we don't need more at 10.30pm The midnight fireworks that heralded in 2013. This New Year's Eve, Sydney will get three displays. The organisers of Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks must think the average Sydneysider has the attention span of a half-witted gnat. Given that scientists last year estimated that our average grip on detail lasted a full eight seconds, compared with 12 seconds in 2000, the decision to hold an extra fireworks show at 10.30pm is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that they didn't decide to hold fireworks all evening long. Why not let off a big bang every eight seconds? Why not go the whole hog like American football and Cricket Australia's Big Bash and fill every second of potential silence with laser beams, fireballs and mandatory singing of the national anthem? Have we really lost the art of simply sitting around with our families and friends and talking? Maybe this decision says something about our national inability to have fun without alcohol. The best viewing spots will be alcohol free, which can often turn a fun family evening out into an endurance test. According to the organisers, the one-minute firework show at 10.30pm was designed to "fill that gap between 9pm and midnight." The designer of the fireworks Fortunato Foti said he hoped that the 1.5 million people expected at the harbour and another 1.1 billion worldwide who will watch a telecast of the festivities will be surprised. "We want people to go away thinking 'We haven't seen that', and for one or two things to stick in their memory," he said. Three firework shows costing $6.8 million and we still worry that people won't remember any of it the next day. I think our collective attention span for next year will be estimated at zero. As a parent of 11-year-old twins, I can only imagine the pain about to be endured by parents planning a quick getaway after the 9pm fireworks. Mum, mum, they said there were more fireworks at 10.30. Can't we stay? Please please. Surely there are better ways to spend the money. We could buy 680,000 mosquito nets to protect African children from malaria, according to the Gates Foundation. We could help the 638,000 Australian children living in disadvantage who don't have school bags, proper uniforms or school books. The Smith Family provides sponsorships of these kids for less than $1.50 a day. We could also provide some retraining for workers who face losing their jobs on the Holden production line. I love fireworks. But after the first oohs and aahs, I have had enough. I don't want more fireworks. I want the ones we have got to be a celebration of all that is good and generous about us Australians. Not a celebration for its own sake. Poll: How many fireworks displays should we have on New Year's Eve in Sydney? One display Two displays Three displays None - they are a waste of money Total votes: 2964. Poll closes in 21 hours.