Jesse Thompson

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Jesse Thompson

At least two homeowners who were let down by Victoria's building watchdog have turned to the state government for compensation, after their experiences were captured in a damning report. The government appears to have disregarded those requests, focusing instead on a series of consumer-focused building reforms in its responses to the homeowners. New Victorian laws are set to replace the Victorian Building Authority with a bigger, tougher regulator called the Building and Plumbing Commission.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Andi Yu |Jesse Thompson

The federal government has put the Victorian government on notice to explain the findings of a critical new report questioning the viability of the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL). Speaking in Melbourne on Saturday, Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said the federal government was taking a damning assessment by the nation's top infrastructure body "really seriously".

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Jesse Thompson

When Jack Retjman first came across a viral TikTok filmed inside a derelict housing complex in January, he quickly recognised the badly vandalised homes the video captured. Doors had been forced open, bicycles disassembled and dumped across the site and patches of walling ripped away. On a kitchen counter, drug paraphernalia and a champagne bottle sat beside a sea of spray paint cans used to cover the walls in graffiti.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Jesse Thompson

A concrete seawall built to protect a beachfront home from coastal erosion will be torn down, the home's owner says, following public uproar. Frankston City Council issued a stop-work order to property owner Gene Neill on Monday night. Mr Neill also says he will sell his property and move elsewhere. The owner of a beachfront mansion who oversaw the construction of a concrete seawall without a permit has vowed to tear the structure down and rehabilitate the section of beach it was built on.

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Jesse Thompson

Details of an alleged bribery scheme, in which Victorian Building Authority staff were allegedly offered money in exchange for progressing building registration applications, have been detailed in court documents. The scheme was the subject of an anti-corruption investigation that has now seen three VBA employees and dozens of others charged. The matter returns to court in April.