Apartment buyers in New South Wales are set to gain a decade of insurance-backed protection against major building defects, after the NSW Parliament passed the Fair Trading and Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.&nbsp;

The Bill establishes decennial defect insurance, known in the market as Latent Defects Insurance (LDI), as an alternative to the existing two-year strata building bond. It cleared the Legislative Council with amendments on Tuesday evening (August 4, 2026), with the Legislative Assembly agreeing to those amendments shortly after.

Under the reform, eligible developers can satisfy their statutory bond obligation by taking out an approved decennial-style policy that gives owners 10 years of cover for major structural defects from completion, claimable directly, without first having to pursue developers or builders through costly legal action.&nbsp;

The change forms the final tranche of amendments arising from the 2021 statutory review of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and related legislation.

Resilience Insurance, which originated the cover in Australia and has delivered it in NSW since 2022, welcomed the passage and credited the NSW Government for delivering it.

“This is protection apartment buyers have needed for a long time, and the credit for delivering it belongs to the NSW Government,”&nbsp;said Corey Nugent, CEO of Resilience Insurance.

“Minister Chanthivong and his team have shown real leadership in replacing an outdated two-year bond with cover that matches the lifespan of the buildings people are buying into. Reform like this is what good, evidence-based regulation looks like.”

Resilience has delivered LDI in NSW since 2022, protecting thousands of apartments, giving the State, and now the country, real-world evidence of how decade-long, no-fault protection works in practice.

The reform also places NSW within a wider national shift.

NSW is the third jurisdiction to put decennial cover into law. The ACT legislated for it in 2024, with the scheme taking effect in late 2025, and Victoria passed its own framework on 17 June. Between them, the three cover the majority of Australia's apartment market.

The reform commences once the legislation is proclaimed, which is expected in the coming weeks. From that point, developers of Class 2 residential apartment buildings can meet their statutory obligation with an approved decennial policy in place of the bond.

Buyers who purchased into projects that took out the cover early are among the first in the country to take keys to apartments carrying decade-long structural protection.

“With the legislation passed, the focus now turns to making it work for buyers,”&nbsp;Nugent said.

“There are already thousands of apartments in NSW covered by this insurance, bought by developers who moved early. The question every buyer should be asking in a display suite is a simple one: does this building come with 10-year defect cover, and who stands behind it?&nbsp;

“We look forward to working with the Government and the Building Commission in coming weeks as the framework moves to implementation, and to sharing what we have learned over the past four years so the protection reaches owners as smoothly and quickly as possible.”

Other states are working through their own reform programs. Western Australia has indicated that decennial cover is within consideration a later stage of its reform sequence, and Queensland has been examining the settings as it looks at the development pipeline ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

Resilience Insurance acknowledges the NSW Government’s continued focus on strengthening consumer protection while supporting housing delivery across the State.

Fast Facts: What the reform means

<ul style="color:#222222; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:small; font-style:normal; font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-weight:400; text-align:start; white-space:normal; background-color:#ffffff; text-decoration-thickness:initial; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial">
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Proven at scale:&nbsp;Decennial cover has operated in NSW since 2022, protecting thousand of apartments.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">10 years of cover:&nbsp;Protection for major structural defects runs for a decade from completion, claimable directly and with no legal action required.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">An alternative to the bond:&nbsp;Eligible developers can meet their statutory obligation with an approved decennial-style policy in place of the 2% strata building bond.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Part of a national shift:&nbsp;The ACT has had decennial provisions in force since 2025 and Victoria passed its framework in June. NSW now joins them.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">No-fault, first resort:&nbsp;Owners corporations claim directly from the insurer without first having to establish who is liable for the defect.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Cost-competitive:&nbsp;At approximately 1.8% of build cost, LDI is typically priced below the 2% bond while offering broader, longer protection.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Market position:&nbsp;Resilience originated LDI in Australia and has delivered it in NSW since 2022.</li>
</ul>

Fast Facts: What is Resilience LDI?

<ul style="color:#222222; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:small; font-style:normal; font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-weight:400; text-align:start; white-space:normal; background-color:#ffffff; text-decoration-thickness:initial; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial">
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Resilience Latent Defects Insurance (LDI):&nbsp;Covers major structural defects for 10 years from completion.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Consumer-first:&nbsp;Direct claim access, no need for lengthy legal action.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Cost advantage:&nbsp;At approximately 1.8% of build cost, LDI is typically priced below the traditional 2% Strata Bond while offering broader protection.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Market leader:&nbsp;&nbsp;Resilience Insurance originated LDI in Australia and is the national market leader.</li>
</ul>

Joel Robinson

NSW parliament passes 10-year defect insurance laws for new apartment buyers

Builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mcnab-developments">McNab</a> has wasted little time reshaping one of South Brisbane's most significant undeveloped apartment sites after acquiring the property earlier this year.&nbsp;

McNab has lodged plans to scrap an existing approval for two 30-storey towers and instead deliver a single 28-storey residential building, preserving part of the site for a future development opportunity.

The proposal, lodged over <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-peel-street-south-brisbane-qld-4101">64 Peel Street and 9 Cordelia Street</a>, is for a residential-led mixed-use development comprising 124 apartments above a landscaped podium, alongside a boundary realignment that preserves part of the land for a future residential project.

<img alt="First look: McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="743bf564-3f8f-45fc-b8d3-bbf18f5b628f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/mcnab%20Peel%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=EhCxGrVn_VFH3qTbKnI4WppGwaMnOn0t" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a>, the development will deliver 119 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments across 23 residential levels. A five-level podium will accommodate 135 car spaces, while the ground floor will include a 66 sqm commercial tenancy, an activated residential lobby with work-from-home spaces, and a publicly accessible landscaped plaza linking Cordelia and Peel streets.&nbsp;

Communal amenities will span Level 6 and the rooftop, including indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, a swimming pool, barbecue facilities, kitchen and dining areas, lawn space, sauna, steam room and yoga facilities.

The application also proposes a boundary realignment to create a standalone 1,290 sqm development lot while retaining an adjacent parcel for future redevelopment, allowing the balance of the site to contribute additional housing over time.

Hayball said the architecture has been shaped by the site's elevated corner position at the intersection of Peel and Cordelia streets and Brisbane's subtropical climate.

The design incorporates generous landscaped setbacks, a masonry podium wrapped with planting, large north-facing balconies, and a slender tower profile intended to maximise natural light, cross ventilation and long-range views. The rooftop has been conceived as a wellness-focused retreat overlooking Brisbane, with amenities positioned to capture views towards Mount Coot-tha and the CBD.

<img alt="First look: McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c5f99e84-6ad8-4a87-82d1-869685b754d2" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/mcnab%20tower%20perspective.png?VersionId=Gw0IuJaSAlk.tvGBxInhZOcQAdIB..2b" />

The planning submission positions the proposal as a response to both changing market conditions and Brisbane's Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct planning reforms.

McNab acquired the site after the previous approval was granted, with the existing scheme no longer reflecting current residential market demands, economic conditions, construction challenges, construction efficiencies or the quality of development outcome now being pursued, the planning report noted.

McNab continues to expand its residential development pipeline across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The developer recently launched The Tannery in West End, securing more than 60 per cent of apartments before the project's public release. It is also delivering Elements Budds Beach in Surfers Paradise and Lucia Highgate Hill, an eight-apartment boutique development overlooking the Brisbane River.

McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower

A steeply sloping Bellevue Hill site is set to accommodate a new mid-rise apartment development, with plans lodged for 20 homes that respond to the site's dramatic topography.

The proposal for the consolidated land at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/138a-140-bellevue-road-bellevue-hill-nsw-2023">138A-140 Bellevue Road</a> has been designed by Sydney architecture practice Common Office, which has used the site’s substantial fall to distribute the building’s scale and unlock 20 apartments without presenting the full height to the street.&nbsp;

“The unique design strategy leverages the site’s substantial topographical fall to facilitate increased density, presenting a seven-storey profile to Bellevue Road while rising to 10 storeys at the rear,” Common Office said in its architectural design report.

The apartment mix spans one, two, three- and four-bedroom residences. Four two-bedroom apartments are designated as affordable housing, while the plans also include two adaptable dwellings. The mix is majority three-beds, with the typical three-bed apartment offering around 144 sqm internally, with balconies of around 15 sqm.

The affordable housing component represents 15 per cent of the residential floor area and allows the project to access additional height and floor space under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions. The site also falls within the inner area of the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy because it is within 400 metres walking distance of Double Bay Town Centre.

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1230d0f-3bfa-4a11-abaf-0928c66ef345" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20da.png?VersionId=dZeMK3P.OutGjN8ycjsxm8uNsj_QFWQv" />

Common Office has arranged the building around a masonry podium and a lighter upper volume, drawing on two recurring elements of Bellevue Hill’s established architecture: sandstone bases and the vertical proportions of local Inter-war Art Deco apartment buildings.

“The proposal is governed by a holistic design language that reconciles the solid horizontal masonry of the neighbourhood’s podiums with the elegant verticality of its Art Deco heritage,” the architect said.

“The building maintains a consistent rhythmic logic utilising deep recesses and a sophisticated material transition to break down the 10-storey scale into a series of articulated, human-scale volumes.”

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0147f503-1af1-4d51-97fb-c2f1cba63a9d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20bldg.png?VersionId=GoW7q3NlK67OpnePXhk7zvklrlKb72Qc" />

Large-format sandstone tiles will define the lower levels, establishing a robust base that negotiates the change in elevation from Bellevue Road. Above, red-tinted precast concrete frames, recessed balconies, anodised aluminium screens and expanded metal details will create a more vertically expressed façade. Integrated planter beds will introduce greenery across balcony edges and recessed sections of the building.

The elongated northern façade has been divided into three recessed vertical masses to reduce its perceived length. Triangular window elements and metal privacy screens reference the geometry of nearby Art Deco buildings while controlling overlooking toward surrounding homes. The southern elevation will incorporate further privacy screening, landscaped edges and deep balconies to maintain light and ventilation.

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e8679cf1-18bc-4447-8a0f-0052b94ab83c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20da%20rooftop.png?VersionId=5SQqQqRFf76rvE2p1TbxJSweMN70AIbc" />

Private and communal landscaping is distributed throughout the development. A landscaped garden apartment is positioned within the lower portion of the site, while a communal terrace on Level 5 will include a central timber deck, barbecue facilities, resident planting plots and areas for outdoor dining and informal gatherings.

Common Office described the terrace as an elevated sanctuary designed to capture district views and sunlight. Its planting strategy incorporates endemic species associated with the Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, extending the landscape vertically through the building and providing habitat for local flora and fauna.

A second communal outdoor area is proposed at roof level, with built-in seating, paved gathering areas and perimeter planting.

Bellevue Hill is enjoying renewed momentum in the new apartment market, with several boutique developments recently launched and currently under construction. Positive Investment Enterprise is delivering the 16-apartment Kew Palm House on Birriga Road, while Chanine Developments is also under construction at Florian, a 36-apartment project on Banksia Road.

&nbsp;

Bellevue Hill is enjoying renewed momentum in the new apartment market, with several boutique developments recently launched and currently under construction.

First Look: Apartment development pitched for Bellevue Hill, Double Bay fringe

South Brisbane's apartment pipeline continues to build momentum, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/trk-property-group">TRK Property Group</a> lodging plans for a 161-apartment tower on Montague Road as developers accelerate investment across the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.

The proposal for 176–186 Montague Road would replace an existing office building with a 20-storey residential tower designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, adding to a growing pipeline of high-density projects reshaping one of Brisbane's fastest-evolving inner-city precincts.

The project has been conceived as a "living building", featuring a flowing tower form, extensive vertical landscaping, and generous communal spaces that respond to the evolving Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.

TRK Property Group Development Director Matt Kan said the project reflected the confidence developers have in South Brisbane's long-term future.

"South Brisbane is entering an incredibly exciting period, and we see Montague Road sitting right at the heart of that evolution," Kan said.

"With the former Visy site directly opposite us and significant investment planned throughout the broader Kurilpa precinct, there is a real sense of momentum around this part of the city and what it will become over the coming years.

"For TRK, this is an opportunity to be part of that next chapter and deliver a project that responds to where the precinct is heading, while contributing to the continued evolution of Brisbane's river edge."

<img alt="First look: TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="590fe1ad-f892-4446-a679-80e33a16d029" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/TRK%20tower%20facade.png?VersionId=uOJStrcKpyHFcPE1w6_9SMAFzVMCcZll" />

The scheme includes a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, incorporating multi-purpose rooms in selected residences to provide additional flexibility for home offices or expanded living areas. The proposed mix comprises 15 one-bedroom, 13 one-bedroom plus MPR, 73 two-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom plus MPR, 30 three-bedroom, and four four-bedroom apartments.

Rather than adopting a conventional rectilinear tower, COX Architecture has developed a sculpted form inspired by the movement of the Brisbane River.

"The proposal has been designed by COX Architecture as a 'living building' that responds to the site's riverine setting, floodplain history and evolving urban context within the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct," the planning report states.

"The architectural form draws from the fluid nature of the Brisbane River, with a curved and undulating tower form that creates a varied architectural edge and avoids a conventional rectilinear tower expression."

The podium has also been designed as an architectural feature rather than a conventional parking structure, with cascading planting, screening and natural-toned materials softening its appearance. Resident parking is elevated above ground level to address the site's flood constraints, while habitable apartments sit above flood planning levels. Upper-level communal facilities are designed to accommodate shelter-in-place arrangements during major flood events.

<img alt="First look: TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="01fa15d0-90df-46c7-9555-7941fc45373c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/TRK%20podium.png?VersionId=mHyua.w1pHGBt9qEdWzrlsv.leztUCwO" />

Communal amenity is a major focus of the proposal. Around 1,815 sqm of shared resident space is proposed across the ground floor, level 19 and the rooftop, including co-working areas, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, wellness facilities, dining and gathering areas, lawn spaces, a rooftop pool and spa, and extensive landscaping. At street level, a landscaped forecourt and approximately 345 sqm of publicly accessible open space along Montague Road are intended to improve the pedestrian experience while activating the building's frontage.

The development will provide 163 car spaces, including 152 resident bays and 11 visitor spaces, together with 144 bicycle spaces incorporating resident storage, visitor parking, bicycle maintenance facilities and e-mobility charging infrastructure.

The site sits within one of Brisbane's fastest-changing inner-city precincts, less than two kilometres from the CBD and within easy reach of South Bank, West End, the Queensland Cultural Centre and extensive public transport connections. The Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct planning framework is encouraging higher-density residential development to help meet Brisbane's housing supply targets while supporting walkable, transit-oriented neighbourhoods.

TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans

Article summary

<ul data-end="785" data-start="311">
	<li data-end="459" data-section-id="5hbcyr" data-start="311">Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at Skye Kangaroo Point, headlined by a two-storey sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm.</li>
	<li data-end="561" data-section-id="1p7lq8n" data-start="460">Early buyer interest suggests the residences could set a new Queensland apartment price record.</li>
	<li data-end="667" data-section-id="1y70z0l" data-start="562">The collection includes four move-in ready penthouses and the highly customised Skye One residence.</li>
	<li data-end="785" data-section-id="yvm0y1" data-start="668">The release caps one of Bri​sbane's most ambitious luxury apartment developments overlooking the Brisbane River.</li>
</ul>

<hr data-end="790" data-start="787" />
Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/skye-residences-by-pikos-kangaroo-point-8-river-terrace-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">Skye by Pikos</a> development in Kangaroo Point, with early buyer interest indicating the flagship residences could eclipse every apartment sale previously recorded in Queensland.

The collection crowns the luxury riverfront development with five residences, including four completed penthouses and Skye One, a two-level sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm that will be tailored to its eventual owner.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374075]

Wanting to offer a fully customisable home, Pikos is offering Skye One as a blank canvas, allowing the buyer to work alongside the developer's design team to customise the home's layout, finishes and internal spaces.

The residence will feature a 247 sqm private rooftop terrace with its own swimming pool, sauna, steam room, outdoor kitchen and multiple entertaining areas overlooking the Brisbane River and CBD skyline.

The remaining four penthouses have been completed and are ready for immediate occupation, each offering four bedrooms, expansive open-plan living areas, soaring ceilings and private lift access.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374059]

One of the defining features throughout the project is its use of Roman Classic Travertine, with more than 20,000 sqm of the natural stone imported from Italy after being personally selected by Pikos Group Founder and Executive Director Pedro Pikos, interior designer Julie Williamson and third-generation stone specialist Mario Caucci.

Pikos said the penthouse collection represented the culmination of the company's long-term vision for Skye.

"True legacy isn't measured by what we build today, but by what endures tomorrow," Pikos said.

"Our ambition is to create places that become more valuable with time, enrich the lives of generations, and stand as timeless landmarks long after we've stepped away."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374060]

Williamson said the interiors were inspired by the natural character of Kangaroo Point and the Brisbane River rather than international design trends.

"Materiality tells the story of a place," Williamson said.

"We looked to the movement of the Brisbane River, the texture of the cliff face and the warmth of the surrounding landscape to create interiors that feel understated, enduring and unmistakably Brisbane."

Positioned above the Kangaroo Point cliffs, Skye places residents within walking distance of Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank and James Street while offering uninterrupted river and city views.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=90059]

Brisbane's next apartment price record? Pikos unveils Skye's exclusive penthouse collection

Prominent New Zealand apartment and hotel operator, <a href="/developers/safari-group">Safari Group</a>, is offering up a prime investment opportunity for Australians to purchase off the plan in one of the world’s most popular ski destinations.

They recently took to market Mountain Oak Queenstown Apartments, in the growing precinct of Remarkables Park in Frankton, near the airport and at the foot of The Remarkables - the mountain range the locals like to call “The Remarks”.&nbsp;

Sydney investors have shown interest in the one, two and three-bedroom apartments that secure high-season occupancy six months over the year, primarily over summer and winter months.

They average 90 per cent occupancy across their portfolio over January, February, March, August, November and December, while shoulder season months of April, July, September and October are still occupied 70 per cent of the time, with the growing appeal of Queenstown becoming not just a hotspot for the snow, but a lifestyle destination.

Even in the low seasons of May and June, occupancy levels reach around 40 per cent.

<img alt="Safari Group’s Mountain Oak Apartments brings new investment potential to Queenstown" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_auto/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Ext_Cam15_Sunny.jpg?VersionId=SJAROUM_1s.Tr5ciMk4EEj5oAt_Vewmv" />

Safari’s Safari Hotels arm can also manage the holiday letting for an investor, from the listing on holiday accommodation websites such as Airbnb and Booking.com to the cleaning and maintenance of the investment. They’ve been in the short stay management business for 15 years and offer 24/7 support for investors, an important convenience benefit for any overseas investor

Another major drawcard for Australians is that New Zealand doesn’t have a stamp duty policy - so the entry price of NZ$639,000 (AU$586,000), is all that is payable on completion.

<img alt="Safari Group’s Mountain Oak Apartments brings new investment potential to Queenstown" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/313_Livingv2_WEB.jpg?VersionId=nV229fM0ZeYpoxOrX372HyGjfwY_LR8c" />

Safari is starting construction of the 141 apartments in Q2 this year, with a two-year build estimated to complete in mid-to-late 2027.<img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="15" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXczFpFAb7WuA6f4f9TtKWcqXyNwR8qqtakWv352ERkpqNlP3KwIo8YKxw67jZNHfpjEGIZGv5MQTbnvLZwNt8iu9IVdOrswOjCvBZ4zhSoOOLrpt6etVEZTN1gkBho0r_R72zdHNA?key=yq3daOanqHSb88QFd8jGYKdb" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" />​

The apartments will feature modern amenities and contemporary designs with expansive windows capturing sweeping views of The Remarkables mountain range.&nbsp;

Interiors are equipped with modern finishes, premium appliances, and secure electronic key-locked doors, ensuring a comfortable living experience for residents and guests alike.

With its strategic location near Coronet Peak and Cardrona Alpine Resort, as well as key retail and dining precincts such as Market Street, Five Mile Shopping Centre, and Remarkables Market, Mountain Oak offers a strong proposition for investors seeking high rental yields and capital appreciation in one of New Zealand’s most sought-after locations.&nbsp;

Queenstown’s sustained demand for visitor accommodation and rental properties is underpinned by a shortage of housing options, attracting both local and international buyers.

Safari Group offers low-touch investment proposition in Queenstown’s popular ski fields district

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
The growth of the human population over the last 70 years has exploded from 2 billion to nearly 8 billion, with a compounding net growth of over 30,000 per day. We all breathe out carbon dioxide with every breath. That equates to about 140 billion CO₂ breaths every minute. Isn’t it logical that atmospheric carbon will continue to increase with the birth rate regardless of what we do about fossil fuel reduction?
This question touches on the core of our impact on planetary change. It highlights the exponential growth in the human population, but also homes in on the potential direct input of carbon dioxide from humans, through respiration.
As I explain in more detail below, our breathing does not contribute to the net accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But population growth, combined with an increase in consumption, is now seen as the <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-01-15-new-planetary-dashboard-shows-increasing-human-impact" target="_blank">main driver of change in the Earth system</a>.
Humans: a moment in geological time
Earth has been around for 4.56 billion years. The <a href="https://www.livescience.com/1804-greatest-mysteries-life-arise-earth" target="_blank">earliest evidence for life on Earth</a> comes from fossilised mats of cyanobacteria that are about 3.7 billion years old.
From around 700 million years ago, and certainly from 540 million years ago, life exploded into its present myriad forms, from molluscs to lung fish, reptiles, insects, plants, fishes and mammals – culminating in hominids and finally Homo sapiens. Genetic studies suggest <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/overview-of-hominin-evolution-89010983/" target="_blank">hominids evolved from primates around 6 million years ago</a>, with the oldest hominid fossil dating from 4.4 million years ago in East Africa.
Our species appeared around 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, a blink of an eye in geological terms. From Africa, Homo sapiens migrated through Europe and Asia and spread across the world, at lightning speeds.
Part of the question is about a putative link between human biological functions and climate. Homo sapiens is <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127" target="_blank">one of more than 28 million living species today</a>, and some <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-5874-9_7" target="_blank">35 billion species that have ever lived on Earth</a>. There has always been a link between life and Earth’s atmosphere, and perhaps the clearest indicator is oxygen.
Life, carbon and climate
Cyanobacteria were the first organisms to master photosynthesis and <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.pnas.org/content/96/20/10955" target="_blank">began adding oxygen to Earth’s early atmosphere</a>, producing levels of 2% by 1 billion years ago. Today oxygen levels are at 20%.
While people inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide (billions of tonnes each year), this does <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/08/are-you-heating-the-planet-when-you-breathe" target="_blank">not represent new carbon in the atmosphere</a>, but rather recycled carbon that had been taken up by the animals and plants we eat. Furthermore, the hard parts of human skeletons are potential carbon stores, if buried sufficiently deep.
There is a constant cycling of carbon between geological, oceanographic and biological processes. Homo sapiens is part of this carbon cycle that plays out at the Earth’s surface. Like all living organisms, we derive the carbon we need from our immediate environment and give it up again through breathing, living and dying.
Carbon is only added to the atmosphere if it is taken out of long-term geological stores such as carbon-rich sediments, oil, natural gas and coal.
Planetary impact of humans
But the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth" target="_blank">remarkable growth in human population</a> is surely the critical issue. Ten thousand years ago, there were 1 million people on Earth. By 1800, there were 1 billion, 3 billion by 1960 and almost 8 billion today.
When these figures are plotted on a graph, the growth line looks almost vertical from the 1800s onwards. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century/" target="_blank">Population growth may eventually flatten out</a>, but only at around 10-11 billion.
Alongside the unprecedented population growth of humans has been the <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/million-threatened-species-thirteen-questions-answers" target="_blank">loss of many non-human species</a> (10,000 extinctions per million populations per year, or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-report-finds" target="_blank">60% of animal populations since 1970</a>), the rapid loss of wilderness habitat and consequent growth in farmed land, over-fishing (with up to <a href="http://blogs.edf.org/edfish/2012/07/11/fao-reports-87-of-the-worlds-fisheries-are-overexploited-or-fully-exploited/" target="_blank">87% of fisheries fully exploited</a>), and a staggering growth in global car numbers (from zero in the 1920s to 1 billion in 2013 and a projected <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/the-number-of-cars-worldwide-is-set-to-double-by-2040" target="_blank">2 billion by 2040</a>).
The <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/copper-statistics-and-information" target="_blank">world production of copper</a> is an instructive proxy for human global impacts. As with many commodity curves, the trend from 1900, and particularly from the 1950s, is exponential. In 1900 around half-a-million tonnes of copper was produced worldwide. Today it is 18 million tonnes per year, with no sign of lowering consumption rates. Copper is the feedstock for much of modern-day and future green technologies.
Most parts of the world now experience material consumption as never before. But serious inequality remains, with over <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day" target="_blank">3 billion living on less than US$5.50 a day</a>, and a <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/just-8-men-own-same-wealth-half-world" target="_blank">tiny percentage who own so much</a>.
Some argue that it is not the numbers of people on Earth that count, but rather the way we consume and share. Whatever the politics and economics, the gross consumption level of billions of humans is, surely, the main cause of planetary change, especially since 1950. Present-day atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are one of many symptoms of human impact.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126671/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Michael Petterson, Professor of Geology, Auckland University of Technology.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-how-growth-in-population-and-consumption-drives-planetary-change-126671" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Climate explained: how growth in population and consumption drives planetary change

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A two-level freehold within Toorak Village, one of Melbourne’s most tightly held retail shopping strips, has hit the market. 
The property will be auctioned November 29.
Located at 472 Toorak Road, the property comprises a 110 square metre building with ground floor shop front, commercial kitchen and rear courtyard.
The first floor, which can be separately accessed from the rear, includes an open-plan layout with a kitchenette and bathroom. 
The 139 square metre site zoned Commercial 1 has 4.6 metres frontage to Toorak Road and rear laneway access to a lock up garage with parking.
There is also a permit for an additional level at the rear.  
Commercial 1 zoning aims to create vibrant mixed use commercial centres for retail, office, business, entertainment, community and residential uses.
The property will be offered with vacant possession.
It is situated directly opposite the Vicland Property Group’s proposed $600 million commercial re-development of Village Way, which is set to house circa 12,000 square metres of office space and a ground floor Coles supermarket.
Teska Carson’s Luke Bisset and Jack Kelliher have the listing. 
"This property offers excellent investment credentials including a highly regarded retail and commercial location within Melbourne’s wealthiest suburb, with vacant possession and first rate access and exposure via Toorak Road frontage and a rear laneway," Bisset said.
Toorak Village has more than 270 shops and businesses including fashion boutiques, cafes, fine dining, and highly regarded medical and professional services.
It is well serviced by public transport facilities including Toorak and South Yarra railway stations, trams and major arterial routes.
Kelliher said the local retail sector thrived on the back of a predominantly young and affluent demographic.
He said the locality had been the beneficiary of major redevelopment over recent years including more than 3000 apartments, either currently under construction or recently completed. 
It is being offered vacant possession.
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Vacant two-level Toorak Village freehold on the market

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Sydney's Pitt Street Mall has held on to its position as the seventh most expensive retail strip in the world in Cushman &amp; Wakefield's Main Streets Across the World report.
Retail rents on the exclusive row of shops have increased nearly 18 per cent over the year to $16,500 per sqm.
The rents grew more than any other location in the top 10 ranked locations. The likes of Zara, Oroton and Carla Zampatti are located in the pricey precinct.
To enlarge, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/11/13/world%20wide%20retail%20strips.jpg" target="_blank">click here</a>.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/11/13/world%20wide%20retail%20strips.jpg" alt="">
Pitt Street has recently welcomed luxury skin care giant Aesop, who have introducted an amphitheatre for customers within their new global flagship store which set a new record for retail rents on Pitt Street Mall. 
Matt Hudson, the national director of retail leasing at Cushman &amp; Wakefield Australia and New Zealand said rents in Sydney’s retail core have reached new highs as retailers focus on evolving the customer experience and trialling new store formats to attract shoppers. 
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Hong Kong's Causeway Bay hung on to top spot as the world's most expensive with average rents of $42,065 sqm.
It's the second year in a row Causeway Bay has claimed top spot, following a five year dominance by New York's Upper 5th Avenue which has rents at $34,399 per sqm.
London's New Bond Street makes the top three, some way off, at $26,281 per sqm.
To enlarge, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/11/13/Asia%20Pacific%20retail%20strips.jpg" target="_blank">click here</a>.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/11/13/Asia%20Pacific%20retail%20strips.jpg" alt="">
Pitt Street Mall ranked third in the Asia Pacific list of most expensive retail strips, while Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall hung on to seventh and Brisbane's Queen Street Mall made it in to the top 10.
Bourke Street Mall sees an average $7,000 per sqm and Queen Street Mall $4,500 per sqm.
Cushman &amp; Wakefield's report suggested Australia's retail market is currently favourable to occupiers and landlords that are more predisposed to capital contributions and rent-free periods.
"As a result, rents in some locations have fallen, particularly in CBD strip retail areas," the report advised.
"In contrast, rents on some of the higher footfall pitches have increased, including Sydney’s George Street which will benefit from the new light rail project.
"Online sales continue to take an increasing share of the market and, with a degree of uncertainty about the medium-term outlook, new entrant retailers are asking for break clauses and/or more flexible terms, while many small businesses are also opting for more temporary pop up activations.
"However, there is strong demand for flagship stores and double height frontages and the concept of ‘click and collect’ mixed with retail experience is growing."
 
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Sydney's Pitt Street Mall the seventh most expensive shopping strip in the world

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Two Melbourne retail spaces securely leased to global supermarket giant Aldi have been listed for sale.
There's little doubt the most sought after will be the 1,650 sqm retail premises at <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/for-sale/property-aldi-8-franklin-street-melbourne-vic-3000-503357750" target="_blank">8 Franklin Street</a> in the CBD (pictured top), given its high exposure of foot traffic due to its 25 metre frontage in the heart of the city.
The ground floor space which spans across the Verve and Milano twin-tower development is leased to Aldi who are on a 10 year lease with options to extend.
There's basement parking for 44 cars.
Colliers International agents Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman, Chris Lin and David Sia are marketing the property for a December 6 auction.
The latest listing is a brand new space on the ground floor of Fitzroy apartment block The Lyric building (below), on the <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/for-sale/property-239-245-johnston-street-aldi-fitzroy-vic-3065-503388222" target="_blank">corner of Gore and Johnston Streets</a>, near the busy Smith Street.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/11/13/Fitzroy%20Aldi.jpg" alt="">
Offered by Teska Carson's Adrian Boutsakis and Larry Takis, the 1,400 sqm floor space and 52 car spaces is leased to Aldi on a 10 + 10 + 10 year lease.
They pay $640,000 per annum and there are annual rent increases.
Aldi have over 10,000 stores worldwide. 
 
<a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/for-sale/property-aldi-8-franklin-street-melbourne-vic-3000-503357750"> </a>
<a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/for-sale/property-239-245-johnston-street-aldi-fitzroy-vic-3065-503388222"> </a>
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Two ALDI supermarkets in Melbourne for sale

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EXPERT OBSERVER
It’s clearly been a tough year for many retailers, with 47% of our survey respondents [in Deloitte's Retailers' Christmas Survey 2019] telling us they’ve experienced flat or negative sales growth over the past 12 months.
So it’s probably no surprise many are also approaching this Christmas with a little less cheer, certainly compared to last year.
Just over 60% are expecting to increase their sales this Christmas, compared to 80% in 2018, and nearly 40% are also expecting to see a decrease in seasonal margins. This is, unfortunately, the most pessimistic we’ve seen retailers since 2013.
Many have pinned their hopes on federal government tax cuts, but the latest trading data suggests consumers have chosen to keep any windfall in their pockets. Retailers are no doubt hoping they’ve been saving up for Christmas.
As always, when to discount and by how much remains a critical decision for retailers over the holiday period. Last year they told us they were intent on holding strong. But with difficult trading conditions 12 months later, this will be challenging, with 39% of retailers planning to discount before Christmas compared to 31% last year, and 30% in early December. 
And with the proliferation of sales campaigns such as next week’s Black Friday leading into December, many are concerned this could bring forward Christmas trading at discounted prices.
Getting personal
The cautious consumer has brought good old customer service back to the fore, as retailers can no longer rely on buoyant spending to drive in-store trade.
Over a quarter of respondents highlighted customer service as the most important driver of sales this Christmas, just behind digital and omni-channel offerings.
These two strategies aren’t mutually exclusive. Forming a strong digital connection with the consumer is critical to building trust in the brand, regardless of where the customer spends, and this connection to the customer flows through to loyalty. 
Over 90% of respondents consider their customer loyalty as good or strong, but brand loyalty is also hard won and easily lost. In the era of cancel culture, retailers need to understand the reasons when things go wrong, and how dealing with a poor customer experience via exceptional customer service can protect, and even enhance, brand reputation and the value this can deliver.
Looking for green shoots in 2020
There are signs of more optimism amongst retailers for their prospects in 2020.
They’re still hoping for the best, with some 72% expecting to bounce back and grow their top line. But with most not forecasting growth in excess of 5%, it still looks like another challenging year ahead.  
New products and online will remain key to growth prospects, and only 11% of retailers are expecting to grow through new store openings, down from a peak of 43% in 2017. 
Rising input costs following the depreciation of the Australian dollar are also expected to bite when it comes to margins, and respondents continue to look to the likes of property costs as levers to reduce bottom line impacts.
It’s certainly critical that within the retail ecosystem, retailers, suppliers and landlords work together, rather than against each other. 
Ultimately, uncertainty kills confidence, and global economic turbulence certainly isn’t helping. Australian retailers will be waiting for a recovery in wage and jobs growth to provide a boost where interest rates and government tax cuts fail to provide the stimulus needed.
Profit AND purpose: big room for improvement
The survey report also looks at Australian retailer views on social impact their operations.
Consumers, employees and other stakeholders are increasingly expecting companies to operate in a responsible manner, from ethical sourcing, using sustainable materials and packaging, and reducing carbon emissions to the fair treatment of employees on pay and conditions and making a meaningful contribution to communities and society more broadly.
In a real concern, 42% of respondents believe social, ethical and environmental responsibility isn’t important to their brand.
Yet in the same breath, 91% believe they enjoy good or strong customer brand loyalty. There’s a concerning perception gap here. If Australian retailers don’t quickly grasp the reality of increasing stakeholder expectations, and respond in a considered, meaningful and, importantly, authentic way, consumers may vote with their wallets, and employees with their feet.
David White is the national leader of Deloitte’s Retail, Wholesale &amp; Distribution Group.
Deloitte's Retailers' Christmas Survey 2019 survey findings include:
<ul>
<li>Only 62% of retailers expect to see higher sales this Christmas compared to last year, down from 80% last year</li>
<li>Just under 40% are expecting to see some form of Christmas period margin decrease</li>
<li>39% will be discounting pre-Christmas to help drive sales</li>
<li>Digital continues to be a standout, with 58% expecting to see growth of 10% or more in online Christmas sales</li>
<li>72% expect to see positive sales growth in calendar year 2020, down from more than 90% for 2019. </li>
</ul>
 
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Positive retail sentiment is down as important Christmas trading period approaches: Deloitte

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A vacant possession industrial premises located at Thomastown, Victoria has been sold at auction.
The 568 sqm building at 82 Lipton Drive attracted over 30 enquiries. 
There were 19 bids taken between two bidders.
 The property was purchased for $820,000 by an owner occupier, $70,000 above reserve. 
This result equates to a building rate of $1,443.66/sqm and a land rate of $950.17/sqm for the 863sqm site.
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Situated off Mahoneys Road, this location provides easy access to major roads and arterials including being under 3km from Hume Highway, 2.5km from the M80 Ring Road and its associated linkages to the Tullamarine Freeway, Hume Freeway and West Gate Freeway.
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It was sold by Craig McKellar and Oliver Price of CVA.
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Thomastown industrial building sold for $820,000

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Sydney’s Macquarie University <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/zero-growth-enrolment-troubles-force-university-to-make-budget-cuts-20191101-p536mc" target="_blank">announced budget cuts</a> in recent days, due to “zero growth” in enrolments next year.
Vice-Chancellor Bruce Dowton reportedly wrote a letter to staff announcing the cuts, which included a hiring freeze. The letter said:
"Enrolment growth domestically and internationally has slowed significantly at a time when our base operating costs continue to rise […] Current projections are that there will be zero growth in load [full-time student numbers] in 2020."
This <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/unis-risk-catastrophic-hit-due-to-reliance-on-china-20190820-p52ivu" target="_blank">comes a few months</a> after a report from the Centre for Independent Studies warned Australia’s universities were in for a “catastrophic” financial hit due to their over-reliance on international students from China.
Macquarie has been hit harder than most other universities, but many universities are finding it more difficult to recruit students than they did a few years ago. New domestic enrolments are in a mild recession. And although international student numbers are still growing, demand from Chinese international students has stabilised.
No increase in school leavers wanting university
In 2018, the number of students starting a bachelor degree <a href="http://highereducationstatistics.education.gov.au/" target="_blank">fell for the first time since 2003</a>. Of Australia’s 37 public universities, 23 took fewer new bachelor-degree students in 2018 than 2017.
Enrolments are expected to be down again in 2019, following a drop <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/undergraduate-applications-offers-and-acceptances-publications" target="_blank">in applications</a>. Commencing domestic postgraduate student numbers peaked several years ago.
In a sector used to growth, a downturn causes problems.
Since a Commonwealth <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/universities-warned-against-regional-cuts-as-turnbull-government-strips-22-billion-from-budget-20171218-h06i24" target="_blank">funding freeze announced in late 2017</a>, universities have not had strong financial incentives to enrol additional students. But this is not the main reason for falling enrolments. The issue is weak demand more than reluctant supply.
Demand for higher education is influenced by the population of potential applicants. Recent school leavers are the biggest bachelor-degree market. The number of year 12 school students fell slightly in 2018, mostly due to a downward trend in babies born 17 years previously.
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Birth and forecast population trends suggest year 12 student numbers will increase by only 1-2% in the next couple of years. So domestic demand for higher education from school leavers should stay close to current levels.
Mature-age students also affect enrolments
To date, <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/10/29/has-the-university-funding-freeze-caused-commencing-enrolments-to-fall/" target="_blank">mature-age students are the principal cause</a> of falling commencing bachelor-degree enrolments. But the number of non-year 12 applicants new to higher education is not trending down. For the last few years their applications have fluctuated in a narrow range.
The drop in demand is driven by people who have been to university before. Possibly, <a href="https://theconversation.com/labor-wants-to-restore-demand-driven-funding-to-universities-what-does-this-mean-116060" target="_blank">more student places under demand-driven funding</a> triggered a boom in course switching and former students returning, which has now subsided.
Former students are also affecting the domestic postgraduate market. The number of people who already have a degree, which makes them eligible for postgraduate study, <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/09/12/migration-has-outpaced-demand-driven-funding-as-a-source-of-additional-graduates/" target="_blank">is at record levels</a>. But domestic postgraduate coursework commencements peaked in 2014 <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/andrewjnorton/status/1188684271843606529/photo/1" target="_blank">and have declined since</a>.
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This is not an isolated trend. All types of structured education for <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/10/18/the-changing-nature-of-work-training-further-evidence-and-puzzles/" target="_blank">people already in the workforce are in</a> <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/09/26/contrary-to-expectations-reskilling-and-retraining-seem-to-be-in-decline/">decline</a>. It’s likely <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/10/15/the-popularity-of-online-self-education/" target="_blank">online self-education is taking market share</a>.
What about international enrolments?
The story is very different in the international-student postgraduate market, which is growing rapidly. In 2018, for the first time ever, more international students <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/andrewjnorton/status/1188676824387051520/photo/1" target="_blank">started a postgraduate than an undergraduate course</a> in Australia.
Despite some soft international markets, the overall trend is up. The <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Pages/InternationalStudentData2019.aspx" target="_blank">most recent data</a>, which take us to August 2019 and cover all levels of higher education, show commencing enrolments are 7% higher than at the same time in the previous year.
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<a href="https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-324aa4f7-46bb-4d56-bc2d-772333a2317e/details?q=student%20visa" target="_blank">Student visa applications</a>, which go up to September this year, suggest overall demand continues to increase modestly. But we should wait until later in the year before drawing firm conclusions.
A key cause of enrolment increases is India’s rapid rise. Commencing Indian student enrolments have <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/International-Student-Data/Pages/InternationalStudentData2019.aspx" target="_blank">more than doubled since 2016</a>. Although China remains the largest source of international students, new Chinese enrolments have stabilised this year.
International student issues could cause numbers to fall
Given enrolment and visa trends, total international student enrolments will increase in the short term. But there are many concerns about this industry, including <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/09/18/how-bad-is-the-international-student-english-language-problem/" target="_blank">English language standards</a>, <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788" target="_blank">cheating</a>, <a href="https://issuu.com/nteu/docs/sotus_2017_report_1_overview" target="_blank">soft marking</a>, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/red-flags/11601456" target="_blank">Chinese political interference</a>, university financial <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/auditors-general-warn-again-over-reliance-on-international-students-20190602-p51tnh" target="_blank">over-reliance on international students</a>, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/tackling-the-exploitation-of-international-student-workers-20150818-gj1ge3" target="_blank">labour market exploitation of students</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-temporary-graduate-visa-attracts-international-students-but-many-find-it-hard-to-get-work-in-their-field-123997" target="_blank">poor graduate outcomes</a>.
There are also broader issues of <a href="https://tapri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Overseas-students-are-driving-NOM-final-18-April-2019.pdf" target="_blank">international students driving up migration numbers</a>, as well as questions of whether we want a large proportion of the population living with <a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/not-quite-australian" target="_blank">limited political and welfare rights</a>.
<a href="https://www.stawelltimes.com.au/story/5964043/pm-morrison-hits-pause-on-migrant-intake/" target="_blank">Population issues</a> contributed to a <a href="https://campusmorningmail.com.au/news/the-international-education-regional-visa-scheme-is-working" target="_blank">rule change</a> to attract international students away from congested big cities to regional and minor city locations. I expect further regulatory changes and market reactions to international education issues to eventually cause a decline in numbers.
University luck might be about to run out
For universities addicted to international student dollars any enrolment decline is bad news. But universities have a history of luck. As international student numbers dropped a decade ago, domestic enrolments boomed. And as domestic numbers flattened in recent years, the international market took off.
As the domestic demography chart above suggests, there is potential for big increases in Australian undergraduates in the mid-2020s, as the mid-2000s baby boom children reach university age.
There is, however, a major obstacle to that scenario: with the end of demand-driven funding, there will be <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/08/27/will-the-number-of-commonwealth-supported-student-places-fall/" target="_blank">no money to pay for those extra students</a>. Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/tehan/afr-higher-education-summit" target="_blank">acknowledged the problem</a> but so far has no solution.
Without one, the future contains major risks. Universities could have falling enrolments for both domestic and international students. This will mean staff cuts and less money for research.
And the people born in the mid-2000s could be part of an unlucky generation in which <a href="https://andrewnorton.net.au/2019/04/29/young-people-were-less-likely-to-enter-higher-education-in-the-years-after-whitlam-than-before-demography-and-deficits-were-against-them/" target="_blank">population growth collides with budget constraint</a>. Their chances of finding a university place will be lower than for people born in earlier decades.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126342/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Andrew Norton, Honorary fellow, University of Melbourne.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/enrolments-flatlining-australian-unis-financial-strife-in-three-charts-126342" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Enrolments flatlining: Australian unis’ financial strife in three charts

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Australia was already <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44609144?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents" target="_blank">one of the most urbanised nations</a> by the end of the 19th century. Unlike European and North American countries, Australia’s pattern of settlement did not have a neat urban hierarchy. The gap between the large and small towns was huge.
These patterns have intensified in the decades since federation, especially after the second world war. International and internal <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0" target="_blank">migration trends have driven rapid growth</a> in the big cities, especially Melbourne and Sydney. This has created major problems with providing adequate <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-policy-reset-is-overdue-and-not-only-in-australia-112835" target="_blank">housing</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/congestion-busting-infrastructure-plays-catch-up-on-long-neglected-needs-114598" target="_blank">infrastructure</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-suburbs-are-being-short-changed-on-services-and-liveability-which-ones-and-whats-the-solution-83966" target="_blank">services</a>.
The fundamental issue is the reluctance of urban communities and their leaders to discuss what might be sustainable populations.
The folly of unlimited growth
No Australian city has a long-term vision showing how a future stabilised population might be supported with the essential resources of food, water and energy. No Australian city has faced up to the inevitable social tensions of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-did-the-rich-man-say-to-the-poor-man-why-spatial-inequality-in-australia-is-no-joke-73841" target="_blank">increasing inequality</a> between a well-served inner-urban elite and an increasingly under-resourced urban fringe.
Leaders in cities that have not grown as rapidly, such as Adelaide, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/as-the-east-coast-struggles-with-population-numbers-south-australia-is-desperate-for-a-boost/news-story/5ebca065ebe3f975ed83827d2373db37" target="_blank">lament their failure to grow like Sydney and Melbourne</a>, despite all the associated problems. All implicitly believe unlimited growth is possible.
In reality, the expanding ecological footprints of the large cities have created unsustainable demands on land to support urban dwellers. And the wastes the cities produce are straining the capacity of the environment to handle these.
Given the many unpriced flow-on effects from dense urban growth and market-led development, governments are struggling to deal with the undesirable consequences. <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-city-workers-average-commute-has-blown-out-to-66-minutes-a-day-how-does-yours-compare-120598" target="_blank">Congestion</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/walking-mightnt-be-good-for-you-if-its-through-australias-polluted-city-streets-88772" target="_blank">pollution</a> threaten to overwhelm the many social and economic benefits of urban life.
The growth and concentration of populations are also driving chronic excess demand for appropriate housing. The result is <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-lessons-from-sydney-hong-kong-and-singapore-3-keys-to-getting-the-policy-mix-right-123443" target="_blank">serious affordability problems</a>, which are adding to inequality across society and generations.
In 1970, urban historian <a href="https://theaimn.com/book-review-ideas-for-australian-cities-by-hugh-stretton/" target="_blank">Hugh Stretton pointed</a> to the role of Australia’s widespread owner occupation in offsetting the inequalities generated in labour markets and by inherited wealth. This is no longer the case.
The dominant neoliberal economic ideology has resulted in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-reboot-affordable-housing-funding-not-scrap-it-72861" target="_blank">retreat from providing public housing</a>. Abandoning would-be home-owners to the market has produced a situation in which urban land and house ownership is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-housing-boom-is-remaking-australias-social-class-structure-66976" target="_blank">reinforcing class-based inequalities</a>. Home ownership is increasingly the preserve of the affluent and their children.
Housing-related inequality is also seen in the geography of our cities. <a href="https://theconversation.com/city-by-city-analysis-shows-our-capitals-arent-liveable-for-many-residents-85676" target="_blank">Poorer households are priced out of locations with better access</a> to good jobs, schools, transport, health care and other services.
Failures of governance
Governments in Australia’s federation are poorly placed to respond adequately. <a href="https://theconversation.com/metropolitan-governance-is-the-missing-link-in-australias-reform-agenda-55872" target="_blank">Responsibilities and fiscal resources are divided</a>, creating obstacles to effective planning and infrastructure provision.
The main factor driving urban population growth is an unprecedented <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/Quick_Guides/MigrationStatistics" target="_blank">rate of inward migration</a>. The national government <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels" target="_blank">sets large migration targets</a> as an easy way of creating economic growth. This leaves state governments with the impossible task of meeting the resulting demand for infrastructure.
Jane O’Sullivan <a href="/news">has shown</a> each extra urban citizen requires about A$250,000 of investment. The total sum is well beyond the capacity of state and local governments.
Arguments between federal and state governments are heavily politicised, especially when it comes to major transport investments. Even within single jurisdictions, complex demands and unexpected consequences prevent effective action. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-recycling-crisis-may-be-here-to-stay-112055" target="_blank">waste recycling crisis</a> is a prime example.
State governments must also deal with difficult trade-offs between, for example, allowing further <a href="https://theconversation.com/living-liveable-this-is-what-residents-have-to-say-about-life-on-the-urban-fringe-111339" target="_blank">development on the edges of cities</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/becoming-more-urban-attitudes-to-medium-density-living-are-changing-in-sydney-and-melbourne-84693" target="_blank">encouraging higher density in built-up areas</a>. This often involves <a href="https://theconversation.com/vested-interests-behind-city-shapers-often-subvert-higher-density-policies-74244" target="_blank">conflicts</a> with local governments and communities, concerned to protect their ways of life.
Australian planners and governments have long tinkered with <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-small-cities-bigger-will-help-better-distribute-australias-25-million-people-101180" target="_blank">policies to encourage decentralisation to smaller cities</a>. Despite these attempts, the dominant pattern of urbanisation with its seemingly intractable problems has hardened, a triumph of reality over rhetoric.
What needs to change?
To get beyond the rhetoric and make our cities more sustainably liveable requires a much more deliberate and interventionist role for government. It also requires residents of our cities and suburbs to be willing to allow their governments to interrupt business as usual.
This, we know from experience, is a big ask. It will step on the toes of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-policy-is-captive-to-property-politics-so-dont-expect-politicians-to-tackle-affordability-55384" target="_blank">property lobby</a> and ordinary home owners. In some cases, for example, the short-term financial interests of property owners are leading local authorities to ignore scientific warnings about the impacts of climate change on coastal development.
Major changes are also needed in how urban land is taxed and the proceeds invested. “Simple” reforms like <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-way-australia-taxes-housing-is-manifestly-unfair-58421" target="_blank">replacing stamp duty on land transfer with a universal land tax</a>, as the <a href="http://www.taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=html/home.htm" target="_blank">Henry Tax Review</a> recommended, will take political courage that has been absent to date.
More complex policies like finding ways of diverting population growth to non-metropolitan regions will take careful thought and experimentation. This might include relocating government agencies to provincial cities. This has been tried sporadically in the past at the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-19/decentralisation-push-for-federal-government-departments/8453816" target="_blank">federal</a> level and in states such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/may/04/victorian-public-service-jobs-to-move-to-ballarat-and-latrobe-valley" target="_blank">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://psa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/NSW-Decentralisation-Taskforce-Report-April-2013-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">New South Wales</a>. However, such cases tend to be one-offs and do not reflect an overall strategic plan.
Future generations will inevitably be critical of the complete failure of current leaders to plan for sustainable development.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123916/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Mike Berry, Emeritus Professor, RMIT University.
Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Science, Griffith University.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-australian-city-has-a-long-term-vision-for-living-sustainably-we-cant-go-on-like-this-123916" target="_blank">original article</a>.
This article is part of a series on rebalancing the human–nature interactions that are central to the study and practice of ecological economics, which is the focus of the 2019 ANZSEE Conference in Melbourne later this month.
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No Australian city has a long-term vision for living sustainably. We can’t go on like this

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There could be 20,000 first home buyers in 2020 who buy their property with a deposit of as little as 5% under the new Federal Government home loan deposit guarantee scheme.
The number of applicants across Australia will be capped at 10,000 every financial year, but as the initiative begins on January 1, there will be the double opportunity during 2020.
The 10,000 opportunities that allow low-and middle-income earners to participate on a first come basis from January 1 and then from July 1.
Even with 20,000 likely participants in 2020, it is likely some 80,000 first home buyers will need to find their own regular borrowing arrangements.
Sydney first-home buyers wanting to buy next year using the federal government's new home loan deposit scheme will need to buy properties costing less than $700,000.
The price cap will also apply to the large NSW regional centres with a population of 250,000 plus, namely Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Illawarra around Wollongong.
Buyers in the rest of the state can spend up to $450,000 to be eligible to buy under the scheme.
The Sydney house median sits at $900,000 and for units it is $710,000 according to CoreLogic.
It is $600,000 for Melbourne buyers, $500,000 in the ACT and $475,000 for Brisbane buyers.
The scheme to be known officially as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) will apply to owner-occupied loans on a principal and interest basis.  
Many first-home buyers are already setting their hopes based on the already available stamp duty tax incentives and available grants, which is centred around a $650,000 purchase.
To be eligible for the (FHLDS) the contract of sale must be dated after 1 January 2020.
It removes the cost of lenders mortgage insurance for FHBs with an annual income of up to $125,000 or couples with a combined $200,000 per year who haven't saved the standard 20% deposit.
There are to be no more than two borrowers on any loan and where there are they must be the spouse or de facto partner of the other borrower.
Off the plan purchases can be made under the scheme.
If the loan relates to the purchase of vacant land, it must also relate to the construction of a dwelling.
The scheme will only apply to Australian citizens.
The loan-to-value ratio will be be between 80 and 95% for loans not more than 30 years.
Repayments will be required for the principal of the loan for the full period except for construction loans where the loan agreement may permit interest-only repayments.
Any building contract requires construction commencement within 26 weeks of the settlement date and the issuance of an occupancy certificate within 15 months.
Treasurer John Frydenberg and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar have been credited with getting the balance right in recognising the variations in markets around the country, between metropolitan and regional areas.
It is however likely more loans will be for apartments than houses.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC), who will be responsible for implementing the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, is currently seeking lenders.
No more than two of the major banks will participate along with smaller lenders set to join the lending panel two months after its initial commencement. 
The government guarantees cease once the outstanding loan is at 80% or less.
The information now available should help the first home buyers to start making plans.
This article was first published in the Saturday Telegraph.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

20,000 FHBs set to take up the low deposit scheme in 2020

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The Sunland Group has placed the Mariner’s Cove Retail Village and Marina in Main Beach on the market.
It is located adjacent to the 5-star Palazzo Versace Hotel, and opposite the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort.
The Sea World theme park is located 1.8 kilometres north of the site.
Spanning 3.95 hectares, the waterfront site comprises the Mariner’s Cove Retail Village with a net lettable area of 4,278 square metres, and the 102-berth Mariner’s Cove Marina.
Sunland Group managing director, Sahba Abedian, said the decision to take the Mariner’s Cove precinct to market follows the completion of The Spit Masterplan, released in May.
“The Spit Masterplan sets a clear direction for development within this unique and internationally recognised coastal tourism precinct,” Abedian said.
The international campaign is being managed by James Branch, and Mark Witheriff, of Knight Frank.
Branch said future developments could include components of both a Premier 5-star hotel and residential apartments, maximising the benefits of the existing marina and high-grade marina facilities suitable for use by the growing super yacht market, as proposed by the Spit Masterplan.
The expression of interest campaign will close November 28.
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