ABC Badgerys Creek was first suggested as the location for a second airport in 1969.The Federal Government is set to name Badgerys Creek in Sydney's west as the site for the city's second airport.
Cabinet is expected to sign off on the proposal on Tuesday and there will be money set aside to get the project off the ground in the May budget.
For decades the airport has been a political hot potato.
Both major parties have been forced into backdowns and backflips in the face of intense community opposition.
But senior Government sources say this time they are determined to get the project underway.
The Coalition promised to pick a site for Sydney's second airport early in its first term and there has only ever been one serious contender.
Badgerys Creek, about 50 kilometres west of Sydney's CBD, has been repeatedly proposed and abandoned and will again be given the green light - first by the Government's infrastructure sub-committee and then the Cabinet.
"Well it is long overdue because an airport has been identified for this site for at least 30 years. The land was acquired by the Hawke government in the 80s," said David Borger, who heads the Western Sydney Airport Alliance.
The alliance is a collection of unions, businesses and community groups which have been loudly lobbying for the airport over the past 18 months.
Mr Borger says substantial government investment in road upgrades and rail links are key to the project's success.
There is likely to be big infrastructure announcements in the coming days.
"Look I think the people in Western Sydney will support it because there's something in it for them and what's in it for them is jobs, a better way of life, particularly in south-west Sydney, which really the 1980s and 1990s bypassed," Mr Borger said.
Senior government ministers argue a second airport is a nationally significant project, one that could create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two decades and deliver a multi-billion dollar boost to the economy.
For that reason Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun is a vocal advocate.
"I think people are sick and tired about hearing about Badgerys Creek. They want a decision made and they want construction to start ASAP," Mr Mannoun said.
"If this were to get delayed and wait another five years and keep on talking about it there is a chance that people will start saying no we don't want this anymore because more and more people are moving into the area."
The Government has already hinted a second Sydney airport is likely to operate around the clock and the first planes could take off midway through the next decade.
Cabinet is not expected to discuss the exact details of the airport's operation on Tuesday, but Stephen Bali from No Badgerys Creek Airport Inc says residents near flight paths need to know so they can work out how they will be affected by noise, or air pollution.
"The general community and large segments across western Sydney will be fighting against this once the announcement's been made and people know what they're up against," Mr Bali said.
Much of the project's troubled history is largely due to the number of marginal federal electorates in the area and proponents fear another scare campaign.
Many in the Federal Opposition, including transport spokesman Anthony Albanese, support the proposal.
But Western Sydney Labor MP Ed Husic wants his party to fight against it.
"It's just simply been a case of blackmailing Sydney's west and by that I mean they say if you want better infrastructure you've got to support the airport, and by virtue of blocking the airport you won't get better infrastructure," Mr Husic said.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/22644680/cabinet-expected-to-sign-off-on-badgerys-creek-as-site-of-sydneys-second-airport/
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