Property & Projects – What's News - 2 October 2013

In the media - National

GBCA: green Star rulings slash compliance costs The Green Building Council of Australia has released new rulings in an effort to cut compliance costs for many credits. Responding to feedback, particularly around the expense of modelling "daylight", "thermal comfort" and "air change effectiveness" credits, the new rulings provide alternative methods estimated to save between $36,000 and $50,000 (19 September 2013). More...

Streamlining Government Processes by Dissolving the Climate Commission The Abbott government has abolished the Climate Commission, which had been established to provide public information on the effects of and potential solutions to global warming (19 September 2013). More...

Direct Action keeps states guessing The Abbott government states that its Direct Action program will deliver the pledged 5 per cent reduction on 2000 levels in national emissions by 2020 at a cheaper cost. The problem for state policies, according to a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne, is there is so little detail about how Direct Action works it is unclear which programs are now complementary (18 September 2013). More...

Australian real estate leads in sustainability The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark 2013 Report released last week in Amsterdam, indicates Australia is leading the charge in the global real estate sector's bid to reduce its environmental impact (16 September 2013). More...

ASFA: SMSF property spruikers need regulation Property marketers who try to incentivise self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) customers with overseas holidays should be bound by the same regulations as other financial advice providers, an industry body believes (12 September 2013). More...

In the media - Victoria

Fishermans Bend lures $2bn facelift The Victorian government has unveiled a new "draft vision" for the City of Melbourne's ambitious plan to revitalise the Fishermans Bend industrial...