"Money has driven the federal system right off the rails"

Professor George Williams writes about how here is no end in sight to the impasse over Sydney's next rail link (Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2011). Please see summary below:

There is no end in sight to the impasse over Sydney's next rail link. At the weekend the federal Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, again said the Commonwealth would provide $2.1 billion only for an Epping to Parramatta line. The state government is determined to use the federal funding to construct a north-west rail link from Epping to Rouse Hill.

The dispute is an example of Australia's federal system at its worst. Instead of the federal-state ''blame game'' having been eradicated, it continues to play a destructive role in a number of vital areas such as transport, the Murray-Darling Basin and education.

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