Bike paths, pickleball, native Australian gardens: Cammeray locals have received their first glimpse at what a revitalised Cammeray Park will look like.

What happened: As the completion of the Western Harbour Tunnel nears, the NSW Government has released plans for how they will rebuild the adjoining parklands — between the Warringah Freeway and Cammeray Golf Course — it currently occupies for construction. 

Features: Plans published on Wednesday reveal the new park will have numerous sporting features, including:

A cyclepath will snake through the park and connect to the larger bike path network. 

Landscape design will prioritise native flora such as red gum, banksia, coastal rosemary and bottlebrush. A full planting list is available in planning documents.

When: Work on the park will begin when construction of the harbour tunnel concludes. The Western Harbour Tunnel is set to open to traffic in 2028. Once open, North Sydney Council will manage the park.

The draft plans are currently on public exhibition until September 25. 

Read the full story below.

In our previous story investigating the best North Shore banh mis, we recieved a lot of feedback recommending we check out a small shop in Lane Cove named S’Bread House. We spoke to Irvin, the owner and chef, and judged his banh mi.

Our verdict? Pretty good.

Watch the full video below.

Under a new plan put forward by Mosman Council, affordable housing in the LGA will last in perpetuity, be built identical to regular units and will be charged at no more than 30 percent of the tenants income. 

What happened: Last Wednesday, Mosman Council put forward two major policy documents that would dictate future development across the LGA. 

The first was the Mosman Masterplan, proposing a rezoning of land along Military and Spit Road for increased housing.

The second is more complicated, setting out how affordable housing will be provided as part of these developments. So, what would it change?

Topline: In NSW, developers can gain bonuses to the height and size of their projects if they designate 10 percent of their units as “affordable housing”. Mosman’s alternative plan reduces this amount to 2 and 3 percent for different parts of the LGA. 

It also allows developers to make monetary contributions, with which council purchases its own affordable housing stock.

Why: In essence, Mosman’s alternative policy reduces the overall amount of affordable housing provided, but increases the quality of what is provided. This means: 

While the state plan could provide more overall affordable units, given the high price of rents in Mosman, few of these would realistically be affordable. 

Under Mosman’s new plan, rents on affordable units would be charged at around 30 percent of a tenants income. 

Why is that important? Affordable housing in New South Wales works in two ways. The rent can either be calculated as around 25–30 percent of a tenant's income, or as a 20-25 percent discount to market rate rent. Developer-led affordable housing units typically opt for the latter.

In areas where rent is high — such as Mosman — even if a unit is provided at a 25 percent discount, this can still be unaffordable for low to middle income earners. 

Sue Weatherley, the NSW President of the Planning Institute of Australia, told the Lorikeet the plan was “a reasonable response to the needs of the Mosman community”. 

Will it go ahead? While the Department of Planning does hold the power to reject this scheme, Mosman Council is doing what has been asked of it.

In August, the NSW government published its “Sydney Plan”, setting out how Sydney’s population growth will be managed over the next 20 years. Part of this plan requires all local councils to make their own affordable housing schemes by 2029.

Weatherley said the purpose of these plans is to tailor the state's affordable housing policy to deliver practical results at the local level. Similar plans are in place across Western Sydney and in Ku-ring-gai.

She said it was unlikely Mosman’s plan would disincentivise development more broadly, claiming two to three percent is a “reasonable level [for contributions] to be set at”.

Read the full story here.

🌏 The push: A group of former Australian defence leaders, including former Chief of the Defence Force Admiral Chris Barrie, say the government should publish climate hazard risk assessments for each country alongside the existing travel warnings.

He said climate change "isn't some distant environmental concern," and is "an immediate threat to the security of Australians at home and travelling overseas."

🏔️ Why now? Barrie pointed to last week's floods and landslides on the Nepal-Tibet border. The region is among the fastest-warming in the world and vulnerable to accelerating glacier loss and unstable glacial lakes. 

As of Thursday, 38 Australians remain missing in the aftermath of the floods.

🗺️Global Problem: What’s happened in Nepal isn’t isolated. Several other countries are currently facing similar hazards. 

💰 The other ask: ASLCG also wants Australia, one of the world's largest fossil fuel exporters, to help fund climate adaptation in the countries hit hardest by disasters like these. 

Watch the National Account's Archie Milligan below: