[Australia]: The Cronulla Riots

[Owen]

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Parties​

State of New South Wales New South Wales Police Force

European Australians Australia First Party

Arab Australians

New South Wales Police had been recording racial and ethnic tensions and incidents in and around Cronulla since the al-Qaeda attack in London last month. There is also a history of conflict between Cronulla locals and visiting beachgoers from the western suburbs ("Westies") with physical assault common since the 1960s as part of a turf war between Westies and local surfers. There remains a great deal of debate as to whether previous racially charged attacks in the area like the Sydney gang rapes contributed to the tensions, or if the subsequent trials were used as justification for the attacks, despite many reporting otherwise. The previous summer on Australia Day (26 January 2005), a non-racial riot occurred with around 2,000 to 3,000 young people in the Cronulla area engaged in "civil disobedience", at one stage hurling missiles at police attempting to control the crowd.

4 December, 2005
Cronulla, New South Wales

Just after 3pm on Sunday, 4 December 2005, police were called to North Cronulla Beach following a report of an assault on two off-duty surf lifesavers by four members of a group of eight men. A verbal exchange had taken place after three lifesavers approached a group of four young Australian men with a Lebanese background on Cronulla Beach, with both groups accusing the other of staring at them. One of the Australian Lebanese men reportedly responded to the accusations, "I'm allowed to; now fuck off and leave our beach", to which a lifesaver responded, "I come down here out of my own spare time to save you cunts from drowning".

The verbal exchange escalated with one Australian Lebanese youth attempting to defuse the situation. Another then threw a punch, missing, prompting a pushing match that escalated into a fight. One of the lifesavers was badly hurt after falling and striking his head. One of the lifesavers later informed police that the four were part of a group of eight Australian Lebanese that had been on the beach most of the day and that there had been no problems with their prior behaviour. Despite media reports to the contrary, no Middle Eastern men converged on the area and there were no more than the original eight present.

 

[Owen]

5 December, 2005
Sydney, New South Wales

One media report stated that there was already tension between the community and Australian Lebanese youths before this event and people, particularly women, claimed to have been harassed, almost daily, by "groups of young Lebanese men" attempting to "pick them up" and describing the women as being "Aussie sluts".

The events of the 4th of December were reported widely across the Sydney media, particularly tabloid; also generating discussions on talkback radio. When a listener identified as "Berta" commented to shock jock Alan Jones of Sydney's 2GB Radio that she had heard "really derogatory remarks" aimed at Middle Eastern people, Jones interrupted stating "We don't have Anglo-Saxon kids out there raping women in Western Sydney". Jones also broadcast and endorsed one listener's suggestion that bikie gangs be brought down to Cronulla railway station to deal with "Lebanese thugs" and that the event be televised, arguing that despite their notoriety bikie gangs do "a lot of good things". Alan Jones' commentary continued throughout the week and by Thursday, Jones had stirred significant discussion, and stated "I'm the person that's led this charge here. Nobody wanted to know about North Cronulla, now it's gathered to this."

Police were concerned about the repercussions of Jones' commentary. Over 270,000 individual SMS text messages were transmitted inciting a racially motivated confrontation at North Cronulla Beach for the following Sunday.

"What kind of grubs? Well I'll tell you what kind of grubs this lot were. This lot were Middle Eastern grubs."
-Alan Jones on 2GB radio

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