North Sydney Council plans paid ticketing at New Year’s Eve public vantage points

A new paid ticketing system planned at prime viewing locations for the upcoming New Year’s Eve fireworks has split opinions on the north shore with some locals calling for ‘out of towners’ to fork out more.

Witnessing New Year’s Eve fireworks would no longer be a free experience on Sydney’s lower north shore under a council plan to roll out a new paid ticketing system for revellers.

North Sydney Council wants to charge revellers $10 to watch the fireworks at four key harbour viewing points as part of a new plan to manage crowds at this 2022/23 event.

The ticketing system would apply to Blues Point Reserve, Lavender Bay parklands and Bradfield Park and Mary Booth Reserve.

A photo of the crowds at Blues Point Reserve during a previous New Year’s Eve event.

The council also wants the parks to operate on a one person per two square metres rule to reduce the risks of Covid-19 infections or overcrowding in prime viewing areas.

No pass outs would be issued and re-entries to ticketed zones would be strictly banned once tickets have been scanned at the gates.

The move has been met with a mixed response from locals with some residents backing the move, while businesses who benefit from the increased crowds say the charges could deter people from visiting the area.

North Sydney Council – which netted $355,863 during a previous trial of the ticketing system in 2019 – said the $10 charges would help cover the cost of managing the event along with clean-up and security costs.

A photo of last year’s fireworks.

Michael Paszek, manager of The Botanist restaurant and bar in Kirribilli, said many local businesses could feel the pinch if the ticket system goes ahead.

“Charging people seems a bit rich and anything that results in fewer people would not be good for the businesses in the area,” he said.

“If it does eventuate, people would probably go elsewhere or stand (outside the ticket zones) on the street where they could watch the fireworks for free and still get a pretty decent view.”

Kirribilli resident Elaine Wziontek supported the ticketing system and believes the cost could be higher for “out of towners”.

Kirribilli is a popular viewing point for the fireworks.

“Maybe the council could consider providing vouchers for locals, so at least we could see it for free and visitors from outside the local government area and out of towners could pay – and maybe even a bit more than $10,” she said.

Julia Connor, a member of the Milsons Point Community Group, believed there were “pros and cons” of a ticketing system.

“There are some that think it’s a right that the public can go to foreshore places for major events free of charge, but there are others that say the event is already an imposition on the community and the council,” she said.

Revellers are seen at Kirribilli during New Year's Eve celebrations prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The ticketing system could control the numbers and misbehaviour because there’s a huge amount of planning involving and cleaning up to do afterwards.”

Councillor Jilly Gibson, who has previously been critical of a ticketing system, said revellers should be able to view the fireworks for free.

“I’ll support the option that’s best for our local small businesses and residents which is managed access and pass outs but no tickets or cost,” she said.

Councillor Jilly Gibson.

“It’ll also cost us a fortune to have a ticketing system and it’s a bad look to be charging people when the cost of living is going up.”

North Sydney Council in a report said its responsibilities have grown in line with the event’s popularity and status and includes the cost of internal and agency staffing and security.

“In recent years, there has been a devolution of responsibility for crowd safety to landowners, with expectations that council will take more responsibility for crowd management within reserves, hostile vehicle mitigation and road closures,” the council said.

Revellers pictured at Blues Point Reserve during a previous New Year’s Eve event.

“The $10 ticket is recommended as it provides partial cost recovery, is affordable for most people (and) provides some additional resources to meet additional expectations of the government agencies.”

The new plan comes after a council meeting last year heard a ticket system would unlikely curb poor patron behaviour with council staff providing details of past serious incidents outside ticketed zones.

These included a man in his early 20s who fell off a cliff at Balls Head and was found the next morning with a broken leg and was so drunk he didn’t realise he’d been injured.

The fees would apply to four parks on the north shore.

There was also another young man who attempted to climb over the north shore rail line between Lavender Bay and Waverton when he fell and broke his leg, and in 2019 a French tourist broke several bones after falling from a pillar near Bradfield Park.

Local councillors will vote on the proposed ticket system at a meeting next week.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, up to one million people viewed the fireworks live from the Sydney Harbour foreshore; an estimated one billion watch them on television and online.