Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Barilaro's meeting with sacked minister in spotlight amid questions over Western Sydney development
Phoebe Bowden ABC (No paywall)It's been revealed former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro met with then fair trading minister Eleni Petinos weeks before a building ban was lifted for the developer for whom he has been working since leaving parliament. ... After resigning from politics in October 2021, Mr Barilaro took a job with Sydney-based developer Coronation Property. At the time, the company's Merrylands Road development had been hit with a stop-work order. On June 2 and June 21, 2022, former Small Business and Fair Trading Minister Ms Petinos met with Coronation Property representatives, with Mr Barilaro present at the latter meeting. The stop-work order was then lifted on July 4, 2022. Also, read Tom Rabe's article entitled: 'NSW building commissioner’s resignation letter set to be made public' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-building-commissioner-s-resignation-letter-set-to-be-made-public-20220809-p5b8j2.html] Read Michael McGowan's article entitled: 'John Barilaro-linked developer met with then NSW minister Eleni Petinos weeks before work ban lifted' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/09/john-barilaro-linked-developer-met-with-then-nsw-minister-eleni-petinos-weeks-before-work-ban-lifted] Also, read Phoebe Bowden's update at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-10/nsw-building-commissioner-resignation-referred-to-icac/101320398] Read articles on the same matter by Tom Rabe and Lucy Cormack in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/building-commissioner-s-resignation-letter-referred-to-icac-20220810-p5b8sp.html] and Michael McGowan in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/10/nsw-building-commissioners-resignation-letter-sent-to-icac-dominic-perrottet-says]. Read the article by Kate McClymont, Tom Rabe and Lucy Cormack entitled: 'Barilaro, Petinos and "unusual" calls to the NSW building commissioner' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/barilaro-petinos-and-unusual-calls-to-the-nsw-building-commissioner-20220810-p5b8v5.html]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-10/john-barilaro-and-develop…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.Australia’s highest and lowest income suburbs: how does your postcode compare?
Emily Wind and Josh Nicholas The Guardian (No paywall)Australia’s highest and lowest income suburbs have been revealed in new data released by the Australian Taxation Office. The data, based on nearly 15m tax returns from 2019-20, reveals the median income and super balances of Australians in each postcode across the country. Eight of the country’s highest-earning postcodes are in Sydney, according to the data, while five of the lowest-earning postcodes are based in regional New South Wales.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/09/highest-and-low…
# Australia, Families, Housing market, Tax.August 2022 edition
.id insight (No paywall)The huge shifts being felt by communities from a combination of pandemic and climate change is resulting in a period of demographic and economic disruption that is alarming, fascinating and full of opportunity. Lots of analysis, including recap on '"Vacant" dwellings - keep calm and dig deeper'.
https://content.id.com.au/id-insight-%EF%B8%8F-2021-census-has-l…
# Australia, Climate change, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.New Zealand house prices see fastest drop since GFC, but first homebuyers still shut out of market
Eva Corlett The Guardian (No paywall)House prices in New Zealand are experiencing the fastest drop in value since the global financial crisis, but many first homebuyers remain locked out of home ownership due to an inflated market, the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates. New Zealand has been plagued by a runaway housing market for years. ...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/03/new-zealand-house-…
# International, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.The case for degrowth: stop the endless expansion and work with what our cities already have
Kate Shaw The Conversation (No paywall)Australian cities are good at growing – for decades their states have relied on it. The need to house more people is used to justify expansion out and up, but it is the rates, taxes and duties that flow from land transfers and construction that drive the endless development of Melbourne and Sydney in particular. Property development is the single largest contributor to Victorian and New South Wales government revenues.
https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-degrowth-stop-the-endle…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.Moreton Bay Regional Council push flood-risk disclosure for Queensland property buyers
Lucy Stone ABC (No paywall)Queensland councils want to mandate flood risk disclosures for property buyers, with one south-east mayor describing the move as "common sense". ... But Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella said ... "And similarly, just because a property has flooded in the past doesn't necessarily mean it will flood again in the future."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-06/queensland-moreton-bay-pu…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Social housing tenants warned of ‘play ban’ for children in London site’s shared spaces
Harriet Grant The Guardian (No paywall)Children living in social housing flats in a multimillion-pound riverside development in London have been warned off playing in shared spaces on the site by their landlords. Parents received letters from City of London council telling them that children playing in the corridors had been recorded on a “noise nuisance app” by a neighbour, and that the games were “a breach of tenancy agreements”. Families have argued there is nowhere else for the children to play and Southwark council – which owns the land – said it was investigating whether the developer, Berkeley Homes, failed to provide play space promised in the original planning permission.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/02/poorer-child…
# International, Public and community housing, Neighbours, Planning and development.Household Resilience Program to help Queenslanders protect homes from wild weather
Sally Rafferty ABC (No paywall)Could your home withstand a wild weather event? If you are feeling nervous about the next wet season, a $20 million state government scheme could help allay those fears. ... The Household Resilience Program was first introduced in 2018 to help homes in flood and cyclone risk areas north of Bundaberg. The initiative is targeted at low-income households to replace roofs and doors, reinforce windows and tie down external structures. The government will provide up to $11,250, with owners required to stump up 25 per cent of the total cost.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-09/household-resilience-quee…
# Australia, Housing market, State Government.