by jbs060109 h3 — June 8, 2009—The federal budget announcements are good news for Australia’s green building industry, says the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). According to Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the GBCA, the $3.3 million allocation over four years to increase the energy efficiency requirements for commercial buildings will have a positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
“We’ve advocated changes to the Building Code of Australia for some time, and welcome the Australian Government’s decision to increase the stringency of energy efficiency requirements for all classes of commercial buildings in the Building Code of Australia from 2010,” Ms Madew says.
The GBCA is also pleased with the Rudd Government’s commitment to spend $5.3 million over four years to accelerate and expand a national regime for the mandatory disclosure of commercial building energy efficiency at the point of sale or lease to improve awareness of building energy performance. The new regime will begin in 2010 for office buildings larger than 2,000 square meters, with coverage to expand to a wider range of commercial buildings by 2012.
The Property Council of Australia also believes the Rudd Government is headed in the right direction, although Property Council CEO Peter Verwer says, “…to achieve the significant abatement potential offered by the property sector, the Government needs to go further.”
The Property Council welcomed the Rudd Government’s plan to deliver $22 billion worth of nation building infrastructure, particularly the $8.5 billion investment in urban infrastructure, saying it will boost construction jobs.
The Council also welcomed the government’s focus on energy efficiency in the built environment as a means of delivering carbon abatement, as well as the move towards incentives and capital funding support to lift minimum standards and facilitate investment in energy efficiency.
