Overcrowded towers are virus incubators

Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Jul-20

Fifty-three residents of Melbourne’s nine locked-down public housing towers have tested positive to the coronavirus to date. Victoria’s Housing Minister Richard Wynne says that about 400 residents were tested on 6 July, and four per cent tested positive. The Victorian Public Tenants Association’ executive officer Mark Feenane says there is chronic overcrowding in the towers, adding that it is time to consider scrapping the high-rise buildings in favour of low-density accommodation. Australia’s acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has likened the public housing towers to ‘vertical cruise ships’.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, VICTORIAN PUBLIC TENANTS ASSOCIATION

Apartment owners burnt by cladding cost

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 27-Oct-15

The City of Melbourne’s Municipal Building Surveyor has ruled that cladding panels on the exterior of a Docklands apartment building must be replaced within 12 months. The imported cladding used on the 23-storey LaCrosse tower does not comply with the Building Code of Australia’s fire-safety standards. The full cost of replacing the cladding must be met by apartment owners and the building’s body corporate.

CORPORATES
CITY OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TRANSPORT, PLANNING AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE