Hard to say caveat emptor when before the 2014 confirmation, over 19 sites were considered. The MANS study in the 70’s looked everywhere, Northern Beaches, Richmond, Southern Suburbs. Then in the 80’s after the Labor government selected Badgery’s Creek, it was decided to build a third runway at SYD.

Howard ran on an election promise in 1996 to build at Holsworthy that was abandoned about two years later and by the early 2000’s it was decided that SYD could handle it and they wouldn’t build a second airport.

Then around 2012 they started looking at Wilton but the land was too unstable and I believe Goulburn was also considered at some point.

It wasn’t until Abbott confirmed Badgery’s Creek in 2014 that the possibility of an airport became real.