Well, two, actually. One is that it gave me a nice excuse for my annual pilgrimage to my hometown-that-never-was-but-someday-shall-be, Brisneyland.

They other is that it may well be Howard's biggest blunder ever.

From the blog of a certain taxi driver I've mentioned before:

APEC

If John Howard is smart he would avoid calling an election for as long as possible, if order to put space between APEC and some of his biggest fans. Such is the level of discontent from small businesses after the costly disruption to Sydney’s CBD.

A Circular Quay restaurant owner bitterly complained, "After what Howard did to my business this week there’s no way I’ll be voting for him again." A mid-City coffee shop owner estimated a $10,000 hit from APEC. Indeed, many restaurants simply closed their doors due to the lack of bookings. Other small business passengers reported a 60% loss of trade.