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News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Local: Kensington offers speed dating for housemates in bid to tackle roommate horror stories, rental crisis
Tenants desperate to escape Melbourne's rental crisis are being offered an unexpected solution: speed dating for housemates. In a city where one corporate landlord has already offered to waive lease-breaking fees for tenants who decide to shack up with their neighbour, a new build-to-rent operator is planing events to get like-minded tenants partnered up. With the housing crisis and rising rents driving a growing number of Victorians to seek out flatmates, the novel idea of a speed dating-style event was drummed up for the new tenants-only Local: Kensington complex. People looking for the perfect person to share their life with, romance not included, will be given the chance to connect with a group of like-minded individuals in June. Developer Local's marketing general manager Megan Hondromatidis said after an initial online registration, matchmakers would group people with similar interests and needs for scheduled events where they tour the building — then move on to dinner and drinks. 'It will be helping to break the ice, so it's not all just people having awkward conversations,' Ms Hondromatidis said. 'And we will have targeted questions to help them get to know each other. 'Ultimately, we are trying to provide the best experience possible. And hopefully we can mitigate the rental pain points.' Topics at the events dubbed 'Housemate Huddles' are expected to include: how pet friendly you are, whether you're a night or morning person, how you like your home furnished and what your typical day looks like. The goal is to then find someone else to compliment your lifestyle, and minimise the risk of a messy break-up as you fight over custody of the apartment and the Netflix account because one of you gets up at 5am and the other hasn't seen the sun rise in seven years. Ms Hondromatidis said while it would be interesting to see who would attend, they were expecting new arrivals to Melbourne, those looking to move out of their parents' home and others wanting to try sharehousing out for the first time. Specialty women-only nights and queer-friendly events will also be a part of the schedule. Ms Hondromatidis added that with the completion of new build-to-rent projects creating short-term waves of new apartments for the rental market, Melbourne was now primed for more similar events. The 477-apartment complex is the first build-to-rent complex by developer Local, but they have additional sites on their way around Melbourne — and are aiming to have some launched, most likely with similar events for tenants, interstate in the next year or two. 'I don't think house sharing is going anywhere, so I think we will start here and see where we go,' Ms Hondromatidis said. The building's two-bedroom apartments starting from $822 a week and three-bedroom offerings from $1258 a week. Amenities around the building include a cinema, fitness studio, working hub and residents' lounge with its own kitchen. Apartments are furnished with kitchen and laundry appliances, as well as split-system heating and cooling. The build-to-rent complex is very pet friendly, encourages residents to paint walls and live there long term. Events will be held at the 348 Macaulay Rd, Kensington, building on June 17, 18 and 24. Earlier this year, build-to-rent developer Greystar announced an offer to allow tenants who found a romantic partner or their ideal flatmate among their neighbours to make their relationship official and move in together — without a lease break fee. Considered a novel solution to Melbourne's rental crisis, build-to-rent development is defined as a corporate group that creates a new building with the intent of offering it as a long-term rental site. The system is common in other nations, particularly the United States of America. It has had significant backing as part of Victoria's housing solution from both state and federal governments, but remains a small fraction of Melbourne's rental supply.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Gisborne Council Awarded $51k From Forestry Company In Environment Court Decision
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 7:50 pm Article: Zita Campbell - Local Democracy Reporter Gisborne District Council has recovered half of just over $100,000 spent on what its legal representative described as 'avoidable' legal costs in an Environment Court decision against a Chinese-owned forestry company. The case followed several recent enforcement actions taken by the council across several forests, including Kanuka, West Ho, Te Marunga, and Wakaroa, which the council says have resulted in forestry operators reducing risks and improving compliance. Environmentalists said they were pleased with the legal outcome but believe these issues should be addressed through stronger regulations. The council spent $101,175 on legal and expert witness costs associated with a four-day hearing in July last year. The hearing concerned enforcement orders related to woody debris and sediment migrating from commercial forestry activity in the Kanuka Forest in the Upper Waimata River catchment. According to the court decision, the council argued that the conduct of the forestry groups, China Forestry Group (CFG), and management company Wood Marketing Services (WMS), 'unnecessarily lengthened' the hearings process through conduct before and during the hearings, which included the NZ-based director of China Forestry Group NZ, Mr Yuxia Sun, resigning 10 days before the hearing. The council submitted that the respondents provided 'arguments without substance and technical or unmeritorious points which failed', which caused the council to incur more 'avoidable legal costs' drafting submissions in response. Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting, council's resource management compliance manager, Gary McKenzie, said the council had a responsibility to uphold environmental standards and protect public welfare as a regulatory authority. 'While some costs can be recovered through the courts, full cost recovery is not always possible. Like other regulatory agencies, we rely on public funding to fulfil these statutory obligations,' McKenzie said. He confirmed the costs awarded by the court had been paid to the council by the respondents. 'The council will continue to monitor forestry activity across the region and, where necessary, pursue legal action where environmental risks are not adequately managed.' During a council meeting last year, council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said about forestry prosecutions that for every $1 million spent on legal and investigation fees, 'you may get $250,000 back'. The environmental group, Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT), served as a third respondent to the case, with Alanya Limmer, a King's Counsel from Uawa, working pro bono. Spokesman Manu Caddie said it was a poor way to manage environmental issues and not fair to ratepayers, as it took council resources, including staff time away from other priorities. 'A small community group like ours could never afford to go up against these multinational companies like China Forestry Group if it wasn't for Alanya's generosity,' Caddie said. He said it was the fifth enforcement order application against forestry companies, four of which have been successful and one of which was awaiting an outcome. 'This is an incredibly costly and ineffective way of trying to reduce risk in catchments across Tairāwhiti and should instead be dealt with through stronger regulations.' The lawyers of China Forestry Group and Wood Marketing Services said the organisations did not wish to comment. The court decision, made on April 28, enforced China Forestry Group NZ, its NZ director at the time, Mr Yuxia Sun (who has since resigned), and management company Wood Marketing Services to pay the council $51,000 and MTT $8500. The council sought various enforcement order applications on September 8, 2023, which were granted nearly a year later on August 9, 2024 However, 'the issue of costs was reserved', with the court granting leave for the council and MTT to apply for costs. The council sought half of its expenses incurred in its application, which the court rounded up to $51,000. The $51,000 will be split, $38,250 for China Forestry Group NZ and Sun, and $12,750 for Wood Marketing Services. MTT's $8500 will be split, $6000 for China Forestry Group and Sun and $2500 for Wood Marketing Services. The court found that the respondents contributed to the length of the case management process and the hearing, with 'WMS's contribution to the length of the process less than CFG in terms of the way it conducted itself at the hearing. Further, it complied with Court directions'. © Scoop Media
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
City of Windsor defends hiring mayor's wife for project manager role
Windsor's Chief Administrative Officer said all rules were followed in the recent hiring of Jane Deneau, the mayor's wife, for a permanent, full-time, project manager role with the city. According to Ray Mensour, Deneau was the top-scoring candidate for the job in the parks, recreation and facilities department, which has a posted salary range between $96,000 and $116,900. The job opening was listed for six days, from April 4 to 10. The CAO said Deneau was one of 278 people who applied for the position, and then one of three shortlisted candidates — who were all external submissions. "This position does not have any direct reports and is not considered a manager level employee," said Mensour. "Therefore, the recruitment does not require or involve mayoral participation or approval." CBC News reached out to Deneau for comment, but did not receive a response. Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens confirmed on AM800 that his wife had been hired, and said in a statement to CBC News that he "cannot speak to a recruitment process with which I was not involved." Strong mayor powers can raise concerns A municipal government expert believes that strong mayor powers have "muddied the waters" when it comes to hiring people who have a relationship with the mayor. "The crux of the issue here relates to strong mayor powers over administration and how they could undermine the CAO-Council model that most municipalities in Ontario and Canada have adopted," said Joe Lyons, Director of the Local Government Project at Western University. Strong mayor powers give Dilkens the ability to hire and fire nearly all staff members within the City of Windsor. However, Dilkens has delegated that authority to the CAO for any position below manager. Lyons said the mayor's control of the employment of the people who lead the department that Deneau now works in, can create worrying perceptions. "What this situation elicits, you know, is also concerns about how the powers over senior members of administration could leak kind of deeper into the organization, or affect the behaviour of people deeper within the organization when they're doing things like hiring people," said Lyons. All paperwork and processes were followed, says CAO In a statement issued to media on Tuesday, Mensour wrote: "As part of the recruitment, all required paperwork and processes were followed, including completion of a family relationship form." "This process is in place to ensure that there is never a direct reporting relationship between related parties." Mensour said that Deneau had applied to two other positions with the city in the past but was not hired. On Deneau's LinkedIn profile, she lists 27 years of experience working as a project manager with a company called Creative Realities, Inc. — an IT consulting firm based out of Kentucky. As a project manager with parks, recreation and facilities, Deneau "will provide overall management for every aspect of the design, development and implementation of Recreation & Facilities project management initiatives," according to the job posting. The posting said that Deneau will be expected to create reports that she may be required to present to senior management or city council. Deneau's first day of work was May 20.
Scoop
24-05-2025
- Scoop
‘Kids Do Dumb Things': Principal Speaks Out Against Keyboard Warriors
Article – David Hill – Local Democracy Reporter Schools speak up on 'challenging student behaviour' in the wake of an incident at Oxford Area School this week. All schools grapple with ''challenging student behaviour'', and it is not helped by social media outbursts, a North Canterbury principal says. Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said he felt for his colleagues, after critics took to social media following an incident this week at Oxford Area School. A student was taken to Christchurch Hospital with injuries after being allegedly assaulted by another student at Oxford Area School on Wednesday, media reported. Challenging behaviour happened in all schools and most followed restorative processes when addressing the behaviour, he said. ''Kids do dumb things and our role is to teach them the consequences of their actions,'' he said. ''We try to hold young people to account for their actions in a kind and positive way. ''But social media isn't interested in that.'' He said people should not assume every ''unpleasant incident is bullying''. ''Bullying is ongoing emotional abuse and it happens everywhere and not just in schools,'' Mr Kearney said. ''It happens in the workplace, in the home, out in the community and online.'' While some social media critics wanted schools to return to corporal punishment, Mr Kearney said it was not the answer. ''It is teaching a student, 'I'm going to hit you because you hit someone else'.'' Like politicians, Mr Kearney said school principals were often targets of online abuse, including death threats. Rangiora High School was one of several schools to participate in the recent Pink Shirt Day, he said. Oxford Area School board of trustees presiding member Aaron Campbell referred enquiries about the incident at OAS to principal Mike Hart. In a statement, Mr Hart said the school was following its procedures to work through the incident. He asked the community to contact the school if they had any concerns or questions. ''Our thoughts and heartfelt support are with the student and their whānau during this time. ''We know this may be unsettling, and we are doing everything we can to ensure the wellbeing of all involved.'' Rangiora High School board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said schools have always grappled with ''challenging student behaviour'', which is an emotive topic. He said the board worked with school leadership to ensure bullying was addressed promptly and constructively, with ''a focus on restoring relationships and building a culture of respect and accountability''. A Ministry of Education spokesperson said staff had been in contact with Oxford Area School and were confident school staff were following appropriate procedures. Oxford Area School has students from years 1 to 13. Local Democracy Reporting noted several Oxford Facebook pages had blocked comments on the incident.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Budget 2025 Cuts RNZ Funding To Pay For Local Journalism Initiatives
The Better Public Media Trust welcomes Minister for Media and Communications Paul Goldsmith's recognition that funding local journalism is vital in a democratic society. But it is counter-productive to fund these initiatives at the expense of Radio New Zealand. Although Budget 2025 allocates $6.4 million over four years to council, community and court reporting via NZ On Air, RNZ funding is being cut by $18.4 million over the same period. 'The way to address the crisis in the news sector is not to try and drive public service media into the same economic crisis as the rest of the commercial media sector,' said BPM spokesperson Dr Peter Thompson. 'The government could save itself considerably more money with a levy on digital advertising to support the provision of reliable, in-depth public interest news.' 'Funding the Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice projects by taking money away from RNZ is robbing Peter to pay Paul,' he said. 'The government seems to think the funding increases for RNZ under the previous government were unduly generous but has forgotten that those increases were in response to almost a decade of frozen budgets that RNZ suffered under the preceding National government.' BPM believes that public service media are an important component of New Zealand's media. Ensuring we have independent news media that can hold those in power to account is vital when the news media sector is in crisis and public knowledge is being undermined by online disinformation. A recent Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report, produced by the AUT research centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy, shows that in 2025 RNZ was the most trusted news brand in New Zealand. Given that the government has set targets for RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency, cutting its funding is surely counter-productive. 'The fundamental policy problem is that the news sector has lost a significant proportion of its advertising share - hundreds of millions of dollars - to the online platforms. Addressing this structural deficit needs much more than $6.4 million over four years,' said Dr Thompson. 'There are serious flaws in the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which has stalled, but there is another inexpensive option which would make a real difference - a levy on commercial revenue streams could put a significant amount of revenue back into the news sector.' A one percent levy on digital advertising alone would raise around $18-20 million each year, which could support projects like Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice, while increasing RNZ's budget. BPM is reassured to see the government supporting public interest journalism with funding disbursed by NZ On Air, but this should be supported through a levy model, not by reallocating RNZ's funding.
