Reclaim Australia rallies: Racial cohesion facing its greatest threat in 30 years, says president of the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW

Updated August 24, 2015 14:54:02

The president of the Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales says racial cohesion in Australia is facing its greatest threat in 30 years and that a situation similar to the Cronulla riots is not "off the plan", after a weekend of racially charged anti-Islamist rallies around the country.

The right-wing nationalist group Reclaim Australia held rallies in 18 different towns and cities over two days, with an event in Mackay addressed by Federal Government MP George Christensen.

A crowd of 150 people gathered in Sydney's Martin Place on Sunday morning, draped in Australian flags and in some cases, dressed as Ancient Greek soldiers.

President of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board, Stepan Kerkyasharian, has been watching the events unfold over the weekend, and said something similar to the Cronulla riots was "not necessarily off the plan".

"We are probably facing the worst possible scenario, and regrettably, what is happening internationally now has made it fertile ground for people to exploit that situation," he said.

"When you've got a community which is fearful that they'll be targeted because of their religion, and on the other hand, you've got another section of the community which feels that someone amongst them might blow them up, you've got a formula which spells catastrophe."

"And it could manifest itself, in a number of ways. I cannot predict it but something similar to Cronulla riots is not necessarily off the plan."

Mr Kerkyasharian said racial harmony has reached a low ebb, and that groups promoting racial division were likely to flourish as a result.

"I haven't seen community cohesion threatened the way it is threatened now, and that is in the last 30 years," he said.

"The sad reality is that in such an environment there is a potential for growth, but I have a lot of faith in the Australian people, and I've seen this over and over again in the number of years that I've been involved in community relations.

"Whenever there is any individual or any organisation which comes to prominence on a racist agenda, the Australian public overwhelmingly defeats them and puts them in place."

Rally attendees mostly behaved well: police

Rise Up Australia Party leader Daniel Nalliah received a warm response from the crowd.

"They call it a racist rally and here I stand, guest speaker and the official speaker — I'm not white mate, I'm black," Mr Nalliah said.

The group was outnumbered by a crowd of anti-racism protesters a couple of blocks away, roughly triple the size.

Occasionally a member of one group would try to infiltrate the other, despite the police barrier between them, but overall the rallies in Sydney were mostly peaceful.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke said overall, the crowds behaved well.

"We made two arrests where charges are likely, one alleged assault police, and one alleged offensive behaviour," Mr Clarke said.

It was nothing on the scenes in Melbourne a day earlier, with 400 police in attendance and dozens of people treated for exposure to capsicum spray.

Liberal National Party MP George Christensen addressed the Mackay event in Far North Queensland on Sunday.

"That culture of appeasement to radical Islam dictated that I should not speak here today for fear of giving you credibility, as if your voice would otherwise have no credibility," he said.

"Well, I've got to say, you've got a very credible argument. You people have credibility."

Photo: George Christensen spoke to Reclaim Australia supporters in Mackay. (ABC: David Sparkes)

Topics: race-relations, multiculturalism, islam, religion-and-beliefs, police, law-crime-and-justice, sydney-2000, australia, melbourne-3000, mackay-4740

First posted July 20, 2015 08:28:26