It\u2019s a real honour and privilege to have been asked to deliver this address in the greatest city, the greatest state, the greatest country in the world.
\nI\u2019d especially like to acknowledge:<\/p>\n
I\u2019d also like to acknowledge the Daily Telegraph and their staff for the work they do in hosting this event.
\nIn a few short years, the Bradfield Oration has become not just a fixture in the life of our city, but the benchmark for the best of public imagination.
\nI was hoping I\u2019d be able to come here and not have to talk about living in the shadow of COVID.
\nBut as has so often been the case over the past two years – we are still faced with uncertainty.
\nWe have been confronted with so many setbacks Stops and starts.
\nFears and failures.
\nFor many, there has been heartache and loss.
\nIt would be perfectly understandable to look back with frustration and to look ahead with despair.
\nBut every generation is tested – and I believe that this is our turn and this is our test. Our state and our city have been through testing times before.
\nFire, flood, famine, war and disease.
\nWe have seen it, we have faced it – and we have overcome it.
\nSo even though we meet in the shadow of the pandemic, nothing should overshadow our hopes for a better future or our confidence in getting there.
\nWe cannot choose the circumstances in which we live – but what we can choose is how we respond.
\nSo today I want to tell you how John Bradfield and his generation responded to the challenges of their age – and how we can do the same thing with a new vision for our city and for our state.
\n <\/p>\n
But first, let\u2019s rewind to just over 100 years ago.
\nIt\u2019s 1919, just after the Great War, and the world was going through another pandemic – the Spanish Influenza, which claimed somewhere between 17million and 100 million lives.
\nNSW recorded its first victim in January of that year – a returning soldier.
\nThe virus soon spread – and at one point, some estimates say almost 30 per cent of Sydney\u2019s total population had influenza and over 6,000 people died.
\nNow put yourself in the shoes of someone born in the late 19th century – someone like John Bradfield.
\nHe would have lived through a few smaller epidemics in the late 1800s. Then the First World War.
\nThen the Spanish Influenza.
\nAnd after all that the Great Depression.
\nNow doesn\u2019t that give us some perspective on the challenges we are facing today. But Bradfield and his generation responded not by backing down, but by building up.
\nThey had a vision, and they made it real – building the Harbour Bridge, an engineering feat as impressive today as it was one hundred years ago.
\nAnd let\u2019s not forget the political battles he had to fight too.
\nI came across this article from a hundred years and six days ago.
\n[I tried to get the original from the State Library but they said it would disintegrate – even with gloves].
\nThis reports a rowdy debate over legislation in NSW Parliament about the so-called \u201cNorth Shore Bridge Bill\u2019.
\nThis was the parliament\u2019s third attempt at passing a Bill to build the Harbour Bridge. Frustrations were high. Insults were exchanged.
\nAnd the article reports \u201cdisorderly conduct\u201d because a certain regional member was loudly and stubbornly insisting the money would be better spent in the country.
\nOutside parliament, ferry operators complained the bridge would put them out of business.
\nThere were complaints about cost, land acquisitions, and the time it would take to build.
\nAny of this sound familiar?
\nJohn Bradfield was a visionary, but the rose-tinted glasses of hindsight can filter out the messy work of turning a vision into reality.
\nVision is important.
\nBut you can\u2019t drive your car across Sydney Harbour on a vision.
\nWhat matters more is making it real, regardless of the circumstances that surround you.
\nThat\u2019s what Bradfield did then – and that\u2019s what we are doing now.
\nFor the last 10 years I have been part of a government that has worked every day – not just to articulate a vision, but to make it real.
\nWe have made delivering mega-projects on a mega-scale par for the course. That is a great outcome for our state and our people.
\nBut now we must deliver in the face of uncertainty, and in the midst of adversity. Well we can, and we will.
\nThe Harbour Bridge was named the \u201cIron Lung\u201d, because of the thousands of jobs it provided during The Great Depression.
\nIn the same way, our infrastructure is the \u2018Steel Spine\u2019 of our future state, creating thousands of jobs today and into the post pandemic future.<\/p>\n
By connecting the north and the south heads, Bradfield\u2019s bridge changed the very meaning of Sydney.
\nOur big build of metros and motorways will change it again.
\nBut I believe it’s time we went beyond hard infrastructure, to now take stock – and take this once in a generation opportunity to reimagine what Sydney can be.
\nMy vision for Sydney can be summed up in three words: liveable, workable, beautiful.<\/p>\n
In the long months of lockdown, we have all become acquainted with the good and the bad, the charming and the not-so-charming of our local communities.
\nCOVID has made clear the power of liveable neighbourhoods.
\nIt is at the local level that we find Sir Robert Menzies\u2019 homes material, homes human, and homes spiritual – the homes of the hard-working aspirational families of Sydney.
\nOur starting point is that we want everyone to be able to enjoy the world\u2019s best quality of life no matter what your postcode is.
\nSo my Government will focus on policies to make that happen.
\nHome ownership is at the top of the list. This is a generational issue fast reaching crisis point.
\nIf we want future generations to conserve our Australian way of life, we must enable them to claim their stake, so they have something of their own to conserve.
\nAs Treasurer I viewed this problem through the lens of tax reform.
\nAs Premier I will use every lever at my disposal – whether it\u2019s tax, planning, supply, or working with the Commonwealth – to give more people in NSW the opportunity to own their own home.
\nLifting home ownership is part of our drive to help families who are feeling the squeeze.
\nNow, we have taken major strides to lower taxes and put more money in the pockets of aspirational families.
\nAnd some people might say we are driving a voucher-led recovery.
\nBut young families often have to face the biggest financial pressures of their lives before they are really established – and for them, every little bit counts.
\nSo programs like Active Kids, Creative Kids, First Lap, toll relief and even Dine and Discover really are important to me, because they help families get ahead.
\nMiddle Australia has no lobby group – and so my government will be their most passionate advocate.
\nLivability also means shifting our focus from the mega-projects to the local projects. Changing the emphasis from the train line, to the destination.
\nOur WestInvest fund marks the beginning of this shift: a $5 billion fund to improve quality of life in Western Sydney.
\nParks, modernised schools, local pools, main streets and eat streets.
\nWestInvest isn\u2019t just about the money. It\u2019s a campaign mindset for my Ministers, that will endure long after every one of the $5 billion is spent.
\nIt\u2019s a mission to make it possible for everyone in Sydney – particularly in the West – to be able to love where they live.
\nThis is about building more than bricks and mortar – but culture and community too.
\nA liveable city also needs world-class services within easy reach.
\nAnd our Government has led the services revolution in Australia.
\nPeople aren\u2019t as impressed by Service NSW as they once were – because one-stop-shops and digital services at your fingertips are now the new normal.
\nPeople used to make fun of government service – and who could blame them? But now the private sector is coming to us to see how it’s done.
\nBut despite the progress we have made, so many public services are still designed around government, not around the people we are here to serve.
\nEducation should be designed around our children, not around the schools themselves. Healthcare should be designed around our patients, not just around hospitals.
\nSo many aspects of government services are still stuck in Bradfield\u2019s time and have never moved into the 21st century.
\nI will lead a modern government, that doesn\u2019t accept the status quo. We\u2019ve got to challenge the thinking and ask \u201cwhy?\u201d:
\nWhy does the school day run from 9am to 3pm – and does it still suit the lives of busy working families?
\nWhy can\u2019t we make care more accessible and affordable – whether that\u2019s childcare, health care, in-home care for our grandparents, or palliative care at the end of life.
\nThese are services we rely on in profound ways, and they have a material impact on our lives, our families and our communities – on our entire social fabric.
\nA liveable city must strengthen and support our family and community bonds, because they are what keep our society together.
\nThat is the kind of liveability I want for our city.<\/p>\n
Sydney must also be workable. By that, I don\u2019t just mean easy to get around.
\nI mean: Sydney has to be a place where no matter where you live or what your circumstances, you can have access to a great job.
\nFor many decades the Eastern Harbour City has been the workhorse of our workforce.
\nIn the past decade, Parramatta has emerged as a new productive powerhouse.
\nAnd today we are building the industries of the future around the Bradfield Aerotropolis.
\nEach of these centres must be a place where people at every stage of their career can find fulfilling work to sustain themselves and their family.
\nSydney has many well-established sectors. But I want to build on what is already there, and increase our capacity to sustain great jobs.
\nThat means nurturing the industries of the future. And that includes manufacturing.
\nEvery economic powerhouse has a strong manufacturing base.
\nNSW cannot just be a service economy. We have to keep making things.
\nNow today, let\u2019s not lose sight of the fact that NSW is home to more manufacturing than any other state.
\nThis week I was at the Sydney Football Stadium to get an update on construction.
\nThe roof is being fabricated by S&L Steel, a company from Glendenning in Sydney\u2019s west.
\nThat same company fabricated the roof for the original stadium over 30 years ago. What an amazing legacy.
\nOr take Custom Denning in St Marys – the oldest bus manufacturer in Australia.
\nBut today they design, manufacture and assemble electric buses for our renewable energy future.
\nWhere we can support traditional manufacturing in NSW – and help it adapt – we will.
\nBut successful manufacturing nations don\u2019t try to do it all – they play to their strengths, and we should too.
\nOur greatest strength is in advanced manufacturing.
\nFrom food and beverage, to medtech, to space and aerospace and more – NSW already
\nhas a stellar reputation in advanced manufacturing.
\nWe are home to world-beaters like Cochlear and ResMed.
\nThe sector has grown with strategic government support. But I want to do more.
\nSo today I can announce we will appoint a Commissioner for Modern Manufacturing.
\nThe Commissioner\u2019s role will be to identify local research and ideas that we can turn into manufacturing opportunities – and ultimately, jobs for our people.
\nThis work will be supported by a taskforce headed by Tony Shepherd – who is here today – and one of the most experienced and dynamic business leaders in the nation.
\nOpportunities in advanced manufacturing are driven by research.
\nAnd research is one of our state\u2019s hidden superpowers.
\nNSW is home to some of the world\u2019s leading universities and research institutes.
\nBut too frequently we see our homegrown ideas falter or flee elsewhere for lack of local support.
\nSo in January this year, our Government launched an action plan for accelerating research in NSW and translating it into technology, products and services – and above all, jobs.
\nNow when I asked our universities for examples of research that can create economic opportunity and investment – I was inundated with ideas.
\nFrom quantum tech to bio-tech, sensors to semiconductors – we have the ideas, the talent and the resources to excel.
\nAnd with precincts like Tech Central and the Bradfield Aerotropolis we have the right infrastructure and eco-systems to grow.
\nBut I want to do even more to cement Sydney\u2019s reputation as the smart city down under. So we will establish a new Department of Enterprise and Investment.
\nAnd within that department I will appoint a Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology – to channel our home grown research into economic opportunities for the future.
\nWhat you will see from our government is a much better collaboration with the universities than ever before.
\nI want our universities to flourish because when uni\u2019s flourish, ideas flourish – and our society flourishes too.
\nIt\u2019s the same with schools. A strong start for our children is a strong foundation for our civilisation.
\nThe opportunities we create will fall to the 8 million people who call NSW home.
\nAnd we will equip them with the knowledge and skills to achieve great things.
\nThe strongest foundations. The best lifelong learning.
\nFrom beginning to end, I am passionate about education, and we will make NSW the smartest state.<\/p>\n
The final piece is beauty.
\nThe Roman scholar Varro wrote: Divine Nature gave the fields, human art built the cities.
\nThe truth is, in Sydney we haven\u2019t always held up our end of the bargain.
\nWe have coasted on Sydney\u2019s natural charm and dined out on its stunning scenery.
\nNow clearly it\u2019s not all bad.
\nThe Bridge. The Opera House. The stunning sandstones.
\nTerraces and brickwork.
\nHumble homes, heritage and history – all built with love.
\nThere is much beauty in many of Sydney\u2019s buildings – buildings that sing in harmony with nature.
\nBut the mistakes are real too – and don\u2019t we know it.
\nOne architectural aberration can have far reaching consequences. People often say the Cahill Expressway is an ugly structure.
\nBut it\u2019s so much worse than that.
\nIt destroys the ambience of everything in its wake.
\nSo it\u2019s no wonder the wharves below struggle to live up to their potential.
\nDon\u2019t even get me started on the Sirius building and the 70s modernist monstrosities lurking out the back of Macquarie Street that sever our city from the green beauty of the Domain and the Gardens.
\nThese buildings become barnacles, impossible to scrape from the Harbour City\u2019s majestic bow.
\nSydney\u2019s natural beauty deserves an elegant city.
\nBeauty matters.
\nRoger Scruton once said:
\nArt once made a cult of beauty. Now we have a cult of ugliness instead.
\nThis has made art into an elaborate joke, one which by now has ceased to be funny.
\nI want to put beauty back in the public square – literally.
\nThe first step is to uncover more of the beauty that lies hidden in plain sight.
\nThis week we announced plans for the Sydney Great Walk.
\nIt will connect all of the Harbour City\u2019s most iconic landmarks in a single, spectacular trail.
\nThis will be the most iconic urban walk in Australia – there is simply no question about it.
\nThe only real question is, why hasn\u2019t it been done before?
\nWe must also turn Macquarie Street into a genuine cultural precinct that is open to all people, and tells the story of Sydney.
\nFrom our earliest First Nation\u2019s history through to today.
\nRight now, Macquarie Street is a weekend ghost town, when it should be a worthy gathering place.
\nThis year Lucy Turnbull and Paul Keating produced an excellent plan. My intention is to put it into action.
\nThese projects are focused on the Eastern Harbour City.
\nBut the principles apply across the board.
\nAs we plan. As we build. As we renew and revitalise – our goal should be to make every corner of our city beautiful.
\nThe great cities of the world – Paris, London, Rome – inspire us with their built beauty that stands the test of time.
\nThat should be our aspiration for Sydney too.
\nSo that is my vision: a livable, workable, beautiful city.
\nAnd if we realise that vision, Sydney can be two things at once – fulfilling its dual destiny as a great global city, and a great local city.<\/p>\n
Lastly I want to touch on how our vision for our state is evolving too.
\nGreat cities are hungry, and grow at pace.
\nWhat governments must do is ensure that as we grow, we grow well.
\nThe point is not to plan for what NSW is today – but for what it could be tomorrow. That\u2019s what John Bradfield did.
\nThat\u2019s what we must do too.
\nThe pandemic has given us new ways to re-imagine living and working.
\nTechnology is breaking down the barriers of distance and time, providing workers in many industries with newfound flexibility and choice.
\nSo our thinking on how we plan our state should also change.
\nFive years ago, at this very forum, Lucy Turnbull launched our vision for a metropolis of three cities.
\nThe chorus of critics again swelled into song, but now that is the Sydney we know:
\nThe Eastern Harbour CBD, Parramatta\u2019s Central River City, and the Western Parkland City.
\nYesterday I was with Lang Walker, topping out the new tower in Parramatta Square.
\nAs I stood at the highest point of the Central City – looking back at the Eastern City where we are today – it was clear to me what vision has achieved for our city.
\nAnd looking further west, to Bradfield, what it will achieve in years to come.
\nBecause in just five years, our three-cities vision has already become strikingly real. Now is the time to start thinking bigger again.
\nAt present our vision spans east to west.
\nBut there is Newcastle and the Central Coast to our north, and Wollongong to our south. These are cities already undergoing rapid change and revitalisation.
\nThey have been the industrial workhorses of the past. And they should continue on their trajectory to become future focused precincts of tomorrow.
\nSo today I can announce our three cities strategy will grow to a six-cities vision.
\nAgain, universities will be at the heart of this expansion.
\nNewcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong are already home to campuses that punch well above their weight – with growing global reputations in fields like energy, engineering, and health science.
\nEnhancing and better connecting this expertise to local industries can supercharge these cities.
\nAnd connecting these centres to the three cities strategy will do the same thing for our entire state.
\nThe east-west axis of the three cities connects our airports.
\nAdding a north-south axis connects our major sea ports.
\nTogether this network will link every port – integrating six cities like never before.
\nAnd it will accelerate the next stage of our economic evolution – a NSW that is more open to the world than ever, and ready to take it on.
\nMore trade opportunities. More job opportunities. More affordable homes and better lifestyles – world class education and world class services – all within reach of an urban hub.
\nTo bring this vision to life, the Greater Sydney Commission will become the Greater Cities Commission.
\nAnd in my new cabinet, I will appoint a dedicated Minister for Cities – to maintain the momentum we have built, and deliver on the next evolution of our vision.<\/p>\n
Let me conclude by saying that I know the pandemic has not been easy for the people of our state and more challenges lie ahead.
\nBut throughout history, the great cities of the world have responded to crises by going to the next level.
\nAnd today we are the beneficiaries of those who have come before us who choose hope over fear.
\nTo build – not bow out.
\nIn Sydney, this is the proud legacy of John Bradfield.
\nAnd this is the legacy that we here today inherit.
\nAs leaders in industry, in media, in culture, in politics – our choice must be the same too. To combat crisis with confidence.
\nAnd to build a better future for those who are yet to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s a real honour and privilege to have been asked to deliver this address in the greatest city, the greatest state, the greatest country in the world. I\u2019d especially like to acknowledge: Michael Miller, Executive Chairman News Corp Australasia the Bradfield Board And my Ministerial colleagues here today I\u2019d also like to acknowledge the Daily … Continue reading “Liveable, Workable, Beautiful: a new vision for Sydney”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}