40 YEARS ON, STILL NO 2ND AIRPORT

For decades, pollies and Sydney residents have been debating whether and where a second airport should be built. Well for now it seems, this mundane white elephant has popped back in the headlines. 
Federal minister for transport and infrastructure Anthony Albanese, believes that Sydney does in deed, need a second airport, even though the state's top aviation experts are saying the current airport can facilitate its expected capacity until 2039. Former director of Civil Aviation Authority CAA (now CASA) and prominent Australian businessman Dick Smith, says that opening a second airport just opens the door for a second porthole for immigrants to further overpopulate an already crowded city struggling to cope with the current infrastructure. 

NSW premier Barry O'Farrell has categorically ruled out any possibility of a second airport under his watch. Mr. O'Farrell said that the state's infrastructure has been neglected for decades, illegal boat people are being sent to Sydney, and consequently the people of Sydney and those trying to get around the city, are paying the price. He said minister Albanese is headlining something his govt and the previous NSW state govt could have done, but his govt is looking for any headline that diverts from the ineptness of the federal govt. Mr. O'Farrell's preferred option is for a dedicated high speed rail network linking Canberra and Sydney.