🔵 A Little Less Consultation

HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🚴‍♀️ The best mountain biking tracks on the North Shore

With its long stretches of untouched bushland and large parcels of National Parks, the North Shore is one of the best places in Sydney for some off-road bike riding.

Obviously, mountain biking can come with extreme risks. Always wear a helmet and protective gear and never ride wet trails.

Read the full piece below.

🏍️ What was all that racket at McMahons Point?

North Shore locals taking a casual Sunday stroll along Blues Point Road were caught by surprise this weekend, as a parade of motorbikes thundered down toward the harbour.

What happened: Riders joined thousands of others worldwide as part of The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride, an event for classic motorcycle enthusiasts raising money and awareness for men’s health.

The Movember Foundation has been an official charity partner with the ride since 2016.

Morning motors: The ride came through McMahon’s Point around 11am, riding down past Luna Park, then looping around Blues Point reserve to head back through North Sydney.

The event encourages participants to “dress dapper”, shedding leather jackets for three piece suits, and requires vintage or vintage-styled bikes, such as cafe racers, classic cruisers, or choppers.

The Sydney ride raised a total of $125,000. Across Australia, more than 5000 signed up to take part in rides from Townsville to Hobart.

See footage of the ride below.

⛴️  What about those electric ferries?

In 2024, then-transport Minister Jo Haylen announced the government was looking to phase out its diesel-powered watercrafts, replacing them with boats running on green energy.

That same year, a new fleet of catamarans were rolled out onto the Parramatta River — running from Parramatta Wharf to Circular Quay — with the capacity to run on electricity.

But the highest capacity service in Sydney’s harbour, the Freshwater Class, running between Manly and Circular Quay, is still set to run on diesel for at least five more years.

What happened: In 2024, Haylen announced Transport for NSW had “begun market sounding to gather proposals” on electric replacements for these services.

However this week, Transport for NSW told the Lorikeet “the existing Freshwater Class vessels are planned to operate for the next 5 to 10 years and no decisions have been made on their update”.

According to disclosures from TransDev, who operate Sydney ferries, the total network emits approximately 40,000 tonnes of Co2 a year. That’s around 8,000 round trips from Sydney to London.

Read the full piece here, or watch our video below.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

⛏️ The coal mine case that could change how Australia approves fossil fuel projects

What Happened? In 2022, Mach Energy received the greenlight to extend the life of its Mount Pleasant coal mine in the Hunter Valley until 2048.

But the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group argued the mine’s impact on climate change in the area was not properly considered in its approval.

The group appealed the decision in the NSW Court of Appeal and in July 2025 the court ruled the initial approval was invalid, based on the fact that the effects of climate change brought on by coal after being exported and burned were not properly considered.

Mach fights back: Mach Energy subsequently appealed that verdict in the High Court.

The matter’s only hearing was held on Wednesday and a written judgment from the High Court will follow in the coming weeks or months.

The verdict could reshape the way fossil fuel projects are approved in NSW and potentially nationally.

Emissions: When approving a project like a coal mine in NSW the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has to consider the three types of emissions that will come from it:

Scope one - Pollution created by machinery used to dig coal

Scope two - Pollution from the electricity used to power the facility

Scope three - Pollution from the coal exported from the mine and burned

Ninety-eight percent of the mine’s emissions are scope three, and this is the focus of the case.

Measures: The IPC approved the mine with conditions in place to minimise the effects of scope one and two emissions.

When it came to scope three it said the effects would be dealt with through other countries' climate change policies.

Community’s case: This is not good enough for locals, who argue the approval should have considered how higher temperatures and increased fire risk, caused by the effects of global warming, would have on the Hunter Valley.

Special rules: The community group also argued another planning law was not properly considered by the IPC.

The law says that the IPC needs to look at making the mine minimise all of its emissions, which includes the pollution from the coal being burned overseas.

The IPC only made the mine minimise its emissions on site (two percent of the total), which locals say contradicts this rule.

Miners argument: Mach Energy argued the planning commission did its job by saying international climate change policies, like the Paris Agreement, were adequate in handling the emissions caused by the coal from its mine being burned.

Significance: President of the community group, Wendy Wales, said “planning authorities across New South Wales are now on notice that the climate impacts of their decisions are not someone else's problem. That's not nothing. But we need to win, for the communities that are already living through the floods and fires and droughts that nobody is being held accountable for”.

Read the full story below.