A controversial mosque in Bendigo can be built after a Victorian court threw out a bid to challenge the development.
A group of Bendigo residents wanted to appeal against a Victorian civil and administrative tribunal decision to uphold the local council’s planning approval for the mosque.
But the court of appeal on Wednesday found the group’s grounds of appeal – that the tribunal erred in its interpretation of its duties – were not “reasonably arguable”.
The judgment said most objections raised by the group, led by Bendigo woman Julie Hoskin, expressed fears that granting the permit would lead to more Islamic practice, resulting in cultural change and socially objectionable behaviours.
But the judges said the objections were “overstated”.
“In the absence of any objective, concrete evidence substantiating the adverse social effects the objectors submitted the mosque could have, the tribunal acted according to law in giving the objectors’ concerns little weight,” the appeal court judgment said.
After the decision, Hoskins told reporters she would seek more legal advice and wanted to take the matter to the high court, the ABC reported.
The mosque proposal has been subject of repeated protests for almost two years, driven in part by right-wing groups such as Reclaim Australia and the United Patriots Front.
