What's News? - 14 March 2012
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Construction contracts for 21st straight month
Australian construction activity has declined for the past 21 months, a report shows.
The Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association's performance
of construction index (PCI) fell 4.2 points to 35.6 in February.All
four construction industry sub-sectors experienced falls in activity,
with commercial and apartment building sectors posting the largest
decline (07 March 2012) More...
NTC - Ministers approve changes to encourage safer, more efficient heavy vehicles
Changes to the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme will
give industry greater certainty of access and operational flexibility
and result in a range of benefits to the community. The changes will
encourage industry to use safer and more efficient vehicles on
Australia’s roads, and encourage the use of more innovative and
productive heavy vehicles is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
by 3.75 million tonnes (07 March 2012) More...
Formation of COAG Business Forum announced
On 6 March 2012, the Prime Minister announced the formation of a
COAG Business Forum to improve the cooperation between the private and
public sectors on economic regulation on 06 March 2012. The COAG
business advisory forum is a great opportunity to reset the agenda, to
get the federation working better (06 March 2012) More…
Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme to finish 30th June 2012
The Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy
Efficiency, has announced that on 30 June 2012, the Renewable Energy
Bonus Scheme will close (07 March 2012) More...
Subsidies under fire as solar rebate axed
Julia Gillard faces calls for a massive overhaul of government
subsidy programs after the sudden decision to wind up a $320 million
solar hot-water program left the industry reeling and sparked warnings
that up to 7200 jobs were in jeopardy (29 February 2012) More...
Joint government investigation targets home insulation fraud
In an extensive joint-agency investigation between the Department of
Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the Australian Federal Police
(AFP), across three states, targeted alleged fraudulent activity under
the Australian Government’s now-closed Home Insulation Program (03 March
2011) More...
Regional communities urged to bid for development funds
The Federal Government says $1.4 billion for regional development will be available from July.
Minister for Regional Development says local communities can put forward
projects they would like funding for. The criteria for funding include
social and economic benefits and innovation (03 March 2011) More...
Carbon monoxide detectors to become mandatory
The new regulations will come into force when legislation in all
states and territories complies with the new laws. All residential
properties with gas appliances will have to be fitted with the
detectors, with regular inspections by qualified contractors (03 March
2011) More...
National power, gas industry opposes energy savings scheme
The Energy Supply Association of Australia and other groups
representing some of the country's largest electricity and gas companies
are lobbying the federal government not to establish a national energy
savings scheme that would introduce new obligations for the sector (01
March 2012) More...
GBCA welcomes new rating system for sustainable infrastructure
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has welcomed the
introduction of the nation’s first rating scheme for sustainable
infrastructure projects, with the launch of the Australian Green
Infrastructure Council (AGIC) Infrastructure Sustainability Rating
Scheme (29 February 2012) More...
Australian Government releases data on Australia's heaviest emitters
The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has released
the annual greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption data for 425
Australian corporations. Oil and gas majors were the largest energy
users and the top five emitters were Delta Electricity, Macquarie
Generation, the Great Energy Alliance Corporation, Rio Tinto and Alcoa
Australia (28 February 2012) More...
Cost of environmental regulations dampens activity
The growing gap between new and old is caused by the raft of
regulations imposed on new housing in recent years, including the 6-star
energy efficiency rating, compulsory water tanks and local government
infrastructure charges, all of which add substantially to the cost of
building a new home (27 February 2012) More...
Joint Study on Aviation Capacity for the Sydney Region
The Study was established to inform future infrastructure planning
and investment by government and industry, and enable the proper
integration of future airport operations with surrounding state land use
planning and surface transport networks. The governments will now
undertake detailed consideration of the analysis and recommended
strategies in the report (02 March 2012) More...
Victorian housing construction 230% more than NSW
The ABS figures for the December 2011 quarter shows that the value
of housing construction in Victoria is 230% more than that of NSW, on a
per capita basis, says the Urban Taskforce (28 February 2012)
Victorian housing construction 230% more than NSW
Long Term Transport Master Plan exercise begins
The NSW Government released the discussion paper on the Long Term
Transport Master Plan on February 24, kicking off a two month
consultation process (29 February 2012)
Long Term Transport Master Plan exercise begins
Hunter Expressway: Bridging the Sugarloaf Range
An important stage of the Hunter Expressway is now under way with
significant progress made on the cantilever bridges in the Sugarloaf
Range. The $1.7 billion Hunter Expressway project is jointly funded,
with the Federal Government providing $1.5 billion and the NSW
Government contributing up to $200 million (05 March 2012) More...
NSW signs up to coal seam gas agreement
All environmental approvals and licensing developments for coal seam
gas and large coal mining developments in New South Wales will be based
on rigorous scientific evidence. NSW will be entitled to a significant
portion of this $150 million in funding as it is expected to have a
considerable number of future coal seam gas developments (07 March 2012)More...
Gateway plan 'to protect NSW farms from mining'
The New South Wales Government has released draft guidelines which
it says protect agricultural land in the Hunter Valley and New England
regions from mining. The Draft Strategic Land Use Plan for the Hunter
Valley says horse breeding land around Scone and vineyards near Cessnock
have been mapped and protected (06 March 2012)
Protecting our farmland
NSW Finance Minister says it would cost billions of dollars to revoke CSG licences
The New South Wales Finance Minister says it would cost billions of
dollars in compensation to shut down coal seam gas operations in the
Illawarra and across the state (02 March 2012) More…
Ashton Coal appeals PAC decision on open cut mine
A mine in the New South Wales Hunter Valley is appealing the
Planning Assessment Commission's decision to reject the company's plan
for a new open cut operation (02 March 2012) More…
Claims BER builder Reed Construction owes millions
One of the biggest contractors to the federal government's Building
the Education Revolution scheme, will be investigated by the NSW
government amid claims it owes thousands of sub-contractors up to $80
million (01 March 2012) More...
Desalination water flow turned down but the costs spill on unchecked
The taps have been turned down at Sydney's desalination plant but
ratepayers will continue to pay the operators for unnecessary water
under terms of the contract signed in 2007 (01 March 2012) More...
Meeting the Future Aviation Needs of Sydney
An independent report initiated by the Federal and NSW Governments
into the future aviation needs of Sydney has been released. The Joint
Study considered the short, medium and long-term aviation infrastructure
and supporting surface transport requirements of the Sydney region, and
identifies strategies and locations to meet future needs (02 March
2012) More…
Pacific Highway upgrade approved
The NSW Government has given planning approval for a $105 million Pacific Highway upgrade
to build 6.4km of dual lane carriageway located some 70km north of
Grafton. To deal with the loss of native vegetation as a result of the
project, the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has agreed to
permanently protect some 152 hectares of compensatory vegetation (28
February 2011)
Pacific Highway upgrade approved
Contract for $85 Million Yeppen North Upgrade Awarded
The $85 million Yeppen North project will be constructed by Fulton
Hogan, Premier Anna Bligh and Federal Infrastructure and Transport
Minister Anthony Albanese announced today. Ms Bligh said the project
was scheduled to begin within months for completion in early 2014 (05
March 2012) More...
Major Projects Office
In response to requests from the Property Council and other industry
groups, the Queensland Government announced that the Major Projects
Office’s (MPO) mandate has been expanded to include major residential
projects (02 March 2012) More…
Kingston projects given contractors
The projects worth $7.1 million will be based in the suburb of
Mordialloc, including the second stage of dredging at Mordialloc Creek,
sheet pile installations at Lambert Island and Mordialloc Shopping
Centre streetscape works (06 March 2012) More...
Victoria’s first intermodal project is good to go
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese and
Victorian Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder today welcomed the
completion of the $40 million Altona Intermodal Enhancement project as
another important step towards growing freight on rail (02 March 2012)
Victoria’s first intermodal project is good to go
$2.19 million for Wangaratta wastewater project
The Victorian Coalition Government today announced support for a
substantial investment by Bruck Textiles in an innovative wastewater
management system at the company's textile plant in Wangaratta (24
February 2012)
$2.19 million for Wangaratta wastewater project
Reliable water supply from East Loddon Pipeline
Water Minister Peter Walsh today launched a pipeline providing
reliable water supply for 105 land owners and 65 rural houses covering
an area the size of 37,000 hectares (24 February 2012)
Reliable water supply from East Loddon Pipeline
Articles
Geothermal energy and water use
Source: National Water Commission
This report explores the policy implications of the large-scale
development of geothermal energy resources and their impact on water
quality and availability (01 March 2012)
Geothermal energy and water use
Practice Notes
National Contract Law Masterclass
To be held in Brisbane 4 June 2012; Sydney 6 June 2012; Melbourne 8 June 2012
The Contract Law masterclass is a must attend event for every legal
practitioner across the board at the in-house legal and commercial firms
as a means to get essential updates in a vital area.
Note: sessions on the impact of the Personal Property Securities Act on
business contracts and The contract as an instrument of risk management
and liability limitation are included More...
Green Star Restrictions on 'Design' ratings
The GBCA’s Executive Director of Green Star, announces that from 1
January 2013, a Green Star – Design rating will only be valid for 24
months after a building’s practical completion (06 March 2012) More...
Infrastructure Sustainability Rating Scheme: Australian Green Infrastructure Council
The scheme is comprised of a rating tool, assessment process,
education and training programs. AGIC’s scheme can be applied to a broad
range of infrastructure types, including roads, bridges, ports,
harbours, airports, energy infrastructure, water storage and supply,
communication transmission and distribution. The rating tool uses a 100
point scale to measure performance (05 March 2012) More...
Key Facts Sheet: Home Building and Home Contents Insurance Policies Discussion Paper
The Discussion Paper seeks public comment on the content, format,
structure and provision of the Key Facts Sheet that will become
mandatory for all home building and home contents insurance policies
(combined and individual). The deadline for submissions is 23 March 2012
(29 February 2012) More...
QLD: Major Projects Office
Under the new criteria, proposed residential developments will have a
minimum value of $50 million in South East Queensland and $10 million
value for projects in regional centres) To find out more about the MPO
and endorsed projects, click here. (March 2012)
Legislation
Commonwealth
Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2011 [2012]
The Bill would create a strong but fair set of compliance
arrangements for the building and construction industry. The Bill does
not affect the provisions that establish the Office of the Federal
Safety Commissioner and its related OHS Accreditation Scheme.
28/02/2012 Intro Senate and Second Reading Speech
Cases
Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union [2012] FCA 189
INDUSTRIAL LAW – penalty hearing – admitted contraventions of s 38
of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (Cth) –
agreed penalty – relevant considerations in assessing appropriateness of
agreed penalty
Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (Cth) ss 38, 69 More...
McCoy v Sloss and Anor [2012] QCAT 060
Building – where contractor unlicensed –Prohibition on unlicensed More...
Papallo v Queensland Building Services Authority [2012] QCAT 059
Applicant to be categorised as a permitted individual – refusal – review More...
Smith v Queensland Building Services Authority [2012] QCAT 058
Permitted individual
Application to review a decision of the Queensland Building Services
Authority to refuse to categorise the applicant as a permitted
individual pursuant to section 56AD of the Queensland Building Services
Authority Act 1991 More…
Delonga v Queensland Building Services Authority [2012] QCAT 057
Permitted individual – duties of a sole director – prudent management of a company – onus of proof – nature of the hearing
Younan and Queensland Building Services Authority [2010] QDC 158 More…
Comiskey Group (a firm) v Moreton Bay Regional Council & Ors (No 2) [2012] QPEC 010
To permit the traffic engineers to reconvene, whether Mr an
experienced traffic engineer well-known to this Court, should be allowed
to participate in the joint experts' reports by way of, providing some
sort of peer review of the input of the other traffic engineers. More...
Christie v Seventh Day Adventist Schools (South Queensland) Ltd [2012] QDC 032
BUILDING AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTS – Recovery of monies – statutory
entitlement to payment – unlicensed contractor – progress claim valid
only so far as it did not involve building work More...
Contact details
Melbourne
Chris Edquist, Partner
T: +61 (0)3 9321 9919
E:
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Sydney
Amanda Davidson, Partner
T: +61 (0)2 8083 0333
E:
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Brisbane
Stephen Pyman, Partner
T: +61 (0)7 3135 0625
E:
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Scott Lambert, Partner
T: +61 (0)7 3135 0681
E:
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Troy Lewis, Partner
T: +61 (0)7 3135 0614
E:
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Janelle Kerrisk, Partner
T: +61 (0)7 3135 0608
E:
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The material contained in this publication is no more than general comment. Readers should not act on the basis of the material without taking professional advice relating to their particular circumstances
