Australians tend to be easygoing people with a strong distrust of politicians of any party. So when Sydney siders found out that we were getting kicked out of our own city for a week because we couldn't be trusted, we reacted with anger. That anger has now been going on for three months, and is going to reach it's peak in a protest on Saturday where we will try to march along a protest route that takes us down streets that are walled off and guarded with police.

This is how much of Sydney is being shut down :



With fences like this



3 of the busiest train stations in Australia ? Closed for 3 days.

The busiest ferry terminal in Australia ? Closed for 3 days.

The world famous Opera House ? Sorry, come back next week

This is the Opera House when the Queen of England visited last year



This is what it will look like when George Bush appears :



A quarter of the busiest CBD in Australia - Locked out unless you have a photopass and have consented to a security check that goes back for the last 10 years.

They were told that to obtain a photo identity they had to appear in person with photo identification. At the Sydney Convention Centre they were confronted by a wall of police and security guards. "You can't enter without your APEC photo ID passes," a guard said, barring the way. "But that's what we have come to collect," the reporters pleaded, waving emails advising that their passes had been approved. The security officers went into a huddle before ruling the reporters could enter this time.

9 foot tall reinforced fences have appeared around all of the areas in Red. If you take a photo of it, then police will approach and ask you to delete it. Why ? Well, it turns out no Australian can be trusted :

NSW Transport Minister John Watkins said that, while requiring tourists to delete photos of the APEC security fence running through Sydney's CBD might be "over the top", it is necessary. He was responding today to reports that three German tourists were asked by police to delete digital photographs of the newly built fence, which stretches five kilometers through Sydney's CBD. He said the move was part of the efforts to ensure there was no breach during the major protests expected later this week. "There is some concern among police that some of those protesters who are coming ... will look for weak points in the fence," Mr Watkins told Southern Cross Broadcasting. "And that one of the things they are doing is a recce of the fence to find where they can attack it. "There are concerns, perhaps it's a bit over the top, but you can understand the job of NSW Police is to keep us safe and APEC safe."

The White House also showed how much they cared about our city when he this press release was issued

Thank you. Good afternoon. On Monday, President Bush will leave Washington and travel to Sidney, Australia, to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting

...

But it will be the first time that he will have the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of Sidney-siders

The embarrassing misspelling of Sydney was quickly corrected when Australian Reporters pointed it out, but Not everywhere got the memo.

The Sydney media has been increasingly critical of the circus over the last two months. And now with the protests set to start, it will be interesting to see how the debacle is shown on the US Media.

I diaried earlier this year about Cheney's visit to Australia, where the massed protests were ignored, but 3 people carrying a "Australia Loves Cheney" banner was headlined across the US.

Australians remember this as a time of road closures, extended traffic jams and us being locked out of our own city. And the word from the Deputy Premier of NSW back in April was blunt.



He thinks the freeze on the CBD during APEC will be "50 times" worse than that of the February visit of US Vice President Dick Cheney when teh Harbour had to be closed off. Mr Watkins says the meeting should have been held in Canberra - a city custom-built to handle for big meetings and foreign VIPs. Of course, it's not as photogenic as Sydney. In response, Mr Howard said he was "amazed" by the NSW Government's attitude.

George Bush's visit to Sydney looks like being the kiss of Death for his #2 ally, John Howard.