Councillor Chris Harris

Will the City of Sydney Council stand up for its citizens or will it standby and say nothing while its people are caged in, water cannoned and not allowed to cross the streets? Chris Harris wants council to take a stand and has put forward a motion calling on council to erect a banner on the Sydney Town Hall – ‘Cage Bush. Not Sydney’.

“The banner acknowledges that we need to protect Bush – and let’s be honest that’s what this security is all about – but not at the expense of caging in Sydney. As the council responsible for the city it is up to us to let the people of Sydney know where we stand on the closing down of their city. I think a banner erected on the Town Hall would identify that stand,” said Cr Harris.

“As a city councillor I am appalled that we are allowing our government to gate off our city from the people who live, work and pay rates here. That we would spend $600,000 on a water cannon to be used against our citizens should they exercise their democratic right to demonstrate. That we have converted 31 state transit buses into ‘mobile holding cells’ and that during the APEC summit, it will cost the city of Sydney hundreds of millions of dollars in lost economic activity that we will never recover.

“While I agree that we should do all we can to protect visiting leaders, it should never be at the expense of the community’s democratic rights or the economic well-being of our businesses and workers.

What I want council to do is to stand up for its citizens and demand the government look at alternative measures to protect world leaders that doesn’t cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars in lost business and its citizens their freedom. A banner on the Town Hall would at least show the community their council is willing to take a stand for them.” Cr Harris said.