This Is The Scene

This is the scene at the arrival of the A380 at Sydney airport, destined at something like $380 million each the future of aviation over the next 20 years, much like the 747 was in its day. The first double decker passenger craft. Lounges in economy. My father was a Qantas captain with a somewhat difficult reputation; very clever and very demanding. We grew up with free airfares. I thought being the son of a captain might propel me to ask an interesting question, but it didn't. What's it like to fly? Enormous damn thing, amazing that it gets off the ground. I remember when we were first downgraded to economy, as the family of the captain, on a crowded flight, how shocked we were, well put out anyway. What a come down it was. Never tell the person next to you that you are sitting there for free, that was the motto. I remember as a 12 year old watching the sun set over a range of mountains on the flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City and thinking that I would never forget this moment; that in life I would never forget so many moments. It was not to be.

The cross city tunnel remained a good story today. The Premier called on the company operators to make good with the community; and perhaps lower the toll. The opposition claimed that 72 streets had been shut, narrowed or altered as part of the cross city tunnel operations. They released documentation which they said showed that more than 50 streets could be returned to public control. Changes in Paddington are now coming into effect as per the contract; with the company took the trouble to release parts of today; along with a statement that previous comments to the parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday suggesting that they would not take action if streets were returned to their former state was incorrect. He also reiterated that they would not be lowering the toll. When we are wrong promptly admit it didn't go down too well. And in the mix the coverage of former Premier Bob Carr's appearance at the inquiry was overwhelmingly hostile. Here's what Andrew West had to say in the Sydney Morning Herald: "If you had any doubts about whether New South Wales was lucky to be rid of former premier Bob Carr, you need only look at his contemptuous behaviour at today's parliamentary inquiry into his government's Cross City Tunnel rort."

The news out of Iraq stayed appalling:

"Two suicide bombers killed at least 43 people and wounded 73 when they blew themselves up inside Baghdad's police academy yesterday.