The publication of the state’s new koala habitat policy has revealed a senior regional NSW official has the right to reject management plans by councils.

More than 75 organisations and individuals have signed an open letter calling on the Ross Trust to withdraw its plans to expand its quarry on the Mornington Peninsula and destroy bushland.

A three-day burst of rain from Thursday is likely to be the wettest for Sydney since at least last July, with up to 100 millimetres expected on Saturday.

When a critically endangered bird starts to lose its birdsong, conservationists know the species is in even more dire straits than its dwindling numbers suggest.

The City of Sydney will spend $377 million over the next decade to boost tree cover, adding about 700 trees a year to parks, lanes and roads.