Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers’s budget on Tuesday night stirred up a swathe of responses, including big support from sustainability people in the built environment and first home buyers, a mixed response from energy players and, predictably, dismay from property investors.
Most notable and perhaps controversial was the reduction of the capital gains ...
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Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
The federal government’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions represent one of the most ambitious – and politically contentious – shifts in Australian housing tax settings in decades.
Sign up for our free ...
Jesse Clarke is a building physicist. At our Passive House debate on 26 May, he’ll have a lot to say about the science and the evidence of how to build the best buildings.
To understand Passive House, he says you need to know a bit about its history and about how building codes have developed in Australia.
Sign up for our free ...
Australia is in the grip of a record-breaking battery rush.
Last week, Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that more than 380,000 home batteries have been installed since July last year. That’s over 100,000 more than the total installed between 2020 and mid-2025. The reason for the rush: government subsidies, which cut the upfront cost by about 30 ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
For five days last week, The Sydney Morning Herald ran Stranded Sydney, an investigative series on the infrastructure failure unfolding across Sydney’s urban fringe. It documented what residents in Riverstone, Marsden Park, Box Hill and Austral ...
There’s good news for the built environment – one of Australia’s oldest and probably most respected environmental organisations, the Australian Conservation Foundation, will be paying a lot more attention to buildings and cities.
Listen to the podcast
Sign up for our free newsletter.
Even better is the scale of support that ...
As data centres increasingly soak up attention, along with all available energy – renewables preferred, thanks – Elon Musk’s promise to place them in space has caught the imagination.
And not in a small way. His promise is backed by an initial public offering (IPO) to launch up to 1 million data centre satellites into orbit.
Sign up for our ...
The NSW government has proposed a new bill that would streamline building approvals for modern methods of construction (MMC), help resolve building disputes faster, and introduce harsher penalties for dodgy certifiers.
According to the government, the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 aims to increase the scale and pace required to meet ...
Since 2021 when the schism in thinking about Passive House was painfully brought to our attention, the sceptics have edged their way into the world of mainstream architecture.
In Sydney a surprising number of influential architects will tell you “Nah, I just don’t buy it”
Sign up for our free newsletter.
Why? you ask.
“Well in ...
The NSW Government’s decision to endorse 16 major private-sector projects through the Investment Delivery Authority has been presented, understandably, as an investment and growth story. With $34.4 billion in potential capital value attached to the first tranche, and 14 of the 16 projects tied to energy, the announcement speaks directly to the state’s ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
The Iran crisis has exposed a hard truth for global business: supply chains are only as resilient as their weakest link. When conflict disrupts major trade routes, the effects spread quickly through the wider economy. The immediate shock may be ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
This second in a two part series focuses on how to build cities for people, not cars focused on density, this time through infrastructure. Higher-rise or mid-rise buildings combined with excellent public transport, walkable streets, trees, ...
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers’s budget on Tuesday night stirred up a swathe of responses, including big support from sustainability people in the built environment and first home buyers, a mixed response from energy players and, predictably, dismay from property investors.
Most notable and perhaps controversial was the reduction of the capital gains ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
The federal government’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions represent one of the most ambitious – and politically contentious – shifts in Australian housing tax settings in decades.
Sign up for our free ...
Jesse Clarke is a building physicist. At our Passive House debate on 26 May, he’ll have a lot to say about the science and the evidence of how to build the best buildings.
To understand Passive House, he says you need to know a bit about its history and about how building codes have developed in Australia.
Sign up for our free ...
Australia is in the grip of a record-breaking battery rush.
Last week, Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that more than 380,000 home batteries have been installed since July last year. That’s over 100,000 more than the total installed between 2020 and mid-2025. The reason for the rush: government subsidies, which cut the upfront cost by about 30 ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
For five days last week, The Sydney Morning Herald ran Stranded Sydney, an investigative series on the infrastructure failure unfolding across Sydney’s urban fringe. It documented what residents in Riverstone, Marsden Park, Box Hill and Austral ...
There’s good news for the built environment – one of Australia’s oldest and probably most respected environmental organisations, the Australian Conservation Foundation, will be paying a lot more attention to buildings and cities.
Listen to the podcast
Sign up for our free newsletter.
Even better is the scale of support that ...
As data centres increasingly soak up attention, along with all available energy – renewables preferred, thanks – Elon Musk’s promise to place them in space has caught the imagination.
And not in a small way. His promise is backed by an initial public offering (IPO) to launch up to 1 million data centre satellites into orbit.
Sign up for our ...
The NSW government has proposed a new bill that would streamline building approvals for modern methods of construction (MMC), help resolve building disputes faster, and introduce harsher penalties for dodgy certifiers.
According to the government, the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 aims to increase the scale and pace required to meet ...
Since 2021 when the schism in thinking about Passive House was painfully brought to our attention, the sceptics have edged their way into the world of mainstream architecture.
In Sydney a surprising number of influential architects will tell you “Nah, I just don’t buy it”
Sign up for our free newsletter.
Why? you ask.
“Well in ...
The NSW Government’s decision to endorse 16 major private-sector projects through the Investment Delivery Authority has been presented, understandably, as an investment and growth story. With $34.4 billion in potential capital value attached to the first tranche, and 14 of the 16 projects tied to energy, the announcement speaks directly to the state’s ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
The Iran crisis has exposed a hard truth for global business: supply chains are only as resilient as their weakest link. When conflict disrupts major trade routes, the effects spread quickly through the wider economy. The immediate shock may be ...
Spinifex is an opinion column. If you would like to contribute, contact us to ask for a detailed brief.
This second in a two part series focuses on how to build cities for people, not cars focused on density, this time through infrastructure. Higher-rise or mid-rise buildings combined with excellent public transport, walkable streets, trees, ...