Costs, closures turn masses off big event
Sarah Price; 27/4/08
Sydneysiders’ goodwill towards World Youth Day has been eroded by revelations of large-scale city road closures and an $86 million bill to taxpayers. A Sun-Herald/Taverner poll found that 64 per cent of Sydneysiders were in favour of World Youth Day being held in Sydney. But that number fell to 47 per cent when taking into account the disruption to traffic and road closures announced by Deputy Premier John Watkins. A separate snap poll by The Sun-Herald last week found widespread criticism of the bill that will be borne by the NSW Government, with many saying the money should be spent on other things, such as health care and roads.