What prompted the redevelopment project at Darling Harbour?
The 120,000sqm redevelopment at Darling Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales was a key election promise of the NSW State Government led by premier Barry O'Farrell. It responds to years of intense lobbying by the business events industry and current operator of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) that the city had run out of space.
The centre’s calendar is solidly booked with many clients running events that are venue bound.
Reflecting the competitive nature of Sydney and Melbourne, the opening of the new six-star green rated Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre adds to pressure on the NSW Government to make the revitalisation of Darling Harbour a priority.
The Government also has a major focus on injecting new life into the city and stimulating new investment on the western side of the harbour. Sydney’s stunning harbour location and outstanding lifestyle has made it the envy of the world but over the past decade little new public infrastructure has been delivered.
How is the EEAA involved in the redevelopment?
EEAA is playing a leading role advocating the needs of our members, the major users of the Darling Harbour facilities. When the NSW Government unveiled its concepts for the site last July, it became apparent that there had been little consultation with users of the existing centre.
We mobilised our members and began a very targeted advocacy campaign to influence the functional and design brief for the new centre and also to work with government on a business continuity strategy to mitigate the impacts of the proposed three-year construction phase.
It has been a very targeted, high level campaign design to put as much knowledge and insight into the hands of decision makers both in Government as well as with the shortlisted consortia. To have been passive would have been utterly negligent.
Our job at EEAA has been to use evidence and expertise to influence the outcome so that the new centre is fit for purpose and allows for the growth of exhibitions.
Are you seeking collaboration on Darling Harbour from overseas companies or associations?
The EEAA campaign has been driven by a partnership with our board and the major users of the Darling Harbour existing centre.
We have also worked with other Australian industry associations who have a stake in the project. This has helped to get our ducks lined up and has ensured our messages to the Government and the consortia have been consistent.
In terms of other associations, we have built the case of the value of the exhibition sector by drawing on valuable data produced in Australia by the Circulation Audit Board and also by UFI and IAEE.
As for the relevance of models in other countries – the shortlisted consortia will bring to the table expertise from other markets like Singapore and the Middle East. However, at the end of the day the redevelopment of Darling Harbour requires a solution that is uniquely Australian.
This interview was first published in the Issue 2 edition of EW.
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