A petition calling for the cancellation of Sydney’s famous New Year’s Eve firework display has been signed by over a quarter of a million people.
Petition organiser Linda McCormick said the money should be spent on fighting bush fires that threaten the city and say the display may traumatise people who are dealing with ‘enough smoke in the air’.
In New South Wales, nearly 100 fires are burning.
But Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the fireworks would go ahead.
She said the fireworks were planned 15 months in advance and most of the budget had already been spent.
"We can’t cancel the fireworks and even if we could, doing so would have little practical benefit," she said.
Meanwhile, thousands of residents and holidaymakers in Victoria have been told to evacuate as bush fires worsen amid fears forecasted changes in wind direction on Monday could lead to ‘extreme danger’.
Image by Kalipsotri on Pixabay.
