Ultralights it comes down to the simple common denominator: $$.
An airport (that continues to concentrate upon just aircraft movements) will never deliver the revenue that housing/shopping centres/commercial development will to a councils bottom line, it is that simple.
All of those nice green parks, swings, parking lots etc cost money to set-up and keep clean. The only way that councils really have to increase revenue significantly and in the long term is to increase the population, or those paying rates or for services. If they don't get the required income from one revenue stream, the price goes up. Simple.
The fact is: you live on the east coast. East coast property is now becoming beyond the reach of many. I personally have been out of Sydney for 5 years. Now if I even wanted to (not that I do), I don't believe I could afford to go back there. One of the primary driving forces behind the push upwards has been investors over capitalising, which has put pressure on the market.
User pays, it's usually those who cannot easily afford that have to. I didn't say it was nice, but it is a fact of life.