Podcasts about victorian state government

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for Burwood from 1976 to 1999. He is currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, from 2005 to 2011 and again from 2017 to 2022. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national mental health advocacy organisation. Early life The son of Kenneth Munro Gibb Kennett (1921–2007), and Wendy Anne Kennett (1925–2006; née Fanning), he was born in Melbourne on 2 March 1948. He attended Scotch College; and, although an unexceptional student academically, he did well in the school's Cadet Corps Unit. He also played football (on the wing) for the school.  His failure to rise above the middle band academically almost led him to quit school in Fourth Form (Year 10 – 1963), but he was persuaded to stay on. His Fifth and Sixth Forms were an improvement, but he was still described in school reports as "[a] confident and at times helpful boy. Sometimes irritates. Sometimes works hard" (1964), and "[a] keen, pleasant, though sometimes erratic boy" (1965). After leaving school, Kennett was persuaded by his father Ken to attend the Australian National University in Canberra, but lost interest and left after one year of an economics degree. He returned to Melbourne and found work in the advertising department of the retail giant Myer – kindling an interest for advertising that would one day earn him his living. Kennett's life in the regular workforce was cut short when, in 1968, he was conscripted into the Australian Army.[9] Kennett was selected for officer training and graduated third in his class from the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU), near Windsor, New South Wales, outside Sydney. He was posted to Malaysia and Singapore as Second Lieutenant, commander of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). This military career (and his earlier experience in the Scotch College Cadet Corps) has been noted by many biographers as an essential formative influence on the adult Kennett's character. His sense and regard for hierarchical loyalty, punctuality, and general intolerance of dissent or disobedience may be traced to this period. Kennett returned to civilian life in 1970, reentering a divided Australian society, split by the Vietnam War, of which Kennett was a firm supporter. Having returned to Myer, Kennett became impatient with his work, and so with Ian Fegan and Eran Nicols, he formed his own advertising company (KNF) in June 1971. Thereafter, in December 1972, Kennett married Felicity Kellar, an old friend whom he had first met on a Number 69 tram on the long trips to school. Their first son was born in 1974, followed by a daughter and two more sons. Political career Kennett was elected as a Liberal Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Burwood in 1976, having had an interest in local politics since the early 1970s.[14] His preselection for the seat reportedly irritated then Premier Dick Hamer, who disliked Kennett's campaigning style, and had endorsed the sitting member, Haddon Storey. However, by 1981, Kennett was promoted to Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Minister of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. He was one of several younger MPs whom Hamer promoted to Cabinet in a bid to renew his government. Kennett retained his post when Hamer was replaced as Liberal leader and Premier by Lindsay Thompson in June of that year. Following the defeat of the longstanding Liberal government in 1982, Kennett was the leading candidate to replace Thompson despite being the youngest member of the outgoing government. On 26 October, he was elected leader of the Liberal Party and hence Leader of the Opposition. He took an aggressive posture against the Cain government, and was often criticised for his "bull-in-a-china-shop" style and his anti-government rhetoric. Under his leadership, the Liberals were heavily defeated by Labor in 1985. Afterwards he faced a challenge to his leadership of the party from Ian Smith. Kennett survived easily, but increasingly, he was seen as an erratic and unapproachable leader. He faced two more challenges to his leadership in 1986 and 1987. In 1987, in one notable incident Kennett referred to the Federal Liberal leader John Howard as a 'cunt' in a mobile telephone conversation with Howard rival Andrew Peacock. The car-phone conversation damaged both Howard and Kennett politically, but aided Peacock in his push to return as Federal Liberal leader (1989). Toward the end of its second term the Cain government had lost support and the Liberals were expected to win the 1988 election. The Liberal vote indeed rebounded strongly – they won a majority of the two-party vote – however much of this margin was wasted on landslide majorities in their heartland. As a result, the Liberals took only one seat from Labor in the capital, and were left four seats short of a majority. Failing to become premier, Kennett was again criticised within his own party, and in 1989 he was deposed in favour of a little-known rural MLA, Alan Brown. Kennett's performance during his first stint as Liberal leader is a matter of debate. Economou sees his 1985 and 1988 election campaigns as weak, while Parkinson believes he was a significant asset in pushing the Labor government of John Cain in several key seats. First term as premier Kennett publicly pledged never to attempt a return to the Liberal leadership. However, when Brown proved unable to challenge the government effectively, he allowed his supporters to call a spill in 1991. Brown realised he didn't have enough support to keep his post and resigned, allowing Kennett to retake the leadership unopposed. With Victoria facing billions of dollars of debt, Kennett was seen as "Premier-in-waiting" from the moment he retook the leadership. Cain had resigned a year earlier in favour of Deputy Premier Joan Kirner, who was unable to regain the upper hand despite being personally more popular than Kennett. The Liberals' advantage was strengthened by an important decision taken during Brown's brief tenure as leader—negotiating a Coalition agreement with the National Party. The Liberals and Nationals have historically had a strained relationship in Victoria; they had sat separately for most of the second half of the 20th century. It had been believed that Kennett had been denied victory in 1988 due to a large number of three-cornered contests in rural seats. The Coalition went into the October 1992 state election as unbackable favourites, having been ahead in opinion polling by large margins for almost two years. They stoked the voters' anger with a series of "Guilty Party" ads, targeting many Labor ministers and highlighting concerns in their portfolios. In the second-largest defeat that a sitting government has ever suffered in Victoria, the Coalition scored a 19-seat swing, attaining a 16-seat majority in the Legislative Assembly. The Liberals won 52 seats, enough for a majority in their own right. Nevertheless, Kennett supported his coalition partner, retaining the Nationals in his cabinet. State school closures In the first three years of office, funding for public schools and the Department of Education was substantially reduced. 350 government schools were closed, including every Technical High School ("Tech") in Victoria, and 7,000 teaching jobs eliminated. The Tech School closures had a widespread, delayed effect two decades later when a skilled labour shortage in the state was declared by the government, attributable largely to the generation of children who were denied a trade-focused high school education, significantly reducing the number of school leavers commencing trade apprenticeships. The few who did so were insufficient to counterbalance the number of retiring tradespeople in the coming years. This directly resulted in the number of Skilled Migrant (subclass 190) visas being made available each year increasing to 190,000 from 2012 and an active campaign to entice migrants with trade qualifications to Victoria. Public transport Other controversial moves included the sacking of 16,000 public transport workers in a major technological upgrade of the system, and the initiation of a major scheme for privatisation of state-owned services, including the electricity (SECV) and gas (Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria) utilities, the ambulance service, as well as several prisons and other minor services. The sale of the Totalisator Agency Board raised $609 million. Between 1995 and 1998, $29 billion of state assets in gas and electricity alone were sold to private enterprise (for statistics, see Parkinson, Jeff, 1999) In the wake of these changes, investment and population growth slowly resumed, though unemployment was to remain above the national average for the duration of Kennett's premiership. While the benefits to the State budget figures were indisputable in the short term, the social and longer-term economic cost of the Kennett reforms have been questioned by many commentators, academics and those who suffered economically through the period of reform. This campaign of privatisations and cutbacks led to governmental acts of privatisation by splitting up Melbourne's rail (Hillside, Bayside, V/Line and West Coast Rail) and tramways (Yarra and Swanston) or budget-cutting becoming popularly known as being "Jeffed". He also cut back many regional rail services including The Vinelander (ran to Mildura, services later restored to Maryborough as a regular V/Line service in 2011) and services to Leongatha, Bairnsdale (returned in 2003), Dimboola (services later returned to Ararat in 2004). The largest public protest in Melbourne since the Vietnam War Moratorium occurred on 10 November 1992, with an estimated 100,000 people marching in opposition to the retrenchment of many workers and the large State budget cutbacks. Kennett was undeterred by this protest, and famously commented that though there were 100,000 outside his office at Parliament that day, there were 4.5 million who stayed at home or at work. High-profile capital works projects This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Kennett government also embarked on a series of high-profile capital works projects, such as the restoration of Parliament House, construction of a new $250 million Melbourne Museum and IMAX theatre, and a new $130 million Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Other projects included a $160 million expansion of the National Gallery of Victoria; $100 million for refurbishment of the State Library of Victoria; $65 million for a new Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC); and $130 million for the construction of a new civic square on the site of the old Gas and Fuel Buildings, to be known as Federation Square. The relocation of the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Adelaide in 1993 was a particular coup for Kennett, who had worked hard with his friend Ron Walker, the Chairman of the Melbourne Major Events Company, helped deliver Melbourne the hosting rights for the event from Adelaide in 1993. The most controversial project of the Kennett era was the $1.85 billion Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, a gambling and entertainment centre on Melbourne's Southbank. Initial plans for a casino had been made under the Labor government, however the tendering process and construction occurred under Kennett. A$2 billion project to redevelop Melbourne's derelict Docklands area to include a new football stadium was also undertaken, in addition to the large CityLink project, a project resurrected from the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan, aimed at linking Melbourne's freeways, easing traffic problems in the inner city, and reducing commuting times from the outer suburbs to the CBD. Macedonian name dispute Kennett speaking at a event In the mid-1990s, Premier Kennett backed the Greek position over the Macedonian question in his attempts to shore up local electoral support. Kennett's stance gained him supporters from the Melburnian Greek community, whereas he was referred to as "Kennettopoulos" by the Macedonian community. At Kennett's insistence, his state government in 1994 issued its own directive that all its departments refer to the language as "Macedonian (Slavonic)" and to Macedonians as "Slav Macedonians". Reasons given for the decision were "to avoid confusion", be consistent with federal naming protocols toward Macedonians and repair relations between Macedonian and Greek communities. It was accepted that it would not impact the way Macedonians self identified themselves. The decision upset Macedonians, as they had to use the terms in deliberations with the government or its institutions related to education and public broadcasting. The Macedonian Community challenged the decision on the basis of the Race Discrimination Act. After years of litigation at the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), the Federal Court and High Court, previous judicial rulings were upheld that found Kennett's directive unlawful as it caused discrimination based on ethnic background and was struck down from usage in 2000. Second term as premier Kennett's personal popularity was mostly average to high through his first term, though that of the government as a whole went through peaks and troughs. Without a by-election in the previous four years, the 1996 state election shaped up as the first test of the 'Kennett Revolution' with the electorate. The Coalition was expected to win a second term at the 30 March election, albeit with a somewhat reduced majority. At the federal election held four weeks earlier, while Labor was heavily defeated, it actually picked up a swing in Victoria. However, to the surprise of most commentators, the Coalition only suffered a two-seat swing, allowing it to retain a comfortable 14-seat majority. The Coalition actually picked up modest swings in Melbourne's outer suburbs, which have traditionally decided most state elections. Several negative trends (for the Liberals) were obscured somewhat by the euphoria of victory. The government's sharp cuts to government services were particularly resented in country Victoria, where the Liberals and Nationals held almost all the seats. The loss of the Mildura seat to independent Russell Savage was an indication of this disaffection, and when in February 1997 independent Susan Davies was elected to the seat of Gippsland West, this trend seemed set to continue. However, the verdict of many was that the 'Kennett Revolution' was far from over – indeed it was seemingly set in stone with the opening of the Crown Casino in May 1997. Kennett's profile continued to grow as he became a major commentator on national issues, including urging the new government of John Howard to introduce tax reform, and actively opposing the rise of the One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson. In this last case, Kennett did not shy away from criticising the media, but also the decision of the Howard government to not actively oppose Hanson's agenda. Kennett was influential in Melbourne bidding for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Three cities initially expressed interest in hosting the event; Melbourne, Wellington and Singapore. Singapore dropped out before its bid was officially selected by the Commonwealth Games Federation, leaving only two candidate cities. In the weeks prior to the announcement of the 2006 host, Wellington withdrew its bid, citing the costs involved with matching the bid plan presented by Melbourne, which became the default host without members of the Federation going to vote. The government lost ground over the next few years, with high-profile disagreements with the Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Bongiorno, and Auditor-General Ches Baragwanath fuelling criticism of Kennett's governmental style. Kennett's perceived antipathy to Baragwanath led to 1997 legislation to restructure the office of the Auditor-General and set up Audit Victoria. While Kennett promised the independence of the office would be maintained, many saw his government's actions as an attempt to curb the Auditor-General's power to criticise government policy. Widespread community debate and substantial public dissent from Liberal MPs and Party members ensued, with MLA Roger Pescott resigning from Parliament at the height of the debate; citing his disagreement with this Bill and Kennett's style in general. The Liberal Party lost the by-election in Mitcham. Further scandals involving the handling of contracts for the state emergency services response system damaged the credibility of Kennett in 1997–1998, while rural dissent continued to grow. Personal difficulties also began to affect Kennett and his family. The strains of public life led to a trial separation between Felicity and Jeff in early 1998 (patched up by the end of the year), while earlier in Kennett's first term, public scrutiny had led to the forced sale of the KNF Advertising Company, despite all Kennett's involvement having been transferred to his wife's name. There were rumours in 1998 that Kennett might retire from politics; these were mostly centred around Phil Gude, his party deputy. These eventually came to nothing. In July 1998, Liberal MP Peter McLellan, Member for Frankston East, resigned from the party in protest over alleged corrupt Liberal Party Senate preselection, changes to WorkCover and the auditor-general's office. Again, Kennett failed to pick up the warning signs of declining support for his style of leadership. Labor leader John Brumby took care to capitalise on each of Kennett's mistakes over this period, though his absences in rural electorates were misunderstood by many Labor MPs, and led to his replacement by Steve Bracks in early 1999. Bracks, who came from Ballarat, was popular in rural areas and was seen as a fresh alternative to Brumby, who nevertheless remained a key figure in the shadow Cabinet. 1999 election loss Despite Bracks' appeal, Kennett entered the 1999 election campaign with a seemingly unassailable lead, and most commentators and opinion polls agreed that the Coalition would win a third term. However, in a shock result, the Coalition suffered a 13-seat swing to Labor. While there was only a modest swing in eastern Melbourne, which has historically decided elections in Victoria, the Coalition suffered significant losses in regional centres such as Ballarat and Bendigo. ABC elections analyst Antony Green later said that when he first saw the results coming in, it looked so unusual that he thought "something was wrong with the computer." Initial counting showed Labor on 41 seats and the Coalition on 43; a supplementary election had to be held in Frankston East following the death of sitting independent Peter McLellan. The balance of power rested with three independents-Russell Savage, Susan Davies and newly elected Craig Ingram. Negotiations began between the Coalition and the three independents. While Kennett acceded to all but two of their demands, his perceived poor treatment of Savage and Davies in the previous parliament meant that they would not even consider supporting a Coalition minority government headed by Kennett. On 18 October, two days after Labor won the supplementary election in Frankston East, the independents announced they would support a Labor minority government. The agreement entailed Labor signing a Charter of Good Government, pledging to restore services to rural areas, and promising parliamentary reforms. Kennett's supporters urged the Coalition to force a vote of 'no confidence' on the floor of the parliament in a last-ditch effort to force Savage, Davies and Ingram to support Kennett. However, with the Liberals divided on Kennett's future role, Kennett retired from all of his offices, saying he wished to have no further involvement in politics. Labor won the ensuing by-election in Burwood. Rumoured returns to politics Following the Liberals' second successive defeat in the 2002 election, rumours began that Kennett was planning a comeback to politics. The issue came to a head in May 2006 after the sudden resignation of Kennett's successor, Robert Doyle, when Kennett announced he would contemplate standing in a by-election for Doyle's old seat of Malvern and offering himself as party leader. His stance was supported by Prime Minister John Howard, who rated him as the party's best hope to win the November 2006 state election. But within 24 hours Kennett announced he would not return to Parliament rather than running against Ted Baillieu, whom Kennett had been grooming for the top post since 1999. John Howard was reported to have been "embarrassed" by having publicly supported Kennett before his decision not to re-enter politics. In 2008, it was rumoured that Kennett was planning to stand for Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Despite endorsing future Lord Mayor John So in the 2001 mayoral elections, Kennett was quoted as saying "I think the city is ready for a change". Kennett claimed he had been approached by "a range of interests" to run for the position, but in the end did not do so. Former Liberal leader Robert Doyle ultimately won the election. 2020: Indigenous voice to government On 15 January 2020, it was announced that Kennett would be one of the members of the National Co-design Group of the Indigenous voice to government. Life after politics Kennett at the 2018 VFL Grand Final In 2000, Kennett became the inaugural chairman of beyondblue (the National Depression Initiative), a body that was largely formed by the efforts of the Victorian State Government. On 24 June 2008, he announced that he would be stepping down from his role at beyondblue at the end of 2010. This did not happen. After 17 years as the chair of beyondblue, he stood down in 2017, handing the reins to former PM Julia Gillard. He stated "beyondblue is part of my DNA, outside my family, it has been my most important role. Kennett has previously served on the boards of Australian Seniors Finance, a reverse mortgage company, and SelecTV, which was a satellite television group. Kennett has said in an interview that he rarely thinks about the media or "bloody history", though he regrets the "disastrous" introduction of the Metcard ticketing system for trains and trams. Kennett angered gay rights groups in July 2008 when he supported the Bonnie Doon Football Club in their sacking of trainer Ken Campagnolo for being bisexual; and compared homosexuality to pedophilia. Anti-discrimination campaigner Gary Burns pursued an action in the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal against Kennett for making the following statement: "The club felt that once this had been pointed out and you had this gentleman there who was obviously close to young men – massaging young men – it ran an unnecessary risk, and that's why it decided it was best that he not perform those duties again. So the club was trying to do the right thing," The case was dropped due to Gary Burns' lack of funds to pursue the case. Hawthorn FC presidency On 14 December 2005, Kennett was made president of Hawthorn Football Club, taking over from Ian Dicker. Following the exit of the St Kilda Football Club from the Tasmanian AFL market in 2006, Kennett was president when the Hawthorn Football Club negotiated a five-year sponsorship deal with the Tasmanian state government. The sponsorship deal was worth an estimated $12 million for which the Tasmanian government bought naming rights to the club's guernsey, and the HFC committed to playing an agreed number of pre-season and four regular season "home games" at York Park.[56] Kennett was instrumental in Hawthorn's 2007 5-year business plan titled "five2fifty", the core idea being that in the next five years the club will target to win 2 premierships and have fifty thousand members. As part of the plan, the football club wants to be seen as the most professional club in the AFL, and places great emphasis on the welfare of the people associated with the club. Following Hawthorn's 2008 AFL Grand Final victory over Geelong, Kennett claimed that the Cats "lacked the mentality to defeat Hawthorn", this being in reference to the Cats' inability to counter-attack the running game of the Hawks in the aforementioned Grand Final. Kennett's comments led to the subsequent eleven-match losing streak for Hawthorn against Geelong becoming known as the "Kennett curse". He stepped down at the end of his second three-year term in 2011, he also changed the club's constitution so that presidents could only serve two 3-year terms. Second stint Kennett at an AFL Women's match in 2023 In what Fox Footy described as a "stunning return",[59] Kennett was announced as the president of the Hawthorn Football Club on 4 October 2017 following the sudden resignation of the incumbent president Richard Garvey. Garvey had taken criticism on the hiring and later sacking of club CEO Tracey Gaudry. Kennett subsequently appointed Justin Reeves as the club's new CEO. On 4 October 2017 he announced that he would serve the position for a full 3-year term. Soon after his re-appointment, Kennett and the club released a vision statement outlining the future of the club up to 2050. The first five-year strategic plan titled 'Dare to be Different' will drive the club's priorities from 2018 to 2022. Kennett said: "Hawthorn we aren't ones to sit back and wait, we work hard to achieve and deliver exciting results, on and off the field. Our vision for our strategic plan, "Dare to be Different", encapsulates this as we continue to strive for excellence. "We have set ourselves some ambitious targets but all are within our grasp if we continue to innovate, grow and forge new frontiers within the AFL industry." On 6 July 2021, Kennett and the Hawthorn board announced that they would not be renewing head coach Alastair Clarkson's contract following its expiry at the conclusion of the 2022 AFL Premiership season. It was announced that Box Hill Hawks and Hawthorn development coach, former player Sam Mitchell had been chosen by Kennett and the board to become the Hawthorn coach at the end of Clarkson's reign. Chairman of The Original Juice Company On 12 December 2022, The Original Juice Company announced that it would appoint Kennett as Chairman and Non-Executive Director. Honours In the Australia Day Honours of 2005, Kennett received Australia's then highest civilian honour, when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). The honour was for "service to the Victorian Parliament and the introduction of initiatives for economic and social benefit, to business and commerce, and to the community in the development of the arts, sport and mental health awareness strategies." In May 2000, he was also awarded an honorary doctorate – DBus (Honoris Causa) – by the University of Ballarat. Media work For a brief period during 2002, Kennett was a radio presenter for Melbourne station 3AK, continuing an interest in mass communication which was also a feature of his premiership. Since 2010, Kennett has been a regular contributor to Neil Mitchell's 3AW radio program every Thursday, as a social commentator. On 28 March 2013 it was announced that Kennett had joined the Seven television network as national political commentator which will involve him appearing on breakfast show Sunrise every Tuesday and on Seven news as required. On 12 February 2017 Jeff Kennett engaged ex-Seven West Media employee on Twitter over leaked documents potentially breaching the company's own gag order on Amber Harrison.  

The trend we have dubbed the Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle is one the key reasons we expect Regional NSW to deliver strong residential property markets in 2025.   The trend, of course, is not new – with big cities like Sydney losing population to internal migration for the past 10 years.   But the trend remains strong and has not slowed down or reversed, despite forecasts by some economists that there would be a movement of people back to the cities - with big businesses demanding that workers return to the office rather than work remotely.   The latest vacancy rate data for office space around Australia shows that the “return to the office” movement is not happening in a major way.   The Property Council of Australia, which represents the big end of town including major developers and owners of office buildings, is trying to put a positive spin on it, but the reality is that office vacancies overall are not improving in Australia as the work remotely trend continues to impact the top end office market.   The new Property Council report show than more offices were empty across the country in January than six months ago as the work from home trend continues to create headaches for Australia's big-city landlords.   Australia's office vacancy rate nudged up from 14.6% to 14.7% over the six months to January, the latest figures from the Property Council show. That's a very small rise – but the expectation was that vacancies would be falling significantly by now, as people move back to the cities and return to the CBD office buildings.   In Sydney, home to many finance, insurance and tech workers, the vacancy rate jumped from 11.6% to 12.8%, while the number of empty floors in Melbourne remained unchanged, at a historic high of 18%.   Indeed, office vacancy rates are between 9% and 18% in seven of the eight state and territory capital cities. The highest at 18% is Melbourne which is the basket case among the nation's economies and property markets of all kinds.   The Property Council called for “Active leadership” from the Victorian State Government to turn around the fortunes for Melbourne, which has Australia's second largest CBD, the Property Council says.   The AFR reported that major companies last year issued mandates for their staff to return to the office, but these figures show it's not happening in any major way – and both Melbourne and Sydney continue to have huge vacancies.   The movement of people from the biggest cities to regional areas is all about affordability and lifestyle, but enabled by technology which allows more people to work remotely – which is why office vacancies are so high.   Sydney, with a median house price around $1.2 million, has been steadily losing population and a proportion of that has been relocating to regional NSW, where the median house price is about $750,000 and plenty of regional cities and towns have houses on offer for less than $500,000.   This is a key reason why Regional NSW outperformed Sydney on price growth recently. In the past 12 months Sydney's median prices have risen 1.9% for houses and 1.1% for units, while Regional NSW has managed 3% for both houses and units – with a number of individual regional markets doing considerably better than those averages.   Many suburbs of Wollongong have increased 7-9%, and a number of Newcastle suburbs have recorded double-digit growth in their median house prices, as have some of the Albury locations and several of the suburbs of Tamworth.   A recent analysis conducted by Hotspotting ranked the eight capital cities and six state regional markets – a total of 14 major jurisdictions – from 1 to 14 based on a series of different metrics and Regional NSW ranked 6th out of 14 for price growth prospects in 2025.   At Hotspotting, we expect 2025 to be a solid year overall in Regional NSW markets – but you need to see our Top 5 Regional NSW Hotspots report to find out which locations will perform the best and out-perform market norms – this year and beyond.  

The Victorian State Government has announced a surprise change in their Stamp Duty rules. And it even allows investors to buy certain properties without paying Stamp Duty. On the surface this can sound exciting. Nobody wants to pay Stamp Duty but... What the Victorian Government is planning, will trap many property investors for years to come. I don't want you to fall victim. That's why you need to check out my latest episode Here's a snapshot of what you'll discover... *** Many property spruikers will tell you that you should buy one of these investments for the tax savings. Beware! These so called investments can put you on the fast track to the poor house. *** Why you should never buy one of these properties if you want to maximise your capital growth *** The big challenge with finding tenants for these properties (It will keep you up at night!)If the Victorian State Government had removed Stamp Duty for all properties, then my take would be different. But they didn't. Instead, they got back into bed with the Building IndustryAnd that's going to cause all sorts of problems. Get the facts and stay informed. Check out my latest episode. --- Looking for a blueprint on how to build passive income through property? Then get a copy of my book free (both the digital and audio versions)

Shepparton's Ray Russell (pictured) and his Mooroopna business partner, Marty Rogers, built their first electric bike, "The Phantom" in 1987. Building the bike was, in a sense, the easy part, bringing changes to Victorian State Government road rules was truly the hard part - it took months and months of dedicated lobbying by many people, including a former CEO of Victoria's Bicycle Network, Harry Barber. Ray and Marty produced 80 Phantoms and one is presently on show in Shepparton's "Museum of Vehicle Evolution (MOVE)". Ray, who is still enthusiastic about electric bikes, and recently graduated to a carbon fibre mountain bike, believes it is such things as mountain bikes with their go-anywhere capacity that can reshape human movement in Shepparton.

Good morning and happy Monday! This week we are joined by Lisa, an Economist from the Department of Treasury and Finance in the Victorian State Government.  Join us in this episode as we dive into the world of Government, graduate programs and economics with Lisa. We will explore pivotal moments that shaped her career including her days in University and her experience as a Graduate! This episode will also share Lisa's tips and tricks to the application process and insights of how she found her passion in public policy.  Show your support for BoWTalks by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or following on Spotify. Alternatively, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  Looking to join Banking on Women? Connect with us on Instagram, LinkedIn or visit our website.⁠https://linktr.ee/bankingonwomen⁠  Looking to collaborate on BoW Talks episode? Say hi at ⁠podcast.director@bankingonwomen.org.au

Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Djaran Murray-Jackson, lead engagement officer for First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, for the final installment of Socially Democratic's LCN series.A proud Dja Dja Wurrung Man, representing the clan's Aboriginal Corporation on the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, Djaran shares his organising journey as part of the movement to negotiate an historic Treaty with the Victorian State Government. The LCN Series is a special collaboration between the Socially Democratic podcast and Leading Change Network. Leading Change Network is a global community of organizing practice and learning, working to build people power for a more just, sustainable and democratic world. If you are interested in learning more about the organizing practices, please be sure to check out Leading Change Network website at leadingchangenetwork.orgJoin the Socially Democratic Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/45bc4wubThe presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au Support the Show.

Victoria has become the state that property investors don't want to know about, because its politicians at both state and local level appear to have declared open season on investors. The State Government in Victoria has a budget deficit problem and has made the decision that many politicians in Australia make, which is to resort to the housing market as their favourite cash cow. They can't slug home-owners or first-home buyers with new or higher taxes because that's politically unpalatable – but investor owners are relatively few in number so they can attack them with less damage politically. It will result in fewer investors, therefore fewer rental properties, and therefore higher rents for tenants, but hopefully (in the minds of the state politicians) tenants will blame their landlords rather than the government. So the State Government in Victoria has smashed owners of investment properties in the state with big increases in existing taxes – notably land tax – and with the introduction of new taxes. It's almost as if they see investors as a criminal class and they all need to be punished. If that isn't enough, now the State Government has announced it will mandate the upgrade of a range of components inside rental homes  This would force landlords to install insulation, draught-proofing, cooling and heating systems and new shower heads – and the estimates for the cost impact of that range from $5,000 to $10,000. Consumers Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams, displaying the out-of-touch divorced-from-reality quality so common among politicians, says this is a relatively small cost for property owners to wear and won't be a problem for anyone. But for typical owners, an additional cost of $5,000 or $10,000 on top of huge increases in interest rates, insurance, maintenance costs and government taxes including land tax and council rates, this is a killer blow. There is already an exodus of investors from Victoria because of the recent tax increases and this new imposition of enforced upgrades will compel many more to sell up and leave the state. Veteran property commentator Jonathan Chancellor has described the Victorian State Government measures as “a lesson in what not to do” in the face of a rental shortage crisis. He said that the state bureaucracy had admitted that Melbourne's rental supply may contract as a result – keeping in mind that it's already alarmingly low. But it doesn't end with this appalling state government. Local councils have already joined the increasingly popular political sport of demonising and punishing investors. The Merri-bek Council, or elements of it, want to take the assault on property investors to a new level. The plan is to double council rates on investment properties and reduce rates for everyone else. They say that, if it forces investors to sell and their properties are bought by owner-occupiers, that's a great thing. In fact, according to the policy stated by the proponent, Cr James Conlan, that's the main objective. The logic, if you can call it that, is that it will make homes available for purchase by first-home buyers. But most suburbs in this LGA have median house prices well above $1 million. The three Brunswick suburbs are all around $1.3 million.  How many first-home buyers in Melbourne can pay over $1 million as their first foray into the property market. It's simply not going to happen. But, beyond that, where will the tenants of these properties go? Who will provide the rental properties if the local council forces all investor owners to sell, which appears to be the ultimate objective of this appalling proposal. Vacancy rates in the postcodes of Merri-bek LGA are well below the already-low Melbourne average – many of them have vacancy rates around 0.5%, which is at crisis levels. Looking more broadly across the state, the number of homes occupied by renters in Victoria has fallen by 10,400 in just three months and 15,600 in a year. Government agency Homes Victoria's most recent rental report, from the March quarter, reveals that the number of new lettings has dropped 12% in a year. The rental supply fall has coincided with a shortage of new homes being built, because of labour and supply constraints. It also coincides with an increase in land taxes paid by landlords and follows 13 interest rate rises since 2022. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released earlier this month revealed that housing loans taken out by investors in Victoria were well below the national average amid an exodus of investors from the property market. Ultimately, in the end, who are the biggest losers? Well, it's the people who rent their homes. There is going to be considerably fewer of them in Melbourne and other parts of Victoria and there will continue to be upward pressure on rents. Unless, of course, someone is silly enough to implement a rental cap, which will cause even more investors to sell and create an even bigger rental shortage.   A rental cap is no use to you if you can't find a place to rent at any price, because nothing is available.  

 Acknowledgement of Country //Grace caught up with Serwa Naghshbandi to discuss her studies in the history music resistance and the role coded singing plays in activism and resistance against oppression and as an act of survival. Serwa is a Kurdish-Iranian independent scholar and educator, and she has recently been exploring women's singing as a practice of care. Their conversation includes selected songs that Serwa uses to explore coded singing and its impact. Tuesday Breakfast interviewed Professor Heidi Norman is a leading Australian researcher in the field of Aboriginal political history previously. Her research sits in the field of history and draws on the cognate disciplines anthropology, political-economy, cultural studies and political theory. Heidi joined the Tuesday Breakfast show to tell them about new research undertaken by UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture researchers on behalf of Reconciliation Australia, exploring attitudes towards, barriers to, and enablers of truth-telling in Australia. One of the ways we combat imperialism, colonialism and capitalism at large is through intersectional solidarity between movements. Throughout history we have seen time and time again that unity works to fight for a better world. To speak more about this, Rob interviewed Basem, who is the founder of Queer Arabs Australia, an organisation dedicated to bringing LGBTQIA+ Arab/MENA communities together.  Zyara is a social support group for Queer Arabs run by Queer Arabs in Arabic.Warburton Environment President Nic Fox, who, supported by the groups Wildlife for the Central Highlands and Victorian Forest Alliance, is taking the Victorian State Government to court for violating its own environmental protection laws. Rob spoke with Nic about the extent of the violation, the damage to vital habitats, and what's next for the court case. To help support the case, please email your local MP as well as both the State and Federal Environment Ministers to demand stronger environmental laws to protect forests as well as their inhabitants across the continent. Songs//Leve Palestina by Kofia BandWin Almalayeen Where Are the Millions  by Julia Boutros - Win Almalayeen  

On today's show, Vincent Melling discusses his journey into soul intuition, health freedom and health truth. GUEST OVERVIEW: Vincent Melling is an intuitive business coach. He's been teaching classes and coaching clients in intuition since early 2020. Vincent was previously an IT project manager working with the Victorian State Government, ANZ Bank, IBM, and Exxon Mobil in Australia, the US and Europe. He holds an MBA from Deakin University, and is certified by the International Coaching Federation. https://vincentmelling.com/  

Have you ever had an idea, or heard an idea, thinking it was brilliant, only to realise that the idea is not that new, and didn't come from where you thought it did? Welcome to the discipline of organisational psychology.    Hey, it's Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap.    Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.   Industrial and organisational psychology, or IO psych as it is often called, is well over 100 years old.  It was labelled as the exploration of 'real life' psychology. It's official birth is suggested to be 1913, with the publication of the first text on the subject called Psychology and Industrial Efficiency, by Hugo Munsterberg.   How is it that such a field, with 100 years of history and research and development, is not that familiar to most of us working in health and safety?   Well today I hope that will change just a little, as I dialogue with Diya Dey, an organisational psychologist based in Melbourne Australia. Diya has experience in both consulting and working in-house, and is currently in a organisational psychology role focussed on organisational wellbeing in the Victorian State Government.   When I first met Diya, I found her curious, and generous. A great combination in my book, so it was only natural that I would invite her into a conversation with the Safety on Tap community about how industrial and organisation psychology relates to, and can enhance, work health and safety.   Here's my conversation with Diya Dey:

This week on the program we speak with Danielle from Save Public Housing Collective about the Victorian State Government plan to 'retire and transform' 44 public housing towers in narrm Melbourne.While the state government is selling the scheme as an opportunity for improvement and renewal, those against the plan describe a poorly thought through strategy with zero consultation of residents, few answers on where displaced tenants will go and underlying questions around the privatisation of public housing and the motivations of accessing high value inner city real estate.Danielle speaks with us about community resistance to the plan, and the push to create viable public housing.You can find Save Public Housing Collective on twitter, Instagram, facebook or their website, and donate to their campaign fundraiser here.The song which closes this episode is "Inside My Kitchen" by Tiddas.

The chronic housing shortage that we've been hearing so much about lately is getting worse – and will continue to get more and more serious. Three major measures of the supply of homes, both for purchase and for rent, are heading in the wrong direction for a nation that needs solutions from our politicians. Building approvals continue to fall when the nation needs them to be rising, loans for the purchase of new dwellings are also heading in the wrong direction, and vacancy rates continue to go lower, when the one-third of households that rent need them to rise to take the pressure off rents. And what are our state and federal governments doing to solve this crisis? Well, collectively, they're making it worse.  They keep passing laws that make owning an investment property more and more onerous, causing growing numbers of owners to sell, thereby reducing the rental pool and making vacancies worse. They also keep adding to the costs of creating new homes, which makes it harder for the building industry to provide the new supply the nation needs. The Federal Government has set the grand target of 1.2 million new homes over five years but, as is so often the case with politicians, they haven't thought much about it beyond the press conference. When the Government says it's going to build 1.2 million new homes, what it really means is that it hopes the building industry can somehow deliver its target - without actually having any policies to address the problems which will mean this grand objective is unattainable. All the latest data shows how far behind we are in terms of achieving this goal. Currently, the production of new dwellings in Australia is the lowest it has been in 12 years. Approvals to build new houses showed an almost 10% decline in January, compared to December. Seasonally adjusted, the January numbers were the weakest since June 2012. In the past 12 months, there have been approvals to build 101,000 new houses, the lowest in more than a decade. The ABS data shows that new house approvals have fallen in four of the past six months – and there is a clear pattern of decline in new homes at a time when we need it to be picking up. Meanwhile, the Housing Industry Association says that the number of loans issued for the purchase and construction of new homes fell by 4.2% in January and remains at its lowest level since 2008. HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon says lending for new homes was at record lows in 2023, and this downward trend has continued into the new year. The trend surprises no one in the housing industry, where there is widespread cynicism about the Federal Government's grand announcement, without any policy substance to deal with the many issues that plague the home building industry. There continue to be shortages of materials and tradespeople, costs continue to be high, elevated interest rates don't help and we continue to see building companies go broke week by week. Australia is currently having a boom in infrastructure construction and that has sucked a lot of resources out of home building. State Government and local council meddling with the process continues to cause costly delays and to add to the cost of building new homes, making it increasingly difficult to operate profitably. The weakness in building approvals nationally is being seen at a state level as well. In Victoria, the number of houses approved for construction has dropped to the lowest level for over a decade – with approvals in January the lowest since October 2013 – and this in a state where the State Government had said it would build 800,000 new dwellings in a decade. Victoria has one of the weakest situations in the nation, not helped by having the highest property taxes among the states and territories - with new imposts being imposed in 2024 to further discourage investment and construction. In Tasmania, building approvals have dropped 30% in the past two years. Indeed, in January private sector house approvals fell in all states, including by 17% in Victoria and by 13% in NSW. The third measure of the chronic dwelling shortage is vacancy rates for rental properties, which have been dropping steadily for the past 5-6 years. They were already at historic lows across Australia but the latest vacancy rate data shows them going lower still. The national vacancy rate recorded by SQM Research fell from 1.3% in December to 1.1% in January, with vacancies falling in all eight capital cities. State and territory governments continue to make decisions and pass laws that are detrimental to property owners, causing investors to sell, thereby reducing the rental pool further. Investors owners are already faced with massively increased costs through higher interest rates, increased council rates, rising state taxes, higher insurance premiums and increased maintenance costs. Years of detrimental decisions by governments has created this chronic rental shortage and it continues to get worse. The Victorian State Government is introducing a raft of measures in 2024 which collectively are a major discouragement to property owners – and more and more investors are selling up and getting out of the Victoria. It's significant that, according to the SQM Research figures, the biggest decrease in vacancy rates was seen in Melbourne, which dropped from 1.5% in December to just 1.1% in January – a massive change in a single month. Another property data source, PropTrack, also puts the national vacancy rate at 1.1% - but a third source, Domain, has an even lower figure – just 0.7% in February, down from 0.8% in January. This is a new record low, according to Domain, which says the mismatch between low supply and rising demand is an ongoing challenge for tenants amid rapid population growth (boosted by overseas migration), a strained construction sector and rising property prices locking people into renting for longer. According to the Domain figures, six of the eight capital cities have vacancy rates below 1%, including just 0.3% in Adelaide and in Perth. All of this information presents a grim picture for the supply of homes, both for sale and for rental, across Australia - and means that prices and rents will continue to increase.

In this episode, Lindy Hughson, Managing Editor & Publisher of PKN Packaging News talks to Joanne Howarth, founder and CEO of Planet Protector Group, about the company's goals to scale up current manufacturing operations for its sustainable multiple award-winning Woolpack insulated packaging solution, create a vertically integrated operation on shore, and expand to other markets.We start off by discussing how Planet Protector spent 15 months closing a $12m Series A capital raise, with challenges including current market conditions and the market's lack of support for female founders. Joanne gives us an insight into the investors, the company's intentions to expand into South East Asia, and the collaboration from the Victorian State Government. We also do a deep dive into how Woolpack is recovering waste wool from going to landfill, what makes wool such an effective insulator, and the timeline for the new manufacturing facility to come on stream in Altona North, Victoria. The discussion also explores the level of involvement of the investors, the importance of value aligned investors, and Planet Protector's ambitions to expand to India. Joanne gives us a detailed overview of the company's intentions in India to establish a pilot facility to, in part, supply a large retailer who faces $5bn in wastage due to not having refrigerated transport. We also review other fibres that Planet Protector is investigating for packaging and insulation solutions and reducing landfill. We wrap up by getting some valuable tips for those interested in starting a business with revolutionary ideas.Links:Sponsor: Trimatt Engineering & Integrated Systemswww.trimatt.com/ - (03) 8761 6171 - info@trimatt.com Planet Protector raises $12m from impact investorswww.packagingnews.com.au/latest/planet-protector-raises-12m-from-impact-investors------------------------------The PKN Podcast is produced by Southern Skies Media on behalf of PKN Packaging News, owned and published by Yaffa Media.The views of the people featured on this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of PKN Packaging News, Yaffa Media, or the guest's employer. The contents are copyright by Yaffa Media.If you wish to use any of this podcast's audio, please contact PKN Packaging News via their website www.packagingnews.com.au or send an email to editor@packagingnews.com.au.MC: Grant McHerronHost: Lindy HughsonProducer: Steve VisscherEditor: Chris VisscherPKN Packaging News - © 2024

Acknowledgement of Country// Spike and Priya visited the Hoddle Street public housing estate and spoke with resident Sim, who has been living in one of the towers for 7 years. In this interview, Sim reflected on last week's announcement by the Victorian State Government that all 44 public housing towers in the Greater Melbourne area have been slated for demolition and redevelopment in the coming decades. Sim spoke about how the announcement was delivered to residents and discussed the stress and uncertainty this has caused.// We spoke with Izzy Brown, a public housing walk-up resident, local community organiser and artist, to talk about the launch of the Resident Frequency Recording Studio out of the Hoddle Street public housing towers' community centre. We heard from Izzy prior to the announcement that the towers were to be redeveloped, so today we spoke with her again about what this announcement means for various communities and local culture at the estate.// Spike and Priya also caught up with Christopher Sprake, Community Development worker at The Wellington, a community organisation that services the Wellington Street public housing tower. Chris was able to briefly speak about the public housing redevelopment announcement from a community worker perspective, noting the lack of information provided to both residents and workers by the Victorian Government either before or immediately after Victoria's Housing Statement was made public.// Louisa Bassini, Acting Director of Legal Practice at Inner Melbourne Community Legal, joined us to speak about the implications of the Victorian government's public housing tower redevelopment plan from a community legal sector perspective, and shared some information about the rights of public tenants. Inner Melbourne Community Legal is the service that represents clients on the North Melbourne, Flemington, Kensington and Carlton public housing estates. Louisa previously represented clients being relocated from the Abbotsford St and Walker St estates as part of the Public Housing Renewal Program and has worked on housing and tenants' rights issues for about 15 years.// Spike visited the public housing estate on Wellington Street in Collingwood and caught up with resident Valentina about the propose demolition of the towers, as well as the importance of drop-in health services for estate residents.//

 Acknowledgement of Country// Headlines// Earlier this week, Spike and Priya visited the Hoddle Street public housing estate and spoke with resident Sim, who has been living in one of the towers for 7 years. In this interview, Sim reflected on last week's announcement by the Victorian State Government that all 44 public housing towers in the Greater Melbourne area have been slated for demolition and redevelopment in the coming decades. Sim spoke about how the announcement was delivered to residents and discussed the stress and uncertainty this has caused.// Last week we caught up with Izzy Brown, a public housing walk-up resident, local community organiser and artist, to talk about the launch of the Resident Frequency Recording Studio out of the Hoddle Street public housing towers' community centre. We heard from Izzy prior to the announcement that the towers were to be redeveloped, so today we spoke with her again about what this announcement means for various communities and local culture at the estate.// On Tuesday, Spike and Priya also caught up with Christopher Sprake, Community Development worker at The Wellington, a community organisation that services the Wellington Street public housing tower. Chris was able to briefly speak about the public housing redevelopment announcement from a community worker perspective, noting the lack of information provided to both residents and workers by the Victorian Government either before or immediately after Victoria's Housing Statement was made public.// Louisa Bassini, Acting Director of Legal Practice at Inner Melbourne Community Legal, joined us to speak about the implications of the Victorian government's public housing tower redevelopment plan from a community legal sector perspective, and shared some information about the rights of public tenants. Inner Melbourne Community Legal is the service that represents clients on the North Melbourne, Flemington, Kensington and Carlton public housing estates. Louisa previously represented clients being relocated from the Abbotsford St and Walker St estates as part of the Public Housing Renewal Program and has worked on housing and tenants' rights issues for about 15 years.// Professor Libby Porter and Dr David Kelly, housing researchers based at RMIT's Centre for Urban Research, joined us in the station to situate the Victorian Government's public housing tower redevelopment plan within a longer history of scholarship and independent evaluations of previous processes of public housing renewal in Melbourne, presenting a critical analysis of the process and its impact on public housing estate communities, the roll-back of government provision of housing, and the ripple effects in the broader landscape of tenancy in the state. Libby, David, Priya and colleagues Dr Iris Levin, Dr Liam Davies and Professor Kate Shaw published an explainer breaking down last week's Victoria's Housing Statement - you can read it here.//

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news all eyes have been on Washington DC and the US Fed.As expected, the American central bank's September policy review was a "hawkish hold". It kept its policy rate at 5.25% following a +25 bps hike in July but signaled there could be one more hike this year. They pointed out that their labour market strength isn't wavering and inflation risks remain high. Tighter credit conditions haven't dampened activity to the extent they need and the remain "highly attentive to inflation risks".In the economic projections they released with today's decision, the 'dot-plot' shows most voting members see a higher rate by the end of the year (12 of 19 whose projections were plotted). Essentially they are signaling that rates will stay elevated well into 2024 with fewer projected cuts.Market reactions included the USD rising +20 bps vs the NZD, the UST 10yr benchmark was little-changed having fully priced in the outcome, it seems. Equities (the S&P500) fell -0.3%. So overall, markets have taken this review in its stride.Somewhat surprisingly, American mortgage applications jumped +5.4% last week, the first rise in three weeks, and the biggest since mid-June. And this was despite benchmark mortgage interest rates rising again, to 7.31% plus points.In Japan, household assets are growing, and in a different way to the usual cash-priority they have had traditionally. Total financial assets rose +4.6% in the year to June and to US$14.3 tln (NZ$195,000 per capita). But the cash portion only rose +1.4% (or 53% of them), while equity holding jumped +26% (to 13% of those overall holdings) and funds in investment trusts rose +16%. The re-emergence of inflation is changing Japanese household investment motivations.After a good surge in 2021 and 2022, Japanese exports slipped -0.8% in August from a year ago, a second month of no expansion. Their exports to China dropped -11%. But at least overall they are holding on to their earlier gains. And the August slip was less than feared. Imports however fell more than expected, the most in three years. But most of this can be attributed to big falls in oil products (-33%), and it is encouraging that Japan is learning how to do with significantly less oil.Taiwanese export orders fell -15.7% in August from year-ago levels, although they held at the value levels we have seen every month this year. Still the year-on-year fall was more than expected and extends the retreat to 12 straight months.China held its Loan Prime rates in its monthly review yesterday. This is what analysts expected. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), which is the medium-term lending facility used for corporate and household loans was kept unchanged at a record low of 3.45%; and the five-year rate, a reference for mortgages, was held at 4.2% for the third straight month.China is worried about the outflow of funds by foreign investors. Yesterday it held a 'symposium' for JPMorgan Chase Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, UBS Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Tesla, BASF, Trafigura, Schneider and other foreign financial institutions and foreign-funded enterprises to hear of their concerns, and provide reassurances.In Germany, fast-retreating energy costs are allowing producer price inflation to cool fast. Their PPI tumbled -12.6% in August from a year ago, matching market forecasts while very much faster than the -6.0% July retreat. It was the second straight month of decline and the steepest pace since data collection began in 1949, largely due to a base effect. Energy prices slumped -32%, with electricity prices dived -43%. They will appreciate the relief.British CPI inflation fell marginally to +6.7% in August from +6.8% in July, and this was lower than the expected +7.0% rate.An Australia, the Victorian State Government said (page 20) it will tax short-stay rental platforms 7.5% from 2025. There are more than 36,000 short-stay accommodation places in Victoria and almost half of these are in regional centers. More than 29,000 of those places are entire homes. The goal is more affordable long-term rental accommodation. But their tourism industry is livid.They need to build more houses too. Nationally, housing starts by their major builders slumped -23% last year to a decade-low as insolvencies soared. The legacy of fixed price contracts and fast rising input costs was behind the pullback. But there is now some evidence that the houses now being built are being done so for more than cost.The UST 10yr yield starts today unchanged bps at 4.35%. The price of gold will start today at just on US$1943/oz and up +US$13 from yesterday.And oil prices are -US$1 lower from yesterday at just over US$89.50/bbl in the US. The international Brent price is now at US$92.50/bbl.The Kiwi dollar starts today still in its recent yo-yo range and up a net +30 bps from this time yesterday at 59.5 USc. Prior to the Fed decision it was up to 59.8 USc. Against the Aussie we are holding at 91.9 AUc. Against the euro we are a little firmer at 55.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 is also up about +20 bps at 69.The bitcoin price has barely moved from this time yesterday, and is now at US$27,215, a rise of just 0.1%. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been low at just on +/-0.8%.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

What if we told you that the growing digital skills gap in Australia is costing businesses $3.1 billion each year? Tune into our latest episode where we explore this pressing issue with Kade Brown, Director of Workforce Solutions at RMIT Online. Together with Kade, we pull back the curtain on the hidden costs of the skills gap and dive into RMIT Online's innovative strategies to meet the tech talent demands of the economy by 2030. As Kade shares his insightful journey from teaching to strategic consulting, discover how she is helping organisations identify skills challenges and design effective solutions. We promise that you'll gain a newfound understanding of the critical role of universities in workforce transformation, beyond just granting degrees. In our engaging conversation with Kade, we go beyond the 'one and done' approach to education and highlight the importance of continuous upskilling and reskilling. You'll get a closer look at how RMIT Online brings industry voices into learning for job relevance, drives skill acquisition, and measures skill impact. Hear about their approach to fostering a learning culture and incentivizing reskilling and upskilling within organizations. Riding this wave of upskilling, we finish our conversation by casting a glance at the future of work. With a focus on the need to cultivate a sense of belonging and connection within the profession right from the start, we explore the successful outcomes of the Digital Skills and Jobs Program funded by the Victorian State Government. Kade provides fascinating examples of how industry voices shape learning experiences for successful outcomes. Become part of this insightful journey; join us in exploring the future of work, the role of continuous learning, and the strategies needed to bridge the digital skills gap. Here are some resources mentioned by Kade in the episode:RMIT Online 2023 Skills White PaperTerrell Strayhorn's website - a leading researcher in belonging among university studentsHBR article The Project Economy Has Arrived – this is article is behind a paywall, but listeners can hear this interview with the author for the HBR Ideacast for freeTune in, and embark on this learning adventure with us!The Reimagined Workforce podcast is brought to you by Workforce Transformations Australia Pty. Ltd.All opinions expressed are the speaker's and not the organisations they represent.If you have a story about a workforce transformation to share and would like to be a guest on this podcast, please contact us at kathhume@workforcetransformations.com.au.Connect with Kath Hume on LinkedIn

After the Victorian State Government announced they will be terminating their contract for the 2026 Commonwealth Games this morning, Josh Jenkins and Andrew Gaze shared their thoughts on the matter and took your calls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sounding Board is supported by Drinkwise - if you're choosing to drink, choose to drinkwise. TIME CODES (0.0)    - Did Damo's criticism of News Corp in recent episodes help fuel the negative ‘Triple M Ratings slump' story in the Herald Sun this week?    (4.00) – Last week's episode was slightly uncomfortable – are there any apologies in order?   (5.45) – Streaming data is finally introduced into the radio ratings.   (6.20) – The Brittany Higgins story and the Hawthorn Racism enquiry – the need to find ‘the leak' has become the media obsession. . .it's a smokescreen.   (17.50) – Hutchy the central character in a spat between the John's brothers. Hutchy gives us the background to the Matty and Andrew Johns fall out.   (21.20) - A week on from the Victorian State Government's announcement they will pull all spending in The Age and Herald Sun print editions.   (30.45) – Adam Sandler admits he's always been happy to play basketball with anyone.    (33.45) – Gary Vee is coming to Melbourne. Let's try and get him on The Sounding Board   (36.30) – Spin City for Drinkwise. Hutchy is the PGA boss Jay Monahan.   (45.30) – Question of the Week for Drinkwise. Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter and send a question anytime to thesoundingboard@sen.com.au The Sounding Board is produced, engineered and edited by Jane Nield for SEN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ambulance Victoria has committed to become a more sustainable ambulance service. This includes achieving net zero emissions five years prior to the Victorian State Government commitment of 2050 with additional emissions reduction targets for 2025 and 2030. By fulfilling these targets, the carbon footprint for each patient cared for by Ambulance Victoria will be halved by 2030. It is apparent that to meet these emission reduction targets, Ambulance Victoria's current model of care needs perpetual refinement. Reducing emissions from electricity and fleet start to look easy in comparison to reducing low value care. Delivering better care to a patients according to their particular healthcare needs suggests that our pre-hospital service needs to be reimagined to start prior to any patient picking up the phone to dial Triple 000. Ambulance Victoria are discovering new ways to offer best care for particular patient cohorts via new technologies such as telehealth and the Virtual ED and by partnering across our communities primary and secondary healthcare networks, to offer timely support to those for whom an ambulance doesn't offer the greatest benefit. In 2021, Ambulance Victoria undertook a study to map the carbon pollution associated with its Triage Services and measure changes in carbon pollution resulting from the use of alternate patient care pathways. The analysis revealed interesting results that have implications for pre-hospital service design in the future. We hope that this study offers insight into new ways of thinking for decision makers and enables a triple bottom line approach to assessing the benefit of programs and keeping an awareness of how to serve the community in more environmentally sustainable ways. Using a multipronged approach to improving healthcare sustainability at Ambulance Victoria can reduce the environmental impact of pre-hospital healthcare services and thereby minimise the health impacts from the sector that are associated with dangerous climate change.

The Victorian State Government's support for the Greek Festival of Melbourne will amount to $800,000 over the next four years. - Στις 800 χιλιάδες δολάρια θα φτάσει τα επόμενα τέσσερα χρόνια η στήριξη της πολιτειακής κυβέρνησης της Βικτώριας προς το Ελληνικό Φεστιβάλ της Μελβούρνης.

Today's guest on Moments of Clarity is Lizzie Kuoth. Whimsical, wise and courageous, Lizzy Kuoth is a woman to watch and at 30, has already lived a very full life. As a child Lizzy fled war-torn South Sudan with her grandmother and three younger brothers, spending four years in Egypt before arriving in Melbourne in 2005. Fast-forward 16 years and Lizzy is carving out her own niche at the intersection of economics, diversity and inclusion. Lizzie is a leader in the multicultural sector and adviser on refugee experience and community engagement. She passionately advocates for the advancement of these issues and works to build better, more inclusive communities. Currently, Lizzie works in health promotion and as Multicultural Officer at St Francis Xavier College, delivering and implementing programs and events to build awareness and drive change with students, families and the entire school community.  Lizzie also leads the Metropolitan Partnerships program, a Victorian State Government initiative helping to build community engagement on the economy, inclusion, and the environment to design and deliver better policy outcomes. As Member for the Inner South East Region Partnership (InnerSEMetroPartnership), she builds relationships with community and industry leaders to listen and help identify the issues that matter with a focus on youth and refugees. Lizzie is a self-described lifelong learner and is studying a business degree with a major in economics at Swinburne University and has an Advanced Diploma of Justice.  Lizzie has worked closely with many diverse groups including the City of Monash, United Nations Association of Australia, Victorian Police, White Ribbon and South Sudanese Community Association raising awareness, promoting social cohesion, gender equality and respectful relationships.   Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzy-kuoth-she-her-60a575b2/ https://twitter.com/kuothlizzy?lang=en https://www.multiculturalcommission.vic.gov.au/refugee-lizzy-kuoth-finds-home-common-ground https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/lizzy-kuoth/ https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/Community/Multiculturalism/Community-Ambassador-Project/Community-Ambassador-Lizzy-Kuoth https://www.empowergirl.com.au/portfolio-item/lizzy-kuoth/ https://www.suburbandevelopment.vic.gov.au/metropolitan-partnerships/inner-south-east-partnership   Time Stamps 0:00 - 9:05 Introduction with Matt and Toby 9:06 - 32:19 Part 1 with Lizzie Kuoth 32:20 - 64:35 Part 2 with Lizzie Kuoth 64:36 - 65:49 Outro   Thank you to the team at Ex-Zero for our branding and design work and to Christian Prochilo for our music and sound editing. Thank you so much for listening to Moments of Clarity. Remember to subscribe, review and share episodes with your friends and family. You can also check out our Instagram page @momentsofclaritypodcast or our website at www.moc-pod.com.

Listen to the feature produced by SBS Sinhala Radio on what Sri Lankan voters living in Victoria expect from the new Victorian State Government that will be elected in the Victoria State Election held on 26 November 2022. - 2022 නොවැම්බර් 26 වන දින පැවැත්වෙන වික්ටෝරියා ප්‍රාන්ත මැතිවරණයෙන් තේරී පත්වන නව වික්ටෝරියා ප්‍රාන්ත රජයෙන් වික්ටෝරියා ප්‍රාන්තයේ වෙසෙන ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය ඡන්ද දායකයින් අපේක්ෂා කරන දේවල් පිළිබඳ SBS සිංහල ගුවන් විදුලිය සිදුකළ මත විමසුමට සවන් දෙන්න.

On this weeks program Chris chats to Damian Auton about back history to creating the newly opened UpCycles bicycle maintenance hub located at Yarra Valley ECOSS that will be a youth group space for bicycle education, recycling bicycles and providing courses, training and workshops.Bicycle-themed news includes Boroondara Council works at Walmer Street commencing this week for an estimated eight months to replace the northern land bridge section from Kew, Gipps Street ramp replacement possibly going back out to tender, Moreland Council voting to retain separated lanes and shared zones in Dawson, Victoria, Albert and Albion streets and extending the Kent Road trial for 12 months in Pascoe Vale, Bicycle Network, Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail, Mitchell Bicycle Users Group asking for Victorian State Government to prioritise future funding for the Wallan to Heathcote Rail Trail project, Banyule Council opening feedback for Northern Trails 2022, historic NSW Rail Trails legislation approved and the ancient Yarra Bicycle Users Group website being updated for the 21st century.   

Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by co-chair of the First People's Assembly of Victoria, Marcus Stewart.Catching up since his last interview back in March last year, Marcus reflects on how and why the First Peoples Assembly got started and updates us on the negotiations for a Treaty between the First People's Assembly of Victoria and Victorian State Government. Marcus also shares his thoughts on the relevance of Australia/Invasion Day and gives his perspective on the impact of the debate to change the date. Find out how you can get involved with the First People's Assembly here: https://www.firstpeoplesvic.org/The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au

On this episode Leo interviews Cynthia Dearin. She is an international business strategist and Founder of Dearin & Associates and the International Business Accelerator. Cynthia is also a keynote speaker, author of Amazon best-seller "Camels, Sheikhs and Billionaires" and host of the Business Beyond Borders Podcast.How can companies avoid gambling with margins and protect them with a foreign exchange strategy?Taking the manufacturing business global. What are the first steps? From a young age, Cynthia had a deep interest in other cultures and countries, and in making a difference for people.She joined Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in 2001 and became a diplomat, representing Australia in the Middle East. She founded Dearin & Associates in 2013, assisting blue chip organisations including ANZ, Qantas, Aurizon Rail, Abu Dhabi Government, Orica Mining, Qatar Airways, Australian Hotels Association, Victorian State Government, New South Wales State Government, Ego Pharmaceuticals, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Export Council of Australia and Dubai Airport Freezone, to life their game on the global stage.Cynthia has also helped dozens of smaller companies to create and implement international strategies that increase momentum and revenue, and position them for global success.She is on a mission to empower business leaders to scale internationally and amplify their impact in the world.Listen to the Business Beyond Borders Podcast Connect with Cynthia on LinkedIn  Dearin & Associates is an international business consulting company that helps clients to access opportunities in fast-growing international markets. International trade is at an all-time high and goods, services and information can move around the globe more rapidly than ever before. We know that companies that do business internationally have a bigger global impact, innovate more, make more money and are better places to work.Self-learning is of paramount importance in the business world, listen to your international peers and step up your game. Connect with the host Leonardo Marra on LinkedInFollow the page on LinkedIn This episode is sponsored by International Expansion Explained. Are you looking to expand internationally, but you're not sure where to start? Or you export already but would like to venture further overseas? Reach out to arrange an international clarity session and learn more about growth plans here International Expansion StrategyPartners SearchOngoing sales and branding supportIndividual one on one support

Kathy Davies (pictured) and Chris Vanderstock are working with Equity Generation Lawyers to take the Victorian State Government to the High Court of Australia over its plans to tax electric cars. Kathy and Chris are aiming to cover their legal costs through a Chuffed program and Chris outlines the what and why of their case that is going before the High Court in this short YouTube clip. Kathy, who runs the business, Ekkremon Pty Ltd, is also involved with a host of groups, among them the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA),  Renew, which was a major inspiration for all the work on her house.  She said: "We took part in 2019 Sustainable House Day too: I am also a signatory of Australian Engineers Declare and am on the mailing list with a range of groups such as BZE, Climate Council, Environment Victoria, Project Drawdown, Smart Energy Council, and  Planet Ark. I'm also listed as a spokesperson with Climate Media Centre." Enjoy "Music for a Warming World". Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/climateconversations

Congratulations to the media in Australia. The Victorian State Government in Australia has jailed the leader of a fledgling Political Party called Reignite Democracy Australia. Nothing from the media except that Monica Smit is an activist and incited rallies throughout Melbourne. She disagreed, along with many of her supporters with lockdowns and vaccine mandates. She's almost as dangerous as Sydney's Elevator Sneezer. The media went nuts over this criminal sneezer. Stop that sneezing or you'll be arrested. And with spring just starting and with all the allergies, the jails could be full before you know it. So a warning. Do not commit the crime of sneezing. The media is watching. But if a political party is shut down by the ruling Government, nothing is said. You see her crime was to disagree with the Government. Premier Dan Andrews has now been elevated as a very much loved Dictator of the Covid Cult, and he needed her to shut up. And at the moment they have...shut her up. George Christensen MP on his Facebook page said "...Ms Smit will only be allowed out of jail if she shuts down a fledgling political party and that fledgling political party's means of communications, and if she refrains from any discussion around the political issue of lockdowns in Victoria..." George is one of the few Politicians standing up for Australians. Sneezing, the media has got it covered and will expose any one who sneezes. But when it comes to the truth, that's another story. Maybe the media should understand that Democracy and all that it stands for is nothing to be sneezed at. While millions have dodged short term adverse effects, severe vaccine injury is a reality in the mass vaccination drive and must be discussed to promote informed consent and prevent a potential disaster of massive proportions.  We know mainstream media failed to expose Government lies, becoming liars themselves on the true risks of Covid-19, extended lockdowns and coerced vaccination.  Censorious Big Tech and conflicted fact checkers have been their conspirators.  Today, the Murdoch press openly gloats of the death of so called Covid-19 sceptics, conspiracy theorists and Anti-Vaxxers. This is depraved and despicable journalism. So how safe are the Vaccines? In Angelia Desselle's case, not very.  Under Covid19, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and other democratic nations have become unrecognisable. How has this occurred? Who's script are these democratically elected Governments following? We know the corrupt media is missing in action but where are the Opposition lawmakers, where are the lawyers, where are the health and medical professionals, where are the civil libertarians, where are the business advocacy groups, where are the Commissioners appointed to protect children and most vulnerable?   Just as lawyer Thomas Renz is doing in the U.S., one man who is taking it up to Government in Australia is Tony Nikolic, a Lawyer with a strong commitment to social justice, human rights and the betterment of society.  Asia Pacific Today. September 2, 2021 Asia Pacific Today believes that your opinion is legitimate. And we believe that our guests have something to say and that their opinion is also legitimate. Throughout the week, Mike Ryan has discussions about politics, polarising issues, current events, and more. We really are connecting with people all over the world that simply speak their mind. There's new videos throughout the week, every week. And we also need our audience to grow. It would really help us grow if you could subscribe to our Channel.

Elizabeth Compton, CEO of LanguageLoop, and Claire Mullins, National Translations Manager at the Australian language service provider (LSP), join SlatorPod to talk about the company's digital and organizational transformation.Elizabeth recalls the LSP's early days from 1978, and the decision to rebrand to LanguageLoop. She touches on the role of the Victorian State Government as shareholder.She shares the impact of the pandemic as they saw an immediate shift from on-site to remote interpreting, as well as accelerating the digital delivery of language services. Claire talks about how Covid drove the conversation around multilingual engagement.Claire also weighs in on the impact of immigration and the resulting increase in demand for rare and emerging languages, as well as multilingual consumer behaviors in Australia. The pod ends with their collective outlook, as the LSP plans to leverage tech and build deeper customer engagement with the launch of multilingual SMS campaigns.Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, with TikTok being issued a USD 0.88m fine by the Dutch Data Protection Authority. Florian shares results from the European SME survey, which gathered the opinions of over 1,000 SMEs on website localization and machine translation use. Esther talks about the recent launch of an estimated USD 47m interpreting framework agreement by Norway's Labor and Welfare Authority (NAV).The duo share news from outside Europe as social distancing requirements in Los Angeles County end and court interpreters are recalled to on-site work. 

Join Craig Hutchison and Damian Barrett for S6 Ep 18.The Sounding Board is all thanks to Drinkwise .If you're choosing to have a drink, choose to DrinkWise.TIME CODES0.0 - Hutchy's in Sydney and Damo's back in Melbourne Lockdown. Will the ‘snap lockdown' will be as short as first planned?4.30 – The narrative of the Victorian State Government whacking the Federal Liberal Government over the latest COVID situation.7.15 – Discussion of Naomi Osaka's decision not to take part in the post French Open press conference.15.45 – News Corp and Rupert Murdoch in bid to launch a new wagering outfit in Australia. It's a big deal.23.45 – Andrew Bogut has revealed that he's now a share holder of the Sydney Kings. The owners meeting might be interesting with Hutchy and Andrew across the table. Should Hutchy bring the Krispee Creams?25.45 – ‘F9' star John Cena profusely apologies for offending China in promoting his new movie. PR debacle.31.00 – Staff Writers have progressed to ‘digital staff' and ‘Australian Sports Newsroom'. Byeline obsession sparks the idea for our very own Sounding Board awards. ‘The Soundies' including;Best Use of a Byeline to Distance Yourself from a Story AwardGone Rogue on Twitter Award.The Square Up Award36.00 – Question of the Week for Drinkwise. Scott Seymour via Facebook asked “With many journalists working across a number of media companies how is it determined where to break a story?For example, let's say we have a journalist that worked for AFL Media, MMM and also did a podcast produced by SEN.The confirmation of a huge story our intrepid journalist has been waiting for comes through whilst producing the SEN podcast.Does the Journo;break the story on the podcast, giving SEN a scoop they can air on their various platforms almost immediately?finish the podcast and then get on to the story, hoping it doesn't break elsewhere in the meantime (for example with the Herald/Sun)?stop producing the podcast, contact their other outlets to break the story and then return to the podcast?”Mark Macca asked “Hutchy. Do you feel vindicated because you pushed for the AFL fixture to start early to take advantage of the COVID free situation in Feb?”39.00 – Hutchy's gratuitous lockdown memories of his run ins with Justin Timberlake and his ‘Jedi Minds' moment with Cameron Diaz.Ask Hutchy and Damo a question - head to Facebook or Twitter or email thesoundingboard@sen.com.au - and send us your suggestions for 'The Soundies' Awards using the hastag #thesoundiesThe Sounding Board is produced, engineered and edited by Jane Nield for Sports Entertainment Network.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja talks to the ABC's International Affairs Analyst, Stan Grant, about his experience as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong and Beijing over the last 10 years. They discuss The Beijing Bureau, a new book Grant contributed to that documents the stories of 25 journalists reporting on China from the 1970s to the present day – including a reflection on the first Aboriginal delegation to China.Then, Walkley-Award winning writer, editor and broadcaster Jeff Sparrow gets on the line to discuss the ongoing oppression of Palestine by Israel and the resulting humanitarian crisis. Sparrow, alongside almost 600 other journalists and members of the media signed an open letter addressed to editors and publishers saying, “do better on Palestine”. Kulja and Sparrow discuss Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip, the war crimes taking place and the human rights violations perpetrated against Palestinians.And Dean Lombard, policy and research manager at Renew, a non-profit advocating and enabling households to live sustainably, breaks down the disparity between the Federal Government's “gas-led recovery”, and the Victorian State Government's initiatives to phase out fossil fuels, including gas, to effectively halving emissions in the state by 2050.

Ellen Sandell (pictured) is the Greens spokesperson for Climate Change and Energy and this week led a conversation with fellow Greens State politicians, the leader of the party in Victoria, Samantha Ratnam; the Member for Brunswick, Tim Read; and the Member for Prahran, Sam Hibbins. The team of four talked about the Victorian State Government's latest Climate Change Strategy and during that discussion mention was made of the latest report from the Climate Council, "Aim High, Go Fast". Listen to the latest from "Music for a Warming World".

Dr Nicholas Eberle from Environment Victoria has commented in today's Melbourne Age about the Victorian State Government's emissions targets. He ends his story by saying: "So that’s the political context – but it’s only one side of the story. We also need to look at the science, and judge these targets against the urgency of the climate crisis we’re facing." The mainstream media's approach to the climate crisis has changed dramatically in recent years and in another story staff writer, Miki Perkins, tells readers about what's happening in a Melbourne primary school in relation to sustainability. Enjoy the music of "Music for a Warming World".  

In cyber news this fortnight we take a closer look at the recent attacks within Australian health facilities including the Eastern Health hack and how the Victorian State Government is taking action to become cyber resilient in the sector. We also dive into the ransomware attack blamed for Federal Group's casino pokies outage, the zero-day vulnerabilities in SonicWall's Email Security product, and how President Biden's administration plan to strengthen the cybersecurity of their power grid.

In this episode Shahin chats with Kade Greenland, Senior Customer Strategy & Innovation Consultant at EY about strategic paralysis when it comes to marketing strategy, strategising and how to get out of the paralysis loop.  Kade is a senior customer strategy and innovation consultant at EY. He is also the founder of Melbourne production and digital content agency, Khorus. With a background as an actor and filmmaker, he uses story to fuse connections between people, their organisations and the impact they are trying to make. He has worked with a range of clients from departments of the Australian Federal and Victorian State Government, major health insurers to local Melbourne startups and arts institutions.

The Victorian State Government announced on Sunday 21 February a package of compensation measures for businesses adversely affected by the 5-day lockdown, from $2,000 in direct payments to a further $3,000 for some hospitality businesses - and thousands of $200 tourism vouchers. Wayne Phillips picks the announcement apart on the FlowFM Morning Show. Read More at FlowNews24.com.au -> http://www.flownews24.com.au/blog/143-million-compensation-for-victorian-businesses-hurt-by-5-day-lockdown

“Victorian State Government pushes to ban Christian practices with threat of 10 years in prison” - a headline that should have every Christian leader pause. This week on the Pastor's Heart, we're discussing upcoming legislation that is being pushed in Victoria. The Change of Suppression (Conversion)  Practices Prohibition Bill 2020 has consequences of 10 years imprisonment for anyone engaging in “change of suppression practices.” Expert reading of the bill suggest this threatens religious freedom and implicates Bible Studies, Church services and even one-to-one prayer. This week - we talk with key Christian leaders from Victoria: Murray Campbell and Chris Duke along with Law Professor Neil Foster about the ramifications of this bill. We'll discuss the details of the bill, the implications for Christians in Victoria and wider implications for Churches across Australia and the Western world. We'll also discuss how Christian leaders can respond and opportunities to clarify and limit the scope of the bill. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thepastorsheart)

Alex Dafner with SBS weekly Yiddish report 29.11.2020A number of important building projects in the Jewish communities in Australia were begun and announced this week:- The Jewish Holocaust Museum in Melbourne began its rebuilding works in the presence of the Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, Parliamentarians and Holocaust survivors and their descendants, who spoke about the importance of the museum in the education about the Holocaust and fight against intolerance and racism.- Plans to relocate Mt Scopus College, the biggest Jewish school in Australia from its outer suburb location in Burwood to the heart of the Jewish community in the suburb of Caulfield, received a boost with the State Government’s announcement of the rebuilding of the Caulfield hospital, which sits on a large acreage that would allow Scopus to potentially relocate there in the future.- The planned Jewish Arts Quarter in Elsternwick, in Melbourne, received a boost of $3.5m in funding from the Victorian State Government for its project of a cultural hub that will become a centre for culture in the area and a showcase of Jewish culture and arts for the state.- The Emanuel School in Sydney received the go ahead to plan a capital works appeal to double the size of its building that will create the state of the art facilities and flexibilities required by the school’s project based learning approach.Anns: Australia’s first Yiddish Poetica, an online open mic evening of poetry mit a Yiddishn tam (taste), proudly co-presented by Poetica, Kadimah and the Dunera Project, hosted by Poetica’s founder Miriam Hechtman. Join as a participant or viewer for a joyful, funny and heymishe evening’s entertainment. Weds 2nd Dec, 2020, at 7.30PM via Zoom. Details at www.kadimah.com.au

In Episode 14 of our Employment Law for the Time Poor podcast, Professor Andrew Stewart and Emily Haar build on their last discussion about what it means to be an employee by considering the so-called “gig economy”, or the use of digital platforms to find and perform work. This is a growing area, which does not just include ride share and food delivery.  There are platforms for professional services, aged and disability care, as well as odd jobs and clerical roles. The status of workers in the gig economy can be unclear, and there have been some high profile cases where the issue has been put to the test.  The Victorian State Government enquiry into the on-demand workforce is currently receiving submissions, following former Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James’ report being released in June 2020. Many of the recommendations in that report could have application well beyond the “gig economy”, and organisations who are using new digital technologies to enable work to be performed need to be mindful that the risks associated with misclassifying an employee as a contractor may not just stop with the platform itself.

"I can't believe that you can't smoke within 10 meters of where children play, but [in the suburbs] people can smoke out their neighbourhood," said Northcote woman Liz Poole.

The scandal has already claimed two more ministers in the Victorian State Government, and now threatens to embroil federal Victorian Labor MPs as well.

Today on Moments of Clarity, I speak to Marcus Stewart.  Marcus Stewart is a Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation. He is an advocate, negotiator and strategist with more than 15 years’ experience in Aboriginal affairs and has had many senior roles in the Victorian State Government. He was elected co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria in 2019 and was the CEO at the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations. I was absolutely thrilled to get the chance to speak with Marcus on the eve of National Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Marcus embodies this vision with everything he does. He strives towards a more just and equitable nation by championing unity and mutual respect through treaty and truth telling in the hope of closing the gap and coming together as a nation. Throughout our conversation, we discuss Marcus’ career, advocacy, leadership, the state of aboriginal affairs, the work to bring ‘Treaty’ to Victoria, Closing the Gap, reconciliation and recognition, the power of words, politics and past policy, Marcus’ personal journey and much more. If you would like to follow Marcus you can follow him on twitter @marcusbstewart. You can also visit firstpeoplesvic.org or ftvoc.com.au for more information on Marcus’ work. Please visit reconciliation.org.au to find out what virtual events are happening during National Reconciliation Week which begins on Wednesday 27th May.  You can now follow Moments of Clarity on social media!Instagram: @momentsofclaritypodcastFacebook: @momentsofclaritypodcastTwitter @BarneyMOC Podcast By Matthew "Barney" SortinoMusic by Christian ProchiloArtwork by Michael Chrisanthopoulos

I did acid on Saturday night with some friends and realised how lucky and thankful I am to be able to share those kinds of experiences with people I love. That in turn made me accept that I need to start taking social distancing more seriously. Conveniently, the next day the Victorian State Government made gatherings of more than two people illegal, and punishable by a $1600 fine. Guess who's going to have a incredible garden come springtime. Song: Cold Summer - Georgia Maq

I go over in a lot of detail, town planning in a growth area sense. I go over the power the Victorian State Government has over councils, and how the VPA sets blueprints via PSPs. Some links I used - http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/LTObject_Store/ltobjst10.nsf/DDE300B846EED9C7CA257616000A3571/B7D254A1E88F4E68CA2583B3001D3F50/$FILE/75-8750aa221%20authorised.pdf https://www.theage.com.au/national/kennetts-blitz-a-decade-on-20040425-gdxqdy.html https://vpa.vic.gov.au/ https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/building-planning/planning-scheme-amendments/growth-area-planning The Wyndham Planning Scheme can be found here - http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/wyndham And Council has been raising health concerns for ages too - https://202020vision.com.au/media/41933/env-design-plus-heatlh-inquiry.pdf This episode contains material used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Today we meet the Farmer of the Year winners Sue and Gerard Daly, who are potato growers from Tasmania. The Victorian State Government has just appointed a new commissioner to assist with agricultural hardship, such as drought and the dairy crisis.

Annie speaks with Dario Mujkic, Assistant Secretary of the NUW Victoria Branch, about the EBA negotiations at IGA Metcash in Laverton and the expectation on workers to give up their rights for a pay rise. I also spoke with Chris Spindler from the AMWU about the uncertain situation facing workers in Ballarat with the Victorian State Government still yet to announce a new contract for ALSTOM, putting workers jobs in doubt at the regional railway manufacturing plant.

Friday 21 June 2019with Jacob & Meghan 7:00 am acknowledgement of country 7:02 am headline news focusing on the conservative party leadership elections in the UK with the possibility that Boris Johnson will be elected leader of the conservative party and the deregisteration of the Australian Conservatives by Cory Bernardi  7:12 am news from Green Left Weekly, activist found guilty of refugee graffiti  7:18 am discussion of the protests in Hong Kong focusing on a statement initiated by Socialist Party of Malaysia  7:24 am discussion of a article from Green Left Weekly by Zane Alcorn what do we need to avoid a hot house earth? 7:36 am interview with Joe Toscano from #StepsToAHome 24 hour vigil on the steps of the Victorian Parliament to highlight the issue of homelessness and housing security on the shortest and possibly one of the coldest days of the year.  8:00 am activist calendar 8:10 am interview with Karen Fletcher board member of Flatout a support service for woman leaving prison in Victoria and community lawyer for Fitzroy legal service talking about the issues of Prisons and the Victorian State government 8:28 am closing of program.

Two days prior to the Victorian State Government election (held on 06 Oct, 1992) Premier Joan Kirner joined Bruce Mansfield and Philip Brady live in studio. This is NOT that audio. One hour later, leader of the opposition, Jeff Kennett joined Bruce and Phil too. This is that audioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two days prior to the Victorian State Government election (held on 06 Oct, 1992) Premier Joan Kirner joined Bruce Mansfield and Philip Brady live in studio. This is that audio. One hour later, leader of the opposition, Jeff Kennett joined Bruce and Phil too. That audio will come in episode 003.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The digital revolution is changing the way we live today as radically as the industrial revolution did almost two centuries ago. As urbanisation accelerates across the world, digital media and information technologies integrated with the built environment hold huge potential for understanding, designing, and managing future cities. As Melbourne tries to secure its place amongst the most liveable cities, a multidisciplinary approach from diverse fields such as city planning, architecture, engineering, computer science, and social science is needed to foster urban innovation. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Senseable City Lab, as champions of urban imagination and social innovation through design and science, have been working in Melbourne to develop this vision with the Victorian State Government, MIT graduate students and Swinburne University’s Smart Cities Research Institute and postgraduates. Architect, engineer and director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, Carlo Ratti, brings his experience of turning contemporary media technology to the cause of social innovation in cities across the breadth of the globe in this conversation with Professor Rob Adams AM, city design director at City of Melbourne.

Coming up this week on Earth Matters you'll hear post Victoria state election reaction from Matt Ruchel - Executive Director: The Victorian National Parks Association. And we take a look at the Victorian state government recent election promises as they shall deliver investment across many of our Victoria's parks and camping sites.Overall the investment is $105.6 million to create new and upgrade of 30 current camp sites plus 30 new camping grounds. And good news of a new coastal park which will be established along 40 kms located across the Bass coast line. Camping will be now FREE at some campgrounds located across our National parks and some fees removed from across most camping sites across Victoria (500 sites) with over 70 campgrounds across regional Victoria and in 19 parks around regional Victoria. Also welcome news if your a camper as also annoucned, camping fees in some other state and national parks the fees will now be half the normal cost.Despite this recent good news from the Labour government Matt Ruchel says much more is needed to be done for the environment right across the state.Want more info? The Victorian National Parks Association website at https://vnpa.org.au/   

 Monday 24th Sept 2018Presenter / Producer: Erin JonesTopic: Electrifying Industry Pt 2 – Victorian State Govt & IndustryToday Erin Jones continues the discussion of the Electrifying Industry work. We look at Victorian State Government support for Industry in their energy use, and the opportunities they have to take more control of these. We also talk to industry about what energy means for their business.Download the report (for free) here:http://bze.org.au/electrifying-industry-2018/We speak with Peter Hansford (DELWP) who is the Manager – Business Development, Energy Commercial Projects & Programs & Climate Change GroupSimon Whiteley, Managing Director and owner of Corex talks with us about the issues facing manufacturers’ and the measures being taken to control and understand your energy footprint.Guests:Peter HansfordPeter HansfordManager Business Development,  Energy Commercial Projects and Programs,  Energy,  Environment and Climate Change Group.Department of Environment, Land,  Water and Planning (DELWP)https://www.victorianenergysaver.vic.gov.au/energy-advice-for-business/business-energy-grants-and-supportSimon WhiteleyManaging Director and OwnerCorexhttp://www.corex.net.au/http://bze.org.au/electrifying-industry-2018/   

Mandatory sentencing for attacks on emergency workers are proposed as a tough but fair health and safety measure. Yet this approach has been shown to be ineffective, while devastating the lives of community members with addiction, severe mental health challenges and people subject to family violence. Yet the Victorian State Government is now putting this bill on the table with bipartisan support.Meghan Fitzgerald, Social Action, Policy & Law Reform Manager at Fitzroy Legal Service, talks us through the bill and its likely negative consequences, especially for women. And we speak to community sector worker Vanessa Born who is taking a stand against the proposed amendments.

This week on Earth Matters we explore the current recycling issue affecting some Victorians as the Chinese Government ban on foreign recyclables came into effect on January 1st 2018. The Victorian State Government and the various stakeholders including some Victorian local councils (metro and regional) are all trying to work through how to best deal with this problem right across the state of Victoria. The Chinese Government Recycling import ban is from China is affecting not only consumers in Victoria but also in other countries incluing; New Zealand, THE US, Japan, The EU and The UK.Earth Matter's Kerri-Lee Harding explore this current environmental issue in conversation with Rob Spence CEO of The Municipal Association of Victoria and Councillor Jennifer Anderson Mayor Maceden Ranges Shire Council.Music: Let's Go green, Going green Song (excerpts) featured in this program. 

Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher has been headlined as many things, including ‘the world’s most provocative architect’. A true believer in innovation, Patrik is not someone who shies away from engaging in challenging conversations on some of the most urgent issues of our generation. He notoriously created a worldwide outcry following his keynote address at the World Architecture Festival in November 2016, where he presented a controversial ‘urban policy manifesto’ to initiate a critical discourse on the future of cities. Standing by our belief that the MPavilion stage is a place for discussion and debate, Patrik Schumacher joins us at MPavilion, along with Victorian State Government architect Jill Garner, to talk architecture, planning and the built environment and explore what it takes to lead a world-renowned firm carrying one of the biggest names in modern architecture—the iconic Zaha Hadid. Come along with your burning questions—this conversation between Patrik and Jill will be followed by an audience Q&A. This event is made possible with the assistance of UEM Sunrise.

The Victorian State Government has announced it will set up a safe injecting room, located in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. It's a first for the state, and only the second in Australia. A safe injecting room in Sydney's Kings Cross was established in 2001. The announcement comes in response to a growing heroin problem in Victoria. The number of Victorians dying from overdoses has doubled in the last five years, and in the Richmond area alone 34 people died from heroin overdoses in a single year, all within a four-block radius from where the new service will be established. In this bonus episode, Melissa talks with Dr Kate Seear, about how safe injecting rooms and needle exchanges work. How can they be legal while drugs are illegal? This extra audio was recorded just before the Victorian Government's announcement. If you haven't listened to Episode 4 of Just Cases there's a few things about the case that are mentioned so it might be worth going back and having a listen to Episode 4: They Don't Teach You This At Law School.

Victorian treaty and self-determination community forumToday on Earth matters we yarn on TREATY and Self-determination in Victoria. It was back in mid-December of 2016 when the Aboriginal Victoria Forum was held in Melbourne for some community mob to come together to yarn on a Victoria Treaty and Self Determination. The community forum was a chance for local Victorian Traditional Owners and community members to hear the latest on treaty from the Victorian State Government and it was a good opportunity for community members to ask various questions and to get up to date on where the Treaty process is right now in Victoria.Currently, Aboriginal Victoria is conducting forums for community members around the state of Victoria and one of the most recent community consultations was held this last week as community gathered to meet with Victorian State Government representatives on TREATY in Victoria and this meeting took place on Thursday at the Aborigine's Advancement League in Thornbury, Melbourne. Coming up in this program you'll hear from experts on treaties from here in Australia and from Canada and New Zealand and what a treaty means for Aboriginal and Islander people in Victoria. You'll hear from all the latest on TREATY from Celeste Haldane, A Lawyer and The Acting Chief Commissioner BC Treaty Commission, Dr Mark McMillan Associate Professor Melbourne Law School, Tarneen Onus-Williams – a Member of the Aboriginal Treaty interim working group and Dr Carwyn Jones - Senior Lecturer at the faculty of Law Victoria University Wellington – New Zealand - but first lets here from Jason Midsfud – Executive Director Aboriginal Victoria.

In this episode I interview Justin Mead, owner of Vegan Style footwear and accessories store in Melbourne, Australia. Starting out with humble beginnings in two small rooms sharing with a vegan cafe and only open two days a week, to opening a flagship retail store in the vegan-friendly hub on Brunswick Street, the company has grown to become a market leader in the provision of high-quality, fashionable and stylish products that are made without harming animals and minimizing impact on the environment. Vegan Style carries a diverse range of brands in women's and men's styles from across the globe, including its house brand Zette. Among the innovative eco-friendly materials used in some products are recycled PET bottles and laser-cut wood from ethically managed forests. Also, Vegan Style recently became the first retailer in Australia to carry sneakers made from Pinatex, a leather-alternative made from pineapple leaves. Justin started Vegan Style in 2010 while still working full time in web development for the Department of Education. And he still works full time for the Victorian State Government. In this interview he talks about: •    How staying in a salaried day job can allow your business to grow much faster •    The need to educate customers on the higher price points of products •    The importance of valuing your staff and utilizing all their skills •    The pros and cons of using the word ‘vegan' in your business name •    And much more. Visit the Vegan Style website Brands mentioned in vegan business news roundup: Conad Susi Studio Snacklins Bentley Dun-Well Doughnuts RESOURCES: My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business Follow Vegan Business Media on: Facebook   Twitter  Instagram  Connect with me personally at: Facebook  Twitter  LinkedIn

In this episode I interview Justin Mead, owner of Vegan Style footwear and accessories store in Melbourne, Australia. Starting out with humble beginnings in two small rooms sharing with a vegan cafe and only open two days a week, to opening a flagship retail store in the vegan-friendly hub on Brunswick Street, the company has grown to become a market leader in the provision of high-quality, fashionable and stylish products that are made without harming animals and minimizing impact on the environment. Vegan Style carries a diverse range of brands in women’s and men’s styles from across the globe, including its house brand Zette. Among the innovative eco-friendly materials used in some products are recycled PET bottles and laser-cut wood from ethically managed forests. Also, Vegan Style recently became the first retailer in Australia to carry sneakers made from Pinatex, a leather-alternative made from pineapple leaves. Justin started Vegan Style in 2010 while still working full time in web development for the Department of Education. And he still works full time for the Victorian State Government. In this interview he talks about: •    How staying in a salaried day job can allow your business to grow much faster •    The need to educate customers on the higher price points of products •    The importance of valuing your staff and utilizing all their skills •    The pros and cons of using the word ‘vegan’ in your business name •    And much more. Visit the Vegan Style website Brands mentioned in vegan business news roundup: Conad Susi Studio Snacklins Bentley Dun-Well Doughnuts RESOURCES: My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business Follow Vegan Business Media on: Facebook   Twitter  Instagram  Connect with me personally at: Facebook  Twitter  LinkedIn

On this weeks program: Victorian Law Foundation has published a new Bike Law guide and Cycling Victoria's Heritage & History committee has a released a fascinating series of podcasts. Chris interviews local resident Elizabeth Long about the future of cycling in Yarra in relation to an unsure budget allocation and no new bike strategy after 2015. Discussion includes cycling issues over the previous decade in Yarra, budget allocations, the lack of will towards developing a new bike strategy, implications of mid-2016 rates capping for Victorian councils, lack of a positive narrative for active travel coming from our local council and how you can have input into Yarra Councils budget process for 2016-17 and beyond.  We discuss changing local transport needs, riding for transport, liveable cities, complete streets, local safe routes for riding to school, Bendigo Councils future plans, City of Melbourne Draft Bicycle Plan and Updating Victoria's cycling strategy from the Victorian State Government.  You can find more events at: yarrabug.org/events