Cash for the event has already been allocated and it would generate A$130 million ($135.5m) for the NSW economy. Photo / news.com.au
Cash for the event has already been allocated and it would generate A$130 million ($135.5m) for the NSW economy. Photo / news.com.au
Sydney's Lord Mayor has been labelled "crackers" for defending the city going ahead with its world-famous fireworks despite the state suffering through one of its worst ever days of bushfire destruction.
Yet, tonight, Sydney's skies will be ablaze with explosives.
Sydney's world-famous fireworks display has been given the go ahead. Photo / news.com.au
The City of Sydney has come under heavy criticism for persevering with its fireworks display while shows elsewhere have been cancelled. The Rural Fire Service gave the display the green light yesterday. Its location means the fireworks occur over water rather than parched land.
Today, Lord Mayor Clover Moore defended going ahead with the massive pageant and said climate change was the real issue.
Moore said the cash for the event has already been allocated and it would generate A$130 million ($135.5m) for the NSW economy. The council has donated A$620,000 to bushfire and drought-affected communities and revellers will be encouraged to donate more tonight.
"The compelling issue here is climate change," she told reporters today.
"People have lost homes, people have died, firefighters have been killed defending communities. As the driest continent on earth we're at the forefront of accelerating global warming.
"What is happening is a wake-up call for our governments to start making effective contributions to reducing global emissions."
However, Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said it was "problematic" the foreshore firework display was proceeding.
"I understand how important the fireworks are for our economy, but I just think at a time like this, I think that it's really problematic that it's going ahead," Albanese told reporters in Brisbane.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has admitted to "mixed feelings" about the fireworks display in Sydney amid elevated bushfire risk and the death of a volunteer firefighter near the NSW-Victoria border. However, she has given the event her backing.
The Mayor has been criticised online. Channel 10 weather presenter Tim Baily said "Clover Moore is absolutely crackers. We will never forget this moment of insanity. Never forgive it."
Revellers waited outside the art gallery at 2am today to claim a harbourside vantage point for the fireworks. Photo / news.com.au
Channel 7 host Samantha Armytage weighed in after she was evacuated to Narooma on the NSW far South Coast.
The Sunrise host said the show was "inappropriate" and she'd "go after" the council if they went ahead with their fireworks display.
Prominent former MP Tony Windsor said the display would make Sydney look like "fools".
"The Mayor of Sydney and Scott Morrison think the fireworks will be good international publicity," he said in a tweet.
"The reverse will be the case with a celebration of fire whist our nation burns and climate policy ignored. It will present us as fools."
The up to a million people who are likely to flock to Sydney Harbour to watch the display have been warned of strong and damaging winds as a cold front rolls up the NSW coast.
Earlier, revellers heading to the Sydney fireworks tonight had been given a bizarre warning to delay their journeys into the CBD tonight as bushfire smoke creates hazardous conditions.
The City of Sydney has issued a warning to those attending the fireworks that bushfire smoke has caused the air quality to plummet to poor in Sydney, and anyone with a breathing condition should try and "delay coming into the city early".
The bizarre warning came after 1pm local time today, two hours after the Opera House forecourt and Bennelong Point was predicted to reach full capacity.
Countless New Year's Eve fireworks displays have been axed, including some less than an hour away from tonight's world-renowned spectacle on Sydney Harbour.
Despite that, more than one million people are expected to flock to get a view of the technicolor CBD show after the NSW Rural Fire Service yesterday granted the City of Sydney Council a fire ban exemption.
There was also an enormous queue in The Domain in Sydney's CBD today. Photo / news.com.au
But other displays – including in Parramatta, 25km to the city's west – didn't get the green light.
Yesterday afternoon, Parramatta Council declared its popular family show had been scrapped.
"Council was not granted an exemption to proceed with its fireworks display due to the total fire ban in place and a range of associated risks including: extreme temperatures; smoke, dust and poor air quality; extremely dry conditions at Parramatta Park; and limited resources to manage potential fires locally due to fires across the state," Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer said.
"In addition, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast high winds with a southerly change on New Year's Eve, which pose too big a risk to the health and safety of our community."
He said the decision was not made lightly but in consultation with the RFS, the BOM and other state government agencies. The council will instead donate A$10,000 to the RFS.
Wollongong, south of Sydney, axed its display just 24 hours before it was due to kick off.
"The total fire ban has been upgraded to include fireworks, and the southerly which is due to hit at around 8pm has also been upgraded," acting Lord Mayor Tania Brown said.
She acknowledged people "rely on this night" as an "economic generator" for the region.
The fireworks in nearby Kiama will go ahead.
Tonight's fireworks in Campbelltown, in southwest Sydney, were also on the chopping block.
"In light of the current extreme bushfire conditions and the fires that continue to sadly burn across our region, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the fireworks at our New Year's Eve event in Koshigaya Park," the council said on its website.
The 227,000-hectare Green Wattle Creek bushfire is still burning on Campbelltown's outskirts.
Closer to the city, Liverpool council also cancelled its fireworks shows at 9pm and midnight.
"Weather conditions are not favourable and this is the most appropriate course of action," Mayor Wendy Waller said in a statement, noting that they will be collecting RFS donations.
