Perhaps something to do with this is the dilution of property rights. Instead of owners having the right to pretty much do what they want with their own property everyone else gets to decide without the responsibility or costs of ownership.
I remember hearing thirty years ago that in some European countries one couldn't paint one's house whatever colour desired. I thought at the time those poor regimented Euros and that we would never have that here, there'd be an uprising etc at that level of control. Guess what? We have that now, at least in SE Queensland. And without a murmur.
If you can't even paint your house in your choice of colours without the local commissars getting involved it's not surprising that we can't build, no, decide to build, no, seriously propose to build an airport.
