Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Church must cover Hyde Park costs: Sydney council

The City of Sydney says the Catholic Church will not be allowed to use Hyde Park for World Youth Day if it does not cover potential repair costs.

The church is required to lodge a bond of $100,000 to meet the cost of repairs that may be needed after the park is used to stage security checks on pilgrims.

Sydney Council acting chief executive officer, Garry Harding, says the bond was supposed to be paid by Friday.

But he says the Catholic Church and the State Government have indicated they are not prepared to pay.

"I think that the church's view is that the State Government would pay for the repairs and the State Government's view is that the City of Sydney will pay for the repairs," he said.

"We don't believe it's fair on the ratepayer of Sydney to have to pay for the cost of those repairs, particularly because the city is supporting this event to the tune of about $2 million."
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