I have a little experience in this area, being at one time employed by the Aust Govt in Canberra.
I'm not sure how one would be able to attend a meeting in Sydney at say 10.00 am if travelling by surface transport leaving the same day (well at least after 6 am). Are you advocating that it is better for the Commonwealth to pay for overnight and related expense rather than fly someone up the same day?
Perhaps you should try it and see how you go driving to the Sydney CBD from Canberra at 5 am (and how much would that cost given Commonwealth Govt regulations?). And I'm sure you would feel quite refreshed and ready to go..
But you're omitting that with delays on the SYD - CBR air route, it's often necessary to choose an earlier flight than one would otherwise.
Punctuality pre-CIVID-19 was appalling on many domestic air routes as I've highlighted >1000 times in the delays/cancellations threads. CBR - SYD wasn't exempt. Cancellations were frequent. The delays/cancellations did not just occur during winter. In the latter, it's well known that a flight departing CBR at 0600 or 0700 is normally not delayed by fog but departures around 0800 until c.1030 can be a disaster, and then there's the compounding effect of inbound delays. There's no way of predicting say eight days out whether there'll be fog unless one has access to a Lennox Walker type.
For a 1000 hours meeting in the Sydney CBD, one may need to leave home at say 0630, arrive at the airport at say 0650 - 0700 (could take longer if one lives further from the airport, and my timings don't include finding a parking spot if one doesn't use an Uber or taxi), check in for say an 0735 hours flight that nominally arrives SYD at 0830, go to Domestic (railway station), catch a train at 0855, arrive (say) Wynyard station at c.0915 and walk to the meeting. (Not all meetings will be in a CBD but I'm assuming it is, as it's where financiers, large companies and government offices mostly are (albeit some of the latter may be in Parramatta). I've built in a bit of a buffer as most of us know that being late to meetings means we miss out on crucial detail, or keep other attendees waiting. T
If the flight's late, one won't be early to the meeting.
Bearing in mind many meetings aren't able to be arranged much in advance, as a random date, I chose Tuesday 17 March 2021 as a QFd day-return, departing CBR at 0735 hours and SYD at 1835. The forward journey fare available was $219; the return $193, totalling $412. At times public servants may have to book closer to the date of travel. The comparisons may not be totally fair as during coronavirus, there's been fewer flights on the route, but demand is also lower so perhaps that's a draw.
Compare this to a NSW TrainLink Discovery Pass that as Mattg has highlighted can be purchased for six months' first class unlimited travel on its very extensive rail and coach network for A$550. They're not transferable.
If the public servant doesn't want that and attends meetings in Sydney just occasionally, a return NSW TrainLink fare - three return trips a day - or same on Murrays Coaches - normally many more weekday departures - plus an A$162-169 hotel room available for 16 March (Rydges World Square/The York by Swiss BelHotel) comes out way cheaper than A$412. There's no need to pay and be reimbursed for the Sydney Airport (Domestic) to Wynyard rail fare with its high by mass transit standards station access fee. Public servants would receive meal allowances but only dinner on the night of the 16th would be the addition and perhaps similar on the 17th if they didn't depart Sydney early enough, as the Rydges' tariff for instance includes free breakfast. The dinner payment on the 17th may be irrelevant as it's not mode-sensitive.
What I and many others would prefer (not your fault, of course Clifford) is proper high speed rail that works incredibly well in so many nations, and for which Oz in the east has the population density.
I too have a little experience in that neck of the woods. But it isn't a competition.
