A report on the widespread damage caused by Cyclone Seroja last month recommends an area just 250 kilometres north of Perth be classified as cyclonic, with calls for building codes and standards to be changed.
A Townsville telecommunications engineer praised for his cyclone disaster recovery work now faces a disaster of his own. Mark Agius can t move into his new $400,000 house on a hill in the Townsville suburb of Mount Louisa because it has so many defects - and he fears it will blow away in a cyclone. Agius, 40, says it may even be cheaper to knock down and start again. He is furious with the state government building watchdog, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, for dithering and agreeing to retrospectively downgrade wind speed cyclone safety standards without my knowledge . He engaged independent wind and building experts who pointed to 75 major defects, including structural defects.
A Townsville telecommunications engineer praised for his cyclone disaster recovery work now faces a disaster of his own. Mark Agius can t move into his new $400,000 house on a hill in the Townsville suburb of Mount Louisa because it has so many defects - and he fears it will blow away in a cyclone. Agius, 40, says it may even be cheaper to knock down and start again. He is furious with the state government building watchdog, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, for dithering and agreeing to retrospectively downgrade wind speed cyclone safety standards without my knowledge . He engaged independent wind and building experts who pointed to 75 major defects, including structural defects.
A Townsville telecommunications engineer praised for his cyclone disaster recovery work now faces a disaster of his own. Mark Agius can t move into his new $400,000 house on a hill in the Townsville suburb of Mount Louisa because it has so many defects - and he fears it will blow away in a cyclone. Agius, 40, says it may even be cheaper to knock down and start again. He is furious with the state government building watchdog, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, for dithering and agreeing to retrospectively downgrade wind speed cyclone safety standards without my knowledge . He engaged independent wind and building experts who pointed to 75 major defects, including structural defects.
A Townsville telecommunications engineer praised for his cyclone disaster recovery work now faces a disaster of his own. Mark Agius can t move into his new $400,000 house on a hill in the Townsville suburb of Mount Louisa because it has so many defects - and he fears it will blow away in a cyclone. Agius, 40, says it may even be cheaper to knock down and start again. He is furious with the state government building watchdog, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, for dithering and agreeing to retrospectively downgrade wind speed cyclone safety standards without my knowledge . He engaged independent wind and building experts who pointed to 75 major defects, including structural defects.