<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sunland-group">Sunland Group</a> has officially lodged plans for its first Gold Coast apartment project since the departure of the Abedian family from the company three years ago, unveiling a new high-rise proposal for a prominent Broadbeach corner site on Old Burleigh Road.

The application was submitted by an entity directed by Tom Jamieson, stepson of longtime Sunland leader Soheil Abedian, and Riaz Rezvanipour, brother-in-law of Sahba Abedian, Soheil’s son.

Sunland acquired the 1,283 sqm site on the corner of Old Burleigh Road and Armrick Avenue for $9.5 million late last year and is now seeking approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/99-101-old-burleigh-road-broadbeach-qld-4218">42-storey tower with 81 apartments</a>.

<img alt="First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fea2946d-90ee-4cfc-babe-2a8ad5db2cb6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers.png?VersionId=BV0fihJw31nDIQ8ozY_h3GbS8mxDyhnm" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/contreras-earl-architecture">Contreras Earl Architecture</a>, the proposed tower at 99-101 Old Burleigh Road would deliver a predominantly larger-format apartment mix aimed at the owner-occupier market. Plans include 17 two-bedroom apartments, 55 three-bedroom apartments, and nine four-bedroom residences across 35 residential levels.

The development also incorporates three basement levels, four podium parking levels, two levels of communal recreation facilities, and rooftop plant and equipment. A total of 189 car spaces are proposed, significantly exceeding the 90 spaces required under the planning scheme.

The architecture adopts a sculpted, curvilinear form, with deep wraparound balconies and integrated landscaping intended to soften the tower’s vertical expression. The planning report states the building’s “slender footprint/form provides a complimentary yet varied built form within the local streetscape” and contributes to “a varied, yet ordered skyline.”

Contreras Earl noted in its Architectural Statement that from the early stages, the project addressed a fundamental challenge: how to accommodate the required residential yield while avoiding the conventional model of a tower sitting on a rigid, fully resolved parking podium.

“The most direct response would have been to consolidate parking into a singular, flat podium and extrude a repetitive tower above,” the statement said. “While efficient, this approach would result in a consolidated built form with limited engagement with the surrounding landscape and public realm.”

Instead, the conventional podium model was “deliberately rejected”. The architects described the base of the building as “a landscaped architectural condition where structure, planting and circulation are integrated”.

“Rather than presenting a continuous built mass, the base of the building is articulated through a series of concrete planter elements that organise the podium into a fragmented system,” the statement said. “This approach reduces the perceived bulk of the lower levels while establishing a more permeable interface with the streetscape and adjacent open space.”

<img alt="Sunland" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="923fad8d-c960-4527-8fbe-975cf1ddf88d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%2010.32.03%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=pngwb0hYOIUpq9vDw6F2EsOiVuHF3DiX" />

&nbsp;

The site sits within the High Density Residential Zone and inside the City of Gold Coast’s unrestricted “HX” building height area, where the planning framework anticipates intensified residential development tied to the expanding light rail corridor. The planning report notes the area is undergoing “transition toward more intense development forms” given its proximity to Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, and high-frequency public transport infrastructure.

Positioned directly opposite Broadbeach Park and within walking distance of Florida Gardens light rail station, the development would sit among a rapidly evolving stretch of Old Burleigh Road that has become one of the Gold Coast’s most active apartment development corridors.

The application joins a growing pipeline of luxury residential projects reshaping Broadbeach, including nearby developments by 5Point Projects, Polycell, and Graya.

The planning report argues the project contributes toward the Gold Coast’s long-term housing targets under the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which forecasts the need for more than 100,000 additional high-rise dwellings across the city by 2046.

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" dir="auto">
The Abedian family departed Sunland Group in late 2023, ending a four-decade association with the company, and subsequently established the private development firm Abedian &amp; Co. The group is currently delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/greenmount-residences-cnr-hill-street-and-marine-parade-coolangatta-qld-4225">Greenmount Residences</a> at Rainbow Bay and recently launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/18-mary-avenue-14-18-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">18 Mary Avenue</a> in Broadbeach.
</section>

Joel Robinson

First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach new apartment market with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans

The Minns Labor Government has established the new Bays West Delivery Authority to lead the development&nbsp;of the Bays West Precinct and Blackwattle Bay Precinct.&nbsp;

The Authority is charged with creating Sydney’s newest precinct, a thriving, connected, sustainable hub with White Bay Power Station as its cultural heart. Its vision is to build on the area’s natural, cultural and industrial history to shape a vibrant new neighbourhood.

The precinct will deliver up to 8,500 well-located homes, including a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and essential worker homes. Combine new housing with public open space, opening public access to the waterfront for the first time in more than 100 years, while retaining important deep-water facilities to support Sydney’s working harbour.

Located just minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to a world-class metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the Bays West precinct will rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help tackle the state’s housing crisis.

The Bays West Delivery Authority,&nbsp;an agency of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, will report to the NSW Minister for Lands and Property who already has oversight of major precinct renewal projects including at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo.

As part of the broader Bays West transformation, the Minns Government recently announced that a proposal from Lendlease to redevelop part of the Bays West Precinct has progressed to Stage 2 of the NSW Government’s unsolicited proposals process.

<img alt="Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2ed71eb9-d8e8-4fa7-b9d1-de4531dcf2f3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%209.42.31%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=IDryFIbped9SNDg72LEN_EecvhUsOPvp" />

The Minns Labor Government has also confirmed the Bays West precinct will have a new suburb name. This will be the first major suburb built in close proximity to Sydney’s CBD in decades and will encompass the area currently being referred to as Bays West, including Glebe Island and the White Bay Power Station. Served by a new Metro station just five minutes from the CBD, it will become one of the most populous suburbs in the Inner West and one of Sydney’s premier cultural destinations.

An early works program is taking shape, which&nbsp;includes the first stages of an international design competition.&nbsp;

The aim of the Bays West&nbsp;International&nbsp;Design Competition is to&nbsp;ensure design excellence is embedded in the project from the start. The competition will deliver an&nbsp;urban framework that defines the character, ambition and long-term identity of&nbsp;this&nbsp;former industrial precinct as it transitions to a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable residential&nbsp;neighbourhood.

The competition will be led by the Bays West Delivery Authority in partnership with Government Architect NSW.&nbsp;

It will launch with an invitation for a global Expressions of Interest, before moving to an invitation-only stage that will be assessed by a panel that&nbsp;will provide advice to Cabinet who will select a winner.

Premier of NSW, Chris Minns said the establishment of the new Authority is the first step in transforming the Bays West precinct into a vibrant, livable suburb minutes from the Sydney CBD and two stops from Hunter St Station on the Metro West line.

“The Authority will deliver well-located homes close to the heart of the city and integrate the new precinct with Blackwattle Bay and the new Sydney Fish Market.

“This is a generational opportunity to build a new suburb on the city’s edge and open the harbour foreshore to the public for the first time in a century.”&nbsp;

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said the new Bays West Delivery Authority established by the Minns Government will turbocharge the development of Sydney’s newest suburb.

“The Authority is working at a record pace to deliver an international design competition, planning pathways and a financial model so that this development benefits Sydney with well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services.

“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future while making sure essential working harbour functions can be accommodated.”

Bays West Delivery Authority established to "turbocharge" Sydney’s newest suburb

Around 400 additional homes could be built at Southwark Grounds on Port Road, lifting total site capacity from 1300 to around 1700 dwellings.

A recently approved code amendment would allow apartment towers of up to 14 storeys in some areas of Renewal SA’s redevelopment of the former West End Brewery.

Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he welcomed the code amendment, with the increase in heights and homes making a positive impact on the supply of high-quality, well-connected housing close to the city.

“By going higher across some parts of Southwark Grounds, we are adding a substantial number of very well-located homes with little impact on project delivery time or planned open space,” Mr Wingard said.

Since the project officially launched in 2025, Mr Wingard said more than 12,000 enquiries had been received about living at Southwark Grounds.

“The very strong early interest we’ve seen since homes were first released in the precinct reinforces our plans to create more housing opportunities,” he said.

The Southwark Grounds code amendment was launched in December last year, with community engagement undertaken over five weeks from January.

It proposed increasing maximum building heights from eight to 14 storeys on the eastern section of Southwark Grounds, and to 12 storeys across the remainder of the site, with minimum building heights ranging from two to four storeys.

The code amendment was implemented through an Early Commencement policy in late January, allowing developers to quickly explore the viability of increased height and housing yield while other planning processes continue.

One of the first developers delivering apartment sites have already finalised redesigns to increase the number of apartments following the code amendment.

Samaras’ development adjacent to the future Colonel Light Park is now planning to deliver 125 apartments across 11 storeys, significantly greater than original plans of around 50 apartments across four storeys.

The developer is also exploring the potential for additional affordable housing outcomes.

Most of the apartments at Southwark Grounds will be delivered within a master-planned precinct on a large parcel of land on the eastern portion of the site, covering around two-thirds of its 8.4 hectares.

Wingard said detailed precinct planning over the coming months may identify further opportunities to increase yield further that could see total apartment numbers at Southwark Grounds, exceed this number.

Affordable homes at Southwark Grounds will also see a net increase, with Renewal SA maintaining its commitment to a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing across the development.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Civil works have begun across the site, with construction under way on the first new roads surrounding a townhouse precinct in the south‑west corner of Southwark Grounds. This includes Renewal SA’s 17 Founder’s Row homes, which are on track for completion by Christmas.

“We expect to have people living at Southwark Grounds by the end of the year, so delivering roads and public spaces for those residents is among our highest priorities.”

Construction of 40 townhouses off Anderson Street, known as West Village and being delivered by Contour, is forecast to begin in mid‑2026. Kolabb’s Anderson Lane development will follow shortly after, delivering a further 26 townhouses.

Southwark Grounds is a state government‑led urban renewal project now set to deliver around 1,700 homes over the next decade.

Homes will be supported by a supermarket, a range of retail and hospitality offerings anchored by a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower, a childcare centre, car parking and well‑connected public spaces.

400 new homes planned for Adelaide's former West End Brewery site

Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/cavcorp">Cavcorp</a> has lodged plans for a new mixed-use residential development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/55-wyandra-street-teneriffe-qld-4005">55 Wyandra Street</a>, Teneriffe, anchored by an 85-metre public laneway designed to reconnect the suburb’s riverfront with the Gasworks precinct.

The buildings, known as Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane, would replace the existing Queensland Cotton head office site with a 15-storey residential tower transitioning to eight storeys toward Helen Street. The project has been designed by Plazibat Architects and lodged as a code assessable development application for 93 apartments across a 3,401 sqm mixed-use site within the Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront neighbourhood plan.

Central to the scheme is the transformation of an existing service easement into a publicly accessible cross-block connection linking Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the new laneway will act as both a pedestrian shortcut and a landscaped civic space between the Teneriffe Riverwalk, ferry terminal, and Gasworks precinct.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="26e7f058-b065-4de8-b13d-a2b8cb64dfcc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bldg.png?VersionId=sELS0ZKYi361oYipUa1BIKfe_.DLZoFV" />

“The revised proposal delivers a legacy public-realm cross-block link, permanently secured for community use, transforming an existing private easement into a safe, high-quality pedestrian connection between the Teneriffe heritage riverwalk and the Gasworks–Long Island precinct,” the planning report states.

The laneway will sit beneath a large subtropical loggia integrated into the podium levels of the development. The design incorporates deep landscaping, water gardens, lobby spaces, business lounges, and ground-floor apartments to create what Cavcorp describes as a climate-responsive “urban verandah.”

The tower itself has been designed as a slender form with recessed floorplates and curved translucent corners inspired by contemporary Japanese architecture. The building height aligns with the Commercial Road precinct controls, which permit towers up to 15 storeys within proximity to Longland Street.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a8a17d40-43b6-4718-b3fd-67676fcbb485" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers%202_1.png?VersionId=i3VwDtp5AmL_8InW7w4qRbDFEpb744Jt" />

The project will comprise a mix of larger-format apartments aimed at owner-occupiers, downsizers, and families. The proposed apartment mix includes 11 loggia apartments across the lower levels, 50 four-bedroom Sky-Terrace apartments from levels three to seven, and 32 Sky-Pool Homes occupying the upper tower levels. The Sky-Pool Homes will feature private thermal plunge pools integrated into oversized balconies.

According to the application, the apartments are intended to reinterpret the scale and character of Teneriffe’s woolstore conversions and Queensland homes within a vertical residential format.

“The sky-pool homes build on Cavcorp’s previous projects and introduce a distinct apartment typology to Teneriffe, informed by both local and international precedent and responding to an identified market demand for enhanced safety, space and amenity,” the planning submission notes.

A major focus of the proposal is its five-level wellness and lifestyle offering, extending from the basement through to the rooftop.

Amenities proposed include a rooftop Swim &amp; Racquet Club with a 25-metre Olympic lap pool and tennis court, coworking spaces and libraries, golf simulators, wine storage, concierge facilities, business lounges, pet wash areas, and rooftop longevity-focused wellness spaces with spas, outdoor fitness zones, and landscaped terraces.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="944b352c-49b9-4247-a4c6-5967b4b69fda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/amenity.png?VersionId=Ed_qKjAtMwFT.5gfl3jiA9QwdWxSMsaX" />

All parking will be concealed within basement levels accessed from Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the deep-basement engineering approach allows the entire ground plane to prioritise landscaping, pedestrian movement, and active frontage rather than vehicle infrastructure.

The development continues Cavcorp’s concentration in Newstead and Teneriffe, where the Brisbane developer has delivered a number of apartment projects including Lucent, Le Bain, and Luminare, as well as the Long Island Wellness Precinct nearby. Several of those projects have received national design and architecture awards, including recognition under Brisbane’s “Buildings that Breathe” program.

Cavcorp unveils wellness-focused Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane apartment buildings

Focus Group Investments has lodged plans for a new apartment development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-70-hanover-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">64–70 Hanover Street</a> in Fitzroy, seeking to utilise the Victorian Government’s recently introduced Great Design Fast Track pathway to accelerate approvals for the project.

The proposal is among the latest developments to emerge through the state-led initiative, which was established to fast-track well-designed residential projects in activity centres and transport-connected inner-city locations. The pathway allows qualifying developments that meet elevated design and housing benchmarks to bypass traditional council planning timeframes and instead be assessed directly by the Department of Transport and Planning.

Designed by SJB, the development will comprise a mix of apartments above activated lower levels, with a strong focus on architectural articulation, landscaping, and communal amenity. The design response seeks to balance the industrial character of Richmond’s former warehouse precincts with a more contemporary residential form.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abea51cc-d85b-479e-9aef-a589f3b37ca7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/ground.png?VersionId=e1Kf8EyPWwyiVumtqQ4rM5S4GpOR3CCz" />

Proposed are 63 new dwellings, a wide ranging mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses and duplexes. They will be spread across a part-three, part-eight storey building.

The Planning and Urban Context Report by Tract says the development is of an "exemplary architectural standard" and has been carefully crafted by SJB Architects.

"Dwellings&nbsp;will benefit from excellent access to natural light, cross-ventilation opportunities and extensive communal space," the report noted.

The architectural material highlights the project’s integration of landscaped elements and communal spaces throughout the building. The proposal also incorporates sustainability initiatives aligned with the Victorian Government’s push for higher-performing apartment developments under the fast-track program.

The Great Design Fast Track was unveiled by the Victorian Government in 2024 as part of a broader housing supply strategy aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes. Projects assessed through the pathway must demonstrate high-quality architecture, sustainability outcomes, and housing diversity while being located close to public transport and existing infrastructure.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="afdbe834-8dc4-4a77-a943-ba07bc927348" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_11.png?VersionId=0J657j.TaChAZfp93wqJYBTqSsnREJx2" />

Focus Group, founder and led by Paul De Lutiis, is increasingly active across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, targeting well-connected urban renewal locations suited to medium and higher-density residential development. The Fitzroy proposal continues that strategy, leveraging the area’s strong transport links, established retail amenity, and proximity to the CBD.

Fitzroy has been one of the most popular spots for developers and buyers in recent years. The likes of PACE Development Group, SMA Projects, Crema Group and Chapter Group, currently selling projects in the suburb.

First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Fitzroy apartments

Politics

<html><body>
In a <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/labor-backs-investment-in-better-bus-services-and-community-consultation">media release</a> distributed on Tuesday morning the Andrews Government has announced it will not proceed with proposals to alter the bus network which Transdev Melbourne operates. For a summary of the now rejected proposal, see <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/hundreds-of-bus-services-in-melbournes-west-and-north-face-being-cut-to-service-citys-east-20150413-1mk1no">this Age report</a> from Monday.

Transdev Melbourne - an operator which runs approximately 30% of Melbourne's bus network - originally sought to cut elongated routes, such as the orbital smart bus routes, and reduce frequencies on multiple northern and western routes in order to boost capacity in the east and south where patronage growth is reportedly strongest.

The Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan has stated "rather than cutting buses in one area to increase buses in another, the Andrews Labor Government will develop a more balanced bus network plan in consultation with the community." Furthermore "demand for buses is growing faster than any other mode of transport, and we need to make sure they continue to meet the needs of our community.”

The State Government is now set to establish a new Ministerial consultative group encompassing new transport forums based around municipal areas. The bodies are set to look at ways to 'expand and improve public transport, including buses'.

<h2>Comment</h2>

One can only hope the new Ministerial consultative group conducts a root and branch - or spoke and hub - review of Melbourne's entire bus network. Smart buses are the offspring of the previous Bracks/Brumby Labor government and it appears the current Labor Government doesn't want to mess with that legacy as much given they have now rejected a proposal which would have seen the elongated orbital routes broken up into smaller segments.

In the series of news reports about the proposed changes a common theme became apparent: the longer smart bus routes were used more in some sections (east and south) compared to others (north and west). The proposal sought to address this by splitting routes so that buses ran over shorter routes in order to improve punctuality.

There's logic in the idea of splitting routes but I can't find much logic in reducing frequencies in a city where the population is growing - especially through the northern suburbs where there are over <a href="/news/melbourne-development-numbers-moonee-valley-moreland-darebin">100 projects which will yield 9,000-10,000 apartments</a> across the municipalities of Moonee Valley, Moreland and Darebin.

While many of the proposals, projects at sales and those currently under construction are focused on the radial public transport routes in suburbs closer to the centre of the city, it would be naive in the extreme to assume the current light and heavy rail networks will be sufficient to cater for the influx of people who will be moving to these municipalities and travelling between them.

South of Bell Street a dense network of cross-town bus routes currently exists however frequency is patchy with some routes running more often than others and the proposed changes would have seem a reduction of services on Bell Street itself.

The announcement of new transport forums is positive however I believe the consultantive groups should be cautious given the Government has announced they will be based around local government areas. Does that mean each municipality will hold its own forum or will the forums focus on groups of municipalities in the different regions of the metropolitan area?

The worst possible outcome will be if forums are conducted in municipal pockets where hyper-local interests are likely to overrule regional transport goals thus entrenching oddities like <a href="/news/bus-routes-which-need-improvement-the-506">dog's leg deviations</a>, <a href="/news/is-it-time-to-reconfigure-the-moonee-ponds-transport-interchange">bus termini that fall short</a> of connecting with other public transport modes, low frequencies and reduced hours of operation.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transdev_Melbourne_number_972_(8253AO)_Custom_Coaches_bodied_Scania_in_PTV_livery_on_route_250_in_Queen_St,_December_2013.jpg">Wikipedia</a>.
</body></html>

Alastair Taylor

Spring Street rejects Transdev bus network changes

<html><body>
The No Land Tax Party candidate Peter Jones is ahead of the Liberal Party in the race for the final of 21 seats up for grabs in the NSW Legislative Council.
The Daily Telegraph report the Coalition on track to win nine, Labor seven, the Greens two and the Shooters and Fishers and Christian Democrats one each.
The final results should be declared on Friday with the veteran ABC election analyst Antony Green saying he was “confident” No Land Tax will take the 21st seat.
If No Land Tax does win a seat for the next eight years, it would leave the ­Coalition with 20 of 42 upper house seats. 
The party secured the prime Group A spot on the long Legislative Council ballot.
It secured about 80,000 upper house votes with 70% of the vote counted, representing about 2% of the overall vote. 
The party, which went close to imploding in the days before the 28 March election, owes money to a large number of the 3,600 people who worked by handing out how to vote cards on election day. 
The promised wage delivery had been revised, yet again, to be undertake this week.
"I profoundly apologise," party candidate Peter Jones told 2GB's Ben Fordham.
The No Land Tax Party was initially throught to be in battle with the Animal Justice Party for the 21st spot, with the election result feared set to be challenged.
Due to human error, the Animal Justice Party was left off about 19,000 iVote ballots in the early pre-poll voting.
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

No Land Tax looms as NSW Upper House policy gadfly

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My last Saturday was spent by securing development sites in a new land release, then meeting with a potential new client, followed by working on the lolly stall at my son's school fete and then finally casting my vote.
In New South Wales, we had a state election and the Liberals won.
I was happy with this result. Now they say never to discuss politics or religion at a party, but there's no mention of what to include in a blog.  Look, I'm not very politically minded and I know there are great things that other parties stand for. I was interested to see a party by the name of No Land Tax, that tickled my fancy and I believe they got a fair whack of votes. But I have to say, when the Libs are in it usually means that some big infrastructure funding will take place.
And this is what I'm most interested in.
Infrastructure spend is music to the ears of property developers and investors. It means money will be ploughed into the local communities. The benefits of large infrastructure projects such as road upgrades or new hospitals, means local employment is boosted and workers are attracted to the area, boosting rental demand. These workers spend money and so we see a flow on effect into retail sales as the works are undertaken.
For example, in Maitland City, one of the locations in the Lower Hunter Region that Property Bloom develops in, there was a nice list of government spending confirmed. These planned infrastructure investments were confirmed after the election and include a $7 million investment in a the New England Highway upgrade, one public school will receive a $5 million upgrade and another $1 million; Maitland PCYC will receive $1 million expansion to support youth activities. There will also be $25 million spent on planning for the new Maitland hospital and $3.8 million for a new ambulance station.
These announcements are all good indicators that the city is dynamic and there are solid plans for future growth. It may also indicate that it's a good place to buy or build an investment property. Of course you need to do your due diligence to ensure you are investing in the right suburbs that will enjoy the impact of these works and where there is good demand for rental properties, but that's not a hard thing to do.
When the Sydney market is over inflated, it seems like a no brainer to turn to these large regional cities as an affordable alternative.
When this kind of money is invested into a community it has a trickledown effect. It builds business confidence and encourages other investment spending.
So after Saturday, this city is celebrating the good news. So are our clients who have invested and developed property in the area. We are happy that we've completed a number of development projects in this location and have just been notified of some new development opportunities.
Wishing you all a happy and safe Easter break.
<a href="https://www.propertybloom.com.au" target="_blank">www.propertybloom.com.au</a>
</body></html>

jochivers-wq5Bp59R5a

Why the NSW Liberals win is good news for property developers and investors: Jo Chivers

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In August 2014 during what turned out to be the last few months of the Napthine Liberal Government it had become very apparent that Victorian State politics had gone from being design smart to design stupid in a matter of a few of years.

<blockquote>
Within a single term of government from 2010 to 2014 we have gone from a design-intelligent and architecturally progressive State Government, to one which has marginalized those best able to advise it. The public who voted in the Architect Premier in 2010 have every right to feel let down by the party politics that has led to this point.
<cite>Red + Black Architect, Architecture and Politics 25 August 2014</cite>
</blockquote>

In late November, change was upon us as the a new Victorian State Government led by Daniel Andrews swept to power. It has now been over 100 days since the election which is a good time to check in with what is happening or not happening with built environment politics. The following is a report card with a score out of 10 possible marks.

<h2>Consultation with the Australian Institute of Architects</h2>

First up on the checklist is government consultation with architects and the key organisations. Last year it was quite astonishing and very concerning to report that in Matthew Guy’s 4 years as Planning Minister he had only one face-to-face meeting with the Australian Institute of Architects. It is therefore very pleasing to be able to report that within 10 days of taking his office, the new Planing Minister, Richard Wynne has already equaled Matthew Guy’s total number of AIA meetings.

Red + Black Architect (R+BA) score: 1 mark (out of 1 available)

<h2>Consultation with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria</h2>

In 2012 the Liberal Government made the unexpected announcement that the Architects Registration Board would be merged into a new body the Victorian Building Authority.

At the time The Red and Black Architect covered this most contentious issue in three posts:

<ul>
<li>Architect Registration Board to be abolished</li>
	<li>A Red and Black Investigation into the future of the Architects Registration Board of Victoria</li>
	<li>The Case To Retain the Architects Registration Board of Victoria</li>
</ul>
Despite the talk of pushing this change through, the draft legislation was never passed through the parliament, due in part to the 2014 Geoff Shaw political crisis. This has left the Architectural profession guessing as to how registration and the Architects Act will be administered in the future.

The good news however is that this uncertainty is very likely to be resolved in the next few weeks. At this stage it also appears most likely that the ARBV will retain it’s current structure as a stand alone entity as it has since its inception in 1923.

This has the additional benefit of aligning with stand alone registration boards in other States and Territories. It is sincerely hoped by R+BA that in the future a National Architects Registration Board could be developed to facilitate a more interconnected and mobile profession.

R+BA score: 1 mark (out of 1 available)

<h2>Office of the Victorian Government Architect</h2>

The next organisation to address is the Office of the Victorian Government Architect. Here there have also been very positive meetings with Richard Wynne discussing the importance of the OVGA to Victoria’s future.

First the good news. It appears likely that the OVGA will be moving back to where it belongs, reporting directly to the office of Premier and Cabinet. This is where the OVGA can undertake its best work, independent of undue influence with a direct line to the most powerful office in the government. Discussing this exact issue, Michael Bleby recently wrote <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/construction/victoria-planning-minister-wynne-hints-at-greater-authority-for-government-architect-20150311-141boa">this piece</a> for the Australian Financial Review.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JK0CbayWZDQ" width="560"></iframe>

However there is more to fixing the OVGA than just its place in the family tree of influence. It has been almost 12 months since the last Victorian Government Architect, Geoffrey London who is featured in the video interview above, gave notice of his resignation of the role. Since September 2014 the chair has been empty. Now is the time to appoint the next Victorian Government Architect. It would be a very simple step to take and would immediately help the process of finalizing the controversial yet urgently needed minimum apartment standards. The solution could even be to promote Jill Garner the (brilliant) Associate Government Architect to the position of VGA and then hire a new replacement associate.

The other urgent piece of business at the OVGA is to address the funding of the Victorian Design Review Panel. Since 1 July 2014 the OVGA has been forced to go to a watered down ‘user pays’ service which limits the availability of this important review process.

<blockquote>
While a formal cost benefit analysis has not been undertaken due to the difficulty quantifying the benefits conferred by the VDRP, where these have been able to be quantified the benefits considerably outweigh the costs. Feedback from program stakeholders and reviewed project case studies supports this assessment, with 96% of surveyed case study participants indicating that the benefits of participating in the design review process outweighed the costs.
<cite>Victorian Design Review Panel: Program Evaluation, <a href="http://www.ovga.vic.gov.au/images/VDRP_Evaluation_Report_Exec_Summary.pdf">independent review by SGS Economics and Planning</a></cite>
</blockquote>

The cost of bad design can be extreme and persists for the life of the building. If we can design buildings better by subjecting them to thorough expert scrutiny, we can substantially reduce these negative consequences.

R+BA score: 1 mark* (out of 3 available)

* This presumes the OVGA is in fact restructured into reporting directly to the office of Premier and Cabinet

<h2>Flinders Street Station</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/1160_26-07-2013_6297.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="HASSELL + Herzog &amp; de Meuron's winning bid"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="336" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/1160_26-07-2013_6297.jpg?itok=uFMSIT49" title="HASSELL + Herzog &amp; de Meuron's winning bid" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>HASSELL + Herzog &amp; de Meuron's winning bid</figcaption></figure>In 2013 Melbourne’s most important landmark was the subject of a major international architecture competition to scope the future possibilities for improving the site. This was a fantastic initiative by the Liberal government which enabled a genuine discussion about real possibilities for the future. Despite subsequent criticism from some quarters, the competition was very good value for the taxpayer and generated thousands of response from an engaged public.

Since then it has been left as an unanswered question as to if the winning design will be built. The Liberal Government never promised that there would be funds available and as time passed it seemed more and more likely that the project would not get off the ground.

With the change of government came the predictable move to permanently shelve the redevelopment plans. This decision is a real win for small picture, short term thinking. This building is not just a piece of infrastructure like a power station or toll road. It is our most iconic and identifiable piece of architecture that holds far more value as an icon than as a train station.

In the only upside to this saga the new government has committed $100 Million in funds to seal the leaking roof, restore the facade and upgrade the most talked about toilets in Melbourne. Casual observers of this announcement may have been misled into thinking that this funding would also extend to restoring the ballroom and other interior spaces. Upon reading the fine print however, this funding will only extend to preparing a business case for interior restoration.

The final point to address with Labor’s less than ideal handling of Flinders Street Station’s future are the unfortunate comments that were spoken by both Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan aimed to discredit the former Government.

<blockquote>
The Liberals held an indulgent colouring-in competition while the station fell apart. We’re actually getting on with the job.
<cite>Jacinta Allan Minister for transport and employment</cite>
</blockquote>

Describing the enormous effort of some of the world’s very best architects including Pritzker Prize winners as mere ‘colouring-in’ is an absurdly offensive attack on both Architects and Architecture. It is hard to recall an instance where an entire industry or profession has been so needlessly dismissed as frivolous in order to score political points.

R+BA score: 1/2 a mark* (out of 2 available)

* half a mark was deducted for the ‘colouring-in’ remarks

<h2>Infrastructure</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/western-portal-copy_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="East West Link"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="317" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/western-portal-copy_1.jpg?itok=67DUiq3w" title="East West Link" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>East West Link</figcaption></figure>The change of government has seen a most significant change to the State’s infrastructure policy. The 2014 Victorian State Election was described by the Prime Minister as “a referendum on the East West Link”. This has turned out to be quite true with the Labor Government standing firm on their pre-election promise of not building the toll road.

This measure alone is undoubtedly a game changer and a lifeline for Victoria. At a price of $1 million per metre and returning just 45 cents of benefit for every dollar contributed, the East West Link would have crippled Melbourne financially whilst destroying several communities and devastating Royal Park. Whilst the political decision seems to have been finalized there is still much work to be done to permanently prevent this poorly conceived project from making a comeback.

Firstly the Government is still in negotiations with the East West Consortium to cancel the contract without paying for the $1 Billion + super profits that the previous government was so happy to sign away in their morally bankrupt side letter. If this negotiation fails Daniel Andrews has implied strongly that he will take action in the Parliament to legislate a solution. Obviously the consortium should be reimbursed for expenses already incurred. As for claiming to be eligible for profits on a project that they never built, this is exactly the kind of big corporate behavior that sickens hard-working, honest individuals.

The entire East West Link saga can be traced back to politicians bypassing crucial expert analysis to fast track a project for political gain. In order to reduce the undue political interference from future infrastructure investment, the Andrews Government has already begun setting up Infrastructure Victoria. This new body was one of the six issues lobbied for by the Australian Institute of Architects Victorian Chapter prior to the election. The idea of this body will be to act as an independent adviser to the government, which will hopefully also see a logical prioritization of projects based on actual publicly released and positive business cases.

In the final piece of good infrastructure news, the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel has been given the new Government’s backing to proceed. According to <a href="http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/project_assessments/files/2013/VIC_Melbourne_Metro_Brief.pdf">Infrastructure Australia</a> the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel has a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.2 meaning that for every dollar spent we can expect $1.20 benefit. There has also been public comment by the Premier suggesting that the preferred procurement method may also be shifting from Public Private Partnerships to having construction funded by the Government and then sold off to private operators. Given the currently very low interest rates it seems difficult to fault that logic.

R+BA score: 3 a marks (out of 3 available)

<h2>The Red + Black Scorecard</h2>

All in all it has been a solid start for the new government. Having spoken with various stakeholders who have been dealing directly with senior members of the Government it seems that there is a cautious optimism about the direction we are heading.

The Red+Black Scorecard is as follows:

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 100%">
<thead><tr>
<th>Action</th>
			<th>Score</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Consultation with AIA</td>
			<td>1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Consultation with ARBV</td>
			<td>1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>OVGA reporting to Premiers Department</td>
			<td>1*</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Appoint Victorian Government Architect</td>
			<td>-</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fund Victorian Design Review Panel</td>
			<td>-</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Funding the Restoration of Flinders Street Station</td>
			<td>1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Flinders Street Station Design Competition</td>
			<td>-0.5</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cancel East West Link</td>
			<td>1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Create Independent Infrastructure Body</td>
			<td>1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Work towards Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel</td>
			<td>1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Total</td>
			<td>6.5/10</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* This presumes the OVGA is in fact restructured into reporting directly to the office of Premier and Cabinet

<h2>Issues and questions for the next 100 days</h2>

Whilst it has been a breathe of fresh air to have a government willing to have intelligent consultation with architects, there is much work to do over the coming years to address several areas of concern. Minimum apartment standards continue to be a very hot topic which will require real leadership to see through. The OVGA will have significant role to play here, which is why the appointment of a new Government Architect must be a priority.

The Labor Government has also flagged potential changes to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal appeal process for planning decisions. This will be a very interesting discussion to have on where the line in the sand is. On the one hand is the right of an individual or company to build a project and on the other hand is the right of an individual or company to object.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues we will have to face up to is housing affordability. The current system is pricing families out of the inner and middle suburbs, pushing them to the limits and forcing a high dependence on car travel. Single people and those in creative or caring industries are also finding quality housing difficult or impossible to obtain. The last thing Melbourne needs is a city like London where only the very wealthy are welcome to reside. If the new Labor Government can make inroads with this, they will well and truly deserve a second term.

Michael Smith is Director of Melbourne architecture firm Atelier Red + Black. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theredandblackarchitect.wordpress.com/">The Red and Black Architect blog</a>

Lead image courtesy thecourier.com.au.
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redblackarchitect

The Andrews Government, 100 Day Report Card

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Following his narrow loss at the recent Victorian state election, Clem Newton-Brown has launched a new property consultancy, pushing through difficult planning applications.
He was a former planning barrister before winning the marginal seat of Prahran for the Liberal Party. Gracious in defeat, Clem Newton-Brown lost to the Greens, who he will no doubt continue to battle with on planning issues.
Whitemark Property and Planning offers to maximise land owner's value by reviewing the potential at the beginning of the planning process, all the way through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
"Planning does not need to be confrontational and much can be done to get sensible development permits through with community support and without the angst and uncertainty of VCAT appeals," Newton-Brown said.
He has been pro-actively suggesting and reviewing sites, including a dual apartment block on Clara Street in South Yarra.
"This site has attracted a lot of developer interest due to its large open air carpark at the rear and three street frontages," he noted.
"However, it is located in the Neighbourhood Residential zone and is incapable of further development, either to the rear or on top.
"The only options for adding value appear to be landscaping and creating private open space for ground floor tenants and attaching balconies for the upper levels."
There's also <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whitemark-Property-and-Planning/1587975278085100" target="_blank">some comments</a> he had made on a South Melbourne development site at 201-209 Ferrars Street.
"This is a really interesting opportunity for an investor with some vision," he said.
"It is located in the Commercial 1 zone and the IM is suggesting 3 commercial tenancies and 23 apartments over three levels above.
"I think this is quite conservative given the site is in the transition zone between Fishermans Bend and the older residential areas of South Melbourne.
"It is far enough away from the residential areas for greater height to not have an impact on existing neighbours.
"Due to the long and skinny site the units would have great internal amenity," he noted adding the agent was quoting $2.5 plus.
Newton-Brown has personal expertise having developed the Ponyfish Island cafe on a flood-prone island set under the Southgate footbridge.
Then in 2008, he offloaded a development-sensitive site on the banks of the Yarra River in Toorak with a permit.
<video width="938" height="100" src="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/2015/03/05/Caller%20JOHN%20040315.mp3" preload="none"></video>
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Former Liberal politician Clem Newton-Brown establishes Whitemark Property & Planning consultancy

<html><body>
As Australia faces the reality of life after its mining boom, now more than ever it’s vital that we embark on a path of prosperity and sound government – just don’t hold your breath (just yet).
First and foremost it’s imperative that NSW embarks on the greatest infrastructure expenditure in the state’s history – at the end of the day the upcoming election is all about economic reform. 
Based on the recent election results in Victoria and Queensland the word ‘privatisation’ has indeed become a dirty word. In the case of the Baird government strategy the proceeds from the sale of state ownership of the electricity network would be directed to the generation of pivotal capital works projects and not state debt reduction.
A 2013 report on the Electricity Network Regulation the Productivity Commission announced that electricity prices had risen 70% in real terms over the previous five years with structural problems most apparent in NSW. The Productivity Commission went on to say: “There are strong arguments for privatisation of those businesses. There is no evidence that the productivity, reliability, quality or cost performance of private – sector electricity network businesses is worse than their public sector equivalents. To the contrary, the evidence in Australia and internationally suggests that such private sector enterprises are more efficient.”
NSW Labor proposes to tax business more then cut and defer major projects whilst doing next to nothing to fix congestion in Sydney. Congestion is exactly what determines property prices in Sydney, which is why I have said if you own real estate within a 10 kilometre radius of the Sydney CBD you have nothing to worry about.
A recent report commissioned by the Property Council of NSW has found that Sydney is facing a housing crisis with an additional 190,000 homes needed to be constructed over the next 10 years. The report identified that since 2005 an average of just 17,002 homes had been approved by Sydney’s 43 councils each year. From a business perspective you’re not going to attract new housing projects unless you are rolling out massive new infrastructure community platforms.
<a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/02/23-02-2015-9-11-41-AM.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-389483" src="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/02/23-02-2015-9-11-41-AM.jpg" alt="23-02-2015 9-11-41 AM" width="463" height="477"></a>
The above graph clearly identifies what happens to property prices when you’re closer to the CBD and highlights what happens when governments drop crucial infrastructure spending – <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/2/23/infrastructure/australias-train-nowhere" target="_blank" title="Australia’s train to nowhere. ">Australia’s train to nowhere. </a>More than anything we see glaring highlights as to what happens when governments fail to invest in crucial areas such as public transport. As a result house prices to those areas located within that crucial 10 kilometre radius of the CBD skyrocket.
NSW faces an additional 1.600 million people requiring housing over the next two decades – which in itself explains why now more than ever before infrastructure has to be the key ingredient into guaranteeing NSW’s prosperity into the future. Privatisation should not be a dirty word rather the dirty word clearly is lack of infrastructure spending by past NSW governments.
Sydney must absorb Newcastle, Wollongong and western Sydney into its business model by creating a world class metropolis. Given what’s been achieved in other countries there is no excuse why Sydney does not have a very fast train that connects all the cities.
Given that investors today are getting next to no return given the record low cash rate – investors can purchase syndicates that would allow them to invest in infrastructure projects <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/2/25/infrastructure/neat-fix-politics-infrastructure-funding" target="_blank" title="a neat fix to the politics of infrastructure funding.">a neat fix to the politics of infrastructure funding.</a>
Given that the self-managed superannuation funds are driving investment property in NSW due to a lack of choice such a proposal to attract these funds with infrastructure investment is a brilliant and a long overdue alternative. Naturally the big superannuation funds want as much of this pie as they can get so the state governments must offer allocations to ensure that everyone has equal investment opportunities.
From an investment perspective NSW can easily offer thousands and thousands of critical infrastructure investment funds for investors to diversify as against relying solely on the real estate markets.
Of course nothing can happen if we have a change in government given the alternative is simply too scary to contemplate. If NSW had previously had a strong infrastructure platform property prices would be nowhere near as high as they are today.
If the Baird government is successful at next month’s election and they stick to their infrastructure platforms there is a strong possibility they could become the most successful government in NSW history.
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robertsimeon-hRNTwJyXkQ

Next month’s NSW election is the most important ever: Robert Simeon

<html><body>
Prime Minister Tony Abbott today said he wanted to enforce the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) residential rules "because, obviously, the last thing we want to be doing is pricing young home buyers out of the market".
He told Alan Jones on 2GB that Kelly O’Dwyer, as the chairman of a parliamentary committee was looking at the fact that the former Labor government never enforced the prohibitions on foreign purchasers of existing residential properties.
"Now, what sort of a government has rules and never actually enforces them?" <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-02-06/interview-alan-jones-radio-2gb-0" target="_blank">he said</a>.
Tony Abbott foreshadowed within a few weeks his government would be putting the policy that he took to the election into action.
The Australian Financial Review wrote earlier this week the government’s response to the ­parliamentary report on the issue was discussed by cabinet on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
“There has been evidence which will emerge over time that there has been a significant increase in the number of foreigners buying Australian residential real estate unlawfully,” Treasurer Joe Hockey told Fairfax Radio.
“It hasn’t been enforced because it never was enforced under the previous government... You’re about to see that change.”
A parliamentary inquiry led by Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer, who was recently promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, handed in its report to the government last November.
The report actually found that foreign investment was, on the whole, of benefit to the country and was not the main cause of any recent steep increases in property prices.
It did, however lash out at the FIRB fair failing in monitoring and enforcing the laws.
There have been no prosecutions made against foreign buyers for illegal residential property purchases since 2006.
One of the inquiry's key recommendations was the creation of a national register linking records of land transfers with citizenship and migration residency status, to better track of foreign investment.
The government’s moves on foreign investment in real estate were heralded in ­Tony Abbott’s speech to the National Press Club last Monday.
“I am a friend of foreign investment but it has to come on our terms and for our benefit,” Abbott said.
Australians were "anxious" about the country's economic sovereignty, especially foreign purchases of agricultural land," Mr Abbott said.
"And better enforcement of the rules against foreign purchases of existing homes so that young people are not priced out of the market."
The national initiative will rely on state government co-operation in amending transfer purchase documentation.
Property Observer gleans all states, barring South Australian, have agreed to the federal government's wishes.
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Tony Abbott suggests foreigners pricing out young home buyers

<html><body>
The Australian Electoral Commission released financial disclosure data for the 2013-14 financial year earlier this week, revealing that the single largest donor to the ALP was an unknown China-based person named Zichun Wang. 
Crikey can reveal that Zichun Wang appears to be the deputy general manager of Chinese property development firm Ever Bright Group, responsible for several large developments in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Wang gave $850,000 to the national ALP Secretariat in two parcels that year, the largest donation to either party.
An article about the “mystery Chinese donor” in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/mystery-chinese-donor-zi-chun-wang-tops-political-donations-with-850000-gift-to-labor-20150202-133ofe" target="_blank">Fairfax</a> provoked much speculation as to the identity of the generous figure, with Business Spectator <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/2/3/china/chinese-man-tops-list-australian-political-donors?utm_content=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=EditorialSF&amp;utm_source=BusinessSpectator&amp;utm_medium=Twitter">discovering</a> links between Wang and Australian real estate investment.
But Crikey can reveal the man behind the money appears to be Melbourne-based Ever Bright Group’s deputy general manager.
Ever Bright Group is responsible for building a range of large property developments primarily across Melbourne and Shijiazhuang, the largest city in Hebei province. Property developers have been banned from donating to political parties in New South Wales since 2009, but there are no Victorian or federal rules against it.
It is unclear whether Ever Bright Group is state owned, though there is a Chinese state-owned conglomerate of the same name. The company’s published history on its website suggests it may be linked to the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation. Careers website <a href="https://company.zhaopin.com/%E6%B2%B3%E5%8C%97%E6%B0%B8%E6%98%8C%E6%88%BF%E5%9C%B0%E4%BA%A7%E5%BC%80%E5%8F%91%E6%9C%89%E9%99%90%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E4%BF%9D%E5%AE%9A%E5%88%86%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8_CC432198127.htm" target="_blank">Zhaopin</a> lists EBG as a private company.
The contact address given on the Australian Electoral Commission disclosure form for the donor is given as a housing block for retired Communist Party apparatchiks and bureaucrats in Shijiazhuang, as well as the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
When Crikey called Ever Bright Group’s Melbourne office, the receptionist said Wang was currently in China, but gave the same contact email address as that supplied on the AEC return form.
The China-based phone number listed on the AEC form rings out.
The company’s website features a <a href="https://www.ebgcn.com/news1_details.aspx?nid=12021" target="_blank">news story</a> from March 2014 of Wang visiting Melbourne’s Carey Baptist Grammar school. Another <a href="https://ebgcn.com/news1_details.aspx?nid=12040">article</a> shows EBG Chairman Yuan Wan Yong meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and then-Victorian premier Denis Napthine in June 2014.
Ever Bright Group’s Melbourne developments have included the controversial Stonington Mansion Estate in Malvern. The estate was previously used by Deakin University as a campus, but the university sold it to private developers in 2006 in the face of protests from Stonnington City Council and former federal treasurer Peter Costello. Ever Bright paid $30 million for it in late 2010.
The company is also responsible for the $110 million Lucia luxury apartments in South Yarra. Ever Bright’s website says the development should have been completed by late 2014.
<a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/2/3/china/chinese-man-tops-list-australian-political-donors?utm_content=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=EditorialSF&amp;utm_source=BusinessSpectator&amp;utm_medium=Twitter" target="_blank">As revealed by </a><a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/2/3/china/chinese-man-tops-list-australian-political-donors?utm_content=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=EditorialSF&amp;utm_source=BusinessSpectator&amp;utm_medium=Twitter" target="_blank">Business Spectator</a>, a search of usernames attached to Wang’s email address reveals a series of posts on forums by a Hebei-based user dating back to 2007 showing an interest in Australian property investments.
One comment stated: “Very interesting! I’m interested in investing, and will keep an eye on it!”
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/" target="_blank">Crikey</a>.
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

Meet the mysterious Chinese property developer giving a motza to the ALP

With $91 million in personal property holdings, are Queensland's politicans really unbiased?

<html><body>
When I was younger, especially a student at the University of Melbourne, free very much was the magic word.

Buy one Whopper get one free at Hungry Jacks, a free yoghurt at Museum Station, or a free beer at the University knitting club recruitment drive. If it was free, it rocked. I mean, I even emptied an entire Gatorade vending machine once, when it was accidentally spitting out its sugary goodness devoid of charge, much to the disdain of my then basketball coach. A six month supply of sporting enhancement never tasted so good!

However we all grow up, and most come to appreciate value over cost. That's not to say that we're still not seduced by free every once in a while (hands up who doesn't have a set of steak knives at home that they have never used?), and unfortunately that includes governments. Especially ones in an election year.

Trailing in the polls, Dennis Napthine went on a budget spending spree and included two 'gems': scrapping Zone 2 and free tram travel in the CBD.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/freetramzonemap_800x540.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Melbourne Free Tram Zone Map"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="392" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/freetramzonemap_800x540.jpg?itok=V94szgHy" title="Melbourne Free Tram Zone Map" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Melbourne Free Tram Zone Map</figcaption></figure>The Free Tram Zone, which came into effect on January 1 this year, is shown above. Like some bright sparks on Twitter noted, if it doesn't immediately make you sing 'we all live in a green submarine', nothing will! Its circumference is basically the route of the City Circle, with a few added areas like Queen Victoria Market and an expanded Docklands.

Looking at it more deeply, it really is hard to ascertain who this will actually benefit. Most work day commuters would be coming from outside this zone, meaning they will still have to pay. It has been argued that tourists will benefit, allowing them to avoid the 'confusion' of having to use a Myki. However even the least adventurous of tourists would travel beyond these boundaries, with the key hotspots of the sporting precinct, Fitzroy and St Kilda all sitting outside the free zone. Given they would much more likely be unsure of the boundary than locals, they are also left exposed to fines for not having a valid ticket. Welcome to Melbourne: here, have a $80 on the spot fine!

<img alt="" height="149" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/pictures/article-images/free_tram_zone_sign.jpg" width="338">

And that brings us to the most problematic demographic: people who actually live inside this zone.

One of the main attractions of CBD living is meant to be that you can throw away the car keys and walk to work. Walking, aside from having obvious health benefits, is also the ultimate form of public transport. No cost, with no capacity or frequency issues to worry about. However as tram travel is also now free, it is just an added incentive for these people to get lazy and jump on a tram instead. So aside from the social cost of a less active population, all we end up with is more crowded trams.

In other words, the only mode shift this brilliant plan has brought us is from walking to public transport. It won't bring us a single extra cent in revenue (but will cost us $100 million, combined with the Zone 2 change), and we won't take a single car off the road doing it. In fact we run the risk of the opposite; if trams become too overcrowded and slow, commuters may be tempted to get back in their cars and drive to work. A retrogressive policy if ever I've seen one.

The plan to 'scrap' zone 2 also makes little sense. Despite Napthine’s bleating about equity, it is anything but equitable. Having users pay the same fare from Pakenham to the city (56km) as from say Brunswick to the city (10km) is counter intuitive and grossly unfair; commuters from the outer suburbs incur a much greater running and maintenance cost on the system than those from the inner suburbs.

Having everyone pay the same fare is tantamount to halving the cost of petrol in the suburbs, so that people driving from Dandenong to the city pay the same petrol bill as those driving from Caulfield! This of course would be outrageous; as it would be if the government artificially deflated the cost of housing in the inner suburbs to make that the same across all of Melbourne. Having a flat fare will also further encourage suburban sprawl; a huge problem already exacerbated by Matthew Guy’s reckless decision to extend Melbourne’s already bulging urban boundary.

Frustratingly, the perceived political gain is limited anyway. As discussed in Alastair's blog, cost is usually not a driver when it comes to people deciding to use public transport. According to research conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, guess where 'cost' ranked in the top 10 reasons for not using public transport? It didn't! How many times will we hear people say "public transport is still crap, but that's OK cause it's cheap now"? Said no one ever!

The fact is, people will accept this 'discounted' price as the norm after a very short amount of time, and go back to complaining about the deficiencies of the system like the price drop never happened. Worse still, this will most likely just jack up the price of a Zone 1 ticket, just like what happened when Zone 3 was scrapped in 2007, making any savings even more trivial and temporary.

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<caption>Top 10 reasons for not using public transport on usual trip to work or full-time study: proportion (%) of persons who did not use public transport (Australian Bureau of Statistics: 4602.0.55.002 - Environmental Issues: Waste Management, Transport and Motor Vehicle Usage, March 2012)</caption>
	<thead><tr>
<th>Reason</th>
			<th>NSW</th>
			<th>Vic.</th>
			<th>QLD</th>
			<th>SA</th>
			<th>WA</th>
			<th>Tas.</th>
			<th>NT</th>
			<th>ACT</th>
			<th>Aust.</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>No service available at all</td>
			<td>28.4</td>
			<td>28.2</td>
			<td>35.3</td>
			<td>30.3</td>
			<td>31.8</td>
			<td>37.5</td>
			<td>33.8</td>
			<td>7.5</td>
			<td>30.2</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Convenience/comfort/privacy in private vehicle</td>
			<td>27.5</td>
			<td>26.8</td>
			<td>20.0</td>
			<td>27.0</td>
			<td>27.0</td>
			<td>16.9</td>
			<td>17.2</td>
			<td>45.9</td>
			<td>25.7</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>No service available at right/convenient time</td>
			<td>21.2</td>
			<td>22.9</td>
			<td>26.9</td>
			<td>19.4</td>
			<td>23.6</td>
			<td>25.7</td>
			<td>31.4</td>
			<td>22.0</td>
			<td>23.2</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Travel time too long</td>
			<td>16.9</td>
			<td>18.6</td>
			<td>13.3</td>
			<td>16.1</td>
			<td>14.3</td>
			<td>6.8</td>
			<td>8.2</td>
			<td>30.5</td>
			<td>16.2</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Own vehicle needed before/during/after hours</td>
			<td>11.1</td>
			<td>8.3</td>
			<td>9.7</td>
			<td>11.1</td>
			<td>9.8</td>
			<td>7.6</td>
			<td>9.6</td>
			<td>19.7</td>
			<td>10.0</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Carry equipment/tools/passengers</td>
			<td>9.8</td>
			<td>7.8</td>
			<td>6.1</td>
			<td>6.5</td>
			<td>8.3</td>
			<td>3.6</td>
			<td>6.6</td>
			<td>10.7</td>
			<td>8.0</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Public transport services too far from home</td>
			<td>6.4</td>
			<td>5.2</td>
			<td>5.7</td>
			<td>5.4</td>
			<td>4.4</td>
			<td>3.4</td>
			<td>5.6</td>
			<td>2.9</td>
			<td>5.5</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Company or employer's vehicle needed during work/study hours</td>
			<td>3.2</td>
			<td>4.2</td>
			<td>4.3</td>
			<td>4.4</td>
			<td>5.7</td>
			<td>4.3</td>
			<td>4.7</td>
			<td>2.3</td>
			<td>4.1</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Too close to work/study to use public transport</td>
			<td>3.6</td>
			<td>3.3</td>
			<td>2.3</td>
			<td>3.6</td>
			<td>2.8</td>
			<td>6.3</td>
			<td>3.1</td>
			<td>1.7</td>
			<td>3.2</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Other</td>
			<td>2.5</td>
			<td>3.9</td>
			<td>3.3</td>
			<td>3.0</td>
			<td>3.7</td>
			<td>2.2</td>
			<td>3.3</td>
			<td>2.6</td>
			<td>3.2</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Unfortunately for Victorians, Labor chose to back this policy for fear that Napthine would whack them over the head with it; another case of good politics, bad policy. They could have easily got on the front foot here and put the $100 million a year these two policy dogs are costing us towards something else: new trams, Southland station (it could have gold plated toilets at that price), Melton electrification, tea cosies advertising the dangers of eating breakfast cereals past their used by date. Hell, anything would have been a better investment.

Either way, we are stuck with it now. If they thought it was politically tricky not backing this policy, try undoing it if it goes really wrong and overcrowding becomes unmanageable. The aforementioned limited gain of making it free/cheaper is unfortunately not true in reverse; people will sook like a hipster baby not allowed to have a salted caramel lollypop if we take their god given right to free trams away from them.

So next time you have to wait three trams before getting on because of freeloaders, have a think if you are really better off. And next time you walk past a broken vending machine spitting out free Gatorades, make sure you are carrying a big bag!
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