And you wouldn't believe it, but there are small-minded bureaucrats in Canberra who wonder whether this would be a waste of taxpayers' money. The NSW Government has announced that, though it's happy to provide the project with the necessary co-operation and to wish it every success, it's not willing to put up any cash. The Howard Government has been dithering over the proposal since late last year. It sent the consortium away to see if it could pare back the government handout required. That's the funny thing.
New railways are exciting and go-ahead, but new airports are just a pain in the bum.
So the VFT may yet get the tick. And the consortium has sponsored an opinion poll showing that 82 per cent of people living along the proposed route are in favour of it. Wow, think of the votes. There's just one small problem. The more the VFT stops in country towns along the way, the less VF it becomes.