Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens also support the APEC Public Holiday Bill 2007, which is to ensure that public servants who are in the area affected by APEC on 7 September when it is officially declared a holiday get their due entitlements.

However, it is a proper time to assess whether or not this enormous disruption to the city of Sydney is warranted when there were such good alternatives available. Australia is much bigger than downtown Sydney, but to close down downtown Sydney—and there will be added disruption now because President Bush is coming two days early: it turns off your mobile phones automatically in some places as he sweeps by—