Apec - forced public holiday in Sydney

Now - I'm not against public holidays but... forced public holidays.. and only for people working in the Sydney CBD and certain council areas (read: most of Sydney).
I visited the APEC site to find out some more:

"Why is there a public holiday on Friday 7 September?
The holiday will greatly assist in the safe movement of APEC leaders as they arrive to attend their meetings.

The public holiday will apply to people whose workplace is located in the following Local Council Areas (LCA)

Ashfield, Auburn, Bankstown, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Botany Bay, Burwood, Camden, Campbelltown, Canada Bay, Canterbury, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Hurstville, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Leichhardt, Liverpool, Manly, Marrickville, Mosman, North Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith, Pittwater, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Strathfield, Sydney, Sutherland, Warringah, Waverley, Willoughby and Woollahra."

So it's all about where you work - not where you live but ... and as you read on - you start to realise that bascially the city is becoming an enforced no-go zone... next they'll be publishing curfews!
Actually - I've just read some more... I don't see time limits but there are "declared zones" and "restricted zones"..

We have been advised to avoid travel to the CBD on the Apec "long weekend" and all classes have been cancelled... although we still have access to the buildings and Library...
oh - and then there's those attractive concrete block and wire fencing constructions going up around the main parts of the city - for protection purposes, of course!

Hmm - how can the disruption to business, personal lives, and just day-to-day living be justified? And who is footing this bill?  Could this money be spent more effectively on say... environmental issues, disaster recovery, poverty... hmm?

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