The destruction orchestrated by council, on behalf of VicUrban, which has left Parkside Gardens looking like a barren moonscape, raises many questions.

Was this merely an act of vengeance?

It occurred one week after the ABC Stateline program about Parkside Gardens, which showed them looking beautiful. It also showed council's actions and attitude towards the wishes of a significant percentage of its constituents in a very poor light.

There are still unresolved matters regarding flood plain issues of the site, no environmental impact study has been sighted by the public and the VicUrban development plan is still only an inaccurate, incomplete concept plan and far from being ready to begin.

Was the decimation of the 30-year-old trees designed to ensure that the development cannot proceed, for any reason, the concept of a botanic gardens on the site would be significantly set back?

If they can't have their development, then the public won't have a garden either? Or was the destruction something more sinister than spite?

Accoording to council's own report, the draining of the moat alone will take months and is to be done before any other development. Is this project being rushed through before all legal processes have been completed and are available to the public?

It has recently revealed that council obtained an exemption from its legal requirement to notify the public of its intention to sell Parkside Gardens, thus keeping everyone in the dark until the so-called binding deal had been done with VicUrban.

By beginning the clearing of the site our council, chief executive officer and executive, as well as VicUrban, appear to have pre-empted the flood plain report before it has completed and tabled and before a complete, accurate, detailed plan of development has been submitted.

Will the public be able to sight these documents, or have they sought another exemption from following due process?

This issue has become more than just about Parkside Gardens. Its about our local government's and a state government body's accountability and moral responsibility to follow processes that are open and transparent to those who elect them.

Its is about the lack of trust, that many in the community feel, that has become a real issue for the election in November.

By the way, what are they going to do with the rare and sacred rocks on the Chinese Garden site? Whisk them away in the middle of the night or just pulverise them into gravel to help fill the moat?

And why couldn't the mature trees, that have proven their ability to withstand drought, have been incorporated into the open spaces that we are told we will still have within this most unnecessary of residential developments?