“I went to a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta a couple of years ago with (Australian Prime Minister) Clark where the security was so bad that it took us four hours to get through the security checkpoints to her hotel. By the time we finally made it we were too exhausted to ask any questions.”

Thus reported journalist Colin Espiner, writing his On the House feature in the Australian press a few days ago.

Obviously, he was not reminiscing, but speaking mainly about the security around the APEC meeting with President George W Bush present today in Sydney.

With typical overstatement, Sydney has been placed in something akin to lockdown. Everyone’s been told to stay home, not go to work, and not to get sick because most of the city’s hospitals have been closed in case an APEC delegate needs medical attention.

The security cordon sounds incredible. There’s an 80km no-fly zone around Sydney. A 2.8m-high security fence has been built around the area where the leaders are staying. There are 3500 police on the beat. The police have purchased a high-powered water cannon, along with helicopters, jet skis, patrol launches, armoured vehicles, and anti-terror units.

US President George Bush alone is taking 250 secret service agents, 200 representatives of other departments, 150 national security advisers, 50 White House advisers and 15 sniffer dogs.