Housing Minister Rose Jackson says gas issues fixed before Whalan explosion but is ’embarrassed’ by social housing horror stories – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-08/rose-jackson-whalan-gas-explosion-fixed-social-housing/103950458

Comment by tonytran2015: Once transparency has been lost all contracts are only a legalized form of giving public money to well connected insider groups for doing very little work. No values would be obtained from those contracts that privatize profits and socialize losses. Here no additional safety is obtained from those “gas safety checks by private contractors”.

…They confirm that residents twice raised concerns about a gas-like odour… “On two previous instances, there had been issues around the smell of gas on the gas meter that’s at the front of the property,” Ms Jackson said….

Whalan house explosion that killed one woman and levelled four townhouses caused by gas, sources say – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-19/nsw-whalan-townhouse-explosion-caused-by-gas-sydney/103995644

Comment by tonytran2015: Once transparency has been lost all contracts are only a legalized form of giving public money to well connected insider groups for doing very little work. No values would be obtained from those contracts that privatize profits and socialize losses. Here no additional safety is obtained from those “gas safety checks by private contractors”.

…Investigations have confirmed an explosion in a Western Sydney home that killed one person and injured five others earlier this month was caused by gas, sources have told the ABC…

Service charges: I’m now paying £8,000 a year for my flat

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgllrdljj57o

Comment by tonytran2015: An aggressive, abrasive and obnoxious ethnic minority nearly always creates this type of financial abuse, through its ethnic connection, to every of its generous adoptive nations. Aren’t its people re-creating the same old social conditions as in 1933? People who sow the seeds of the old bad problems should not complain reaping the same old backlash.

… Reforms to leasehold and freehold became law on Friday – one of the last pieces of legislation to make it through Parliament before it was shut down for the general election….

Calls for better regulation of strata industry – ABC listen

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/calls-for-better-regulation-of-strata-industry/103615244

Comment by tonytran2015: There is an aggressive, abrasive and obnoxious ethnic minority that concentrates on this industry to rip-off apartment owners. Aren’t these the same conditions as in 1933? People who sow the seeds of the old bad problems should not complain reaping the same old backlash.

Now, an ABC Investigation has discovered the strata management industry is riddled with conflicts of interest and self-dealing, where subsidiary companies and opaque side-deals with contractors generate millions of dollars in fees…

Exorbitant fees and undisclosed kickbacks: Inside the poorly regulated strata management industry – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-02/fees-and-kickbacks-poorly-regulated-strata-managment-industry/103654322

Comment by tonytran2015: There is an aggressive, abrasive and obnoxious ethnic minority that concentrates on this industry to rip-off apartment owners. Aren’t these the same conditions as in 1933? People who sow the seeds of the old bad problems should not complain reaping the same old backlash.

… Some of the experiences being described are simply dreadful. Extraordinary self-dealing by strata management companies, using subsidiary and associate outfits in defiance of the wishes of their owners corporations. Refusals of strata managers to abide by a termination of their contract and their ongoing extraction of management fees. The failure to return the assets and records of buildings, and the disappearance of trust funds. Police having to be called to AGM meetings…

‘Completely blindsided’: new owners of strata properties shocked by special levies | Housing | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/21/completely-blindsided-new-owners-of-strata-properties-shocked-by-special-levies

Comment by tonytran2015: Dishonest managements hide their outrageous spendings by classifying them as “special levies” (although they are recurring) so that naive owners (more than 50% are regrettably naive) would have thought that the spendings were for only rare occasions. Careful examination reveals that the levies in most case should instead be classified as “annual levies”. This problem is clearly an exploitation of a loophole in a badly designed law.

We want to know what’s happening with strata across Australia – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-19/strata/103603700

Comment by tonytran2015: An aggressive, abrasive and obnoxious ethnic minority nearly always creates this type of financial abuse, through its ethnic connection, to every of its generous adoptive nations. Aren’t its people re-creating the same old social conditions as in 1933? People who sow the seeds of the old bad problems should not complain reaping the same old backlash.

But for many years, apartment owners and advocates have raised concerns about hidden fees, conflicts of interests, being over-charged or side-deals struck between strata managers and contractors.

High-profile strata company Netstrata caught charging excessive fees and taking kickbacks – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-21/netstrata-strata-charging-excessive-fees/103609380

Comment by tonytran2015: An aggressive, abrasive and obnoxious ethnic minority nearly always creates this type of financial abuse, through its ethnic connection, to every of its generous adoptive nations. Aren’t its people re-creating the same old social conditions as in 1933? People who sow the seeds of the old bad problems should not complain reaping the same old backlash.

In one of these cases, owners at a building near Botany Bay were concerned in 2018 by a $12,900 insurance premium paid by Netstrata on behalf of their strata scheme. In its annual financial report to owners, Netstrata reported only this headline figure… Gary Jackson … discovered the true premium was $6,197.32. The brokerage fee was $4,000.

‘A world of hidden charges’: Strata company insiders reveal exorbitant fees on homeowners – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-21/a-world-of-hidden-charges:-strata-company-insiders/103617944

A world of hidden charges: Strata company insiders reveal exorbitant fees on homeowners| abc-news posted on 2024/05/12

Comment by tonytran2015: Aren’t these the same conditions as in 1933? People who sow the seeds of the old bad problems should not complain reaping the same old backlash.

Now, an ABC investigation into strata management companies has uncovered an industry riddled with conflicts of interest, subsidiary companies and side deals – all of which appear to be perfectly legal…

We want to know what’s happening with strata across Australia – ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-19/strata/103603700

Comment by tonytran2015: Here is another conspiracy with overdue reforms: The same aggressive and obnoxious ethnic group owns most of the Management Companies and also has hidden ties with Tribunals which act as “Courts” and “Arbiters” to give biased rulings against owners on any disputes raised. Excessiveness in levy collections on each apartment amounts to more than the rates (tax) raised by respective local government in Australia. The Managers from those Management Corporations think that Owners Corporations have been designed for them to milk low income owners, and that State Legislators are to produce laws giving them unchecked powers. The situation in Victoria is worst as it may be the centre for the conspiracy (https://survivaltricks.wordpress.com/navigation-survival-how-to/social-issues/exploitation-of-apartment-occupiers/).

Three million Australians own apartments and belong to some 350,000 strata schemes around the country — the majority are run by professional strata management companies…