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Lies, damned lies, and infographics
Martin Aungle | March 6, 2012Infographics – the visual representations of information, data or knowledge – can present complex information quickly and clearly. Martin Aungle wonders if their pursuasive power is a social media step too far.
With every day brings a new infographic, designed either to convince people that they need to start using social media or to let people know that if they are using social media, it’s OK. A good example of the former is 5 Big Reasons CEOs Should Get Social, and of the latter Why Social Media isn’t a Waste of Time.
For the uninitiated, the infographic is a series of pictures with words, graphs and numbers designed to get a point across in an easy-to-be-digested way. It’s become the unofficial language of the social media set.
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Plenty of work – it’s effort that’s lacking
John Caldwell | March 5, 2012It’s a common perception that young people today are not prepared to work hard, start at the bottom, or do any number of menial jobs that don’t excite them. Are the young workers holding themselves back or is it the economy? John Caldwell says it’s not a lack of jobs, it’s a lack of relevance.
In our industry we meet all types and for the most part we are fortunate that we deal with hard working Australians who want and need a job however this is not the case with all.
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The science of picking sides
Paul Willis | March 5, 2012Scientists sometimes seem to relish the notion that science is too technical and complicated for the lay-person to understand.
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UncategorisedNational anti-corruption plan
editor | March 5, 2012
Corruption is a serious global problem, which has devastating impacts for individuals, families, communities and regions. It discourages investment and distorts markets, leading to depletion of resources for important community services like schools, hospitals and roads. To help combat corruption, the Australian Government last year committed to develop and implement Australia’s first National Anti-Corruption Plan. A key objective of the Plan is to strengthen Australia’s existing governance arrangements by developing a whole-of-government policy and plan on anti-corruption.
The National Anti-Corruption Plan is being developed at a time when Australia is being reviewed on its compliance with the UN Convention against Corruption and the OECD Foreign Bribery Convention.
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Clean Up provides simple response to shared problem
Ian Keirnan | March 2, 2012When Clean Up Australia Day started 22 years ago founder Ian Keirnan had no idea that it would one day become a global movement of millions of dedicated people. He believes that when you take a simple action to a shared problem, the sky is the limit.
There has never been a more important time for the people of Australia to take action and get involved in environmental initiatives to preserve our biggest resource – Australia.
When we started Clean Up we had no idea that it would be as vibrant 22 years down the track as it was in 1989. Back then the community was incensed by the amount of raw sewage on our beaches and by the fact they couldn’t eat fish caught in our harbour.
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Female homelessness on International Women’s Day
editor | March 2, 2012On International Women’s Day 2012 Homelessness Australia wants us to remember that women make up almost half of those experiencing homelessness in Australia.
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Car industry handouts are childish
Alex Philipatos | March 1, 2012The economic arguments against industry subsidies are well documented. Alexander Philipatos says Government handouts for the Australian car industry will lead to an unhealthy sense of entitlement amongst workers and society in general.
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Controlling smoke drift in apartments: A need for greater regulation?
Dr Andrew Penman | February 29, 2012Dr Penman from Cancer Council NSW says the review of the State’s strata and community title laws offers an opportunity to advocate strengthening strata law for apartment dwellers who want to protect themselves from tobacco smoke drift in their home.
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Management changes missing from strata legislation
Colin Grace | February 28, 2012Colin Grace identifies a number of crucial management changes he believes should have been included in the 1995-96 strata legislative review, and they go to the heart of daily strata management.
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Have your say on Strata Law reforms
Suresh Manickam | February 27, 2012Suresh Manickam calls on the community to have their say on the Strata Laws consultation before it closes on 29 February. ”I strongly encourage everybody living and working in strata to voice their opinions on strata at the Strata Laws Online Consultation.”
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Not seeing the (strata) wood for the trees
Francesco Andreone | February 24, 2012Francesco Andreone looks at the steady decline in the quality of new strata developments and identifies some much needed procedural strata law reforms. ”Sometimes we don’t see what’s obvious because we’re too focused on small details and miss the bigger picture.
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Wholesale review of community titles legislation overdue
Phillippa Russell | February 23, 2012Lawyer Phillippa Russell says major and minor changes are required to the NSW strata legislation. She shares her list of top priorities.
Strata legislation over the last decade has seen several changes. These changes have only really been nibbles around the edges of reform, with some changes being put in place at the instigation of minority groups with their own agenda and with almost all changes taking place without full industry consultation.
So a fresh approach and stakeholder participation is welcomed.
Both major and minor changes are required to the strata legislation. A wholesale review of the community titles legislation is now overdue.
Some of my wish list items (not in any order of priority) are:
