CCF
The Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) is the member based representative body of civil engineering contractors in Australia, providing assistance and expertise in contractor development and industry issues. The Federation represents more than 2,000 small, medium and large sized contractors that are part of an industry which employs around 350,000 people.
Australian Landmark
In Surfers Paradise, just steps from the beach, the spire of the world’s tallest residential building reaches majestically into the sky. Q1 (shorthand for Queensland Number One) is a skyscraper located on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The tallest building in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere and the second tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Q1 stretches an impressive 322.5Â metres to the top of its spire.
“High Risk” Karridale Housing Development Opposed
A plan to build 150 new homes in the tiny township of Karridale – in the south-west of Western Australia – has recently come under fire because of its proposed location. According to the Karridale Progress Association, the proposed subdivision is in a high risk area. Several reasons are being cited, from absentee owners to improperly maintained safety zones and fire breaks. Many long-time residents of the rural area remember the devastating bushfires that destroyed parts of Karridale back in 1961, and the area relies on volunteers for their fire brigade. Locals have stated that they would prefer to see […]
Hundreds Owed Money, Builder Out of Business
Another GFC casualty, Glenwood Homes has collapsed, leaving 47 homes in north Queensland unfinished. Â The company coming to an end signals bad news not only for over 300 creditors, but a range of suppliers and subcontractors, a number of them meeting recently to discuss their next move over the money they are owed. The demise of Glenwood Homes comes at a bad time, as the region’s construction industry struggles to rebuild. Over the past months, a number of companies large and small have gone out of business, and the losses are taking their toll on the remaining subcontractors and trade […]
Australian Homes Overpriced by 56%
Recently, The Economist confirmed what many Australians have suspected for some time: homes in the nation are the most overvalued in the world, and overpriced by a staggering 56 per cent. The story in the magazine has re-ignited the debate about the nation’s housing market being in a bubble, which some believe has been inflating for well over a decade. Some say the 56 per cent figure is a stretch, yet concede that home prices are still 30 to 40 per cent over their actual value. Comparing figures to the United States since 1997, house prices rose 95 per cent […]
All that Glitters is Not Gold, it’s Copper
In the wake of a number of copper thefts across the nation, the ACT Master Builders Association is calling for copper to be categorised as a precious metal. Known throughout history, copper has numerous attractive properties. It readily conducts heat and electricity, is resistant to corrosion, and has high tensile strength. Unfortunately, these same qualities make it an ideal target for thieves. Just in the past year, 120 incidents of copper theft have been reported in the ACT, with criminals making off with over $300,000 worth of copper wiring and pipes from construction sites. The thieves are organised, sometimes brazenly […]
Remains Unearthed at Demolition Site
In what has the makings of a television crime drama, a demolition crew recently discovered skeletal remains on a property at Woodlands, in the north of Perth. Located at the corner of Rosewood Avenue and Sadoc Street, investigators were able to determine the remains were human, and tied to a missing persons case almost two decades old. Police were able to determine that the remains were those of 42-year-old Mrs. Cariad Anderson-Slater, who was last seen getting out of a cab on Rosewood Avenue in 1992. The remains were found in the garden of the former home of Ronald Pennington. […]
Construction Numbers Down for Second Half of 2010
The most recent numbers from Australia’s Bureau of Statistics reveal house and apartment construction were down for the second straight quarter in December, with Victoria and South Australia recording the most significant declines. Construction of new homes fell by 5.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, considerably more than economists originally anticipated. The news is not all bad, however, as housing statistics in Western Australia rose marginally in the December quarter, increasing by 1.5 per cent to 5,449 construction starts in the last quarter of 2010, an increase from 5,367 in the September quarter. Some, like economists at the National […]
Residents Victorious, Bank Must Redesign Building
Locals in the historic central Victorian town of Maldon are proud of its old-fashioned atmosphere. A good deal of the central area appears largely the same way it has since the 1920s, which has given the town a historic character rarely seen elsewhere. In 1996, Maldon was recognised as Australia’s first Notable Town; a decade later, it beat out 21 other towns to win a National Trust award “for the most intact heritage streetscape character in Victoria.” Since June of last year, locals concerned about the historic value of the area being eroded have been fighting against a planning permit […]
Australia’s Green Transport
As one of the main contributors to global warming, Australia’s transport is responsible for about 20 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. A litre of petrol produces about 2.5 kg of greenhouse gases, while motor vehicle usage generates much of Australia’s local air pollution and smog, and about 90 per cent of the country’s carbon monoxide emissions.
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February 26, 2018, 11:52 AM AEDT
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