Latest news with #Durack
News.com.au
02-08-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Why you could be waiting 21 years to buy in this suburb
It's the suburb where homeowners are staying put for longer than most marriages last. In a city where property is always on the move, Kenmore Hills is bucking the trend, with an average hold time of 21 years for a house — making it the hardest market in the state to break into. About 20km further south in Durack, homeowners are also not willing to part with their houses, with the average hold time sitting at 18 years, according to the latest PropTrack figures. In fact, homeowners in more than 500 suburbs across the state have held on to their properties for more than a decade, and 33 have stayed put for 13.2 years or more — the average period before divorce in Australia. RELATED: Qld's most tightly held markets revealed PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said property hold periods had been gradually increasing as a long-term trend because of the rising costs associated with selling such as stamp duty. Ms Flaherty said areas with popular schools, parks and shops tended to be high on the list, and many of those were in 'middle-ring' areas — not too close to the city, but well established with accessible transport options. 'The general trend when we see suburbs where the turnaround time is very high, generally these suburbs appeal to people across different life stages,' she said. 'Suburbs that offer access to childcare, schools, good amenity... suburbs that tick all those boxes people will generally stay in longer.' When it comes to units, the highest average hold period is 15 years in the suburbs of Ferny Grove in Brisbane, Frenchville in Rockhampton, and Moffat Beach in Caloundra. 'Some of these areas could be second homes or investment properties, but there's also that affordability piece — people could be living longer in units because they're being priced out of affording a house,' Ms Flaherty said. MORE: Why the Aus property market is stacked against first time buyers Records show about a dozen homes in Kenmore Hills that have been held by the same owners since the 1970s, and very few are currently listed for sale. One property of note in the suburb is a luxurious, five-bedroom house on 2ha of land at 21-23 Gap Creek Rd. Records show the home is owned by Simon Dyer, the CEO of Sealy Posturepedic, and it last sold in 2015 for $1.65m. MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS Mr Dyer and his wife, Julie, clearly love the area as they also own an even grander property on 4.4ha in the neighbouring suburb of Brookfield, which they purchased for $6m last year. Ray White Metro West agent Jo Langstaff said Kenmore Hills was 'a family suburb, first and foremost'. 'People move in there with young families and they stay there because it suits them going through primary and high school,' she said. 'It's a beautiful suburb, let's face it. It's big blocks, big homes, which do accommodate growing families; it takes you from little kids to grown adults, and it's nearby everything.' Ms Langstaff said the main reason people chose to sell was if they were downsizing, but she found most people continued to stay in the suburb long after the kids had left.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Schoolteacher who was sacked for yelling at misbehaving students wins case against school
A schoolteacher at an Islamic school who was 'absurdly' sacked for yelling at misbehaving students has won $56,000 in compensation from the Fair Work Commission. Commissioner Stephen Crawford last June found Paramjit Brownson, who was a Year 9 teacher at the Australian International Islamic College at Durack in Brisbane, was unfairly dismissed and ordered the school to reinstate her. However the college successfully appealed the decision, which was sent back for a re-hearing by Commissioner Crawford. His re-consideration of the matter again ruled in favour of the dismissed teacher and said the true cause of her dismissal was not about how she addressed students, but a falling out with the college director over his treatement of another teacher. The Commission ruled she was unlikely to get fair treatment if she was reinstated so instead awarded her the maximum compensation. Commissioner Crawford said the school dismissed the teacher in December 2023, for yelling at students that were misbehaving. 'I consider it is absurd to suggest that a high school teacher can be found to have committed serious misconduct simply because they have raised their voice towards misbehaving students,' he said. 'There is already a well-documented shortage of schoolteachers in Australia [and] that problem will only be exacerbated if schools rush to dismiss competent and experienced teachers simply because some students complain about being spoken to in a raised voice when they have been misbehaving. 'Teachers such as (her) must also protect the interests of the students that are being negatively impacted by misbehaving students. 'I have no doubt that parents expect teachers to take strong action when students are engaging in conduct such as bullying or repeatedly disrupting class to an extent where the learning outcomes for other students are affected.' The Commission heard evidence from a student that the teacher was not the only member of staff who raised their voice toward students and that many others did so much more often. 'Student A's evidence completely undermines the college's position that yelling at misbehaving students is serious misconduct justifying dismissal,' he said. Commissioner Crawford found that the the teacher's dismissal was actually motivated by antagonism between her and college director Mohamed Azhari, prompted by her complaints about the way he had treated another staff member. The director admitted speaking in a 'very aggressive and inappropriate manner' to another female teacher at a college event in November 2023. The conversation, at a Jalsa event to celebrate Islamic culture and heritage, happened in front of parents, staff, and students. The director apologised to the teacher at a subsequent meeting, at which the soon-to-be-dismissed teacher acted as a support person. The teacher then sent a detailed email about what occurred at the event to the director, the teacher concerned, the principal, the deputy and other staff. 'I find that (her) email upset (the director) and triggered the contrived and flawed subsequent sequence of events that led to (her) dismissal.' Commissioner Crawford said he could see no other explanation as to why the college had shifted so dramatically from initially supporting her in disciplinary actions towards students to later raising various historical allegations against her and sacking her. 'I am satisfied that the dismissal of Ms Brownson was unjust and unreasonable,' Commissioner Crawford ruled. 'There was not a valid reason for Ms Brownson's dismissal relating to her conduct or capacity. Ms Brownson was unfairly targeted by Mr Azhari for vindictive personal reasons.' Finding no valid reason to dismiss the teacher, Commissioner Crawford said ordinarily he would rule the teacher be reinstated but in this case that was not practical due to the breakdown in the relationship between Ms Brownson and Mr Azhari. 'Although concerns about the conduct of the employer should not ordinarily weigh against reinstatement because it is effectively rewarding bad behaviour, I consider this is quite an extreme case,' he said. '(The director) has demonstrated he is prepared to act inappropriately to achieve his objectives.' Commissioner Crawford found the teacher would have remained employed for a further five years if she had not been dismissed and awarded her maximum compensation of $55,786.90 plus superannuation.
West Australian
01-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Opinion: Lacklustre Federal campaign in Durack shows parties' ambitions lie elsewhere
Is it just me, or does the race for Durack seem a bit lacklustre? Perhaps it is the by-product of an exciting local campaign at the State level paired with an apparent lack of interest from parties, particularly in Geraldton. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means an attack on the candidates for Durack, or even the parties themselves. It just shows that by reading the tea leaves, the parties themselves believe the seat is likely to remain with incumbent MP Melissa Price and the Liberals. Durack is the largest electorate in the country, covering more than 1.4 million square kilometres, and would be a tough job. Ms Price's efforts over the past 12 years must be commended and she says she has no plans on giving up the role yet. The AEC says Durack has a margin of just 4.7 per cent and Ms Price says it will be a tight race. However, the bookmakers see it differently, with the Coalition $1.03 favourites to claim the seat, ahead of any other candidate ($11) and Labor ($13). Opposition Leader Peter Dutton did not visit the Mid West during the election campaign, with the party instead sending deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley in February. Perhaps it is indicative of the party's confidence in Ms Price. Meanwhile, Labor sent at least three Labor MPs, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to Geraldton. Mr Albanese's visit was less than an hour, celebrating the reopening of the lobster trade to China. In terms of number of projects, the Liberals have shown the most interest in Geraldton for the election, among them including providing 19 CCTV cameras, and upgrading the lights at the Geraldton Tennis Centre. For Labor, the promise of a local Medicare Urgent Care Clinic and funding for the Festival of Lights round out the Geraldton-specific promises. Even Mid West local Paul Brown, who is running for the Senate as the Nationals' top candidate in WA, has spent significant time in Bullwinkel to help Mia Davies. These factors show there is significantly less interest from the parties in the region for the upcoming polls than the State election, where Geraldton was identified as a key seat. Several Labor ministers, including Premier Roger Cook, then-Liberal leader Libby Mettam, and Nationals leader Shane Love all made multiple trips to Geraldton to win votes. Millions of dollars were promised by each party, with big ticket items including a radiation oncology clinic and a local RFDS base. Even the bookies couldn't find a winner, having the Nationals ($2.05) as a longer-priced favourite. Durack is a large electorate and there are more areas to consider than just Geraldton, but with the largest population and a winnable margin, you would think the parties would have put more time into the city. I'm not privy to discussions held within party rooms but based on how the campaign has been run, I would suggest parties would have considered their resources were better suited trying to win other areas.
