"I'm sorry you've been inconvenienced - it's not the fault of our visitors. It's not the fault of either the New South Wales Government or the Federal Government. Rather it's the fault of those people who would threaten to resort to violence in order to disrupt gatherings of this kind. You have been very patient.
John Howard, Prime Minister, Australia.
"Martial law still runs in NSW. The great are gone. The fences are coming down. John Howard is off to Canberra to face his political fate. But the power of the police to decide who goes where in APEC city won't end until midnight on Wednesday... Though the show is over, the police refuse to say what protocols governed the snipers in APEC city. Were there really circumstances in which unarmed citizens might have been shot in the streets? They cite "operational reasons" for refusing to say. Let's pray it was fear-mongering. Sydney was never more John Howard's city than it was last week as he marshalled its fears."
David Marr, SMH Journalist.
Suddenly it's all over and the skies are quiet. Only a few of the 21 leaders remain; most left yesterday, Bush on Saturday night. All the talk is of over-kill. But what if just one of those people had been assassinated. What if only one thing had gone wrong? What if there hadn't just been less than 20 arrests and there had been breaches into any of the inner-sanctums. They put the cost at $330 million; but that doesn't include all the losses of all the hundreds, thousands of businesses; as everything ground to a halt and the streets were deserted.
Everything is returning to normal quickly. The placards, "Stop Bush", "Stand For Peace", "China Is A Tyranny", have left the streets. Almost all the motorcades are gone. It's amazing to think that they were all here; Vladimir Putin, George Bush, Hu, the heads of Indonesia, Japan. There's been the Sydney declaration on climate change; but the huge scepticism that has sunk in around the cult like aspects of climate change belittle what the pollies broadcast as an historic achievements and advocates and sceptics deride alike. The polls uniformly predict annihilation for the Howard government at the coming poll; and they seemingly thrash in their death throws. Few but the zealots have faith in a Rudd government; but many have lost faith in the present incumbent.
Personally I think Howard would have been better off as a true conservative; rather than as a captive of the bureaucracy on so many issues; particularly social issues. The role of Centrelink and therefore the government; has expanded its reach into Australian families. The great churn of the tax dollar has increased. Saunders at CIS has it right; when he asks why Australian's are more addicted to welfare than ever; that ever greater numbers of Australian citizens are reliant on welfare.
While the government boasts relentlessly of Australia's economic boom; it has boom time at the top. It hasn't filtered down in the way it should have; and people on average incomes struggle under mountainous bills. Drowning in debt while the top five per cent, maybe even two per cent; have never had it so good. The booming economy is only booming for some. Why are we forever forecast in this mire. He has betrayed his natural constituency; and in that he has lost. Money has been taken off us in ever greater dollops; hoovered not just through income tax but the ever - reaching GST; and everything costs more. Tolls and credit cards capture us; drowning in debt and living on credit is much of the populace. It's jumbled and drawing to a close. Things are in calamity; disgrace; turbulent ends to powerful discourses. These are the times we face; and nothing will stay the same.
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