Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
National
Rental vacancy rates in CBDs fall across Australia
Retail vacancy rates in CBDs across the country fell by 14 per cent during the last half of 2022, signalling that retailers are on an expansion path, Channelnews.com.au reported. The latest research from CBRE—that assessed 5,347 retail outlets across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide—shows that 83 per cent of Australians engaged in a business plan to grow their store networks this year. Melbourne saw its vacancy rate fall to 9.2 per cent, with Adelaide dropping to 13.3 per cent. Sydney’s vacancy rate currently sits at 8.3 per cent, increasing during the half, mostly due to the high prices of Pitt Street rents. “We’ve seen demand increase from national and international brands for prime locations on George and Pitt Streets off the back of strong sales and increasing office occupancy rates,” Leif Olson, CBRE’s Australian head of retail leasing.
https://www.channelnews.com.au/retail-vacancy-rates-fall-across-australian-cbds/
Construction
National construction company abandons building projects
Award-winning national builder PBS has stopped construction of building projects across Australia due to increasing losses, labour shortages, and rising costs, The Australian has reported. PBS’s annual financial statement submitted to the ASIC showed a $2.56 million loss for last year compared to a profit of $3.26 million in 2021. PBS, however, said it would continue to pursue construction and property development operations. Subcontractors at some PBS sites began removing equipment, while its website was removed from public viewing and its social media pages deleted. Canberra-based PBS has offices in Sydney and Brisbane, with projects dotting Sydney to Hervey Bay in Queensland. It directly employs 190 workers.
Technology
The defence department signs AI projects with two universities
Defence has signed contracts with the University of South Australia and Deakin University for two research projects that will use artificial intelligence to process noisy and dynamic data into information that will give military decision-makers an edge, The Australian government said. The projects are part of the Defence Artificial Intelligence Research Network (DAIRNet) Phase II call-out and will receive a combined $1.746 million of funding from the Next Generation Technologies Fund (NGTF). The NGTF is a cornerstone of Defence’s integrated innovation system with $1.2 billion in funding through 2030 to invest in game-changing capabilities for Defence.
Entertainment
“It” girl Mia Wasikowska comes back to Australia
Actress Mia Wasikowska, who starred in blockbuster movies like Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Crimson Peak, has left Hollywood for her native Australia because she “didn’t entirely like the lifestyle” of doing movie after movie, which made her feel “disconnected” from her community, News.com.au has reported. The 33-year-old said she wants to find a place where she could put down roots. Wasikowska moved back to Sydney a few years ago and, since then, has been working on Australian independent projects like Blueback, a drama about an oceanographer advocating for coral reefs against poachers, which came out last year.
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