Labor pledges new public pool on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Federal Labor Government has promised to build a new public school in the heart of Sydney’s harbour. The project is being spruiked as a cheap day out for families.

Transcript

00:00This is Cockatoo Island, the largest in Sydney Harbour, and behind me is one of its two slipways,

00:08a relic from the island's shipbuilding era.

00:11This is where newly constructed warships would slide into the water.

00:15There's a move to put the slips back into use, this time as a swimming spot.

00:19It's part of the Cockatoo Island Master Plan,

00:22a long-term vision to revitalise the space with bars, restaurants and a hotel.

00:27Now Federal Labor has pledged to stump up the cash to make the harbour pool a reality.

00:33It's committed $10 million to convert the slipways.

00:36It includes work to make the sediment safe for swimmers.

00:39After all, this was once an industrial site.

00:42The member for Sydney, Tanya Plibersek, says the water quality here has improved to the extent that it is now safe for swimming.

00:49In an election focused on the cost of living, she's pitching the project as a good thing for families on a tight budget.

00:56We'd be converting a beautiful old slipway, built in 1852, to a modern new harbour swimming pool for families to enjoy.

01:07This would be a great opportunity for families to just hop on a ferry,

01:12and for the cost of public transport, spend the day right here on Cockatoo Island.

01:17It's the most beautiful part of Sydney Harbour.

01:21We believe that you shouldn't have to have a multi-million dollar harbourside mansion to enjoy the most beautiful harbour in the world.

01:29As for when people could actually start swimming here, that would still be years away.

01:33Ms Plibersek says the first year would be spent ensuring the sediment is free from pollutants, with construction to follow.

01:39But she's confident the project would be completed within the next term of government.

01:46The last year would be transferred from the morons.

01:51They are more specific to the people of the who made the lake.

01:55If they are in the OMG, they would be transferred to the water.

01:56So when people feel the river would be built on the sea.

01:58So when people feel the water, they would be extended to the sea...

Category

Transcript

Recommended