🔵 Metro mania

HEARD THIS WEEK👂

⚡️ Why are data centre companies cosying up to fossil fuel giants?

If you want to open a data centre in Australia, there are guidelines you can follow. But they’re optional.

Given the drain these centres — such as those slated for Macquarie Park and Lane Cove — have on energy and water resources, Greenpeace called this week for a halt on all developments until clear, mandatory safeguards are set in stone.

What happened: The Greenpeace report calls for full disclosure on energy use and emissions, compulsory use of renewable energy, and transparency on what data centres are used for.

The report points to established concerns such as the impact data centres will have on  Australia’s climate goals, but also looks at data centre operators cosying up with fossil fuel companies to power their operations.

Lead author Ketan Joshi is an energy expert who has been analysing and writing about the growth of data centres for two years. He has worked in the renewables sector. Joshi told the Lorikeet even a small proportion of fossil-fuel powered data centres would mean “a major increase in greenhouse gas emissions”. 

This type of project can already be seen in the NSW Southern Highlands, where Cloud Carrier is seeking approval for a gas-fired power plant to power a “data centre campus”.

In Queensland, gas company QPM Energy Limited has been positioning itself to support data centre growth with its gas power stations, announcing on Monday it has “commenced preliminary discussions with data centre companies and intends to accelerate evaluation of co-location opportunities”.

Internationally, these projects are already a reality: Elon Musk’s SpaceX runs gas turbines to power its “Colossus” data centres in Memphis, Tennessee. Even countries like Ireland and Canada, with relatively progressive climate goals, have allowed the development of gas-powered data centres. 

Why do this? Joshi claims data centre companies typically use off the grid gas power as a means of circumnavigating the impacts of centres joining the local energy grid, as well as community concerns about those impacts. 

But the report claims this option would also cripple our emission reduction efforts.

Lobbying: Data Centres Australia, established late last year, is the chief lobbying body for data centres in Australia. Earlier this month, its CEO, Belinda Dennett, appeared as a speaker at a fossil fuel industry conference run by Australian Energy Producers. The panel Dennett appeared on was titled “Energy in the AI age”. 

This group represents data centres companies active on the North Shore, including Goodman, DigiCo and NextDC.

Read the full story below.

📈 Massive rate hikes approved for North Sydney and Ku-ring-gai

North Shore ratepayers have been slugged with double-digit rate rises that will see hundreds of dollars added to council bills.

People in Ku-ring-gai will pay 29 percent more in the 2026/27 financial year, while those in North Sydney will be forced to pay 52.6 percent more over the next three years.

The North Sydney rate rises will reach the compound figure of more than 50 percent via a 23 percent increase (2026/27), a 14.5 percent increase (2027/28) and an 8.3 percent increase (2028/29).

The significant rates increased were given the green light by the state’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) on Tuesday morning.

Rates, explained: Each year, councils are only allowed to raise rates for residents and businesses by a limited amount, set by IPART in line with inflation.

This is called the rate peg. Councils wanting to raise rates by more than this must state their case to IPART, which can approve a “special rate variation”.

This year, the tribunal assessed 10 special variation applications, including from North Sydney and Ku-ring-gai councils.

IPART estimates that in Ku-ring-gai, the 29 percent rise will add $24.2 million to council revenue, and increase average annual rates by $488.

North Sydney will see an additional $34.2 million in revenue after the rise is fully implemented over three years. The cumulative increase for the average North Sydney rates bill will be $563.

Why more? Ku-ring-gai and North Sydney councils cited the upkeep and renewal of infrastructure as key reasons for seeking the rate hikes, and IPART was willing to oblige.

Read the full story below.

🚔️ Nine-year-old hit by cop car in St Leonards

At 7:20pm on Monday, NSW police responded to a fire at Wadanggari Park, across the Pacific Highway from St Leonards train station. 

As officers from North Shore Police Area Command arrived at the scene, a nine-year-old boy was struck by a marked police vehicle near Christie Street.

“The driver of a marked police vehicle – a male senior constable – was subjected to a roadside breath test which returned a negative result,” NSW Police said.

The boy was treated by officers on the scene before NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived. He was taken to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick in a stable condition.

The Lorikeet was on the scene around 7:50pm. A crime scene had been established and one lane of the highway had been blocked off. The fire at Wadanggari Park had been extinguished and police were interviewing witnesses. 

Police have commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

North Shore Police Area Command told the Lorikeet on Tuesday morning it was unable to comment.

Read the full story below.

🚉 It’s time for a Metro: Northern Beaches Mayor

“First of all, it’s not a train line, it’s a metro service,” Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins told the Lorikeet. 

For decades, the Northern Beaches has been defined, in part, by its lack of trains. 

From John Bradfield in the 1920s to Bob Carr in the 1990s, many have spoken about laying tracks from the Sydney CBD and/or Chatswood to Manly or Dee Why.

Typically, residents and councils have pushed back, with the stereotype being that Sydney’s other insular peninsula doesn’t want to make it too easy for the riff raff to hit the beaches in summer.

But now Heins says times have to change. 

“If someone doesn't start looking long-term and planning for changes, we’re going to be in strife,” she said. 

What happened: Earlier this year, four Northern Sydney mayors — representing the councils of North Sydney, Mosman, Northern Beaches and Willoughby — met with the NSW Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison. 

Heins, representing Palm Beach down to Manly, said it was time for the beaches to get a metro service.

Now, the declaration is in writing. The council’s official response to the Northern Beaches Network Review calls for the state to commit to “the investigation of a high volume, fast, resilient and reliable mass transit public transport solution, such as a Metro solution, for the Northern Beaches”. 

Read the full story below.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Concussion culture 🧠

Despite being a Queensland supporter, the National Account’s Archie Milligan agreed with Ashley Klein’s decision to send off Kalyn Ponga during last Wednesday night’s Origin clash.

But he couldn’t help but feel most concerned for Tolu Koula, the NSW player who was shoulder charged by Ponga and suffered a stage 2 concussion.

On Wednesday, the National Account published this interview with the University of Queensland’s Professor Fatima Nasrallah about concussions and the culture we have around when it’s safe to return to play.

If you don’t have time to watch the full interview, you can take a look at the shorter video below: