THE knives were out at last night’s council meeting after a Monash councillor launched a stunning attack on another election candidate, accusing him of being a ‘‘religious bigot’’.
During a motion for the council to enter into an agreement with the Australian Human Rights Commission to support its anti-racism campaign, incumbent Glen Waverley ward councillor Geoff Lake slammed Oakleigh ward candidate Matthew Hammon for comments he made about Muslims on social media website Twitter.
On September 18, shortly after riots in Sydney broke out over an anti-Islam film, Mr Hammon sent tweets saying: ‘‘It seems supporters of Islamic Terrorists [sic] have had a field day in Sydney today with their protests.
He adds: ‘‘I don’t care if Muslims want to show their placards, that is fine but it just goes to show what a foul religion they represent.
‘‘These are muslims [sic] preaching dangerous messages, those are the facts.’’
Cr Lake condemned the comments as ‘‘antisocial and unfair beliefs’’.
‘‘These comments are those of a religious bigot,’’ he said.
‘‘All religions deserve our respect.
‘‘This person is not fit for public office.’’
It’s unclear where Mr Hammon’s political allegiances lie, but Cr Lake alleged the Oakleigh candidate was a member of the Liberal party.
He called for the party to refute the comments made about Muslims and for Mr Hammon to be expelled.
He also called on other councillors and candidates to preference Mr Hammon last on the ballot paper like the Victoria Liberal party did in 2001.
‘‘For all of the things One Nation have said, I don’t think they’ve made the derogatory comments Matthew Hammon has made.
‘‘This council and this community stands strongly against racism.’’
The Weekly has tried to contact Mr Hammon but the email provided to the Victorian Electoral Commission did not work.
To view Matthew Hammon’s twitter feed, visit twitter.com/matthewhammon
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