02 July 2008 10:53
The NSW government has assured the public that officers assigned to World Youth Day duties will not be “fashion police”. Kristina Keneally, World Youth Day ministerial spokeswoman, has also denied reports that police want protesters to submit their slogans and placard messages for official approval.
Keneally was responding to criticism of WYD regulations, giving police power to issue $5,500 fines to anyone deemed to be “causing annoyance” during the June 15 to 20 event.
The new laws aim at targeting anyone attempting to halt the "flow" of a World Youth Day event - such as the pilgrims' march. People standing on the sidelines with placards will not automatically be branded annoying, and they can wear what they like, Ms Keneally said.
"If we were going to start arresting people for being annoying we would start to have a very severe problem with our jail capacity,"
"What it is designed to mean is things that disrupt the event, and stop the event from happening. The police are not the fashion police. They are there to ensure that the event goes ahead safely and with good crowd management and good public order."
Meanwhile, the government has warned motorists to expect major traffic problems during the event, including the closure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to allow a pilgrim's march and also a papal visit.
Source: smh.com.au