NYE Fireworks
 

Matt Hall - fantastic work this evening over Sydney Harbour. Nice to see the fireworks boys add a little touch of colour.

sc

btw if anyone is interested....

Telstra - YouTube

Horrendous waste of money IMO! :*

+1 HNY anyway.

would have looked awesome from 2100ft.. damn clouds!

makes a small fortune for the local Sydney economy and is part of the Sydney scene and as such is not a waste of money. Instead its an important investment and a great way to showcase Australia (as we are the first Country, that people tune into, to see the new years in).

Forkie - I have been saying the same thing for years. Spend the money where it's needed - like fixing our ailing hospital system for starters.

DF.

I love seeing **** explode & burn! (A little too much probably) especially if it's all pretty colours :D

Here in Amsterdam waiting for new year I can tell you that the fireworks over Sydney is a big hit in Europe. Even saw it in the local bus.
Plenty of EU mob visiting next year, so good value I reckon. Cheers and all the best for 2014.

Just sat down after watching the display on the shore front in Dubai- BLOODY spectacular!!

Yes, I can see that - let off lots of fireworks in the dark to show Oz at its best!

Anyhow, Dubai out did us big time, so I guess everyone will be going there in 2014.

Dr :8

PS: I wonder how many hungry kids around the world could get a feed if the funds were diverted elsewhere rather than going up in smoke.

Took the Mrs & kids down to Melbourne Docklands for the fireworks and dinner at Southbank. The fireworks were terrible, a short miserable show.

The train system simply cannot cope with the crowds. The metro staff mostly seemed uninterested and were extremely unhelpful. The one bright side was listening to the station announcer at Southern Cross. He worked his butt off keeping people informed of the trains arriving.

Next year I think I will take the family to Sydney.

The highlight for me was seeing the Police chopper cruise down the Yarra at about 200' past Southbank at 10pm.

As for people who think the Sydney fireworks are a waste of money, the tourism people themselves say the fireworks cost about $1 million, but bring in about $20 million alone from international tourists who come to Sydney specifically to see the NYE fireworks.

If the fireworks are so good for Sydney then Sydney should pay for them.

Instead you have the NSW state government paying. Despite what many people think, there is more to NSW than Sydney. Can I ask what benefit the fireworks bring to NSW outside of Sydney? Apart from the joy that people who live 10 hours drive away get from watching their tax money literally go up in smoke on live TV.

http://pamuva1.smugmug.com/Airplanes...MG_1300-XL.jpg

http://pamuva1.smugmug.com/Airplanes...MG_1290-XL.jpg

i cant see anything going to waste!

and to all those who say the money could be spent elsewhere, im sure you all donate to starving children and not spend 1 cent on any luxuries.. hope you didnt buy an Ipad! or a newer car! or new computer. or go to a nice restaurant. money could have been better spent elsewhere.. :ugh:

ButFli

Unlike Brisbane which is made up of one mega council and a couple of smaller councils, Sydney is made up of 38 councils. Which one would you propose pays for it. The area of the fireworks alone covers about half a dozen council areas. The fact is in NSW unlike QLD this type of an event is best dealt with on a state level, just like public transport is.

It may surprise some people here but in 2012 Australia was the number one country in the world for charitable donations. 60% of Australians donate to charity, volunteer their time or help a stranger each month.

Top Ten Charitable Countries

In terms of foreign aid, out of 155 countries, Australia as a percentage of GDP was ranked at number 15.

Top 21 Countries that give foreign aid

For some here to say it is wrong to have a little fun each year at tax payers expense are in my opinion being hypocritical. It is quite clear as a nation and individually we are very generous. There is nothing wrong in using NSW tax dollars in this manner especially when it clearly has a huge financial benefit not only for Sydney but also the rest of Australia.

What a miserable pack of bastards. It is governments roll to spend money on infrastructure to facilitate business. Business employ people, people earn an income, they spend that income & create further business.

If a mil is spent on fireworks that create 20 mil in spending, WHAT'S THE F@RKIN' PROBLEM? Would you prefer to subsidise a Grand Prix that makes a 30-40 million loss every year?

I am sure that the money would be more appreciated by the folks who suffered earlier in 2013 and those who will no doubt suffer in 2014 on some heavy aerial assets for the CFA/RFS.

Also not too sure about the "entertainment" on the ABC between the two lots of fireworks. I think I may have to ask for my $0.08 a day back.

601

With all due respect, while I feel very sorry for the 250 families that lost their homes and the family and friends of the two people who lost their lives in the 2013 NSW bush fires, as a society we need to take individual responsibility for all the risks associated with where we choose to live. Living in or near bush land is incredibly appealing to many Australians and there are more than ever doing just this. There is though a risk associated with this and it is unacceptable that government bare the risk of these individual's personal choices. It still amazes me the resistance many people in these areas have to any form of controlled burn offs.

NYE? The fireworks I saw started new years day:)

Melbourne treasury gardens was pretty good spot, with a backdrop of fireworks from the tops of city buildings.

Have a good year everyone, that is an order!

Mickjoebill

Well 601 you should have watched on telstra's youtube live stream.

And for those complaining about the expenditure. The whole production cost $7m or thereabouts. Less than 0.0005 of the nsw state expenditure on infrastructure. And less than 0.0004 of the recurrent health budget.

Essentially they spent nothing.

Very lefty view I know , but imagine if for just one year, all the associated costs for NYE around the world were diverted to reducing the worlds problems rather than masking them..