The City of Parramatta has decided to can the New Year’s Eve fireworks, citing extreme weather conditions.
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It comes as pressure mounts for the City of Sydney to do the same – and now, it may have no choice.
In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Bob Dwyer said they were not granted an exemption the 9pm and 12am firework displays due to the total fire ban, extreme temperatures and high winds.
The decision comes after consultation with NSW Fire and Rescue, the Bureau of Meteorology, and relevant State Government agencies.
“Council was not granted an exemption to proceed with its fireworks display, due to the total fire ban in place and a range of associated risks including: extreme temperatures; smoke, dust and poor air quality; extremely dry conditions at Parramatta Park; and limited resources to manage potential fires locally due to fires across the state,” Dwyer said.
“In addition, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast high winds with a southerly change on New Year’s Eve, which pose too big a risk to the health and safety of our community.
“It is unfortunate that we won’t be able to celebrate New Year’s Eve with our community. This decision has not been made lightly and Council apologises that it will not able to deliver the popular free event.
“Council is making a $10,000 donation to the NSW Rural Fire Service to support their fantastic work. I encourage members of our community to do what they can to support our state’s firefighters at this challenging time.”
Earlier on Monday, Deputy Premier of NSW John Barilaro broke NSW government ranks and called for the Sydney fireworks to be scrapped, saying it should be an “easy decision”.
“The risk is too high and we must respect our exhausted RFS volunteers. If regional areas have had fireworks banned, then let’s not have two classes of citizens. We’re all in this crisis together,” he tweeted.
However, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the fireworks were a show of resilience, while City of Sydney Mayor Clover Moore said they would be using the “huge reach” of Sydney’s NYE celebrations to raise money for people affected by the bushfire disaster.
Due to fire bans, operators wishing to undertake firework displays must apply for an exemption.
Very High to Extreme fire danger is forecast across parts NSW tomorrow , 11 areas have been declared under Total Fire Ban.
Operators wishing to undertake fireworks displays in an area where a Total Fire Ban has been declared MUST apply for an exemption (https://t.co/Ws3U9yvKld) pic.twitter.com/7meX0zAaiV— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 30, 2019
The Rural Fire Service is expected to make a decision on the safety of Sydney’s fireworks sometime today.
UPDATE: The RFS has confirmed the Sydney Harbour fireworks will go ahead tomorrow. So that’s that on that.
The Sydney Harbour fireworks have been approved to proceed tomorrow.
The NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW are assessing a number of other Total Fire Ban exemptions.#nswrfs #nswfires #frnsw pic.twitter.com/C3QtJtF5K8
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 30, 2019
