators were available to Police.

“We are seeing illegal activities conducted in new ways such as via websites and social media,” the spokeswoman said.

“Victoria Police is adopting appropriate strategies to meet these

changing dynamics.”

Sweetybabe’s closure sparked heated discussion on QQ among Sweetybabe clients.

In one post, Sweetybabe quoted from the Review Local article that the former head of Victoria Police’s Sex Industry Coordination Unit (SICU), Inspector Trevor Cornwill, confirmed the website and its operator were not on the unit’s radar.

SICU was set up to Victoria’s illegal brothels.

In another post, Sweetybabe told a group with 183 members that the sex workers had been “exposed” but they were still available.

The Sweetybabe website was set up in February, a day before SICU – the leading police agency for investigations into Victoria’s multi-million-dollar illegal prostitution industry – was established.

Sweetybabe increased its number of sex workers to 19 last week and were advertising as having girls available in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. A mobile phone app was due for release before the website shut down.

Sweetybabe advertises its services to “white-collar” clients. “We are the busiest in all Australia,” the website boasted before it closed.