Need to know – in brief

Tim Gurner

Melbourne developer Tim Gurner could now be a confirmed master of courting controversy given his slamming of tradies last year and what they’re paid, telling a conference that the economy needed to see “more pain” and that unemployment needed to jump 40 to 50 per cent.

His latest bid for this ignominious crown could be his comments in recent days that Melbourne was now “the sixth-most-expensive city in the country” – like it’s a bad thing!

He said: “We should be number two.”

Those who still don’t own their own home might not agree. But Gurner is right; things are looking up for the latter and not so good for investors.

According to recent media reports While most property prices are soaring, some suburbs, including in the City of Stonnington, which has been targeted for higher densities, are falling. In the June quarter, one in three homes in Stonnington are, on average, selling at a 25.8 per cent loss, according to the latest report from CoreLogic.

A similar trend can be seen around the South Yarra station area, where clusters of high-density apartment blocks have been built. Those with second or more homes were hit with increased land tax, and rent could no longer cover mortgage repayments due to more competitively priced rentals elsewhere, leading to homeowners selling at a loss, according to The Age.

Gurner blamed the weather – which is a first we’ve heard as a property price indicator – and the former Andrews government, however he said the recent slashing of stamp duty would help.

His comments bring to mind the eternal conflict between affordability of housing and a “great little earner” that’s generally mitigates against the former.

Investors challenged to invest responsibly

Impact Investing Australia has launched its first of kind open tender competition for investment advisors to take on management of an investment pool of more than $170 million between six philanthropic trusts and foundations.

AI could become the biggest e-waste polluter

Recent studies published in Nature Computational Science estimate that generative AI could generate up to 2.3 million tonnes of e-waste annually by 2030. The pollution is caused by a stampede of developers training AI models using computer hardware, which quickly becomes obsolete and discarded.

There were around 2400 tonnes of e-waste last year, estimated to be the same as dumping 13.3 billion iPhones. The tech industry is encouraged to recycle computer parts, which can be harvested for copper and gold, reducing waste by as much as 86 per cent. Other e-waste includes any device with a battery or plugs, with vapes being the worst offenders. More on ABC.

ARENA funds new tech

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed nearly $4 million to help fund AnteoTech Ltd’s $11.1 million “home grown” new silicon anode technology for lithium-ion batteries’ lithium-ion battery anode technology. The aim is to reduce battery storage costs and enable longer driving ranges for EVs. The project is part of the Australian government’s $523 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative.

Brisbane Metro lines up, but what is it?

Since this masthead covered its open day, the Brisbane Metro (is it a bus? Is it not a bus?) is now officially in operation, but the arguments about its nature continue with many cognoscenti arguing that the name “metro” is commonly used across the world to describe trains, whereas the Brisbane metro is closer in form to a bus or Perth’s trackless tram. At The Fifth Estate we don’t care – all we care about is that the 60 vehicles in its initial fleet are fully electric and can magically charge up – wirelessly ­ in six minutes in a new tech system known as pantograph charging.

New laws force government contractors to provide low carbon concrete options

Starting next year, the ACT government, where Labor was re-elected on the weekend, will require all designers, engineers and builders working on government projects to provide options for low-carbon concrete. The government says it was the first in Australia to reach 100 per cent renewable energy in 2020 and is now turning its attention to reaching net zero on Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions.

As an example of what’s possible, ACT’s Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury pointed to Lendlease’s 555 Collins Street in Melbourne, which “achieved a 30 per cent reduction in scope three emissions by using low carbon concrete.”

“This also had no impact to the cost of the project making it a no brainer for many construction firms and for government.”

Government recommended that banks should check whether property investors can even afford repairs

Victoria introduced new minimum standards that landlords must meet in rental accommodation. Now in response to a Senate inquiry into the financial regulatory framework and home ownership, the Consumer Policy Research Centre recommended changing the rules surrounding checks by banks into home and property loans so that would be landlords could afford to maintain their property or make upgrades to bring the home up to minimum standards.

The suggestion would improve housing affordability as well as living conditions for renters. See the full story on SMH.

WELL Coworking Rating launched

The International WELL Building Institute and global flexible workspace marketplace The Instant Group have together released a WELL Coworking Rating, a benchmarking tool for coworking and flexible spaces.

The tool will be hosted on the group’s marketplace platforms based on the WELL building standards, which include recommendations for air and water quality, light, and thermal comfort, as well as support for physical fitness and nourishment.

Officeworks unveils sustainability milestones

Office supplies and furniture retailers Officeworks has released its 2024 People and Planet Positive report, which discloses progress towards its 18 sustainability targets and projected achievements.

This included reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 49.1 per cent since 2018 and a 7.7 per cent reduction in FY24, as well as planting 1.5 million plants through its Restoring Australia program, where Greening Australia would plant two plants for every one used, with 55,000 planted in the last financial year.

The company has also repaired, repurposed and recycled more than 11,880 tonnes of unwanted products and waste through its Bring It Back and tech trade-in program. Its sustainability-conscious range, which has more than 2400 products, has reported a 10 per cent year-on-year growth, generating $100 million in sales in FY24.

Hedge funds hold the key to green stocks, but what’s stopping them from investing?

A recent analysis by Bloomberg reveals that despite big green stimulus packages in the US, Europe and China, hedge funds, a 5 trillion dollar industry, are only, on average, short-term investing in batteries, solar, EVs and hydrogen.

Meanwhile, based on the information disclosed by 500 hedge funds to data compiler Hazeltree, more funds are long-term investing in oil, gas and coal.

But why? According to interviews with these hedge fund managers, most managers pointed to “an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment”, alluding to potential tariff wars should Trump win the next election – meaning bets on classic green investments such as EVs or solar power were now off.

According to these hedge funds, much of the supply chain for green technology now depends on China and “the risk of a full blown trade war has become a direct threat to the financial appeal of clean energy”, they said.

Kamet Capital Partners Pte’s CEO Kerry Goh said, “If Donald Trump regains the White House after November’s election, ESG investors would likely need to brace for a whole new level of pain.”

But on the flip side, BYD China’s best-selling car brand had made itself a challenger to Tesla’s status quo and was a safe investment, said Goh. “They do everything in-house,” including batteries, and that helps them to manage costs, he said.

QUT studies suggest older Australians could be the key to a short term housing crisis fix

New housing solutions keep piling in. We too jumped into the crisis with our Let’s Hack Housing event in late September.  One of our panellists at the event was Cathy Callaghan, who addressed the role of Airbnb in the housing crisis. That or other comment seems to have sparked Airbnb’s head of housing policies to post about this research paper, which Callaghan supported.

The paper written by Queensland University of Technology economist Dr Lyndall Bryant proposed that there was potential short term housing crisis relief if older homeowners had incentives to rent out spare bedrooms.

Bryant’s proposal was based on 2021 census data, which found there were 13 million unused bedrooms in the nation’s housing stock.

She said that 80 per cent of these older Australians rely at least in part on the age pensions, and 25 per cent live in poverty. There was a potential crossover for those who are “asset rich and income poor” to help those affected by the housing crisis and cost of the living crisis to come together for a “win-win” solution for both parties, given pensions are not affected, and there are “tenant matching” mechanism in place.

Green Iron SA launches

Green Iron SA, a consortium of industries committed to accelerating green iron production and export in South Australia, launched on Tuesday, bringing big players such as Magnetite Mines, Aurizon Holdings, Flinders Port Holdings, and GHD to the table.

The group has identified SA’s Braemar Iron region, abundant in high-purity magnetite, as its primary target. It said that with the help of the state’s world-leading renewable energy capacity, it could become a global leader in producing low-carbon steel supply. The group has proposed a phased development pathway with foundations to ensure the state’s creation of the green iron industry remains sustainable. It is currently being discussed with both state and federal governments to secure the partnerships and infrastructure necessary for the vision.

Romans and self-healing concrete

How Romans made durable concrete thousands of years ago has long been an item of intrigue. Now this article from The New York Times explores how the concrete may have been “self-healing”. It describes a two-centimetre fragment of ancient Roman concrete collected from the archaeological site of Privernum in Italy, “believed to be a calcium-rich lime clast,  which is responsible for the unique self-healing properties in this ancient material.”

According to the research “lime clasts were actually reservoirs of calcium that helped fill in cracks, making the concrete self-healing. As cracks formed, water would seep in and dissolve the calcium in the lime, which then formed solid calcium carbonate, essentially creating new rock that filled in the crack.”

Local government takes a hit

Queensland local governments are struggling to fund workers in early childhood educators, librarians, road maintenance staff, and gardeners, according to the Australian Services Union, ahead of this week’s federal government’s inquiry into local government sustainability.

Additional strain on local government was coming from events such as Tropical Cyclone Jasper, the cost of living crisis and rising costs to meet infrastructure such as roads, water and sewerage treatment facilities. There was also excessive reporting required by state and federal government to access funds and that also hampered the work involved in hiring new staff.

Suburban Melbourne is coming back to life thanks to working from home

If you’ve heard that the flex work regime where people work at least some days from home has kickstarted stronger activity in retail strips, now there’s some data to back up the sentiment.

A new report from Fitzroy’s latest Walk the Strip found that despite high inflation and cost of living pressure, 70 per cent of 37 surveyed suburban strips indicated they now have a below-average retail vacancy rate. The report attributes this to the lifestyle changes of residents and landlords completing nearby residential developments, drawing in a new local crowd.

Specialty retail stores rose to around 34 per cent, and food and beverage also saw similar post-pandemic growth to 30.9 per cent of strip occupancy. Service retail is also near the highest in the long term, at 28.1 per cent, likely due to reduced pandemic concerns. Notable strips include Church Street in Brighton, with a 0.7 per cent vacancy rate and High Street in Armadale, with a 2.3 per cent vacancy rate despite having the highest rents across all strips.

• CBD vacancy rates across the nation have also stabilised; see report here.

UK moves forward on faith based social housing

The Church of England has decided to become the developer of its land, telling The AFR it was on a “god-given” mission to build 70,000 homes across its 81,000 hectare estate from Carlisle to Cornwall. The church said it believed the development would open doors to social housing amidst the housing crisis.

The church does, however, expect local resistance to its plans, especially from those wanting to protect the church land – valued at around £2.5 billion or $A4.8 billion.

Similar cases were seen in inner west Sydney four years ago, when Fresh Hope, owners of an ageing unused church and surrounding properties, and social and sustainable housing developers Nightingale Housing were blocked from proceeding with its development.

The battle was taken to the Land and Environment Court, where the local council and residents argued to protect the heritage site.

Faith Housing Australia chair and former NSW planning minister Rob Stokes wrote in an article last year that his organisation has identified more than 2500 places of worship across the state that may be able to support social and affordable rental housing needs in a preliminary survey.

The high rise due for demolition should be saved

The Victorian government remains steadfast in its commitment to knock down a set of 20 storey public housing towers on Victoria Street in North Melbourne to rebuild the estates in collaboration with private developers despite community pushback. The case will face a two-day class action trial in the Supreme Court brought on by residents.

OFFICE, a charitable not-for-profit design and research practice, has released a new 170+ page report criticising the government and detailed solutions that could save taxpayers more than $300 million, hundreds of residents from uprooting, and likely many carbon emissions released through demolition.

The practice said the towers could easily be expanded upon and retrofitted to comply with contemporary standards, such as widening doorways for disabled access and new fit outs of bathrooms, kitchens, windows and balconies. More here.

Bentley Systems releases new carbon analysis tool amongst five innovations

Infrastructure and engineering software?provider Bentley Systems is busy at work with the announcement of five initiatives, one of which included upgrades to its existing iTwin Experience software, which will now have carbon footprint analysis for buildings utilising the program.

Infrastructure management software can assess, manage, and help reduce the carbon impacts of buildings, helping infrastructure become more sustainable and simplifying the carbon reporting process for engineers through visualisations of embodied carbon and proposed design improvements.

Bates Smart wins Timber Design Grand Prix

Bates Smart was announced the grand prix winner of the Australian Timber Design Awards on 16 October. The design that won the trophy was used at the Embassy of Australia in Washington D.C., which was described as achieving a delicate balance between cultural representation, iconic civic presence and practical security considerations. It was also heavily inspired by the Australian landscape and captured values of welcomeness and trust and used Australian timber wall panels that provided both air reticulation and sound absorption. Designs had textured horizontal bands that transitioned from rough to smooth timber to give elements of “protection”, as seen in a eucalypt forest.

Other notable mentions:

• People’s Choice – Michael Kirby Building – Macquarie University Law School by Hassell Studio and FDC Construction (NSW)
• Sustainability – Berninneit Cultural and Community Centre by Jackson Clements Burrows
• International Projects – Embassy of Australia, Washington D.C. by Bates Smart
• Rising Star – Sarah Shearman from Brother Nature Design for River House

Melbourne could be the new data centre capital

While Sydney still enjoys a firm chokehold as the nation’s capital when it comes to the data centre market, new analysis published by property valuers M3 Property calls that into question, saying 75 per cent of all new data centre projects are currently being built in Melbourne.

• Read more about data centre trends in sustainability

M3 Property national director of specialised assets James Ruben said Sydney’s boom in data centres was “more coincidental than anything else” and that developers in Melbourne had struggled to find available land and energy supply capable of powering the sites. He predicts that data centres in Canberra and Brisbane are also expected to rise in number as big players such as Goodman Group and AirTrunk start to move into the industry.

VanHomes targets people with disabilities

It seems like the housing crisis has turned from bad to worse as VanHomes, a company specialising in “instant homes” designed to be demountable and mobile, launched a new product targeting NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) recipients with high support needs.

The founder, Vito Russo, claims that those who are disabled will seek alternative solutions for accommodation as the housing crisis continues and “people are contacting us in distress” with “loved ones waiting for a suitable NDIS specialist disability accommodation for a long time.”

He also said that his product could save those with disabilities from being “sent off into a shared house” or “even worse, into a nursing home.”

Circonomy enters liquidation

Circonomy, a social enterprise originally known by its beginnings in charity as the World’s Biggest Garage Sale, has entered liquidation this week, citing a downturn in the retail industry where discretionary spending is down.

The enterprise was backed by Officeworks, which took a 21 per cent stake in the business to save surplus and cosmetically damaged goods from landfills. It also offered refurbished tech, furniture and office supplies in its stores in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Zero Carbon Certification for Chadstone Place

Chadstone Place in Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre is believed to be the first Australian office building to achieve Zero Carbon Certification from the International Living Future Institute.

The fully electric building also achieved a 6 Star Green Star Design and a 6 Star Green Star Design and As Built certification and is targeting a 5.5 NABERS Energy rating.

Vicinity, the building’s owner, chose to retrofit the existing property rather than rebuild, leading to an estimated reduction of 85 per cent in embodied carbon.

This also saw 88 per cent of the building’s net lettable area could be reused and 90 per cent of all construction waste was diverted from landfill.

New tenant Officeworks, which aims for 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 and net zero emissions by 2030, was approached by Vicinity to create an office space that would meet those requirements and set a new benchmark for green commercial buildings.

Vicinity’s national head of design, David Waldren, said the achievement shows that “the greenest buildings can be the ones that already exist. 

“This project is a bricks-and-mortar example of a building that meets the Paris Agreement goals of net zero emissions and moves us closer to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, embracing circular economy principles and delivers exceptional places for people.”

Asian countries are cracking down on plastic.

Malaysia has flagged new extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, which will make producers pay for the management of end-of-life waste instead of cash-strapped local governments.

Experts have raised questions over the effectiveness of the law, pointing to the Philippines, which enacted similar laws two years ago but needed help to get large enterprises to comply due to the unclear guidelines. Similar struggles can be seen in other Asian countries, such as Singapore, which has a deposit refund system for plastic bottles caught in delays. Vietnam received complaints about the exorbitant recycling fee.

Busan in South Korea will follow in Malaysia’s footsteps with a landmark decision to finalise next month.

Wollemi Capital joins bid on low carbon cement

Australian climate investment firm Wollemi Capital has joined several US investors in backing Californian based materials technology company Fortera in a Series C USD$85 million funding round.

The company has developed technology that reduces carbon dioxide in making cement by intercepting carbon dioxide exhaust from kilns and permanently sequestering it by mineralising the CO2 into ready-to-use cement. This cement can then be blended back into any non-green cement produced by the original plant.

The company claims the process lowers emissions by 70 per cent compared to ordinary cement on a ton-for-ton basis. The technology is currently under trial at ReCarb, the first full-scale plant in Redding, California, with a “bolt-on” cement plant, which can capture 6,600 tons of carbon dioxide annually and produce 15,000 tons of green cement.

Wollemi Capital says the US company did what all “previous cement technologies have failed to do”: to provide a solution for a cleaner industry.

Why are office buildings not being retrofitted?

Why can’t we just turn these empty office buildings into housing? Here’s a fun clip tackling this very serious topic from former chief urban designer of The City of New York, Alexandros Washburn, answering this age old question: