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4.6 Interview with the Developer – a good example
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Journalism Skills for Engaged Citizens
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More on Interviews
This week we delve further into the art of interviewing, and watch and discuss some good and bad examples involving the key characters in Newstown.
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Dr. Denis MullerSenior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Advancing Journalism
Dr. Margaret SimonsAssociate Professor and Director
Centre for Advancing Journalism
Thanks very much for making time to see me.
>> Pleasure. >> Can you give a guarantee for
the people who are buying these blocks of land that they won't flood?
>> A guarantee?
Sorry, I'll just have to check that.
A guarantee, well, you know,
can we guarantee anywhere will not ever, ever flood?
Now I suppose you've been swayed
by the Pisces report and honestly, she's a fish out of water, I have to say.
You know, she says that there is a 1 in 100 year rain event,
1 in 100 years, might still result in minor flooding.
Let's look at those key words there.
1 in 100 years might and minor.
So, you know, we have done everything in our power to prevent flooding.
And yeah, look, I'll go out on a limb.
I'll say they won't flood.
There you are. >> You're giving an absolute
guarantee that they won't flood.
>> Absolute guarantee.
That's off the record.
>> If it was off the record,
we'd have had to agree that before I asked the question rather than afterwards.
>> Well, let's ask that again and we'll go again.
Off the record, okay.
[INAUDIBLE] >> I'm afraid you can't do it.
Okay, you want to go off the record?
>> Yeah. >> No, I'd rather
stay on the record at the moment if you don't mind.
Can you give a guarantee to the people who are buying these plots of land that
they won't flood?
>> I'll say that the Newstown marshes will soon be marshes
in name only What we've done here, we've widened the mouth of the Newstown River.
We've dredged the estuary.
And we're keeping the river flowing at a very low level.
So when the, if this 1 in 100 year flood that the Pisces report talks about,
that might result in minor flooding, occurs.
We've lowered the percentage again.
So that won't be known as marshes,
except for a small pocket of land where we will be
diverting the water to to make a mini-marsh for environmental reasons.
>> Well, we might come back to that.
Now you said we have lowered the risk of flooding, but
in fact it's the state government that did that work.
And this is one of my other questions.
>> Yeah, indeed, good point.
>> Why did Futopia Development get this work?
Was there a tender process?
>> Well, no, not as such, not a normal tender process.
And the reason being that they needed somebody that was going to come onboard
from the beginning before they could guarantee it was flood-proof.
So the state government needed to do all this work.
Most companies, there was too much risk involved with
the widening of the mouth work, with the dredging of the estuary work, etc., etc.
A lot of companies were scared off by that.
But not Futopia because we saw it as a chance to be a world leader,
a world leader in environmental, clean and green design.
>> And I take it from what you said earlier,
you were prepared to take this project on when there was still a high risk of
flooding and you're not able to guarantee that it won't flood now.
>> I wouldn't say I'm not able to guarantee it.
No, I wouldn't say that.
Now that's putting words into my mouth.
No, I wouldn't say I'm not able to guarantee it.
But- >> So you are able to guarantee it?
>> We are very, very confident that this marsh will not flood.
>> And if it does flood, will Futopia pay compensation?
>> Just one second, I just got to get that call.
Sorry, one second.
Ralph, yes, yes.
Sorry, what was your name again?
>> Margaret.
>> Margaret, and you're with?
>> From The Alternative Fund.
>> Margaret from The Alternative Fund, it's a great name, isn't it?
>> Yeah, Ralph, look, yeah, yeah, I agree.
Yes, okay, okay, well as soon as, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Okay, yeah.
That was the mayor, Counselor Conroy.
>> I've got some questions about him later.
>> Now the state government, of course, would not,
it is a planning approval process.
>> Now, the question was, would you pay compensation if the properties do flood.
>> The properties won't flood.
There's a planning and civil process.
>> If they do, will you pay compensation?
>> If a 747 falls
from the sky, will Qantas pay compensation?
>> Well, yes, it would.
>> Well, yes, it would.
>> So will Futopia pay compensation if these properties flood?
>> Look, it all depends.
That's not really Futopia.
Futopia's in partnership with QBE Insurance.
That's a question for the insurance company, not Futopia.
>> Could you give me your contact there, please?
>> My contact at QBE?
>> At QBE, yes.
>> Yeah, that would be on the website.
>> So you're just using the website,
you don't have any personal relationship with anybody at QBE?
>> I can't really, I'm not at liberty to give out my personal contact at QBE.
>> All right.
>> But they will answer all those questions.
>> Well, I'll follow up on that.
Now, your press release claims that you're going to have cutting edge green
technology in this development.
>> Yeah. >> What exactly does that mean?
>> Look, that's great, I'm really glad you asked that.
And at the media conference,
we said they will be six star rated, but we're going to increase that to nine star.
That's a scoop, that's an exclusive.
>> And what's the criteria for nine star?
>> Well, it's all based on thermal performance of the building.
You know, the building envelope, the roof, the walls, the floor, the windows, etc.
>> What exactly about them?
>> It's about orientation of the building firstly, so that they're all north facing.
You have quite low eaves, so that you minimize
the summer sun, but you maximize the winter sun coming into the building.
So it's a passive solar design.
The layout, sun lights in through all the living spaces.
The windows are aligned to promote breeze paths, night cooling,
night purging, as they like to call it.
You know they're all fully insulated.
We have rainwater harvesting for toilet, washing, drinking,
cooking, The whole development is going off grid.
>> Off grid in how?
>> So there will be, for each housing owner,
when we feed back the extra energy into the grid,
you know, that they get a rebate on that.
We're using all recycled timber products.
We use composting toilets, for instance.
There's composting bins for each house.
The seals on all doors and windows, the windows are double glazed with
low emissivity coated casement windows and
bi-folds to maximize ventilation, polished concrete floors, recycled and
bagged, reversed brick veneer- >> Recycled from where?
From all from Australian, local Melbourne houses, you know,
there's a huge recycling.
There's a place on Kensington Road that we get all our bricks from.
So we support local business in that way.
So this is a larger thermal mass that stores heat in the winter and
keeps it cooler in summer.
Now- >> Can you provide the specifications for
the building?
>> Absolutely, yeah.
There will be- >> You'll make those public?
>> Yeah, we will be making those public, yes.
>> When will you make those public?
>> March the 1st >> March the 1st.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, I'll ring you again at that stage.
Now, do you have any links with Counselor Ralph Conroy?
Obviously, you took a phone call from him earlier.
>> Yes, Counselor Conroy, as you probably are aware,
does own part of the Newstown Estate.
And we decided, once, once it was all gone through,
whether Futopia would, in fact, purchase the land off Counselor Conroy.
But he saw, to his wisdom,
a great success story in the making there.
So he's come on board.
He's now a part of the company.
>> Now, given that he's one of your strongest advocates,
this amounts to a conflict of interest for him, doesn't it?
>> Well, it depends on when you look when he signed up.
You see, going back earlier, this has only been a very recent event.
So after it's all been signed off,
that was when he became a member of the company.
So we didn't see any conflict of interest there.
>> Right, so he's actually got some equity in your company?
>> He has now.
Yeah, very recently, yeah.
>> And how much does he stand to make from this project?
>> That's in the lap of the gods.
We don't know, you know.
It depends if we go to stage three or if it all finishes after stage one.
You know, that's how long is a piece of string, really.
>> Well, let's start with stage one.
How much does he stand to make from stage one?
>> Well, it depends because what we're doing with the,
they're all going to be silent auctions.
>> But you must have an idea of the worth of the project, you're a business man.
Yes, how much does he stand to make?
I'd say he'll make a reasonable amount on his investment.
It's not just about the Newstown Estate, it's about future projects.
We've got companies all over the world now asking us to come and invest our time and
expertise.
>> And so how much do you think he stands to make?
>> Well, that's all hypothesis.
You know, I wouldn't like to put a figure on it.
>> Ballpark?
>> Couldn't say.
>> How much do you stand to make?
>> Well, you know, I'm the CEO, so I'm on a salary.
But I will say, do have a 20% share in the company.
It was my brainchild.
But I needed to get people on board.
So, you know, we have hand prospecting.
For instance,
one of our major shareholders is also an offshore silent partner.
But, you know so, look,
I really don't know because of the silent auction nature of it, about profits.
It depends.
>> But you've entered into this highly risky project by your own acknowledgement,
and you entered into it before you knew that it was flood proof.
And you've no idea how much profit you're going to make.
>> Well, not really, because, you know,
we don't know about the costings at the moment for the nine star,
could, depends when all the allotments are sold at the silent auction,
then we do have the costings on the nine star houses.
A three-bedroom house, we can build nine star for $420,000.
>> Is that the price to the purchaser or the price for you to build?
>> That's priced for us to build.
>> All right, and what will you sell it for?
>> Well, again we'll auction that.
>> Right, so the reserve price will be in that vision
>> The reserve price,
I imagine, will be half a million, pretty reasonable.
>> Right.
>> But that's after they've purchased the land.
So that's why I can't really forecast profits and
losses because of this silent auction nature.
It's very unusual for a development, but
that's the way that Junior wanted to go so.
>> Now, you're also going to be adding to the pressures on the endangered Auburn
tree frog with this development as well.
>> Well, adding to the pressures, glad you brought that up.
What's that woman's name?
Loonie, can't remember her last name,
Loonie- >> Ms Lonnie Fisher?
>> Fisher, Loonie Fisher, yeah.
I'm glad you brought that up because it's interesting,
the Pisces report talks about this, that the marshes, due to climate change,
the tree frog was endangered before the development took place.
So I ask myself why is it endangered?
I think climate change is drying the marshes out.
So what we're going to do is we're going to lock off a certain amount of area,
possibly up to one hectare.
We're going to create a mini-marsh environment.
We're going to- >> One hectare of
marsh- >> I know.
>> To replace the entire Newstown Marsh?
>> Well, the marshes are dying and we're going to be saving them.
So, we're going to be saving a species of frog and a species of tree.
>> You're going to save the Auburn tree frog?
>> Yeah, we're saving it.
We're going to be breeding it, saving it, viewing it, studying it, and
not only the frog but the tree as well.
This is- >> But
climate change also makes flooding more likely, doesn't it,
with the rising sea level.
>> What was that?
>> Climate change also makes flooding more likely, doesn't it?
>> Yeah, but if you were listening earlier you would have understood that what I was
saying is we're going to be running the river at a constantly low, low level so
that, you know, it's just not going to get there.
It's not going to get to that height.
So, well, I think climate change is more we're
looking at more water dehydration than flood.
Especially in Australia, Australia is the- >> Well Professor Pryce disagrees with
that she thinks that climate change adds to the risk of flooding.
>> And where is Professor Pryce's what's her accreditation?
>> She's the Chair of Hydrology at the Regional University.
>> The Regional University, yeah, indeed.
Anyway, any other questions?
>> Do you have competing hydrological studies?
Well, you know, we have our own scientists.
We have a Dr Richard McCloud from Environmental Studies Link.
They've done a lot of consulting with the government.
Cutting edge.
Dr. McCloud is a professor of- >> Has he done a report for you?
He did his PhD at La Trobe University.
And we are always talking to him and
his company about what can be done for the environment.
We are an environmentally caring company.
>> Has he done any reports for you?
>> Not as yet, but there's one in train.
And something I didn't mention before is what we're thinking of doing is
in line with nine star buildings.
We're going to be plugging points for electric cars.
Now, you tell me.
You find another company in Australia willing to put their-
>> Is that also going to be off grid?
>> Everything's off grid, yep.
>> So you're going to have sufficient off grid electricity to power electric cars as
well as the homes?
>> Absolutely, absolutely.
>> Yeah. >> It's all self-sufficient.
You see, I suppose, looking back my history, you see,
I became very interested in permaculture as a very young man.
>> Yeah.
>> So I.
>> I'm not so much interested in your personal history, I'd just like to refer
to this return to mini marsh [CROSSTALK] >> Viewers or
readers might be interested to know that one of my heroes is
a Japanese author by the name of Mansuba Fukuoka.
He's going to be the godfather of- >> No I don't think
they're going to be particularly interested in that.
Can we talk about this mini marsh that you're creating?
>> See, I think I'm appealing to people who care for the environment.
>> You were very keen to talk about this mini marsh for the frogs earlier on.
Can we return to that, please?
>> Yes, yeah, yep, certainly.
>> Okay, so how exactly is this one hectare artificial marsh going to work?
And how will it save the Auburn tree frog?
>> Because we're going to be pumping a lot of water.
It's going to be in a constant state of flood.
And we're going to be planting the marsh tree there.
We're going to be collecting the tadpoles as we find them, and moving them there.
So we're going to create a little biosphere there that's supportive
to the frog.
>> So this is going to be sort of a collecting pool for
the water that otherwise might flood the estate?
>> Exactly, yeah, yeah.
>> Well, I certainly will follow up with Mr. McCloud.
>> One thing I should mention is that some, well, I know we only had the media
conference yesterday, but the interest is phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.
because people are going to be moving to the country.
It's going to be like a garden of Eden.
It's the whole vibe of the place, really, because there's the river.
There's the natural country surroundings, but a short walk to the shops.
Possibly wallabies hopping around and koalas in the trees.
You may even hear that Auburn tree frog croaking you to sleep at night.
>> Yes. >> So get your bid in early.
I'll follow up with Mr. McCloud.
>> And could I just say that, depending on
how this report comes out, there are options for
fixed rate allotments rather than auction allotments, if you know what I mean.
No, I don't know what you mean.
What are you saying?
>> Also, I'd just like to mention that you may have heard of a young lad called
Wayne Howling.
[18 years old, lost his parents in that tragedy three years ago.
>> Yes, I have.
[CROSSTALK] >> He doesn't know this yet, but
Futopia directors had a meeting and
we decided that we're going to donate a piece of land to him for his future.
>> Right.
>> We don't want- >> [CROSSTALK]
>> Not saying to put that in the story.
I don't want that made public but that's the sort of thing we do.
>> Well, we're talking to him today as well.
So we might ask him about that.
>> But, yeah, don't forget, you know,
you promote this the right way because we're environmentalists.
Alternative if you're environmentalist.
>> We got to all work together and we can look after each other.
>> What exactly are you proposing?
>> Well, as I said, every allotment doesn't have to be an auction,
if you know what I mean.
>> Are you offering me a bribe?
>> I would never do that.
I would never do that, Margaret, never ever.
That would be highly unprofessional.
>> Thanks very much for your- >> Just before you go,
who is your boss at The Alternative?
>> That's the editor of The Alternative, Mr. Simon Nicholson.
>> Simon Nicholson, let me just make a note of that.
Simon Nicholson.
And do you have a contact number for him?
>> Yes. 0411254478.
>> 254478.
Just before, while you're here,
I just want to see if I can get in touch with you.
>> Not a problem.
>> 411254478.
You know, it's fine to call.
>> No, that's fine.
>> He knows you're here and everything?
>> Yes, absolutely.
Very interested in this story.
>> Dear.
It's a message.
Hello, Simon.
I've just been interviewed by a young cadet, Margaret,
here about the developments in the base.
Some confusion, she thought I might be offering her a bribe.
Of course, that wasn't the case.
And I was just saying that not all allotments are auctions.
Some are product but just to clear that up.
I just want that on record that it was no way my intention to offer her a bribe.
She was a little confused.
I'm sure that's just the fact that she's a cadet anyway.
All the best, Simon.
If you need to speak to me further for this article, I'm only too happy to
perhaps go out for a meal or anything like tha., I know a terrific restaurant.
>> And yeah, we can look after you.
So all the best, Simon, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Bye bye.
>> I'm sure he'll be most interested to get your message, thanks again.
>> Thank you very much.
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