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I really don’t believe this is the Catholics’ fault: Blame for these crazy World Youth ‘Day’ restrictions and extreme punitive regulations must lie solely with the abhorrent Iemma government.
The government fully knew the uproar they might cause, which is why it quietly gazetted them two days before parliament went into winter hybernation, so that there could be no serious debate or examination. Draconian laws pass so much easier without any pesky democratic process interfering.
Kristina Keneally, government-appointed World Youth ‘Day’ apologist – sorry, spokesperson – argues that the inserted clauses allowing for police to search, arrest, fine or prosecute anybody deemed to be ‘annoying’ or ‘inconveniencing’ the pilgrims are no more extreme than those already in operation in national parks and sports stadiums. The key difference, however, is that people voluntarily choose to attend a footy match at the SCG; few of us will have little choice when navigating at least one of the 680 declared World Youth ‘Day’ areas, including Wynyard, Circular Quay, Town Hall and Bondi Junction train stations. We will be forced to act on our best ‘anti-inconveniencing’ behaviour merely by virtue of getting to and from our CBD-based jobs.
And what exactly will constitute ‘annoying the pilgrims’, anyway? Since by definition they’re all Catholics, at least some presumably will find public displays of homosexuality annoying. Exactly how long will those of us ‘caught’ holding our same-sex partners’ hands at Town Hall have to pay the $5,500 fine?
Again though, I reiterate that I don’t wish to Catholic-bash. It’s becoming clear that these restrictions have come as much as a surprise to – and are viewed with equal suspicion by – as many of the participants as the rest of us. Cardinal Pell himself has repeated his earlier endorsement of the right to peaceful protest and argues that ‘neither I nor any member of the World Youth Day church leadership requested regulations to prevent protests’.
But even if you don’t believe him, take it from a coal-face participant: ‘Catholic Bloke’ comments on an online newspaper blog that ‘I fully support people’s right to protest ... Of course it will “annoy’ me, but thems the breaks in a democratic country and I will turn the other cheek.’ This attitude appears to be broadly reflective of the participants, who should not be scapegoated in place of the real villains.
Which leaves the question: Why has the state government introduced unnecessary regulations that will only inflame and polarise? The influence of Roman Catholicism within the NSW Labor Right is well-known, but perhaps it’s more than that. Maybe after APEC, Queen Mary 2 and passengers trapped in trains for hours on end, the Iemma government has developed a taste for seeing Sydneysiders suffer chronic major organisational and infrastructural breakdowns.
Perhaps the government is not so much incompetent as inherently sadistic.
Sam Butler
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