APEC Australia 2007
Encyclopedia
 Australia
 Brunei
 Canada
 Chile
 People's Republic of China
 Chinese Taipei
 Hong Kong
 Indonesia
 Japan
 South Korea
 Malaysia
 Mexico
 New Zealand
 Papua New Guinea
 Peru
 Philippines (Officially The Republic of the Philippines)
 Russia (Officially The Russian Federation)
 Singapore
 Thailand
 United States
 Vietnam
|
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...
during 2007. Various meetings were held across Australia from January to August 2007, with the event cumulating in Leaders Week, where the heads of government of each member economy attended Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
from 2 to 9 September 2007.
Planning for APEC Australia 2007
As the role of APEC host economy rotates between member economies, Australia had been the designated host for 2007 for a number of years. In August 2004, the Department of the Prime Minister and CabinetDepartment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is an Australian Government department. The Department was first established in 1911...
established the APEC 2007 Taskforce to allocate a host city within Australia and to organise the event. On 9 February 2005, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
announced that Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
would host the ultimate Leaders Week event. It was also announced that various preliminary meetings would be held in all Australian state and territory capital cities
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
.
Overall security planning was overseen by the Protective Security Coordination Centre (PSCC) of the National Security and Criminal Justice Group from the Attorney-General's Department
Attorney-General's Department (Australia)
The Attorney-General's Department is an Australian Government Department. Its role is to serve the people of Australia by providing essential expert support to the Government in the maintenance and improvement of Australia's system of law and justice...
, through the establishment of an APEC 2007 Security Branch (ASB). The PSCC performed a similar role for the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
held in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
At state level, the New South Wales Police Force formed an APEC Police Security Command (APSC) to secure the Leaders Week meetings in Sydney in September. In 2006, the New South Wales government
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
declared 7 September 2007 a public holiday that encompassed the Sydney metropolitan area, so that people would be kept away from the inner city "to assist with the smooth operation of the APEC event".
Preliminary meetings
A significant number of meetings have been held all over Australia from January through until August 2007, involving both government departments and businesses from the various APEC member economies:- CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
was host to a Senior Officials Meeting in January. - Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
was host to a meeting of mining ministers in February. - HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
was host to a small and medium enterprises ministerial meeting in March. - The Hunter Valley, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
was host to a Food Safety Cooperation Forum in April. - AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
was host to a senior officials meeting in April. - Gold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
was host to Fisheries and Marine Resources conservation meetings in April. - BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
was host to the Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group in May. - Darwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
was host to the Energy Ministers Meeting in May. - SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales was host to the Health Ministers Meeting in June. - Port Douglas, QueenslandPort Douglas, QueenslandPort Douglas is a town in Far North Queensland, Australia, approximately north of Cairns. Its permanent population was 948 residents in 2006. The town's population can often double, however, with the influx of tourists during the peak tourism season May–September. The town is named in honour of...
was host to the Digital Economy Forum for Women and Women Leaders Network Meeting in June. - Cairns, QueenslandCairns, QueenslandCairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
was host to separate Senior Officials, Trade and Emergency Management meetings in July. - CoolumCoolum Beach, QueenslandCoolum Beach is a beachside town on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia and is also the beach around which the town is based. Coolum hosted the 2003 CHOGM after it was moved from Brisbane....
, Queensland was host to the Finance Ministers Meeting in July and August. - MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
was host to the Small and Medium Business Enterprise Summit in late August.
APEC Leaders Week
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, is located in Sydney's Darling Harbour near the Central Business District. The building is adjacent to Cockle Bay, Tumbalong Park and the Harbourside shopping centre....
at Darling Harbour and Government House
Government House, Sydney
Government House is located in Sydney, Australia alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens, overlooking Sydney Harbour, just south of the Sydney Opera House...
.
A giant illuminated APEC Australia 2007 logo was affixed to the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
and a fireworks display occurred on Saturday 8 September between the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
and the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
. Leaders' spouses attended an event at Bondi Beach, and animals from Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Officially opened on 7 October 1916, it is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman...
were transported to Garden Island naval base
Garden Island, New South Wales
Garden Island is an inner-city locality of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located to the north-east of the Sydney central business district, north of the suburb of Potts Point....
to form a private zoo.
International news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
reported on an otherwise routine introduction speech at the APEC Business Summit by US President Bush due to several gaffes. He accidentally
Malapropism
A malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
referred to APEC as "OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
", but seemed to recover and turned it into a joke; when thanking the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
for its cooperation, he used the phrase "Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n troops"; and finally he attempted to exit the stage in the wrong direction.
Criticism and public response
The APEC meeting has been widely criticised for having severe security arrangements, which resulted in closure of roads without sufficient warning as leaders' motorcadeMotorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...
s travelled around the city. Some Sydneysiders also feared similar disruptions to those experienced during the visit by US Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
which caused massive transport disruptions, including the closure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
.
Civil liberties and political groups were also concerned about changes to NSW law enacted for the APEC meeting, giving the NSW Police Force new powers, including a suspension of the normal function of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
, freedom of movement, an excluded persons blacklist and other civil liberties. Police and security forces had also erected a security perimeter around much of inner city Sydney. Another point of criticism is the cost of security for the event with official budget figures at A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
169 million. New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell justified the strong security presence and curtailment of civil liberties on the fear of 'violent protest' from the Mutiny collective
Mutiny collective
The Mutiny Collective is an anarchist collective in Sydney, Australia made notorious in the media after the 2006 G20 summit meeting in Melbourne in November 2006, when protest organiser Marcus Greville accused Mutiny and the Arterial Bloc of being responsible for the confrontations with police...
, and other protest groups.
There was also criticism of an allegedly heavy-handed response to some incidents by the police. In one case, for example, a 52-year-old accountant who crossed a road in front of an official motorcade while on his way to lunch with his son was arrested and detained for 22 hours.
The Philippine government has sought a clarification regarding an APEC press release describing the Filipino national costume
National costume
Folk costume expresses an identity through costume which usually to a geographic area or a period of time in history, but can also indicate social, marital and/or religious status...
for men, the barong Tagalog
Barong Tagalog
The barong Tagalog is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn untucked , over an undershirt. In Filipino culture it is a common wedding and formal attire, mostly for men but also for women...
, as a "peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
shirt".
A year after the APEC meeting, the Sydney Morning Herald gained access through Freedom of Information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
to the list of people on the excluded persons list. This revealed that 61 people were on the list, more than double the 29 people the police had indicated during APEC. The list included student activists, 12 members of Mutiny and 13 Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
activists. Stephen Blanks, from the NSW Council for Civil Liberties
NSW Council for Civil Liberties
Founded in 1963, the charter of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties is to protect the equal rights of all citizens and oppose all or any abuse or excessive power by the State against its people.The Council for Civil Liberties has a committee elected by volunteers whose primary role is to influence...
, said "These are people that the police just found embarrassing and they were arrogant enough to think they could just outlaw them,"
The first test
NSW Transport Minister John WatkinsJohn Watkins
John Watkins may refer to:* John Watkins , former Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Australia* John Watkins , Canadian diplomat and ambassador...
warned Sydney that traffic conditions in the city were only going to worsen during APEC, and traffic would be held up due to arriving leaders and their motorcades moving throughout the CBD and Sydney area. Buses were stopped because of security measures on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Eastern Distributor off ramp, and passengers walked because traffic was not moving during the morning peak on Wednesday. However, so many Sydneysiders took time off or avoided the city that the regular peak hour traffic was greatly reduced.
Chaser incident
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
TV comedy series, The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
including executive producer Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
and Chas Licciardello
Chas Licciardello
Chas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, were detained by police outside the InterContinental Hotel after driving a fake motorcade through the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
and breaching an APEC security zone.
The group breached the secure area by masquerading as the motorcade of the Canadian delegation to APEC. Police only realised that the motorcade was a hoax when Chas Licciardello, dressed as Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, stepped out of an official-looking car replete with a Canadian flag flying from the bonnet, outside the hotel, where U.S. President George W. Bush was staying. They were subsequently detained at Surry Hills Police Station for questioning, and charged with "entering a restricted zone without justification" under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007.
Licciardello, Morrow and nine other members of the production team were released on bail, to appear in court on 4 October 2007. The incident led to criticisms of the event's security, and the security of APEC restricted areas. Their forged security passes contained the printed phrase "It's pretty obvious this isn't a real pass" above the photograph and "JOKE" next to it. On 28 April 2008 the charges against all eleven members were dropped by the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as it was considered that the police gave "tacit" permission for the group to enter the restricted zone by failing to identify the fake security badges.
The following day, more members of The Chaser team (except for Morrow and Licciardello who were required by police to stay away from APEC security areas) conducted a further stunt, this time dressing up as a line of black limousines made from cardboard. Police detained and questioned them but, as they were outside the exclusion zone, no arrests were made.
Saturday 8th Protest
Saturday 8 September saw the biggest of the organised APEC protest rallies. Attendance was estimated at 3000 by police, 5000 by the media, and 10,000 by event organisers. While police expected crowds of 20,000, heavy rain dampened attendance. The rally was largely peaceful, consisting mainly of students, and mothers and fathers. One incident of violence was reported, with 17 protesters arrested. Two police officers were injured, one officer struck in the forehead with a dart and the other officer struck with an iron bar. A riot control truck equipped with a water cannon was called in but it was not used.Police Name Tag Removal Inquiry
An inquiry into the removal of name tags by dozens of police officers at the Saturday 8th protest was launched by the New South Wales Police Professional Standards Command following public complaints. Human Rights Monitors member Dale Mills took over 200 photographs of officers with removed name badges. Photographs taken during the protest showed officers wearing badgeless uniforms. A video taken during the protest has one officer stating that the badges were removed as "It's one of the policies the bosses have this week". Authorities denied that the intent of this policy was to conceal officers' identities. Instead they stated that pin-backed identification tags presented a risk to police officers and that in the future, police assigned to protest duty would be wearing cloth identification tags. Demonstrators have contested this version, stating the police officers at the protest were wearing velcro tags.On Tuesday 18 September, the inquiry cleared all officers of wrongdoing as the name tags 'compromised safety' of the officers.
Climate change
The "Sydney Declaration on Climate ChangeSydney Declaration
The Sydney APEC Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development was adopted at APEC Australia 2007 on 8 September 2007....
" was signed on 8 September 2007 by the leaders present at APEC. It indicates the wish of signatories to work towards unspecified non-binding "aspirational" goals on energy efficiency per unit of GDP.