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Maritime authorities say the female southern right whale and her calf spotted basking in shallow waters off Sydney have moved on again, after taking a few days to relax in the coast's warm shallow bays.

Whale conservation group ORRCA said on Sunday the pair moved south overnight to Malabar Beach after spending Saturday resting and nursing in shallow waters northeast of Long Reef off the city's northern beaches.

After spending Sunday close to shore, the pair were seen heading out into deeper waters in the afternoon, to resume their journey south.

ORCCA and NPWS rangers said they will continue to keep an eye on the mother and her calf.

The rare duo were spotted in waters of the NSW mid north coast late in July, and have been tracked closely as they make their way down the coast before their treacherous journey to the Antarctic.

NSW Parks and Wildlife Service authorities asked the public to keep at least 300 metres away to avoid disturbing the whales which might cause them to move away, and tire them unnecessarily.

Quiet, undisturbed time in shallow, sandy bottom bays and protected beaches is a critical stage in southern right whale calf development.

The calf was expected to consume about 300 litres of milk per day to gain the strength before the long voyage towards the Antarctic, according to park ranger Andy Marshall.

"The biggest threat to the survival of southern right whales in NSW waters is disturbance from people getting too close," he said.

Any disturbance to the whales not only compromises a calf's ability to nurse and develop, but can also drive them out into deeper waters, where they are exposed to predation by orcas and sharks, the ranger said.

Mr Marshall said the calf was born about two days before the first sighting and have delighted whalewatchers by taking breaks at Coffs Harbour, Scott's Head, Port Macquarie, Forster, Port Stephens, and Swansea along the NSW north coast.

Southern right whales are an endangered species, with fewer than 270 in the south-east Australian population.

This calf is one of only two recorded in NSW this year.

© AAP 2023

Coach Tony Gustavsson has hinted his future with the Matildas is contingent on more high-performance investment as his charges attempt to move on from Women's World Cup heartbreak and towards the Paris Olympics.

The Matildas' groundbreaking run ended on a sour note, suffering a 2-0 loss to Sweden in the third-place play-off at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

Two-time World Cup winner Jill Ellis has pushed her former assistant Gustavsson's case as Vlatko Andonovski's successor with the United States.

The Swede wouldn't be drawn on that job specifically but stressed he needed investment.

"From a broader perspective ... I know the FA is keen on making an in-depth review of each tournament like they did after the Olympics, after the Asian Cup, that will be made now as well," Gustavsson said.

"In that review I think we're going to learn a lot about me as a coach, about the team, about preparation, about investment. What I can say is I love working with this team. It resonates with me as a coach; their identity and their why.

"And I've said it before, I don't see this as an end of a journey. I see it as a beginning of a journey.

"But I also want to be very clear that I want to see investment now, I really do. I want to see investment. And I mean like a real investment that we're serious about what we're doing."

Gustavsson pointed to the Matildas' introduction of a full-time goalkeeper coach, physiotherapist and sports scientist since his appointment.

He also called for more investment in youth international pathways to ensure players could step up.

His charges were reeling from the play-off loss, their second in three years after losing the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics.

"We want to do something special. We haven't won anything yet," Caitlin Foord said.

"We want to win something. Until we do that I don't think we will be satisfied."

Skipper Sam Kerr will relish the prospect of kicking off Olympic qualifying in front of her home crowd in Perth in October, after she moves on from this defeat.

"It will take a while obviously," she said.

"It took me a while to get over the bronze medal match loss to the USA and the sadness comes from just feeling like you missed an opportunity.

"What we've done for the country is amazing, but the bronze medal really, for us as individuals, as a team would have been nice. So it's a bit sad, but we'll get over it and we'll move on and come back stronger."

The Matildas enjoyed a heroes' reception in Brisbane on Sunday, with almost 4,500 fans packing the Riverstage as the players were given the key to the city.

The players, and in particular vice-captain Steph Catley, were surprised on-stage by Nikki Webster with a rendition of her 2000 hit 'Strawberry Kisses', one of the Matildas' songs of the tournament.

Meanwhile the Channel Seven broadcast of Saturday's loss reached 6.25 million and drew an average national total audience of 3.38 million.

© AAP 2023

Electric utes are perfectly suited to driving in regional Australia but the country needs policy changes and more public chargers to encourage the transport trend, according to a renewable energy group.

Solar Citizens called for changes as it prepared to complete a six-month electric ute roadshow on Friday that has taken technology through towns in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

The group's clean transport campaigner Ben Lever said the demonstration not only proved electric utes were suitable for use in country areas but there was demand for the vehicles waiting to be fulfilled.

The tour comes months before Australia is expected to have a fuel efficiency standard introduced to encourage more automakers to bring electric utes into the country.

Mr Lever said the roadshow, which visited towns and cities including Bendigo, Shepparton, Ballarat, Kiama and Canberra, was an important step in proving the transport technology could work in rural Australia.

"We've found it is absolutely possible to drive over 10,000km around regional Australia in an electric vehicle, even one with a lower range than some," he said.

"Perceptions that electric vehicles aren't suitable for the regions has been busted by what we've done."

Despite reservations from some drivers, Mr Lever said many who visited the roadshow were curious to try battery-powered utes and were particularly interested in their potential fuel savings.

"Regional Australians not only drive longer distances but pay more at the petrol pump so it's a double whammy for them and going electric will benefit them even more than city people," he said.

Bur Mr Lever said Australia would need to make changes to help more drivers access and use electric utes, including the installation of more public vehicle chargers and priority for chargers in regional areas.

Introducing a strong fuel efficiency standard to set pollution caps on automotive brands would also encourage them to bring a greater variety and number of vehicles into Australia, he said, and changes to allow drivers to tap into the vehicle's battery to power homes, work sites, or the grid would make the vehicles more useful.

The vehicle used by Solar Citizens, the LDV eT60, was the first electric ute in Australia when it launched in November last year and another six are slated to arrive in the country by 2025, including models from Ford, Kia, GWM and Fisker.

But many electric utes will land in Australia years after their arrival in countries with fuel efficiency standards already in place.

The federal government committed to introducing a standard in Australia as part of its National Electric Vehicle Strategy in April, with Transport Minister Catherine King saying draft legislation should be ready before the end of the year.

© AAP 2023