KEITH T. DENNETT | New South | CONTACT
Australia’s answer to Louis Theroux has hit the leafy streets of inner-Sydney this week to find out what common people think of the Albanese Government’s 2023 Budget.
Hugo Walsh-Robertson (32), a journalist for a major Sydney masthead, was seen patting himself on the back this afternoon after breaking out of his city office and speaking to a few people who work in jobs that don’t require an active LinkedIn presence.
After covering last week’s budget and moderating a rolling Twitter feed, Hugo decided he’d show some initiative and stop regurgitating the same analysis he was reading in journo group chats, and start interviewing some everyday Aussies about their perspective on the budget.
Keen to get a widespread range of opinions from people from various backgrounds and industries, Hugo reportedly spoke to the five people he knew he could easily get an opinion from because he comes into contact with them usually once a week.
After pulling together a list of potentials in the notes app of his phone while lying in bed at 11am, Hugo went and spoke to five small business operators including his personal trainer who runs an invite-only Pilates studio, his neighbour who operates a vegan dog treat business, his housemate who curates a Modern Chinese art gallery and the builder who’s currently renovating his kitchen in his Surry Hills terrace.
After realising that his pool of opinions seemed a little white, Hugo also decided he’d show how committed he was to worldly journalism and speak to Dae-hyun Yoon, a Korean man who dry cleans his shirts for him every week at Kwik Clean Laundry in Darlinghurst.
“It’s my job as a journo to give voice to the unheard, it was so nice to get some opinions from the blue collar battlers of old Sydney town” Hugo told The Advocate.
Asked why he hadn’t interviewed anyone that lives in a regional or rural area, or even anyone that lives west of the Anzac Bridge, Hugo said he still believes that the central business district casts a wide net of the city’s cultural tapestry, although he did make an effort to at least interview a few people who probably commute in from ‘out there’.
“Plus I don’t own a car. You don’t really need one in this city”
