Next minute Julie was there. She helped me pay for the parking fee with my credit card after calming me down.

In my confusion, I drove off without it! She chased after me in her car for two or three blocks and returned the card.

What a wonderful person. Thank you so much Julie! Bendigo – fantastic people.

Surely common sense will prevail in the case of the North Central Catchment Management Authority's plans for the willows on Birch's Creek at Anderson's Mill in Smeaton. 

There is no advantage to be gained by removing them all at once and the damage caused to the waterway by leaving it bare of vegetation will take generations to repair. 

Some people who value a healthy waterway hate willows with a passion, but replacing them with native bush will take many years of careful work or run the risk of destroying the water quality of this important tributary and smashing the tourism values of the historic mill. 

I encourage interested locals to plan a visit to picturesque Andersons Mill to imagine what might come to pass in the next floods if all the willows were removed in the course of a few months.

In answer to the letter from Pat Horan (“Not illegal to seek asylum”, Bendigo Advertiser, June 21), to quote you: “The government’s refusal to fight the claims arises from its reluctance to have the full extent of what happens on Manus Island revealed to us.”

I beg to differ. The reason is, the government realises a $90 million payout is better in the long run than a court case that drags on and on and would cost the people of Australia considerably more; and would further feather the nest of ambulance chasing law firms like Slater and Gordon.

The extent of the supposed mistreatment and failure by the government has been well chronicled by the ABC and Fairfax newspapers, so that is not really a reason.

On the website, www.refugeecouncil.org.au it states in part the following: “Asylum seekers who arrive without a prior valid visa (by sea or air) continue to be subject to indefinite mandatory detention.” Doesn’t it follow if they arrive without a prior valid visa they have arrived illegally? Therefore they deserve mandatory detention.

Whether you think I have been misled by deliberate lies or not, I still consider them illegal immigrants. Doesn’t Australia have enough problems without importing more and pandering to illegal immigrants’ every wish and desire, as well as showering them with our money? The sooner Australia gets out of our commitments to the UN and leaves it the better. Like the League of Nations, the UN has outlived its usefulness. Now it appears to be nothing more than a political front for the people involved to make large amounts of money for themselves, for very little effort or input.

For people to keep quoting the UN Refugee Convention, and use it as an excuse for any Tom, Dick or Harry to enter any country they like whether a genuine refugee or not, is absurd.

Interesting that recently news has come out that several, and I will bet there are a lot more, “refugees” have flown home to the country supposedly persecuting them, to visit family and holiday.

We have been conned, and the reason no one speaks out is fear of a backlash from people who only have one view and cannot handle any contrary views. It’s called bigotry. We have a lot more needy people living in Australia, in poverty and without a home who need our help, before we humour illegal immigrants.