Gold-plated pissoirs

SKETCH

Half a million dollars for a toilet? Well, not quite. But there was momentary confusion at Monday’s council meeting over whether the City of Sydney was poised to approve $500,000 in expenditure on pop-up urinals.

The ‘public toilet strategy’ will investigate the permanent installation of retractable urinals in party-zones such as Kings Cross, which have been trialed in previous summers. It was later clarified that the $500,000 will fund both the investigation and installation of the toilets, pending council approval.

Liberal councillor Edward Mandla asked whether the open-air toilets would be permissible under state law.

“Given that we don’t know, it’s impossible for [me] to vote for something that’s illegal,” he said.

The legality of the urinals was not confirmed, but the City’s manager of business and safety Suzie Matthews said they were used by many other world cities including London, and noted that the design prevents bystanders from witnessing urination.

Cr Mandla also condemned the proposed toilets as discriminatory, because in most cases they are not accessible for women or the handicapped.

“So what we’re saying is that this [public urination] is a problem of men?” he asked.

Ms Matthews acknowledged the problem and said: “Obviously we need a range of toilets for our range of population.”

Cr Mandla objected to a variety of proposals at Monday’s meetings, including the supply of magazines at city libraries (“Lesbians on the Loose” was singled out for criticism) and a plan to encourage green roofs and walls (he described the award-winning Central Park buildings as “just awful” because “they look like they’re about to decay and collapse”).

Meanwhile, City News noted an abundance of pink and red jackets adorning female councillors and staff, for no discernable charity or cause. Labor councillor Linda Scott welcomed the return of her party’s colour to the chamber.

“I’m a chardonnay socialist!” she was later overheard to joke.