Sydney mayor demands New Year’s Eve fireworks be cancelled unless police can guarantee crowds will be spread out safely
- Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore called government to cancel NYE celebration
- Cr Moore said if authorities believe event unsafe fireworks should be cancelled
- The City of Sydney struck deal with NSW Government to manage celebrations
- Northern Beaches COVID cluster has risen to 90 cases this morning
Clover Moore has called on the NSW government to cancel the popular harbour New Year’s Eve fireworks in the wake of the state’s growing Covid outbreak on the Northern Beaches.
The Lord Mayor of Sydney says that if the state’s police and health authorities believe the event cannot be held safely then the celebrations should not go ahead.
The City of Sydney made a deal in September with the NSW Government to undertake a ‘temporary custodianship’ of the annual fireworks celebrations in the midst of the pandemic.
Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore has called for the annual NYE fireworks (pictured) to be cancelled if police and health authorities deem the even unsafe
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore (pictured) said the state government would be prepared to cancel the event if there was a spike in Covid-19 cases
Despite pressure to cancel the event, the government has stood firm on going ahead with the fireworks, but as a scaled back event.
The fireworks display will be cut down to a seven-minute event at midnight on the Harbour Bridge, and the children’s 9pm fireworks are cancelled.
Ms Moore told the Sydney Morning Herald that the council has expressed concern over the safety of the New Years Festivities, as the Northern Beaches cluster rose to 90 on Tuesday morning.
‘[Tourism minister Stuart Ayres] made it clear that the government understood our concerns about putting on the celebrations during a pandemic, and was prepared to work with the departments of health and transport and the police to mitigate the risks,’ Cr Moore told the publication
In previous years the NYE fireworks brings estimated crowds of over one million to the Sydney Harbour and surrounds (pictured)
‘The minister assured us that on top of taking full responsibility for planning and cost of the fireworks, crowd management, safety, traffic and transport, the state government would be prepared to cancel the event if there is a spike in Covid-19 cases.’
The annual fireworks celebration draws an estimated one million people to Sydney Harbour and its surrounds.
‘The community’s health and safety is paramount. If NSW Health and police can’t be certain that the event can be held safely, it should not go ahead’, Cr Moore said.
According to the SMH, a spokeswoman for the Transport Minister’s office said there were no changes to New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The designated green and yellow zones (pictured) are a part of the NSW Government’s Covid Safe Plan for New Years Eve celebrations
NSW Government has developed a Covid Safe plan for limited numbers of residents to view the fireworks via a permit system.
‘2020 has been a tough year for everyone and we want people to be able to look forward to the festive season in a Covid-Safe way,’ NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
Residents will only be able to gain access to cordoned-off ‘green zones’ around Circular Quay and North Sydney by either applying for a permit on the Service NSW website or having a booking for a restaurant or event inside the zoned areas.
The ‘yellow zones’ are created around the green zone and are not restricted to residents or visitors, but people gathering in these areas in large numbers may be moved on by police.
This years NYE fireworks display will be cut short to a seven minute event at midnight
