One Country, Two Codes

9 September 2016 #520

Cover Story: One Country, Two Codes

The Big Issue has gone footy mad! It’s the (footy) finals countdown, and we’re exploring the way both AFL and NRL shape and mirror Australian culture. We may be divided into two codes along the fabled Barassi Line, but Dr Kate Seear explains how footy brings us closer together, no matter your persuasion. AFL National Women’s League player Phoebe McWilliams celebrates the launch of the new league. And we speak to historian Ian Syson, who reveals soccer has been a dominant footy force in Australia for 130 (!) years.

Also in this issue...

Cyndi Lauper chats to us exclusively about heading to Australia for the launch of her musical Kinky Boots; Katherine Smyrk remembers Jill Meagher and her legacy, four years after her death affected the nation; we revisit Miles Franklin Award winner AS Patric’s short story originally published in The Big Issue’s 2014 Fiction Edition; Viggo Mortensen sheds his darker side to become a hero in his latest movie; and, in Roving Eye, we head into space and speak to astronaut Marsha Ivins.

Chris from Perth stars in the Vendor Profile this edition. And we have a bumper footy-themed Streetsheet with contributions from Glenn F, James P and Marcus from Sydney; Kerry Anne, Rhys, Vernon B, Anthony, Kellee, Fred B, Michael L and Russell from Adelaide; Gray, Jeff S, Kyra and Donna from Melbourne; Mick and Steve W in Perth; and Adam W, Nathan L and Brendan C in Brisbane.