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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Politicians, policymakers, urban planners, real-estate developers and corporate executives pay close attention to city liveability rankings. The global urban elite sees these as measures of the metropolitan “good”. Yet, as noted in The Conversation, “what makes a city liveable is complex and constantly evolving”.
In The Economist’s Global Liveability Ranking 2015, Dhaka moved up one spot: war-torn Damascus fell below it to become the world’s least liveable city.
This perhaps says more about the failings of simplistic global standards than about Dhaka itself. Far from being uninhabitable, it is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Bringing significant benefits to an emergent middle class, its cultural, economic, environmental and political landscapes are being rapidly but unevenly transformed.
At the same time, as Shahadat Hossain notes, this is placing extreme and conflicting pressures on Dhaka’s infrastructure and its residents. Displacement via land leasing, existing laws of inheritance, modernisation of agriculture and changing climate are driving rural-urban migration. Many migrants become the new urban poor, working in “low-paid peripheral economic activities”.
As in much of the global south, previous development policies in Bangladesh:
"have maintained a rural bias in policy and programs on poverty reduction, weakening the conceptual tools for imagining urban poverty reduction."
International media only occasionally highlight the difficulty of these conditions in fast-growing cities like Dhaka. The focus on the fatalities from the Rana Plaza factory blaze drew attention to the appalling working conditions, low wages, gender inequality, child-welfare issues and transnational corporate irresponsibility.
Dhaka is the centre of the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of textiles. It’s the nation’s largest export earner by far.
Yet the benefits of garment production are unevenly distributed. The highly active NGO industry in Dhaka speaks to the ongoing role for donors and agencies. They deliver essential services and humanitarian relief, as well as funding and producing urban innovations.
Shamsul Haque has described how the interrelationship between NGOs and the government originated in the late 1970s when “rudimentary forms of NGO at the grassroots level” responded to the conflict and instability of successive military regimes and elected governments. Today, the complexity of these relations stems from decreasing formal state power and NGOs’ increasing legitimacy, expansion and financial independence.
Marginalisation of government raises concerns “for the rights or entitlements of citizens to basic services”.
In place of state institutions, organisations like Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC) operate numerous critical service delivery programs. These include providing prenatal and postnatal care via text messaging, administering legal centres and training people for jobs and self-employed income generation.
<h2>Kolorob: connecting communities and services</h2>
Kolorob is a project run by Save the Children Bangladesh, in partnership with Save the Children Australia. It is developing a mobile app to help Dhaka’s low-income communities locate and provide feedback on local services, such as schools, clinics, legal firms and government offices.
The app, a localised variation of Yelp, features services submitted by community volunteers in the city’s Mirpur district, to the north of the CBD.
Since the project begun in mid-2015, we have provided remote technical and logistical support. We were fortunate to be in Dhaka when the app was launched in early 2016.
The app is an example of just how complex it can be to make cities more liveable. The name Kolorob (meaning “clamour” or “noise”) is provocative, and speaks to this complexity. “Clamour” can be a friendly or hostile public demand. It can move and influence – so to whose benefit?
The project has employed a co-designing, participatory process toward “inclusive urbanisation”. Low-income communities' voices, expertise and values become central – rather than peripheral – to such initiatives.
A number of those involved in Kolorob expressed hopes that such projects might eventually become autonomous social enterprises. For all the excitement about the potential of technological devicies and apps, genuine community enhancement also involves social innovation and skills. Improving the conditions of urban life requires multi-sectoral collaboration, capacity-building and awareness of the “political economy of urban poverty”.
<h2>New models for city-making?</h2>
Kolorob is one example of the many mapping projects that have become more popular in recent years as a way of giving voice and visibility to poor urban communities.
Since the 1970s, Slum Dwellers International has pioneered large-scale participatory slum mapping and enumeration. In the last ten years, its transition to more sophisticated databases and mapping systems has enabled more powerful analysis of this information.
Two other examples are the Ushahidi platform, developed to map post-election violence in Kenya in 2008, and the Mapping Kibera Project in the world’s largest slum in Nairobi.
Participatory mapping and open-source software hold great potential for collective ownership of intellectual property, low-cost access to information and democratised urban innovations. As a missing piece in the master plan to begin legitimising informal settlements, such tools can present powerful arguments to city planners.
Such mapping also fosters new modes of knowledge sharing:
"Over time, young boys and girls from local neighbourhoods have become the teams that enter and manage data, further demystifying the computer process and helping their elders feel comfortable about this data."
Yet this new visibility also raises concerns. Existing power structures and relationships can gain further, and sometimes problematic, legitimacy through a kind of digital imprimatur. Data can be of variable reliability.
While mapping Dhaka’s “highly pluralistic health system” can help to visualise the diversity of formal and informal health providers, for example, it also raises questions about quality of care, accountability and regulation.
Further, the market rhetoric of microfinancing, revenue-raising and entrepreneurial start-ups poses concerns that the relationship between the state, NGOs and low-income communities has standardised dependency and ingrained neoliberal agendas. As Devine notes:
"It is crucial that the endeavour to secure organisational sustainability be built more about the needs of the poor than the organisations themselves."
Drawing on lessons from the corporatisation of microfinance, Varottil has highlighted the need to understand the social as much as the financial aspects of project governance and outcomes.
Opening up participatory initiatives – like Kolorob – is a way to heed the needs, concerns and aspirations of marginalised communities. The urban poor need to be able to co-produce innovations that voice and support their preferred models for practice and interdependence.
NGOs continue to be vital in this regard, and for brokering dialogue between the state and urban poor. A preliminary analysis of commercial enterprise data by the World Bank makes recommendations for market entry and exit, and for how NGO businesses can make the transition toward community management and control – for example, by establishing registered autonomous trusts.
A more radical take would be to consider extending co-production of innovation to co-ownership. As Terranova has argued, innovation must involve not only new technological services, but “a better distribution of wealth” and “time and energy freed from work”.
<h2>Listening to the city</h2>
Kolorob may not increase Dhaka’s liveability ranking any time soon. Far more vital is the role such projects play in expanding our sense of what urban life might be.
“Innovation” here is not a proxy for a familiar story of “catch-up” to Western ideals. Instead, it is an opportunity to learn from an example of the “constant evolution” of cities.
Exploring “mobile entrepreneurial models” will help us understand how the interplay between innovation, technology and low-income communities is by no means a seamless or quiet solution. The associated challenges raise questions that go beyond market-based innovations:
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Do sustainable market-based social interventions – still requiring forms of capital and finance for participation – exclude the poorest in the city?
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Is the rhetoric of innovation painting over root causes of urban poverty and inequity?
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How might innovation extend beyond an obsession with technology to encompass new forms of organisation, distributions of social justice and practices of civic empowerment?
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What are the roles for institutional actors – governments, NGOs, companies – in developing and sustaining such innovation?
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We need to listen more closely to the “makeshift city”. The question of what constitutes the “good city" and an “urban ethic” is an ongoing call for attention to how the city is stitched and sounds.
These rhythms are a call for different patterns of property ownership and profit distribution of the artefacts that increasingly make up the digital city.
Teresa Swist is postdoctoral research fellow, Western Sydney University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/teresa-swist-172271" target="_blank">here</a>.
David Sweeting is institute associate, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-sweeting-265851" target="_blank">here</a>.
Liam Magee senior research fellow, Digital Media, Western Sydney University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/liam-magee-227430" target="_blank">here</a>.
All are authors for The Conversation.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Signals from the noise of urban innovation in the world’s ‘second-least-liveable’ city

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A Strathfield home sold for $6.825 million last month, setting a new sales record for the suburb. 
The three-storey property at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-strathfield-122511746" target="_blank">47 Newton Road</a> has seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, six balconies, home office, basement wine cellar, gymnasium and home theatre.
Reminiscent of a holiday resort, the outside features a contemporary heated pool, waterfall, spa, outdoor terrace and championship size tennis court which are surrounded by Peter Fudge landscaped gardens. 
There's even a built-in aquarium.
Greg Emerton and Aaron Papadimatos at Devine Real Estate sold the home which sits on an elevated block of 1,416 sqm.
The median house price for Strathfield is $2,225,000 according to CoreLogic RP Data. 
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Strathfield trophy sale sets new suburb record

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Melbourne business scion Tony Smorgon and his wife Jennifer Smorgon have set a fresh record price for Melbourne homes after the sale of their Toorak mansion for a reputed $24 million plus.
The newly built seven-bedroom home at 4 Robertson Street was bought by Shirley Ching Hua Hsieh.
The property was sold in around three weeks through Marshall White agent Marcus Chiminello.
The house was designed by Casper Architecture &amp; Design and Thomas Hamel Interiors and was offered with its specially designed furniture. The block cost $4.52 million in 2005.
This Toorak mansion is the most expensive house ever sold in Melbourne, but fell short of the Victorian record of $26 million at Portsea.
The Melbourne $24 million record was set by the sale of the former Baillieu family home at 39 St Georges Road, Toorak in 2010.
The old property, held for generations by the Baillieus, was bought by <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-70-million-stamoulis-mansion-in-toorak-could-be-australias-most-expensive-home-20150410-1mhbcb/" target="_blank">business scion Harry Stamoulis</a>, who knocked it down to build a mansion which was recently completed.
Portsea’s historic Ilyuka, a Spanish-mission style clifftop estate, changed hands for a record-topping $26 million in 2010.
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Toorak's record price home sold by the Smorgon family 

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GUEST OBSERVER
The Housing Industry Association has released the latest edition of Renovations Roundup, the only regular review of Australia’s $30 billion home renovations market. 
Australia’s home renovations market is very much in recovery mode with 2015 marking the second consecutive year of growth. This followed a pretty nasty slump during the early years of the decade.
The recovery in renovations activity is being supported by the environment of remarkably low interest rates and very strong dwelling price growth in key markets.
 In this context, many homeowners have decided to shelve plans to move house and instead conduct major renovations work on their existing homes. The large pool of available home equity has made this possible.
However, the pace is growth is being held back by the weakness of earnings growth in the economy and the fragile condition of consumer sentiment.
The importance of home renovations activity is often underestimated – it accounted for about 35 per cent of total residential construction during 2015. With new home building set to decline over the coming years, the expansion of the renovations market means that its importance will only increase. 
The revival in renovations activity will provide a welcome offset to the more challenging situation emerging on the new home building side of the industry.
The Renovations Roundup projects that renovations activity will increase by 2.5 percent this year with growth of 1.7 percent forecast for 2017. HIA projects that activity will grow by 2.8 percent in 2018 followed by a 2.0 percent increase in 2019, bringing the total volume of renovations activity to $33.30 billion. 
Shane Garrett is senior economist for HIA and can be contacted <a href="https://hia.com.au/en/BusinessInfo/economicInfo/EcoGroup.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Renovations set to take up the mantle: HIA's Shane Garrett

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The Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison recently announced Dr Philip Lowe as the new RBA governor to replace Glenn Stevens, who has been head of Australia’s central bank for the past decade.
Dr Lowe will start his seven-year term in September this year at a time when the cash rate sits at a record-low 1.75 percent.
He has been RBA deputy governor for the past four years under Stevens, and had been long tipped in financial circles as the next governor. 
He first joined the RBA in 1980, the same year as Glenn Stevens, well before financial deregulation provided a platform for lucrative, glamourous careers for economists in the financial markets.
Back then the Reserve hired school graduates and supported them as part-time students. Lowe's first job at the Reserve was doing clerical work while attending night classes at the University of NSW.
Dr Lowe is well regarded in the central banking community, financial markets, and the Australian business community, and news of his appointment has not upset confidence in the institution.
We know about the monthly RBA meeting, but every morning, reportedly at precisely 8.50am, Stevens and Lowe along with three of the bank's assistant governors, meet to discuss the major issues of the day.
Sometimes the meetings only last five minutes, but can stretch out to 45 minutes.
Dr Lowe earned a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after being awarded the University Medal for his undergraduate studies in economics at the University of New South Wales. He completed a doctorate at MIT in 1991, under the supervision of Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman.
His appointment comes at a crucial time when central banks around the world are all wondering just what stimulus levers they actually have available in their management of their economies.
When Dr Lowe served as Head of the Financial Institutions and Infrastructure Division at the Bank for International Settlements (2000 – 2002), he authored important research on the financial stability role of central banks in low-inflation environments.
Something that afflicts the world currently, with one wise observer suggesting to me recently "we are all swimming in flat lemonade."
Lowe made his mark in a paper co-written with BIS economist Claudio Borio when he argued that even when inflation was tame, central banks should be wary of allowing low interest rates to fuel asset-price booms.
It was a then controversial view as in the US, the prevailing wisdom of the then-chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, was that price booms were not the main concern of central banks. 
Lowe has a nice record back here of offering frank assessments on the challenges Australia faces.
He was especially vocal about lax lending standards in Australian banks during the property boom after inquiries on mortgage lending led to banks revising upward their total level of investor lending by some $50 billion.
Lowe has said we have got overly used to consumption growing more quickly than income.
He said we had gotten used to asset prices, credit and fiscal revenues growing more quickly than income.
We had got used to employment increasing more rapidly than the working-age population.
And we had got used to growth in our real incomes outpacing the rate at which we were improving our productivity.
One can hardly wait to glean what he thinks about the current, often reckless, search for yield by investors across all asset classes.
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September baton change for the RBA

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Winter is here! Despite many Australians opting not to heat their homes to the point of complete comfort, many of us nevertheless will soon receive a nasty surprise when the energy bills arrive.
With Australia’s historically cheap energy, old housing stock in many areas, mild climate and frequent emphasis on low building costs, many homes are little more than “glorified tents” when it comes to thermal performance.
Besides wanting smaller bills, many residents also want to improve comfort, lessen their environmental impact and boost their home’s value.
So here is a list of 22 things you can do to improve your home’s energy performance – some cheap, some free, and some that can even make you some money up-front as well as cutting your bills. Of course, to reach the ultimate goal of a home heated and powered by 100 percent renewable electricity you may still wish to put some solar panels on your roof, but why not consider the following actions first?
1. Make sure you get the maximum discount on your energy bills. Although not available everywhere, in Victoria discounts of up to 38% are available on gas or electricity. Ring up your retailer and just ask, or threaten to switch, or better yet seek out a retailer that doesn’t treat their discounts like state secrets.
2. Monitor your power usage with the help of a “smart” electricity meter or in-home electricity display. This real-time (or near-real-time) information is more useful than the coarse monthly data commonly printed on energy bills. It can help identify appliances that have inadvertently been left on or those that draw excessive power when not in use.
3. Heat your water off-peak. If you have a resistive-electric hot water storage tank, make sure it heats up at night, when off-peak power rates apply. In some areas, “time of use” rates are available.
4. Get rid of your ‘garage fridge’. It can cost hundreds of dollars a year to run an inefficient 20-year-old fridge, especially if it’s in a garage that hits 50℃ in summer.
5. Ditch your super-hot plasma. If you have a 10-year-old television that gets so hot you can fry an egg on the screen, check out the newer models that can use one-tenth of the electricity.
6. Install a modern showerhead, such as those designed with double-impinging jet technology that use only 5 litres of water per minute. Old showerheads can pass up to 35 litres per minute. Why not grab a bucket and stopwatch and test yours?
7. Insulate any exposed hot water pipes, including the pressure-relief valve on your hot water tank. Make sure hot water pipes do not run uninsulated straight into the soil in your garden. Insulate electrically heated storage tanks where it is safe to do so.
8. Check your heaters and air conditioning. Gas heating systems should be checked at least every two years by a qualified person, not least to keep poisonous carbon monoxide gas at bay. All heating or cooling system filters should be cleaned regularly to improve energy efficiency and air quality.
9. Inspect your ducts. Poorly installed or degraded ductwork can lead to big energy losses, which can go unnoticed for decades. Ensure that small children or animals have not gone under your house and damaged your gas heating ducts. Check also that air returns are properly “boxed-in” and do not draw air in from the wall cavity instead of from the living space. However, cleaning the inside of your ducts is not critical for energy saving, and risks damaging them in the process.
10. Banish drafts, for instance by plastering over those ubiquitous wall vents – relics from the days when homes relied on unflued heaters or gas lights. Seal off unused chimneys and fill any other cracks, gaps or holes around doors, windows, skirting boards, floorboards and architraves. Remember to close air-conditioning ceiling vents in winter. Ventilation should be controlled by opening windows, not by having permanent holes in the walls.
11. Eliminate ceiling-mounted downlights wherever possible. A small number of modern wide-beam LEDs can adequately replace a larger quantity of narrow-beam halogen downlights. Aim to have as few holes cut into your ceiling as possible, because these holes let heat escape in winter and let it in during summer.
12. Install downlight covers over all downlights that protrude into accessible attic spaces. Not only does this reduce fire hazards and keep out insects, but it will also reduce air flow through the roof.
13. Replace all regularly used lights with LEDs. LEDs use a tenth of the energy of halogen or incandescent bulbs, so will pay for themselves in just a few months (even less in places where free replacement is on offer). Replace less regularly used bulbs with LEDs as and when they burn out, and vow never to buy a non-LED bulb again.
14. Insulate your attic…. If you don’t have roof insulation, buy some. If you do, check it meets the recommended “R value” for your climate. Ensure all vertical attic surfaces (walls, skylight tunnels) are also insulated, and include a layer of aluminium in your attic space. Thermal imagingcan be used to identify existing flaws, such as gaps or sections of insulation inadvertently moved by tradespeople working in the attic.
15. …and your floors and walls too. In cooler Australian climate zones, floor and wall insulation can help keep heat in, making your home warmer and cheaper to operate.
16. Cover your windows from the inside… with drapes, curtains or blinds. This will keep in heat at night and on cold winter days, and keep out the sun in summer. Cheaper or do-it-yourself thermal window treatments such as plastic films or even bubble wrap can be applied in some situations (just don’t expect to win any design awards).
17. …and the outside. Trees, plants, external awnings, blinds or shade sails can all keep out the summer sun and stop windows getting hot. Remember that significant heat will reflect onto windows from sizzling decks, paved areas and walls (but not lawns). It’s better to keep out the sun in the first place rather than try to cool your house down.
18. Double glazing for windows cuts out noise, improves security and saves energy too. For many Australian climate zones, I recommend that homeowners never buy a window in future that isn’t double-glazed. Retrofit options options such as “secondary glazing” are also available.
19. Fit a pool cover if you have a swimming pool. Not only will this stop the water cooling down overnight in summer, but a cover can also minimise cleaning, chemical use and the running time for your filter pump. Consider upgrading to a more efficient pump if yours is more than a decade old, and ensure it does not run for more hours each day than required. 
20. Use reverse-cycle to heat your home…. If your home has reverse-cycle air conditioning (also known as a heat pump), this may be the cheapest way to heat, especially as gas prices rise. On heat mode, reverse-cycle units harvest free renewable ambient heat from the air outside your home and pump it up to the toasty temperature you need inside. Having installed high-efficiency reverse-cycle units, I can heat my own home for one-third of the cost of ducted gas heating.
21. …and your water. If your hot water system is nearing its use-by date, consider replacing it with a heat pump. This is an especially good option for homes that already have solar panels and low feed-in tariffs.
22. If you can eliminate all gas use in your home (for space heating, water heating and cooking), you can eliminate your gas bill with its nearly A$1 per day fixed supply charges.
<h2>And then there is solar…</h2>
In Australia these days, you won’t be paid much money for selling your electricity back to the grid. However, it might still pay to install solar if you can consume most of the energy yourself, by running your pool pumps, appliances, space heating and cooling devices, hot water system and even an electric car with solar electricity harvested during the day.
In future, as electricity storage batteries get cheaper, there may be even more economic reasons to have solar panels on your roof.
This article doesn’t list every possible behavioural trick or home improvement. Sadly, some homes will never be fantastic energy performers without significant modification. But hopefully there are a few things on this list that will work for you – even if it’s only a case of finally covering that drafty doorstep, or giving your creaking “beer fridge” a dignified retirement.
Tim Forcey is energy advisor, Melbourne Energy Institute, University of Melbourne and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tim-forcey-104740" target="_blank">here</a>.
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 22 ways to cut your energy bills (before spending on solar panels)

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LYZ Property Group, a subsidiary of Chinese developer Hengmao Group, has reportedly paid $88,888,888 million for Computershare's headquarters in Melbourne.
The Abbotsford headquarters was sold in a leaseback deal.
It was thought the property could fetch around $80 million but fared the especially auspicious price after competitive interest.
Computershare has a seven-year, triple net leaseback with options until 2029. The starting rent will total $5.3 million annually for the two-level office building at 452-484 Johnston Street that comprises around 16,000 square metres of office space, with 485 car spaces.
The property sits on 16,920 sq m with frontage to the Yarra River.
A Chinese family family paid $8,888,888 for a small office building on Melbourne's Collins Street last year.
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Melbourne office block sells at $88,888,888 

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New stamp duty and land tax surcharges imposed on foreign buyers of residential property in NSW, Victoria and Queensland could have repercussions for Frasers Property Australia.
Its boss Rod Fehring has noted they might affect all foreign-owned property owners and developers operating in Australia, including Frasers Property Australia, the former ASX-listed Australand business, which is now wholly owned by Singapore-listed and Thai-controlled Frasers Centrepoint.
In NSW, foreign buyers will be hit with a 4 percent stamp duty surcharge from June 21 and 0.75 percent land tax surcharge starting in 2017.
Queensland's 3 percent stamp duty surcharge commneces on October 1.
Both are following Victoria which will raise its existing 3 percent stamp duty surcharge and 0.5 percent land tax surcharge to 7 percent and 1.5 percent respectively on July 1.
Developers can apply for exemptions in Victoria, but these are at the discretion of Treasurer Tim Pallas to be deemed resident or non-resident.
The treasurers in NSW and Queensland are yet to announce any exemptions.
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Frasers caught in wave of property taxes for property

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) official Brian Parker has announced his union is banning work on the art-deco redevelopment of Sydney’s historic Bondi Pavilion. The work is part of a A$38 million “refurbishment” that residents – including actor Jack Thompson and musician Dave Faulkner – are concerned is designed to privatise public space.
But why is the CFMEU sticking its neck out over these issues, which overwhelmingly do not impact its blue-collar base?
To answer this question, it’s important to look at who joined Parker on the platform at a recent rally – veteran unionist, ex-Communist and conservationist Jack Mundey. Mundey is a Sydney folk hero. He popularised the term “green ban” – which the CFMEU has dubbed its recent efforts to save Sydney’s heritage – in the 1970s.
Today, opponents of the West Village development in Brisbane, WestConnex in Sydney and the recently halted East West Link in Melbourne are all asking similar questions to those of the 1970s. Why are multibillion-dollar projects put ahead of green spaces and affordable housing? And why do ordinary people so rarely get a say over the cities they inhabit?
The story of Mundey’s union, the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF), and its successful campaigns to save historic locations like The Rocks and green spaces like Kelly’s Bush shows why this radical heritage speaks to contemporary Australia.
<h2>Civilising the industry</h2>
Mundey came to prominence when the Australian construction industry was booming. Meredith and Verity Burgmann note that new building approvals across the country soared from A$1.7 billion in 1966 to A$2.9 billion in 1971. This meant inner suburbs and CBDs were being remade with new construction.
Boom times for construction also meant boom times for building unions: workers were in demand and in a better position to bargain. The BLF in New South Wales gained in both members and power during this period. This allowed it to rethink the role of unionism.
But the BLF members didn’t just discover a green thumb and decide to be the saviours of inner Sydney. They were among the most exploited of workers: low-skilled, often from migrant backgrounds, and working in an unsafe industry with low rates of pay.
When Mundey and his supporters won control of the union in 1968, they first turned to “civilising” the industry. This included both significant improvements in health and safety and the use of militant tactics to win wage parity with other workers in the industry.
Fixing these basic issues was a requirement for workers to consider more socially conscious demands.
When workers were later interviewed, they revealed Mundey nurtured a rapport through these traditional trade union struggles, which got members onside for the wave of green bans to follow. The unashamedly working-class BLF began to adopt issues beyond “normal” trade union politics.
<h2>Housewives meet unionists</h2>
Among the union’s first “bans” took place after the Battlers for Kelly’s Bush – an all-female committee from well-to-do Hunters Hill – cautiously approached the BLF in June 1971 to save one of Sydney’s last remaining harbourside green spaces.
The women were initially reluctant. Images of macho builders' labourers violently picketing sites and sawing down goalposts at the SCG prior to a controversial Springboks rugby game were fresh in their memories. Similar images are associated with the CFMEU today; their members are regularly labelled thugs, gangsters and criminals.
However, the Hunters Hill committee was impressed by an initial meeting with BLF official Bob Pringle, who proposed a union ban on the site.
Committee members remember the BLF as having political and social “vision”. But Mundey remembers the decision to place the ban as divisive for his newly democratised union:
Some opined that since [builders' labourers] couldn’t afford to live in Hunters Hill … we should not become involved.
It was, however, “quality of life” issues that won the day. Mundey was successfully able to sway his members by posing the issue as one of:
… [a] millionaire developer, hell-bent on building luxury homes and apartments for the fortunate few at the expense of the many who would lose a natural outdoor space of beauty and recreational value.
Workers were increasingly realising that rather than just being passive victims of urban development, they could and should be able to have a voice in the fate of the cities they were building.
The BLF approved the first green ban at the request of a 600-strong community meeting. Such consultation became a hallmark of its politics.
The union undertook similar bans in working-class suburbs like The Rocks, Woolloomooloo and Surry Hills – not only as “the builders’ labourers could identify easily with the people affected”, but because they had pioneered a politics that put preserving urban spaces ahead of developers’ profits.
The BLF’s 1975 deregistration by an alliance of government, bosses and rival unions capped off this period of experimentation.
<h2>The ‘right to the city’?</h2>
Clearly, the example of Mundey, the BLF and the green social consciousness they pioneered speaks to contemporary Australia.
A lack of rental affordability, spiralling house prices and continuing sell-offs of prime public land for development make the slogan of “people before profits” eminently appealing. Yet today’s industrial relations landscape is marked by significant restrictions and penalties for strike action.
The return of limited green bans could complement a broader strategy, perhaps borrowing divestment strategies from the climate change and refugee rights movements. Union super funds provide significant funding to construction projects, and an activist union might choose carefully – in consultation with communities – which ones are deserving of their members’ money.
In so doing, we might start to make a better, more liveable city.
Jon Puccini is UQ research fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jon-piccini-202430" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Bondi Pavilion ‘green ban’: why revive an old union heritage protection tactic?

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Frankston's bathing box prices are on the rise.
One of the 30-odd foreshore boxes on Gould Strett, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-vic-frankston-122228534" target="_blank">Bathing Box 26</a>, is being offered for sale at $145,000.
The selling agent Robert Austin of LJ Hooker Seaford said the property would likely break the Frankston record.
Frankston's recent beach box sales include <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-vic-frankston-119371491" target="_blank">Bathing Box 32 </a>which fetched $125,000 in March last year, and the Sunrise Rotary Club-built <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-frankston-116155691" target="_blank">Bathing Box 10</a> which sold for $114,500 in 2014.
Bathing box records have fallen in Portsea, McCrae, Dromana and then three times in Brighton over the past year. 
Frankston resident Bill Gardiner bought his box 30 years ago for just $3000.
Gould St’s beach boxes can only be owned by Frankston council ratepayers, similiar to the situation at Brighton’s Dendy Street beach.
MELBOURNE'S BEACH BOX BONANZA
Brighton: the record price for the Dendy Street beach foreshore has been broken three times this year, most recently with Bathing Box 44, which fetched $307,000 last month.
Dromana: Boatshed 145 set a new benchmark when sold for $306,800 in March.
Portsea: Boatshed 23 broke the Shelley Beach record, fetching $615,000 in November, but a subsequent prized offering failed to sell.
McCrae: a mystery racehorse owner paid a record price<a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/realestate/news/melbourne-vic/racing-identity-wins-bidding-race-for-beach-box-on-mccrae-foreshore-on-the-mornington-peninsula/news-story/4d66598d44c0cc6bd08bf14981ad00a4" target="_blank"> </a>of $239,000 for Boatshed 28 last October.
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Frankston bathing box prices on the rise

Apartment buildings are increasingly being designed around how people actually live day to day, not just how they want a building to look.

For buyers, that shift is showing up in practical inclusions that respond to changing habits. Work-from-home spaces, EV charging, wellness amenities, secure bike storage and parcel management are becoming part of the broader apartment conversation, reflecting a move toward buildings that reduce friction in everyday life.

Online shopping has become one of the clearest examples of that change.

Australians spent a record $82.6 billion online in 2025, with nearly one in four retail dollars now spent online. That has made parcel delivery a regular part of apartment living, rather than an occasional inconvenience.

For apartment residents, however, the delivery process can be less straightforward than it is for detached homes. Parcels may be left in lobbies, redirected to Post Offices, missed entirely, or placed under the responsibility of building managers and concierge teams.

That is why secure parcel infrastructure is increasingly being considered alongside more familiar apartment amenities.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-VjjLwoViX0?si=A3k7ws9NX35Uac7_" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Australia Post Parcel Lockers offer one way to address the issue. When a parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS, then collect it using a QR code or one-time PIN. The parcel is kept secure, accessible and removed from common areas.

The broader Parcel Locker network now includes more than 1,500 locations across Australia, positioned at Post Offices, shopping centres, supermarkets, transport hubs and other accessible locations.

For new apartment projects, the relevance is clear. A building’s amenity offering is no longer only about lifestyle spaces, but also about convenience, security and functionality.

As buyer expectations evolve, secure parcel delivery is becoming part of the same design conversation as flexible working, sustainable transport and resident wellbeing.

It is one less thing for residents to worry about, and another example of apartment design adapting to the way Australians now live.

Joel Robinson

Apartment design is adapting to the way Australians shop

While school holidays and trips to Europe tend to define the winter property market, there's been no cold snap at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-walden-north-sydney-177-walker-street-north-sydney-nsw-2060">The Walden</a> in North Sydney.

Developer-builder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aland">ALAND</a> sold more than $35 million worth of apartments throughout June, including a $6.8 million apartment that now ranks among the highest apartment sales ever recorded in North Sydney.

SRM Residential agent Ben Stewart said buyer demand throughout June reflected a mix of improving market confidence and longer-term thinking from owner-occupiers.

"We're seeing strong demand from owner-occupiers who are taking a longer-term view," Stewart said.

"Many recognise the opportunity to secure an apartment in an iconic building and premium location while values remain attractive. They may initially lease the property, but the intention is to eventually move in themselves, rather than purchasing purely as an investment."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=367129]

Located at 177 Walker Street, The Walden will deliver 161 one, two, three and four-bedroom residences across a 30-storey tower designed by Rothelowman. Every apartment occupies a corner position, maximising natural light, cross ventilation and views across Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, Sydney Heads and the northern districts.

Rather than a traditional balcony, the residences feature winter gardens that seamlessly extend the open plan living areas, creating versatile spaces for relaxing or entertaining throughout the year. Floor-to-ceiling glazing draws in natural light while showcasing sweeping views from the building's elevated Walker Street position.

Every apartment features high-end Calacatta marble, bespoke joinery, and fully integrated appliances.

The larger residences have been planned with distinct entertaining and private zones, with many master suites positioned on corners to capture natural light and harbour views. Walk-in dressing rooms, freestanding baths and refined stone finishes reinforce the house-like feel that has resonated with downsizers and owner-occupiers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6393]

Rothelowman Principal Ben Pomroy said the project was designed to make the most of its unique position overlooking the harbour.

"The Walden is a celebration of all things beautiful, curated for those who expect nothing less than exceptional," Pomroy says.

"Meticulously designed entertaining spaces and light-filled living areas that capitalise on capturing the natural beauty of Sydney's iconic harbour."

Residents will also have exclusive access to The Pavilion, a dedicated amenity building featuring a rooftop pool, wellness studio, gymnasium, sauna, concierge service, residents' lounge, private dining spaces and work-from-home facilities.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6402]

The project marks ALAND's first major luxury apartment development in Sydney's inner-city market after more than two decades delivering residential communities across Greater Sydney.

Founder and CEO Andrew Hrsto previously said the rarity of the Walker Street site made it an opportunity the company could not overlook.

"This is a rare opportunity to bring a truly exceptional project to life in one of Sydney's most iconic locations, and to showcase our craftsmanship and design expertise at a world-class level," Hrsto said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6383]

The Walden has been introduced to the market at a time when demand for living in North Sydney is at an all-time high. Billions of dollars have been invested in infrastructure, including the recently opened Victoria Cross Metro station, located just 300 metres from The Walden, providing residents with direct access to the Sydney CBD in just minutes.

Private investment has also transformed the area through the arrival of new retail and dining destinations, elevating the lifestyle offering in what was once considered primarily a commercial precinct rather than an aspirational residential address.

The Walden is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134323]

ALAND records $35 million in sales in North Sydney as The Walden bucks quiet winter selling season

The long-awaited redevelopment of the former Eastlakes Shopping Centre site has reached a major milestone, with Conquest's plans for a new mixed-use precinct officially placed on public exhibition.

The State Significant Development Application would transform the 1.7-hectare site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/19a-evans-avenue-eastlakes-nsw-2018">19A Evans Avenue</a> into one of Sydney's largest urban renewal projects, delivering 736 apartments above a new shopping centre anchored by Woolworths, alongside specialty retail, dining, commercial space and new public open spaces.

The public exhibition marks the next chapter for the project after <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/conquest">Conquest</a> acquired the stalled Stage Two development from Crown Group, who completed the first stage across the road prior to their voluntary liquidation.

<img alt="First look: Conquest unveils plans for 736-home Eastlakes Shopping Centre redevelopment" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5fca22c5-d1ed-4e2c-8801-03f7df1eafc8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/eastland%20podium.png?VersionId=uomwr41nF8CmLUZRDcu3mHQechlbxucS" />

&nbsp;

Designed by DKO Architecture, the proposal comprises four residential buildings ranging from 14 to 18 storeys above a two-level retail podium. The development would deliver 736 apartments, including 74 affordable homes, 215 Build-to-Rent apartments and 521 market residences. Provision has also been made for dual-key apartments, which could increase the total number of dwellings to 877.

At ground level, the shopping centre has been designed as the suburb's new meeting place, anchored by a full-line Woolworths and complemented by a curated mix of fresh food retailers, cafés, restaurants, health services and everyday convenience shopping. Generous pedestrian links and landscaped public spaces will connect the retail precinct through to Jack Mundey Reserve, creating a more walkable and connected neighbourhood.

Conquest CEO Michael Akkawi said the redevelopment was about far more than replacing a shopping centre.

"Eastlakes has been overlooked for too long, and this is the community’s moment. We are building a shopping centre and homes, a genuine heart for the suburb, and we genuinely want locals to help shape it."

"We enrich communities through the creation of homes, places, and experiences designed for life, built to last, and owner for generations. That starts with listening, so we warmly encourage everyone with a connection to Eastlakes to view the plans and share their thoughts."

<img alt="First look: Conquest unveils plans for 736-home Eastlakes Shopping Centre redevelopment" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="22f6fb20-54fb-4bd7-8a92-48fafdd00608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/eastland.png?VersionId=cugp7s9hrMHGJJdYzkeAkrFoQgnF4GXf" />

DKO said the design had been shaped by the site's landscape setting and surrounding open space.

"Our vision for the site embraces its unique Bidjigal identity by blending the residential living with generous landscaping and a material palette inspired by the Bidjigal locality, and celebrating the panoramic views to Botany Bay and the wetlands reserves."

"Taking cues from Country, we seek to harmonise built form with the landscape and lightly touch the earth. By reconnecting, retaining and regenerating existing ecology, and weaving in natural elements, we can deepen our connection to Country."

The landscape strategy extends across the podium and rooftops, incorporating communal gardens, children's play areas, lawns, community gardens, family gathering spaces and extensive tree planting. New landscaped links will also strengthen the connection between the precinct and Jack Mundey Reserve, while publicly accessible open spaces have been integrated throughout the development.

The proposal builds on Conquest's broader placemaking strategy for the site. Through an ongoing partnership, local artist Joe Rashbrook has been appointed Urban Art Curator, working alongside young residents to transform the project's site hoardings into a public art gallery that allows the community to engage with the redevelopment before construction is complete.

Conquest has rapidly expanded its development pipeline since acquiring the Eastlakes site, with more than $6 billion worth of mixed-use projects now in planning across Sydney, including Stanmore, Castlecrag and Waterloo.

Conquest CEO Michael Akkawi said the redevelopment was about far more than replacing a shopping centre.

First look: ‘Far more than replacing a shopping centre’ as Conquest unveils 736-home Eastlakes redevelopment

Abadeen has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for one of Mosman's largest apartment developments in recent years, seeking approval to transform the former Honeysuckle Garden and Midas site on Military Road into a 100-apartment mixed-use development.

The SSDA, lodged with investment partner Phoenix Property Investors, proposes around $230 million worth of new housing on the prominent <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/494-516-military-road-mosman-nsw-2088">494-516 Military Road</a> site.

The proposal comes as Mosman Council continues to progress its recently endorsed Masterplan, which identifies the precinct for increased housing density while maintaining the suburb's established character.

Designed by DKO Architecture, the development would comprise 100 apartments above ground-floor retail, with a rooftop wellness precinct including a gym, sauna, entertaining areas and landscaped communal spaces.

Rather than pushing to the full 12-storey height identified in Council's Masterplan, the proposal ranges between five and nine storeys, stepping down towards Hale Road. A tenth level would accommodate resident amenities rather than additional apartments.

The project has been designed to appeal to a broad range of buyers, from first home buyers and young professionals through to families and local downsizers looking to remain on the Lower North Shore.

<img alt="Mosman" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5dada03f-5b4c-43ba-ba62-2868add31440" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-27%20at%209.57.55%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=7LBy0B.Jo8_iWAFJsClcV7Q3UnXrv49r" />

Abadeen Executive Chairman Justin Brown said the apartments had been designed as genuine long-term homes rather than investor-focused stock.

"The apartments have been designed as genuine long-term homes, with efficient floorplans that maximise usable living areas, generous storage, natural light and strong connections between indoor and outdoor spaces," Brown says."

"We've focused on creating homes for a broad range of buyers, from first home buyers and growing families through to downsizers who want to remain in Mosman."

The rooftop wellness offering forms a key part of the proposal, with residents set to have access to a gym, sauna, outdoor entertaining spaces, communal dining areas, landscaped gardens and a multi-use recreation court overlooking Sydney Harbour.

<img alt="Mosman" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d37c2d6b-583a-4a0f-b7a9-9f46b893d2f4" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-27%20at%209.58.06%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=FPoa5FCm2RtzjhAh2w5FTWJbV6GHfY8D" />

DKO drew heavily on the site's natural and cultural history, undertaking a Connecting with Country process with local Aboriginal Elders to inform the architectural and landscape design.

Senior Associate Matthew Ritchard said the design sought to create a building that responded to both the site's landscape and its cultural significance.

"The architectural language of the project is a deep expression of Connecting with Country, where the materiality and colour palette serve as a bridge between the site's geological history and its future as a residential sanctuary."

The proposal also retains the site's established blue gum tree as the centrepiece of the communal landscaped gardens, while introducing activated retail fronting Military Road to strengthen the connection between Mosman and Cremorne villages.

If approved, the project would deliver 100 new homes within walking distance of shops, public transport, schools and local amenities, adding to the limited pipeline of new apartments on the Lower North Shore.

<h2>Project Snapshot</h2>

Project: Honeysuckle Garden Redevelopment

Address: 494-516 Military Road, Mosman

Developer: Abadeen and Phoenix Property Investors

Architect: DKO Architecture

Lead Architect: Matthew Ritchard

Value: $230 million

Residences: 100 apartments

Key features:

<ul>
	<li>
	Ground-floor retail
	</li>
	<li>
	Rooftop wellness precinct
	</li>
	<li>
	Gym and sauna
	</li>
	<li>
	Outdoor entertaining and BBQ areas
	</li>
	<li>
	Landscaped communal gardens
	</li>
	<li>
	Multi-use recreation court
	</li>
	<li>
	Retained mature blue gum tree
	</li>
	<li>
	Connecting with Country design process
	</li>
	<li>
	Harbour, CBD and Balmoral views from upper-level apartments
	</li>
</ul>

Abadeen Executive Chairman Justin Brown said the apartments had been designed as genuine long-term homes rather than investor-focused stock

First look: Abadeen plans 100 apartments on former Honeysuckle Garden site in Mosman

The wave of apartment proposals sweeping through Mosman shows no signs of slowing, with another major residential development lodged through the NSW Government's State Significant Development pathway.

Developer First Quadrant Properties, which recently completed Willoughby Grounds and has several projects in planning across the North Shore, has unveiled plans for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/cove-on-ourimbah-40-56-ourimbah-road-mosman-nsw-2088">Cove on Ourimbah</a>, a 63-apartment development on Ourimbah Road, adding to the growing pipeline of projects reshaping one of Sydney's most tightly held harbour suburbs.

The proposal would consolidate nine properties at 40-56 Ourimbah Road into a part eight, part nine-storey apartment building, continuing the momentum created by the NSW Government's accelerated planning pathways that have seen several significant developments emerge across Mosman over the past 12 months.

Designed by Doroch Architects, the project would deliver 63 apartments, resident wellness facilities including a gym, pool and sauna, landscaped communal spaces and basement parking, while using recessed upper levels, generous setbacks and extensive planting to reduce the perceived scale of the building.

<img alt="First look: First Quadrant Properties eyes nine-storey Mosman apartment project under State Significant pathway" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="32ee68e4-141e-4a10-8f83-48e961a5e71e" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ourimbah%20Road%2C%20Mosman%20a.png?VersionId=CUeILFc6APlwXPc.iplElbxHvREKwjig" />

Doroch Architects said the building had been designed to reinforce Mosman's established character.

"The building's aesthetic is grounded in the existing residential character of Ourimbah Road and the broader Mosman context," the architect noted in the planning documents submitted to the NSW Government.

The design adopts a contemporary material palette of natural stone, textured concrete and brown concave metal cladding, complemented by integrated planters and deep balconies. The podium incorporates softened curved concrete forms, while increased setbacks have been provided adjacent to the heritage-listed property at 60 Ourimbah Road to create a more sympathetic transition.

The site sits around 330 metres from Mosman Town Centre, placing it within the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy area, where increased residential density is being encouraged close to shops, transport and services.

The proposal follows a string of major apartment projects lodged or declared State Significant in Mosman in recent months, including Abadeen's 100-apartment Honeysuckle Garden redevelopment on Military Road and several other developments across Awaba Street, Redan Street and Muston Street from the likes of Time &amp; Place, HELM and Prosker Property.

&nbsp;

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Time &amp; Place to take on Mosman apartment market</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/first-look-abadeen-plans-100-apartments-on-former-honeysuckle-garden-site-in-mosman">First look: Abadeen plans 100 apartments on former Honeysuckle Garden site in Mosman</a>

&nbsp;

Jonathan Chancellor

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