Australia’s Victoria PM Hits Out at Anti-Mosque Bigotry
Andrews was in the goldfields town on Friday morning for a ceremony to turn the first sod on the project which became a national flashpoint for far-right activists and anti-racism protesters during the five-year saga.
Objections to the center, which will include two prayer halls, classrooms and a community sports hall, went all the way to the High Court, bankrupting a local councilor pursuing the case.
There were tense protests in the town in 2014, 2015 and 2016 as the proposal became a focal point for Islamophobes, and their anti-fascist opponents, from around Australia.
But the Premier paid tribute on Friday to the people who “stood up and were counted during quite heated times”, including the local council, the Islamic Society of Bendigo and many of the town's residents.
“It’s been difficult at times, and there’s no shying away from that,” Andrews said.
“But with that sense of goodwill having won out against some pretty dark views, I think we’re in a really good place today.”
Andrews said the town had not allowed itself to “be hijacked by people, who invariably are not from Bendigo, they might come into town and put their pretty extreme views.
“But they’re not part of this community in the main,” he said.
“People have the right to put their views, people have a right to protest peacefully but there are limits, there are standards; bigotry is not an acceptable form of protest, ignorance is no excuse.”
The Premier said the new center would be a powerful example of Victoria’s cultural and religious diversity in action.
“We are a multi-faith, multicultural state and we are stronger, safer, more prosperous because of the cultural and faith diversity that defines us,” Andrews said.
“That isn’t just in Melbourne, it is in every community.”
Andrews said he had lost count of the number of Muslim doctors he had met at the sod-turning ceremony who worked in primary health care in the area or at the Bendigo Hospital.
“That’s their commitment to this local area, that’s their commitment to patients and families, they’re there providing services that none of us can do without," the Premier said.
“As they succeed, Bendigo succeeds.
“Why would you be wanting to protest against that?”
Source: The Age, Australia
