The day the slide broke

Our cities’ precious parks are always under threat from neglect, misuse and housing development, but they remain a precious green oasis in the urban sprawl where children of all ages can play and learn together.

Society needs social housing

Low-income renters in Australia are far less likely to experience housing stress, rent arrears, or be forced to relocate, when living in social housing compared to those receiving cash rent assistance payments or no assistance, according to a new global study by Curtin University.

Nostalgia is not a strategy for Melbourne’s urban change

Rapid population growth and rampant house price inflation have left home ownership a distant dream for many Melbournians, but plans to increase housing density are also politically fraught.

Fixing Australia’s housing crisis

Australian society is still coming to terms with the fading promise of homeownership. They are also struggling to agree on the reasons why housing is such a huge problem, and how it can be addressed.

Shifting the Australian housing dream

At the cultural level, our past tradition of home building was largely laissez-faire. The Australian way of leaving it to the developer must change. For this massive renewal, Government must direct, guide and be part of it like no time before.

Building digital trust in the pacific

If Australia wants to be a trusted technology partner in the Pacific, it should help deliver lightweight, resilient systems that others can use with confidence, prioritising tools that operate in low-trust, low-infrastructure environments and designing for flexibility, not control.

Managing project management

Researchers at Macquarie Business School have found surprising reasons why project planners often make poor estimates of project timelines.

Turning litter into streets

Plastic waste such as discarded shopping bags and spent milk bottles could be given a second life by becoming part of critical infrastructure such as roads, as well as playground surfaces.

Building faster – not better

Cutting corners in construction isn’t new, but the risks are magnified when governments set aggressive targets without equally ambitious planning frameworks.

When in Rome…

Ancient Roman concrete has lasted for thousands of years, a lifespan far longer than our modern concrete, but was it more sustainable? International researchers say that both release similar amounts of CO2, but if the old way lasts far longer, we might want to do as the Romans did.

The housing crisis is a business problem

Lack of affordable housing in Australia is hurting productivity, costing billions, and making it harder for employers to attract and retain workers.

Everybody’s home

Public housing pressure group “Everybody’s Home” argues that housing tax reform the key to Australia’s economic sustainability and productivity.