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News From The Front

By Tina Perinotto 1 July 2011 – More than 250 influential property investors and advisors turned out to Tuesday morning’s breakfast presentation at The Establishment in Sydney to hear the PCA/IPD Australian Property Index focus in detail on... 
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15 June 2011 – A greenhouse gas calculator has been designed for householders which assesses emissions impact on a range of activities from transport and shopping to heating and cooling. The Australian Greenhouse Calculator is a program devised by the... 
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By Tina Perinotto Greg Paramor might well be known as one of property’s original Midas men. He has founded a string of successful property companies – Growth Equities Mutual, Paladin and James Fielding and headed the giant Mirvac for four years until... 
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Cities are a bit like kids: lots of problems but we love them and they’re good for us 17 June 2011 – The big event next week on 22 June will be BEMP, Built Environment Meets Parliament, the industry’s umbrella action plan to get politicians... 
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16 June 2011 – A Darwin school’s new outdoor and indoor play and learning spaces have won four of seven awards at the Australian Institute of Architects’ Northern Territory architecture awards. St Mary’s Catholic Primary School new hall and... 
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Philip Pollard’s Phd thesis, Campus as Place, details the the transformation of Newcastle University into one of the world’s leading sustainability exemplars. See Chapter One here. Chapter 2: A collaborative approach to delivering the... 
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15 June 2011 – On the eve of international ride to work day on 20 June, business information analysts, IBIS World estimate that bicycle industry revenue is set to grow by 17.2 per cent over the next five years, topping $3.2 billion. Read More >... 
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15 June 2011 – The Washington based Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability is the first international product certification standard to be recognised by the Green Building Council of Australia. MTS CEO and founder, US Green Building Council,... 
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16 June 2011 – A blend of the pragmatic and the poetic won a South Australian regional school the top award at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2011 SA Architecture Awards. The Caritas College Junior School’s external covered area in Port... 
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16 June 2011 –The Australian War Memorial took most of the honours at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2011 ACT Architecture Awards. ACT jury chair Shelley Penn said the recent work Read More > >  
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15 June 2011 – IPD has released details of its Green Property Index to March 2011, which shows commercial property assets with Green Star or high NABERS energy ratings continue to outperform non-rated assets. Research manager IPD Australia & New... 
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By Lynne Blundell Lighting is far more complex than meets the eye. Greater efficiency might come with dangerous levels of mercury, or metals that need to be disposed of. July 2010  – FAVOURITES: Lighting is hot right now. Every week, Read More... 
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By Lynne Blundell 7 April 2011 – Special Report: Building materials are on the cusp of a major revolution driven by demand for more sustainable products and processes. And the tools used to assess their sustainable credentials are an integral part of... 
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By Tina Perinotto 6 May 2011 – Favourites: Jon Jutsen’s company  consults to around half the top 50 companies on the Australian Stock Exchange and about one third of the top 200.  Energetics helps them devise their energy and carbon strategy... 
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By Lynne Blundell 10 June 2011 – Industrial property was delivered a body blow by the global financial crisis – companies put expansion plans on hold and construction of new facilities ground to a halt. Now, with activity slowly returning, new projects... 
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On giants: slumbering, gentle, and those missing in action 10 June 2011 – Poor old industrial property. Always the least glamorous of the sectors, but beloved nevertheless by the people who understand its mysterious workings – and the importance of... 
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9 June 2011 – The Productivity Commission on Thursday released a report that reveals the extent of climate action in key economies and sectors. The results suggests it’s time for Australia to wake up, climate and green groups say. The report,... 
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8 June 2011 – More than $226 billion of assets in national coastal areas are potentially at risk from climate change, heralding changes to planning regimes and buildings codes in urban environments, a report released by Minister for Climate Change and... 
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By Tina Perinotto 7 June 2011 – The Property Funds Association Inc (formerly the Australian Direct Property Investment Association) has ramped up its focus on sustainability with a range of measures for members and a submission to the federal government... 
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7 June 2011 – The Climate Institute says the evidence is mounting that the economy can grow on the back of clean energy and energy efficiency and has called for government investment in these emerging industries. Chief executive officer John Conner... 
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7  June 2011 – Demographer Bernard Salt claims that 180,000 skilled migrants per year can deliver a sustainable future for Australia. Writing in his latest book, The Big Tilt: What Happens When the Boomers Bust and Xers and Ys Inherit the Earth, Mr... 
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6 June 2011 – A program called Trees for Tomorrow is being used to set new standards in sustainable funding so carbon sink plantations also recognise biodiversity and reckless monoculture planting is stopped, organisers say. The program is the idea... 
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By Tina Perinotto 3 June 2011 – Tony Arnel, chair of the GBCA and World GBC, Victorian Building and Plumbing Commissioner, plus holder of a string of other leadership positions including with the Melbourne Comedy Festival, never fails to both inspire... 
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3 June 2011 – Two new State Governments in Victoria and NSW, two sets of peremptory statements about what the new regime will and won’t allow to happen with development and planning. Two sets of Sir Humphrey-style briefings about the reality... 
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Let’s talk not so quietly amongst ourselves 3 June 2011 – It will be the hardest thing for The Fifth Estate to do: One thousand pieces of wisdom, insights and provocations from a string of conferences and events in this livewire industry:... 
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2 June 2011 – Victoria’s Planning Minister Matthew Guy has announced the establishment of a new Urban Renewal Authority, which will absorb the current VicUrban with no loss of jobs, but with the board disbanded. Read More > >  
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1 June 2011 – Adelaide’s redeveloped Flinders Medical Centre has become the first hospital project in Australia to receive a prestigious five star Green Star rating. The hospital’s new south wing has been awarded the rating by the Green Building... 
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31 May 2011 – US Newsweek’s Sharon Begley says even climate change doubters can’t dispute evidence. Even those who deny the existence of global climate change are having trouble dismissing the evidence of the last year. In the US alone,... 
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31 May 2011 – Arup has launched a competition to describe the concept of soft infrastructure in urban planning – elements such as branding, community engagement and cohesion, to complement the “hard” elements of roads, rail, tunnels and buildings. The... 
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24 May 2011 – Three-storey high vertical gardens are the focal point of the atrium at Auckland’s Britomart East building which has a five star rating from New Zealand’s Green Building Council, and houses tenants including Ernst & Young and... 
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