<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

Mining

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<div>The ABS released its Detailed Labour Force figures for October 2015 which provided further detail on the extraordinary rate of job gains in New South Wales, where employment has grown at an electric pace over the past year. </div>
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<div>Sydney recorded another strong month of gains and has created +85,000 positions over the year to October. Interestingly after a fairly dismal four years, the rest of the state has also created +51,000 new roles. </div>
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<div>Of Australia's other major labour markets Melbourne (+78,000) and lately the improving Greater Brisbane region (+43,000) have accounted for the bulk of new positions.</div>
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<div>By contrast over the past five years since October 2010 total employment in Adelaide has declined by 5,500.</div>
<br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Unemployment divergence</span></strong><br><br><div>Looking at capital city unemployment rates on a rolling annual basis shows that while unemployment rates are rising in Perth and Adelaide, elsewhere they have been declining.</div>
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<div>Sydney has been the king of employment gains in recent times, and as such recorded an unemployment rate for October of just 4.7 per cent across the Greater Sydney region.</div>
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<div>Over the past year some of the consistently lowest unemployment rates in Australia have been seen in Sydney's Northern Beaches (2.5 per cent), Eastern Suburbs (3.2 per cent), North Sydney &amp; Hornsby (3.7 per cent) and Inner West (4.3 per cent).</div>
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<div><span>At the other end of the scale the unemployment rate in Adelaide continues to trend up to well above 7 per cent, with further jobs losses subsequently reported in the month of November in the struggling state of South Australia.</span></div>
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<div>After a lift in unemployment as the resources capital expenditure boom passed its peak, Greater Brisbane has seen a pleasing improvement in its local economy.</div>
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<div>Employment gains have picked up to a solid pace and the rolling annual unemployment rate has trended down from 6.3 per cent to 5.9 per cent through this calendar year to date.</div>
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<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Mining regions suffer</span></strong><br><em><br></em><em>Commsec</em> put out a usueful reseach note which reported that mining regions - and coal mining regions in particular - have suffered, with jobless rates in the Hunter Valley and Mackay having broadly doubled.<br><br>This in itself comes as no great surprise - I predicted as much here on this blog 14 months ago.<br><br>Other regions with elevated levels of unemployment have included Wide Bay, Logan-Beaudesert, Adelaide North, Townsville, and Cairns.<br><br>The news for regional Australia is far from all bad, however.</div>
<div>
<br>While there is no doubt that many parts of regional Queensland are doing it very tough, there have been improvements in unemployment rates in the Wide Bay region, the Hunter Valley, Newcastle &amp; Lake Macquarie, and Geelong (and possibly several other regions, subject to the vagaries of sampling variability).<br><br>Indeed, after some ugly results early in the year the figures reported for regional unemployment have generally improved of late, so perhaps some of the mining fallout is now in the rear view mirror, as contractors migrate back to their respective capital cities.<br><br>That said, total regional employment growth outside New South Wales (and to some extent Queensland) has been weak, while new roles may also be lower paid than those which they replaced.</div>
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<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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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Mining regions struggle: Pete Wargent

<html><body>
<p>As commodity prices and mining investment has sunk, demand for housing in mining areas has also slowed. This week we take a look at the performance of some of the major mining towns.</p>
<p>Mining towns and regions across the country have been hard hit as investment and commodity prices have slumped.  This week we’re looking at how the housing market has performed in terms of the volume and median price of sales across these regions.  The results indicate that not all mining towns have recorded an equivalent slowdown.  The following analysis looks at annual median prices and annual sales volumes</p>
<p><strong>Port Hedland </strong>– median prices peaked at $925,000 in June 2013 and sales volumes peaked at 402 in July 2006.  Current median prices are $390,000 (-58 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 128 (-68 percent below peak).  In what may be a positive sign for the market, annual sales are once again trending higher, although the median prices trend is yet to bottom out.</p>
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<p><a href="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image1.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><strong>Isaac </strong>– median prices peaked at $620,000 in November 2012 and sales volumes peaked at 661 in March 2012.  Current median prices are $138,390 (-78 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 117 (-28 percent below peak).  Transaction numbers have recently started to rise, however median price trends remain negative.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image2.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><strong>Karratha </strong>– median prices peaked at $815,000 in October 2010 and sales volumes peaked at 511 in March 2005.  Current median prices are $362,980 (-55 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 235 (-54 percent below peak).  Transaction numbers have been trending higher but the median sale price is still falling, albeit at a more moderate pace.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/08/Screen%20Shot%202016-11-08%20at%2012.25.26%20PM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/08/Screen%20Shot%202016-11-08%20at%2012.25.26%20PM.png" alt=""></p>
<p><strong>Gladstone </strong>– median prices peaked at $475,000 in September 2012 and sales volumes peaked at 1,823 in July 2007.  Current median prices are $350,000 (-26 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 572 (-69 percent below peak).  Dwelling turnover is continuing along a downwards trend with no sign of an improvement in buyer demand just yet.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image4.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><strong>Kalgoorlie-Boulder </strong>– median prices peaked at $351,250 in June 2015 and sales volumes peaked at 1,656 in September 2006.  Current median prices are $312,000 (-11 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 345 (-79 percent below peak).  Transaction numbers appear to be levelling, however there is no sign of any upwards pressure on prices or turnover.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image5.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image5.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><strong>Mackay </strong>– median prices peaked at $435,000 in June 2013 and sales volumes peaked at 3,264 in April 2004.  Current median prices are $345,000 (-21 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 1,045 (-68 percent below peak).  Transaction numbers have recently levelled across the Mackay housing market but are yet to improve.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/09/2016-07-11--image6.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/09/2016-07-11--image6.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><strong>Roxby Downs </strong>– median prices peaked at $500,016 in November 2013 and sales volumes peaked at 187 in February 2004.  Current median prices are $250,000 (-50 percent lower than peak) and current sales are 23 (-88 percent below peak).  Transaction numbers have recently increased slightly across Roxby Downs.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image7.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/11/09/2016-11-07--image7.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p>The smaller mining townships which don’t act as major service centres have tended to see a much sharper fall in median selling prices than the larger townships.  The decline in sales and prices from the market peaks has been substantial across all of these regions, however the regions that have seen the most significant downturn were those that also recorded a significant upswing in prices and turnover rates prior to the peak in commodity prices.</p>
<p>Recently, most of these mining towns have experienced a stabilisation in sales with some regions having seen an increase in sales volumes.  Although sales may have broken the declining trend in a number of areas, median selling prices are generally continuing to trend lower across each of the regions highlighted.</p>
<p>The improvement in transactional activity could potentially be due to larger numbers of distressed sales moving through these markets, but may also be attributable to a cautious return of buyers seeking out a bargain.</p>
<p>The challenge for many of these regions remains that despite a recent uptick in commodity prices, investment in large infrastructure projects (new mines, processing facilities, transport etc) has dried up and subsequently few additional jobs are being created. </p>
<p>Although commodity prices have recently surged, particular iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal, it is not yet leading to a substantial increase in exploration activity or employment, subsequently housing demand remains weak and continues to have a dampening effect on housing prices. </p>
<p><em>Cameron Kusher is research analyst for CoreLogic. You can contact him <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/about/">here</a>.</em></p>
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ckusher-ujnxiKuFQs

The lowdown on the mining town slowdown from Gladstone to Karratha

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<div id="post-body-8296077642061233663" class="post-body entry-content">
<div>Strewth, you know things haven't been hunky dory for housing markets in your region when the central bank starts profiling financial stability risks in its bi-annual Review. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Housing loan arrears continue to deteriorate in the mining regions of Western Australia and Queensland.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I have actually heard much about this already from various sources - in some small mining towns the situation is beyond chronic - but now it's starting to feed through to the official data.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Interestingly, nationally applications for property possession are still declining as a share of the total dwelling stock. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>But clearly this is not the case in mining hotspots. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>High vacancy rates, falling rents, and falling prices are hammering property investors in mining regions, reported the Reserve  Bank of Australia (RBA).</div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Illiquidity</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Banks have reported that in some regions even with big price discounts properties can't be sold.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The only minor consolation or "cushion" for households in aggregate is that in some of the worst-affected regions mining companies own a high proportion of the dwelling stock, so personal administrations, while rising in mining regions, nationally remain close to 15-year lows.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Though I doubt this feels like much of a consolation if you're the one stuck with an illiquid and depreciating asset.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The RBA profiled the Pilbara and the Kimberley region in coastal Western Australia. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>And in Queensland, the RBA took a shufti at Townsville, Mackay, the Bowen Basin, Central Highlands.<br><br>
</div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/10/18/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-18%20at%201.48.45%20PM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/10/18/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-18%20at%201.48.45%20PM.png" alt=""></div>
<div class="separator">Crikey.</div>
<div> </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 class="post-footer"> </div>
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Mining crunch stress and house prices

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<div>An interesting week indeed for Australian econofans, with an emphatic rebound in engineering construction reported for the second quarter of the calendar year, driven by Western Australian resources projects (or, at least, one project). </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Then on Thursday, a +0.8 per cent quarterly increase to $28.3 billion was reported for private new capital expenditure, which is not something we've been able to say too often over the past five years! </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The increase was largely driven by a +2.7 per cent uplift in expenditure on plant and equipment to $12.5 billion. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/04/C1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/09/04/C1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>The improvement lately has been as much about a steadying of the resources states as anything else, although Victoria is now seeing a relatively strong expansion in investment. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Only a tiny fraction of the lift in investment in Victoria has been driven by mining or manufacturing, instead being overwhelmingly accounted for by services industries and other sectors. </div>
<p><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/04/C2.jpg" target="_blank"> Click to enlarge</a></p>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/09/04/C2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p> </p>
<div>Perhaps more importantly, the outlook is brightening, with a +17.6 jump in the third estimate for FY2017-18 capital expenditure to just under $102 billion (against market expectations of less than $96 billion, so that's a significant beat). </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Mining investment plans have lifted - though remaining unsurprisingly as subdued compared to the heady peak - while services and other selected industries are beginning to hit their straps, with an increase of +18.6 per cent on prior year expectations. </div>
<p><br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Construction confounds</span></strong><br><br></p>
<div>AIG's industry surveys, which report on the direction of industry sectors relative to a neutral reading of 50, now record a very strong expansion in the massive services sector (56.4), while manufacturing (59.8) is expanding at the fastest pace in 15 years. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A salient concern in 2016 was that a disorderly drop in residential construction could lead to widespread unemployment and the strong multiplier effect of that industry going into reverse. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>And yet the construction sector is now top of the pile, with a survey reading of a blistering 60.5 in July. What gives?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I was down in Sydney this week, and was struck by the burgeoning use of serviced and other office space - you can't help but notice the difference from 2012, when office space was abundant and activity appeared moribund. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Anecdotal, yep, and yet this has become of the key drivers of the construction outlook. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Building approvals for office buildings, educational space, and other commercial construction are absolutely flying in New South Wales and Victoria, sending the annual dollar value of non-residential building approved nationally to the highest level on record. </div>
<div>
<br><div class="separator"><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/04/BA1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
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<div class="separator"> </div>
</div>
<div>And while high-rise apartment approvals have, as expected, dropped by a quarter, there has been a more sustainable rebalancing towards approvals for townhouses, boutique apartment blocks, and detached housing.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>A bit of reluctant credit where it's due, too: the manufacturing surveys pointed to an uplift in infrastructure investment as a key driver of the rebound, responding to the ramp up in budget spend. So, a small hat tip for Treasurer ScoMo there, too. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">New phase</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>With capital expenditure and engineering construction no longer in material decline after five years of pain, it's fantastic to see the services and manufacturing industries coming to the party to rebalance the economy.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The only people forecasting an imminent recession now are apparently doing so more in hope than expectation, and the unemployment rate is steadily declining back towards the 4 to 5 per cent range. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>With almost all indicators pointing to improving rather than deteriorating economic conditions ahead, the economy and our housing markets are moving into a new phase, with the household sector to become the main point of focus. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Specifically there will be a great deal of analysis of household debt, and how households cope with the prospect of a normalisation of interest rates from the end of 2018 forth. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank"><span class="s2">AllenWargent</span></a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span class="s2">blogger</span></a>.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span class="s3"><em>His latest book is </em><a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank"><span class="s2"><em>Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</em></span></a><em>.</em></span></p>
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Mining cliff Rest In Peace: Pete Wargent

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<p>Belgian construction player Besix has renewed its takeover intentions for the Brisbane-based Watpac.</p>
<p>It has lobbed a new $169 million cash bid.</p>
<p>Besix, already Watpac's largest shareholder, failed four months ago in a bid to secure two-thirds ownership of the ASX-listed contractor and mining services group.</p>
<p>However they lacked the support from fellow shareholders and were unable to get the plan approved.</p>
<p>If their bid is accepted, the Belgian builder has stated it would continue to operate the Australian company as a standalone business by retaining its brand and local identity.</p>
<p>"We continue to believe in the strong fundamentals of the Watpac business and are supportive of current management and their strategic direction," Besix chief executive Rik Vandenberghe, said.</p>
<p>Watpac's independent board committee has recommended the offer from Besix in the absence of a superior proposal emerging.</p>
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Belgian builder Besix renews takeover attempt of mining company Watpac

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<p>GUEST OBSERVATION</p>
<p>"I have always wondered, in a distant future when humanity is able to settle permanently on a distant body (such as planet, moon or rocky body), are there any current legal frameworks that could be applied as a precedent for such individuals to “take ownership” of that body and its resources?" – Daniel, Croydon, Australia</p>
<p>Despite regular excited talk, human “settlement” of another planet, the Moon or an asteroid may still be many years away. Physicist Andrew Coates sees major challenges in Elon Musk’s public plans to colonise Mars.</p>
<p>But mining of space resources is a realistic possibility – and several nations are already investing in extraction operations in space.</p>
<p>We currently have five space law treaties which cover many key issues about the use, exploitation and protection of space. These treaties deal with ensuring that no nation claims sovereignty over a celestial body.</p>
<p>However they do not provide any clear guidelines for extracting resources in the absence of that sovereignty – that is, extracting resources from an asteroid or body that is not “owned”.</p>
<p><strong>The moon flag was symbolic</strong></p>
<p>Humanity first walked on the Moon in 1969.</p>
<p>The historic landing of Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong’s first moon walk are remembered for Armstrong’s deliberate choice of words – “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” – as well as the symbolic planting of an American flag on the surface of the Moon.</p>
<p>The choice of flags for this occasion was carefully planned. The relevant NASA appropriations bill provided that the planting of the flag was “intended as a symbolic gesture of national pride in achievement” and “not to be construed as a declaration of national appropriation by claim of sovereignty”.</p>
<p>In total, twelve men have walked on the Moon, all of them American and the last of these was as long ago as 1972. None of these acts have been interpreted as an act of settlement or claim of US sovereignty.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IFDgqkQ0agk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" width="440" height="260"></iframe></p>
<p><em><span class="caption">Astronaut Gene Cernan described his 1972 moon visit as like “being on God’s front porch”.</span></em></p>
<p>Since this time, the popularity of space exploration has waxed and waned, due to the prohibitive cost of space programs.</p>
<p>However, recent developments in space flight have drastically cut the cost of space vehicles. This has resulted in a renewed interest in exploring more permanent settlements on Mars or other celestial bodies.</p>
<p><strong>Space law treaties</strong></p>
<p>Let’s look at the five existing space law treaties that would apply if humanity were to establish a base on Mars or the Moon.</p>
<p>The first of these, the Outer Space Treaty (1967) provides that: "Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means."</p>
<p>This fundamental principle of “non-appropriation” prevents any nation from claiming sovereignty over the Moon or any other celestial body.</p>
<p>The other space treaties deal with:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rescue of Astronauts (1968)</li>
<li>Liability of States for Damage Caused by Space Objects (1972)</li>
<li>Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (1975)</li>
<li>Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (known as “the Moon Agreement”) (1979).</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232609/original/file-20180820-30605-57aygk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></p>
<p><em><span class="caption">Would you like to live on the Moon? This is what it might look like.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/series/moon/why_go_back" target="_blank">NASA</a></span></em></p>
<p>These treaties (like the Antarctic Treaty with respect to the management and use of Antarctica) represent the international law that applies to outer space.</p>
<p>The Moon Agreement provides the most extensive protection of the Moon environment, and includes specific rules relating to potential activities on the Moon and other celestial bodies.</p>
<p>However, Australia is one of the very few countries which has acceded to the treaty – only 18 parties have acceded to or ratified this treaty (compared to the Outer Space Treaty, which has 107 members).</p>
<p>The Moon Agreement is therefore not considered to reflect customary international law – this means that its terms are not considered to reflect existing rules and norms of international space law. China, the United States and Russia are not members of this treaty, and neither are United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg (countries that do have clear space mining interests).</p>
<p><strong>Taking resources without ownership</strong></p>
<p>Despite the fact that nations may not claim sovereignty over a celestial body, the international treaties leave open the scope for states and private firms to use and mine celestial bodies without asserting ownership of the entire asteroid or planet.</p>
<p>In other words, you can extract and own resources without asserting sovereignty over the entire planet.</p>
<p>At the moment, in the absence of any clear laws regulating resource extraction, it is a case of first in, best dressed.</p>
<p>Corporations are now preparing operations to explore and utilise space resources, such as platinum, helium-3 (a potential fuel source) and water.</p>
<p>Various states, including the United States, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates have begun authorising resource exploration and extraction operations and conveying rights under their respective laws to their nationals with respect to the ownership of those natural resources.</p>
<p>Some states have argued that the Outer Space Treaty requires benefit-sharing of the materials extracted from space mining, as detailed by the Moon Agreement. However, even that agreement foreshadows the development of a further international regime to govern the exploitation of natural resources of the Moon, but such a regime has never been agreed on.</p>

<p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101464/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">So while there is no ability for states to claim sovereignty over space, there is still scope for exploitation of its resources.</p>
<p><em><strong>Melissa de Zwart</strong>, Professor, Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide</em></p>
<p><em>This is an article from I’ve Always Wondered, a series where readers send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. Send your question to alwayswondered@theconversation.edu.au</em></p>
<p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ive-always-wondered-could-someone-take-ownership-of-a-planet-or-a-moon-101464" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p>
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Could someone take ownership of a planet or a moon?

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<p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/77590/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"></p>
<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p><span>Legislation designed to protect wildlife is being rolled back or ignored in all sorts of ways in all sorts of places, according to a new global database of attacks on green tape.</span></p>
<p>When President Donald Trump was mulling over whether to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, it is hard to imagine that he was listening to the experts. US climate researchers are being so stifled, ignored or blackballed that France has now offered sanctuary to these misunderstood souls.</p>
<p>One might prefer to think of Trump as an outlier in an otherwise environmentally sane world. But alarmingly, there’s just too much evidence to the contrary.</p>
<p>A recent analysis, led by Guillaume Chapron of Sweden’s Agricultural University, reveals a rising tide of assaults on environmental safeguards worldwide. If nothing else, it illustrates the sheer range and creativity of tactics used by those who seek to profit at the expense of nature.</p>
<p>The assaults on environmental protections are so diverse that Chapron and his colleagues had to devise a new “taxonomy” to categorise them all. They have even set up a public database to track these efforts, giving us a laundry list of environmental rollbacks from around the world.</p>
<p>One might perhaps hope that species staring extinction in the face would be afforded special protection. Not in the western US states of Idaho and Montana, where endangered gray wolves have been taken off the endangered species list, meaning they can be shot if they stray outside designated wilderness or management areas.</p>
<p>In Western Australia, an endangered species can be legally driven to extinction if the state’s environment minister orders it and parliament approves.</p>
<p>Think diverse ecosystems are important? In Canada, not so much. There, native fish species with no economic, recreational or indigenous value don’t get any legal protection from harm.</p>
<p>And in France – a crucial flyway for Eurasian and African birds – killing migratory birds is technically illegal. But migrating birds could be shot out of the sky anyway because the environment minister ordered a delay in the law’s enforcement.</p>
<p>In South Africa, the environment minister formerly had authority to limit environmental damage and oversee ecological restoration at the nation’s many mining sites. But that power has now been handed over to the mining minister, raising fears of conflict between industry and environmental interests.</p>
<p>In Brazil, the famous Forest Code that has helped to reduce deforestation rates in the Amazon has been seriously watered down. Safeguards for forests along waterways and on hillsides have been weakened, and landowners who illegally fell forests no longer need to replant them.</p>
<p>In the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, endangered species are protected by law, unless it is deemed to be in the “national interest” not to do so. Although an endangered species, the endemic Mauritius flying fox was annoying commercial fruit farmers, so the government has allowed more than 40,000 flying foxes to be culled.</p>
<p>And in Indonesia, it’s illegal to carry out destructive open-pit mining in protected forest areas. But aggressive mining firms are forcing the government to let them break the law anyway, or else face spending public money on legal battles.</p>
<h2><strong>Shoot the messengers</strong></h2>
<p>Campaigners should also beware. Under new legislation proposed in the UK, conservation groups that lose lawsuits will be hit with heavy financial penalties.</p>
<p>In many parts of the world, those who criticise environmentally destructive corporations are getting hit with so-called “strategic lawsuits against public participation”, or SLAPP suits.</p>
<p>In Peru, for instance, a corporation that was mowing down native rainforest to grow “sustainable” cacao for chocolate routinely used lawsuits and legal threats to intimidate critics.</p>
<p>That’s before we’ve even discussed climate change, which you might not be allowed to do in the US anyway. Proposed legislation would prohibit the government from considering climate change as a threat to any species. No wonder researchers want to move overseas.</p>
<p>As the above examples show, essential environmental safeguards are being conveniently downsized, diminished, ignored or swept under the carpet all over the world.</p>
<p>Viewed in isolation, each of these actions might be rationalised or defended – a small compromise made in the name of progress, jobs or the economy. But in a natural world threatened with “death by a thousand cuts”, no single wound can be judged in isolation.</p>
<p>Without our hard-won environmental protections, we would all already be breathing polluted air, drinking befouled water, and living in a world with much less wildlife.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Bill Laurance is a Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate at James Cook University and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bill-laurance-4358" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Around the world, environmental laws are under attack in all sorts of way: Bill Laurance

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<p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/77311/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"></p>
<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p>“I’m no criminal. I had no choice,” Bruce said. “I felt the only way I could get the government to see the injustice that is taking place was by taking action. All I wanted was to protect my home.”</p>
<p>Bruce is one of three protesters brought before a Mudgee court on May 17 for a preliminary hearing. On April 12, he was arrested after peacefully objecting the proposed expansion of the Wilpinjong mine by blocking the entry to the mine and stopping shift workers from entering and leaving the area.</p>
<p>The Wollar Three, as they have become known, are the first to be charged under New South Wales’ anti-protest laws, which were introduced in March 2016. They pleaded not guilty.</p>
<p>If convicted, the Wollar Three face significant penalties including heavy fines and up to seven years’ imprisonment. The laws they were charged under have been described as draconian and an attack on democracy and civil society.</p>
<p><strong>An existential threat to a community</strong></p>
<p>Bruce is one of the very few remaining residents of Wollar, a small rural community in the Mid Western Region, NSW. Wollar is located in the western coal fields and surrounded by three multinational open-cut coal mines - Peabody’s Wilpinjong Mine, Yancoal’s Moolarben and Glencore’s Ulan Coal Mines.</p>
<p>While coal extraction has a long history in the region, the recent intensification of mining has challenged the previous co-existence of mining and local communities in the region. Wollar is the latest rural village to fall victim to coal mining.</p>
<p>Most central to Wollar’s demise is Peabody’s Wilpinjong mine, which is the mine closest to the village. Peabody today owns the vast majority of land in and around Wollar, and more than 90% of the pre-Wilpinjong population has been resettled.</p>
<p>Last month, the Planning Assessment Commission approved a further expansion of the mine. This will bring the boundary of the mine to within 1.5 kilometres of the village.</p>
<p>As the mine has encroached on Wollar, the community has dispersed – and fewer than 30 residents today remain in the area. This forced migration has been accompanied by the withdrawal of services and social support that had made village life viable. Remaining Wollar residents are increasingly vulnerable and unable to sell their properties for a fair price on the open market.</p>
<p>During the recent commission hearing, the remaining residents requested that all the properties within the area be afforded acquisition rights. Such rights would have provided the opportunity to negotiate with the proponent, with a view to selling their properties to the mine and gaining autonomy over their future.</p>
<p>The commission’s determination report found the expansion:</p>
<p><em>… has the potential to further exacerbate the existing decline of Wollar.</em></p>
<p>However, the commission concluded that no other properties but those within the zone of affliction, limited to the village, are exposed to impacts that would justify granting acquisition rights.</p>
<p>This assessment is based on a reading of impacts that emphasises spatial proximity and technical measures of environmental (noise and dust) modelling. It fails to acknowledge the role played by the proponent and the government in reducing the wellbeing and livelihood of those left without compensation.</p>
<p><strong>Invisible displacement violates international standards</strong></p>
<p>The existing project and the coming mine expansion represent a slow onset disaster that has significantly reduced local residents’ wellbeing. The remaining residents have become displaced in place, with their future opportunities for mobility and life significantly reduced.</p>
<p>The resettlement of the former residents of Wollar has happened slowly and without any proper planning. This breaks with the primary underlying assumption of international safeguard standards, which state that risks associated with displacement and resettlement should be predicted and mitigated.</p>
<p>The World Bank’s Performance Standard 5 relates to project-related land acquisition and involuntary resettlement. It refers to resettlement as both physical displacement (relocation or loss of shelter) and economic displacement (loss of assets or access to assets, which result in reduction in income sources and other livelihood means).</p>
<p>The standard aims to “minimise adverse social and economic impacts from land acquisition or restrictions on land use by”:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>providing compensation for loss of assets at replacement costs; and</li>
<li>ensuring that resettlement activities are implemented with appropriate disclosure of information, consultation, and the informed participation of those affected. However, this standard is not applicable to the case at hand. Nor can the Wollar Three or others facing this type of invisible displacement call on international human rights law for a just outcome.</li>
</ul>
<p>Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights offered some protection for property rights:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.</li>
<li>No-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.</li>
</ul>
<p>However, property rights were not included in the binding human right treaties established on the foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In any case, the Wollar Three have not lost their right to own property under the letter of human rights law.</p>
<p>The law does not capture a sense of loss while a person remains in place. Nor does international law create a cause of action that can be called on in Australian domestic courts.</p>
<p><strong>A sense of loss and injustice</strong></p>
<p>Standing outside the Mudgee courthouse last week, Bruce explained:</p>
<p><em>My home is threatened and I’ve lived in that area for 30-odd years and I just had to stand up and say no, this should not be allowed to go ahead!</em><br><em>Bruce’s actions come as a reaction to the sense of injustice that is marking the planning system in NSW.</em></p>
<p>A sense of lost place and displacement saturates the stories of those who live in the area, who speak of themselves as “victims of a silent war” and “casualties of extraction”. They have become stranded, left with properties that no longer have any value, decreased income and increased costs.</p>
<p>In this context, they feel increasingly hopeless. It was this sense of powerlessness that led Bruce and the two other accused to take civil disobedience action in April. Feeling they no longer have any hope or future, they were willing to risk a prison sentence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Amy Maguire is a Senior Lecturer in International Law and Human Rights, University of Newcastle and author for The conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p>
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Displaced rural residents face imprisonment for protesting mine expansion: Amy Maguire

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<p>The most dramatic changes seen in real estate markets around Australia in recent years have been felt in towns and cities touched by the resources sector.</p>
<p>And the biggest source of distressed messages I receive from real estate consumers is from those who property in Gladstone, Moranbah and the Surat Basin towns in Queensland.</p>
<p>The greatest single influence has been a fundamental shift in how mining companies source their workforces, creating the modern phenomenon of fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workers.</p>
<p>The reality of the mining industry these days is that the towns near the mines or the big processing plants don’t surge as they did in the past because most of the workers are living (and spending) elsewhere, flying in and staying at workers camps. In some cases, locals living a few kilometres from the mines are unable to get jobs there.</p>
<p>In Gladstone where three massive gas plants were built, the non-resident workforce peaked at 6,655 in 2014, of which 5,475 (82%) were living in camps on Curtis Island, where the plants were built. That meant few were buying or renting local dwellings. Vacancies remain high, around 8%, according to SQM Research figures.</p>
<p>Developers who built new dwellings in Gladstone were left disappointed – and property prices fell. The median prices for Gladstone suburbs like Clinton, Glen Eden, Tannum Sands and West Gladstone have all fallen at a rate of at least 8% per year over the past three years – remarkable given that $60 billion was invested in three projects in a regional centre of less than 70,000, creating many thousands of jobs.</p>
<p>Currently BHP Billiton has 270 jobs on offer at two mines near the boom-bust town of Moranbah in Central Queensland, but only 70 workers will be locals.</p>
<p>The other 200 will be sourced from centres like Townsville, with regular flights from there to Moranbah. The reality is that Townsville, 350 kilometres from the mines, will get more benefit from these projects than will the local town.</p>
<p>Practices like these have caused Moranbah’s median house price to fall from a peak of $750,000 to around $150,000 - with price decreases averaging 27% per year over the past three years. There has been a glimmer of improvement recently, with vacancies (which peaked around 10%) now below 5%, according to SQM Research, but it’s been an ugly three to four years to this point.</p>
<p>This is possibly the most extreme example of a boom-bust market in the history of the nation. The town’s property market was a victim of its own success: with very ordinary houses costing $750,000 to buy and $1,500 per week to rent, it’s not surprising that mining companies sought alternative ways to accommodate their workforces.</p>
<p>The whole issue of FIFO workforces has become very contentious, with local residents believing they now get few benefits but lots of problems when there’s a big mine with an accommodation camp just outside their town.</p>
<p>There are also the family issues to consider, with FIFO workers spending long periods away from their families, friends and home communities.</p>
<p>So now the Queensland government is trying to force changes. And like anything that involves change for reasons that appear worthy, there are all sorts of unforeseen consequences.</p>
<p>A Queensland parliamentary committee hearing is currently considering legislation that would ban companies from having a 100% FIFO workforce if the mine is close to a town where it could source workers.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, big mining companies like BHP Billiton are unhappy. The <em>Courier-Mail</em> declared in an article this week: “Taxpayers could be forced into paying a massive compensation bill to mining giant BHP Billiton over State Government plans to restrict fly-in, fly-out workforces.”</p>
<p>In a submission to the committee, BMA (a BHP joint venture company undertaking mining in Central Queensland) said there were concepts in the government’s planned legislation which “have the potential to result in absurd outcomes”.</p>
<p>“It also claimed it had been singled out by the government and specifically targeted by the legislation because of its Daunia and Caval Ridge mines, near Moranbah, which were 100% FIFO,” the newspaper report said.</p>
<p>The government’s goalis to ensure regional communities benefit from the operation of nearby mines, but the proposed laws have a retrospective element, meaning it affects projects that are already under way, not just the new ones.</p>
<p>BMA claims to have invested $200 million in the 2,000-room Buffel Park FIFO village near Moranbah, on the basis that it would be fully utilised for the 30-year life of the mine.</p>
<p>BMA asset president Rag Uddwas quoted as saying:“A subsequent change in Queensland’s law that erodes the value of this overall investment is deeply disturbing to our business. If the government proceeds with this Bill as it is currently drafted then we reserve the right to enter into discussions to achieve fair and reasonable compensation from the state.”</p>
<p>BMA said it would be happy to work with the laws if they applied to new projects but the current Bill is retrospective to 2009.</p>
<p>“Queensland Law Society also said the legislation was flawed, but councils have broadly endorsed its objectives,” the<em> Courier-Mail</em> reported. “The state government said it would await the parliamentary committee’s report, due in March.”</p>
<p>Something has to change, but the current situation it untenable for local communities and hugely disruptive to their property markets. Here’s what an SBS report on Moranbah and FIFO said:</p>
<p><em>The boom is now over, with fewer mining workers living in the town and the resulting cash flow drying up. One resident said, “You’re walking around the streets going, ‘why am I still here? There is no benefit in staying out here anymore’.”</em></p>
<p><em>Anne Baker, the Mayor of Isaac Regional Council, of which Moranbah is a part, laments the loss of people and economic activity from her towns. “We’ve currently got 27 operating coal mines and two of them are 100% forced FIFO and surrounding mines are adopting similar practices. It’s a significant change in how mining companies employ their workforce.”</em></p>
<p><em>A 100% FIFO mine requires that all workers must fly in from areas such as Cairns and Brisbane - not come from the local towns. This system prevents Moranbah residents from working in the mines, effectively inhibiting the ability of the employees to have a work-life balance.  </em></p>
<p><em>Residents claim that some go so far as to relocate to Brisbane or Cairns to keep their jobs, staying locked up in the camps overnight rather than with their families just a few kilometres away.</em></p>
<p>Tony Windsor, a former federal independent MP, also raised concerns on the impact of FIFO work.</p>
<p>“I think that’s a shocking indictment of policy in Australia. We should be encouraging people to move to these towns and promoting a sense of the community as a benefit,” he said. “To shuffle them back into the feedlots – our major cities – and just fly people in and out. That’s mining in two respects; mining a resource, but also mining people.”</p>
<p>And the additional fall-out from these mining practices is property markets that are seriously undermined and disrupted. Locations that should be booming are doing the opposite.</p>
<p>We await the outcome of Queensland’s proposed solutions to see if significant change can be achieved. In the meantime, it remains ugly for those who own real estate in these places.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">T<em>erry Ryder is the founder of </em><a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/"><span class="s2"><em>hotspotting.com.au</em></span></a><em>. You can  </em><a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au"><span class="s2"><em>email him</em></span></a><em> or follow him on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting"><span class="s2"><em>Twitter.</em></span></a></span></p>
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