As almost anyone who’s watched the news in the last year or so - World Youth Day (which is actually FIVE days. Talk about not being able to count.) is in Sydney this year.

Our fine State Government has decided in all it’s wisdom to implement Extraordinary Powers to Police. These include the authority to arrest and/or fine people for “causing annoyance” to World Youth Day participants.

EXTRAORDINARY new powers will allow police to arrest and fine people for “causing annoyance” to World Youth Day participants and permit partial strip searches at hundreds of Sydney sites, beginning today.

The laws, which operate until the end of July, have the potential to make a crime of wearing a T-shirt with a message on it, undertaking a Chaser-style stunt, handing out condoms at protests, riding a skateboard or even playing music, critics say.

Police and volunteers from the State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service will be able to direct people to cease engaging in conduct that “causes annoyance or inconvenience to participants in a World Youth Day event”.

People who fail to comply will be subject to a $5500 fine.

– Source: SMH, “Thou shalt not annoy on Youth Day”, July 1 2008. Jano Gibson, Linda Morris and Joel Gibson.

Yep, a $5500 fine for doing anything which might annoy someone (read: Catholic) in various places around Sydney for the whole of July.

I thought we were supposed to have separation of Church and State in this country?

When the Dalai Lama visits, I don’t see any laws banning anything which might cause offence to Bhudists. But, hey, some old guy in long robes, with a pointy hat and a huge amount of money decides to inconvenience a City with throngs of his followers? Hey, lets arrest/fine anyone who says something that might offend them!

I wonder if this extends to also talking about Science in public? I mean, that’s deeply offensive to most religious people - the idea that many of the core concepts of their religion are based on lies.