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Division in Bendigo DIVISION IN BENDIGO Mainstream public opinion and responses to public protest in Bendigo, 2014-2016 Professor Andrew Markus Faculty of Arts, Monash University May 2018 DIVISION IN BENDIGO Mainstream public opinion and responses to public protest in Bendigo, 2014-2016 Andrew Markus May 2018 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. ii PROJECT OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................... 1 1 THE PHASES OF PROTEST, AN OVERVIEW ................................................................................ 2 2 THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY OF BENDIGO .............................................................................. 24 3 A TYPOLOGY OF ATTITUDES .................................................................................................. 41 4 PUBLIC OPINION, A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 69 5 THE HANDLING OF THE MOSQUE ISSUE, AN EVALUATION .................................................. 90 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................. 107 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 109 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The concept for this research project was developed by Natalie Jacobson, then Coordinator Inclusive Communities of the Greater Bendigo City Council, Kate McInnes, then Manager, Education and Community Services of the Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services, and Andrew Markus of Monash University. The project was undertaken in partnership between the Greater Bendigo City Council, Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services and Monash University. A Steering Group based in Bendigo had oversight of the project. Interviews and focus group discussions that formed the core resource for this report were organised by staff of the Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services (LCMS). Kate McInnes facilitated two focus groups conducted with female members of the Bendigo Muslim community. Susan Gardiner, a La Trobe University social work student on placement at LCMS, conducted 18 interviews. Three additional interviews were conducted by associates of LCMS. Workshops held in Bendigo to discuss preliminary findings were organised by Natalie Jacobson and hosted on Council premises. Greater Bendigo City Council provided access to public realm information utilised in the preparation of this report. La Trobe University researcher Dr Julie Rudner, who was engaged on a parallel project (‘Social Cohesion in Bendigo’ for the Victorian Multicultural Commission) provided generous advice and assistance throughout the period of research and generously provided access to a range of research materials concerning Bendigo protest activities. This research was granted funds through the Victorian Government’s Round 1 Social Cohesion Research Grants Program administered through the Community Resilience Unit of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. This report was authored by Andrew Markus. While several people generously commented on earlier drafts of the report, the interpretation is solely the responsibility of the author. The report does not constitute Victorian Government policy. The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Victorian Government nor of the project partners. Division in Bendigo i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Project objectives In the two years after November 2013, when a planning application for the construction of a mosque was submitted for approval to the City of Greater Bendigo Council, Bendigo witnessed increased levels of community division, hostility and racism, directed both towards Muslim residents and other visible immigrants, and within the local community. The Bendigo protests have been characterised as ‘possibly the ugliest racist outbreak in Australia since the Cronulla riots.’ This project has undertaken research to further understanding of mainstream opinion in Bendigo and of the experiences of residents of the Islamic faith. It presents an evaluation of the response strategies, with particular reference to the role of the Bendigo Council. The phases of protest Following public awareness of the submission of an application to build a mosque in Bendigo, protest activities were maintained for over two years from January 2014 and there remains the potential for its revival at a significant level. The first part of this report considers five phases of protest: 1. Initial mobilisation. 2. The first flashpoint: events leading to and including Bendigo Council approval of the mosque town planning application. 3. The appeal against Bendigo Council decision before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. 4. The second flashpoint: a phase of civil disobedience. 5. Exhaustion of the remaining courses of appeal, before the Victorian Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia. In the initial phase of mobilisation, a Stop The Mosque group was established and through its social media presence it established contact with far-right groups across Australia, enabling it to receive advice, propaganda material for distribution, funding and encouragement. The group’s Facebook campaign focused on the Islamic threat to the Bendigo community and in a wider perspective to the Australian way of life. Negative depictions of Islam were regularly featured. The campaign fuelled displays of intolerance within segments of the Bendigo population and Bendigo City Council staff were subject to unrelenting harassment by email and other sources over an extended period of time. For many of the opponents there were no arguments to be made, nothing to discuss. Support for the building of a mosque was seen as a criminal act, a betrayal of the Bendigo community and of the nation. Following approval of the town planning application, the Stop The Mosque Facebook site featured photographs of the seven Councillors Division in Bendigo ii who voted to approve, with the caption: ‘These are the people that just sold out Bendigo’s future. Remember their legacy.’ Anti-mosque activists realised that the planning permit was likely to be approved by Council, so they had planned an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), an appeal process that is common in the context of contested planning approvals. The anti-mosque activists were convinced that the assessment process was flawed. In their understanding, the ‘social impact’ on a community was a major consideration for determining a planning permit, had been ignored by the Council in face of legitimate and widely held community concerns. The appeal was drawn out for almost one year, with a number of contested issues. The VCAT ruling on the appeal was handed down on 6 August 2015, upholding the planning permit granted. In his ruling, Justice Garde found that a mosque with capacity of 150, and 375 at Eid and other festivals, was appropriate for a city of Bendigo’s size. There had been an expectation by Council staff that protests would die down with time, as had happened in the past in the context of controversial planning issues. There was a failure to grasp that the mosque issue was different because feelings were so passionately held that they would not simply abate. The opponents felt that they were fighting to defend their way of life and the future of their children. By chance, the rejection of the VCAT appeal coincided with the emergence in Melbourne of a far-right group seeking a cause to justify their existence and provide them with public profile. The United Patriots Front (UPF) was a splinter organisation that had broken away from Reclaim Australia. UPF involvement escalated the phase of civil disobedience, which was marked by the take-over of a Bendigo Council meeting, two major public demonstrations, and the staging of a mock beheading outside the City of Greater Bendigo Council offices. The appeal process through the Victorian Court of Appeal and subsequently the High Court of Australia entailed substantial financial cost but did not succeed: both Courts held that there was no basis to appeal. With avenues closed, and costs awarded against the appellants, protest was no longer maintained, but with expectation of revival when the building began. The Muslim community of Bendigo Australia’s Muslim population is growing rapidly, at many times the rate of growth of the total population. Australian population growth over the last ten years has been in the range of 1.4%-1.9% per annum. Between 2006 and 2011, the Muslim population growth averaged an annual rate of 8%, and between 2011 and 2016, an annual rate of 5.4%. Division in Bendigo iii Within Victoria, 94.7% of the Muslim population live in Melbourne. Outside of Melbourne, the largest Muslim populations are in the Shepparton area, numbering 3,522 in 2016, and Greater Geelong, numbering 2,529. The only other regional centre with a Muslim population more than 500 is Mildura, with 944 residents. The major regional centres of Bendigo and Ballarat have Muslim populations close to 450. In Bendigo, the Muslim population more than doubled between 2011 and 2016, the fastest rate of increase in regional Victoria. Of the
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