up to claim the award, to everyone's surprise, saying there was no Laura Feinstein, it created great controversy. The Tropfest win led directly to work on the Jane Campion film Holy Smoke!, Emma-Kate Croghan's Strange Planet and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!. In 1999, Tayshus participated in the television series Aussie Jokers, produced and directed by Paul Fenech for SBS TV. His segment was an historical journey about his father's Holocaust experiences in Poland, from his hometown of Łódź, to the death camp Treblinka, to his rescue from Bergen Belsen. It is an emotional and deeply moving double header tracing Isaac Gutman's life from 1939 to 1945, when most of his family was murdered by the Germans just for being Jewish. The documentary has been shown several times on SBS and is available on YouTube. A documentary about Austen Tayshus, produced by Angry Messiah Pictures and titled Austen Tayshus Skin in the Game, was completed in 2020 and scheduled for release on Foxdocos Channel on July 17, 2022. 1999–2009: "Footyana" In July 2000, Tayshus released "Footyana", a comedy piece in the style of "Australiana", referring to Australian rules football and the National Rugby League. It includes such lines as:"Are Steve and Tin gay or something?" (Stephen Tingay) "We passed Liam the Burger Rings. Come on Liam, pick a ring." (Liam Pickering) He performed it live on the television show Live and Kicking to great acclaim. He continued to tour Australia, performing one hundred shows a year. 2010: Political career In August 2010, Tayshus ran for the Australian House of Representatives in the Division of Warringah in the August federal election, representing the Australian Sex Party. He stood against Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott. He subsequently ran in the 2011 New South Wales state election as a member of the Outdoor Recreation Party, contesting Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell's seat of Ku-ring-gai. In 2012, Tayshus appeared as a panelist on the ABC's political panel show Q&A to promote the release of his biography, Austen Tayshus: Merchant of Menace, written by Richard Murphy and Ross Fitzgerald. Discography Studio albums Live albums Singles Awards and nominations Countdown Australia Music Awards The Countdown Australia Music Awards were an awards ceremony produced by Countdown in collaboration with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), from 1981 to 1986. |- | rowspan="2"| 1983 | "Australiana" | Best Debut Single | |- | himself | Special Achievement | |- |