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	Youth Day to Cost NSW Taxpayers $86m Sydney Morning Herald April 21, 2008 http://news.smh.com.au/youth-day-organisers-defend-86m-cost/20080421-27gj.html World Youth Day organisers have defended its $86 million cost to NSW taxpayers, saying the state is getting the "best value" for its investment in the major international event. The five-day event to be staged in Sydney in July would attract more people than Melbourne's Commonwealth Games at a fraction of the cost, World Youth Day chief operating officer Danny Casey said. His comments followed reports that $86 million would be drawn from state coffers to cover the papal visit's impact on Sydney's public transport, roads, policing and emergency medical services. Despite the multi-million dollar price tag, Mr Casey said World Youth Day was "one of the best value international events Sydney could stage". "The state government's contribution is significant and deeply appreciated but much lower than the contribution made to other comparable international events Australia has hosted," he said in a statement. "For example, $600 million was committed by the Victorian government on the 2006 Commonwealth Games." Mr Casey said the July 15-20 World Youth Day would be the biggest event in Australia's history in terms of participants. Organisers have previously said more than 200,000 pilgrims from across the world would flock to Sydney but that was downgraded to 185,000 in Monday's statement. About 40,000 Sydneysiders have also registered to attend, Mr Casey said. A World Youth Day spokeswoman on Monday also said the church was paying $150 million to stage the event, with part of this to be raised though a pilgrim registration fee. Premier Morris Iemma said the church was paying a "significant amount" while state funding would be spent on issues related to a large public event. World Youth Day will require an extra 450 daily CityRail services and 16,500 more bus services, the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be closed for 12 hours and more than 300 road closures and 500 clearways will be enforced over the week. "What we are doing with policing and transport, these are the arrangements that have to be put in place for massive events," Mr Iemma told reporters. "It's a huge event and it will bring many benefits to the city." Mr Iemma said like the Commonwealth Games, World Youth Day would provide an immediate stimulus to the NSW economy with tourism benefits to follow. He said it would generate $150 million in revenue according to a government forecast, while the Sydney Chamber of Commerce had put the figure at $231 million. However, $42 million in compensation for NSW's racing industry will be jointly funded from state and federal coffers in a deal brokered over the use of Randwick Racecourse for a papal mass on July 20. Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said the public cost of Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to Australia was rising, and it was not the people of NSW who would benefit most. "The Catholic Church is the organisation that will gain the biggest benefit from this event, not the people of NSW," she told ABC Radio. "It's a clear promotional event and therefore they should be footing the main part of the bill."
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