"Many people have already flown in and paid for hotels and restaurants, travelling from all over the world to be here for tonight's New Year's Eve. It generates $130 million for the NSW economy, powers our tourism industry, creates jobs and supports countless small businesses." However, Cr Moore stressed the "compelling issue here is climate change". She urged the state and federal governments to do more to address the climate crisis because "as the driest continent on earth, [Australians] are at the forefront of accelerating global warming". "Yes, Australia is burning. Our national parks and our native animals are being decimated. "Our communities are being devastated. People have lost homes, people have died, firefighters have been killed defending communities. "What is happening is a wake-up call for our governments to start making effective contributions to reducing global emissions."

Loading Cr Moore said action on climate change was the council's "top priority", noting it formally declared a state of climate emergency earlier this year, and called on the federal government to "make the same commitment". "Cities around the world are doing their bit to address global warming; it's our national governments that are failing us," she said. Cr Moore said Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor - who used an opinion piece in NewsCorp's The Australian newspaper on Tuesday to defend the government's record on cutting carbon emissions - was "the minister responsible for addressing global warming, and he has failed". The decision to go ahead with this year's fireworks display has been deeply unpopular with sections of the NSW community as fires burn across the state. More than 270,000 people have signed an online petition urging the council to scrap the event.

Loading NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously echoed Cr Moore's calls for the Sydney Harbour fireworks to go ahead if the RFS deemed conditions safe. But Deputy Premier John Barilaro backed requests to ditch the fireworks, saying on Twitter from London that the "risk is too high and we must respect our exhausted RFS volunteers". Ms Berejiklian admitted on Tuesday she had "mixed feelings" about the fireworks display going ahead. Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said he understood "how important the fireworks are for our economy", but added that "at a time like this - I'm not in a position to judge - but I think that it's really problematic that it's going ahead".

Loading Cr Moore said New Year's Eve was an important celebration to bring the community together and the event would seek to raise money for the Australian Red Cross disaster recovery and relief fund. She said the council had donated more than $600,000 to help those affected by the bushfires. "We support them in spirit, we're raising money for them. I hope this event will inspire and give hope to people at a terrible time." Despite the controversy surrounding this year's event, crowds poured into vantage points around the harbour.

Among them was Matthew Chieng, of Coogee, who said from his spot at Campbell's Cove nothing would be gained from cancelling the display. "My personal opinion is you could save the $6.5 million for the fireworks, but you're taking away $130 million from businesses. What does that achieve? They've already planned for it all." Ellie Lim, of Adelaide, booked her ticket far in advance. "It is 2020, I've never celebrated in Sydney. In terms of managing everyone's expectations, it would be very hard for [the council] to cancel." Cr Moore expects one million people to crowd the harbour foreshore for the harbour city's famous fireworks display, which will be seen by an estimated one billion people around the world. Temperatures of up to 34 degrees are forecast for Sydney on Tuesday, with maximums of 42 degrees in Parramatta and 43 degrees in Penrith.

Councils cancel fireworks Several councils around Sydney, including Parramatta and Campbelltown, cancelled their fireworks events. Operators wishing to have fireworks during a total fire ban must apply for an exemption. City of Parramatta lord mayor Bob Dwyer said the council was not granted an exemption for its display due to "extreme temperatures, smoke, dust and poor air quality, extremely dry conditions at Parramatta Park, and limited resources to manage potential fires locally". The council said it would donate $10,000 to the NSW RFS. The Northern Beaches Council cancelled its Dee Why fireworks due to "extreme weather conditions."