Latest news with #UNSWSydney
Daily Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
$486 billion warning to NSW homeowners
There is a tranche of strata laws starting on July 1 in NSW, and then even more later in the year, which are aimed at improving the lives of residents. It comes at a time when data from UNSW Sydney and the Strata Community Association reveals their growing number to about 17 per cent of NSW residents. There were 91,346 strata plans across NSW as at 2024, up from 89,049 in 2022. The total number of individual lots grew to 1,077,277, up from 1,043,690 in 2022. The estimated total insured value of strata plans grew to $486bn, up from $456bn as the number of buildings and the construction cost to replace them increases. With 55 per cent of all strata plans built before 2000, it means no let up in the pressure on repairs and maintenance for those owners corporations, according to Hazel Easthope, from the City Futures Research Centre at UNSW Sydney. MORE: Wild reason Aussie has 300 homes Prior research put the number of annual call-out jobs at 1.7m, costing $2.5bn. Unfortunately the strata management industry has some dreadful practices. It was highlighted when the ABC reported in May last year that Netstrata, one of the state's biggest, had been using its wholly owned insurance arm to charge apartment complexes excessively high insurance brokerage fees. NSW Fair Trading recently issued a 24-page report by McGrath Nicol Advisory into Netstrata that identified possible breaches of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, including instances of nondisclosure of commissions received; instances of failing to obtain at least two quotes for expenses exceeding $30,000; and nondisclosure of commissions received from a third-party service debt collection agency, Strategic Collection Services. The report advised there were other practices not in the best interests of the consumer, including charging a premium to strata plans who did not use Netstrata's wholly owned insurance broker, Strata Insurance Services (SIS) along with a remuneration structure which incentivised its strata managers to bill for add-on charges. It found a 'highly saturated use of related entity suppliers' with whom Netstrata had a commercial arrangement. 'Netstrata's own interests appear to have trumped the interests of the people it had a duty to act on behalf of,' the Fair Trading commission's Natasha Mann advised. Netstrata disputes this. MORE: Neighbours become $200m richer overnight Last month, Minister for Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong announced the appointment of Angus Abadee to oversee the strata industry as the NSW Strata and Property Services Commissioner. Abadee will lead 'initiatives to enhance industry integrity and lift consumer confidence' having held senior positions in the Building Commission NSW. The McGrathNicol review did not consider Netstrata's actions under the new laws. The July 1 changes are aimed in part 'to protect owners in strata from unfair contract terms and facilitate an uplift of strata management services to improve owners' confidence'. NSW Fair Trading advises a meeting needs to be held between the committee and strata manager to allocate and complete the new specific task. MORE: Kmart set to change everything in Temu war
The National
4 days ago
- Climate
- The National
What was behind extreme Atlantic heatwave of 2023?
A marine heatwave in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2023 was caused by record-breaking weak winds combined with increased solar radiation due to a lack of clouds – all on the back of continued climate change, scientists found. From Greenland to the Sahara and across to the Americas, the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean warmed at an unprecedented speed in the summer of 2023 according to a new study. 'The intensity of the warming in that single summer was equivalent to about two decades worth of warming for the North Atlantic,' said co-author Prof Matthew England from UNSW Sydney. 'While these extreme temperature events are typically only temporary, we can expect they'll become more frequent in the future.' At the time, Prof England was researching the so-called 'cold blob', a region of cooling in the North Atlantic south-east of Greenland which is one of the more unusual consequences of global warming. It is a sign of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) slowing down, which is a scenario made famous by the Hollywood film, The Day After Tomorrow. The waters had been cooling for the past 50 to 100 years. 'We even asked ourselves if this was the circulation making a temporary comeback, but the rate of warming was far too rapid for that,' Prof England said. The heatwave is essentially measured by the depth of the upper layer of the ocean – directly affected by solar radiation – which sits above the cooler deep ocean. With more exposure to the sun during spring and summer, the upper ocean gradually warms. Co-author of the report published in Nature, Prof Alex Sen Gupta, also from UNSW, said the rate of warming depends on the thickness of the ocean's upper layer. The thickness is set by the winds that churn up the surface waters and mix heat throughout it. 'A thin layer will warm faster, much in the same way that a pan of water on a stove with less water will warm faster than a pan with more,' Prof Sen Gupta said. In June and July of 2023, the North Atlantic winds were weaker than ever recorded, 'so the upper layer of the ocean was thinner than ever recorded', he said. In some areas it was only 10 metres deep, compared to the usual 20 to 40 metres deep. An extra factor was lack of cloud cover. In 2020, new international rules were introduced to reduce the sulphur pollution emitted by ships, aiming to improve air quality around the world's major shipping lanes. But clearer skies means more sunlight can reach the sea surface – especially in the North Atlantic, which is a high-traffic shipping area. However, Prof England says this effect was secondary, only contributing to localised regions of enhanced warming. Most of the blame he says, still lay with the lack of wind. 'Reducing sulphate emissions is good for reducing air pollution,' he said. 'Though it has the unfortunate effect of allowing additional warming of the ocean's surface, because less sunlight is reflected back to space.' Co-author Dr Zhi Li, also from UNSW, who led the analyses of ocean observations said the temporary thinning caused by weaker-than-average winds was also bolstered by global warming. Long-term warming causes the surface ocean to become less dense, suppressing the ability of winds to mix the upper ocean. 'So we were also dealing with a long-term thinning of the upper layer,' he said. The combination of weak winds with reduced mixed layer depths and clearer than average skies meant the rapid warming became a full-basin marine heatwave which the scientists described as 'off the scale'. As the warming waters radiated heat back into the atmosphere, this triggered a series of consequences on land. Air masses travelling over the top of the ocean were picking up heat to scorch cities across Europe. Deadly heatwaves of more than 40°C across Germany, France and Italy broke temperature records, wildfires broke out, while torrential rains devastated parts of Spain and Eastern Europe. Back underwater, the coral reefs of the Caribbean were bleaching under severe heat stress. Hurricanes, which only occur during summer, fuelled by ocean heat, intensified into disasters. That season, Hurricane Idalia hit Florida – causing eight deaths and damages worth $3.6bn. 'This wasn't just a small area of warm water off one coast,' said Prof Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), another co-author of the study. 'This was the entire North Atlantic, with impacts on weather systems, human lives, marine ecosystems and society.' Prof England said marine heatwaves in the North Atlantic are only set to get worse in the future, with extremely costly consequences for ecosystems and society. 'Severe marine heatwaves often only last for a few weeks or months, but this one in the North Atlantic left a legacy that persisted for more than a year,' he said.
Perth Now
20-05-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Lived experience drives $50 million endometriosis gift
A record-breaking $50 million donation will establish a world-first endometriosis research institute at a Sydney university, made possible after a family's personal experience with the disease. UNSW Sydney will establish the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute (AERI), thanks to a philanthropic donation by the Ainsworth family. Lily Ainsworth and her mother Anna have both experienced the chronic pain and uncertainty that comes with endometriosis. It is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found outside the uterus, causing severe pelvic pain, fatigue and in some cases infertility. Endometriosis is estimated to affect more than one million Australian women and girls and about 200 million people globally. "I've had endo pain since I was 15 years old," Lily Ainsworth said. "While my fertility hasn't been impacted, I experience chronic, daily pain and severe flare ups that debilitate me for days or weeks on end." Many people with endometriosis endure years of symptoms without answers, waiting an average six to eight years for an accurate diagnosis. Ms Ainsworth said the institute was about more than research, it was about hope. "Hope for those living with endometriosis now and in the future, that they will be able to live full, happy and healthy lives," she said. In Australia, the economic burden of endometriosis is estimated to be between $7.4 billion and $9.7 billion annually. The AERI will bring top scientists, clinicians, and philanthropists together from around the world to accelerate diagnosis breakthroughs and create precision-based treatments. The institute aims to fast-track new understandings of the disease by focusing on genomic research, biorepositories and advanced testing. The record-breaking funding is the largest known philanthropic donation by a family to endometriosis research globally and women's health in Australia.
West Australian
28-04-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Australian research reveals getting a booster vaccine in the same arm as the first dose is more effective
Australian scientists have revealed why receiving a booster vaccine in the same arm as your first dose is more effective. The study, led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, offers new insight that could help improve future vaccinations. The researchers found when a booster vaccine like the Pfizer COVID vaccine was given in the same arm the body produced antibodies against the illness significantly faster than those who had the second shot in the opposite arm. The participants who had the booster vaccine in the same arm as their first dose developed antibodies — proteins that protect you from bacteria and viruses — within a week. 'By four weeks, both groups had similar antibody levels, but that early protection could be crucial during an outbreak,' Kirby Institute vaccine immunogenomics leader Mee Ling Munier said. 'If you've had your COVID jabs in different arms, don't worry our research shows that over time the difference in protection diminishes but during a pandemic, those first weeks of protection could make an enormous difference at a population level. 'The same-arm strategy could help achieve herd immunity faster — particularly important for rapidly mutating viruses where speed of response matters.' Garvan precision immunology program director Tri Phan said the findings offer a promising new approach for enhancing vaccine effectiveness. 'This is a fundamental discovery in how the immune system organises itself to respond better to external threats — nature has come up with this brilliant system and we're just now beginning to understand it,' he said. 'If we can understand how to replicate or enhance the interactions ... we may be able to design next-generation vaccines that require fewer boosters.'
Perth Now
28-04-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Vaccinations in the same arm make booster jabs work faster
Australian scientists have revealed why receiving a booster vaccine in the same arm as your first dose is more effective. The study, led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, offers new insight that could help improve future vaccinations. The researchers found when a booster vaccine like the Pfizer COVID vaccine was given in the same arm the body produced antibodies against the illness significantly faster than those who had the second shot in the opposite arm. The participants who had the booster vaccine in the same arm as their first dose developed antibodies — proteins that protect you from bacteria and viruses — within a week. 'By four weeks, both groups had similar antibody levels, but that early protection could be crucial during an outbreak,' Kirby Institute vaccine immunogenomics leader Mee Ling Munier said. 'If you've had your COVID jabs in different arms, don't worry our research shows that over time the difference in protection diminishes but during a pandemic, those first weeks of protection could make an enormous difference at a population level. 'The same-arm strategy could help achieve herd immunity faster — particularly important for rapidly mutating viruses where speed of response matters.' Garvan precision immunology program director Tri Phan said the findings offer a promising new approach for enhancing vaccine effectiveness. 'This is a fundamental discovery in how the immune system organises itself to respond better to external threats — nature has come up with this brilliant system and we're just now beginning to understand it,' he said. 'If we can understand how to replicate or enhance the interactions ... we may be able to design next-generation vaccines that require fewer boosters.'
