Bradfield Oration: Sir David Higgins’ message: Build a bridge, Sydney — and get building the future
ONE of world’s top city planners has issued a blunt warning to the state’s politicians — stop bickering or our grand vision for Sydney will be put at risk.
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ONE of the world’s top city planners has declared politicians must ditch the bickering if Sydney is to become one of the greatest cities of our time.
Ahead of delivering last night’s rousing call to Sydney’s top planning minds, Sir David Higgins — a man who has run Gatwick Airport, London’s Olympic development authority and planned Europe’s biggest high speed rail — warned that the vision for the city must be bipartisan and above politics.
Delivering The Daily Telegraph’s 2017 Bradfield Oration, Sir David declared Sydney needed a “strategy, a vision, a consensus” in a call to action to 200 top decision makers including Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Greater Sydney Commission chief Lucy Turnbull.
“I challenge you to be bold and take the vision Bradfield had and take it forward,” he told the crowd.
He had earlier told The Daily Telegraph that it was key to build a consensus that allowed outcomes to be delivered “whatever the prevailing circumstances”.
“It needs that consensus to be placed beyond the day to day political knockabout where one administration immediately stops what its predecessor decided because it was not invented here,” he said.
“No more stop/start according to the political whim of the day. Instead more strategic, expensive infrastructure projects need to build a bipartisan consensus behind them that is capable of surviving the ups and downs of the electoral cycle, because, inevitably, they take several decades to deliver.
“And so the consensus has to last that long.”
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Sir David declared even big investments such as the city’s $8.3 billion metro rail were not enough on their own to make Sydney stand out and infrastructure must be a “means to an end” — not an end in itself.
Premier Berejiklian said her government’s infrastructure vision was unmatched.
“Not since John Bradfield’s vision for the Harbour Bridge and Sydney’s underground railways in 1915 has a Government had such a bold infrastructure program for this city,” she said. “This Government is improving people’s lives and making communities more liveable, no matter where they are in NSW.”
Sir David, the Australian charged with delivering Britain’s $110 billion high speed rail network, told Sydney’s business and political elite they needed to capture the spirit and vision of Harbour Bridge engineer John Bradfield in building for the future.
“John Bradfield showed the way. He was clear both what he wanted to build, but also why — and then showed the perseverance needed to deliver it,” Sir David said.
The Daily Telegraph’s Project Sydney Bradfield Campaign has championed big visions including a Garden Island cruise terminal, better transport links for the west and a full “aerotropolis” around the new Western Sydney Airport.
Editor Christopher Dore told guests “mediocrity isn’t what a city like Sydney is built for or should aspire to.
“There is a real danger we get stuck in an era of indecision and fear of failure,” he said.
The paper’s Bradfield Campaign began with an open letter from industry leaders urging the Premier “to stay the course” on the $78 billion spending spree to build a city for the future.
Bashir and Barnet join dazzling company
FORMER NSW governor Marie Bashir and 19th century architect James Barnet, who designed some of Sydney’s most treasured buildings, joined a prestigious list of visionaries on the Bradfield Honour Roll last night.
Prof Bashir was added in recognition for her lifetime of work in medicine and helping young, poor and indigenous people while Barnet was remembered for his legacy of colonial architecture.
In presenting the award, Tony Shepherd, chair of the Bradfield Governors, said he was astounded at Prof Bashir’s pages of achievements, appointments, awards and decorations.
“As the former, and first female, governor of New South Wales, and also former chancellor of the University of Sydney, her contribution to the state and to this city has been enormous,” he said.
Prof Bashir paid tribute to Harbour Bridge engineer John Bradfield and said “what the Bridge symbolises is bringing people together”.
“The unification is reflected in our united multicultural people. Going forward together, will secure the future of our country,” she said.
Past and present greats on the roll, kept at the University of Sydney, include Jorn Utzon, Mary Reiby, Frank Lowy, Dr Kerry Schott and governor Lachlan Macquarie.
Barnet, a Scotsman who migrated to Australia in 1854, became clerk of works at the University of Sydney.
He was responsible for carrying out or supervising more than 1000 public works projects. The list includes the General Post Office in the heart of the central business district, the Australian Museum’s grand facade and Customs House. The roll is part of The Daily Telegraph’s Project Sydney campaign which champions Bradfield’s enduring legacy and vision for our city.
Angelina looks to space for design inspiration
Hundreds of NSW primary school children entered The Daily Telegraph’s competition to design Sydney’s next great building but Angelina El Malouf’s observatory and space museum was out of this world.
Sydney college to rival the best
Aspiring croupiers, cocktail bartenders and even butlers will be trained to compete with the world’s best at Sydney’s newest hospitality training college when it opens in March.