We have no way of knowing what happens to the boats turned away by Australian border control. Nor are we allowed to know from official sources any details of this operation, although we know from various independent sources that boats are still coming.

The high moral purpose of saving people from drowning at sea actually comes down to sending them off somewhere else so we don’t see them drowning.

Meanwhile people seeking asylum who are held indefinitely on Nauru or Manus Island, in conditions that the UN says breach anti torture agreements, are used as sacrifices to deter people smugglers.

If a local drug dealer is selling drugs to your children do you imprison the children so that others will be deterred from buying drugs, while the dealer continues his trade unmolested? The government’s treatment of those seeking asylum uses exactly this principle. How is this likely to be effective? It certainly is not moral.

If you doubt the cruelty imposed on the men, women and children held in Australian detention see the film Chasing Asylum, which shows actual footage filmed on Nauru and Manus Island.

At this week’s Council meeting I heard some excellent arguments by Cr Peter Cox against the development of a significant  pocket of green open space in the heart of Kangaroo Flat. Despite that, the vote went in favour of removal of all of the vegetation and habitat it provides, in favour of development of 34 lots from 600 square metres in size.

As Cr Cox pointed out there is sufficient supply of land within the urban growth boundary for all of the projected growth needs of the city in years to come and this land is in excess of this requirement.

It is certainly important that we support liveability in Greater Bendigo, however, with the loss of this valuable asset we are setting a precedent that could almost be seen as endorsement of destruction of any open space in the name of a compact city.

Society now places a high value on protecting and enhancing our natural surroundings. Green open space is vital for the health and wellbeing of our community and also assists in buffering the impacts of global warming. Care must be taken in planning for in-fill development in our compact cities of the future. Do we want to end up with wall to wall concrete?  We must be aware of the losses of green space in backyards and house lots that we are currently undergoing.

This city is in the process of planning for vital public open space usage to provide places where people can live, work and play, plus healthy environments for our physical activity needs.  Open space can also be planned to be within walking distance for many in the community - conferring the amenity of these open spaces similar importance of access to a range of other services.

We need to have an eye to how Council can potentially acquire, develop, use and manage open space of high community value as it becomes available, instead of ticking off against an ‘all development is good within the urban growth boundary’ mantra.