Waverley council in Sydney’s East has met to discuss the future of the pedestrian footbridge used during the Bondi terror attack last month. The New South Wales Premier Chris Minns thinks it should be torn down in line with a recommendation the council received a few years ago.
00:00The future of the pedestrian footbridge will remain in limbo until at least the middle
00:06of this year, following an extraordinary meeting of Waverley Council last night that saw strong
00:12community support for keeping the bridge intact, despite calls by the state's Premier Chris
00:17Minns to have it torn down.
00:20Councillors voted last night in favour of commissioning a report into the costs, timetable
00:25and approval processes associated with replacing or restoring the bridge that was used as a
00:30vantage point by the gunman during the Bondi attacks on December 14.
00:35The northernmost bridge overlooking Archer Park is one of two at Bondi Beach, with both heritage
00:40listed and dating back more than a century.
00:44Mayor Will Nemesh told his fellow councillors in front of a packed public gallery that any
00:48decision on the future of the bridge would be done in conjunction with discussions about
00:53creating a permanent memorial for the 15 lives lost during the attack.
00:58In the last few days NSW Premier Chris Minns has made clear he supports the bridge being
01:03torn down over his concerns it could become a ghoulish reminder of the tragedy.
01:09At last night's meeting members of the Jewish community made clear they want the bridge to
01:13remain intact and become part of a broader memorial to the 15 lives lost during the Bondi terror
01:20attacks with that same sentiment being echoed by locals.
01:23We're one people, it doesn't matter if you're from the Jewish community or the non-Jewish community,
01:29we are one community, we all need to talk about this.
01:33I just walked over it, I'm so upset about this, I'm so passionate about this.
01:37I would probably like to see it stay.
01:39I think that it's one of the only kind of crossings here where you can get from that side of Bondi to the beach.
01:46So, and also yeah, I think it would be nice as a memorial.
01:50I agree, I think it should be kept and kept as a memorial, don't let one thing like ruin the place.
01:57Last night's meeting also heard a 2024 structural report into both bridges found that they were entering the last stage of their natural lifespan and would need to be replaced in the next few years.
02:11While councillors voted last night to engage that report looking into the potential replacement or restoration of both bridges,
02:19that report is not expected to issue its findings until later this year.
Be the first to comment