Two years ago, I had the honour of being asked to deliver the Bradfield Oration. It’s a great initiative by The Daily Telegraph, one that’s become a fixture on the calendar and a valuable contribution to a crucial conversation.
Unfortunately Covid kept me from attending, but I had the good fortune of Infrastructure Minister Catherine King delivering my words.
In part, my speech was about honouring the great legacies of the past – not for nostalgia but for inspiration, and to be reminded of the importance of embracing their strength of courage, willpower and foresight as we build Australia’s future.
In the two years since, Sydney has had some very welcome additions, not least the extension of the Metro and WestConnex. Not so much nation-building from the ground up as from the ground down.
And, of course, we are getting closer to the opening of the Western Sydney Airport. Not only will it be a major economic generator and jobs creator, it will also bring about a welcome and overdue change to the alignment of Sydney.
We are seeing a city that’s growing ever more interconnected. A city whose famous beauty is becoming ever better matched by its liveability.
These are the instincts that drive my Government as we work to make people’s lives easier. To bring people together. To ensure our cities so much more than the sum of their parts.
The priority of urban planning is making people’s lives better. It’s about ensuring everyone has services, schools, parks within easy reach. It’s about building communities and ensuring places are not just pleasant to live, but have that all-important sense of home.
That’s what we achieve when we ensure people are at the heart of our plans. And that, in so many ways, is the spirit of the Bradfield Oration.
It asks us to think seriously about what Sydney can be, and what we can do to make this extraordinary city even greater.
When it comes to measuring that greatness, I still find it hard to go past the Harbour Bridge.
It’s perfect that one of the most famous symbols of our city is one that represents unity, ingenuity, optimism and determination. Its construction united a city, brought its people closer together, and somehow made the greatest harbour on the planet even more magnificent.
In the near century since the bridge’s opening, the city has grown out of all recognition. Yet even as the towers grow taller, the mighty coat hanger is in no danger of ever being dwarfed.
That’s because it was built with an eye on the future and a vision of the city that Sydney was destined to become. Much of the credit for that belongs to the NSW state Labor government of the day. Yet our greatest debt of gratitude is to John Bradfield, the visionary honoured each year by this oration.
Through his legacy which shapes Sydney profoundly to this day, he reminds us to look with hope and clarity to the better future within our reach.
This opinion piece was first published in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, 13 November 2024.