a) and the evidence that this $8m was ONLY a Labor thing is.. where?
Ummm, you DO realise that Labor organised this entire event in Australia before they were kicked out by the vast majority of Australians, right? Abbott is simply cleaning up their wasteful spending.
b) are these visiting dignitaries going to take cabs , buses and trams? I know a nice bicycle hire place on the south bank of Brissie....
You didn't read a thing, did you? If you had, you'd know that specially-built armoured BMW cars will transport dignitaries and leaders around and it's only staffers and other people who will not have limousines to drive around in. They're hiring buses, etc instead. This was common practice at APEC.
c) What need is there for this conference anyway? What can't be done over the phone or the internet or using a budget flight for talks?
You can't have talks on sidelines, etc by teleconference.