<p>The new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/yarraville-green-42-stephen-street-yarraville-vic-3013">Yarraville Green</a> development in Melbourne's inner west is showing that landscaping can be just as influential as architecture, with buyers responding strongly to the garden-first approach adopted from the outset by developer Excelon Projects and the project's design team.</p>

<p>Excelon appointed Six Degrees Architects and landscape architects SBLA to work collaboratively on the development, with a brief to create "a sustainable, design-led building with a focus on community."</p>

<p>That approach has resonated with buyers. According to Next Chapter Director Tom Hirini, who is leading the sales campaign, the landscaped communal garden has become one of the project's defining features, alongside its boutique scale and European-inspired cluster housing concept.</p>

<p>Local downsizers, right-sizers and established families already living in Yarraville and surrounding suburbs have accounted for the majority of purchasers.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297740]</p>

<p>Yarraville Green will comprise 53 homes, including apartments and townhomes, arranged around the shared central garden to maximise connections to the landscaped open space. Parking has been moved underground, allowing the ground plane to be dedicated to greenery, pedestrian movement and communal spaces.</p>

<p>The landscape extends well beyond passive planting. Productive garden beds, a pergola, communal gathering spaces, garden sheds and a pet wash have all been integrated into the masterplan, creating spaces designed to encourage everyday interaction between residents.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297741]</p>

<p>The interiors continue Excelon's focus on craftsmanship, incorporating bespoke elements by Melbourne artisans including leadlight detailing by Adadaz, hand-turned timber hardware by Auburn Woodturning and blown-glass lighting by Ruth Allen.</p>

<p>Sustainability has also been embedded throughout the project, with Yarraville Green targeting an average 7-star NatHERS energy rating through passive design principles, rooftop solar servicing common areas and rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297735]</p>

<p>Construction continues to progress at Yarraville Green, with structural works well underway and framing works approaching completion under builder Balmain &amp; Co. The project remains on track for completion in mid-2027.</p>

<p>Apartments at Yarraville Green are currently priced from $625,000, while townhomes start from $1.4 million.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144913]</p>


Joel Robinson

Garden-led design drives buyer demand at Yarraville Green

<p>National diversified developer Fortis has officially launched Crest &amp; Walker, its latest Brisbane apartment development, with construction now underway on the 20-storey Newstead project.</p>

<p>Award-winning builder BINAH has commenced construction on the Bureau^Proberts-designed building, which will deliver a limited collection of 65 two and three-bedroom apartments on Kyabra Street.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373556]</p>

<p>The project marks Fortis' fourth active residential development in Brisbane, following River House, which is nearing completion, alongside projects in New Farm and Hamilton as the national developer continues to expand its South East Queensland pipeline.</p>

<p>Fortis General Manager – Development Queensland Dan Boman said Crest &amp; Walker reflects the developer's long-term commitment to delivering design-led residential projects in Brisbane's established inner-city suburbs.</p>

<p>"We're proud to be strengthening our presence in Brisbane with Crest &amp; Walker, particularly in such a sought-after lifestyle destination as Newstead," Boman said.</p>

<p>"Every Fortis project is shaped by its context, and we approach each one with the respect and care it deserves.</p>

<p>"Our focus is always on creating places that feel connected to their neighbourhood and elevate the everyday experience for residents. Newstead continues to evolve as one of Brisbane's most sought-after urban communities, and Crest &amp; Walker reflects our ambition to contribute meaningfully to that story."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373559]</p>

<p>Positioned between Gasworks Plaza and James Street, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> has been designed as a boutique residential address offering privacy and generous living spaces within one of Brisbane's most established lifestyle precincts.</p>

<p>The building features a contemporary brick podium softened by integrated landscaping, while the upper levels are characterised by restrained architecture and enduring materiality. Interiors have been designed to maximise natural light, acoustic performance and long-term liveability.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373583]</p>

<p>Residences comprise spacious two and three-bedroom floorplans, with two-bedroom apartments priced from $1.55 million and three-bedroom, half-floor residences from $3.95 million.</p>

<p>Residents will have access to a wellness-focused rooftop featuring a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, landscaped dining spaces and outdoor lounge areas overlooking Newstead and the Brisbane CBD.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373571]</p>

<p>Sales are being managed by Slaite Projects, with Fortis expecting strong demand from owner-occupiers seeking a high-quality, design-focused apartment in one of Brisbane's most tightly held inner-city suburbs.</p>

<p>Completion of Crest &amp; Walker is slated for late 2028.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145922]</p>


Fortis expands Brisbane pipeline with launch of Crest & Walker in Newstead

<p>The enormity of delivering a true skyscraper in Australia's new development market is often overlooked.</p>

<p>It has taken the best part of a decade since plans for Chevron One were first unveiled, but the 41-storey tower is now complete, with residents collecting their keys and moving into what has become one of the Gold Coast's most recognisable new landmarks.</p>

<p>Rising 127 metres above Chevron Island, Chevron One stands almost twice as high as any other building on the island. Its scale places it alongside the trio of towers at Jewel, arguably the last truly significant addition to the central Gold Coast skyline when they were completed around six years ago.</p>

<p>While there are several developments underway around a similar height to Chevron One, they are more concentrated within clusters of the highest towers in the city. The fact Chevron One sits within a developing precinct, looking back at the other high-rise developments in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, makes it a different proposition altogether. It will certainly become a reference point on the Gold Coast skyline.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68833]</p>

<p>Developer Bensons Property Group is behind the 41-storey tower, which has 229 apartments, along with an exhaustive list of resident amenity spread across what is the largest development site ever assembled on Chevron Island.</p>

<p>The tower has been the talk of the town for years, says Ray White Projects Gold Coast agent Caitlin Rosenboom, who is selling the remaining apartments.</p>

<p>"People have been watching Chevron One go up for years," Rosenboom says, adding that many prospective buyers have been surprised by the scale of the views once they step inside.</p>

<p>"It's only when they walk through a completed apartment that they truly understand the position of the building," Rosenboom says.</p>

<p>"The views are jaw-dropping. Whether you're looking east over the ocean, across Surfers Paradise, along the river systems or out to the hinterland, every level offers something different but equally impressive."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=360215]</p>

<p>One of Chevron One's defining advantages is its location on the eastern side of Chevron Island on Stanhill Drive, a position which protects the views forever.</p>

<p>"There's only one row of houses between Chevron One and the water, and the height restrictions along the river means views from Chevron One can never be built out,"&nbsp;Rosenboom says.</p>

<p>While new apartment developments continue to emerge across the Gold Coast, Rosenboom says opportunities to secure a completed apartment with this level of outlook are becoming increasingly rare.</p>

<p>"The size of the site is something that would be incredibly difficult to replicate today," she says.</p>

<p>"That's allowed Chevron One to deliver the sort of amenity, open space and resident facilities that very few projects can offer. There are not many completed apartment buildings on the Gold Coast right now that can compete with the combination of scale, quality and amenity."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68839]</p>

<p>There's around 2,000 sqm of amenity solely for the use of residents of Chevron One. Club One features a uniquely shaped swimming pool that mirrors the footprint of the building itself, set within a extensively landscaped gardens. There's also an indoor pool and spa, a fully equipped gym with a Pilates room, a yoga garden, a bookable private dining area and lounge that can host up to 30 people, and a 24-hour concierge service.</p>

<p>As for the buyers, Rosenboom is fielding enquiry from everywhere: Sydneysiders and Melburnians looking at the new and off-the-plan market following the changes in the Federal Budget, as well as those looking to relocate, through to South East Queenslanders seeking either a permanent home or a weekender bolthole.</p>

<p>"The Gold Coast lifestyle continues to resonate with people relocating from the southern states, and when they see the views and the quality of what's been delivered at Chevron One, it becomes very easy for them to understand the appeal," Rosenboom says.</p>

<p>A diverse mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments remain available, with each offering "something a little different", be it the orientation and views, configuration, or level, to suit a wide variety of buyers.</p>

<p>The remaining apartments are ready to inspect in person, by appointment.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6515]</p>


A decade in the making: Residents to move into Chevron One as construction wraps up

<p>A general rule of thumb in new apartment developments is that the penthouses get the rooftop.</p>

<p>It's a formula that's become commonplace across Australia's apartment market. Residents might have access to a pool, gym or barbecue facilities on a dedicated lower level, but the most desirable outdoor spaces are typically reserved for the highest-priced homes at the top of the building.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherpa-property-group">Sherpa Property Group</a> has taken the opposite approach.</p>

<p>Rather than dedicating the rooftop to a handful of buyers, the Gold Coast developer has made it the centrepiece of its Flourish collection, creating expansive shared spaces from the best vantage point in the building.</p>

<p>The philosophy has reached its most ambitious expression at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-palm-beach-1150-1160-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> in Palm Beach, where two rooftop precincts connected by a skybridge will deliver one of the most extensive lifestyle offerings seen in a residential apartment project on the Gold Coast.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374053]</p>

<p>"We're seeing a clear move toward developments that offer more than just an apartment," Sherpa Group founder Christie Leet said.</p>

<p>"People want spaces that support how they actually live, whether that's working from home, staying active, or spending time with family and friends.</p>

<p>"That's where amenity becomes critical. It's not just about what's included, but how those spaces are designed to be used every day."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374052]</p>

<p>The breadth of amenity has already attracted buyers across multiple demographics. Younger first home buyers have been drawn to Soleira's one-bedroom apartments, a product rarely delivered in Palm Beach, while families have responded to practical inclusions such as the shallow children's pool adjoining the main lap pool and the extensive communal recreation areas.</p>

<p>Instead of a single rooftop, Soleira delivers two distinct lifestyle zones.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=372547]</p>

<p>The southern rooftop has been dedicated to wellness, featuring a gym, yoga and Pilates studio, work-from-home facilities, a wellness centre, spa, and hot and cold plunge pools.</p>

<p>The northern rooftop focuses on recreation and entertaining, incorporating a heated resort-style pool, private dining rooms, pizza ovens, barbecues, a golf simulator, children's recreation areas, and what is expected to be the Gold Coast's first rooftop basketball court, which will also double as a squash court.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374054]</p>

<p>Beyond the rooftops, Soleira will introduce 1,500 sqm of curated retail beneath the towers, creating one of Palm Beach's first genuinely mixed-use lifestyle precincts where cafés, restaurants and convenience retail become part of residents' everyday lives.</p>

<p>Sherpa has also retained management rights across the development, allowing it to oversee the long-term operation of the building through a 24-hour concierge model. The developer is also exploring additional revenue streams within the precinct aimed at helping offset ongoing body corporate costs for residents.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370962]</p>

<p>While Soleira is the largest project Sherpa has delivered, the rooftop-first philosophy has been evolving for several years.</p>

<p>It began with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/amargo-6-12-sixth-avenue-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Amargo</a>, the first project released under the Flourish brand. Rather than competing at the ultra-luxury end of the market with oversized half-floor and full-floor residences, Sherpa focused on creating lifestyle-driven apartments supported by resort-style shared spaces.</p>

<p>Amargo introduced more than 800 sqm of rooftop amenity, combining wellness facilities, heated pools, entertaining areas, cabanas, pizza ovens and private dining spaces into what was designed as an extension of residents' homes rather than a facility used only occasionally.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=146527 project_image_fid=366550]</p>

<p>That approach continued with Flourish Oasis, where the same amenity-led philosophy was refined into a more boutique development. Strong demand from Sherpa's growing VIP database saw much of the project sold before it reached the broader market, reinforcing buyer appetite for apartment communities centred around shared lifestyle experiences.</p>

<p>Flourish Amargo is slated for completion mid-way-through next year, with Oasis to be delivered by late 2027. Flourish Soleira is expected to complete in 2030.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]</p>


Sherpa takes amenity to the sky as Flourish Soleira captures booming Palm Beach demand

<p>As apartment living continues to evolve across Sydney's growth corridors, the quality and distribution of shared spaces is increasingly shaping how residents experience home. Rather than functioning as add-ons, amenities are being embedded into the daily rhythm of a building, supporting everything from quiet retreat to social interaction, often within a single vertical community.</p>

<p>At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aeris-melrose-park-nursery-street-melrose-park-nsw-2114">Aeris</a> in Melrose Park, this approach is resolved through a layered amenity offering that unfolds from ground level through to its upper podium. Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sekisui-house-australia">Sekisui House Australia</a> in partnership with Hankyu Hanshin Properties, the project introduces 468 apartments across two towers and a mid-rise building, positioned at the highest point of the broader masterplan.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=359199]</p>

<p>The amenity experience begins at street level, where two courtyards sit within a landscaped setting that connects residents to the wider network of parks and green spaces. These green spaces are not isolated pockets but part of a wider pedestrian network that links Aeris to the surrounding <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/melrose-park-nsw-2114">Melrose Park</a> precinct, including Central Park, future schools, and the Town Centre opening in July 2026. The result is a transition that moves from public to private without abrupt boundaries, allowing residents to pass through shaded, tree-lined environments before reaching the building itself.</p>

<p>Moving upward, the focus shifts to the level five podium, where the primary communal facilities are concentrated. This space brings together a 16-metre swimming pool, outdoor seating areas, and a communal BBQ zone arranged to take advantage of elevated outlooks. Seating is positioned beneath pergolas, creating pockets of shade that extend the usability of the space throughout the day. The pool edge aligns with views toward the wider district, reinforcing the sense of elevation that defines the project’s positioning.</p>

<p>In the adjacent building, this is complemented by quieter, more contemplative spaces, including an outdoor cinema set within the same level. Positioned to operate primarily in the evening, it introduces a different tempo to the shared environment, shifting from daytime activity to after-hours use without requiring separate zones.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=360299]</p>

<p>The podium also accommodates an intimate private resident gym. Located on the lower levels, it gives residents convenient access to fitness facilities without leaving the building.</p>

<p>Above, the elevated podium sky deck extends the amenity offering, providing additional open-air spaces with elevated outlooks across the surrounding landscape. While more restrained in program, this upper level reinforces the project’s vertical progression, from ground-level greenery to elevated outlook, allowing residents to move between distinct spatial conditions within a single address.</p>

<p>This distribution of amenities reflects a deliberate response to how residents use space across the day. Sekisui House Australia Sales and Marketing Director Peter Kalaf points to the role these shared areas play in shaping buyer demand. Aeris has been conceived as more than a collection of apartments, with the podium pool, gym and outdoor cinema forming part of a broader lifestyle offering that extends the home beyond each individual residence.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=360300]</p>

<p>What distinguishes Aeris is not the inclusion of these elements individually, but how they are arranged in relation to one another. Active, social, and passive spaces are layered vertically rather than separated, allowing residents to choose between them without leaving the building or moving far from their apartment. This proximity supports both routine use, such as a morning swim or evening workout, and more occasional gatherings, whether around the BBQ area or within the cinema setting.</p>

<p>The amenity design also sits within a broader framework of connectivity across Melrose Park. The Melrose Park Town Centre, anchored by Coles and Dan Murphys, features a mix of retail, dining, health and lifestyle offerings, bringing everyday convenience closer to residents. By the end of the year, more than five hectares of parks and open space, equivalent to around seven football fields of green space on residents' doorstep, will further enhance the precinct, allowing the internal facilities at Aeris to operate as an extension of the wider neighbourhood rather than a substitute for it.</p>

<p>Construction at Aeris continues to gather momentum, with ground floor slabs expected to be completed in late 2026 before the first sections of the buildings begin to rise above ground.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=426]</p>


Elevated amenity anchors daily life at Aeris, Melrose Park

China

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<p>A vacant possession with existing permit for 34 units in Brunswick has been sold to development group with strong Chinese ties for $3.675 million in off-market deal brokered by Savills Australia’s CBD &amp; Metropolitan Sales Division.</p>
<p>The property, 2-6 Duckett Street, is 687 sqm, zoned Commercial 1 with a street frontage of 19 metres, was sold by Director, Julian Heatherich and Associate Director, Jesse Radisich.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>The site forms part of a precinct bounded by Sydney Road, Albion Street, Hope Street and the railway line which forms part of the Brunswick Major Activity Centre.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>The latter site sold to a prominent local developer for $4 million with a permit for 39 units.</p>
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

China-linked group pays $3.675m for Brunswick site

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<p>China’s slower growth figures have caused jitters in world financial markets. Nevertheless its growth remains at miracle levels. At this pace, China would appear to remain on track to become the richest and most powerful country in the world, bar none.</p>
<p>In a scenario where Chinese “miracle” growth continues around 5-6% for three decades and gradually slows to the average world growth rate, the average Chinese citizen would be as wealthy as the average American.</p>
<p>But ongoing Chinese growth miracle seems an unlikely outcome, when compared to the history of emerging economies. Instead, it is likely China will have to grapple with what is called the “middle income trap”. This is because China’s income level is currently at a level where many countries seem to stagnate.</p>
<h2>The middle income trap</h2>
<p>An example of this can be seen in the figure which charts per capita income for China, Turkey and Brazil as a percentage of the United States. It shows that, despite its remarkable growth, China’s income gap with the US has only reached the level that Brazil and Turkey had already achieved by the 1970s.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/01/29/image-20160127-26778-1nykof.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/01/29/image-20160127-26778-1nykof.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p>Moreover it can be seen that, since the 1970s, Brazil and Turkey made practically no further ground in closing the gap with the US.</p>
<p>According to a 2012 World Bank report, this slow growth pattern is typical of middle income countries. Specifically, of 101 countries that were “middle income” in 1960, only 13 broke through the middle income band to become rich countries.</p>
<p>Thus, based on history there is a reasonable concern that China’s growth will slow to an extent that it stops catching up with the West. China would then begin to look like like Brazil or Turkey in the sense that per capita income remains well below Western levels and there is a constant threat of political and economic instability.</p>
<h2>Causes of the middle income trap</h2>
<p>Unfortunately we don’t know very much at all about why there appears to be a middle income trap.</p>
<p>The authors of the World Bank study who coined the term suggested it was due to rising wage costs that make exports less competitive.</p>
<p>It is true that wage increases can hurt some export sectors, but market forces prevent this happening for the economy as a whole. Thus wage growth cannot reduce an economy’s overall competitiveness.</p>
<p>Other explanations suggest the middle income trap results from too much investment in physical infrastructure at the expense of education and skills. Alternatively it could be a result of political failure.</p>
<p>But these are only descriptions of the symptoms – they don’t tell why so many countries have political failures or why so many countries over-invest in physical capital.</p>
<p>So while there are many descriptions of the middle income trap, there is no clear theory and hence there are no testable propositions. It remains an elusive statistical fact.</p>
<h2>Traps versus bad luck and bad policy</h2>
<p>The lack of a clear view about the causes of a middle income trap makes it difficult to know whether it is a pattern likely to continue in the future. In a recent study, therefore, we tried to get a better sense of the predictability of a middle income trap from a purely statistical viewpoint.</p>
<p>For example if, for any reason, a country was unable to change its growth rate, the growth rate would exhibit persistence over time. That is, if things got better by chance one year, there would be some market or political force that brings things back to trend.</p>
<p>Alternatively if some countries simply had a run of bad luck, or made some big policy mistakes, there may be little persistence in the data. The growth rate might display some randomness from one year to the next.</p>
<p>We therefore tested to see whether we could reject the hypothesis that the path of per capita income had followed a random trend for 47 middle income countries.</p>
<p>Thus in the previous figure one can see that there is apparently very little difference in the trend path of Brazil and Turkey – they have similar growth rates and growth variance. But, in fact, the statistical tests show that Turkey’s growth rate has persistence, but Brazil’s growth rate is random.</p>
<p>So despite the visual similarity, Brazil and Turkey have very different statistical properties.</p>
<p>We found that only seven countries show evidence of a persistent trend toward staying stuck in the middle like Turkey.</p>
<p>Of the rest of the countries, half had a trend that was random like Brazil. For most countries there was no evidence of a persistent trend toward the middle income band.</p>
<p>So only very few countries’ per capita income time paths are consistent with the pattern that we would expect to see if they were constrained to their current relative income level.</p>
<p>Although these results are descriptive, they could be taken as evidence against a structural reason for a middle income trap. That is, perhaps what appears to be a pattern of behaviour across many countries, is just the way things panned out.</p>
<p>So despite the bleak historical record, maybe good statesmanship, market friendly policies and bit of luck are all that is needed to sustain growth.</p>
<p>For China therefore, as a middle income country, the historical odds are against replicating the Japanese or South Korean economic miracle. Thankfully, however, the past need not be a good predictor of the future.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span class="fn author-name" style="line-height: 1.3em;"><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Peter Robertson</span> is p</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">rofessor, University of Western Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-robertson-11950" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span class="fn author-name" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Longfeng Ye is a</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">ssistant researcher, University of Western Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/longfeng-ye-221938" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Both </span>are<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> authors for The Conversation.</span></span></em></p>
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

China's greatest challenge becoming rich and escaping the middle income trap

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<p><span>Lu Lu Pallier from Sydney Sotheby's International Realty, has noted Chinese buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get money out of the country.</span></p>
<p><span>Her comments to the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> comes as Beijing tightens foreign exchange controls in a bid to support its weakening currency.</span></p>
<p>Lu Lu Pallier said she had detected it in recent weeks that clients were having difficulty moving money offshore.</p>
<p>"It is getting harder for them to send money out...I've been told since the start of the year it has tightened up," she said.</p>
<p>The Shanghai-born Ms Pallier said Australian properties priced below $5 million would be the hardest hit as buyers often did not already have their money already offshore.</p>
<p>"These people don't have other ways, like through their business, to get money out of the country," she noted.</p>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Chinese buyers' pool for Australian property set to tighten

Australia’s links to China set to broaden: HSBC's Paul Bloxham

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<p>A Victoria Supreme Court has upheld an injunction temporarily halting the sale of Tasmanian dairy business Van Diemen's Land to a Chinese backed company.</p>
<p>Moon Lake is headed by Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng who made an unconditional binding offer to VDL owner, New Zealand-based New Plymouth District Council.</p>
<p>But the offer is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board.</p>
<p>Earlier this month the VDL indicated it was selling to the Tasmanian company TasFoods Limited in a $280 million cash and share deal.</p>
<p>However, NPDC's investment arm, Taranaki Investment Management Limited, announced subsequently it had sold the farm in a "commercially superior" deal.</p>
<p>The NewZealandfarmer.co.nz speculates it is $300 million.</p>
<p>The case is back in court this week.</p>
<p><span>VDL is effectively owned by the New Plymouth District Council in New Zealand and the council’s interests are managed by Taranaki Investment Management Limited (TIML).</span></p>
<p><span>TasFoods Limited, formerly OnCard International Limited, has retained Allan Myers QC and Andrew Broadfoot of counsel, instructed by Norton Gledhill.</span></p>
<p><span>The Van Diemen’s Land Company has dairy operations in the far North-West of Tasmania with some 25 dairy farms. Thirteen of the farms are in Woolnorth and another 12 in other areas of Circular Head. It milks about 19,000 cows to produce between 90 and 100 million litres of milk, or 7.7 million kilograms of milk solids, a year.</span></p>
<p><span>There are about 150 staff employed on its own properties, including those share-farmed.</span></p>
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Van Dieman's Land dairy sale dispute

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<p><span>Just 19 millioniares have sought significant investor visa permits since Australia overhauled its requirements from July, the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> has reported.</span></p>
<p><span>New applicants now must invest some of their $5 million into smaller equities and venture capital, directing investment away from passive investment towards investment in innovation and industrial development.</span></p>
<p><span>It was sitting at seven applications two months ago.</span></p>
<p><span>Some 1,600 applicants, mostly from China preferred the former fast track residency scheme that allowed low-risk government debt and property investments investing around $3.8 billion into Australian assets after the Federal Government created the golden visa in 2012. </span></p>
<p><span>Under the new rules, applicants must spend $500,000 on funds investing in startup and small private companies, $1.5 million on small-cap equity funds, with the other $3 million on managed funds across Australian listed securities, eligible corporate bonds or notes, annuities and property.</span></p>
<p><span>Investment in residential real estate will only be permitted to comprise 10% of the $5 million minimum investment amount, although investors may invest in excess of this outside of this limit.</span></p>
<p><span>"The cost of the visa has gone up the risk curve," David Chin, the Sydney-based managing director of Basis Point Consulting Pty told the paper.</span></p>
<p><span>Chinese nationals accounted for 91 percent of applications under the old program, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated.</span></p>
<p><span>Australia granted around 750 of the visas between November 2012 and March 2015 from 1,679 applications submitted, government data show with Victoria the most popular destination.</span></p>
<p><span>The new Federal Government rules which require investors to put their money into riskier assets such as venture capital come as likely investors also struggle to shift money following China's official central government move to tighten capital controls.</span></p>
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New venture capital SIV scheme off to very slow start as Chinese mostly want property

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<p><span>The ABS released its </span>Overseas Arrivals &amp; Departures<span> figures for September 2015 which confirmed that net permanent and long-term migration continued to slow to +282,400 on a rolling annual basis, which is now the lowest level since July 2007.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr1.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr1.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>With New Zealanders and Europeans having increasingly opted to pursue more appealing or lucrative career and lifestyle choices elsewhere, net immigration into Australia is now overwhelmingly being driven by Asian migrants.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr6.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr6.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<div>Indeed while migration from New Zealand continues to slow and British settler numbers are tracking at their lowest level in decades, settlers from China and India have steadily increased in number to their highest level on record.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Later this week the ABS will release the latest Labour Force figures, which will show employment growth of close to +2% for the past year comfortably outpacing the rate of population growth of around +1.4%.<br><br>Meanwhile tourism has become of the fastest growing sectors of the domestic economy. A recent <em>Deloitte Access Economics</em> report noted an existing shortage of 38,000 workers with a projected further 123,000 workers required by the end of the decade, leading inevitably to industry calls for a relaxation of visa rules.</div>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Part 2 - Record visitors</span></strong></p>
<div>The flip side to the slowing of Australia's economy - and in turn net permanent and long-term immigration - is that the lower dollar has encouraged a record 7.25 million visitors to our shores over the past year, a monster increase of well over 450,000. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>What is more the rolling annual number of short term departures is now in decline for the first time since a temporary blip through the financial crisis, as the weaker dollar encourages more Aussies to holiday at home. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>This is one of the many ways in which a weaker currency serves to boost an ailing domestic economy.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span>Indeed anyone looking for evidence of how the weaker currency can help to rebalance the economy need look no further than the below chart, which shows the ratio of short-term departures to arrivals shifting into a long, sweeping downtrend.</span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr7.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></div>
<div><span><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr7.jpg" alt=""></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Part 3 - China explosion</span></strong><br><br>Gosh! The number of visitors from China continues to explode at a breakneck pace being up by an outlandish 27% from September 2014, with more than 1.3 million visitors arriving from China and its provinces over the 12 months to September 2015. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>While the rise and rise of the Chinese middle class and tourism - with its associated surge in spending power - is very much a global trend, Australia has evidently been extremely successful to date in capturing its share.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr3-1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr3-1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>In fact it was announced during the past month that Britain will slash the price of its two year visa for Chinese visitors from <span>£</span>325 to just <span>£</span>85 in a slightly desperate attempt to capture more of this lucrative market.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>In a related trend, the lower dollar has also encouraged record education arrivals with a huge surge since 2014 taking rolling annual arrivals to beyond 453,000.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr4.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<span>This is another trend which is very much skewed towards students of Asian origin and particularly Chinese students, with 2016 set to be the </span>biggest year on record<span> for higher education visas.</span><br><br><span>The student visas boom is very much a capital cities phenomenon, which is one of a multitude of reasons that Australia's capital cities are set to capture an even greater share of population growth over the next decade.</span><br><br><span>With recent changes to rules and regulations in New Zealand having reportedly curbed Chinese interest in the Kiwi property market, the above demographic shifts have potentially significant implications for Australian real estate over the remainder of the decade.</span><br><br><span>Anecdotally there has been a renewed rush of interest in Australian property from would-be Chinese investors.</span><br><br><span>A significant share of new arrivals come to Australia for education but stay for the long term on other substantive visas - it's one the reasons that Chinese investors are so active in targeting Australian property markets.</span>
</div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div>
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
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</div>
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Australia capturing Chinese middle class attention: Pete Wargent

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<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p>Queensland is a lovely place. Chinese buyers seem to be snapping up everything in sight. Why, then, does the Queensland government report that investors from Switzerland, Germany and Holland own more hectares of land than do those from China?</p>
<p>To be fair, the British own even more than these other Europeans. The United Kingdom’s position as Queensland’s number-one foreign land owner is understandable. So, too, is the lead they have on everyone else.</p>
<p>The POMs own more of Queensland than the Swiss, Germans, Dutch and Chinese – put together. That makes sense, because the British have been acquiring land since the days of the First Fleet.</p>
<p>It is the paltry amount of land owned by the Chinese that surprises, given how Chinese purchases have dominated the news over the last few years.</p>
<p>It's not for lack of trying. Since 2011, Chinese have pushed their share of Foreign Investment Review Board approvals for real estate purchases up by more than 50 percent. Last year, Chinese applicants received approvals on a record of $12.4 billion of investments.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Chinese investors have only been buying property in Australia during the last half decade. Earlier, they did not not have the desire, the wealth or the practical ability to purchase property in other countries.</p>
<p>So, while the British had been piling up Australian riches since January 1788, Chinese have only been investing in this country on any real scale since 2010. This helps explain why the Chinese have not yet accumulated the same level of assets as investors from other and much smaller nations.</p>
<p>There is another reason Chinese possessions in Queensland are less than one-ninth the extent of British-owned. Many Chinese buyers are either individual home-owners, or developers.</p>
<p>The developers aren't buying huge tracks of land. They prefer urban sites that are just the right size for an apartment building or two.</p>
<p>Needless-to-say, the individual homebuyers are also purchasing on a one-by-one basis. Many also go on to become Australian citizens, so the property they purchase is no longer owned by a foreign national.</p>
<p>In other countries, as wealth as has risen, so too has ownership of foreign real estate. Most observers expect China to play catch-up over the next decade or two.</p>
<p>China will continue purchasing real estate overseas at a rapid pace, although of course with fluctuations in specific locations.</p>
<p>By 2025, you might expect China to own more Australian property than the Dutch or the Swiss. They may even challenge the British, although I personally think that will take longer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Andrew Taylor</em><em> is the founder and chief executive officer of sales and marketing at <a href="https://www.juwai.com/" target="_blank">Juwai.com</a>, the number-one Chinese real estate portal for property in Australia and around the world.</em><em> <em>Find out more about him <a href="https://list.juwai.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></em></p>
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ataylor-LB7AWVFTs9

Queensland’s Red Tide: Juwai's Andrew Taylor

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<div>Earlier this year I wrote about the extent to which Chinese investment in Australian real estate has mushroomed over the past few years.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Unfortunately the Foreign Investment Review Board is not due to release its 2015 Annual Report for some time, and furthermore not all states release full disclosure of foreign land ownership.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>One state which does so is Queensland, and indeed its Annual Report for the 2015 financial year was released only this week.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The Foreign Ownership of Land Register (which requires disclose of the ownership of freehold or leasehold land) provided further evidence that Chinese investment in Queensland has absolutely exploded, with the value of annual acqusitions soaring by more than 170 per cent in the space of only two financial years from $323 million to $873 million. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>This accounted for a greater value of investment than all five of the other major countries disclosed combined.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/QLD.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/QLD.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Urban focus</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The data shows that while British interests continue to own the greatest land <em><strong>area</strong></em> in Queensland, Chinese investors have been very much focussed on the acquisition of urban land, in particular locations in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Indeed, Chinese investors accounted for a thunderous 63 per cent of foreign interest land acquisitions on the Gold Coast in 2014-15.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Meanwhile, foreign interest land acquisitions in Brisbane for the financial year were overwhelmingly mopped up by investors from China (37 per cent), Singapore (33 per cent), and Hong Kong (8 per cent).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The value of foreign land acquisitions in the financial year away from Brisbane and the Gold Coast was considerably lower.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/QLD2.jpg" target="_blank">Click enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/QLD2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span>The interest of Chinese investors in Australian property is set to scale unprecedented heights in 2016, but the impacts of this are not always well understood.</span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div>
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
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Chinese investment in Queensland explodes: Pete Wargent

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<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p><span>ABC’s Four Corners program highlighted concerns that Chinese criminal funds may be propping up Australia’s real estate market. Why is Australia’s anti-money laundering framework not providing sufficient comfort that these concerns are addressed?</span></p>
<p><span>The answer lies in both the scope of Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, as well as the enforcement of these laws, especially in relation to proceeds of foreign offences.</span></p>
<p><span>The scope of the law</span></p>
<p><span>In the 1980s Australia became one of the first countries to adopt anti-money laundering laws. In 1989 it joined a small group of countries in the <span>Financial Action Task Force</span> (FATF), taking the lead in identifying appropriate policing measures. FATF then developed into the international standard-setter for anti-money laundering measures, as well as counter-terrorism financing measures, a mandate added in 2001. It also assesses its members’ compliance with those standards, known as “recommendations”.</span></p>
<p><span>Businesses covered by these rules need to identify and verify the identities of their customers, assess and mitigate the money laundering and terrorist financing risks they pose and report suspicious transactions as well as certain large transactions. By doing that they protect themselves from committing money laundering offences and their industries from abuse by launderers.</span></p>
<p><span>Australia held FATF’s presidency in 1992-1993 and again in 2014-2015. However, its early start in adopting anti-money laundering laws and its leadership role in the FATF did not ensure a soft assessment regime for Australia. In 2005, FATF criticised Australia’s anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regime for lagging behind, especially in terms of the scope and enforcement of its laws. It was held to be fully compliant with only 12 recommendations and largely compliant with another 14 of the 49 recommendations that applied at that stage.</span></p>
<p><span>This spurred Australia to adopt the current <span>Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act of 2006 (AML/CTF Act)</span>. This Act created a world-class framework in relation to financial institutions. But the overall framework was not complete. FATF’s standards apply to financial institutions as well as a number of so-called “designated non-financial businesses and professions”. This list includes casinos, lawyers, real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, and trust and company service providers.</span></p>
<p><span>In 2006, with the exception of casinos and bullion dealers, these were set aside to be addressed in a second tranche of AML/CTF Act reforms. Despite various statements and government consultation, also in the context of the current <span>statutory review</span> of the AML/CTF Act, these reforms have not yet been effected.</span></p>
<p><span>Combined with the limited transparency of the beneficial ownership of companies and trusts, it leaves the property market vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing abuse.</span></p>
<p><span>The lack of enforcement of the existing criminal laws is, however, also a cause for concern.</span></p>
<p><span>Lack of enforcement</span></p>
<p><span>Australia has a well-developed set of statutory money laundering and terrorist financing offences, both at the federal and a state/territory level. At the federal level, for example, the Criminal Code creates offences that can be committed knowingly, recklessly and even negligently, for example when dealing with property which is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.</span></p>
<p><span>The 2015 <span>FATF assessment report of Australia</span> found that money laundering offences involving proceeds of foreign offences, including corruption offences, are not frequently prosecuted “because Australia does not consider that foreign predicate offences are major predicates for money laundering in Australia.” (par 3.44). Predicate offences are offences generating the proceeds of crime to be laundered.</span></p>
<p><span>Authorities mentioned the difficulties of obtaining off-shore evidence to prove the foreign offence. But a lack of effective federal/state law enforcement coordination was found to pose a particular barrier, especially in relation to the property market:</span></p>
<p><span><em>For example, while ML (money laundering) of foreign illicit proceeds through real estate is perceived to be a risk for Queensland (Gold Coast), Queensland has no ML convictions for this activity. AFP (Australian Federal Police) indicated that it does not focus on this risk, believing this ML activity relates to State level predicates, whereas the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission stated it does not focus on this risk as it relates to foreign money and is thus a matter for AFP.</em></span></p>
<p><span><em>At the same time, assessors took note of two examples of successful prosecution for foreign predicates (fraud and corruption) by AFP and the registration of two restraint orders from Papua New Guinea in Queensland.(par 3.44)</em></span></p>
<p><span>The overall enforcement strategy therefore does not reflect a high level of concern about the abuse of the property market by those wishing to launder proceeds of foreign corruption.</span></p>
<p><span>Protecting the property market</span></p>
<p><span>Much can be done to increase the protection of the property market against criminal abuse. While the AML/CTF legal framework should be extended to all businesses and professions covered by the FATF standards, compliance and red tape concerns may continue to delay the second tranche of reforms. The best starting point would therefore be to work with the available legal tools and to prosecute money laundering offences involving designated non-financial businesses and professions and markets of concern, such as the property market. In relation to foreign corruption that will require close cooperation with foreign counterparts.</span></p>
<p><span>Increased prosecution will also provide improved evidence of the abuse that actually occurs and inform the debate on the urgency and nature of the law reforms that are required. However, Australia must also enhance the transparency of beneficial ownership of companies and trusts. If criminals find it more risky to purchase property in their own names, they will increasingly hide behind business structures. It is therefore important to improve public information regarding the control of companies and trusts.</span></p>
<p><span>It is also important to reflect on money laundering law enforcement priorities. Money laundering prosecutions levels increased over the past few years but corruption, especially foreign corruption, struggles to receive appropriate attention.</span></p>
<p><span>If Australia wants to hold an international integrity leadership position and improve its ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Perception <span>Index</span>, it will need to join its international counterparts by taking firm action against foreign corruption, including the laundering of the proceeds of foreign corruption.</span></p>
<p><span><span class="fn author-name"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/louis-de-koker-100846" rel="author"></a></span></span><em style="line-height: 1.3em;">Louis de Koker is p<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">rofessor of law, Deakin University </span>and<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/louis-de-koker-100846" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></em></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
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