🔵 The North Shore's ultimate guide to pub trivia
Plus: Data centre uproar and disappearing childcare centres
Huw Bradshaw
May 15, 2026
⏱️ The 104th edition of our newsletter is a four-minute read.
Morning all,
We’ve had some interesting developments on data centres in the North Shore this week.
If you haven’t been following, Lane Cove has seemingly been designated a data centre hub, with multiple companies seeking approval for new centres in the various industrial sites along the Lane Cove River.
One particular development has drawn significant backlash from the community. I
I’ve been reporting on data centres for a while now and I know how unpopular they can be. But even I was blown away when I saw a total of almost 400 objections to the proposal.
I had to ask: why? What has changed in the last year that has propelled data centres from something unknown and boring to the centre of our local (and often, national) discourse?
We took that question to UTS researcher Dr Bronwyn Cumbo, whose work has closely examined the data centre industry.
You can read the full piece here, or you can watch my breakdown below.
🗞️ Let’s get into the rest of the news.
HEARD THIS WEEK👂
🍺 The ultimate guide to pub trivia on the North Shore
Now that we have the looming takeover of AI-terminator-factories out of the way… pub trivia.
Whether you’re a die-hard quiz addict or simply looking for some casual weeknight fun, we’ve got you covered.
Reckon we’ve missed your favourite? Send us an email via [email protected]. Or keep it a secret. Up to you.
Read the full guide here.
🚸 Why are so many affordable North Shore childcare centres shutting down?
A long-standing Gladesville childcare centre is at risk of shutting its doors, as Hunter’s Hill Council moves to sell the land with no clear plan for the centre’s relocation.
With similar proposed closures in Chatswood and Crows Nest, the news follows a broader trend of affordable childcare options shrinking on the North Shore.
What happened: The Gladesville Occasional Childcare Centre (GOCCC) is a community-based non-profit that has been running in Gladesville since 1983. In that time they haven’t had to pay rent for the site, which is owned by Hunter’s Hill Council.
Non-profit childcare centres — such as Kelly’s Place in Crows Nest — typically have this sort of arrangement with their local council.
A grassroots structure: As a non-profit community centre, the GOCCC is able to provide childcare to local families at a more affordable price. Its governing body is a committee of parents whose children attend. The centre takes care of children from six months to five years old.
Big plans: In 2025, the council voted to reclassify the land from community to operational land.
Operational land is land owned by the council without special restrictions. It means the council can manage the land in the same way a member of the public might deal with private freehold land.
Michelle King, the president of the centre’s parent’s committee, claims she was assured when the land was reclassified there were no plans to sell.
“[I said] the reason you're doing this is because you want to sell it,” she told the Lorikeet. “They'd never agree with that, they’d say it's just reclassification”.
During a Hunter's Hill council meeting in May, plans were announced to sell the land to the City of Ryde.
Read the full story here, or watch our breakdown below.
LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀
🎰 Did the Government try to bury its response to gambling reform?
More than 1,000 days after being handed the report from an inquiry into gambling harm, the Albanese Government finally released its response just hours before the budget.
The eight page response to the inquiry chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy included a watered down set of restrictions on gambling ads including:
No gambling ads online - unless you're over 18 and have an account on a social, or streaming platform where you can choose whether you see them or not via an opt out system.
No ads on radio during school drop off and pick up times (8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm).
A ban on celebrities and sports players in gambling ads.
The scrapping of advertising at sports venues and on players’ and officials’ uniforms.
A limit of three TV ads an hour between 6am and 8:30pm, and a complete ban during live sport broadcasts within those same hours.
The response to the inquiry also ignores calls for a proper regulator of online book makers.
The National Account’s Archie Milligan has the full rundown:
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