The notion of a Very Fast Train for the Melbourne-Sydney corridor has been shot down by new plans from Airbus to fly Very Large Planes between the two cities, because the entire cost, and risk, is funded by the privately owned airlines and airports.
Sydney 
Better latte than never to get excited about Goat Island again
Sydney ruthlessly expunged most of the “working harbour” aspects of its heritage years ago, rendering it blandly safe for the café latteratti set and retail mall developers, says Ben Sandilands. So why are Sydneysiders suddenly getting historical about their harbour again?
Guy Rundle: We don’t need new fast trains, Albo, we need new cities
When it comes to infrastructure, what we need first and foremost are not new rail lines. Not even fast rail lines. What we need are new cities.
Video of the Day: Breakfast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
A great time-lapse video of 6000 lucky picnickers descending on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday to eat breakfast.
Dust storm 1: chaos, mud, lightning. Oh my!
It no longer looks as blood red as at dawn. No Dorothy, no Tin Man, no wicked Witch, so far. But the dust storms sweeping NSW have brought red snow!
Dust storm 2: a health hazard beyond comparison
Particulate pollution has soared to levels never seen in Australia in recent hours as the red dust storm intensifies over much of the top three quarters of NSW.
Are dust storms hazardous to your health?
Dust storms, like the one affecting Sydney this morning, can contain everything from plant pollens to dried animal faeces and chemicals, says Ben Harris-Roxas, a health impact assessment expert. Should people stay inside?
The potential health impacts of dust itself are important – usually by exacerbating existing asthma.
Crikey Clarifier: What caused Sydney CBD’s Telstra outage
Thousands of businesses and homes in the northeast of Sydney’s CBD spent a day or more without telephones and the internet yesterday. What happened? And what can you do if it happens to you?
My restaurant rules: Crikey’s dining meta list
With all the big food and restaurant guides coming out over the past few weeks, Richard Farmer has served up the results as one big meta list for your delectation. Bon appetit.
Sydney society abuzz over McGurk
The desperation the Sydney media has for its own version of Melbourne’s Underbelly knows no end as they try to outscoop each other over the murder of small-time Sydney standover merchant Michael McGurk.
The Sydney-ification of ABC local radio
ABC local and regional radio will be back under Sydney control next week when all of the senior management roles are taken up by people in NSW.
Branding Australian cities: pride of place or pointless PR?
Big news in Melbourne today: Mayor Robert Doyle has spent $240,000 on a new logo for the city. But is it any good? We compare and contrast with other city brands from around this wide brown land.
Monocle’s 25 most livable cities
Monocle announce their 2009 list of the world’s most liveable cities with this lovely video. Melbourne and Sydney both make the cut — but where? And which is higher?
“Freo doctor” blows across Marrickville and Balmain
Community protest is rising in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Marrickville over the Labor Government’s proposed sale of a heritage-listed school site into 19 apartments.
ouch! Sydney: ordinary, dubious and crawling with merchant bankers
Hot on the heels of Louis Nowra’s Sydney bashing in The Weekend Oz, Richard Ackland throws a new punch: “Sydney makes Dallas look like Paris.”
Politics in Sydney’s barmiest borough: Rockdale
While Liberal and Labor councillors are at each other’s throats all over NSW, not so in Rockdale, where they work hand-in-glove.
Local democracy on trial in Sydney’s boroughs
Two Sydney communities with vastly different demographics were the scene of anger meltdowns this week over the common issue of local democracy.
Naked travel: Where does the money go?
Taxpayer funded state tourism authorities spend the dosh from one election cycle to the next, writes Tom Neal Tacker.
Merger of Sydney racing clubs under starter’s orders
The $2 billion racing industry is too important to be left in the hands of anachronistic racing clubs guided by part-time boards comprising old racing buffs.
End of the Great Australian Dream starts in Sydney
Sydney house prices have blown out to such a degree that the Great Australian Dream is fast becoming the Great Australian Fantasy.
Found: Sydney’s biggest illegal brothel
I have found Sydney’s biggest illegal brothel. It is smack bang in the middle of Sydney CBD and trades directly opposite the Hilton Hotel in Pitt St.
Sydney: can’t plan, can’t build, can’t run
Sydney’s paralysis by power failure late yesterday is a reminder of how stuffed the city’s infrastructure is, writes Ben Sandilands.
Journalistic ethics, UTS and the Sydney Writers’ Festival
A nasty fuss has sprung up around the Sydney Writers’ Festival and New South Wales’ leading journalism school, writes Margaret Simons.
Botany Bay’s car park protesters gagged
Sydney’s Rockdale Council will stop at nothing to build a 100-vehicle car park on the foreshores of Botany Bay, writes Alex Mitchell.
Everyone loves Ambulances!
Ambulances are fun!
