Yurt Empire

At one level, this is a community story about a development application for a childcare centre on Crown land in the inner-Sydney suburb of Paddington. On another, it's a story about how state authorities and corporate regulators failed residents and local councillors who struggled to hold politicians, developers and public servants accountable for dealings with publicly owned open space.

more boom and bust stuff from SMH - N.B. Senate Enquiry into affordable housing: "But housing affordability isn't just a problem for middle-class Australia. Concern about a lack of affordable housing has prompted a Senate inquiry - due to report in June - on the regimes of incentives, planning and funding that currently affect the supply of affordable housing for the country's most vulnerable and less well-off."

Ah! We could have put in a submission if I'd seen this TWO WEEKS AGO! Gah!

The Economy Widening gap: Housing prices have outpaced wage growth over the past 12 months. Photo: Fiona Morris The $4 trillion Australian housing market is now overvalued by at least 10 per cent. Every day, valuations get more stretched. Indeed, Australia is just months away from having the most expensive residential property market in history.