TRANSIT Systems has won the competitive tender to operate bus services in Sydney's Inner West and will introduce its first round of improvements by the end of the year, with extra services on four of the region's busiest routes, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance announced last week.
AUSTRALIA can cost-effectively strengthen residential energy efficiency standards in the Building Code and cut heating and cooling energy use by up to 51 per cent, according to a new report released last week by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) and ClimateWorks Australia.
A BLUEPRINT for the establishment of Infrastructure WA (IWA) was released for public consultation last week by the State Government, with a proposal for a new approach to long-term infrastructure planning in Western Australia.
THE Queensland Government last week announced approval for the $200 million Lakeland Wind Farm in Far North Queensland, which will generate enough power to supply more than 50,000 homes and create approximately 200 jobs during construction.
NSW Planning and Housing Minister Anthony Roberts last week said the state's planning system gave the green light to 10 projects in 2017, twice the number of projects approved the year before, while another solar farm has already been approved this year.
VICTORIAN Planning Minister Richard Wynne last week approved Melbourne's newest suburbs, Deanside and Fraser Rise (previously called Plumpton and Kororoit), which will be developed over more than 10 years and eventually accommodate 20,000 dwellings and 14,000 jobs.
FOLLOWING an upwardly revised increase of 12.6 per cent in November, the total number of new dwellings approved in December decreased by 20.0 per cent, in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the latest figures released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
A NEW agreement between the West Australian Government and the City of Subiaco will allow for future public access to Subiaco Oval and paves the way for master planning for the precinct.
WORK has begun to remove the level crossing on Buckley Street in Essendon, with construction crews beginning the task of relocating underground utilities, removing vegetation and establishing work sites as part of the $114 million project.
THE Victorian Government last week said its pilot program to help Victorians get into their first home has taken a significant step forward, with a range of metropolitan and regional destinations identified as priority locations.
THE Victorian Planning Authority and Cardinia Shire Council last week released the draft Pakenham East Precinct Structure Plan (PSP), which provides the framework for the development of a new community with a population of up to 22,000 people.
THE Victorian Government last week announced the release of the final Point Nepean Master Plan, which builds on the draft master plan released in 2010 with changes to reflect government policy and the outcomes of community and stakeholder engagement.
WORK on the City of Sydney's new aquatic centre in Green Square – the largest to be built in Sydney in nearly 20 years – will soon get underway, after the contract was signed with construction company CPB Contractors.
A CONCEPT design has been approved for the $100 million Murdoch Drive Connection to Roe Highway and Kwinana Freeway, which forms part of a $2.3 billion package of road and rail infrastructure works funded by the Australian ($1.6 billion) and West Australian ($750 million) governments.
THE Northern Territory Government last week announced the release of a discussion paper on the Territory's first ever Coastal and Marine Management Strategy, with feedback sought on the suggested goal and management principles, the specific objectives and the desired outcomes.
THE South Australian Government last week said the return of rail services to Port Adelaide is another step closer, after awarding the contract to design and construct the $16.4 million Port Dock Railway Line project to the Public Transport Projects Alliance.
THE Queensland Government last week said that a $45 million project to make cycling to the CBD from Brisbane's southside safer and faster is a step closer, with companies invited to tender for Stage E of the Veloway 1 (V1).
AS part of the Victorian's Government's Smart Planning program to improve the efficiency of the state's planning system, Planning Minister Richard Wynne last week gazetted the first of two rules reform amendment packages (VC142).
CITY Deals in Victoria are a step closer following a Memorandum of Understanding being signed last week between the Commonwealth and Victorian governments.
THE Barangaroo Delivery Authority last week announced it has chosen a consortium comprising Grocon, Aqualand and Scentre Group to deliver the final stage of the Barangaroo development, Central Barangaroo.
THE Australian and Tasmanian governments have entered into an agreement to develop a City Deal for Hobart in partnership with local governments in the urban Hobart area.
DETAILED design works to remove the Oaklands Park level crossing will begin immediately, after the major contract for the $174.3 million project was awarded to the Public Transport Projects Alliance (PTP Alliance) consisting of McConnell Dowell, Mott MacDonald and Arup.
THE South Australian Government last week announced that Lendlease has been awarded the contract to deliver stage one of the $615 million Gawler Electrification project, which involves electrification of the Gawler line between Adelaide and Salisbury.
