North Sydney: New Year’s Eve fireworks tickets scrapped

Uncertainty over capacity restrictions is leaving council staff scrambling to organise this year’s New Year’s Eve festivities. Eleven weeks out they’ve now made a big call.

North Sydney Council has abandoned plans to charge New Year’s Eve revellers $10 to catch the fireworks at public parks amid uncertainty over how the event will be managed under the state’s road map out of lockdowns.

An extraordinary council meeting on Monday night resulted in councillors unanimously voting to open up parks to all revellers on December 31 after a council report had recommended a ticket system at prime spectator sites including Bradfield Park, Mary Booth Reserve, Quibaree Park and Blues Point Reserve.

The tickets were intended to be a reinstatement of a trial in 2019 and would have cost holders $10, plus a booking fee, in a move partly designed to manage crowd numbers.

A photo of last year’s policing operating during the event.

Councillors instead backed an alternative motion by Mayor Jilly Gibson to leave parks open for all residents and visitors seeking to kiss 2021 goodbye in person.

The meeting heard there was still a cloud of uncertainty over the finer details of the event with the state’s Covid road map showing that from December 1 there will be a “no person limit for ticketed and seated outdoor public gatherings” but safety plans will be “required for attendance over 1000.”

A council report noted there was no public health order for the event but added the government had expressed a desire to create a “a carnival atmosphere with a full fireworks display”.

Before Covid, more than one million people flocked to see the fireworks in person.

Cr Gibson said the council’s capacity to plan for the event was hindered by lack of certainty over management arrangements, with councillor Zoe Baker describing it as a “cost shifting” exercise by the government.

“It’s not our event but every year we’re left to foot the bill to manage the event on our side of the harbour and every year it costs our ratepayers about $500,000,” Cr Gibson said.

“It’s like someone else holding a party and asking you to pay for it. It should not fall back on us.”

The council noted there was 11 weeks until the big day and in a normal year staff would have already engaged suppliers, negotiated with agencies, business and residents, and finalised staff and security arrangements.

Bradfield Park is one of the prime spots to see the fireworks.

North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson.

“In the absence of a public health order, staff have not been able to complete any of these tasks,” the council added.

In a statement, a Department of Premier and Cabinet spokeswoman said the government was in discussions with event organisers and key stakeholders regarding the necessary arrangements to ensure a safe and successful event.

“The NSW Government will continue to consult with stakeholders including North Sydney Council, and will work with NSW Health and NSW Police to ensure an integrated approach to crowd management, public health and safety for this event, as it does every year – including for the North Sydney LGA,” she said.

“North Sydney Council has written to Minister Ayres. The Minister will discuss these arrangements with the North Sydney Mayor in the weeks ahead.

“The NSW Government looks forward to Sydney celebrating New Year’s Eve and ringing in a positive 2022.”

Bradfield Park was closed on December 31 last year due to Covid restrictions.

Monday’s meeting heard North Sydney Council’s proposed 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.

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 also came off second best after climbing a pillar near Bradfield Park and slipped backward during the firework display, breaking several bones.

The ticket system had previously been trialled in 2019 and was met with support by residents who welcomed the reduction in crowd numbers, however had impacted businesses that missed out on New Year’s Eve trade.

The meeting came after the City of Sydney agreed to stage the 9pm family fireworks, subject to certain conditions including a guarantee the government would take over the City of Sydney event if health orders change.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet backed both the 9pm and midnight fireworks going ahead, saying “NYE is not the time for a nanna nap.”

Prior to the Covid pandemic, up to one million people viewed the fireworks live from the Sydney Harbour foreshore and an estimated one billion watched them on TV and online.