by Andrew Starc 4 August 2010 - The Planning Institute of Australia has called on Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to address the issue of long term planning by issuing five key planning priorities it says are vital to Australia’s long term success. PIA... 
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By Tina Perinotto FAVOURITES – 10 September 2009 -Picture this: an apartment tower constructed entirely in a factory — right down to the base fit-out and even the defects’’ rectification. The walls built of new lightweight materials, pre-insulated.... 
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By Tina Perinotto 17 March 2010 – Australians could be on the cusp of “getting it” in terms of downsizing their houses to more sustainable and affordable levels, if you take note of Stockland chief executive Matthew Quinn. Mr Quinn, who heads... 
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By Lynne Blundell 29 July 2010 – The Melbourne co-housing group, Urban Coup, is getting closer to making its dream a reality – that is, creating a community where resources, ideas and skills are shared on a daily basis. There is a strong sense... 
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26 July 2010 - China has decided it will put a price on carbon, starting next year, it has decided to use a market mechanism because an administrative one is too expensive; and its top 1000 energy consumers have signed contracts to reduce energy consumption... 
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By Tina Perinotto 29 June 2010 – The Planning Institute of Australia today came out in support of the Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s “more measured approach” to population growth for Australia, but it will have a fight on its hands from the... 
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29 June, 2010 – A series of three reports released by Parsons Brinckerhoff and the Curtin University Sustainable Policy Institute have shown that active-travel cities are 6 per cent more productive. Authors of the report, Roman Trubka, Peter Newman... 
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By Tina Perinotto 28 June 2010 – Sustainability consultant Shauna Coffey (formerly of Mirvac) and Investa’s Craig Roussac were among guests who turned out for the launch of the Energy Efficiency Council’s new policy Platform for 2010 at 260... 
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Brief – 25 July, 2010 – Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum have agreed to embark on a project to create up to 20 low-carbon model cities using energy-efficient technologies including smart grids and renewable power generation. Announced... 
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By Andrew Starc 25 June 2010 - Bond University’s Mirvac School of Sustainable Development building has been awarded the United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Szencorp Green Building Award. The first educational building in Australia... 
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17 June 2010 – The fact that Sydney wasn’t listed first or second on the KPMG audit of major cities’ planning systems probably says as much as you need to know about whether or not some action is urgently needed, the audience at the Built Environment... 
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Brief – 16 July, 2010 – The Australian Local Government Association has launched its Local Roads and Transport Agenda, outlining a vision for the next decade. President of the ALGA Geoff Lake said that local councils play a significant role... 
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by Andrew Starc 15 June, 2010 – The Australian Conservation Foundation’s first sustainable cities index today nominated Darwin as Australia’s most liveable city among a list of 20. But though Darwin was a clear winner on several measures,... 
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By Tina Perinotto 11 June 2010 – The NSW Government’s decision to cap developer contributions could see new home owners in greenfields housing estates left without adequate facilities and households facing steep rises in rates, according to the... 
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Brief – 9 June, 2010 – The Queensland Government has appointed Umow Lai to master plan the new $1.97 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital. Umow Lai’s team will provide technical and documentation advice as well as a full range of engineering... 
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by Lynne Blundell 21 May 2010 – The sustainable property sector is littered with tools – tools to measure, to assess, to rate – to give insight into an increasingly complex area. Every other week, it seems, there is a new tool or piece of software.... 
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By Tina Perinotto 19 May 2010 – Federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek today scotched any notion that she would support deregulated zoning in order to create more affordable housing, despite the Productivity Commission’s recent announcement... 
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By Tina Perinotto 17 May 2010 – The NSW Government today announced the country’s first legally binding bio-banking covenant to protect environmentally sensitive land in return for development rights over similar land. But The Greens have slammed... 
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Brief – 10 May 2010 - Stockland once again has affordable housing in its sights with the announcement late last week that it will offer discounts of around $30,000 on over 100 of its home and land packages in Western Australia, this time with... 
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By Andrew Starc 5 May 2010 - Changes to zoning and development laws to enhance environmental sustainability are part of a proposed 30-year-plan for Southbank, the City of Melbourne announced today. The Draft Southbank Structure Plan 2010 includes changes... 
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2 May 2010 – UPDATED 3 May 2010  – The Henry Tax Review has been released today and with it some lengthy responses to the huge number of property items it considered.  Among these items – and of significant concern is the review’s... 
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By Andrew Starc 21 April 2010 – A new report by Curtin University of Technology and Parsons Brinckerhoff highlights evidence that the potential for the Federal Government to enforce deregulation of urban zoning and planning across Australia could ... 
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By Tina Perinotto 22 April 2010- Planners have reacted angrily to widescale moves to deregulate zoning controls, create land “competition” and fast track more urban sprawl that emerged in an avalanche of government announcements in the past week. Leading... 
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By Tina Perinotto 19 April 2010 - [Updated 19 April 2010] A Productivity Commission inquiry into development controls is set to raise a storm of controversy if it results in loosening zoning controls for residential and retail property, as anticipated. Expect... 
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The Australian Conservation Foundation has finally named the elephant in the room of sustainability -  population growth. It said yesterday it would bid to make population recognised as a key threat under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation... 
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by Adam Beck, Green Star Communities project manager, Green Building Council of Australia Australia is confronted by significant long-term challenges. Population growth and demographic change, transport congestion, housing affordability, infrastructure... 
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By Tina Perinotto COMMENT 18 March 2010 – “What we have here is failure to deliver,” the surly prison guard in the mirror glasses might have said in Cool Hand Luke. The NSW Government deserves to be locked up. It has failed to deliver the... 
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By Tina Perinotto The Green Building Council of Australia said the Australian Government’s State of Australian Cities 2010 report would support the property and construction sector’s drive to Sustainability. GBCA chief executive Romilly Madews said... 
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By Lynne Blundell FAVOURITES: 5 November 2009 – The Southport Broadwater Parklands project may well be a blueprint for adaptive planning solutions to combat sea level rise and storm surge on our coastlines. It involved some creative methods, including... 
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FAVOURITES – 6 April 2009 – Peter Szental explains how the Szencorp Building at 40 Albert Road, South Melbourne, claims it is the country’s highest sustainability achiever with top ranking in each of the three major ratings systems. Szencorp’s... 
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