A legal challenge to the former state government’s transfer of the Camberwell Common for the exploitation of the adjacent Ashton Coal mine will answer the issue in the technical and legal jargon that inevitably resolves these matters through the law.
But there is a fundamental moral issue that seems stark to even the casual observer.
It is that the former state government exhibited in the transfer of the site an arrogance and indifference that was the central theme of its demise two weeks ago.
Rather than represent the interests of ordinary citizens, it served the interests of big business or, in this case, industry.
And the method by which it did this was reprehensible.
Land for people is a premium these days, especially where its exploitation yields big dollars.
But people have a right to the common space which is so essential to the sense of community in the country.
Whatever the law, the people should win.
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