How to build a better world

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Jul 2026

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EN-AU

About the show

How to Build a Better World is The Fifth Estate's podcast about creating a future all humans can be proud of. Tina Perinotto, editor of Australia’s premium publication for sustainable property and business, talks to the people on the frontline with the power to address the big ecological, social and financial problems of our time.

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51 recent

July 30, 20261 hr 9 min

Jess Miller on lazy spaces, Town Square and the new green challenge

Halfway through her second term as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney Jess Miller, who will take to the stage at our next Big Debate, Carbon Triggers, has wasted no time in tackling the glaring problems that annoy her and many others.Among them are the “lazy” or empty spaces in many of the city’s commercial buildings, the housing that’s given over to short term/Airbnb style accommodation and the loss of places for arts and creative work.Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

June 4, 20261 hr 3 min

Elizabeth Mossop on community resilience in the Northern Rivers

Elizabeth Mossop, founding principal of Spackman Mossop + Michaels and former dean of Design and Architecture School at UTS, knows quite a bit about flood disasters and their aftermath. She was deeply involved in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when it hit New Orleans in the US in 2005 and she now heads up the academic side of the Living Lab Northern Rivers which is grappling with the reconstruction of Lismore badly hit by two consecutive floods in 2022.Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

May 12, 202637 min

Adam Bandt on new strategies and the built environment for the ACF

There’s good news for the built environment – one of Australia’s oldest and probably most respected environmental organisations, the Australian Conservation Foundation, will be paying a lot more attention to buildings and cities. Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

January 22, 202641 min

Alf Wheeler on the Zeoform story

Alf Wheeler, founder of innovative plant based materials manufacturer Zeoform, won the Spanish Inquisition pitchfest at The Fifth Estate’s Circular Disruption event in November last year, before a jury of three, Jonathan Hannam of Taronga Ventures, Mick Liubinskas of Climate Salad and Kerry Series of NorthStar Impact. The prize was this article and a podcast interview.There are few people who can beat Alf Wheeler in an elevator pitch. At Circular Disruption, the audience saw firsthand why he’s already been quite successful in his business. Hear his insights on this podcast. Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

January 13, 20261 hr 17 min

Parnell Palme McGuinness on unpacking thoughts from a ‘diversity hire’

Parnell Palme McGuinness, as a former consultant for the Liberal Party and conservative-leaning columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, McGuinness jokes she’s the “diversity hire” for those left-ish leaning papers. These days, she’s also a senior fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, a place where we would expect to find very few commonalities. Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

December 11, 20251 hr 5 min

Kaushik Chakraborty on trends on infrastructure

Infrastructure work is going regional – in water, sanitation, roads and bridges – says Kaushik Chakraborty senior vice president, Asia Pacific & Japan with Bentley Systems in this podcast. It’s part of the big global drift out of cities and into towns and smaller cities that was bolstered by Covid. The trend is reversing the previous super trend that had captured demographers for decades.Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

December 4, 202550 min

John King on steel, windows and technology for 8 star homes

John King from JGKing Homes Steel, timber, windows and technology to build home. John runs a successful home building business in Ballarat that’s been going for 40 years and employs 350 people.What’s different about it is that it uses steel construction that it fabricates to specifications, and it also manages to produce 8 star NatHERS homes without many issues and virtually no extra costs. The secret is high quality windows and window frames materials that break the thermal bridge, that allows about 50 per cent of the heat or cold in regular homes. In this podcast, he shares his secrets and views of steel versus timber. Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

December 3, 202545 min

Martin Loosemore on making a difference through construction

Martin Loosemore, professor of construction management is known for his Community of Practice for social procurement, which he started with his colleague Dr Suhair Alkilani at the University of Technology Sydney.Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

December 3, 202549 min

Dave Higgon: The power of social procurement to change lives

After 30 years Dave Higgon reckons he’s the longest serving employee relations manager in Australia. He started his career as a bricklayer for his father, before taking up small subcontracting work on the New South Wales north coast and into Queensland. In the early 80s, Higgon became an organiser for the Building Workers Industrial Union, where he developed a strong interest in social justice issues, then joined Multiplex, where he “inherited” responsibility for dealing with social procurement.Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

July 10, 202546 min

Nathan Hage on transforming Zinc Apartment

Nathan Hage is neither a developer nor an energy expert, nor anything else you might think would be crucial to retrofitting a group of 45 flats in Sydney’s inner south with solar and EV charging. He works in logistics, but the one qualifier that he firmly holds is that he’s a resident of the Zinc Apartments, and perhaps through his enthusiasm, the job fell to him to manage this ambitious project. Host: Tina PerinottoProduced by: The Fifth EstateThe Fifth Estate website: www.thefifthestate.com.auSign up to the newsletter: https://thefifthestate.com.au/subscribe Support The Fifth Estate: thefifthestate.com.au/support-us LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-fifth-estate Twitter: @FifthEstateAUFacebook: www.facebook.com/thefifthestateAu

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