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Engineers have warned the iconic North Sydney Olympic Pool is deteriorating rapidly and is near the end of its usable life, but the North Sydney Council says it still needs $30 million for its redevelopment.

The council has voted to approve plans for a $57.9 million revamp of the historic harbourside pool, but the rest of the money needs to be sourced from the State and Federal Government.

Premier Gladys Bereijklian, as well as state and federal members, will now be invited to visit the pool and see the conditions with their own eyes.

"Independent engineering consultants have confirmed that the 50-metre pool, concourse and grandstand require urgent remedial work, so we are progressing to development application stage to keep the project on track," said council general manager Ken Gouldthorp.

"However, unless grant funding becomes available, we will need to look at our options. No-one wants to see North Sydney Olympic Pool close."

Legendary swimmer Shane Gould broke the world 100m freestyle record in the pool in 1972.

"It just holds so many memories, not just for me, but in the bricks itself," she told ABC Radio Sydney's breakfast show.

"(In 1972) it was predicted that I was going to break the world record and that would mean that I would hold all five freestyle world records.

"You know people just came out to see it. They were virtually throwing money at the gate attendants trying to get in to see it live, but they had to turn people away, and they lined up on the bridge."

The pool was opened in 1936.

Daley pulls out of Labor leadership race

Michael Daley has backed out of the running for the role of NSW Opposition Leader, a day after insisting he still wanted the job despite stepping aside.

The Maroubra MP released a statement yesterday afternoon saying he didn't want to be a "distraction" ahead of the federal election and will take several weeks off to spend time with his family.

When the party does hold a ballot after the federal poll, Opposition water spokesman Chris Minns is expected to put his hand up.

ANALYSIS:

Michael Daley's decision will bring relief to his federal colleagues who want to put a lid on his comments about immigrants from Asia as they gear up for the May election.

It will also help quell some of the media speculation, tension and political drama that comes with a messy leadership ballot.

Mr Daley was only in the top job for 134 days — the shortest tenure for a Labor leader in about 100 years. What a difference a week can make.

-State political reporter Nour Haydar

Bad traffic this morning? PM promises change

The Federal Government is aiming to please fed-up motorists across Sydney and the Central Coast ahead of the election, with a $235.5 million congestion-busting funding boost.

The package includes upgrading King Georges Road and Blaxland Road at Balaclava Road in Eastwood, the Princes Highway at Waratah Street in Kirrawee, The Horsley Drive and Homebush Bay Drive in Sydney Olympic Park, as well as a $50 million investment into commuter car parking.

"People living in Sydney know better than anyone the very real impacts road congestion has on people's lives and we are doing something about the pinch points and bottlenecks that lie at the heart of the problem," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Police told to rethink approach to missing children

A NSW coroner has recommended police treat all children reported missing in custody disputes as missing persons, in her findings into the murder-suicide of a man and his four-year-old daughter.

Gregory Hutchings and his daughter Eeva Dorendahl went missing on January 11, 2014. Their bodies were found two weeks later, about 1 kilometre from Hutchings's home at Pottsville, on the NSW far north coast.

Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan found their deaths had been a murder-suicide.

She found police had not treated the pair as missing persons and had therefore failed to do a risk checklist that may have indicated the child was in danger.

"The initial report was recorded as a 'concern for welfare' and was seen more as the failure to return a child in the context of a custody dispute, as opposed to something more sinister," Magistrate O'Sullivan wrote.

Fears over weight-loss trial

Health experts have warned a weight-loss trial for obese teenagers could trigger eating disorders among participants, who are at times limited to only one-quarter of their daily recommended energy intake.

The Fast Track to Health program is being run at hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne and involves children as young as 13.

But Melbourne teenager Jess Quin, who recovered from anorexia after becoming "obsessed" with calorie counting, said being considered overweight by body mass index standards could quickly turn into something serious.

Clinical psychologist Louise Adams warned children "were not guinea pigs" and has sent a letter signed by 29 health professionals to the ethics panels that approved the trials, calling for a suspension.

The best time of year for a dip

Is summer is the best time to swim in Sydney?

According to Olympian and Bondi Icebergs coach Neil Rogers, autumn is the perfect time for a dip because the water is clear, clean and warmer than in summer.

ABC Radio Sydney Drive listeners agreed.

"I just got out of the water at Nielson Park and it was perfect! Silky smooth, clear and warm! But please don't tell anyone," said Carolyn from Bondi.

"You never regret a swim!" fellow Bondi local Jacqueline added.