Melbourne council locks residents out of meeting on Lebanon motion

Community member says they feel excluded after City of Greater Dandenong shuts doors to council meeting

One of Melbourne’s most culturally diverse councils shut residents out of a routine council meeting on Monday that debated a motion supporting the Lebanese community amid the ongoing war.

The decision sparked chaos inside and outside the City of Greater Dandenong’s building in Melbourne’s southeast, where roughly two dozen protestors chanted “Let us in!” at the locked doors.

An attendee of Lebanese descent said they arrived at the council building expecting to enter the public gallery, along with others.

“I went at 6pm and found out that the council doors were closed,” they told Deepcut, speaking anonymously.

“Everyone was quite upset, including people who already registered to attend and had sent questions.”

Tense meeting

Inside, Cr. Rhonda Garad challenged CEO Jacqui Weatherill’s decision to close the public gallery.

“It was deeply distressing that the council locked out Dandenong residents who came to support the motion – many from the Lebanese community, who have been greatly affected by the illegal war on their home country,” Cr. Garad told Deepcut.

The meeting began with Weatherill announcing the closure “following advice from Victoria Police”.

“The health and safety of councillors, staff and visitors is of utmost importance, and we will always take action to ensure the safety of our meetings,” she said, adding that the public could watch online or on a screen outside.

Cr. Garad pressed Weatherill to “fully explain” her decision and provide “real and specific evidence” that there was a “risk of reasonable harm”.

After repeated questions, Weatherill shut it down: “I’m not going to answer those questions any further. I’ve made an assessment that, based on the security of the meeting, that the meeting will be closed to the public.”

Cr. Garad later told Deepcut that the “council provided no evidence to justify shutting the community out – no indication of risk, harm, or threats – only that Victoria Police advised a group was coming”.

The (non)security risk

A second resident who sought to attend the hearing claimed that Victoria Police officers present at the scene disclosed the security risk: a counter-protest.

“I approached police as the meeting started and we were all locked out, because on the screen the CEO said police advised of a threat,” the resident told Deepcut.

The resident asked for details on the threat. The officer whom they believed to be in charge allegedly said it was a planned counter-protest that did not show.

During the exchange, the officer also allegedly confirmed that Victoria Police had advised the council there was no longer a threat. The council, however, still denied the public entry.

Both Victoria Police and the City of Greater Dandenong were sent questions relaying this account, but did not respond in time for publication.

The motion

The spark was a motion that Cr. Garad had tabled in solidarity with Lebanese Australians in Greater Dandenong.

“Dandenong is directly connected to global events – our Lebanese community is watching family members killed, villages destroyed and loved ones living in fear,” she said.

Melbourne’s metro area – home to Greater Dandenong – has nearly 50,000 people of Lebanese ancestry, Australia’s second-largest such community. While most live in the northern suburbs, a smaller group calls this multicultural southeast hub home.

“The Lebanese community is a vital part of Dandenong’s success; standing with them in their hour of need is both right and necessary,” Cr. Garad said.

Israeli attacks in the current war have killed at least 2,387 people in Lebanon, including 165 children. On April 8, Israel massacred 357 people in 10 minutes in what is being dubbed as “Black Wednesday”.

Cr. Garad’s motion failed, and was met with a counter-motion from Labor Cr. Sean O’Reilly, which listed residents tied to Israel alongside Lebanon and Palestine. Cr. Garad called Israel’s inclusion “deeply insensitive to the Lebanese community”. O’Reilly’s motion failed on a procedural technicality.

Feeling excluded

The anonymous attendee saw racial stereotypes at play in the council’s conduct.

“We were characterised as a threat. That reinforced to me the way the media portrays us as terrorists. We felt unworthy to be present in the chamber where our elected representatives are,” they said.

“Yet again we are being silenced, excluded and ignored. The way this council treated Ukrainian refugees was glaringly different from the way it responded to its longstanding Lebanese community.”

Cr. Garad said solidarity motions for suffering communities are routine.

“That’s what responsible councils who represent their constituents – all of their constituents – do. We don’t pick and choose which group of human beings are more deserving of support. But that’s precisely what my fellow councillors did, and I’m ashamed of that,” Cr. Garad said. She described the meeting as “chaotic and poorly handled – Dandenong residents deserve far better”.

For Greater Dandenong’s Lebanese and Arab residents, alienation is growing.

“They did not want us there yet the motion was very much about us and recognising our pain and trauma. Shameful really,” the attendee said.

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Check out the latest Deepthink episode with Lebanese-American journalist Rania Khalek, where we go deep on the war in Lebanon. Watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, Apple or your preferred podcast platform with this RSS feed.