In the Ballarat City Council environmental sustainability and health section, our council states that: "We will have to adapt (in the future) ... to changes in patterns of infectious diseases. This includes disease control and prevention ... and investigation of pollution of air/land/water."

Miners Rest ratepayers can hardly say that the Ballarat City Council is protecting our residents from possible future airborne diseases if it approves the placement of the saleyards and the processing of thousands of cattle near our homes.

The facts are that animal-to-human diseases kill 2.2 million people each year. About 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases of humans are transmitted from livestock including cattle and sheep.

The Australian Depart-

ment of Agriculture states that: "The risk of spread is proportional to the density of livestock downwind, saleyard and feedlots being particularly vulnerable".

Planning for the future is paramount. New diseases occur and spread rapidly because of mutations.

Twenty-five years ago the Hendra virus was non-existent in Australia until deaths occurred in 1994 from this new viral strain transmitted from horses to humans.

In the June 12 publication of The Miner, Cr John Phillips stated that full consideration goes to "the health and safety of the people operating (the saleyards) but it's also around the selling of the livestock in the best possible environment you can do so your stock presents well at a sale."

In other words, Ballarat City Council priorities are the health and safety of the people operating the yards and the best environment to sell cattle at the best prices.

There is no statement in this article about the impact the saleyards, if approved, would have on Miners Rest residents.

On the same page and issue of The Miner it was announced that "the Australian government has delivered $3 million to the planning and construction of the Geelong Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Hub ... for research on the movement of diseases between wildlife, livestock and human population".

Why would our economically minded federal government spend $3 million on this research centre if there was no real threat of new diseases being transmitted from livestock to humans, especially where there are large numbers of livestock in a small saleyard area located in a community population?

Our city council will not be fulfilling its commitment to "enhance the health of our people" should it approve placing the saleyards among our established homes.