🔵 Corolla man seeks EV advice
Plus: North Sydney Bears were once known as The Shoremen.
Huw Bradshaw
May 08, 2026
⏱️ The 102nd edition of our newsletter is a four-minute read.
Morning all,
Before we get into this morning’s newsletter, I have a question.
I’m working on a story about local mechanics — specifically, those who work on electric vehicles. Given I drive a Corolla, I’m curious to find out how getting your car serviced changes when you go electric: do you need to go to a special place? Can some mechanics service regular and electric cars?
If you drive an electric car, or work as an auto mechanic on EVs, feel free to get in touch.
🗞️ For now though, here are all the happenings across the North Shore.
HEARD THIS WEEK👂
🏉 The Bears return, but where will they play?
With the Bears back in the NRL next year, we did a quick rundown on how the squad is shaping up and looked at where they may play their home game in Sydney. Also included, of course, is a heavy dose of nostalgia for old fans of the Shoremen.
Watch the full video below.
🔋 “Choosing to leave Australians exposed”: North Shore MP rails against EV tax changes
Representing Australia’s electric vehicle capital, Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele claims federal Labor’s pivot on electric vehicle (EV) policy will “leave Australians exposed” to “global price shocks”.
Read the full story here, or watch our breakdown below.
🤝 Developer denies Castlecrag tower meeting with Burley Griffin group was a facade
The latest chapter in the Castlecrag towers saga started at 10:49am on Thursday, April 30, when the Lorikeet received an email from the Walter Burley Griffin Society (WBGS).
The society — self-appointed gatekeepers for the legacy of the famed planner and architect — was claiming Conquest, the developer behind the two-tower, 11-storey, 150-apartment project, had not suitably taken Griffin’s legacy into account.
As part of the development application for the towers, Conquest stated that “consideration should also be given to the aims and objectives of the Walter Burley Griffin Society”.
The society says this did not occur, and that Conquest based its “consideration” on a DA previously submitted for the same site by another developer. That DA had been approved, but was for a much smaller project that never went ahead.
Read the full story below.
LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀
🤖 More data centre chat?
Across the country more and more data centres are are popping up, with large chunks of the public not really understanding what they are and what exactly they do?
Every photo you store in the cloud, every ChatGPT prompt, every email that isn't saved on your computer — it's all running through a data centre somewhere.
The National Account’s Archie Milligan had me on this week to talk about what is happening with data centres across the country, including on the North Shore. Watch the full interview below.
That’ll be all from me today.
As always, if you have a hot tip, an idea for a story or think there’s something I should be covering, hit reply to this email or reach out at [email protected].
Cheers,
Huw