The NSW government obtained a bid for permanently adding the Aboriginal flag to the Sydney Harbour Bridge that was $24.3 million less expensive than the one it subsequently approved.
On Sunday, it was revealed that the new bridge addition, as well as the replacement of the present two flags, will cost taxpayers $25 million, which Premier Dominic Perrottet agreed was ‘crazy.’
Poseidon Poles and Flags, in Sydney’s northern beaches, had estimated that each pole would cost up to $200,000 to erect, so the $25 million price tag came as a shock.
Lauren Mace of the pole firm speculated that the exorbitant price was due of safety concerns.
‘It’s a substantial sum of money…’ ‘I think there’s a lot of work that has to be done for a flag to be able to stand safely on the harbour bridge,’ she told The Daily Telegraph.
The hefty costs could also be attributed to the traffic control required to close the bridge, which is one of Sydney’s busiest thoroughfares.
When asked why putting up a third flag was so expensive by a reporter on Sunday, Mr Perrottet laughed.
‘I’m not sure.’ ‘However, it appears to cost that much,’ he remarked.
‘I’m amazed it’s taking so long.’ I mean, I announced it a while ago, and the first response was that it would take two years to complete.
‘I’ll go to Bunnings and climb up to put the pole up myself.’
Later, the prime minister said he’d look at other quotes to see if he could lower the price, telling 2GB’s Ben Fordham that it ‘doesn’t pass the pub test.’
‘The advice that I have received has been that it’s complex, that there are heritage concerns, obviously all the poles will need to be replaced and all three of them are the equivalent size of a six-storey building, so I accept that it’s not a simple process and it’s not a simple construction,’ he told the radio station on Monday.
‘But like your listeners and most fair-minded people across the state it seems to be a pretty ridiculous and outrageous cost.’
He emphasized that the situation was not amusing, and that his remarks about going to Bunnings were ‘lighthearted,’ but that he found it ‘very annoying.’
He went on to say that he will sit down with NSW Transport and go over the costs “line by line” to ensure that “taxpayers got value for money.”
Mr Perrottet also ruled out the possibility of replacing the NSW flag with the Aboriginal flag, stating that he wanted all three flags to fly together.
The prime minister refused to say what he considered a fair price would be.
‘$25 million bucks is really extravagant for what appears to be a fairly simple task, notwithstanding its difficulty,’ he remarked.
Mr Perrottet had directed the transportation department to review the expense, according to Treasurer Matt Kean.
According to a representative for Transport NSW, the project needed “advanced engineering” in a difficult location.
They added, “Travel must also ensure safe installation circumstances at the bridge’s peak while minimizing disturbance to one of Sydney’s busiest transport routes.”
‘The $25 million number represents a budget that Transport must stick to in order to install these three new flag poles, and the department has been refining the design and technique to get the most value for money.’
Following a five-year grassroots movement, the Aboriginal flag will be permanently flown atop the bridge by the end of the year.
Cheree Toka, a Kamilaroi lady, spearheaded the effort to give the flag a permanent home in Sydney Harbour by organizing successful petitions and raising $300,000 to cover the expense.