Knowledge

Incentives to enter into leases are consistently offered by landlords trying to secure tenants in today’s commercial property markets. The only questions are how much of an incentive the landlord will provide the tenant, and in what form, and what the landlord will get in return. 

This week the Australian Senate has referred an inquiry into non-conforming building products to the Senate Economics References Committee. The committee’s report is due on 12 October 2015. The terms of reference require the committee to investigate the economic impact of non-conforming products, and their impact on safety, costs and quality of construction.

Changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law have been introduced by the Queensland Government that will apply to heavy vehicle operators in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. 

The Queensland Government has released its discussion paper proposing the introduction of an ethanol mandate in Queensland. The discussion paper – Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Achieving a Biofuel Mandate for Queensland – sets out the parameters of the proposed system. It announces the Government’s preference for a 2% ethanol mandate commencing on 1 July 2016.

The proposal by the Federal Government to relinquish planning control over presently undeveloped land to the west of Canberra has sparked strong debate. The land – on both sides of the Molonglo and Murrumbidgee River corridors, and in Namadgi National Park and the western Tuggeranong Valley – is presently locked away from development because of National Capital Authority (“NCA”) controls. 

Moulis Legal’s Christopher Hewitt, Emily Murphy and Macky Markar discuss how Australian businesses can protect their intellectual property in China using legal, administrative and commercial strategies.

The proposed China Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) will open up new opportunities for Australian businesses interested in accessing the dynamic Chinese marketplace. Australian businesses are exploring investment and business opportunities in China and often have many questions about how to operate in China’s unique and challenging business environment.

Last night the Queensland Liberal National Party, supported by both sides of Parliament, passed a minority proposal for the establishment of an ethanol implementation board and expressed support for an ethanol fuel mandate in Queensland. Christopher Hewitt of Moulis Legal has provided an outline on the impact of this controversial motion.

Last year, the ACT Government controversially sought to prevent objections being made by third parties against major projects – for example, the major “light rail” project. This was to be done by defining areas as “special precinct[s]”. The proposal “provoked significant public opposition… and sparked a bitter debate in the ACT Assembly”,[1] forcing the government to back down.

On 17 November 2014 the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, signed a declaration of intent for the China Australia Free Trade Agreement (known as “the ChAFTA”).