For those who didn't view the pixelled/non pixelled bits last night:
Can Brisbane afford Underground Cross River Road
Tunnel/s?
http://www.rag.org.au/tunnel/
Naked protesters cycle into strife
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,15301856%255E421,00.html
A PACK of nude cyclists rode through Brisbane's city centre yesterday
to protest the Brisbane City Council's proposed north-south bypass
tunnel.
But the group's ride was cut short when police arrested four people
for wilful exposure.
A spokesman for the protest group Communities Against the Tunnel said
it was only the beginning of a long campaign to get ratepayers
debating the tunnel's benefits.
"These tunnel plans are actually going to increase the amount of
traffic in the city in the long term," a protester who gave his name
only as Alex said. "We just think the tunnel is a really silly idea
and we would like to encourage the residents of Brisbane to think what
they could do with $7 billion."
He said Brisbane should follow Paris and London's lead in trying to
eliminate cars in the city centre.
Brisbane City Council Transport and Major Projects chairman Graham
Quirk said he did not believe the protesters had been exposed to the
tunnel's full benefits.
"Putting traffic underground in the council's view will produce a much
better outcome in local communities than having to widen streets on
the surface and create all the trauma of resumptions along long strips
of roadway," Cr Quirk said.
He said he would encourage the protesters to gain a little more
knowledge about the side benefits the tunnel would bring.
Alex said the protest had been received well by passersby and he felt
it had been a "joyous campaign".
"This is not just an in our backyard protest, this campaign is just
the beginning," he said.
"It was a success in the sense that it raises awareness about the
issue, even if we have just created some kind of debate about it.
"I mean the interaction we have had today as we have been riding along
has been wonderful."
Police would disagree. They gave three men and a woman notices to
appear for wilful exposure.
A police spokeswoman said two were stopped near the Botanic Gardens
while another two were apprehended in the city, between Albert St and
King George Square.
They will appear in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court on June 21
Just saw them on the ABC news here in Melbourne. Yes, they were nude during the earlier part of the ride, hence 'bits' being pixelled so not to offend the sensibilities of Auntys viewers. Protest was about a proposed road tunnel. Suppose if cyclists are gonna Nude Up, do it in the tropics!
