Hi Bazz, nothing we have in our current laws stops the black economy.
However, smart cards are just around the corner.
Changing the colour of money from time to time, in new print runs, will oblige those storing their savings under the mattress to bank their funds in order to access new banknotes; given the old notes will eventually become worthless.
Your point about western Sydney is well made.
Thankfully, much of Sydney is built on sandstone and tunnelling with modern machines, is relatively easy, and a lot less costly than the old labour intensive method, or rusuming urban land.
These machines should be purchased and then reused again and again, to extract the full cost benefit.
If one owns a machine or machines, then tunnelled cross river links etc, becomes nearly as cost effective as bridges, fly overs etc.
My reference to very rapid rail paying for itself, by rezoning, is in reference to a very rapid rail link linking Bris-Melb.
My preference is for a magnetron system linking far flung suburbs to city central CBD's; run out as a fully underground systems in tunnels or shallow trenches.
These super silent systems run on and are powered by a magnetic field, have few if any moving parts to wear out or break down, and quite capable of speeds up to 900 KLM's PH!
I would build permanent loop systems; of many loops? This would eliminate the possibility of extremely fast, head on collisions!
These very rapid trains could be serviced by monorails/moving walkways.
Yes I know, we are talking about the most expensive options.
However, all could still be providing very effective service a hundred years from now, after repaying all capital outlays, many times over.
So, do it right the first time.
Besides, my very simple single tax system would raise more than an additional 100 billion PA!
Therefore, it isn't a question of whether or not they are affordable, just where they should be built, to best serve the greatest number!
Cheers Rhrosty.

Lot of people in Cyprus wishing they had stashed their money under the mattress Rhosty. :).

Julie lays out the challenge for us voters this year. As bad as the Labour Government is the Libs are even worst. There is no Howard and Costello anymore.

Julie as someone who works in the mining and steel industry neither the Carbon tax or the mining tax feature highly in our internal planning. The high Aussie does. You admitted you can do much about the later. So what your reality saying is your government would fiddle about the edges differently.
As someone without kids how about stopping all this middle class welfare your lot introduced last time you were in power.

That fact that both sides think a family on fives times the average weekly wage is on struggle street does not bode well.

The co2 tax was overhyped by the opposition but the reality is that it
is a very pernicious tax.
It is like one of those summer days when you want to do a job outside
and it looks like rain and when you get outside, it is raining but very
lightly. You figure you will do the job as the rain is very slight.
You get the job done and come inside and find that you are sopping wet !

That's the co2 tax for you, it trickles down in little bits every time you spend money.

Eyeinthesky:
A lot of people in Cyprus, probably wish their Govt owned the banks, that they had been properly regulated and not used as a veritable laundry for Russian Mafia money.
They probably wish that the net return to their banks had been greater than the interest they paid on deposits!
And that a simple expenditure tax had been imposed several decades ago, so that the Govt had the actual means to live within!
They probably wish their little Island hadn't been used as a tax haven, and or, that that service model hadn't been virtually their only industry!
Finally, they probably wish they had bought a few bars of gold, in order to hedge against the very eventuality, they are now experiencing!
Cheers, Rhrosty.

Today, economic globalization aims at increased trade throughout the world. At first sight, this might seem to be a benefit. However, laws preventing the exploitation of labor are not universal. The same unspeakable conditions experienced by workers in factories and mines during the early phases of the Industrial Revolution in Europe can be found today among factory workers in Indonesia.

In many developing countries today, industrialization involves slave-like working conditions. Meanwhile, in the industrialized countries, workers may lose their jobs because they cannot compete with underpaid labor in the Third World. Large multinational corporations are tending to move their operations to regions where salaries and living standards are very low.