Дисертації з теми "Housing development Standards Australia"

As a component of the regulatory structure controlling building construction and land development in Australia, the system of building regulation was reformed during a period of significant restructuring of the Australian economy. The microeconomic reforms aimed to find efficiencies in government and industry sectors, and with respect to the latter, facilitate the development of competitive trade structures across national and global markets. The research provides a critical narrative account of the development and outcomes of the microeconomic reform of building regulation between 1990 and 2003. The microeconomic reform process is examined in the context of the vastly differing approaches of two Australian states, Victoria and New South Wales, with respect to the national reform agenda which was initiated and led by the Commonwealth government in response to the increasing globalization of the national economy. An understanding of what happened and why and how t he states differed with respect to the national reform agenda enabled the outcomes of the reforms to be examined for their impact upon government, industry and the community. The regulation of building construction is a constitutional responsibility of the state governments and has traditionally been controlled by local government. However, control is increasingly being centralized at the national level, in response to international pressures to adopt performance-based regulations, standards and governance systems that accord to neoliberal ideology. This has resulted in a reduction of state and local government involvement in certain building control functions with a commensurate increased role for the private sector; an increase in the complexity and quantity of regulatory instruments; a reduction in government accountability for the standard of building construction; the development of structures to facilitate competitive intranational and international trade in construction-related goods and services and a reduction in the quality and standard of buildings. The principal benefits of the reforms have accrued to industry and to government and the least benefits have accrued to the community/consumer.

The built environment has evolved through a layering process of both human needs and aspirations. We as a society 'Worship' the remnants of these richly varied and complex environments. In the previous 100 years, however, our environment has become a battleground for survival on many levels: environmental health, societal boundaries and quality of life. The so-called haphazard mode of environmental development was proceeding so quickly that 'MAN', through organization and control, sought to harness rampant growth by providing a mechanism to, in essence, protect us from ourselves. This mechanism was development standardization. Zoning and subdivision standards initially had a very positive effect on residential districts. They achieved the desired objective of improving the health, safety and welfare of local citizens. To remain a successful regulatory mechanism, however, requires frequent review. (Generally government regulations are continually reviewed because of a need to respond to current reality - a typical example is tax reform laws). This is especially true for development regulation, which necessarily must respond to the rapidly changing and dynamic evolution of the North American city and its peoples. In the case of residential development standards, however, there has been a lack of policy review resulting in a back-water of no change to the standard. Development standards, that were a direct response to mass housing development in the early nineteen hundreds, in many instances are still in place in municipalities in the Greater Vancouver area and likely throughout many other North American cities as well. It is apparent that the very standards that were invoked to ensure residential quality are now preventing development from creating that quality. At the core of the issue of planning and design standards is the lack of understanding of these two disciplines - by each other and by the public. As a result, in many instances both planners and the public equate design with a simple problem solving process according to explicit rules - the standards. Herein lies the core of the problem. This misrepresentation of design and what it stands for in terms of environmental quality. This misunderstanding has greatly influenced the world we live in and this influence as of late is not of the positive nature. The thrust of this thesis is an exploration of the issue of design in the context of residential development standards. What are the standards which influence/impact residential development? What were the objectives for which these standards were originally implemented? How do the standards currently support the implementation of recognized design principles which lead to high quality environments? What kind of residential world is created by adherence to the standards and what opportunities are lost? It is evident from this study that while the mechanism and often the mathematical formula of development standardization have remained relatively constant during the past half century, the city and the city dweller have not. Most new neighbourhoods in today's North American city lack identity, character and quality environment due to a set of zoning and subdivision standards that are antiquated and often based on arbitrary numbers. The case study examples of Village Homes in California and Ashcroft subdivision in Richmond, illustrate that conventional development standards prevent adherence to established residential design principles and that the nature of development standards is such that they are unable to contend with important and often basic design issues that are not amenable to simple arithmetic formula and measurement. It is also clear that standards not only adversely effect the physical condition of the residential environment, but also the people involved in the process of designing, constructing and regulating residential development. The designer is disillusioned, the developer confused, and the planner misfocused. The result is poor design, poor development, and poor planning. The failure to adopt and implement consistent and up-to-date policies and objectives for residential development standards has lead to the creation of stale, un-inviting, un-interesting and characterless living environments. The lesson to be learned here is that planners must first become more in tune with the issues and principles of design and second they must not be afraid to question established planning mechanisms. We therefore must ensure that a) the best mechanism is being employed and b) that it is based on appropriate and current policies and objectives that are leading to a better residential environment.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of
Graduate

Thesis (MConsumerScience)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The provision of housing in South Africa is a national priority. As many aspirant homeowners are first-time homeowners, they are not necessarily informed about the pitfalls of home ownership. Although the Government has attempted short-term solutions aimed at equipping these housing consumers with the necessary knowledge and skills to make informed and responsible housing-related decisions, research pointed to the need for a sustainable longterm solution in the form of education and training of the housing consumer. There must be a concentrated effort to provide housing education to consumers, since everyone has a constitutional right of access to adequate housing. Unless consumers are equipped with adequate knowledge and information to make informed choices, this right will not be realised and the housing market shall not function effectively. The main objective of the research study was to determine the basic housing knowledge of the senior student teachers of the Esikhawini College of Education in KwaZulu Natal. The second objective was to develop an illustrative Unit Standard for teacher qualification programmes on the fifth level of the National Oualificationa Framework (NOF). The sixteen housing education and training core concepts identified by Serfontein (2001 :120) namely Basic Housing Technology, Community, Cultural Aspects of Housing, Environment, Financial Aspects of Housing, Housing Consumerism, Housing Design and Decoration, Housing Market, Housing Needs, Housing Policy, Legal Aspects of Housing, Resource Management, Role-players in Housing, Sources of Housing Information, Tenure Options and Types of Housing were used to compile a questionnaire which was administered to the senior students of Esikhawini College of Education. The aim was to determine the basic knowledge that respondents possessed. The data collected formed the background for the illustrative Unit Standard for Housing Education that was developed in this research study. The development of Unit Standards for Housing Education is very necessary and timely as the Department of Housing, who seeks to develop a systematic housing consumer education framework for South Africa, have recommended that Housing Education should be included in the formal education curriculum. If the recommendations of the Department of Housing are implemented and housing education is included in the school curriculum, well-qualified and trained teachers would be needed to facilitate the learning of the content. Therefore housing education should be included in student teacher training programmes. The illustrative Unit Standard for Housing Education developed in this research study is ideally suited for this purpose.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die beskikbaarstelling van behuising in Suid-Afrika is 'n nasionale prioriteit. Aangesien baie aspirant huiseienaars nog nie vantevore huise besit het nie, is hulle nie noodwendig ingelig oor die struikelblokke van huiseienaarskap nie. Alhoewel die regering korttermyn pogings aangewend het om behuisingverbruikers toe te rus met die nodige kennis en vaardighede om ingeligte en verantwoordelike behuisingsbesluite te kan neem, toon navorsing dat daar 'n behoefte is aan 'n langtermyn, standhoudende oplossing in die vorm van opvoeding en die opleiding van behuisingsverbruikers. Daar moet 'n doelgerigte strewe wees om behuisingsopvoeding aan verbruikers te verskaf aangesien almal die konstitusionele reg tot gepaste behuising het. Tensy verbruikers toegerus word met gepaste kennis en inligting om ingeligte besluite te kan neem, sal hierdie reg nie gerealiseer kan word nie, en sal die behuisingsmark nie effektief kan funksioneer nie. Die hoofdoelwit van die navorsingstudie was om die basiese behuisingskennis van senior onderwysstudente aan die Esikhawini College of Education in KwaZulu Natal te bepaal. Die tweede doelwit was om 'n Eenheidstandaard vir Behuisingsopvoeding vir onderwysprogramme op die vyfde vlak van die Nasionale Kwalifikasie Raamwerk (NKR) te ontwikkel. Die sestien Behuisingsopvoeding en -opleiding kernkonsepte wat deur Serfontein (2001: 120) geïdentifiseer is, naamlik Basiese Behuisingstegnologie, Gemeenskap, Kulturele Aspekte van Behuising, Omgewing, Finansiële Aspekte van Behuising, Behuisingsverbruik, Behuisingsontwerp en -versiering, Behuisingsmark, Behuisingsbehoeftes, Behuisingsbeleid, Regsaspekte van Behuising, Hulpbronbestuur, Rolspelers in Behuising, Bronne van behuisingsinformasie, Huisverblyfopsies en Tipes Behuising is gebruik om 'n vraelys op te stel wat ingevul is deur die senior onderwysstudente aan die Esikhawini College of Education. Die doel was om die basiese kennis van die respondente te bepaal. Die data wat ingesamel is, het die onderbou gevorm van die Behuising Eenheidstandaard wat in dié navorsingstudie ontwikkel is. Die ontwikkeling van Eenheidstandaarde vir Behuisingsopvoeding en Opleiding is noodsaaklik en tydig vir die Departement van Behuising, aangesien hulle poog om 'n sistematiese behuisingsverbruikers-opvoedingsraamwerk vir Suid-Afrika daar te stel. Die Departement het aanbeveel dat behuisingsopvoeding ingesluit moet word in die formele onderwyskurrikulum. As die aanbevelings van die Departement van Behuising geïmplementeer word, en behuisingsopvoeding in die skoolkurrikulum ingesluit word, sal goedgekwalifiseerde, opgeleide onderwysers benodig word om hierdie inligting aan die leerders voor te hou. Om hierdie rede moet behuisingsopvoeding ingesluit word in die opleidingsprogramme van onderwysstudente. Die Eenheidstandaard vir Behuising wat in hierdie studie ontwikkel is, sou optimaal aangewend kon word vir hierdie doel.

This thesis investigates the relevance and transferability of developer contributed affordable housing in the USA as an alternative method of funding and delivering affordable housing in Australia. Local Government, the vehicle for the delivery, is explored because of its central role in co-ordinating developer contributed affordable housing in the USA; and because its role in both counties as both the planning authority and a potential provider or facilitator of community housing. Additionally, the nature and role of community based housing providers in the USA is considered important in maintaining the purpose of developer contributed affordable housing and also expanding the size of the community housing sector. The thesis investigated developer contribution policies and programs in four Californian municipalities: San Francisco, Santa Monica, Los Angeles and San Diego. This State and these cities have established some of the most well developed programs of this type in the USA. The investigation included controls and incentives, both mutually reinforcing, used in these Californian programs as well as operational program factors which led to their success. These were contrasted with Australian conditions to determine the relevance and transferability of the US experience. A central conclusion was that the US developer contribution programs had limited relevance and transferability to Australia for a number of reasons. These reasons include the divergent roles, track records and legal powers of local government in the USA and Australia in planning and housing provision or facilitation; contrasting legislative frameworks and nature of housing developers between the two countries; and the lack of an imperative in Australia to develop alternatives to centrally provided public housing systems which is in contrast to the USA. Consequently, the value of the US experience was that their particularly successful and problematic aspects of developer contributed housing programs and community housing arrangements would develop a useful context for an Australian model.

This study originated from a professional interest of the researcher in competency standards and their implementation in the professions. The study was conducted with the aim of informing policy development and implementation in Namibia in this area by drawing lessons from the Australian experience. It set out to identify the factors that influenced the implementation of this policy in Australia, the importance of these factors and the strategies employed by implementors to enhance successful implementation. The study is grounded in policy implementation theory. Twenty professions have been involved in developing and implementing competency standards in Australia under the guidance and with the support of a national government organisation called the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR). The main objectives of the Australian government in implementing this policy were the improvement of migrant skills recognition and the achievement of recognition for professional qualifications across state and territory borders. Time and budgetary constraints would not allow the involvement of all the professional groups in this study, so four groups were selected based on their size and progress made in developing and implementing the standards. The groups ranged from a very large professional group (more than 250 000 members) to a very small professional group (approximately 3 500 members). Eleven respondents from NOOSR and the professional groups participated in the study. Data was gathered by structured interview, a rating schedule and document analysis. The study found that there were seventeen factors that influenced this process as perceived by the respondents. These factors were classified into five categories: technical, political, economic, administrative and political, and then placed on a matrix with the levels at which they exerted their greatest pressure: external, internal to the professional body, and on the steering group. This classification of factors gave indications of the types of strategies and the level of intervention which may address implementation problems best. The study compiled a list of the factors in order of importance as rated by the respondents. This ranking showed that leadership was the most important factor, followed by experience and expertise of the steering group and the need for and appropriateness of the standards for the professions. The study also found that the Australian government employed inducement, capacity building and facilitation strategies to enhance the successful vii implementation of the standards, while the professional bodies employed mainly staff development and training as strategies. The study concluded that Namibian policy makers and implementors can draw the following lessons from the Australian experience: 1. there is a need for a balance between pressure and support from government; 2. there is a role for a national implementation plan; 3. the main attraction of national competency standards is still the many uses it can be put to and the many purposes it serves for different organisations; 4. assessment strategies need to be considered from the beginning; 5. the methodology of using a representative steering group to lead standards development is one of the best features of the Australian approach; 6. Over time, the original objectives of the policy became low priority for NOOSR and the government; 7. the classification matrix can be used as a planning tool; and 8. the ranking of the factors indicates the importance of organisational, technical and economic factors.

Quality assurance (QA) has become a key factor to business success in the marketplace. Within Australia, companies normally approach QA by implementing formal systems which maintain the consistency of manufacturing processes, and hence, the quality of subsequent output. These systems have increasingly been based upon the international series of standards, ISO 9000.In the food industry, safety is a minimum requirement for food quality. As Governments and food authorities have endeavoured to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses, they have promoted the implementation of additional systems developed to a specific standard for food safety, namely Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). However, the cost of developing and maintaining separate systems to ISO 9000 and HACCP is prohibitive to many food companies, particularly smaller operators. As a consequence, a number of alternative standards have been recently developed that are more relevant to the needs of these companies (e.g. SQF 2000, HACCP-9000). The purpose of this study was to develop a QA plan which could be successfully applied by a particular small food manufacturer (Westoz Brewing), This was achieved by adopting a technique used in a number of these alternative standards, i.e. application of HACCP to both safety and wider quality issues. Due to time constraints, the study focussed on applying HACCP only to quality issues rather than to both quality and safety issues. In particular, these issues were associated with lager-style products manufactured at one of the client's breweries. As a result of this research, the client was provided with a practical plan suitable for the application of a QA system to the production of a Westoz beer. In addition to reducing costs associated with maintaining an integrated system, further savings would be made due to the preventative nature of HACCP, i.e, minimisation of product reworking and waste by ensuring that more products are manufactured "right first time". The developed plan also represented an initial step towards certification to recognised quality standards such as SQF 2000.

This dissertation profiles the children's television industry in Australia; examines the relationship between government cultural policy objectives and television industry production practices; and explores the complexities of regulating and producing cultural content for child audiences. The research conducted between 1997 and 2002 confirms that children's television is a highly competitive business dependent on government regulatory mechanisms and support for its existence. For example, the Australian Broadcasting Authority's retaining of mandatory program standards for children's programs to date, is evidence of the government's continued recognition of the conflict between broadcasters' commercial imperatives and the public-interest. As a consequence, the industry is on the one hand insistent on the government continuing to play a role in ensuring and sustaining CTV - however, on the other hand, CTV producers resent the restrictions on creativity and innovation they believe result from the use of regulatory instruments such as the Children's Television Standards (CTS). In fact, as this dissertation details, the ABA's intended policy outcomes are inevitably coupled with unintended outcomes and little new or innovative policy development has occurred. The dissertation begins with an investigation into the social, cultural and ideological construction of childhood within an historical and institutional context. I do this in order to explore how children have been defined, constructed and managed as a cultural group and television audience. From this investigation, I then map the development of children television policy and provide examples of how 'the child' is a consistent and controversial site of tension within policy debate. I then introduce and analyse a selection of established, establishing and aspiring CTV production companies and producers. Drawing on interviews conducted, production companies profiled and policy documents analysed, I conclude by identit~'ing ten key issues that have impacted, and continue to impact, on the production of children's television programming in Australia. In addressing issues of industry development, the question this dissertation confronts is not whether to continue to regulate or not, but rather, how best to regulate. That is, it explores the complexities of supporting, sustaining and developing the CTV industry in ways which also allows innovative and creative programming. This exploration is done within the context of a broadcasting industry currently in transition from analogue to digital. As communications and broadcasting technologies converge, instruments of regulation - such as quotas designed around the characteristics of analogue systems of broadcasting - are being compromised. The ways in which children use television, and the ways in which the CTV producers create content, are being transformed. The ten key issues identified in this dissertation, I propose, are crucial to industry development and policy debate about the future of children's television in Australia. In integrating the study of policy with the study of production, I have given prominence to the opinions and experiences of those working in the industry. In doing so, this dissertation contributes to the growing body of work in Australia which incorporates industry with cultural analysis, and which includes the voices of the content providers.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to present a comparison of housing standards between Sweden and China, in terms of the development of design codes and regulations during the last fifteen years. The study focuses mainly on dwelling sizes and accessibility. The Swedish Building Regulations, BBR7:1999 and BBR18:2011-2013, and the Chinese code Design Code for Residential buildings GB1999:2003 and GB2011 were used as a reference frame. It showed that China has improved its regulations on accessibility greatly, whereas standards on dwelling sizes decreased during the last fifteen years. The study also shows Sweden has reached a sufficient level in terms of dwelling size and accessibility, as only minor difference are found between the codes during the last fifteen years. The comparison between Sweden and China shows that Sweden’s regulations are more developed and user-friendly for the disabled. Sweden can be used as an example for China, in the purpose of carry on improving their requirements covering accessibility. On the other hand, Sweden can improve the accessibility by considering certain measures taken in China, e.g. the design of ramps.

This thesis advances the understanding of the impact of developer infrastructure charges on housing affordability in Brisbane, Australia through the development of an econometric model and empirical analysis. The results indicate substantial on-passing of these government charges to purchasers of both new and existing homes, thus negatively impacting housing affordability across the whole community. The results of this thesis will inform policy makers and assist in the development of evidence based policy related to housing affordability and funding of urban infrastructure. Being generic, the econometric model is expected to be a tool that is suitable for estimating similar house price effects in other housing markets.

This thesis compares population policy and demographic outcomes in France and Australia from 1945 taking into consideration projections to 2050. These features are analysed using a theoretical approach derived from James Q. Wilson and Gary Freeman, flagging focused benefits/costs and diffuse benefits/costs of population growth, including growth fueled by immigration. This analysis is framed by the New Ecological Paradigm developed by Dunlap and Catton. The oil shock of 1973 is identified as a major turning point where French and Australian policy directions and demographic trends diverge, notably on immigration. It is established that in both countries there was a will for population stabilisation and energy conservation, which succeeded in France. In Australia, however, a strong, organised growth lobby over-rode this Malthusian tendency. A major force for growth lay in the speculative property development and housing industries. The specific qualities of the Australian land development planning and housing system facilitated land speculation. Speculative opportunity and profits were increased by population growth and, with decreasing fertility rates, the industries concerned relied increasingly on high immigration rates. In France, to the contrary, the land development planning and housing industries had no similar dependency on immigration and, since the oil shock, have adapted to a declining population growth rate. The author concludes that France has a relatively Malthusian economy and that Australia has a relatively Cornucopian one. These observations may be extrapolated respectively to non-English speaking Western European States and to English Speaking Settler States. Speculative benefits from population growth/immigration are illustrated by demonstrating a relationship between ratcheting property price inflation in high overseas immigration cities in Australia and the near absence of this inflation in low growth areas. In contrast this ratcheting effect is absent in France and French cities where population growth and immigration have little influence on the property market. The research suggests that speculative benefits of high population growth have been magnified by globalisation of the property market and that these rising stakes are likely to increase the difficulty of population stabilisation and energy conservation under the Australian land development and planning system. The thesis contains a substantial appendix analysing and comparing French and Australian demographic and energy use statistics.

Housing, while a necessity of ???life???, goes beyond this definition in this research to also become a technology of government in the domestic distributional geopolitics of nation-states. Employing a Foucaultian approach to power and governance, this research examines how the provision of housing assistance was used in the government of rural public housing communities. Data for this research were collected through a series of archival resources that focused specifically on the transitional periods of 1935-1955 and 1985-2005. Data were also gathered through a questionnaire and interviews with public housing tenants and staff from four towns (Griffith, Cootamundra, Junee and Tumut) in the ???Riverina??? region of south-western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This research makes five contributions to geographical understandings of distributional politics. First, the thesis contends that poststructuralist theoretical approaches to the analysis of power and governance enable innovative critical engagements with the distributional geopolitical agendas of governmental processes. The research also found that the distributional geopolitical agendas of Governments have been pursued through more than just the redistribution of fiscal resources, but also include the redistribution of human resources. In particular, housing assistance has been, and is used today, to perpetuate certain internal migration patterns to aid this human-distributional agenda. Third, the study argues that ??? while the broad shift to advanced liberal forms of government have resulted in changes to how distributional geopolitical agendas are pursued ??? ???distribution??? remains an integral feature of the geopolitical objectives of those who seek to govern in advanced liberal ways. This work also shows how these new advanced liberal distributional objectives remain open to being problematised and/or resisted at the local scale. However, while such governmental processes are always uncertain and open to contestation, these changes have brought about a new set of ethical and political consequences. We need to be alert to and critical of the ways in which these new distributional geopolitical agendas impact on our own and others??? ???freedoms???.

Research indicates that parents are an important influence on the career development of their children, but, that they have often been considered as an untapped resource. Rural high school aged students, who reside in metropolitan hostels, often live with their parents for less than 15 weeks per year. How do their parents contribute to their career development? This one year research explored the involvement of parents of hostel children, in the career development process of their youth. Through a case study, an analysis described what it means to be a parent of a hostel adolescent with respects to how they help their youth make career decisions. Based within an ecological framework, parents of hostel adolescents completed a questionnaire. Subsets of this group participated in interviews that focused on narratives and a modification of the critical incident technique as used by Young et al. (1992, 1998), and/or group interviews incorporating a ‘direct to print’ methodology as used by Jeffery et al. (1992).This study supported early findings recognising the important parental role in the career development of todays youth by exploring five areas. The cultural capital of parents of hostel adolescents indicates that they have a real sense of pride in their rural status, actively choosing to live in rural centres. They value honesty and respect, enjoying the freedom ‘country’ life affords them. There are general concerns of safety when their children are living in urban centres and at times an acute awareness of costs. Specific concerns for career development focus on parents perceiving they have a lack of knowledge, skills and expertise essential to adequately assist their childs career development. This situation appears to be compounded by a lack of awareness of resources and/or a reluctance to access them. Parent intentions are to instill in their children independence, responsibility, initiative, perseverance and respect. The most common focal point for career development is the selection of subjects for studies and/or courses to complete. Parents of hostel adolescents favour delivery activities that involve them advising their children and requesting and giving information. They encourage and support their children, showing interest and communicating values. They also see the need to set expectations and limits. This research illustrates that parents of hostel adolescents, although not necessarily attempting to influence particular occupational choice are active agents in influencing their children in a broad range of areas in career development.

Through both theory and practice, this practice-based research develops and tests the idea that courtyard housing can deliver sustainable, compact housing in rapidly growing subtropical cities. It proposes a contemporary urban design model that incorporates urban design courtyard housing prototypes. These prototypes can be further developed by architects and urban designers for similar climatic conditions across the world.

Electricity is the cornerstone of modern life. It is essential to economic stability and growth, jobs and improved living standards. Electricity is also the fundamental ingredient for a dignified life; it is the source of such basic human requirements as cooked food, a comfortable living temperature and essential health care. For these reasons, it is unimaginable that today's economies could function without electricity and the modern energy services that it delivers. Somewhat ironically, however, the current approach to electricity generation also contributes to two of the gravest and most persistent problems threatening the livelihood of humans. These problems are anthropogenic climate change and sustained human poverty. To address these challenges, the global electricity sector must reduce its reliance on fossil fuel sources. In this context, the object of this research is twofold. Initially it is to consider the design of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (Cth) (Renewable Electricity Act), which represents Australia's primary regulatory approach to increase the production of renewable sourced electricity. This analysis is conducted by reference to the regulatory models that exist in Germany and Great Britain. Within this context, this thesis then evaluates whether the Renewable Electricity Act is designed effectively to contribute to a more sustainable and dignified electricity generation sector in Australia. On the basis of the appraisal of the Renewable Electricity Act, this thesis contends that while certain aspects of the regulatory regime have merit, ultimately its design does not represent an effective and coherent regulatory approach to increase the production of renewable sourced electricity. In this regard, this thesis proposes a number of recommendations to reform the existing regime. These recommendations are not intended to provide instantaneous or simple solutions to the current regulatory regime. Instead, the purpose of these recommendations is to establish the legal foundations for an effective regulatory regime that is designed to increase the production of renewable sourced electricity in Australia in order to contribute to a more sustainable and dignified approach to electricity production.

The purpose of this research is to provide a socio-historical and political framework for analysing two small government programs, the Victorian Rental Housing Co-operative Program and the Local Government and Community Housing Program, through which community housing principles were introduced into Australian public housing policy. The context for this research is the failure by the housing rights movement to continue with aims which were politically independent of the ALP, the descent of the movement into "tenure politics", the move to the Right by the ALP after the collapse of Keynesianism as an economic tool, and the possible privatisation of public housing by the Liberal Government through the use of housing vouchers. Links between these themes are postulated. A picture of these events and processes, and the ideologies and motivations of the individuals involved in the public housing policy communities both in Victoria and federally, has been built up through the examination and analysis of contemporary documentation, interviews with key informants and through secondary sources. The major conclusions postulate a relationship between the adoption of small community housing programs in the late 1970s and 1980s and the strategic co-option of the housing rights movement by the ALP, and the current inability of the movement to articulate a housing politics which transcends "tenure politics" at a time when the movement is most severely threatened.

There has long been concern that rating the thermal performance of buildings on the basis of predicted normalized energy requirement (MJ/m2) is inappropriate for achieving overall energy efficient design of houses, mainly due to the inability of such schemes to deal with the evaluation of passive architectural design in the form of free running buildings. This study, investigating the shortcomings in the current rating schemes, hypothesizes that the main reason for that inability is due to significant differences between efficient design for free running and conditioned houses. It also suggests that a multiple occupancy scenario, involving variable occupation times and zones, is an important parameter for improving the accuracy of any building evaluation system. The study aims to propose a new method for House Rating Schemes in which the efficiency of a house design will be evaluated with reference to its thermal performance in both free running and conditioned operation modes. By attributing more value to the performance of houses in the free running than the conditioned operation, it is assumed that policy objectives for reducing energy demand for space heating and cooling in the residential building sector are more likely to be achieved. Simulation was used to compare the predicted thermal performances of houses in free running and conditioned operation modes for the moderate climates of Sydney and Canberra. Parametric sensitivity analysis and multivariate regression analysis have been employed and point to the following results. The reliability of a free running rating scheme, in terms of addressing energy efficient aspects, as compared to the current energy based rating schemes, is demonstrated. The research illustrates significant differences between efficient design for conditioned houses and for free running houses. The findings strongly suggest the necessity of developing a new regulatory framework for reducing energy demand in the housing sector. Utilizing these findings, an aggregation of two rating systems for the purpose of creating a new house rating framework has been developed. It is assumed that this research approach is likely to deliver significant benefits in terms of reduction in energy demand and increased sustainability, if it is employed as a basis for House Ratings Schemes.

This study is an examination of residential mobility and its outcomes focussing on the forced relocation of public housing tenants from The Parks area of metropolitan Adelaide. In Euro-American countries, this type of residential mobility is increasingly used as a means of facilitating urban regeneration and countering the effects of the ongoing decrease in local public housing stock. The result is growing numbers of public tenants affected by relocation. The study agues that these public tenants have the right to a basic level of residential satisfaction, and in order for this satisfaction to be provided; the conditions and character of its formation must be understood. The thesis examines residential mobility and the formation of residential satisfaction to provide a basis for understanding the outcomes and effects of relocation, who is most affected, and how to target solutions to improve the relocation process. Despite the fact that households experience similar influences, and make their residential decisions in largely predictable ways, the formulation of residential satisfaction and the effects of relocation are highly individualised. Successful relocation is shown to be dependent on the inclusion of tenants' expert knowledge about their own residential satisfaction; this means that resident involvement in the process is crucial. This thesis investigates a means of combining these findings to improve the outcome of the relocation process for each individual tenant and their household. A prototype Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) is constructed to allow relocating tenants to participate in their own relocation decision process. This SDSS allows local, spatially referenced information to be combined with each tenants own expert knowledge. This information is combined through a structured decision process, which is presented in a portable computer program with a simplified user interface. This SDSS is tested by relocating tenants and key stakeholders from The Parks to evaluate its usefulness in improving the relocation process.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Geography and Environmental Studies, 2002.

This research project analyzes the beef grading system in Australia. Firstly, the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading system as a potential value-creating and value chain-coordinating mechanism is investigated. In-depth interviews with value chain stakeholders and industry experts suggest that the implementation of the MSA grading system has had a catalytic effect of moving value chains toward a greater level of coordination. The concept of best value supply chains is also used as a benchmark in determining MSAs effect on value chain performance. Secondly, using a survey of Australian consumers, findings suggest that the MSA certification is perceived as a trustworthy signal for tenderness and quality, reducing information asymmetry at the consumer level. This thesis then addresses the questions of whether or not it is necessary to use a grading system in consumer marketing (e.g. quality label) in order to be successful in terms of adding value to the industry.
Agricultural and Resource Economics

Hidden within the Melbourne suburb of Lalor, lies an intriguing story. Named to honour the leader of the Eureka Rebellion, the Peter Lalor Homebuilding Co-operative Society was formed after World War II during a chronic housing shortage. It was composed mainly of ex-servicemen and their families who were driven by a self-help ethos and a determination to see working-class men and women fulfil the great Australian dream of owning their own homes. Further, the members aspired to create a new co-operative way ofliving dedicated 'to those who died to make this a better world.' Subsequent residents from new immigrant groups shared some similar dreams, but transformed the social landscape. The timescale of the thesis - 1946 to 2004 - provides the opportunity to trace the sweeping changes that occurred in this suburban setting. This thesis analyses the co-operative and situates its genesis within the international and Australian co-operative movements, the 'garden city' movement, the Australian labour movement and Catholic social doctrine. The members adapted these ideas into their own unique experiment. Prosopography has provided the methodology for understanding this remarkable community: home by home, family by family, street by street. New archival material has emerged on the Victorian co-operative movement and, particularly, from the Peter Lalor membership through the provision of co-operative and personal records, and written and oral testimony. I argue that the co-operative provided affordable housing for a community of 800 people, and the members gained enhanced control over their lives through the creation of social capital - a civic space between the individual and the state. By this means they were ahead of their time in addressing a democratic deficit. The individual ethnic communities of Lalor subsequently formed what I have termed 'parallel communities'. They co-existed in Lalor, not necessarily through hostility, but parallel nonetheless. Each created its own institutions of social capital but collectively they lacked cohesion. Ultimately there are lessons for the 21st century as we face the further challenges of affordable housing and community development. Apart from these conclusions, the history of Lalor has been resurrected from the footnotes of history. We meet some inspirational leaders, whose biographies have been written for the first time, but ultimately this is the history of ordinary men and women co-operating in the creation of a community. Some of their stories are told here; they are worth telling.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 575-607) Pt. A. Ecological cityscapes: theory & practice -- pt. B. Urban ecology Australia &ecopolis: ecocity projects in South Australia -- pt. C. Towards a theoretical synthesis of ecopolis About creating and maintaining 'ecological cities' and the necessary conditions for making ecocities. Sets the creation of human settlement in an ecological context and demonstrates through case study analyses that practical approaches to urbanism can be made within a theory of city-making grounded in principles of direct democracy and cooperative community processes.