The NSW Premier has announced that the Sydney NYE fireworks are “definitely happening” despite the calls for it to be cancelled.
As per Sky News, Gladys Berejiklian said today, December 24th, that the annual NYE event will still be going ahead in the face of dissenting protests from the Australian Medical Association. They warned that the event posed a significant risk to public safety.
Ms. Berejiklian insisted that the fireworks will take place at midnight on December 31st “no matter what.” However, she encouraged people to watch the event from home instead of attending in-person.
“Look, the fireworks display themselves will definitely be happening at midnight and we have already said that we encourage everybody to watch that from home,” she said.
“We have at this stage provided some access for frontline workers and others, but again, everything is reassessed based on the most recent cluster of cases.”
The Premier did warn that the final decision regarding the event could be reassessed on Boxing Day if new health advice arises amidst the increase in the state’s COVID-19 cases.
Deakin University Chair of Epidemiology Catherine Bennett says “it’s too risky” for spectators to gather in large numbers to view the event. “I think bringing people together in large numbers, just getting them to the best vantage point does pose too much of a risk, unfortunately,” she said. “It doesn’t mean the fireworks themselves can’t go ahead, its about whether they’ll allow spectators and I think at this stage it’s too risky.”
The event has been protested before, including last year when the bushfire crisis was raging across the state and wider country. People requested that the $5.8 million spent on the 2019 event be redirected to bushfire and drought relief services. The City of Sydney didn’t back down then, though, and the world-famous event still went ahead.
Check out the full press conference with Gladys Berejiklian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm55soXStYQ
