Olympic dictatorship -- Organisers insist no outside food in Sydney venues
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

Sydney, April 28: Olympic organisers faced renewed attack after announcing a ban on bring-your-own food and drink at Games venues where approved suppliers will be able to charge what they like.

Before the dust has settled over a fiasco that left thousands unable to get tickets to their favourite events, the organisers decided only the food and drink to be sold by official caterers and sponsors would be permitted. An exception would be made for those fans who can provide medical reasons for having to bring their own diet preparations, the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) said.

Olympics Minister Michael Knight described the ban as ``a contractual and waste management issue''.

Then Sydney Morning Herald published what it said was the first indication of the sort of prices spectators will face at the September Games -- A$ 50 Australian for a hamper of food priced in the shops here at A$ 21.

Another option for those who like hamburgers and chips will be fast food chain McDonalds which will have seven outlets at major venues. The French-based company, Sodexho, caterer at the Olympic Stadium, which is the main venue, is reported to have distributed information to sponsors offering ``in-seat hamper options,'' including a snack pack.

For A$ 50, Sodexho will provide: A Greek salad, a packet of chips, two pieces of fruit, a muesli bar, a bread roll, a chocolate bar, a voucher for beer or a glass of wine, a bottle of mineral water and one or two smaller items.

The high cost of fresh produce and labour had contributed to its pricing, the company told sponsors. Anti-discrimination board president Chris Puplick described the ban as ``a commercial rip-off,'' which he said was essentially about price gouging and sponsor protection and which amounted to policing the eating behaviour of spectators.

``That might have been well for (IOC president) Juan Antonio Samaranch when he was a minister in General Franco's fascist government,'' he said.

``But it doesn't work in Sydney and it doesn't work in Australia, it doesn't work in democratic situations in the 21st century.''

He called on spectators to defy the ban on taking their own food, which he said was likely to be unlawful, saying they would have the full backing of his office.

New South Wales Council of Social Service Gary Moore said ticket prices had already put the Games out of the reach of poorer people and the prices published by the Herald raised fears of what the public could expect to pay.

Aussie image in jeopardy

Governmen mishandling of Aboriginal affairs could tarnish Australia's international reputation during the Olympic Games, the host state's top official said.

New South Wales state Premier Bob Carr said he wanted reconciliation between Aborigines and white Australians to be off the political agenda by the start of the September 15-October 1 Games. Australian Prime Minister John Howard's Conservative government had mishandled reconciliation by refusing to officially apologise for past policies which resulted in thousands of Aboriginal children being taken from their families, he said.

The so-called stolen generation is one of a handful of key issues which have plunged relations between Aborigines and the government to their lowest point in decades.

``When journalists come to Australia from around the world... I would like to be talking to them about Australia's economic success story; the success of our multiculturalism; about what we are doing on the environment,'' Carr told a Foreign Correspondents' Association function.

``I don't want to be pinned down defending my country's record on the issue of Aboriginal reconciliation.''

Carr's Labour government is responsible for the A $ 6 billion budget for the Sydney 2000 Games.

Earlier this month, Howard's government enraged Aborigines when it argued, in a leaked report and in statements by the Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Herron, that those affected by the removal policies did not amount to a generation.

In response, activist Charles Perkins warned that Aboriginal protests at the Olympics would turn violent, with ``burning cars, burning buildings''.

Other Aboriginal leaders played down Perkins' remarks but maintained that Aborigines will use the Games and the intense media attention surrounding them to highlight the plight of their people.

Aborigines number about 353,000 in a population of almost 19 million. They have a life expectancy up to 20 years shorter than whites, are beset by higher rates of preventable diseases and infant mortality, and have higher rates of illiteracy, alcoholism and drug abuse.

Howard has rejected recommendations that he offer an apology on behalf of the nation to the stolen generation, arguing the current generation should not be made to feel ``retrospective guilt''.

Test event marathon

THE pounding of feet will replace the humming of motors across Australia's landmark Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday when 5,500 runners start the Host City Marathon, an official test event for the Olympics.

The 42.2 km Olympic Marathon course starts at North Sydney, crosses harbour bridge and takes in a southern loop before branching west from the CRD and finishing at Stadium Australia in the main Olympic precinct at Homebush Bay.

The race, an Olympic selection race for some of the 150 elite marathoners in the field, will start at 6.30 am local time (0200 IST) and the leaders are expected to complete the the grueling course with a lap of the main Olympic stadium just over two hours later.

Runners and wheelchair competiters, most of whom paid $ 59 to participate in the test event, will pass the world-famous Sydney Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens, lap Contennial Park and head toward the city beaches before turning around an skirting the hoarbour on long westward stretch to Homebush.

The Harbour Bridge will be closed to traffic for two hours to allow the warm-up and initial downhill leg of the marathon to get away, while other roads and major arterials will be closed as the Olympic Roads and Transport Authority uses the test event as a rehearsal for the September 24 women's and October 1 men's Olympic marathons.

Dave Cundy, road events manager for organising committee SOCOG, said the Host City marathon would be major, but necessary, disruption to the city.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.