How Sydney has changed
CHRISTOPHER HARRIS
Wikipedia says “change blindness is a surprising perceptual phenomenon that occurs when a change in a visual stimulus is introduced and the observer does not notice it”.
WhenCity Hublaunched 20 years ago, Wikipedia didn’t exist. Nor did a lot of things Sydney loves today.
Just in case you have been blind to some of the things that have changed, here’s a reminder of how Sydney has lost and gained.
Physically, the Anzac Bridge was opened in December 1995 and the harbour tunnel was freshly constructed. The Eastern Distributor was opened in 1999.
The years leading up to the Sydney Olympics was a period of rapid development and unprecedented government spending.
Back then, Homebush was an industrial wasteland and would need copious amounts of remediation work before an Olympic stadium could be built.
Sydney’s first casino had just arrived on the scene. A second one has since been developed.
City Hub was part of the infrastructure debate: the voice of Green and independent groups who wanted rail integrated into major infrastructure to protect the city from worsening congestion.
Well, some things haven’t changed.
City Hub exposed the dealings behind the selling of the Sydney Showgroundsto Rupert Murdoch and challenged the government in its selling off of Millers Point housing
The rise of The Greens in the past 20 years has undeniably influenced politics and how business is done. Ian Cohen was the first Greens member of the NSW Legislative Council. In 1996, Bob Brown was the first elected federal Greens senator. Now there are 11 in the Senate, and the Greens made up 8.65 per cent of the national vote at the last federal election.
Former Sydney Greens Councillor Chris Harris (2004-2012) commented on the growing support for the Greens movement, particularly through Balmain MP Jamie Parker.
“Jamie Parker’s campaign team for Leichardt Council was his mother and sister … he won, but he was one out of 12 on a Labor Council. I asked him ‘Is there a point?’ and he [Mr Parker] said ‘You wouldn’t believe how many things I have been able to get done. When your inside the tent, you’re at the table and its amazing how many things get put into the plan.’”
The Greens have been responsible for saving greenspace from developers, including a long battle for Callan Park, while scores of major party politicians have been scorned by adverse findings in ICAC investigations.
Government development in the Ultimo-Pyrmont locale saw the population rise from 3,000 in 1995 to more than 20,000
today.
The Ultimo-Pyrmont is just one area among many gentrified around the city. The influx of young hipsters made previously unthinkable suburbs fashionable, like Redfern and Chippendale. (The hipsters subsequently priced themselves out of the market).
Gentrification has led to a dwindling night economy. The halcyon days of pumping gay bars to sunrise on Oxford Street now seem like a distant dream, and Kings Cross’s towering hotel blocks have steadily turned into residential apartments. Filled with NIMBYs who dominate the pavement wearing their yoga gear and pushing designer prams, as well as their nanny state agenda.
Newtown, once immune from materialism and conformity, now looks to set to enter the mainstream.
Society has sobered up, and there is less tolerance for having one too many wines, smoking cigarettes or eating fish and chips. Beer, if you do drink it, must be boutique.
Video rental shops, music retailers, clothing boutiques and fruit and vegetable shops have steadily been replaced with cafes and coffee shops. Forget the city of villages, Sydney is now the city of flat whites.
Car share schemes have been rolled out. Society dictates we must recycle. Riding a bike is now a viable option.
Development and change have been rapid. It has also been unexpected.
