Albury and Wodonga will go ahead with New Years Eve firework displays despite an online petition calling for the cancellation of the Sydney fireworks reaching over 166 thousand signatures.
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The 'Say No to Fireworks' Change.org petition requested the millions of dollars spent on Sydney's NYE display instead be put towards "farmers and firefighters and animal carers".
Albury fireworks organiser Sue van de Ven said the Harness Racing Club supported farmers elsewhere and the fireworks were "a tradition we don't want to lose".
"They are most definitely still going ahead," Ms van de Ven said.
"I understand where you're coming from with the fireworks side of things - where do you draw the line?
"The cost of our fireworks is negligible compared to others."
Ms van de Ven did not want to disclose the amount spent on the Albury fireworks, but said the "exorbitant costs" spent on big city displays was "frightening".
"I'd be distraught if I was a ratepayer in the city," she said.
"But you've got probably 93,000 people in Albury-Wodonga and the minute amount that we spend is more on the night's entertainment, not just the fireworks."
Wodonga fireworks organiser Mark Jonnston said the fireworks were "a celebration of the new year".
"You have to organise these things months in advance unfortunately, because obviously there's a lot of permits," he said.
"We get sponsored by the Wodonga City Council to hold it, so it's up to the football club to hold the event on behalf of the Albury-Wodonga community."
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Responding to the petition started in November, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the event had already been planned and the money spent.
"This event generates $130 million for the state economy, which helps many people," Ms Moore said.
"I know this isn't exactly what you would like to be hearing from me, but we can't cancel the fireworks and even if we could, doing so would have little practical benefit."
The number of signatures on the petition continues to grow, with members of the public asking to "cancel them".