Sydney

More than 50 years after the Vietnam War, uni students are removing remnants of Agent Orange chemicals from a waterway connected to Sydney Harbour.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program released its latest figures for the period December 2024 to October 2025, and in its ninth year, it found there has been a significant spike in illicit drug use in this country, in terms of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and MDMA with a record combined weight of 26.8 tonnes, which seems to suggest the war on drugs is failing big time.

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Poster image by MUA Sydney Branch: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXtE8JRibKx/

Qtopia Sydney has announced the program for Pride Fest 2026, which will run from 1 to 30 June. Billed as “Sydney’s queer arts and culture festival”, it will feature more than 300 events, marking the largest program in the festival’s history.

Deepwater Pump Track officially opens today (Wednesday, April 15), transforming a once-underused patch of parkland into a full-throttle playground for cyclists, scooter riders and anyone keen to get their wheels off the ground.

The newly finalised Callan Park Plan of Management 2026–2036 lays out an ambitious vision for the 61-hectare pocket, promising more open green space, better access and – you guessed it – that fabled harbour swim spot.

Sydney community radio station 2SER has told volunteers it could close by July this year after Macquarie University said it would end its funding of the station last year.

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Fancy a spot of academia with your after-work drinks? Some books with your bevvies, perhaps? Returning this May for another year, Raising the Bar sees 10 of the city’s favourite pubs and bars transform into esteemed places of learning, with pint-sized lectures delivered by 20 of the University of Sydney’s leading academics and researchers.

The Bondi to Manly Ultra is coming back to Sydney this October – with 20km and 40km relay options if you’re not ready to tackle the full 80km

Public consultation on the Housing for All discussion paper is open until 22 May, with workshops and information sessions planned to guide community input.

Councillor Zann Maxwell has unveiled stylish new design concepts for the future redevelopment of Victoria Barracks, Sydney. The renders reimagine the barracks as a bustling multipurpose civic space, and are part of a broader call for a publicly-led masterplanning of the site, with Maxwell cautioning against allowing developers to annex the space for their own financial interests.

Electricity network providers are pushing the NSW government to relax rules blocking them from entering the Sydney EV charger market, arguing the city’s rollout is falling behind as drivers struggle to find somewhere to plug in.

Sydney’s queer cultural heart could soon see more of its past formally protected, as the City of Sydney announces new plans to heritage list a wave of historically significant LGBTQIA+ sites across the Oxford Street precinct.

The rare “pink moon” will make its yearly appearance in Sydney skies this week. Though officially peaking on April 2 at 1:11PM AEDT, optimal viewing times are set to be the nights of April 1 and 2. While the name may lead novice astronomers to expect a grapefruit hue to grace the lunar surface, experts warn the moon itself will appear in its usual silvery majesty.

A new show of support for transgender Australians has been unveiled in Sydney’s Inner West, with the launch of the Inner West Trans Solidarity Footpath at Camdenville Oval in Sydney, long regarded as a hub for inclusive community sport.