Planning Issues
On 27 May 2008 Camden Council rejected plans from the Quranic Society to build a 1,200-student Islamic school in the town on planning grounds. The issue received national and international media coverage. The proposal was opposed from within the local community, many expressing fear about the presence of Muslims in an area where relatively few Muslims live. There were angry racially-based comments by a number of residents in Camden. The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) opposed the proposal. Speaking at a public meeting in December 2007, CDP leader Fred Nile (present alongside Robert Balzola) said he opposed the school "because Islam opposed Christianity". A spokesman for the Quranic Society said it was "absurd" to claim that Muslims are anti-Christian.
In making its decision several council members, including Mayor Chris Patterson, said the school was inappropriate for the semi-rural area of Camden and likely to cause parking, traffic and other problems. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd indicated before the council decision that he wouldn't support the school on planning grounds. The Quranic Society said it will appeal the Council's decision in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.
In September 2008, a proposal to build a private Catholic school received media attention for not provoking the same sort of outcry as the previous proposal. News authority failed to note this school had already been located in Camden (Cobbity) for several years and was a special needs school. Some residents who were not supportive of the Islamic school now welcomed the Catholic school proposal. The Catholic school proposal is set in a different location, where it has been argued that such a development would be suitable.
On Tuesday the 2nd of June 2009, The Land and Environment Court passed down the decision to reject the appeal by the Quranic Society, with the court stating that the "development application was not suitable for the rural nature of the land."
Read more about this topic: Camden, New South Wales, Politics
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