Fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House on January 1 this year / Pic: AFP Source: The Daily Telegraph
Perry Lopez and his wife Annette will no longer consider watching the fireworks from Bradleys Head because it's too expensive / Pic: Elenor Tedenborg Source: The Daily Telegraph
ONE of the most popular spots for watching the New Year's Eve Harbour fireworks has been put out of reach of many families because of skyrocketing prices.
The cost of a vantage point at Bradleys Head - a site that was free until last year - has more than doubled this year - from $20 to $50 for adults and from $10 to $25 for children. That means a family of four would have to pay $150.
Other National Parks and Wildlife Service sites around the Harbour command even greater sums. Tickets for spots on Goat and Shark islands will cost $185, or $120 for children aged over five, while a seat at the fully-catered Clark Island festivities will set you back $440.
The NPWS is set to collect even more money from families by changing the definition of "children" - their version only includes those up to the age of 15. Anyone older must pay adult prices.
A NPWS spokeswoman said its New Year's Eve events had been overhauled to provide better entertainment to a wider variety of people.
"Pricing is based on the cost of keeping the venue open, the extra staffing required to ensure the event is safe and the considerable cost of cleaning up afterwards," she said.
Mosman mayor Peter Abelson labelled the Bradleys Head price hike "outrageous".
Residents were also appalled. Perry and Annette Lopez said they had scrapped plans to watch the fireworks from Bradleys Head.
"The land belongs to everyone and we shouldn't have to pay," Mr Lopez said.
"My sister and I would have taken our families there but it's too much money."
Many waterfront locations around the Harbour fetch top dollar on New Year's Eve but few have seen such a steep price rise as those at Bradleys Head.
Tickets to Taronga Zoo's New Year's Eve events are the same as they were last year.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman said all of its vantage points would remain free.
"Sydney New Year's Eve is the largest free community event in Australia and is our gift to the people of Sydney and the world," she said.
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