Perth Voice Interactive

PERTH comic Sean Conway has apologised and paid $2000 to fellow comic Jimmy Kuratz over an attempted joke on social media after the latter complained he had been defamed.

Conway had posted to a 30-odd member Facebook group created in the build-up to last December’s Flying Camel comedy awards at the Bassendean Hotel.

But Kuratz (the stage name of Jeremy Giuntini) says he didn’t consider the post a joke at all, describing it as a “serious allegation”.  He had his lawyer send a “concerns notice” to Conway outlining his complaint and seeking redress.

Conway agreed to pen an apology stating an allegation in the post was untrue and to not repeat it.

“This has been a pretty stressful couple of months, and I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Conway posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

Fellow comedian Craig Quartermaine started a Gofundme page to help out Conway, who runs the Canned Comedy charity food collection nights at the Comedy Lounge and other local venues.

Doomed

“Despite it being constantly under strain and doomed to inevitably be drowned in Monster Energy drink, Sean’s heart is huge and caring,” Quartermaine wrote.

Comedians and friends rallied around and hit the $3000 target in half a day, covering the settlement plus Conway’s own legal bill.

The Arts Law Centre of Australia says the limits for how far comedians can push their material are “unclear” because of the complex nature of Australia’s defamation laws, but notes people have sued over poems, novels, cartoons, paintings, photographs, artistic criticisms, songs and satire.

“Words obviously intended only as a joke may be reasonably safe, but there may be a problem if there are underlying defamatory facts understood by the audience,” the centre said in a defamation law fact sheet.

It warns social media is rife with defamation, and anyone republishing defamatory comments could also be sued (which is why you won’t be reading what Conway said here).

Kuratz, who co-founded Flying Camel, won gongs for “friendliest comedian” and “game/scene changer” at the awards.

by DAVID BELL

JIMMY KURATZ says he pushes the boundaries of comedy by using harsh material and “offensive jokes”.

“The content of these jokes is morally reprehensible, I accept that, but that is the reason I was doing these jokes, to see; could I push them over the line despite the content,” Kuratz said in a video posted earlier this year.

In a show in August last year using his “harshest material on purpose… coz I had something to express,” Kuratz told a joke he later described as his favourite of the evening.

“Apparently, we can’t use the word ‘retard’ anymore. Now they insist we call them ‘feminists’. Hahahahaha — I know that is brilliant.”

He posted a couple of days earlier: “I love getting people to involuntarily laugh out loud as they say to themselves, “what the f**k is wrong with this c**t?!?!?!?!”

“When they laugh against their will & in direct conflict to their own philosophy, I suspect it will force them to examine the narrative by which they live their lives. That is a service worth providing to humanity, in my opinion.”

Earlier this year, another video from a live gig contained an “offensive joke” that “got a good laugh” about a local transgender comedian, though he bleeped out the comic’s name for the internet.

Ugly woman

Kuratz told the audience he thought he’d recognised the comedian recently, but after getting up close realised “it was just a really ugly woman”.

He explained in the video his belief that audiences were more forgiving about his objectionable jokes if he’d established that he didn’t really hold the views he was espousing.

“They will let me get away with almost anything, if they know I’m not coming from a place of anger, that I’m just having a jovial good time.”

BEING told by a professional photographer that WA was “culturally sterile” inspired local Dale Neil to create the Fremantle International Portrait Prize.

Now in its fifth year, the biennial competition receives thousands of entries from across the globe and has $20,000 in prizes and cash up for grabs.

Mr Neil, a professional snapper who also lectures on photography, says the competition “is easily the biggest photo art award in WA, and one of the biggest in the nation. Last year we had a million hits on our website.”

FIPP is the only international portrait photo comp open to amateurs and professionals of all ages; and the pros don’t always win.

The competition rules on what constitutes a “portrait” are pretty loose, only stating it must be “a human or part of a human being”.

Judges are looking for an imaginative eye and entrants shouldn’t look at what won last time, says Mr Neil.

“If a photo of a pregnant lady wins, next year there are 50 shots of pregnant ladies.”

In 2017, for the first time, the competition had a category for portraits taken using a mobile phone.

“We are trying to encourage mums and dads, who take photos in their backyard, to enter,” Mr Neil says.

“It doesn’t have to be a fancy set up and staged; an authentic, emotional image can often outweigh highly technical stuff.”

The competition is run by a team of more than 50 volunteers and proceeds go to Arthritis & Osteoporosis WA and the Kai Eardley Foundation, which provides support for young people with mental health problems.

The closing date for the competition is July 7. For more details go to fipp.org.au

by JENNY D’ANGER

THERE’S good news for commuters struggling to get from public transport to their CBD offices on time.

Signal changes at two of the city’s busiest intersections – William/Hay and William/Murray Streets – have created twice as many crossing opportunities for pedestrians.

Gaye McMath, deputy chair commissioner of Perth council, said the changes would create a better experience for pedestrians.

“A key objective within the City of Perth’s transport strategy is the aspiration to develop a more walkable and pedestrian friendly city,” she said.

“Significant work has been undertaken with Main Roads WA to reduce traffic signal cycle times and now additional pedestrian phases have been introduced.

“The city has closely analysed the signal sequences at these intersections and determined that additional pedestrian phases will significantly improve walkability without materially impacting on vehicle traffic.

“During the weekday peak-hour periods, over 2000 people cross at each of these intersections, making them the city’s busiest locations for foot traffic.”

Pedestrians and motorists are advised to take extra caution while people adapt to the new signal sequences.

IT’S taken a little while to switch the lights on but the Vincent Street pedestrian crossing near Beatty Park is now in working order, reuniting two halves of a neighbourhood split by the busy street.

It was one of three crossings installed as election pledges by Perth MP John Carey.

“People say these are only small things, but to the community, getting your kids across the road safely is important, and it is stressful for parents having to cross a busy road,” Mr Carey said.

In June he’ll be launching a Perth-wide online survey to identify pedestrian safety hotspots.

“It is the hot issue when I doorknock,” Mr Carey said.

Vincent council’s in the midst of a long-term attempt to wrest the streets back from cars: On April 29 they started a two-year trial of 40kmh speed zones in all the residential roads south of Vincent Street.

POLICE are hunting a burglar following a series of late-night break-ins around shops in Perth, Northbridge and Subiaco on May 5.

The man, who was captured on CCTV, used an unknown implement to smash a glass window to gain entry to the premises before crawling, sliding and wriggling along the floor.

A lap top computer, cash and keys were stolen from the locations after the man searched through drawers, shelves and cupboards.

The man is described as light skinned, thin/medium build, with facial hair and black-rimmed glasses.

Anyone who recognises him or saw something suspicious on Sunday should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto http://www.crimestoperswa.com.au

MORE than 80 Stirling residents have “adopted” a local park after a recruitment blitz by the local council during March and April.

Park adopters keep any eye out for issues like graffiti, broken equipment and over-full bins and report them to the city, enabling faster response times and repairs.

Residents can join the Adopt-a-Park program at any time, but the recent recruitment drive boosted the amount of people looking after the 400 parks and reserves in Stirling.

Dedicated

“More than 600 residents have joined Adopt-A-Park since it started over 11 years ago,” Stirling mayor Mark Irwin said.

“We have extremely dedicated supporters out there who keep so many of our parks looking great for everyone to enjoy.”

“I’d like to thank our newest Adopt-A-Park supporters who signed up at the recent registration events and to those supporters already part of the program.”

To sign up go to http://www.stirling.wa.gov.au/aap and click the ‘Become an Adopt-a-Park supporter’ tab.

STIRLING council may follow Bayswater in forcing councillors to declare their political party membership on a public register.

Stirling councillor Stephanie Proud has tabled a motion that would require councillors to disclose party membership, employment by a party, employment by an MP or “any immediate family member who is, or has been, an elected representative of a political party”.

Last month Baysy council approved a similar motion from deputy mayor Chris Cornish that required councillors to disclose party membership, or employment by a party, on a public online register.

Cr Proud wrote in her motion it was intended to add to transparency and accountability, and it’s up for a vote at an upcoming council meeting.

by DAVID BELL

WINNERS of the Perth Centre for Photography’s 2019 Contemporary Landscapes in Photography award will be announced on May 31.

The CLIP awards received more than 1000 entries this year, with 38 finalists in the running.

Former Sunday Times Magazine (UK) photo editor Monica Allende is a guest judge.

“As a curator this experience was incredibly exciting, because I could see that these works weren’t just single images looking at landscapes, there were very strong connections around the relationship between humans and the planet and the environment and the landscape,” Allende said.

Winners will be announced on the opening night at 6pm at the King Street Art Centre, 357 Murray Street Perth, and then the pieces will be on show until June 29.