28 January 2011 – An Australian solar hot water supplier has reassured consumers that the cuts to green programs announced on Thursday to help pay for the Queensland  floods will not affect the federal government’s solar hot water rebates. National sales manager for Solahart Stephen Cranch said that eligible households could still claim $1,000 rebate […]

28 January 2011 – Green Building Council of Australia and World Green Building Council chair Tony Arnel this week told the G’Day USA conference in Boston that the business case for green buildings was increasingly compelling but that several myths needed to be busted in order to realise the sector’s full potential. Among the myths […]

27 January 2011 –The Government will spend $5.6 billion to rebuild flood-affected regions across Australia, PM Julia Gillard announced today. The funds will be delivered through a one year levy on people earning more than $50 000, abolishing certain climate change programs such as the green car innovation fund, the solar hot water rebate  and […]

Brief: 27 January 2011 –Hassell has been voted number one architecture practice in Australasia for a second year running in a survey by the building design magazine World Architecture. Among the world’s 100 largest architectural practices, Hassell ranked 25 for the number of creative staff and 33 overall as the largest Australian practice included on […]

27 January 2011 – CB Richard Ellis will co-ordinate the Property Industry Flood Relief Benefit for the Queensland floods with the Property Council of Australia, supported by The Australian Property Institute, HIA, Master Builders, Planning Institute Australia, Shopping Centre Council of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia. The function will be  at Friday’s […]

27 January 2011 – Sustainability has finally made it as one of the big six trends for 2011 and will become a key divider between the “haves” and the “have nots” in the commercial market, according to leading researcher Kevin Stanley of CB Richard Ellis. Mr Stanley, executive director, global research and consulting for CBRE  […]

21 January 2011 –21 January 2011 –As the damage from the Queensland floods becomes clearer calls are emerging for rebuilding and repairs to be more sustainable and resilient and at least one sustainability consultancy is offering subsidised design services to assist. Cundall state manager Queensland Ben O’Callaghan this week said a rethink was needed on […]

23 January 2011 – Sinclair Knight Merz reported during the week that although its offices on South Bank in Brisbane were flooded at ground level and in the basement car park, the collective technical expertise of staff was able to quickly repair damage. Queensland regional manager Steve Raby said that the office situated close to […]

From Climate Spectator – 23 January 2011 – It seems that governments everywhere are continuing to grossly underestimate the enthusiasm for rooftop solar. The NSW government has been so overwhelmed by applications to install rooftop solar panels that it is poised to cancel its solar bonus scheme altogether, less than three months after reducing the […]

23 September 2010 – At last the country has its first NABERS Energy and Water rating for a shopping centre. After years in development for the tool, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, has submitted its Grand Plaza Shopping Centre in Browns Plains, Queensland and achieved a 3 star ratings. Head of sustainability property for […]

By Leon Gettler Special report:  21 January 2011 – With more extreme weather events expected, the Queensland flood crisis could represent the “new normal” that will challenge the property market. Experts have told The Fifth Estate that planning and infrastructure will have to change. Just another sign of what we can expect from a world […]

21 January 2011 – The floods affecting Queensland, Victoria and NSW have been described as unprecedented and their impact on the economy will indeed be extraordinary.  Early estimates place the cost of direct damages to the Queensland economy alone in the vicinity of billions of dollars. Although perhaps not yet fully understood, consequential damages resulting […]

From Treehugger – 21 January 2011 – The cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral in Salsbury, England have been transformed into a maze of 69 towers. Two sides of them are now filled with 15,000 water bottles that change colour in synch with choral music. Created by artist and light designer Bruce Munro, they have transformed the […]

21 January 2011 – The federal government has released a consultation paper on the tax breaks for green buildings program which will be worth up to $1 billion. It has even provided a handy set of questions as a starting point for ironing out how things might work in practice. Closing date for submissions is […]

LETTER – 20 January 2011 – I was told last Friday (14 January) that the Glebe Post Office will close as “planned” on 4 February and that stuff was already being moved out. The senior management of Australia Post don’t care about the needs of Glebe or its unusually large number of elderly pensioner residents. […]

By Tina Perinotto 23 January 2011 – Adelaide might have ranked best city in Australia to live and Sydney worst in a wide-ranging survey from the Property Council of Australia but among some controversial findings was encouraging strong support for medium density housing, especially in transport nodes and shopping centres. More than half of respondents […]

21 January 2011 – The Gold Coast City Council said on Friday that its Hinze Dam was “good planning” and would help protect the city from floods, as it released what it said were among Australia’s most sophisticated flood maps. The statement to reassure its residents came as a council meeting this endorsed $450,000 in […]

19 January 2011 – The Gold Coast City Council today decided to send $450,000 in financial support for the Queensland flood disaster. The council had already sent 1000 temporary beds to Emerald, “a significant amount of machinery and personnel being deployed into the Ipswich region and other areas,” a council media statement said. Councillors Margaret […]

19 January 2011 – With some economists putting a figure of $20 billion on the Queensland flood damage, the terms of reference for the state government’s Commission of Inquiry has already come under fire for not being broad enough. The Federal Government has also established a business taskforce to mobilise flood recovery efforts. Architects are […]

By Lyn Drummond 19 January 2011 – Architects will propose to the Queensland government that building design be considered in its terms of reference for its Commission of Inquiry into the Queensland floods, as industry bodies respond to the crisis. According to the chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Architects David Parken a […]

19 January 2010 – Organisers of the Green Cities 2011 conference in Melbourne starting on 27 February are searching for products or materials that are considered “extreme” today, but may be the norm in 2020. The products or materials will feature in the The Extreme Green session at Green Cities 2011 on Tuesday 1 March […]

19 January 2011 – Granada Media is currently searching for designers, artists, creatives, architects and decorators for a new design-based reality television show called Top Design to be hosted on Channel Nine by Jamie Durie. “We’re looking for people with a strong sense of aesthetics who would like to translate their style into design and […]

19 January 2011 – An innovative  social network website SolaMaps is connecting solar power users around the world. “While NASA and Google provided snapshots of the Earth brilliantly lit by the burning glow of consuming energy,  SolaMaps promises the connectivity of current online social networks, but with a green mission and desire for environmental change,” […]

18 January 2011 – Australia’s GDP may fall and vegetable prices will soar, but some industries are poised to benefit from the flood disaster in Queensland and northern NSW, according to business information analysts IBISWorld. IBISWorld today downgraded Australia’s GDP forecast from 2.9 per cent to 2.6 per cent but said the construction industry in […]

20 January 2011 – An estimated 600 residents and local politicians rallied in Sydney’s inner city suburb of Glebe on Thursday morning this week brandishing more than 4000 signatures in protest against the planned closure of the local post office. The closure will be one of 27 post offices that Australia Post seems determined to […]

14 January 2011 – The Planning Institute of Australia said on Friday that the Queensland flood crisis had focused the need for climate change to be considered in planning for the future and proved that modern planning protocols could work to protect communities, even in low lying areas. PIA national president Neil Savery said that […]

14 January 2010 – Global engineering, consulting and construction firm MWH on Friday said it had donated $50,000 to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal in Queensland. And the City of Sydney is likely to approve a $200,000 pledge to the fund at its extraordinary council meeting on 31 January. Please send news of  donations from […]

By  Keith Orchison 13 January 2011 – From Business Spectator – A question mark hangs over the future of one of Australia’s largest power generators as we enter the new year and a new decade – and because of this there is also a query over cost-efficient east coast electricity supply. Located in the Upper […]