Latest Story
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Recommendations for strata law reform
Clover Moore | February 10, 2012To ensure apartment living remains an attractive choice in the future, the law needs to keep pace with changes to apartment living and the needs and expectations of owners and residents. Clover Moore shares her thoughts on Strata Law reform.
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Importance of creating reasonable by-laws
Cathy Sherry | February 9, 2012Strata and community title legislation gives owners an extraordinary power not given to any other owners of property: the power to write by-laws for their neighbours, regulating not only what they do on commonly-owned property, but what they do in their own home. Cathy Sherry, University of New South Wales Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, explains the importance of capping the number of by-laws.
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Will the boat come in for privacy law reform in 2012?
Malcolm Crompton | February 9, 2012Throughout 2011 we saw some promise for better, updated privacy laws in many parts of the world, with changes afoot in the EU, the USA and Australia. While in the end things were still ‘promising’, 2012 looks set for some real progress, according to Malcolm Crompton.
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Homelessness requires focus and commitment
Nicole Lawder | February 8, 2012Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show that almost 60% of people seeking shelter at specialist support services were turned away last year. Nicole Lawder says finding solutions for Australia's homeless requires government and community focus.
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Citizen empowerment through social media
Peter Fritz | February 6, 2012TCG Group managing Director Peter Fritz reviewed citizen empowerment, social media and the use of internet interaction in policy making at last week's Herzliya Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The genie left the bottle around 1450-1455, with Guttenburg’s practical application of printing using moveable type. Bibles first, then self-improvement manuals, and then newspapers.
By 1900, there were 70 different newspaper titles published each day in Paris alone. Then TV. It could be claimed that TV transmissions of Dallas into East Germany had a role in collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Now there are over 1.5 billion people worldwide, linked into social media of one form or another. The hunger for access and influence has not changed. The only thing that has changed is reach.
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Temporary residents need permanent political rights
Andrew Norton | February 6, 2012As the number of temporary residents in Australia increases the question of their rights grows in importance. The recent New South Wales government move to stop non-citizens from donating money to political parties, has Andrew Norton questioning why we need such a law.
Over the last 15 years, Australia has acquired a large population of temporary but long-term migrants. As of September 2011, it included about 360,000 international students and 310,000 others, mostly on various work visas. A new temporary residence work right for former international students will add to the total in coming years. On an annual basis, long-term but temporary arrivals significantly outnumber migrants with permanent residence rights.
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Unlocking land for urban renewal
Stephen Albin | February 3, 2012The current strata scheme legislation in NSW is the most significant hurdle to the urban renewal of our major population centres, and Stephen Albin writes that meaningful reform is needed.
Sydney is a city under immense population pressure. In the next 24 years alone, existing urban areas will need to accommodate at least 539,000 new homes, according to the Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036. Strata reform is essential to allow urban renewal and the supply of more homes that are safe, affordable, environmentally-sound, and appealing to live in.
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Celebrations for NAIDOC Week
editor | February 3, 2012NAIDOC Week celebrations will be held across Australia this week to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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Bikie attack prompts reintroduction of SA bill
Dennis Hood | February 2, 2012Bikie gang violence has hit the headlines again following the death of the son of a South Australian Comanchero. In the light of this attack, South Australian Family First MP, Dennis Hood, plans to reintroduce a bill to prevent SA courts from giving suspended sentences for an offender’s second serious offence.
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Fat Free TV takes a healthy step to tackle obesity
Kathy Chapman | February 1, 2012There is growing evidence that banning ads promoting junk food to children is likely to cut down their consumption. But Kathy Chapman, from Cancer Council NSW, says that in the abscence of regulations parental control is an essential part of the solution.
The growing influence of junk food advertising upon childhood obesity is a topic often debated in the media. Some call for banning junk food advertising when children watch TV and some contest whether ad bans will work, decrying a ‘nanny state’.
One cannot deny, however, the complexity surrounding childhood obesity and the need to act. One in four Australian children is considered overweight, and unfortunately a high proportion of these overweight children will become overweight adults, increasing their chance of chronic disease like cancer, heart disease and diabetes along the way.
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2012 highlights a new generation of farmers
Geoff Bell | January 31, 2012Without farmers we would have nothing to eat and nothing to wear, yet their importance to the Australian economy is often overlooked by a nation of urban dwellers. Geoff Bell looks at why we should all embrace 2012 as the Australian Year of the Farmer.
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Smoke-free guide clears the air for strata dwellers
Anne Jones | January 30, 2012Tobacco smoke drifting into your lounge room from the unit below has long been considered something that just has to be put up within high-density living. Anne Jones looks at solutions for resolving smoking disputes in strata buildings.
