NEW YEAR'S EVE means prices rise on everything from babysitters to stretch limousines, but some partygoers are incensed by the latest attempt to cash in on the biggest night of the year.
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Bradleys Head, a small parcel of land on the north shore, will become a ticketed vantage point this year, with visitors required to pay $20 to sit on a concrete slab overlooking the harbour.
It joins a growing list of public parklands to have a price slapped on them for the night, such as Clark Island, Shark Island, parts of the Botanic Gardens, Nielsen Park and Barangaroo.
''Bradleys Head is a national park … To charge mum, dad and the kids $60 to watch free fireworks is a disgrace,'' said a Mosman councillor, Dominic Lopez.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service said the fee would keep crowds to a manageable 5000, mitigate problems of intoxication and bad behaviour, and provide funds for amenities and cleaning.
Police and council rangers also supported the move but Cr Lopez said crowd control could be achieved without charging a fee.
A spot at Bradleys Head won't be the only drain on revellers' pockets. Water taxis, limousines, hotel rooms and babysitters all jump in price by up to 800 per cent.
A water taxi ride across the harbour on any other night of the week costs an adult about $15, according to Yellow Water Taxis, but on New Year's Eve it balloons to $125 per adult for people in a rush before the 9pm fireworks, and double that again for the midnight show.
Most limousine companies will double their rates to about $180 an hour for a standard car. The director of Hummer Limos, Clint Comelli, would like to double his fee to $1200 an hour but even that wasn't enough, he said. ''We don't operate in the city on New Year's Eve because we've had too much damage done to the vehicles - people throwing stubbies, throwing eggs. We could charge double but it's not worth it.''
Parents who have left it until the last minute to plan a brief escape can expect to pay upwards of $40 an hour for a babysitter, according to the website weneedananny.com.au, as well as about $500 for a hotel room.
The general manager of brands for Wotif, Megan Magill, said hotel prices were driven by demand. ''We have more availability in the CBD this time compared to last but the rates are about double,'' she said. ''You'd be lucky to find anything under $300.''
