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Politics and Policies

By Tina Perinotto 19 April 2011 – Property industry lobbyist Caryn Kakas was among the long line up of people today announced by the Gillard Government to sit on the Land Sector Working Group to examine the benefits and opportunities for the land... 
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By Tina Perinotto 15 April 2011 – It could be a tale of two cities. Again. Sydney City Council last week rejected the tender for its deep sea plunge into the brave new world of large scale trigeneration – the gas-sourced, low-carbon energy that it... 
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By Tina Perinotto 11 November 2010 - Favourites: Siobhan Toohill is the highly regarded sustainability leader for Stockland. We first interviewed Toohill in May last year for the first in a series of profiles of high achieving women in the sustainability... 
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By Amy Kelly 31 March 2011 – Brisbane City Council on Tuesday night passed a motion allowing residents affected by the January 2011 floods to rebuild their homes beyond the height restrictions of current planning controls. The proposed temporary local... 
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By Leon Gettler 31 March 2011 – The federal government’s Australian Carbon Trust is targeting Australia’s $1.2 trillion superannuation sector for partnership funding. If it succeeds, it will potentially create an enormous funding pool for sustainable... 
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by Tina Perinotto FA VOURITES – 8 October 2010 – Property industry, roll up your sleeves. You have truckloads of work to do. At least if the government takes up some of the recommendations now on its desk. On Friday, after months –... 
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30 March 2011 – China is doing far more on climate change than Australians might know – and so is Europe – according to federal climate change minister Greg Combet. Speaking at the close of the Australia-China ministerial dialogue on climate... 
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In energy efficiency land they’re really busy By Tina Perinotto 31 March  2011 – Busy? That isn’t the word for it, says Paul Bannister,  highly regarded building engineer,  managing director of energy efficiency experts Exergy and a key... 
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Leon Gettler 24 March 2100  – A centre-piece of the ALP campaign in last year’s election was its promise of $1 billion in tax breaks for businesses on investments in energy-saving measures for commercial building, one of a number of climate... 
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By Lynne Blundell 24 March 2011 – We live in tumultuous times. Daily we are bombarded with news and images of disaster – floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, social unrest and impending nuclear catastrophe, all against a backdrop of a warming planet.... 
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By Tina Perinotto 23 March 2011  – In Perth they rallied to support climate action.  In Canberra 10,500 petitions were presented to Climate Change Minister Greg Combet supporting the same. And GetUp, the grass roots organisation has a rolling campaign... 
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23 March 2011– The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering has produced a Handbook for Reform to guide a new NSW Government after Saturday’s election towards the successful infrastructure needed for continuing economic growth. “Last year’s... 
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By Chris Taylor 17 March – The Forest Stewardship Council is becoming wedged in the middle of a battle between environmentalists and Australia’s largest paper manufacturer. The Wilderness Society launched its campaign in February against Australian... 
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By Michael Mobbs 17 March 2011 – Have you ever walked across a paddock and had to pick your way around patches of Bathurst Burr to avoid being prickled by them? Anyway, for those who wish to get to the other side of this Bathurst Burr, here are a... 
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By Lyn Drummond 16 March 2011 – A carbon tax could cut business costs according to Energetics founder and executive director, Jonathan Jutsen. While Mr Jutsen agrees that a carbon tax will increase business costs, the overall impact on  operations... 
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10 March 2011 – From The Economist. Australian mammalogist and palaeontologist, Tim Flannery is an environmental celebrity. His 2005 book,The Weather Makers, about climate science and global warming, was a bestseller. His latest Here on Earth is his... 
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By Leon Gettler 9 March 2011 – The Liberals  in Victoria – and potentially soon in NSW – have both threatened a new wave of urban sprawl, but planners say there is an opportunity for a new planning body to push through urban consolidation. Either... 
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By Jane Jose 4 March 2011 – It’s been a summer to remember. A summer that saw Queensland go from beautiful one day, perfect the next, to disaster for the next few weeks. Speaking with characteristic calm and control we heard from the Queensland Premier,... 
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3 February 2011 – The fossil fuel industry receives a whacking huge $10 billion a year or more in subsidies. And these subsidies are firm and solid – built into the tax system as automatic deductions or rebates or exemptions for taxpayers, corporate... 
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3 March 2011 – A new report from Consult Australia has called for the integration of existing fragmented sustainability policies and programs. The report, Seizing the Sustainability Advantage, would be used to drive practical action by governments to... 
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2 March 2011 – The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council this week called  for a federal minister and department for cities and urban development to meet the nation’s urban challenges. Speaking at the Green Cities 2011 conference in... 
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By Tina Perinotto 25 February 2011 –UPDATED – The Australian Financial Review today said in its editorial that it was time to “stop playing political games” with the carbon price issue., despite the ructions its introduction was bound... 
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23 February 2011 – Outgoing Chief Scientist Penny Sackett briefed former prime minister Kevin Rudd only once during his tenure and had never briefed current prime minister Julia Gillard, according to ABC reports of Professor Sackett’s testimony... 
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By Tina Perinotto 16 February 2011 – The Total Environment Centre on Wednesday called on government to embrace energy efficiency along with a carbon price, after reports in Fairfax newspapers said some energy efficiency schemes had wasted billions of... 
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By Michael Mobbs 17 February 2011 – Australia’s councils are perhaps the most ignorant and contemptuous of indigenous culture of any part of our society. Councils manifest their damaged psyche unintentionally in their development approvals every... 
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By Tina Perinotto 10 February 2011 –The federal government today launched its promised Climate Commission, appointing leading scientist and climate change activist Tim Flannery as its chief commissioner. It has given the commission wide power to... 
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By Tina Perinotto 9 February 2011 – Australia is way off course on its hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions, making a carbon price and other measures essential, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet said Read More >... 
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The war is over: prepare for battle By Tina Perinotto 4 February 2011 – So the climate change argument from Canberra has changed from a moral one to an economic one .  Good. Money speaks loudest in high places. In any case, the moral argument,... 
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By Tina Perinotto 4 February 2011 – The Australian property industry has the power to radically transform itself and society, both here and overseas, says leading sustainability design consultant, Simon Wild. The key to its success lies in industry... 
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1 February 2011 - Global action is not going to stop climate change, wrote The Economist on 25 November last year. The world needs to look harder at how to live with it. From The Economist –On November 29th representatives of countries from around... 
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