The Boomer Legacy ◊ Commerce

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 the only entity wielding legitimate power was the market and the state existed only to remove all barriers to the ~~concentration~~ growth of wealth

People rose or fell solely according to their own efforts. Currency was democratised. Riches could ~~only usually seldom~~ never be acquired by inheritance, nepotism, hypergamy, corruption, rent-seeking or the bubbling of assets

Monetarism, financialisation, the free movement of capital & people, deregulation, shareholder value, small government, nimble competition, resilient optimism, flourishing foreign investment, robust micro-economic & productivity-enhancing reforms and — obviously — completely unfettered markets were the only possible way to determine the fair value of everything, and deliver ~~exclusive significant~~ universal benefits for ~~oligarchs CEOs family-trusts investors stakeholders~~ all

Sample #2136 — Brand tornado crisis moment (Jul 2021)

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Zero sum game

The links between free trade, a rules–based trade order 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 283KB]

Roses of Picardy

The marriage industry flourished despite the widespread malaise and cynicism

Private wedding ceremony at St Marys Cathedral [Mar-2019 350KB]

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]

Back to the Futuregate

The excitement was palpable. Needless to say, everyone was talking about staring down the barrel of a perfect storm, while waiting for a perfect fairytale ending for the history books

Media–workers at the Sydney Opera House [Jul-2014 347KB]

Espresso Kultur

The al fresco revolution gave tantalising significance to our busy lives

Outdoor café seating at Little Eveleigh street, Redfern [Sep-2020 394KB]

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]

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]

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 162KB]

Down from the mountain

… and into the markdowns

Leura antique store [Oct-2018 228KB]

Stroking the hidden hand

Like 19th century Paris or London, it was an article of faith that everyone was free to choose their own destiny

Tents for the ~~homeless~~ unhoused at Wentworth Park, Sydney [Jul-2017 527KB]

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]

Delivery apps were so convenient

HungryPanda, ~~Foodora,~~ Uber Eats, DoorDash, EASI, Menulog, ~~Deliveroo~~, Hey You, GrubHub, goPuff, EatNow, Yelp… We imported an underclass of 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

In 2020 food delivery riders were suddenly everywhere. Most were foreign “students”, who would tear around at breakneck speeds along footpaths and through plazas. During peak–lockdown these riders proliferated to such an extent that there were more of them hurtling through CBD streets than there were pedestrians trying not to get hit (ABC News, 2020)

Volunteer for service

The only thing that kept us going was charity

Anzac Day Red Cross volunteers, Hyde Park Sydney [Apr-2023 634KB]

Optimal canine synergy

Councils advised you leverage your pets to boost the bottom line

Begging with dogs at the Pitt Street Mall, Sydney [Jan-2024 455KB]

Exuberant expectations

Great success and performance created its own reality (Pfeffer, 2015)

Church Street car dealership, Parramatta [Apr-2017 225KB]

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 202KB]

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 445KB]

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]

Value in Shadowlands

From warehouses to office blocks to strategically unoccupied short–stay accommodation

Motorways and the former Caltex building, Sydney [Sep-2016 129KB]

Hidden variables

Not everyone was sold on the idea of retail therapy

Fast fashion store, George Street Sydney [Jul-2024 495KB]

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]

Potential mountain views

Amenity and Community were not mutually exclusive

Swiss construction poles, Zermatt CH [Feb-2024 219KB]

The one sure bet

My generation decided there was more money to be made by asset value speculation than productive investment

Financial reporter at the Sydney ASX [Oct-2018 192KB]

Remarks

Had originally planned to get shots of the predicted stock–market collapse that day — presumably the same reason the financial reporter was there. Unsurprisingly the crash didn’t happen, and after a brief dip, the market surged to new heights, again

Shadow state

Our top–down ~~globalist~~ trade liberalised system will endure forever

North from the Empire State Building [Oct-2017 590KB]

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 to formally withdraw from the USSR [Dec-1991 353KB]

Remarks

Dozens of people were milling around the vendors. I had to wait 45 minutes, in the freezing cold, for the crowd to part just enough to reveal the sellers behind. Discovered later that most vendors like these had become unemployed in the post–soviet dislocation, and were attempting to hawk their wares to get some money to live on

The customer was king

Everything you could possibly ever want, at your fingertips

Supermarket checkout, Nepean Village Penrith [Apr-2003 385KB]

Remarks

Candid photography inside supermarkets was not easy. You were constantly monitored by employees, who were worried about theft of their product display ideas or pricing strategies. So I developed a special candid rig which, although it had my camera visible at all times, appeared to be transporting it instead of being used to take photographs

Turning transactions into relationships

Feel the love through the acquisition of merchandise

St Collins Lane shopping arcade, Melbourne [Apr-2019 227KB]

Reflating the economy

Old debt could be easily retired by taking on new debt

Tumbalong Park attractions, Darling Harbour [Jul-2014 290KB]

Structural Ugliness

Ironically regress the trend curve to make the feeds pop

Orthopaedic sandals at the QVB Arcade, Sydney [Nov-2020 353KB]

City of Yes

Shuttered shop–fronts guaranteed a bigger tax write–off

The closed Cadbury store in Mid City Shopping Centre, Sydney [Dec-2023 598KB]

Quality by design

Exclusively appointed apartments riddled with gross structural defects

Nevada Apartments remediation at Darling Point [Dec-2018 282KB]

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

The “2001 Black Christmas Fires” had flared again in the Blue Mountains, turning the western sky dark red. Most people at the Opera House forecourt were staring at or photographing the smoke–obscured sun, except for this couple who were far more interested in each other

This weight of calorific delights

Just a spoon full of generously–subsidised HFCS helped the processed food go down (Hyman, 2014)

Candle wax at a Kent Street wine-bar, near Wynyard [Jan-2014 329KB]

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]

Extremely well served

Only the most desirable suburbs were serviced by regular bus, rail and ferry routes

The F5 Neutral Bay ferry leaves Kirribilli wharf [Nov-2020 259KB]

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]

Ghosts of the CBD

The C–Suite resorted to upbeat–slogans, pleading, mandates and calling in political favours to get WFH employees to return to their city offices

Commuters at the new Central station northern concourse [Jul-2023 280KB]

Remarks

Candid photography became a much riskier proposition than it was last century. Luckily, people were so accustomed to mobile phones being used for photographs that on rare occasions when they spotted an actual camera, they assumed it must only be for mundane things like birds or grandkids or flowers

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)

Green shoots at the Westpac plaza in Sydney [Jan-2014 529KB]

Remarks

Although always fascinated by the glibness of the economic expression green shoots, it took a lot of searching to find a corporate environment which actually had them

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]

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]

North to Avoska

Before mobile phones, perhaps–bags accompanied us everywhere

Totes diptych at Hornsby and Town Hall, Sydney [Apr-2005 247KB]

Remarks

Behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, people always carried shopping bags in case goods become available. In the west there were rarely any shortages, but similar bags were carried nevertheless

Grasp the lucky charm

Get in line for that $100M feeling

Lottery ticket buyers, Galleries Victoria QVB [Jan-2024 425KB]

Reframe the narrative

The economic picture was one of continuing success

Bridge Street morning commute, Sydney [Mar-2024 341KB]

Handshake protocol

Contract for a knock–down–rebuild, 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 only completed at the beginning of 2023 [Apr-2020 556KB]

Consumer karoshi

A culture had to be created in which self–sacrifice was indispensable

Market Street escalators at Centrepoint, Sydney [Jan-2016 278KB]

Remarks

A side–benefit of being treated for amblyopia as a child was learning to look critically at things. For example, these escalators bore an uncanny resemblance to a Japanese Samurai Kabuto

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]

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 133KB]

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 466KB]

Remarks

Moscow December 1991, a few days before the end of the Soviet Union. The command-economy had collapsed, while early attempts at market capitalism stalled because there wasn’t enough investment capital or disposable income

Faceless ramparts

The city filled with empty offices, yet few had the courage to admit why

Liberty Place, Castlereagh Street Sydney [Jul-2023 241KB]

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]

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

It was ironic that these Darling Harbour buildings, which were lauded in the 1980s for their innovative design, should thirty years later become yet more fodder for the wrecking ball

Fierce, Wonderful & Closed

What little trade there was bled out slowly

Café noticeboard during a level–four lockdown in Katoomba. Eighteen months later it finally went out of business during another extended lockdown [Apr-2020 302KB]

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 312KB]

Cargo Culte

We lounged about in ill–fitting uniforms, languidly pressing buttons on small screens… waiting for the day He would return, bearing magnificent gifts

Palm tree outside the abandoned St Mary & St Mina’s Coptic Orthodox Church at Sydenham. In May 2017 it was damaged by a suspicious fire and subsequently demolished [Sep-2012 347KB]

Remarks

Had to hang around for ages to capture this image, mainly due to perfecting the aeroplane composition. Often a small turboprop would arrive, when what you really wanted was a thundering A380. Or else there were long periods when there weren’t any planes at all. Either way, it isn’t an issue with high frame–rate cameras, but with Hasselblad A12 film backs you only had a dozen shots to get it right

What this little black rock can 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

Port Kembla had some of the largest coal handling facilities in the world. Unfortunately these utilitarian locations provided few opportunities for interesting images. Sunsets helped, as did telephoto lenses, silhouettes and a photomontage

Bank the win

Everyone in their shiny white mansions popped champagne corks and denounced the enemies of growth

Suburban Toorak, Melbourne [Apr-2019 238KB]

Twilight’s last gleaming

So we slid down the Phillips Curve until we reached the Minsky Moment

Construction hoarding at Barangaroo, Sydney [Sep-2016 190KB]

Road to zero

A ~~globalist~~ trade liberalised 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 335KB]

Within easy reach

Affordable mortgages were flying out the door (ABC News, 2024)

Art Gallery of NSW window view, Sydney [Mar-2019 309KB]

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 214KB]

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]

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” and staff wellbeing events

Australian Red Cross charity collectors at Martin Place, Sydney [Jan-2002 329KB]

The next big thing

Stuff all your fiat–money into the slot to enjoy a lifetime of passive income (Investopedia, 2023), and help the DPRK address its balance of payments issues (TRM, 2025)

Bitcoin ATM, Katoomba [Jun-2023 98KB]

Filled with delight

Non–inclusive apartment developments on the site of a former gasworks

Breakfast Point apartments (formerly Mortlake Gasworks), Sydney [Jul-2014 234KB]

Epistemic insouciance

Full speed ahead for transient high–rollers from the sky (ABC News, 2020)

Crown casino construction, Barangaroo [Jan-2020 193KB]

Remarks

Taken during the erection of Packer’s Pecker. It is difficult to exaggerate the thrall in which ~~gambling~~ wagering was held by politicians, the advertising–revenue–hungry media and most of the adult population of New South Wales (ABC News, 2024)

Practise social distancing

So we stayed home, most of the time

Townhall Arcade foot court [Jul-2021 172KB]

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 285KB]

The golden hoard

Our cities filled with empty apartments ready to flip, owned by foreign capital through their local nominees

The construction boom at Wentworth Point [Sep-2016 305KB]

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 188KB]

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 203KB]

Practising our future

There was always plenty of money for whatever appealed to our sense of adventure

Abandoned front yard sailing yacht, Kirribilli [Jan-2020 530KB]

Crisis misdirection

Much hand–wringing about the “rental crisis” ignored the plight of hard–working mum & dad investors, who had to cope with property managers, council & water rates, landlord insurance, punitive land taxes, repairs & high–quality maintenance, capital gains tax, negative gearing, self–managed superannuation, family trusts, inflation, sky–rocketing interest rates and pastoral care for their tenants

Elizabeth Street block of flats, Surry Hills [Jul-2023 262KB]

Fresh food renaissance

People reacted to the industrialisation of our food supply by sourcing their groceries more directly from producers

Otago Saturday Farmers Market, Dunedin [May-2010 300KB]

Creative Destruction

The most effective way to boost productivity was by reducing the number of employees

What for decades was the abandoned White Bay Power Station at Rozelle. $100M was spent in 2023 to convert it into a venue for the 2024 Sydney Biennale [Jan-2013 216KB]

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 340KB]

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

Waterrun is a dramatic rock–shelf in the Royal National Park. The narrow river valley is surrounded by 50m cliffs, the tops of which provide an overhead view. Unfortunately you have to climb out to the very edge of these things to get the best shots. Have done it twice, there won’t be a third time…

Unintended consequences

Our intellectual pursuits were driven by our deepest convictions

Edgecliff Railway station newsagent [Nov-2017 279KB]

Rocks & Crops

Diggers and drillers drew heartfelt inspiration from the island paradise of Naru

The Port Kembla coal terminal (PKCT) [Sep-2014 276KB]

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 157KB]

Depression in anything but name

Streets full of shuttered businesses & construction sites. Deserted cafés & ubiquitous shoplifting. Meme stocks, mobile scams & rampant online gambling… Yet gig–economy jobs, unpaid overtime, house prices & aggregate GDP kept rising, retirees were still slapping credit cards onto cruise–ship counters, grandparents were buying caravans and subsidising independent school fees, while Treasury forecasts kept predicting economic growth rebounding later on — so everything was fine, really

Shuttered takeaway outlet, Regent Street Redfern [Jul-2023 75KB]

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

Wedding Cake Rock was a social–media hotspot at the northern end of the Royal National Park. A fence had been erected to prevent people from plunging to their deaths (there had been a few), along with preserving the fragile rock–shelf. The irony was that many selfie lovers still clambered over the fence to get their snaps at the cliff’s edge (as shown in the photo). A few months later a taller, reinforced and impenetrable mesh barrier was finally installed

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. (Nassif, 2024)

The defect–riddled Vicinity Apartment block in Canterbury [Oct-2015 285KB]

Incentives to succeed

It was self–evident that the Rich were job creators and property booms were the most efficient way to redistribute wealth

The rear of a Korean restaurant, in a Pitt Street Lane near Town Hall [Oct-2012 330KB]

Brand tornado crisis moment

Socially responsible trading continued during yet another level–four lockdown

George Street boutique — which closed within a few months [Jul-2021 160KB]

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

How do you depict the dismantling of industrial manufacture, with its associated high–quality jobs for working–class people, without being tediously didactic?

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

Night photography is difficult, especially in the rain. It was persistent enough for water to seep into my 1991 35mm LUX (11337) lens, necessitating an around–the–world expedition to have it disassembled, cleaned and recalibrated

Consumer kaizen

A mindset had to be developed in which our customers could live their authentic lives

High Street bus–stop, Penrith [Feb-2017 603KB]

Driven by unceasing mobility

Remember the physical–distancing rule and only travel when essential

Waiting for the Cronulla Ferry at Bundeena Wharf [Aug-2020 300KB]

Remarks

During the 2020 lockdowns there was frequent messaging about social isolation and avoiding “unnecessary” travel. This image was taken at the end of a 28km Royal Coast Track walk, and the commuters’ weariness mirrored the photographer’s fatigue

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]

Both feet on the ladder

Everyone became multi–millionaires by flipping properties bought for pennies decades ago

Renovations in suburban Stanmore [Sep-2012 184KB]

Non–pharmaceutical interventions

A command economy emerged in everything but name

Taped off seating, Sydney Centrepoint [Apr-2020 194KB]

Investment vehicle

Many argued housing affordability wasn’t the real problem

“Tiny House” on wheels, Enmore Park [May-2023 520KB]

Thrusting for yield

Social experiments were gleefully imposed from above

Construction cranes at Australian Technology Park [Mar-2018 186KB]

Rebalance 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

Global interest rates were kept artificially low for decades to spur economic growth. Finding metaphors for the corresponding deterioration in lending standards + mountain of consumer–debt turned out to be surprisingly easy

Flip the city

The introduction of ride–share forced taxi drivers to become victims of their own success

Taxi driver waiting for a fare at Pitt Street, Sydney CBD [Apr-2005 155KB]

Dog–boxes in the sky

Positive towards the future. Positive towards development. Positive towards growth, free enterprise and nimble competition

Spacious and exclusively appointed apartments at Broadway, near Central [Jul-2016 216KB]

Moneyland luxe vibe

To buy into a world where spending symbolised freedom and autonomy

Luxury goods store entrance, George Street Sydney [Nov-2020 303KB]

Grooms of the stool

Seasoned corporate officers were remunerated vast amounts to inspire client–facing staff, adopt fairness standards, proselytise teamwork, touch base with consultants, curate compliance indicia, refresh workplace incentives, champion creativity, host dialogues, populate keynote podia, assist Senate inquiries, form ad hoc committees, initiate 360° reviews, reschedule meetings, draft Annual Report congratulatory remarks, examine interim proposals, query preliminary findings, elevate sales targets, inflate C–Suite bonuses, prognosticate about governance, speculate about proposed legislation, enforce non–compete clauses, corral reputational damage, litigate disparagement, mandate hot–desking, reaffirm tent–pole paradigms, conduct pre–incident preparations, liaise with People Services, distribute Independence Training solutions, action scoping studies, explore loopholes, consider potential reforms, tick–off content audits, endorse check–lists, identify synergies, embrace change, improve optics, shift goalposts, make quantum leaps, monitor DPO teams, extend KPIs, broaden PIPs, defer ESG scorecards, strategise CSR reports, blur AoRs, admire each other’s coiffures, critique brogues, adjudge the hottest office WAG, determine business love–language boundaries, recast the brand ambassador’s role following her arrest, ponder modest subscription models, proliferate loyalty schemes, amend end–user agreements, financialise relationships, appraise discussion papers, propose in–house code amendments, helm corporate turnarounds, contemplate acquisitions, defend mergers, ensure messages stay on-message, keep line–managers in line, closely supervise communications fonts & bullet–points, align the language used in Mission & Vision Statements, refresh talking–points, dispute learnings, mitigate critical findings, upwardly revise earning–projections and plan substantive frameworks for forthcoming roundtables

Queen Street office building after hours, Melbourne [Apr-2019 148KB]

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]

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]

Bury the lede

What better way to house embattled bureaucrats than in an anonymous four–storey suburban bunker?

NSW Rail Operations Centre, Mandible Street Alexandria [Jul-2023 258KB]

Jobs & Growth

Social cohesion was a luxury we could no longer afford

Wall markings behind Parramatta Road, Strathfield [Jul-2014 523KB]

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

Taken during the 2006 Anzac Day march, at the moment when everyone looked up to watch planes fly over. What made the shot difficult was getting the timing right when using a film-based Hasselblad, mounted on a monopod and triggered by a mechanical cable release

Exit strategy

A golden transit through the ages, with better things yet to come

Fig Street tunnel, Ultimo [Jul-2017 470KB]

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 449KB]

Clip service

Media–workers could always revert to nostalgia for a past brimming with future promise

Elbon Arcade Testarossa Sammy–Santino men’s hairstylist (since relocated), Double Bay [Jan-2019 434KB]

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]

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 clients & friends!

Ex seminary on Forbes Street, Newtown [May-2022 487KB]

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]

Forever in Golconda

This time it really was different

Charging bull statue, NYC [Oct-2017 245KB]

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 spiritual healers & alternative–medicine practitioners → more mortgages → more prosperous banks → more stamp–duties → more negative gearing tax–benefits → more wealth–effects → more tourism & international students → more university & independent college enrolments → more group assessments → more elderly relatives to care for children → more low–paid independent contractors → more migration agents, NGOs, community–liaison officers, refugee support advocates & human–rights lawyers → more “English students” offering BBFS → more benefit–fraud arrests → more matchmakers → more arranged child–marriages → larger dowries → more subclass–482 & spousal visas → more bridging visa A’s followed by bridging visa E’s → more impassioned pleas to the Minister for Immigration → more country–of–origin holidays once asylum is granted → potentially higher rates of workforce participation → projected supply–side potential → likely productivity gains → forecast greater aggregate income → increasing sponsor kickbacks & remittances to family overseas → more money in everyone’s hip pocket

Front–yard garden gnomes in Summer Hill, Sydney [Oct-2016 581KB]

An intricate system of inefficiency

Our elites focused more upon growing the economic pie than on how it was divided

Darling Harbour Marina [Jan-2017 176KB]

User–pays model

We 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]

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]

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; Animal Naturopath; Intimacy Coordinator; Sensitivity Editor; Trans–activist & Genderqueer Consultant; Death Doula; Gallerist & Valuer; TikTok™ Scholar; Taco Queen; Equal–Opportunity Policy Officer; Marriage & Family Therapy Intern; Drag Designer; Life Coach; Change Management Coach; Neuro–Linguistic Programming Trainer; Pilates Instructor; Lecturer in Sports Management; Early Childhood Educator; Eyebrow Sculptress; Somatic Therapist; Content Creator; Lived Experience Worker; Reflexologist; Waste Data Handler; Cultural Change Agent; Freelance Restaurant Critic; Jumping Castle Franchisee; Über Delivery Partner; Airtasker Tasker; Emerging Pastry Chef; Latte Artist; Dance Movement Assessor; Chief Resilience Officer; Junior Communications Executive; Campaign Advancer; Senior Curatorial Assistant; Unicorn Wrangler; Trend Forecaster; Stunt Curator; Trainee Personal Trainer; Semi–retired B–girl; Chief Brand and Impact Officer; Beauty Influencer; Consultant Shepherd; Innovation Sherpa; Product Placement Jedi; Experience Designer; Interim Social Media & Engagement Producer; Relieving Elation Officer

Market Street escalators at Centrepoint, Sydney [Aug-2018 323KB]

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]

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 131KB]

Segregation now, tomorrow & forever

Only the most privileged could afford to live in their own city (SMH, 2024)

Distillery Drive cutting at Jacksons Landing, in Pyrmont [Jan-2013 343KB]

Remarks

I had to dodge at least a dozen cars to take this shot. The final one contained a private security guard, who told me there were complaints I was infringing people’s privacy. See that big triangular thing at the end of the street? I asked, Care to explain how privacy law applies to a cable–stayed concrete bridge?… At least he had the grace to smile before driving off

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 437KB]

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

The election of the 45th US President in 2016 unleashed a torrent of invective from activists, scholars, pundits and media–workers. It was almost as if all the carping & op–eds & impeachment attempts & special counsels & house select committees & pussyhats & baby blimps & politically–timed indictments & Hollywood admonishments & joyful smiling Kamalas could somehow reverse history. And then in 2024 he was re–elected in a landslide to become the 47th US President

Α Ω

Every last particle of our faith was poured into equities & real–estate

Birrell Street front yard, Bondi Junction [Oct-2018 447KB]

Life in the Bunkercene

Unforeseen economic headwinds caused everyone to cocoon that little bit extra

Martin Place hoardings, Sydney [Mar-2019 298KB]

Corridors of power

Corporate officers dedicated their lives to building a maze of buzzwords & clichés

Office buildings at Little Spring Street, North Sydney [Jan-2025 352KB]

Stakeholder

One could either use General Relativity field–equations to derive the Schwarzschild metric in n–dimensions, or else go shopping

Freezer aisle in the now defunct Franklins Supermarket, Katoomba [Dec-2003 400KB]

Remarks

Again a custom Leica candid rig had to be used, with the added complication of a supermarket employee discreetly following me around to ensure I wasn’t taking photographs

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]

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]

Have a go to get a go

Our financial success was entirely self–made and the result of a lifetime of love and labour. So we deserved to keep more of our hard–earned money

Hopetoun Road Toorak, Melbourne [Apr-2019 205KB]

Knowledge–based economy

If you could no longer make a profit by making things, then you could profitably spend your time making things up

Queen Victoria Building escalators, near Sydney Town Hall [Jan-2012 285KB]

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]

Rust belt potential

Our suburbs were rife with agility, propagation and replacement

Lett Lane, Lithgow [Jun-2019 449KB]

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]

Defenestrate your livelihood

We mortgaged the future and bet it all on there not being one

Waverton Coal Loader wharf [Feb-2022 587KB]

Remarks

Although ruin–porn is a photography cliché, there are times when you cannot ignore it. To get the overhead shot, I had to climb a barbed–wire topped security fence. The apparent pincushion distortion by the 19mm ELMARIT (11329) is misleading, as the degraded planks and trusses were significantly bent

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]

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]

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 & ~~drug money laundering~~ property portfolios & ~~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 & ~~currency manipulation~~ hedging against inflation & 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 summеr–interns & ~~influence peddling~~ lobbying & ~~door–opening~~ lobbying & ~~impunity spells~~ lobbying & ~~moral–hazard exceptions~~ lobbying & ~~guaranteed bailouts~~ lobbying & ~~suspending customer withdrawals~~ bank holidays & exploiting insurance protection gaps & using courts to reject insurance claims & friendly Wagyu–beef–washed–down–with–finest–shiraz judgements & swaps & options & swaptions & binary options & monetising reward–scheme data & shifting customers to modest monthly subscriptions & ~~un–regulated~~ self–regulated loyalty–point loans & ~~un–regulated~~ self–regulated crypto–loans & ~~embezzle funds~~ build wealth for ~~chancers and grifters~~ investors & 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 façade of the Commonwealth Bank Building [Oct-2020 409KB]

A million jobs Mr Speaker

Decades of financialisation resulted in tremendous benefits for all to share

Shepherd Street factory yard, at Marrickville [Sep-2012 277KB]

Unearthing the past

The house was gone and the yard excavated so deep that every trace of your childhood was obliterated

What was once 12 Kensington Street, Kogarah [Apr-2011 346KB]

Diversify your portfolio

We’re not suggesting the $3.6M starting guide is cheap, but for a family home it’s surprisingly good value. Just a hop, skip & jump to independent schools and a leisurely stroll to hatted dining or buzzy cafés. 12–foot sun–soaked 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, along with exquisite magazine–worthy touches. So bring your builder & exploit the potential of this undercapitalised gem!

Terraced houses for rent or sale, Redfern [Jul-2023 431KB]

Retail was your future

Optimism and nostalgia were the only things which kept newsagents viable

South Sydney newsagent, Redfern [Jul-2023 461KB]

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]

Unyielding positivity

On a moonless night the captain raced his 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 despite these temporary setbacks we always take customer safety extremely seriously; 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 green shoots of optimism; The damaged ship rapidly took on water and listed dangerously → As part of our vision to create a non–zero–sum paradigm, it may be temporarily necessary to cede ground and let the other side run with the ball for a while in order to guarantee future success; Some passengers ran about screaming → Team members were proactively incentivised to facilitate collaborative eminence; Many others had to fight their way topside → To continue to be part of our positive future, 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 places 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 a mission–driven team and take this incident extremely seriously, and can assure our stakeholders that thoughts and prayers have gone out to the families and loved–ones of those who failed to return. As part of our community obligations, we also continue to provide shoulder–to–shoulder support for those who may require it. Nevertheless, there have always been rare and anomalous events, where unforeseen technical and systems failures may uncover vulnerabilities and cause processes to fall a little short of expectations. The good news, however, is that we have seized upon this unique opportunity to launch a bespoke campaign to kick–start the next 100 years of growth and success!

Boutique shop–front redevelopment, Leura [Aug-2021 130KB]

Practical streetwise living

Neo–feudalism required an amorphous layer of vagrants to ensure everyone kept in line

Pitt Street Mall food–court entrance, Sydney [Jan-2019 408KB]

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]

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 108KB]

Shadow workforce

Chronic mass unemployment was eventually solved by changing survey methodology and definitions

Red flags at the Circular Quay promenade [Jul-1992 546KB]

Remarks

Taken from the Cahill Expressway, looking down onto the paving at Circular Quay. The huge “knife” was actually the shadow of a banner flapping in the wind

Everywhere the glint of gold

Vibrant cities crammed full of soaring casinos, buzzing with enеrgy, innovation and excitement

Microflite City Helipad, Yarra River Melbourne [Apr-2019 292KB]

Tyburn revisited

Decades of back–room infrastructure deals & favours continued unabated

Sydney Metro Project construction site, Martin Place [Jul-2019 272KB]

A license to kill

There was nothing on your dinner table that wasn’t put there by hard–working road–freight professionals

The “roo bar” of a prime–mover at Kings Langley, near Blacktown [Aug-2015 381KB]

The emporium struck back

Department stores battled heroically against an invisible enemy

Storm–troopers at the David Jones lift–well [Jan-2019 85KB]

A touch of Bucharest

Boulevards of unoccupied homes, lined with wilted corpse flowers

Rose Street terraces, Chippendale [May-2023 462KB]

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]

Rhizomatic connections

There was fresh evidence to suggest the uncapping of university places accomplished exactly what it set out to achieve (ABC News, 2024)

University of Sydney main quadrangle [Oct-2017 528KB]

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

Having worked in high–pressure corporate environments in the 1990s, it proved difficult to find suitable metaphors outside. But then sometimes you got lucky

Tulips in the rough

Tax laws were 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 535KB]