🔵 Do you loathe Military Road?

HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🌊 How many councils does it take to save the Hawkesbury River?

The Hawkesbury River had a time of it during the 1980s and 1990s — faulty wastewater treatment, urban runoff, dead fish, toxic algal blooms.

It was only following advocacy by grassroots community groups and the local council that conditions have significantly improved over recent decades.

But now, with the pressures of increased development and rising sea levels, local councils and environmental scientists are again working out how we can keep the river clean and healthy.

Read the fully story below.

🛣️ How do we solve a problem like Military Road?

Confusing, unreliable and infrequent: these are the words that have been used to describe the buses ferrying passengers between the Northern Beaches and lower North Shore. 

What happened: A state government review looking at congestion on some of the North Shore’s busiest corridors — Military Road, Pacific Highway, Spit Road — was released on Monday. Its findings have pointed toward the local bus network as a key cause of traffic issues.

While maintaining that public transport plays an important role in reducing congestion, the report found the current state of the bus routes connecting the Northern Beaches and North Shore — including the B-Line, 144 and 172X — was potentially pushing commuters into their vehicles. 

Why is it happening: The Northern Beaches is one of the few parts of Sydney totally inaccessible by train or metro services, and bus services need to compete with cars on the Spit and Roseville bridges to get in and out. 

The review found this competition for limited road space is slowing down bus services, making residents less likely to opt for public transport.

Flaws in the bus network are attributed to driver shortages. Late last year, government figures indicated there was a shortfall of 146 drivers across metropolitan Sydney. In December, North Shore routes saw a service reduction due to this shortage. 

Read the story below.

🎳 This 70-year-old bowlo was set to be demolished. Now it’s having its grand re-opening

When Artarmon Bowling Club was founded by 97 local blokes in 1946, “few if any” of them knew how to bowl, according to local historian Grace Warner.

At the time women were unable to become full members or drink at the bar, but in truth it was the wives of Willoughby who were the true bowling fanatics of the North Shore.

What happened: In recent years, the fate of the clubhouse has hung in the balance. In 2019, Willoughby Council voted for it to be demolished and replaced with a new pavilion.

However, those using the venue, along with local heritage enthusiasts, advocated for the structure’s value to the community and place in local history.

Among those fighting for the site’s retention was Artarmon local Judy Simpson, who for years has attended yoga classes hosted at the clubhouse. “It was very much a loved building that was well used”, she told the Lorikeet.

In 2022, a compromise was reached: parts of the clubhouse would be knocked down to accommodate a more open, pavilion-like structure, while most of the main building would be maintained and refurbished, in keeping with its heritage character.

Read the full story below.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

🔌 Australia tells data centres to play by its rules or go to the back of the queue

🤷 WHAT HAPPENED? The federal government says it now has expectations when it comes to new data centres opening in Australia. 

• These standards don’t stop projects from being approved, but do give those closest aligned the most attention. 

🤔 EXPECTATIONS: Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres announced the expectations on Monday, outlining data centre companies looking to enter the country would have more success if they:

• Prioritise Australia’s national interest 

• Support Australia’s energy transition 

• Use water sustainably and responsibly 

• Invest in Australian skills and jobs 

• Strengthen research, innovation and local capability

The closer a proposed data centre aligns with these expectations the higher priority the government says it will get when it comes to regulatory assessments. 

🇦🇺 NATIONAL INTEREST: The new standards mean data centres are expected to operate for the benefit of the Australian economy, people and their local communities. 

• Centres need to operate with minimal side effects on their communities and build a good relationship with them. They also need to keep our data safe. 

⚡️ENERGY: Projects that don’t make the energy grid work harder to accommodate them will be looked on more favourably than others. Data centres use a lot of energy and could put a strain on the grid if no extra power generation is also built. 

• New centres that create more renewables and batteries, as well as cover the costs of building poles and wires, will also be bumped up to the top of the queue. 

• The more efficient these centres are, the less pollution and impact they create. 

💧WATER: Very similar to energy expectations, new data centres that work responsibly with current water users and First Nations peoples to find the best places to source water get a big green tick.

• At the same time, they’ll be rewarded if they can use as little water as possible and find ways to adapt to drought and climate change. 

👷 JOBS: New centres will be prioritised if they employ locals and pay them well. After they’re built, the operators are encouraged to help train new people to work there, like apprenticeships. 

They’re also expected to play nice with the unions, local, state and federal governments, education and training providers, and other employers to address skills gaps. 

🧠 THINKING BIG: The government wants these centres to help Australia’s smartest minds by giving Australian start-ups, innovative small businesses, researchers and not-for-profits a good deal on computing power. 

🗞️ REACTION: There is some cautious support for the Government’s plan.

The Carbon Zero Initiative’s Alex Hoysted commended the federal government for having some standards, but told the National Account he was concerned about the state government response.

🗣️ “Most data centre approvals are done at a state level, we really would have welcomed a little bit more oversight on those approval processes at a federal level,” he said.

💰 COUGH UP: Senator David Pocock said he’s looking forward to seeing more details on the government’s expectations and said, “we need to make sure multinational tech giants wanting to build [data centres] here pay tax.”