Minogue takes it to 100 degrees with Fine Wine

Pop icon Kylie Minogue was spinning around the world’s largest wine show ProWein this week, making a stop at the Australian stand where the Riverland hosted the best of its own region for the first time.

The Aussie songstress caused quite the “Co-motion” among the 61 exhibiting Australian wineries in Germany, her appearance a highlight among three busy days where South Australia hosted several master classes.

kylie minogue telling a german journalist she has new music coming out pic.twitter.com/WaYSch2Sfg

— 90s Kylie (@kylie_90s) March 22, 2023

Riverland Wine’s Lyndall Rowe says the “Wines your dad didn’t drink: Riverland” master class was successfully co-hosted by Phil Reedman – Master of Wine and Jim Markeas from Mallee Estate Wines.

While others classes covered Clare Valley Riesling and South Australia’s Mediterranean whites.

Minogue was at the show promoting her own label – in 2020 she launched Kylie Minogue Wines with London-based distributor Benchmark Drinks.

Hottest ’80s club goes Hub

The old ‘bird cage’ still hovers over the old Le Rox Nightclub entrance in Light Square but dancing shoes are now optional after the heritage-listed building opens its doors to a more sedate crew as UniSA’s new enterprise hub today.

Le Rox nightclub Photo: Facebook

Nine Light Square’s latest incarnation has seen the red-brick, two-storey building constructed in 1912 fitted with new workshop areas, laboratories, 3D printing facilities and co-working spaces.

But Enterprise Hub Director Peter Stevens says a vampire artwork harking back to its days as the ghoulish Night Train Theatre Restaurant in the ‘90s remains intact as the building’s facelift pays tribute to its colourful history.

Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington is UniSA Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Enterprise, and she describes the new Enterprise Hub as South Australia’s ‘front door’ for industry to develop strong partnerships with the university community.

“Industry professionals can come into the Hub with problems, projects and ideas, and our team will collaborate with them to produce cutting-edge solutions,” Hughes-Warrington says.

“Our goal is to accelerate the strengthening and diversification of the South Australian economy, and to export SA innovations across Australia and the world.”

Like Toy Soldiers

Photo: Max Bohme

South Australia’s push to ban Nazi symbols has attracted wide-ranging interest.

Indeed, as InDaily reported today, 26 individuals and organisations have put forward their views to a parliamentary committee looking at how to outlaw the infamous Nazi Hakenkreuz from public display.

But there was one contribution to the debate from a perhaps unheralded manufacturing sector that caught the InSider’s eye.

The South Australian Plastic Modellers Association, the state’s self-described “premier scale model club” – open to all modellers, regardless of experience – wrote to the committee in December to express its concern that, step by step, a ban on Nazi symbols might see their German toy soldiers all fall down.

Modellers Association president Jamie Stokes suggested to MPs an exemption be carved out for “the purposes of history, education, academic and artistic purposes in the scale modelling special interest groups”.

“Our interest is in the (non-exclusive) representation of historical models, in scale, depicting soldiers and vehicles used in service by the German military and paramilitary forces during WWII,” Stokes explained.

“We assemble and paint these scale models for the interest in the history, the artistic depiction of these in a relevant setting, and to promote the educational value of models for understanding.”

Stokes, who emphasised the model lobby “fully supports the cause to stop the symbology of hate and intolerance”, said the Nazi symbols ban in its current form could affect the SA Aviation Museum, Art Gallery and RSL clubs with scale models on display.

He asked the committee to adopt legislation passed in Victoria which recognises “that Nazi symbols may be displayed for genuine purposes”.

Something is brewing in Adelaide

If downtown pubs and bars seemed unusually crowded this week it’s because Adelaide has been invaded by brewers and distillers.

With more stealth than an AUKUS subs announcement, close to 500 delegates from around Australia and around the world descended on the Adelaide Oval this week for the convention of the Asia Pacific Section of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD), the 70^th anniversary of the group of industry leaders concerned with all things boozy.

Supported by Siemens, the conference wound up with a gala dinner last night and delegates touring Coopers today, but not before new Siemens CEO Peter Halliday hinted that there will be a local Food & Beverage announcement next week.

Whatever the case, the large conference is just what the hospo industry needed as a cure for the inevitable post-festival hangover that grips the CBD each March.

Ashes to Ashes 

Former SA policewoman Joyce Richardson OAM is hailed as a trailblazer in police circles.

In a 35-year career with the force, she became the first South Australian policewoman appointed to the rank of Sergeant and is also credited with establishing the first women’s police force in the Northern Territory during a secondment in 1961.

Richardson passed away in December 2021, aged 101. Her ashes were scattered in the rose garden of the Thebarton Barracks at a ceremony last year, as was her final wish.

Joyce Richardson OAM. Photo: SAPOL/SA Govt.

But what will become of Richardson’s ashes once the barracks are razed for the government’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital?

SA-Best MLC Frank Pangallo took to the floor of parliament last month to query Labor on this question, and whether the government “know(s) how many other police officers’ ashes have been scattered in the rose garden over the years?”

Police Minister Joe Szakacs got back with a response on Tuesday.

“SAPOL reports that Ms Joyce Richardson OAM left no living descendants, but her carer requested Ms Richardson’s ashes be scattered,” Szakacs advised in a response printed in Hansard.

“SAPOL has contacted her carer on this matter, who has advised that no further action need be taken by SAPOL by way of trying to preserve the ashes.”

Helpfully, Szakacs also informed parliament that SAPOL “is not aware of any other ashes scattered at Thebarton Barracks”.

He added that the scattering of Richardson’s ashes “was formalised with the presentation of a plaque honouring Ms Richardson’s life”.

“The plaque is displayed in the South Australian Police Historical Society’s museum, and will remain with the museum when it moves to a new location.”

Pangallo told The InSider he found “all of this very disrespectful, inconsiderate and uncaring” towards one of SAPOL’s “true trailblazers”.

The Pub Test

Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

Each week we hit the front bar of your locals to see what punters really think of current affairs in South Australia.

This week we dove into all things submarines while sitting at the Exeter on Rundle St.

Exeter regular, Darren, was more than sceptical of the AUKUS ruckus. A few beers in on a sunny Thursday, he was clear that all the spin wasn’t winning him over.

“The military is s*it”, Darren said. “We don’t have the expertise to build submarines.”

“Yeah, it might seem good on paper and it might look as if it will bring in money, I don’t think we have the skills anymore to build submarines.

“As that guy  (Former Defence Minister, David Johnston) said back years ago ‘those blokes couldn’t build a canoe’ let alone a submarine.”

Darren’s opinion on the subs is the only thing that bar-mate Sylvia agrees with him on. The Munich native said that she does not “have any real opinion [about the subs] because she does not know much about politics in Australia” but quickly adds “I know that China are not happy about this deal…it was clearly initiated by Boris Johnson, not Rishi Sunak.”

She said that she does not expect the new deal to create local jobs.

“I heard on the news that the submarines will be built in San Diego,” she said.

“Even if they are built in Australia, they will need to bring in foreign knowledge.”

Stuff you should know…

Today is International Waffle Day and according to the interweb it’s because in Sweden Waffle Day is known as Våffeldagen and it got mixed up with Vårfrudagen, which is Our Lady Day or the Feast of the Annunciation, the day celebrating the Virgin Mary’s conception. Not that you need an excuse to chow down on a stack.

And speaking of stacks, the topping out ceremony of the 29-storey Festival Tower happens today and will be attended by a bevy of pollies including Premier Peter Malinauskas, Minister Nick Champion, Minister Andrea Michaels and reps from the contractor the Walker Corporation. But will it be the last Walker Corporation tower built on the site? This story is still hanging out there, unresolved.

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