Protest asks Apec spouses to withhold sex

Spouses of world leaders attending the Apec summit in Sydney have been urged to withhold sex from their partners until they commit to stopping the war in Iraq and reaching an agreement on greenhouse targets.

As nine Apec spouses enjoyed lunch at the Bondi Icebergs Club today, NSW Greens Disability Spokesperson and keen surfer Ian Cohen paddled out off Bondi Beach in his own protest on the sidelines of the summit.

His surfboard had the word "Lysistrata" - an ancient Greek play about sex strikes - painted on it.

"Aristophanes wrote this tale (Lysistrata) about women who had grown weary of war," Mr Cohen said.

"Led by Lysistrata (the play's heroine), they succeeded where other aspirational strategies had failed.

"My goal was to place firmly in the minds of the political partners this ancient Greek play which features the women of Greece going on a sex strike to prevent their husbands going to war.

"It worked in ancient Greece, it can work today, spouses withholding sexual favours can change the world for the better."

The party included Prime Minister John Howard's wife, Janette Howard, the Japanese prime minister's wife Akie Abe and the Indonesian first lady Ani Bambang Yudhoyono.