Police said officers will be out on the roads to minimise traffic disruptions.

According to the Critical Mass Sydney Facebook page, the ride takes place on the last Friday of every month, leaving from Hyde Park and going through city streets.

Cyclists taking part in today's ride will leave from Hyde Park, to George Street then up Macquarie Street and over the bridge.

It coincides with similar rides in cities around the world.

"Critical Mass participants don't block the traffic - we are the traffic," a separate Critical Mass website states.

"Cyclists have a legal right to be on the roads. If you've ever tried to drive through rush hour traffic in Sydney, you'll realise that cycling is generally faster anyway.

"Moreover, cars clog up the streets twice a day 29 days a month, so a lot of cyclists doing the same on a limited scale once a month cannot be a great source of complaint."

Mr O'Farrell said blocking city streets on a wet Friday would not get support from Sydneysiders.

"If these people think that disrupting Friday afternoon peak hour traffic on a wet day is going to get support for their cause, they've got rocks in their heads," he told reporters.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/traffic-chaos-warning-as-critical-mass-plans-cbd-bike-protest-today-20111125-1ny7e.html#ixzz1egOYnhF0
Give 'em (us) more cycleways, Barry...

The Police Association is threatening to escalate industrial action over the legislation, and are currently holding a membership vote to decide if officers will refuse to respond to anything other than emergencies.

Police in the public gallery had to be repeatedly warned to stop injecting during today's debate.

"I understand that you are emotional about this bill, as we all are ... but you will be removed from the gallery if you want to interject, and I don't want to do that," Speaker Shelley Hancock told police in the gallery at the outset of the debate.

"You have authority outside. I have authority here, and I don't want to remove you, but I will."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/angry-police-shout-out-as-compensation-bill-passed-in-parliament-20111125-1nygh.html#ixzz1ehK87NAI
What a lot of rot from the policephobe Barry and his hunchmen... Meanwhile Barry is doing a deal with Fred Nile to kick ethics classes out of NSW schools... And some of us voted for him... I did not of course, but then I knew what the dude was about before hand...

The one thing that separates the police from the rest of the NSW public service is trust. It is a precious, fragile and perishable commodity. At the moment the public still sees the police as the thin blue line, but it does not help the image of the force when police disrupt Parliament with juvenile antics and ridicule the courage and integrity of a police minister who served on the force for 16 years.

For the record, Mike Gallacher was a highway patrolman, an undercover cop, and worked in internal affairs. He even served as secretary of the Police Association of NSW. Apparently he joined the wrong political party.

It is easy, and not courageous, to get up before a friendly crowd and drag a person's reputation through the mud. But if this dispute continues on its present course and its present tone, mud is going to stick far and wide, and the thin blue line will be spattered with brown.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/behind-the-bullyboy-tactics-of-irate-police-20111127-1o1in.html#ixzz1ewMWnBOv
"The one thing that separates the police from the rest of the NSW public service is trust.????" THAT'S A CHEAP LINE FROM A BAD JOURNO... Most people trust most of the public service, including the police... Sure there are some bad apples in all services but the way Sheehan expresses this is very poor.
Second Gallaher joined the party of his choice and there is nothing wrong per se, except now as minister for police he's pissing on all his former colleagues by reducing their entitlements. As a former secretary of the police union he would have fought hard for these "entitlements" unless he was a mole already in the police ranks...
The police does not rot the system anymore than anybody else. To cut down their entitlements from 600 millions down to 60 millions in one swoop, is simply outrageous.