Sydney‘s New Year’s Eve fireworks will go ahead despite a petition signed by more than a quarter of a million people calling for them to be scrapped and the money spent instead on fighting the wildfire crisis.
The display would show the worldAustralia‘s resiliency, the prime minister,Scott Morrison, said as he announced financial support for volunteer firefighters in New South Wales.
“The world looks at Sydney every single year and they look at our vibrancy, they look at our passion, they look at our success,” he said.
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“In the midst of the challenges that we face, subject to the safety considerations, I can think of no better time to express to the world just how optimistic and positive we are as a country.”
The City of Sydney Council gave the green light to the fireworks, though fire authorities warned the display could be cancelled if catastrophic conditions are declared.
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“All states should say no to fireworks,” Linda McCormick, who set up the page, wrote as she warned the displays “may traumatise some people as there is enough smoke in the air”.
One person who signed the petition said the display was “an insult to those who have lost everything” in the bushfires.
However, Sydney’s lord mayor, Clover Moore, responded to the petition confirming the fireworks display would happen.
“I know this isn’t exactly what you would like to be hearing from me, but we can’t cancel the fireworks and even if we could, doing so would have little practical benefit,” she wrote.
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Last year around $ 5.8m (£ 3m) was spent on fireworks in Sydney, according to the petition (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)
High temperatures are expected until the new year, with fire danger in Sydney and northern New South Wales set at very high.
New South Wales Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said 439 fires were still burning across the state with almost half of them not contained.
“We’ve got some deteriorating weather conditions over the coming days, particularly Monday and worsening through to Tuesday,” he said.
Fires have also ravaged Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
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