Summit - 20 June 2022 - ICC Sydney: Welcome to the conversation
The New Sydney Waterfront Company welcomed industry and government leaders to ICC Sydney on 20 June 2022 to discuss the unique and exciting opportunity for Sydney to create truly the World’s Best Waterfront.
The Hon. Rob Stokes, MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Cities, and Minister for Active Transport, joined Jace Tyrell, CEO of London's New West End Company, Sydney's thought leaders and the Board of the New Sydney Waterfront Company to discuss the defining questions for Sydney's next signature precinct.
Read the Summit highlights and watch the presentations below.
BIDs and the New Sydney Waterfront: the story so far
Jace Tyrrell
CEO, New West End Company (London) and CEO Designate, New Sydney Waterfront Company
Geoff Parmenter
Chair, New Sydney Waterfront Company
Jace provided a brief history of Business Improvement Districts, and outlined some achievements of New West End Company that he has been leading in London. Geoff described the “moment in time” now available for Sydney through the New Sydney Waterfront Company.
Keynote: Why Sydney should and can have the world’s best waterfront
Hon. Rob Stokes MP
Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Cities, and Minister for Active Transport
Minister Stokes talked about the importance of this venture, not just as a “raiser of all boats” for Greater Sydney, but also as a benchmark global waterfront city. The Minister highlighted governance as the key to success - being the enabler of good decision making – and welcomed the BID model as a governance breakthrough for public and private sector collaboration. The Minister committed to progressing planning for enabling legislation – firstly through a White Paper in the next couple of months.
Setting the scene/framing the questions:
Insights
Why does this matter?
Carol Mills
Director, Institute for Public Policy and Governance, UTS
Carol shared an overview of data and insights emerging from the New Sydney Waterfront’s 2021 Data and Insights Pilot study. The insights prompt the “Big Questions” for the Precinct and the Summit.
Unpacking the “Big Questions” - Panel #1: What will be the purpose/proposition of Sydney’s New Waterfront?
What will the Precinct be famous for once the remaining $10bn of development is completed (that it is not famous for now)?
Who will the New Sydney Waterfront be for?
How can we reconcile the needs/desires of conflicting customer groups
Should different parts of the Precinct target different customers? Or will the whole Precinct be aimed at the same audience?
What role might a new Precinct brand play? How will the sub-Precincts support this?
Panel:
Jason de Sousa, Executive Director - Australia, Lendlease
Andrew Tobin, Development Director - Mixed Use, Mirvac
Kiersten Fishburn, Deputy Secretary, Cities & Active Transport, Transport for NSW
Eamon Waterford, Chief Strategy Officer, Investment NSW
Kate Meyrick, Director, Urbis
Facilitated by John Moore, Director, Excalibre Insights
John facilitated a lively discussion amongst an experienced and passionate panel. They challenged us to raise the bar, to create a unique and extraordinary new place for Sydney and of Sydney. It was suggested that if we can’t achieve that, with a harbour-front Precinct like this, with all it already has going for it, after another $10bn is invested in it, we should be “lined up against a wall and shot”! The panel debated the most effective approach to this, addressing tensions between prioritising local and visitor attraction, hard and soft Precinct infrastructure, and “silver bullets” versus “strings of pearls”. Synergies between the new Sydney brand, and the character of the Waterfront Precinct were highlighted, offering the opportunity for the Waterfront to provide a “new brand postcard for Sydney,” 50 years after the Opera House was opened.
Unpacking the “Big Questions” - Panel #2: Reimagining the New Sydney Waterfront experience
What would segmentation/targeting suggest in terms of the mix of product and experiences to be offered across the Precinct? More of the same, or something new?
How many restaurants and bars would be too many? How would we know?
How could it best support the 24 hour economy? The circular economy? The visitor economy? The cultural economy?
Panel:
Michael Rodrigues, 24-Hour Economy Commissioner (NSW), Investment NSW
Susan Lee, COO, Placemaking NSW
Paul Zahra, CEO, Australian Retailers Association
Michael Hodgson, Co-CEO Entertainment Quarter and Food Tourism expert
Laura Cochrane, Director of Operational Development, Foundation Theatre Group
Facilitated by Jace Tyrrell, CEO Designate, New Sydney Waterfront Company
Having opened the session with some international inspiration, Jace challenged the panellists to suggest the experiences and offerings that could make this the “World’s Best Waterfront”. Their ideas included the opportunity to “own seafood” – not just at the new Fish Market, but in the Precinct’s laneways and parks; curated adjacencies for distinctive, vibrant retail; cultural placemaking to connect existing and new theatres and museums; contiguous experiences from daytime to evening to night; and preserving space for people and culture that can flex as the Precinct evolves over time. The panel agreed that there should be room for both a “fruit platter” and a “fruit salad” of offerings, as long as a clear vision provided alignment and direction.
Wrap Up
Geoff Parmenter
Chair, New Sydney Waterfront Company
Geoff provided a brief summary of the day, and outlined the path forward from here to continue the conversation and collaboration.