Has the NSW government found a solution to the housing crisis?
Jason Om reports.
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News.com.au
42 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Kilsyth estate with Buddhist shrine tipped for $7m+ record sale
A sprawling property in Melbourne's east featuring a Buddhist shrine, Mongolian-style yurts and mini golf course is set to swing a record $7m-$7.7m sale. The impressive 2.63ha address also boasts its own lake, tennis court and a three-bedroom house at 6 Glasgow Rd, Kilsyth. Records show the home set the suburb's $3.88m residential price benchmark when it last sold in 2022, with the current asking range set to almost double that figure. Golf tragics will find this tee-rrific Professionals First & Co sales director Vanessa Cao said the owner had significantly updated the home across the past three years. Using his background in real estate development and landscape design as inspiration, the owner gave the entire property a new look by including renovating the house and installing the shrine and two yurts – round tents historically used by Central Asian nomadic groups, included Mongolians. The owner also transformed the previously 'dated and rundown pool' into a Balinese resort-style area complete with plenty of greenery and a sauna. Ms Cao said the Buddhist shrine was for personal use although the homeowner's friends of the same faith were welcome to visit it when they came over. Other highlights include a pavilion on the lake, an outdoor barbecue pavilion, home theatre, vegetable garden and 480sq m warehouse. The yurts currently serve as short-term rental accommodation in addition to providing a place for the owner's friends and clients to stay. The property would make an ideal family or wellness retreat, boutique accommodation, glamping resort or events' venue subject to council approval, Ms Cao added. 'It has commercial potential and also comes with the private lake, multiple accommodations for guests and friends and entertainment zones so it has very unique features,' she said. 'It has a lot of possibilities and the main house itself is beautiful – if someone is buying it for a private family retreat or a family home, it's ready to move into.' The residence is for sale via expressions of interest.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Young Aussie makes online plea after finding out about the rise of ‘ghost jobs'
Choose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life. It's how the old saying goes, but for many Aussies recently, the first step of trying to land any job has been the hardest hurdle. Just ask 28-year-old Evie Jackson, who has been stuck applying for more than six months to any and every job with no luck. Ms Jackson recently took to TikTok to ask if 'anyone else keeps applying for jobs and not hearing a word back'. Speaking to the Melbourne woman said she applied to hundreds of jobs while looking for casual or part-time work during university. '(I) have just found it impossible,' she said. 'I was venting to a friend about it who's had similar issues, and she's like 'Oh, you know, a lot of those jobs aren't real, right? It's just the company's trying to look good.'' That is when Ms Jackson did some research on the phenomenon and found out about the alarming 'ghost job' trend. The term 'ghost job' refers to companies who post job ads for positions seemingly legitimate, but have no intent to fill. It's a tactic that companies will use for various reasons, either to make themselves look better or achieve certain business agendas. Other theories suggested by Ms Jackson include collecting data on the market and storing resumes. 'I've just been applying to a good amount of fake jobs, which is really disheartening,' she said. In her video, the young worker branded ghost jobs a 'further exploitation of the working class'. According to a report from which surveyed more than 1600 hiring managers, 40 per cent admitted that their company had posted a fake job in the past year. Of companies that listed fake jobs, approximately 26 per cent posted one to three fake job listings within 12 months, 19 per cent posted five, and the same amount posted 10. Worryingly, 13 per cent admitted to posting 75 or more fake roles. Ms Jackson said there are signs that may indicate a role falls into the ghost job category. 'Definitely the amount of time they are listed for — more than 30 days — and I noticed I was getting email notifications for the same job over and over again,' she said. The 28-year-old said there was one role being advertised for a hospitality chain that she has received an alert for at least 10 times. 'It's just a job ad that is always up and either it's not a real job ad or they're just like a terrible company that no one wants to work (at). That made me a little bit suspicious.' Under Australian Consumer Law, misleading job opportunity advertisements carry heavy penalties, ranging up to $1.1 million for the most serious breaches. However, according to Ms Jackson, many companies appear to be happy to take the risk. 'Companies are pretty bad at treating job seekers with any sort of respect,' she said, adding she has had situations where she has completed an interview with what seemed like a good company, only to hear nothing back. 'There's just no communication, not even an email to reject you or anything.' The 28-year-old also feels, even though the online space gives access to all kinds of jobs, it is a double-edged sword that restricts applicants to just being words on a screen 'If they could just meet me, they might see that I'm a fine, normal person that could work a job, but when you're just words on a screen, it hard to stand out,' she said. 'I might have to start taking my little manilla folder of resumes around and handing them in, even though it is painful. 'I'm certainly not alone. That video really popped off and there are so many people that experience the same thing, which, it's bad but it's also good to know it's not just me.' Choose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life, as the saying goes. But it's hard to love something when it rejects you.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Quarter of poker machines in NSW clubs could be susceptible to money laundering, agency says
A quarter of the more than 65,000 poker machines in NSW clubs are monitored by a program that could allegedly leave them vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism financing, according to the nation's financial crimes intelligence agency. Federal laws require a compliance program to be in place so that staff at licensed clubs and hotels can identify, mitigate and manage gamblers suspected of using the pokies to launder money from crime such as drug dealing. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said the largest compliance program provider in the state is Betsafe, a business founded by seven clubs nearly 30 years ago, that also outsources a responsible gambling program to industry members. Betsafe's compliance program is central to AUSTRAC's Federal Court action against one of Australia's largest club operators, Mounties Group. "One in four gaming machines in NSW are managed by clubs whose program is run by Betsafe, so we don't know whether those programs are adequate for those clubs," AUSTRAC's chief executive Brendan Thomas told the ABC. "We're worried that we might see what we've seen in Mounties replicated in other organisations throughout Australia." AUSTRAC is alleging Betsafe's program systematically failed to meet anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism financing (CTF) obligations spelled out under the law, in its court action against Mounties. Betsafe has declined repeated requests for comment from ABC News. Its programs are used at more than 80 gaming venues in NSW and the ACT, according to a webpage that has since been taken down. These gaming venues can mix-and-match Betsafe programs, choosing to use its responsible gaming program, and not its AML/CTF program, for example. Mr Thomas said AUSTRAC is not empowered under the law to launch court action against Betsafe. "This isn't a victimless crime," he said. Industry advocacy group ClubsNSW said it was working with AUSTRAC to make sure its members adhered to laws that safeguard against money laundering. "ClubsNSW recommends that member clubs exercise care and diligence when utilising the services of third-party providers to help meet their AML/CTF compliance obligations and that they have their AML/CTF programs regularly reviewed by an independent entity," a spokesperson said in a statement. AUSTRAC has successfully prosecuted casino operators in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, and the agency's action against Sydney's Star Casino remains before the Federal Court. But it believes increased enforcement has caused criminals to turn to local venues instead. "We're concerned that there may be a shift of money laundering activity from casinos to pubs and clubs," Mr Thomas said. It is unclear if the regulator plans on launching court actions against other clubs or hotels. "Our examination of gaming machines won't stop with Mounties, and it certainly hasn't stopped with Mounties," he said. Troy Stolz was working for ClubsNSW as an AML/CTF compliance manager when he leaked a confidential board paper in 2019, which claimed hundreds of clubs were falling short of their legislated obligations. "I was witnessing lots of rubber bands on the floors in clubs, which is predominant with having bundles of cash tied together … and syndicates playing up to two machines each at a time," he said. AUSTRAC's court action against Mounties Group could work as a deterrent, the 56-year-old said, possibly inspiring other clubs to improve their compliance systems. "This is a monumental period of time in clubs history, this stops all sorts of predator crimes. "There will be clubs scrambling to review their policies and their insurance policies, I believe, to see if they've got a claim to make against Betsafe." The NSW Crime Commission concluded in an inquiry three years ago that billions in dirty money was being gambled in poker machines at clubs and hotels. AUSTRAC defended its decision to bring a court action years after initial reports. "We need to make sure that our case is watertight, that we've got incredibly strong evidence to prove every element of our case before a court," Mr Thomas said. The intelligence agency is hoping the Federal Court action against Mounties will act as a stern warning to an industry with about 1,000 venues. The group, which operates up to nine venues across Sydney's south-west, Northern Beaches and the Central Coast, was using Betsafe's compliance program when $4.17 billion was fed into its 1,300 poker machines over four financial years to 2023. AUSTRAC is alleging in court documents the program is inadequate by citing a sample of 10 suspicious gamblers, who turned over $139.9 million and were paid out close to $10.5 million. The gamblers exhibited a range of behaviours the agency considers suspect. This includes a practice known as "bill stuffing", where cash is put into a pokie machine only to be withdrawn as a cheque, even though little or no game play has taken place. Another behaviour is gambling large sums of money, despite personal and employment status. Mounties Group allegedly identified eight of the suspicious gamblers and reported seven of them to the intelligence agency, according to the court documents. "We have been dedicating significant investment and resources to transform our AML/CTF capabilities since being notified by AUSTRAC of its concerns," the group said in a statement at the time of the court filing. The matter remains before the court.
