One thing's for sure: it's too late to halt its spread, because wherever you look — west, south or north — the horse has bolted.

It's a fact that Australia is growing, and Sydney more than any of its major cities and towns.

So let's not even bother having the argument over whether we should be getting bigger. This part of the puzzle has been put to bed.

In its place is the bit about how we are going to provide housing for the extra hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, who will want to live here over the next 50 years.

Do we squeeze as many as possible into high-rise units or do we go for broke and just keep opening up new sites on the edge of the metropolitan area for more quarter-acre lots: or what passes for a quarter acre these days; it's more like an eighth of an acre or less.

This is one of the hot issues of the current state election and part of it is asking what about the market gardens and the fresh food they produce.

If we force these out for more new homes, it is asked, will our quality of life suffer because we will have to truck in fruit and vegies from further afield.

I find that one hard to accept.

What's the difference between 50 kilometres and 150 (yes, I know, 100 kilometres, you smarties) in this day and age, when trucks are fully refrigerated.

On the weekend I bought peaches from Batlow (4½ hours away from Liverpool), apples from China and oranges from California: say no more.

In an ideal world, of course, it would be great if all our fruit and vegies were coming, literally, from the city's backyard.

But we do not live in an ideal world and compromises have to be made.

¦ How's the state election going for you? Fed up already, no doubt.

Well, hang on, because it will soon be over. If you call 31 days to go soon.

I can see why in some countries, notably Britain, they have their elections every five years. C'mon, a man can dream.