Latest news highlights September 2024

Queensland to experience planner shortages

The Planning Institute of Australia has raised the alarm over the prospect of planner shortages after James Cook University in Townsville and Cairns and Bond University on the Gold Coast said they would close their undergraduate planning programs this year. Griffith University in Brisbane and the Gold Coast also indicated that their undergraduate planning program is threatened with closure.

The institute says the move could have dire consequences on the state’s future growth and development, as well as existing concerns of urban and regional planner shortages. This closure may affect housing availability, climate resilience, and the state’s economic prosperity.

“We simply cannot afford to see a decline in the number of people entering the planning profession,” said PIA Queensland president Sean Cullen.

Cullen points out that the government and universities were aware of this, as the federal government listed a severe shortage of planners in its 2023 Skills Priority List, especially in regional areas.

Cullen added that all stakeholders needed urgent action to promote the skillset and stop falling enrolment rates.

Farmer-led co-op seeking funding from big emitters to fund regen farming

Regen Farmers Mutual, a group led by co-director Andrew Ward and former Grange Securities corporate finance director Rohan Clarke, are now seeking funding from mining, coal and gas players along the east coast to fund a series of regenerative farming projects.

The group consists of farmers, landowners and conservationists who support our board plans to fund a tree-planting project in exchange for Australian Carbon Credit Units. The investment will provide funds to cover the upfront planting cost via low-interest rate loans, which will be interest-free for the first five years. Costs are estimated to go as high as $300,000 for 50 hectares of space committed towards the project.

Farmers can then register their land with the Clean Energy Regulator to be issued with tradable carbon credits or elect the group to operate on their behalf. Corporations wanting to dip into fundraising can receive royalties like mining royalties through the ACCU.

One year on from community housing ESG reporting standards

The Community Housing Industry Association recently released its first annual review of its ESG reporting standard for community housing organisations, which was launched last year.

Developed in collaboration with SGS Economics and Planning, Paxon Group, and RITTERWALD, the standard covers 41 criteria across ESG, which have been adopted by 14 community housing organisations managing around 44,000 properties – many of which had a strong focus on energy efficiency upgrades. All providers had rolled out a combination of gas replacements, installation of solar panels and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems and had new policy and design levers in place.

Four organisations went beyond and installed quality insulation into their properties.

The providers also showed strong evidence of placemaking and reported high compliance and low complaint rates. None of the providers had adverse regulatory findings either, or most are actively working towards gender pay parity.

Grenfell’s final report released

The final report from the inquiry into the London Grenfell Tower fire in London was released earlier this month. The 2017 disaster was seen as the worst fire in British peacetime history, killing 72 people, including 18 children and hundreds more victims who had shared horrific stories of their escape or their loved ones’ deaths.

In the first phase of the inquiry in 2019, inquiry chair Martin Moore-Bick ruled that the cause of the rapid fire was due to the building being wrapped in aluminium composite cladding filled with flammable plastic foam insulation. The second phase, which cost £200 million ($329 million AUD) and seven years, reveals endless carousels of finger-pointing, indictments of government negligence and corporate malpractice. The report is 1700 pages and spotlights serious failings of national and local politicians, politicians, builders, material manufacturers, salespeople, fire testing experts and the London fire brigade.

New ARBS White Paper

ARBS 2024 the leading conference on the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigerating (HVAC&R) and building services has released a  white paper summarising key takeaways, strategies and insights from this year’s event.

The report discusses the role of HVAC&R in advancing decarbonisation by addressing themes such as electrification, smart systems and circular economy practices. The paper was developed by ARBS Chair, Professor Tony Arnel.

Australia celebrates inaugural SDG Flag Day

Landmarks around Australia will join celebrating SDG Flag Day on 25 September for the first time. Landmarks such as Melbourne Town Hall, Old Parliament House, Treasury Building, the John Gorton Building and Questacon in Canberra  will be illuminated with SDG colours. White flags that symbolise SDGs will also be raised nationwide to remind citizens of the goal of securing a sustainable future.

Kate Dundas, executive director of the UN Global Compact Network Australia says that the nation is “aligning with global best practices” on protecting biodiversity and natural habitats. It is also harnessing “the power of the wind, waves, sun” and “introducing new global standards on climate reporting”, which will “transform how Australian businesses understand, manage and transparently disclose climate risk.”

CBRE says Sydney is “not ready to meet sustainability targets”

According to new research from real estate service CBRE, there are only six office buildings in Sydney’s CBD that are 100 per cent electric in operation. This means only 3.2 per cent of the CBD’s existing NABERS-rated office buildings are all-electric.

CBRE’s head of ESG, Su-Fern Tan, said that there were two main challenges emerging for Sydney’s CBD office market. The first, large occupiers have ambitious sustainability demands that aren’t being met by the real estate available. Second, was that there are different needs between prime and secondary office markets.

Tan added that more things need to be done to ensure sustainability becomes standard practice in the secondary office market.

In CBRE’s APAC occupier survey, 82 per cent of occupiers indicated they would prefer to move into a green building, but 43 per cent were not willing to pay a premium for the space.

CAF unveils portfolio certification

The Cleaning Accountability Framework has launched a portfolio certification scheme to help building owners acquire accountability certification faster by promoting responsible procurement across entire portfolios at a time.

The new certification scheme was alluded to by co-chief executive Miriam Thompson in an interview with The Fifth Estate. She said the new certification will help drastically scale up the framework’s capabilities due to not needing to undergo the framework’s complex and extensive anti-slavery process building by building.

Buildings with CAF certification show that the tenants, owners, managers and/or stakeholders have undergone a process to promote responsible procurement, ensure fair labour practices and have a robust and ongoing procedure in place for reporting poor treatment of malpractice for their cleaners.

Victoria continues with electrification

The Victorian government will conduct a regulatory impact statement (RIS) following moves to phase out the end of life gas heaters and hot water systems in existing homes. The statement will look at expanding the requirements so that new residential and many commercial buildings will be required to be all electric – a promise set out in its Gas Substitution Roadmap.

Statistics from the government reveal that all electric homes will save households up to $1000 every year, and those with solar will save up to $2200 a year. Existing electric homes will also save around $1700 through solar uptake, with the potential for savings of up to $2700.

The decision was welcomed by from the Green Building Council of Australia, which praised the government for “maintaining strong leadership” and “sticking to its path” on electrification. However, the body pointed out that gas cooktops were not part of the government’s RIS and insisted that it would be engaging in further discussions on the topic.

We’re not the only ones with problems and strangely they are very similar

12 September 2024: Emily Atkin of Heated newsletter had this to day about the US presidential debate. As you can see the housing, energy and cost of living crisis is not isolated to Australia – just in case you thought that we are unique!

“Over the last few months, I’ve heard myriad folks argue that climate change is not a driving force in this election because it’s not a relevant issue in people’s day-to-day lives. 

“Respectfully, that’s total bullshit. Because if you care about the fact that food prices and inflation are skyrocketing; that water and electric bills are through the roof; that health care costs just keep getting higher; that immigration is on the rise; or that the American dream of owning a home is out of most people’s reach; then guess what—you care deeply about climate change. Rising temperatures made worse by unchecked fossil fuel expansion are driving all of these problems—and they’ll all spiral out of control if we don’t quickly tackle the climate crisis….Climate is the kitchen-table issue of our lifetimes.”

Hear hear!

First industrial shed awarded Green Star

Goodman’s Eumemmerring Business Park, which was covered by The Fifth Estate last year, has achieved its 5 Star Green Star Buildings target and has become the first industrial project to be certified under the rating tool.

The Green Building Council of Australia’s chief executive, Davina Rooney, said that Goodman Group was “not just meeting expectations, it’s redefining” the standards for Green Star ratings.

The project involved refurbishing two buildings and protecting 10 eucalyptus trees believed to be over 100 years old. The facilities are all electric and deliver more than 15 per cent upfront carbon reduction and a 30 per cent reduction in whole of life carbon. It also provides access to 14 EV chargers, with infrastructure to build 38 more.

Greenpeace fights against planned pare back

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intends to weaken the role of the national environmental watchdog, Environmental Protection Australia (EPA), in “a bid to get it through Parliament before the election”, he told The West.

Greenpeace isn’t the only green group that’s dismayed but this week it sent through plans to fight the changes, saying the nation’s environment is experiencing “the worst rates of deforestation in the world” and “sending our wildlife into extinction”. Head of nature, Glenn Walker, says the watchdog was essential, and he was “deeply alarmed that Prime Minister Albanese is considering caving into billionaire miners and greedy developers railing against environmental protection. “It’s urging the government to stand up and deliver stronger nature reforms, including giving the EPA decision-making powers.

Aussies are turning to Van Homes in the midst of the housing crisis

VanHomes, an instant housing provider, says many young Australians are now turning to instant homes to break into the housing market. Company founder Vito Russo says van homes are relocatable, expandable, and highly customisable, making them extremely popular.

Many local councils also deem these smally instant housing as “caravans” because the homes are towable and can be rolled up to blocks for set up, meaning they don’t require building approvals. Russo said a three-bedroom instant home can range from $65,00 to $135,000 and is generally sustainable and energy efficient.

AAA calls for fast-tracked social housing

The Australian Apartment Advocacy group is calling for the NSW state and local governments to offer fast-tracked apartment development approvals, which would offer 10 per cent or more as social and affordable housing.

The call-out follows the conclusion of its Sustain Sydney 2035 think tank event, which saw contributions from 90 participants, including buildings, developers, strata managers, planners, community housing providers, suppliers, apartment owners, building suppliers and government representatives.

AAA CEO Samantha Reece said for the NSW government to meet its commitment to deliver 377,000 more homes by 2029, it was essential to provide incentives for stakeholders to invest in social housing.

She adds that many at the think tank event said NSW should follow Queensland’s example and provide planning approvals within 10 days to meet the market shortfall.

New contract rules support local businesses

Starting in 2025, NSW government agencies will be required to justify why contracts over $7.5 million are awarded to foreign suppliers instead of local ones.

Business NSW CEO Daniel Hunter said the change will encourage agencies to award large government contracts to local suppliers, which will pay immediate to long term benefits for the state’s economy.

Last year, more than 130,000 businesses were recorded as supplying goods and services to the NSW government. Of the $42 billion in transactions supplied, small to medium enterprises only makeup $8 billion. The business body hopes to work with the government to increase SME shares to at least $10 billion.

Hunter added that there was a miscommunication between SMEs and the government, where businesses found winning government contracts too expensive and time-consuming despite surveys indicating a strong desire from agencies to support local businesses. There was also a lack of awareness of what opportunities are available.

AHURI says that Australians deserve better

New research by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute finds that the performance standards of Australian houses are weaker than those of their international counterparts, with an estimated 70 per cent of existing houses having major building problems.

The institute argues that there needs to be a “multi-pronged” solution to develop fit for purpose housing as housing construction ramps up in hopes of building 1.2 million new homes over the five years from 2023. 

Lead researcher associate professor Lyrian Daniel from the University of South Australia said that current energy efficiency standards have been in place since 2003, yet 82 per cent of new homes are still designed to meet the minimum requirements. Daniel said the most common issues included 44 per cent reporting cracks in the wall, 35 per cent reporting mould, and 27 per cent reporting plumbing issues.

Scientists estimate that by 2050, seven million pre-existing homes won’t meet housing energy standards.

100,000 new sparkies needed

Australia’s goals for energy transition will require introducing 100,000 new skilled electrical workers into the field by 2050. The Charged Up report by the Centre for New Industry at industry think tank Per Capita is flagging the need for strategy, apprenticeships and training from industry and government to avoid a skill shortage – which may threaten the nation’s emission targets.

Alarmingly, while apprenticeship numbers are up, researchers found that 42 per cent of electrical apprentices don’t finish training, citing low wages, lack of mentorship and bullying. The centre said more training spots, having renewable energy professionals in classrooms, and more industry-led training and mentoring.

Per Capita executive director Emma Dawson said, “After a decade of wilful inaction by the previous government to act on global heating, and its failure to invest in the local workforce that is needed to drive the transition, it is now urgent that the government takes these critical steps to ensure regional communities, young Australians entering the workforce and our existing, highly skilled electrical workers will benefit from the clean energy jobs boom.”