Commerce
The doctrine of market infallibility
We lived during a magnificent time.
When growth was endless and everyone placed bets on black swans & grey rhinos & shiny tech unicorns. When societal choices could only be framed in economic terms. When private enterprise was trusted over the public sector to meet all of society's needs.
When everyone rose or fell solely according to their own efforts. When currency was democratised. When riches could only usually seldom never be acquired by inheritance, nepotism, hypergamy, corruption, rent-seeking or asset-bubbles.
When monetarism, globalised free trade, deregulation, shareholder value, small government, nimble competition, resilient optimism, flourishing foreign investment, robust micro-economic & productivity-enhancing reforms and — obviously — completely unfettered financial markets would never always determine the fair value of everything, and deliver significant benefits for oligarchs CEOs family-trusts investors stakeholders all.
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More people makes everyone richer
Keep doubling the population every 35 years → boosted aggregate demand → vigorous GDP growth → buoyant budget outcomes → more apartment blocks & people to build them → snowballing property values → windfall capital gains → wealthier property–investors → more zest, vibrancy & bustling streets → strengthened interfaith understanding & social cohesion → more toll–roads → more construction & business services → more bathhouses, nail–salons & shisha lounges → more mortgages → more prosperous banks → more stamp–duties → more negative gearing tax–benefits on residential property → more wealth–effects → more tourism & international students → more university & independent college enrolments → more unpaid overtime → more elderly relatives to care for children → more low–paid independent contractors in precarious jobs → more migration agents, NGOs, community–liaison officers, refugee support advocates & human–rights lawyers → more benefit–fraud arrests → more matchmakers → more arranged child–marriages & dowries → more subclass–482 & spousal visas → potentially higher rates of workforce participation → projected supply–side potential → likely productivity benefits → forecast greater aggregate income → increasing remittances to overseas family & sponsors → more money in everyone's hip pocket
Front–yard garden gnomes in Summer Hill, Sydney [Oct-2016 581KB]
Bubble watch
Rising property prices were carefully manipulated to create more economic winners than losers
Spectators on the steps of the former CBC Bank, Martin Place [Apr-2006 243KB]
Remarks
2020 visions
Restricted trading hours [✓] Patron number limits [✓] Temperature checks [✓] Sign–in attendance records [✓] Perspex table–shields [✓] 1.5m social distancing [ ]
The Celsius Café at Kirribilli Wharf adapts to business conditions under COVID–19 [Nov-2020 394KB]
An intricate system of inefficiency
Our elites focused more upon growing the economic pie than dividing it
Darling Harbour Marina [Jan-2017 176KB]
Filled with delight
Non-inclusive apartment developments on the site of a former gasworks
Breakfast Point apartments (formerly Mortlake Gasworks), Sydney [Jul-2014 234KB]
Mega–dollar slums
Disintegrating verandahs + thumb–wide cracks + Aspergillus from foundation to eaves = A bit of a fixer–upper for sure, but the bones of the property seem pretty decent and it's got a fair bit of character. With some elbow–grease and a fresh lick of paint, this diamond of a home, buried deep in the rough, could be turned into the envy of all your friends!
Ex seminary on Forbes Street, Newtown [May-2022 487KB]
Forging a new deal
The transition from manufacturing to a financialised economy was completely seamless
Derelict Ford truck at The Grounds of Alexandria. Revisited in July 2023 and by then the Ford was mostly overgrown [Apr-2018 553KB]
Remarks
Domain awareness gap
The financialisation of housing was regarded as being not only acceptable, but necessary
Toorak Road for–sale sign, Melbourne [Apr-2019 518KB]
Look back in covfefe
Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that's more productive
(Trump, 1987)
Trump impersonator on Broadway, NYC [Oct-2017 307KB]
Remarks
Practical streetwise living
Neo–feudalism required an amorphous layer of vagrants to ensure everyone else kept in line
Pitt Street Mall food–court entrance, Sydney [Jan-2019 408KB]
Faceless ramparts
The city filled with empty offices, yet few had the courage to admit why
Liberty Place, Castlereagh Street Sydney [Jul-2023 241KB]
Attainder by process
The most efficient way to neutralise dissent was by levelling the playing-field
Philip Lodge Motel demolition at Haberfield [Jun-2016 433KB]
Espresso Kultur
The al fresco revolution gave tantalising significance to our busy lives
Outdoor café seating at Little Eveleigh street, Redfern [Sep-2020 394KB]
Positive growth model
A modern 24–hour economy filled with bloggers, interns and cash–in–hand hospitality workers
Lower Baldwin Street, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 293KB]
The Moneyland luxe vibe
Prestigious brands rode out the pandemic rather well
Luxury goods store entrance, George Street Sydney [Nov-2020 303KB]
Waiting for the great leap forward
From blue–collar heroes to the Kings of Kowloon, the third–world was just around the corner
Central Park development, at Broadway in Sydney [Jul-2012 196KB]
Depression in anything but name
Streets full of shuttered businesses & construction sites; Empty restaurants & ubiquitous grocery theft; Meme stocks, rampant online gambling & mobile scams… Yet gig–economy jobs, unpaid overtime & aggregate GDP kept rising, and Treasury forecasts predicted economic growth rebounding later on, so everything was okay
Shuttered takeaway outlet, Regent Street Redfern [Jul-2023 75KB]
Unearthing the past
The house is gone and the yard excavated so deep that every childhood trace was obliterated
What was once 12 Kensington Street, Kogarah [Apr-2011 345KB]
The customer was king
Everything you could possibly ever want, at your fingertips
Supermarket checkout, Nepean Village Penrith [Apr-2003 385KB]
Remarks
Structural Ugliness
Ironically regress the trend curve to make the feeds pop
Orthopaedic sandals at the QVB Arcade, Sydney [Nov-2020 353KB]
Forever in Golconda
This time it really was different
Charging bull statue, NYC [Oct-2017 245KB]
Dog–boxes in the sky
Positive toward the future. Positive toward development. Positive toward growth, free enterprise and nimble competition
Spacious and exclusively appointed apartments at Broadway, near Central [Jul-2016 216KB]
Agile entrepreneurs
Surveillance cameras [✓] Motion–activated floodlights [✓] Canvas–covered windows [✓] 3m high fencing [✓] Steel chained front gates [✓] Threatening no–trespass signs [✓] Resourceful SMEs servicing a niche–market [✓]
Domestic security on Neville Street in Marrickville [Sep-2012 448KB]
Reframe the narrative
The economic picture was one of continuous success
Bridge Street morning commute, Sydney [Mar-2024 341KB]
Shaking the hidden hand
Everyone was free to choose their own circumstances
Tents for the homeless unhoused at Wentworth Park, Sydney [Jul-2017 527KB]
Living in a film–set
Months spent wandering through a terrain filled with shuttered restaurants and disoriented diners
Deserted food court, Centrepoint Sydney [Apr-2020 213KB]
In Goldman Sachs We Trust
The financial sector was the bedrock of our entire social structure and facilitated massive cultural progression. Whereas the 1960s were misspent on engineering, aerospace and NASA, the 2010s had financialisation, asset value growth and the ISDA
The financial district in eastern Sydney, with the rocket-shaped 1 O'Connell Street in the middle background [Jul-2011 183KB]
Frictionless intermediation
Because The Sharing Economy
sounded so much nicer than Regulation Evading Rapacious Neoliberal Extractive Venture Capitalism
(NYTimes, 2017)
Subterranean ingress and egress aperture cover at Watsons Bay [Dec-2014 816KB]
Epistemic insouciance
Full speed ahead for transient high–rollers from the sky (ABC News, 2020)
Crown casino construction, Barangaroo [Jan-2020 193KB]
Remarks
Crisis misdirection
Much hand–wringing about the “rental crisis” ignored the plight of hard–working mum & dad investors, who had to deal with property managers, council rates, water rates, landlord insurance, punitive land taxes, repairs, regular high–quality maintenance, capital gains tax, negative gearing, self–managed superannuation, family trusts, inflation and sky–rocketing interest rates
Elizabeth Street block of flats, Surry Hills [Jul-2023 262KB]
Not a house of cards then
People's jobs depend on confidence and trust in the financial and banking system. And I can assure [everyone] that, despite the very disturbing and, indeed, shocking revelations we have seen in the Royal Commission, particularly of late, that these issues, while as abhorrent as they are, are completely separate from any question about the stability and strength of [our] banking and financial system.
(Morrison, 2018)
Pedestrian footbridge at Barangaroo [Apr-2016 248KB]
Trickle the wealth to make your heart sing
Our system endured for so long because enough of the electorate believed they still had some chance of getting rich (Citigroup, 2005)
Begging for loose change near Sydney Town Hall [Sep-2016 431KB]
Tax cuts made us rich
According to the ABS, in 2024 the median Australian yearly income was $67 600. Using the Stage III tax cuts calculator, this yielded an annual tax reduction of $1369, or $26.33 per week — which was enough for a large family pizza
Enmore Road Pizza, Enmore [Jul-2024 196KB]
Custodians of the status quo
Stand on principle on the way up and you will miss the stampede; stand on principle on the way down and you will be run over
Even the pigeons lived in style at the St George Private Hospital Annex in Hogben Street, Kogarah [Apr-2011 136KB]
Cargo Culte
We lounged about in ill–fitting uniforms, languidly pressing buttons on small screens… waiting for the day He would return, bearing great gifts
Palm tree outside the abandoned St Mary & St Mina's Coptic Orthodox Church at Sydenham. Five years later it was damaged by fire in May 2017 and subsequently demolished [Sep-2012 387KB]
Remarks
Both feet on the ladder
Everyone became multi–millionaires by flipping properties bought for pennies decades ago
Renovations in suburban Stanmore [Sep-2012 184KB]
Jobs & Growth
Social cohesion was a luxury we could no longer afford
Wall markings behind Parramatta Road, Strathfield [Jul-2014 523KB]
Value in Shadowlands
From warehouses to office blocks to strategically empty short–stay accommodation
Motorways and the former Caltex building, Sydney [Sep-2016 129KB]
City of Yes
Shuttered shop–fronts guaranteed a larger tax write–off
The closed Cadbury store in Mid City Shopping Centre, Sydney [Dec-2023 598KB]
The one sure bet
One of the interesting things about the years 1987—2024 was that markets always boomed
Financial reporter at the Sydney ASX [Oct-2018 192KB]
Remarks
Braving the abyss
Despite challenging market conditions, and a negative return for your superannuation this year, we continue to deliver strong long–term returns. […] Significant market falls can be worrying, but staying invested remains vitally important. […] When we invest your super, our approach is focussed on the long term, to help maximise your retirement savings. But it also manages short–term risks in times like these. I want to reassure you, our members, that we remain committed to investing to help you achieve your best retirement outcomes.
Bulk email from the CEO of Aware Super, 2022-07-08
Waterrun cliff-side, RNP [Aug-2020 578KB]
Remarks
Back–to–back meetings
Corporate officers were paid vast sums to assess risk envelopes, draft strategies, form ad hoc committees, present keynotes, observe senate inquiries, speculate about legislative bills, outline broad AI objectives, extend KPIs, argue over Hors d'Oeuvers, initiate 360–reviews, curate compliance indicia, monitor DPO teams, suggest scoping studies, carefully consider potential reforms, agree on check–lists, shift goalposts, refresh workplace incentives, brainstorm ways to move clients to subscriptions, proliferate customer loyalty schemes, amend end–user agreements, increase transfer pricing, draft congratulatory remarks in annual reports, lift sales targets, appraise discussion papers, propose amendments to in–house policies, examine interim report proposals, action talking–points, mitigate critical findings, endorse vision–statements, revise earning–projections and plan substantive frameworks for upcoming roundtables
Queen Street office building after hours, Melbourne [Apr-2019 148KB]
Everywhere the glint of gold
Vibrant cities crammed full of soaring casinos, buzzing with energy, innovation and excitement
Microflite City Helipad, Yarra River Melbourne [Apr-2019 292KB]
Ghosts of the CBD
The C–Suite resorted to upbeat–slogans, pleading, threats, mandates and compulsion to get WFH employees to return to their city offices
Commuters at the new Central station northern concourse [Jul-2023 280KB]
Remarks
From blue to fluoro collar
Vast sums were borrowed to create a cornucopia of employment opportunities
Re–tiling the Sydney Opera House forecourt [Jul-2014 247KB]
Ford to city: Drop Dead
The acolytes of Moses & Le Corbusier enjoyed the fruits of Socialism In One Class
The southern ramp to the Anzac Bridge expressway, at Pyrmont in Sydney [Jan-2013 200KB]
Have a go to get a go
Our financial success was self–made and the result of a lifetime of love and labour. So we deserved to keep more of our own hard–earned money
Hopetoun Road Toorak, Melbourne [Apr-2019 205KB]
The emporium struck back
Department stores battled heroically against an invisible enemy
Storm–troopers at the David Jones lift–well [Jan-2019 85KB]
Incentives to succeed
It was self–evident that the Rich were job creators and property booms the most efficient way to redistribute wealth
The rear of a Korean restaurant, in a Pitt Street Lane near Town Hall [Oct-2012 342KB]
All snakes, no ladders
We stuck to the plan, even though we kept changing it
Subterranean utilities footpath markings outside the QVB [Apr-2015 628KB]
Diversify your portfolio
We're not suggesting the $3.6M starting guide is cheap, but for a family home it's still surprisingly good value. Walk to cafés, 12–foot absolute frontage, flexible 3 bed layout, 1½ baths, a 112m² level block with rear access, and tastefully renovated throughout with careful attention to period detail + exquisite magazine–worthy touches
Terraced houses for rent or sale, Redfern [Jul-2023 431KB]
Quality by design
Exclusively appointed apartments riddled with gross structural defects
Nevada Apartments remediation at Darling Point [Dec-2018 282KB]
In the circle of FIRE
There was such a vast fortune to be made from rent–seeking rents & fee for no service fees & short–stay leases & collateralised debt & asset bubbles growth & asset stripping recycling & short–selling & bear–raids & related–party transactions & trading commercial acceptance bills & prediction markets & spoofing & layering & malinvestments democratising currency & malinvestments crypto–mining & malinvestments spot crypto–ETFs & Hummingbots & whale–trades & mergers & demergers & gambling wagering & grey–rhinos & black–swans & shiny tech unicorns & private equity & CryptoPunks & Beanie Babies & 1000% Bearbricks & profit shifting consolidation & overcooked ambitious profit projections & 300–year visions & peer–to–peer lending & off–balance–sheet funding & liar sub–prime loans & narco–state money–laundering emerging markets & terrorism financing emerging markets & government consultancies & flipping cities to ride–share & tax evasion planning & wealth concealment consolidation & tax shelters family trusts & tax shelters anonymous offshore trusts & Shanghai aged–care schemes & German cum–ex trading schemes & St. Kitts and Nevis Golden Visas & concealing reinvesting petrostate billions & cloud mining tokens & golden moons & Worldcoin iris scanning & cash–for–visas & child–pornography adult entertainment & coal mining leases & insurance fraud optimisation & lying factual misstatements to corporate regulators & rewriting updating independent reports & unenforced enforceable–undertakings & NAIRU–based inflation targeting & dismantling reforming Bretton Woods & quashing reforming Glass–Steagall & hiring ex–ministers as senior regional advisers & hiring the premier's son and vice–chancellor's daughter as summer–interns & influence peddling lobbying & door–opening lobbying & impunity spells lobbying & moral–hazard exceptions lobbying & guaranteed bailouts lobbying & suspending customer withdrawals bank holidays & using courts to reject insurance claims & friendly Wagyu–beef–washed–down–with–finest–shiraz judgements & swaps & options & swaptions & binary options & monetising reward–scheme data & switching customers to subscriptions & unregulated loyalty–point loans & unregulated crypto–loans & coaxing suckers small–investors to “buy the dips” & “growth phase IPOs” & CDOs & CMOs & CDFs & LDIs & FICCs & REITs & FAANGs & SPACs & BATs & ELPs & PGUCs & P2Es & POGOs & NFTs & BNPL & NFSC & LBOs & FOMO & FONGO & concocting developing ever more arcane sophisticated financial instruments to conjure “assets” out of nothing to ensure money kept raining in torrents from the sky build wealth, that there was little point in doing anything else
The Elizabeth street facade of the Commonwealth Bank Building [Oct-2020 409KB]
One country, two systems
There was endless argument about Income Inequality, but careful silence about Wealth Redistribution
Woodcroft housing estate versus Harris Street Ultimo [Jan-2013 219KB]
Stake your claim
Neighbourhood micro–businesses flourished when manufacturing moved offshore, creating ample opportunities for non–employees
Small business badge window display, Wentworth Street Port Kembla [Sep-2014 581KB]
In a fugue world
Feel the love through the acquisition of merchandise
St Collins Lane shopping arcade, Melbourne [Apr-2019 227KB]
The shadow workforce
Chronic mass unemployment was easily solved by redefining the meaning of “employed”
Red flags at the Circular Quay promenade [Jul-1992 546KB]
Remarks
Twilight's last gleaming
We slid down the Phillips Curve until we reached the Minsky Moment
Construction hoarding at Barangaroo, Sydney [Sep-2016 190KB]
Unintended consequences
Our intellectual pursuits were driven by our deepest convictions
Edgecliff Railway station newsagent [Nov-2017 279KB]
Easily within reach
Affordable mortgages were flying out the door (ABC News, 2024)
Art Gallery of NSW window view, Sydney [Mar-2019 309KB]
Dutch disease done right
Not to worry. If the economy works the way the textbook says, the gain to miners should flow through to the economy, causing higher wages and tax receipts
(Gittins, 2017)
Remnants of the 2000's resources boom at Lithgow [Aug-2012 344KB]
A touch of Bucharest
All that was gained, all that was lost
Rose Street terraces, Chippendale [May-2023 462KB]
The retail ziggurat
The spiritual apex of our economy was the domestic–consumption model
Shopping trolleys huddle beneath the mobile–phone towers on top of Marketplace Leichhardt [Sep-2010 441KB]
Flags of convenience
Our vision was to create a better everyday life, by getting our customers to do all the work
The united nations of IKEA, at Tempe [Sep-2012 137KB]
Hard economic tithes
[…] “excuse–flation” was the practice of using general inflation as a camouflage for bumping up prices. It was closely related to “greed–flation” and consumers put up with it because the cover story sounded legitimate, with blame usually attributed to the pandemic, Ukraine conflict, or the most opaque reason of all — supply chain disruptions
(The Guardian, 2024)
Light rail payment station, Town Hall [Apr-2024 558KB]
This is forever
To better embrace necessary change, our cities were permanently framed within a matrix of construction scaffolding
One Circular Quay construction site, Sydney [Jan-2018 337KB]
Conjectures & hearsay
I'm the number one developer–builder on the face of the Earth. I made it on my own and I did become number one.
(ABC News, 2024)
The defect–riddled Vicinity Apartment block in Canterbury [Oct-2015 285KB]
Good sports with your money
Dragon boat races in the afternoon, Thursday night drinks in the firm with the lads; City lights twinkle on the harbour far below; Fetch whole legs of ham from the kitchen to hang on the walls of the partners' dining room, then stash the original artworks in the ladies toilet a few floors down; Ollie laughed so much he threw up; Piggyback steeplechase around the associates' floor, with upended desks as hurdles; Loot an old jockey cap from a senior-partner's office and use our neck–ties as whips; And then whooping and hollering and running and falling all over the place and pissing ourselves like it was the best night of our lives
The ghosts of corporate lawyering at Martin Place [Oct-2014 806KB]
Rocks & Crops
Diggers and drillers drew heartfelt inspiration from the island paradise of Naru
The Port Kembla coal terminal (PKCT) [Sep-2014 276KB]
Financial ouroboros
Australian banks are very exposed to the housing market. Around 60 per cent of their lending is for housing. And housing is also common collateral for loans to small and medium businesses. A decline in housing prices impacts the value of that collateral but of itself does not necessarily lead to losses.
(RBA, 2021)
Ex–bank branch waiting to be re–purposed, Newtown [Jan-2022 223KB]
This weight of calorific delights
Just a spoon full of HFCS helped the processed food go down (Hyman, 2014)
Candle wax at a Kent Street wine-bar, near Wynyard [Jan-2014 329KB]
Tourism added value
Macro–economic growth models prove that tourism contributes towards complete growth and development of a country: one, by bringing numerous economic value & benefits; and, second, helping in build country's brand value, image & identity
(Market Width Blog, 2018)
Christmas Day tourists at the Sydney Opera House [Dec-2001 449KB]
Remarks
Hidden variables
Not everyone was sold on the idea of retail therapy
Fast fashion store, George Street Sydney [Jul-2024 495KB]
The next big thing
Stuff all your fiat–money into the slot to enjoy a lifetime of passive income (Investopedia, 2023)
Bitcoin ATM, Katoomba [Jun-2023 98KB]
Practise social distancing
So we stayed home, most of the time
Townhall Arcade foot court [Jul-2021 172KB]
This engine of growth
It became obvious that markets could remain irrational for longer than investors could stay solvent
The window–display for Central Autohaus in Alexandria [Jun-2015 204KB]
Delivery apps were so convenient
HungryPanda, Foodora, Uber Eats, DoorDash, EASI, Menulog, Deliveroo, Hey You, GrubHub, goPuff, EatNow, Yelp… We imported an underclass of temporary–visa holding self–employed contractors to zip around and deliver perfect Laksa, authentic Pad Thai, pork–filled Mooncakes, Tiger Milk bubble–tea, gluten–free Dumplings and vegan Banh Mi
Food delivery rider at Broadway, Sydney [Apr-2020 178KB]
Remarks
Well–oiled plans
There was big money to be made in eating vast amounts of nutriment
Winter Magic Festival doughnut stall, Katoomba [Jun-2023 233KB]
Canyons of gold
The decision to pour billions of dollars into empty commercial property turned out to be spectacular
Castlereagh Street buildings, Sydney [Jan-2019 147KB]
Back in the CCCP
The centralised command economy disintegrated almost immediately
Street vendors at Tverskaya St in Moscow, on the day Russia ratified Belavezha Accords and formally withdrew from the USSR [Dec-1991 353KB]
Remarks
What this little black rock could do
We have to make sure this economy works. We have to export dollars. We have to realise we have a moral responsibility to other people in other nations to keep their lights on
(Joyce, 2017)
The Steelworks and Coal Loader at Port Kembla harbour [Sep-2014 77KB]
Remarks
Retail was your future
Optimism and nostalgia were the only things which kept Newsagents viable
South Sydney newsagent, Redfern [Jul-2023 461KB]
Tulips in the rough
Tax laws were painstakingly revised to ensure the price of land–banked property would increase by more each day than most people could earn in a week
Irelands Road in Blacktown, western Sydney [Dec-2012 539KB]
Borderline conundrum
Self–service was self–defeating when there was no service to serve
Due to COVID–19 travel restrictions, unused self–service check–in and baggage drop facilities at Sydney Airport's T1 International Terminal, Friday afternoon 12:30 pm [Oct-2020 219KB]
Driven by unceasing mobility
Remember the physical–distancing rule and only travel when essential
Waiting for the Cronulla Ferry at Bundeena Wharf [Aug-2020 297KB]
Remarks
Too big to fail
It took a long time to establish a balanced equilibrium between collateralised debt and rising property values
Barangaroo office construction, Millers Point [Aug-2016 367KB]
The user–pays model
My generation rejected the “generational bargain” because it was foolish to pay for things we would never live to use
Government hoarding at Westpac Plaza, Barangaroo [Aug-2016 296KB]
The best money could buy
Of particular interest to ICAC has been the planning decisions along Canterbury Road and Charles Street, which saw some Liberal and Labor councillors voting together to approve developments which council's planning staff had previously rejected due to non compliance
(SMH, 2017)
Apartment construction at Charles Str, Canterbury [Oct-2015 350KB]
Zero sum game
The link between free trade and rising global prosperity was self–evident: designed in the USA → marketed from the UK → incorporated in the British Virgin Islands → manufactured by Uyghur forced–labour → shipped via Panama → channelled through a Singaporean marketing–hub → transfer–priced through Luxembourg → laundered in a Melbourne casino → banked in the Cayman Islands → stashed in a Geneva Freeport vault → splurged on trophy homes, superyachts, private jets, racing cars, helicopters, independent school fees, offshore trusts, protection rackets, parties, mistresses, divorce lawyers, bribes and political favours… in New York, Beijing, Gstaad, Plovdiv, Riyadh, Lagos, Dubai, Double Bay and Londongrad
Shipping container facility at Tempe, near Sydney Airport [Sep-2012 281KB]
Defenestrate your livelihood
We mortgaged the future and bet it all on there not being one
Waverton Coal Loader wharf [Feb-2022 587KB]
Remarks
Exit strategy
A golden transit through the ages, with better things yet to come
Fig Street tunnel, Ultimo [Jul-2017 470KB]
Balance the value exchange
With rates at five–thousand–year lows (until 2022), cheap debt could not be blamed
Used–car yard at Parramatta Road Granville [Apr-2017 247KB]
Remarks
Go for growth mate
We'll get an army of casuals to collect our night–soil, just like a hundred years ago
Outdoor toilet and “dunny lane”, Lithgow NSW [Jun-2019 485KB]
From backpacks to chuggers
Street fundraising earned a poor reputation due to worker exploitation, dishonest begging techniques, and the realisation that most of the money was diverted for “administration”
Australian Red Cross charity collectors at Martin Place, Sydney [Jan-2002 329KB]
Potemkin Prosperity
The central irony of the financial crisis was that while it was caused by too much confidence, too much borrowing & lending and too much spending — it could only be resolved with more confidence, more borrowing & lending, and more spending
(Summers, 2011)
Fields of green shoots at the Westpac plaza in Sydney [Jan-2014 529KB]
Remarks
Unyielding positivity
On a moonless night the captain raced the ship into an unseen ice–field → While acknowledging there may be evidence of poor optics and regrettable client experiences, it's crucial to remember that there were substantial long–term benefits compared to these temporary challenges
; The ship then collided with an iceberg → This is a contentious matter with broader complex cultural issues, that is going to cause a number of people some confusion but, going forward, even our harshest critics admit there are glimmers of hope and signs of optimism
; The ship rapidly took on water and listed dangerously → As part of our vision to create a non–zero–sum paradigm, it may sometimes be necessary to relinquish ground and let the other side run with the ball for a while to guarantee future success
; Some passengers ran about screaming → Team members were pro–actively incentivised to facilitate collaborative eminence
; Many passengers had to fight their way topside to escape → Partners scaled peak–less mountains to cultivate growth mindsets
; There weren't anywhere near enough lifeboats → While focusing on one particular deficiency is unfair, the final number was an on–balance judgement and we are comfortable with where the settings lay
; Only a wealthy few could secure a place in the half–empty lifeboats → It is our understanding that personal on–boarding of inexperienced users may have meant there were misaligned, or perhaps even flawed, metrics to evaluate success
; The ship sank, no one came the rescue, hundreds drowned in the freezing water → We have a storied brand with an amazing team and take this incident extremely seriously, and can assure everyone that our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved–ones of those who failed to return. Nevertheless, there have always been rare and anomalous events, where unforeseen technical and systems failures may cause processes to fall a little short of expectations
Boutique shop–front redevelopment, Leura [Aug-2021 130KB]
Variable schedule of reinforcement
Anyhow…™ we Thought Different™, Opened Happiness™ and Flew the Friendly Skies™ because We Were Worth It™
Anachronistic men's fashion advertising, Pitt Street Sydney [Mar-2024 297KB]
Knowledge-based economy
If you could no longer make a profit by making things, then you could profitably spend your time making things up
The interior of the Queen Victoria Building, near Sydney Town Hall [Jan-2012 290KB]
Keep doubling your money every 7–10 years
Dr Wilson said that Sydney was likely to have a $2 million median house price by 2030 and a $3 million median by 2038
(Daily Telegraph, 2018)
Hopscotch squares at the Woodcroft housing estate, in Blacktown [Dec-2012 426KB]
Absolutely pure Mellon
Liquidate labour, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate. Sell everything, take on more debt and cancel Christmas (NYTimes, 2011)
McEvoy Street pop–up retailer, Alexandria [Mar-2018 296KB]
Segregation now, tomorrow & forever
Only the most privileged could afford to live in their own city (SMH, 2023)
Distillery Drive cutting at Jacksons Landing, in Pyrmont [Jan-2013 349KB]
Remarks
Rust belt potential
Our suburbs were rife with agility, propagation and replacement
Lett Lane, Lithgow [Jun-2019 449KB]
Handshake protocol
Contract for a knock–down–rebuild and then endure years of excuses as to why it took so long to construct a simple suburban house
Debris removal at Warrimoo. The original home was demolished in April 2020 and the replacement was still unfinished two years later… [Apr-2020 556KB]
Happy Hour
Paul Strand took a walk down Collins Street and discovered a rich harvest for publicans to reap
Devonshire Street, Surry Hills [Jul-2023 229KB]
Exuberant expectations
Great success and performance created its own reality (Pfeffer, 2015)
Church Street car dealership, Parramatta [Apr-2017 178KB]
A licence to kill
There was nothing on your dinner table that wasn't put there by hard–working professionals from the road–freight industry
The “roo bar” of a prime-mover at Kings Langley, near Blacktown [Aug-2015 381KB]
The carnival is over
The market faithfully rewarded those who took a long–term view
Luna Park Hair Raiser ride, in the rain [Jan-2019 171KB]
Remarks
The road to zero
A globalist market where all tastes were equal and you could only vote with your dollars
William Street beverage hoarding (since rebuilt) at Kings Cross [Oct-2012 338KB]
Clip service
Media–workers could always revert to nostalgia for a past full of future promise
Elbon Arcade Testarossa Sammy–Santino men's hairstylist (since relocated), Double Bay [Jan-2019 434KB]
Optimal canine synergy
Councils recommended you leverage your pets to boost the bottom line
Begging with dogs at the Pitt Street Mall, Sydney [Jan-2024 455KB]
Down from the mountain
… and into the markdowns
Leura antique store [Oct-2018 228KB]
Surrogate activities
A patina of robust growth was maintained by creating an archipelago of empty construction sites
Construction hoardings at Green Square [Nov-2018 309KB]
Α Ω
Every last particle of our faith was poured into equities & real–estate
Birrell Street front yard, Bondi Junction [Oct-2018 447KB]
Potential mountain views
Amenity and Community were not mutually exclusive
Swiss construction poles, Zermatt CH [Feb-2024 219KB]
Consumer karoshi
A culture had to be created in which self–sacrifice was essential
Market Street escalators at Centrepoint, Sydney [Jan-2016 278KB]
Remarks
Thrusting for yield
The ubiquity of synchronised growth led social experiments imposed from above
Construction cranes at Australian Technology Park [Mar-2018 186KB]
Curate your educational passport
There was fresh evidence to suggest the uncapping of university places accomplished exactly what it set out to achieve
University of Sydney main quadrangle [Oct-2017 528KB]
Back to the Futuregate
Needless to say, everyone was talking about staring down the barrel of a perfect storm, while waiting for an ultimate fairytale ending for the history books
Media–workers at the Sydney Opera House [Jul-2014 347KB]
Creative Destruction
The most efficient way to boost productivity was by reducing the number of unionised employees
What was for a long time the abandoned White Bay Power Station at Rozelle. In 2023 $100M was spent on remediation to convert it into a venue for the 2024 Sydney Biennale [Jan-2013 216KB]
A pattern of abundance
Wholesale deindustrialisation was the next stage in our collaborative journey
NTP Forklifts (since relocated), at Woodville Road Granville [Apr-2017 251KB]
Non–pharmaceutical interventions
A command economy emerged in everything but name
Taped off seating, Sydney Centrepoint [Apr-2020 194KB]
Practising our future
There was always plenty of money for whatever appealed to our sense of adventure
Abandoned front yard yacht, Kirribilli [Jan-2020 530KB]
Investment vehicle
Many argued housing affordability wasn't the real problem
“Tiny House” on wheels, Enmore Park [May-2023 520KB]
Financial kinesiology
Despite all the underlying momentum and near-zero interest rates (until 2022), it appeared we didn't survive the crash
Outside the Sydney branch of the Deutsche Bank in Hunter Street.
A security guard tried to prevent this photograph from being taken “due to copyright reasons”. A detailed and patient lecture on photography-rights disabused him [Jan-2012 215KB]
Consumer kaizen
A mindset had to be developed in which our customers could self–actualise
High Street bus–stop, Penrith [Feb-2017 603KB]
No map and a broken compass
Cheap goods and MTV proved more effective than détente and ICBMs
Bric–a–brac stall on Tverskaya St, Moscow, beneath a memorial plaque to the soviet artist Pyotr Vasilyev [Dec-1991 502KB]
Remarks
Forget your past
Architectural awards counted for little when it came to prime development sites
Darling Harbour Conference Centre demolition, Sydney [Apr-2014 216KB]
Remarks
Click and collect
Socially responsible trading during yet another level–four lockdown
George Street boutique — which went out of business within a year [Jul-2021 160KB]
Roses of Picardy
The marriage industry flourished despite the cynicism and malaise
Private wedding ceremony at St Marys Cathedral [Mar-2019 350KB]
City of forgotten men
There's class warfare all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war and we're winning
(Buffet, 2006)
Unhoused on George Street, Sydney [Aug-2014 463KB]
A million jobs Mr Speaker
Decades of financialisation provided tremendous benefits for all to share
Shepherd Street factory yard, at Marrickville [Sep-2012 301KB]
Grasp the lucky charm
Get in line for that $100M feeling
Lottery ticket buyers, Galleries Victoria QVB [Jan-2024 425KB]
Reflating the economy
Old debt could be easily retired by taking on new debt
Tumbalong Park attractions, Darling Harbour [Jul-2014 290KB]
Fierce, Wonderful & Closed
What little trade there was bled out slowly
Café noticeboard during a level–four lockdown, Katoomba NSW. Eighteen months later it went out of business during another extended lockdown [Apr-2020 302KB]
North to Avoska
Before mobile phones, perhaps–bags accompanied us everywhere
Totes diptych at Hornsby and Town Hall, Sydney [Apr-2005 247KB]
Remarks
Stakeholder
One could either use General Relativity field–equations to derive the Schwarzschild metric in n–dimensions, or else go shopping
Supermarket freezer aisle, Katoomba [Dec-2003 400KB]
Remarks
Learn to love your job
Part–time Tree–surfing Instructor; Diversity & Inclusion Officer; Co–Chair of the World Federation of Public Health Associations Indigenous Working Group; Thought Leader; Intimacy Coordinator; Trans–activist & Genderqueer Consultant; Death Doula; TikTok™ Scholar; Equal–Opportunity Policy Officer; Marriage & Family Therapy Intern; Change Management Coach; Lecturer in Sports Management; Early Childhood Educator; Eyebrow Sculptress; Somatic Therapist; Scientific Naturopath; Reflexologist; Waste Data Handler; Freelance Restaurant Critic; Jumping Castle Franchisee; Über Delivery Partner; Airtasker Tasker; Emerging Pastry Chef; Latte Artist; Chief Resilience Officer; Junior Communications Executive; Campaign Advancer; Taco Queen; Senior Curatorial Assistant; Reflexologist; Unicorn Wrangler; Trend Forecaster; Stunt Curator; Trainee Personal Trainer; Chief Brand and Impact Officer; Beauty Influencer; Innovation Sherpa; Product Placement Jedi; Avatar Manager; Experience Designer; Interim Social Media & Engagement Producer; Relieving Elation Officer
Market Street escalators at Centrepoint, Sydney [Aug-2018 323KB]
The golden hoard
Our cities filled with empty apartments for quick–flippers
The construction boom at Wentworth Point [Sep-2016 327KB]
The cranes were flying
At one stage there were more construction cranes along the Australian eastern coast than in all the major cities in the USA (ABC News, 2016)
Tower crane jibs at Lewisham [Sep-2015 163KB]
Volunteer for service
Charity was he only thing that kept us going
Anzac Day Red Cross volunteers, Hyde Park Sydney [Apr-2023 634KB]
Tyburn revisited
Decades of infrastructure deals and back-room favours continued unabated
Sydney Metro Project construction site, Martin Place [Jul-2019 272KB]
Extremely well serviced
Only the most desirable suburbs were served by regular bus, rail and ferry services
The F5 Neutral Bay ferry leaves Kirribilli wharf [Nov-2020 259KB]
From jobs to careers to callings
The entire nature of employment changed. We didn't know where the new jobs would come from, but we knew they would surely come
Food franchise cart on 37th Street, NYC [Oct-2017 382KB]
Rent not Enterprise
[…] we here highly resolve that these mortgagors shall not have borrowed in vain — that this realm, under Banks, shall have a new birth of fiefdom — and that government of the landlords, by the landlords, for the landlords, shall not perish from the earth
Vacant commercial land at Lawson in the Blue Mountains [Jan-2012 145KB]
Bank the win
Everyone denounced the enemies of growth
Suburban Toorak, Melbourne [Apr-2019 238KB]
Taming animal spirits
There is something more systematic about the way people behave irrationally, especially during periods of economic stress
(Greenspan, 2013)
Lunchtime in a George Street amusement arcade, demolished a few years later [Sep-2003 323KB]
Remarks
Bury the lede
What better way to house embattled railway–bureaucrats than in an anonymous four–storey bunker?
NSW Rail Operations Centre, Mandible Street Alexandria [Jul-2023 258KB]
Ponzimonium
Jeffrey Keith Skilling (Enron Corp); Walter Forbes (Cendant Corp); Richard Fuld (Lehman Brothers); Bernard Lawrence Madoff (Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC); Satoshi Nakamoto (Bitcoin); Ruja Ignatova (OneCoin); Markus Braun (Wirecard); Sam Bankman–Fried (FTX); 권도형 (Terraform Labs); 赵长鹏 (Binance); Sergei Panteleevich Mavrodi (MMM Global); Elizabeth Anne Holmes (Theranos Inc.); Trevor Milton (Nikola Motor Company); Alan Bond (Bond Corporation Holdings Ltd); David Walsh (Bre-X Minerals Ltd.); 錢培琛 (M. Knoedler & Co.); 许家印 (Evergrande Group); Thomas Joseph Petters (Petters Group Worldwide); Trương Mỹ Lan (Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank); Marc Stuart Dreier (Dreier, LLP); Michael I. “Mickey” Monus (Phar Mor); Ramón Báez Figueroa (Banco Intercontinental); Scott W. Rothstein (Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler)
Wedding Cake Rock, RNP [Jul-2019 211KB]
Remarks
Life in the Bunkercene
Economic headwinds forced everyone to cocoon that little bit extra
Martin Place hoardings, Sydney [Mar-2019 298KB]
The shadow state
Our top–down globalist system will endure forever
North from the Empire State Building [Oct-2017 590KB]
Business service industries
The only way to counter economic headwinds was by being more nimble than the market
Finance workers at Australia Square [Dec-2004 325KB]