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SYDNEY - Sydney stands to gain nothing from hosting the Apec summit in September, Deputy NSW Premier John Watkins says.
Watkins said he supported the meeting being held in Australia, but it should have been held in Canberra.
He said yesterday the disruption to the Sydney CBD during Apec would be "50 times" worse than that experienced during the February visit of US Vice-President Dick Cheney.
"I would have much preferred if the invitation had been offered by Canberra and these world leaders were in our national capital, not here in Sydney," Watkins said.
"This is an event that will bring disruption to the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders with very little benefit to them.
"Apec will provide nothing tangible to the good people of Sydney and the business community of Sydney."
The NSW Business Chamber has written a letter to Prime Minister John Howard's department complaining about the lack of information about the Apec event.
The chamber said it was receiving inquiries from Sydney businesses almost daily about road closures, lockdown areas and the like.
Watkins said the federal Government needed to be more forthcoming with information about the summit.
"We still do not know who is coming and certainly what days they will arrive. There are security issues around some of that information, but we need to get more information out."
- AAP
