Revellers will be allowed to watch the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks free of charge from viewing spots along the harbour foreshore if New South Wales Labor wins the 2023 election.
Some of the most popular spots to watch the fireworks are subject to paid ticketing by the New South Wales government, but the opposition has promised to waive the fees if elected at the state election next March.
Shadow Minister for Arts and the Night Time Economy John Graham said the policy — which has already been costed "in some detail" by the parliamentary budget office — would make the event more accessible.
"The principal here is we're returning it to really how it was for decades that people were able to come down, sit by the harbour, see the fireworks as part of a family experience and that's really what we'd like to see be brought back that culture," he said.
The "pay-to-view" model was introduced by the New South Wales government in 2011 in just a few locations and, although it caused community outrage, it has since been expanded to include 20 areas.
This year, to watch the fireworks from the Royal Botanic Gardens, prices range from $40 in the cheapest section to $595 for admission to a garden party at the Calyx, which includes a live DJ, gourmet food, alcohol and beverages and harbourside views of the fireworks.
Revenue generated will be used to support science, horticulture and conservation projects, the government says.
Tickets for vantage points in Pyrmont, Potts Point, Millers Point, McMahons Point and Milsons Point are free but are already sold out.
More than a dozen of the free spots around the harbour will have their capacity capped.
Dawes Point Park — located under the Sydney Harbour Bridge — will be capped at 22,000, while only 200 revellers will be permitted at Yurulbin Park in Birchgrove.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has criticised the opposition's policy, labelling it as "embarrassing" and lacking depth.
"If that's their big election announcement, it just shows they haven't got the policy depth to take this state forward. It's simply embarrassing, and it's bread and circuses," Mr Perrottet said, "… what you get with Labor is simply trinkets."
Mr Graham said ticketing would remain in some areas for the purposes of crowd control, which has been implemented by some local councils.
"There may be a need for safety reasons to ticket some of these places, but [attendance] should be free," he said.
"The state government's taken the opposite approach and has decided to charge significant amounts of money for people to see what we think is a fundamental Sydney experience."
