Latest news with #UrbanDevelopmentInstituteofAustralia
The Age
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Sydneysiders were facing a 50 per cent water bill hike. That's now been halved
Households will be spared steep bill increases after the pricing regulator halved those sought by Sydney Water, which had called for a 50 per cent hike to pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades. However, furious developers say the move to limit hip-pocket pain over the next five years will only undermine housing supply. 'You can't have more homes without more water infrastructure,' Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Stuart Ayres said. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's (IPART) draft report includes an average 4.6 per cent increase, about $61, for each of the next five years before inflation. As a state-owned monopoly utility provider, Sydney Water's pricing is set on five-year terms by the regulator. A final report is due in September and stakeholders are expecting little change to IPART's draft determination. The 23 per cent hike is less than half of what Sydney Water proposed in a controversial submission to IPART in late November 2024. Household water bills would have soared by 50 per cent in the five years to 2030, including an 18 per cent rise in the first year alone. Under IPART's revised proposal, average bills would increase from $1220 in 2024-25 to $1527 in the last year of the determination, excluding inflation. Comparatively, Sydney Water's submission would have resulted in an increase in the typical household bill to $1928 by 2029-30. The hike was justified by the agency's then-chief executive Roch Cheroux as being essential to 'manage Sydney's water future', predominantly to ensure infrastructure was upgraded and expanded in line with the state's target of 377,000 new homes under the National Housing Accord.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sydneysiders were facing a 50 per cent water bill hike. That's now been halved
Households will be spared steep bill increases after the pricing regulator halved those sought by Sydney Water, which had called for a 50 per cent hike to pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades. However, furious developers say the move to limit hip-pocket pain over the next five years will only undermine housing supply. 'You can't have more homes without more water infrastructure,' Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Stuart Ayres said. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's (IPART) draft report includes an average 4.6 per cent increase, about $61, for each of the next five years before inflation. As a state-owned monopoly utility provider, Sydney Water's pricing is set on five-year terms by the regulator. A final report is due in September and stakeholders are expecting little change to IPART's draft determination. The 23 per cent hike is less than half of what Sydney Water proposed in a controversial submission to IPART in late November 2024. Household water bills would have soared by 50 per cent in the five years to 2030, including an 18 per cent rise in the first year alone. Under IPART's revised proposal, average bills would increase from $1220 in 2024-25 to $1527 in the last year of the determination, excluding inflation. Comparatively, Sydney Water's submission would have resulted in an increase in the typical household bill to $1928 by 2029-30. The hike was justified by the agency's then-chief executive Roch Cheroux as being essential to 'manage Sydney's water future', predominantly to ensure infrastructure was upgraded and expanded in line with the state's target of 377,000 new homes under the National Housing Accord.
The Age
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Public services face $3b cut, 1200 jobs to go, but state's debt just keeps climbing
The budget also outlines $3.3 billion in savings to come over the forward estimates as the state government reduces duplication and 'back of house' functions. Loading Some of this comes from early work implementing a review by Helen Silver, whose full findings will be unveiled in June and include plans to streamline Victoria's more than 500 entities and 3400 public boards and committees. The treasurer said she was expecting about 1200 full-time positions to go as part of this effort. However, this could include vacant roles. 'Government had been put on notice, particularly when I announced the Silver review about reduction across the Victorian public service,' Symes said. 'When people have been leaving, positions haven't been filled, people have moved around, and the like.' The budget papers show that taxation revenue in 2025-26 will hit $41.7 billion, and increase $6.2 billion over the next four years. Jaclyn Symes has released her first budget. Credit: Aresna Villanueva Payroll taxes such as the COVID debt levy and the mental health and wellbeing levy will reach $11.9 billion this financial year, growing at an average of 5.1 per cent per year over the next four years. Land taxes are forecast to hit $7.6 billion, growing by an average of 5.7 per cent, and stamp duty is expected to reach $9.6 billion this financial year, forecast to grow at an annual rate of 5 per cent. Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said the budget was a missed opportunity to seriously tackle the housing crisis with tax relief large enough to spur more supply. Loading 'The industry was looking for some courage from the government, instead it has received crumbs,' she said. 'Victoria is now the highest-taxed state in Australia when it comes to property. The government's overreliance on property taxes is making projects unfeasible to proceed and keeping first home buyers from making the first step on the property ladder.' Total spending is set to grow from $107.7 billion in 2025-26 to $115.4 billion in 2028-29, increasing by an average of 2.4 per cent. Treasury expects a rare increase in Victoria's share of GST funding to wind down, meaning the state's surpluses will rely on the increased state revenue. A slim operating surplus of $600 million is forecast to rise to $1.9 billion in the 2026-27 financial year, then $2.4 billion in 2027-28, then $1.5 billion in 2028-29. However, net debt is expected to continue to rise from $167.7 billion this year to $194 billion in 2028-29, sitting at 24.9 per cent of gross state product. Symes said the government was meeting its target of stabilising debt and reducing its share of the total economy. 'If you've got more money, it's easier to pay your mortgage,' she said. 'Reducing net debt as a proportion of [gross state product] is the measure that we're focused on. It's a measure that a lot of the world focuses on as well. By the end of the forwards, the total interest that we pay is 1.35 per cent of GSP.' S&P Global's Melbourne-based analyst, Rebecca Hrvatin, said reining in Victoria's growth of public spending was strengthening its finances, but these goals had proven difficult. 'Fiscal discipline is important, especially in the lead-up to the 2026 state election because we have seen many Australian state governments lose control of their budgets in the lead-up to an election,' she said. Unemployment is expected to rise to 4.75 per cent next financial year and wages are forecast to grow at 3.25 per cent, which is above inflation. The consolidation of public services is projected to save $544.6 million over the next year as it is phased in, rising to more than $1 billion in 2027-28. The diminished public service will also need less space, allowing for the 'consolidating of accommodation' of physical workspaces within the Treasury Place precinct. The number of business regulators will also be halved, from 37 to 18 or fewer, by 2030. Loading In addition to trimming its own workforce, the government expects that regulator mergers will save businesses $500 million over the next four years by eliminating duplication, accelerating processes and reducing the number of permits needed to do business. Victoria will add $9.3 billion to hospitals' operating budgets as part of an $11.1 billion increase in health funding. A $100 power-saving bonus will be available to people on concession cards. Shadow treasurer James Newbury said Labor had failed to live up to promises to rein in expenditure. 'This is a government that borrows more, spends more and achieves less. Labor's addiction to reckless spending is driving down our services and driving up the cost of living,' he said. Newbury said Victoria was approaching 'dangerous' levels of debt as it moved towards $200 billion. 'The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend,' he said. Funding for decisions not yet announced, typically used for election war chests, will be $591 million this financial year, rising to $2.37 billion, $3.98 billion and $5.7 billion each year thereafter. However, the budget papers state this pool has also been set aside for additional demand and price pressure in areas such as health and education. State employee expenses will rise from $38.8 billion in the 2025-26 financial year to $42.4 billion over the next four years. Get alerts on significant breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.
The Advertiser
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Debt piles up as public service faces $3b budget cut
A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29 A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29 A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29 A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29
Sydney Morning Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Colin Dutton on swapping one coastline for another and why he's not a fan of the ‘s' word
But after 10 years, Dutton says his love of building morphed into a passion for planning and a more holistic view of the way communities come together. Neither, though, he reveals, were his first choice of career. 'I wanted to be a rugby league star,' he tells me, laughing. 'I wanted to be [rugby league coach and former player] Mal Meninga's centre partner, but I wasn't quick enough or big enough or fast enough.' With a father who was heavily involved in the local sporting clubs, and three older rugby-obsessed brothers, Dutton says his dream of playing professionally began early. He played rugby union throughout high school and league after, dropping out of his second year of university to pursue rugby and surf life-saving full-time. But a spate of injuries brought his dreams of a rugby career to an abrupt end, forcing Dutton to reconsider his future. Tail between his legs, he returned to university to finish his degree. He says it wasn't until he began leading the development of master-planned communities from scratch that he realised the career he fell back on was the next best thing. 'It sounds a bit funny, but I distinctly remember standing in the middle of this community with large yellow trucks moving around me and feeling like that little boy in there — just with bigger trucks,' he says, as our pan-fried market fish dishes arrive. Dutton credits his time in local government with helping him to understand the nuts and bolts of the planning process. But he says no role has provided more insight into the system than his time at the helm of the Urban Development Institute of Australia. Dutton led the industry body's Gold Coast branch through the Global Financial Crisis before serving as president of the WA branch until 2023. Now, he is the UDIA's national president. He says he found the WA planning system easier to navigate than the federal system, lavishing praise on the McGowan-Cook government for its recent reforms. According to Dutton, federal planning and environmental approvals would benefit from an overhaul. Loading 'The challenge is always the execution through the system, and getting the product for the customer and the community is the hardest bit … getting through the various layers of the system can be really frustrating,' he elaborates. He firmly rejects that the proximity of the state's biggest developers to those in higher office is a problem, insisting being able to have an honest conversation with the powers that be is critical. Some critics believe the gaping disparity between the WA government's infill-promoting policies and bush-rezoning actions have enabled Perth's ballooning urban footprint — and the proximity of developers to political heavyweights has exacerbated the issue. But Dutton says it's not that simple. 'I'm not a huge fan of the word 'sprawl',' he says, as I attempt to broach the subject. 'There's a whole lot of planning that goes into creating those suburbs. We're involved in all four corridors of Perth and in infill as well, but so much work goes into planning and preparing infrastructure. 'There are fantastic developers in Perth with great products but, post-COVID, particularly high-rise, getting them off the ground is just not feasible.' With much of the city surrounded by the detached housing Perth has become obsessed with, Dutton points out the challenge in amalgamating sites to create infill projects in the appropriate areas. He says the issue is cost, and declares medium to high density projects rarely stack up financially outside the western suburbs. But Stockland is dabbling in both, developing 20,000 stand-alone lots as the company completes 97 medium density terrace houses in Glendalough and prepares to build more in Beaconsfield. Dutton assures me Stockland's strategy involves a mix of infill and greenfield developments in the future, and believes the current housing crisis will be a catalyst for innovation in terms of housing stock and the diversification of the product mix. 'Historically, it's been a lot of three to four bedroom double brick houses — a study a few years ago suggested it was 88 per cent of the build in Perth,' he says. 'That's the exact reverse in the eastern states … so there's opportunity there for innovation, not just in the types of materials used but the product mix.' Not that he envies those tasked with governing how we tackle the housing supply shortage and affordability issue. The nature of his job might require him to engage with it, but Dutton says he swore off a career in politics early, raised in a home he says would temporarily serve as a ward office at election time. His family was heavily involved in the Labor Party, and Dutton recalls being roped into handing out how to vote cards and conducting letterbox drops. 'I think it pushed me away from getting involved later,' he admits. 'It just seemed so full on. You're dealing with politics in your career every day, every week, so you have to take some interest in it, but I'm certainly not as passionate as they were about getting involved.' And in the next breath, he lays bare a jam-packed weekly schedule that fits well within the realm of 'full on'. With seven active projects and four more about to get under way, Dutton's diary is filled with meetings with everyone from government officials to contractors and builders. He rarely works from home, he tells me, but did today because the venue for our lunch is close by, and he balances his busy day job with his responsibilities at the helm of the UDIA. 'I like to map out my week each week to stay on track and retain balance,' he tells me. His love of the water hasn't wavered, he tells me, and he still makes time to swim laps three times a week — having trained for and completed several Rottnest Channel Swims. 'Swimming, it takes your mind off things,' he says.
