Australia: Melbourne City Council Ordered to Publish An Open Apology to Local Falun Dafa Association

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ordered the Melbourne City Council (MCC) to publish an open apology within 14 days in three Chinese newspapers - the Chinese Melbourne Daily, SingTao Daily and The Australian Chinese Daily - and to pay the Falun Dafa Association's legal costs. This ruling marked the end of a year long legal case.

Last year, the Falun Dafa Association had been given permission to participate in the annual Moomba Parade and was the first group to pass the committee's artistic evaluation. One month before the parade, however, the Melbourne City Council, led by Mayor John So (who is of Chinese descent) suddenly overturned their original decision based on Falun Gong's alleged "strong political associations." As the local media commented, "The long arms of Beijing have extended into Melbourne."

On December 23 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal announced that the Falun Dafa Association had won its legal case against the MCC's refusal to permit Falun Dafa's participation in the March Moomba Waterfest Parade in Victoria. The court ruled that the MCC had breached the Equal Opportunity Act of 1995 and ordered the MCC to issue a formal apology to the Falun Dafa Association. The parties had not agreed, however, on how to proceed. Today's ruling agreed with Falun Dafa Association's demand for an apology.

According to an April 7 document posted on the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal website www.vcat.vic.gov.au, the court ordered the MCC to make the following statement of apology:

"In February 2003 the Council excluded the Falun Dafa Association of Victoria from participating in the 2003 Moomba Parade on the basis of its political associations. The Council now acknowledges that the exclusion was in contravention of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 and it apologizes for this to the Falun Dafa Association. The Council also expresses its regret as to any trouble, inconvenience or damage to reputation that was caused to the Association as a result of the exclusion and looks forward to a more positive relationship with the Association in the future."

Judge Bowman stated in the verdict, "The court has ruled that the MCC had breached the Equal Opportunity Act 1995. The court has reached a decision that the MCC treated Falun Dafa harshly, handled the situation poorly, and caused Falun Dafa considerable inconvenience. Discriminatory behaviour such as this is even worse when it is so done by an arm of Government."

Falun Dafa Association spokeswoman Ana Caterina Vereshaka said, "We are pleased with the court's ruling. However, why the MCC rejected our participation in the parade is still a mystery to us. We are not a political organization, yet the MCC accused us of being a political organization. They have not been able to give a clear explanation on this issue."

When asked if the discrimination against Falun Gong by the MCC was caused by the Chinese Consulate's propaganda, Ms. Vereshaka said, "Many of the facts of the persecution against Falun Gong have been covered up. A lot of the cases spread by the Chinese Government that slandered and defamed Falun Gong were fabricated. The Chinese diplomats and embassies in overseas countries have actively taken part in spreading these kinds of lies. Our federal and state governments, local councils, and Chinese organizations have all received a lot of this kind of anti-Falun-Gong propaganda.

Ms. Vereshaka thought that using various channels to rescue Falun Gong practitioners' family members, friends and fellow practitioners from cruel torture and death has nothing to do with politics. It is simply to protect human rights. Many governments and organizations have therefore offered their strong support.

Many kind and honest people have assisted the Falun Dafa Association of Victoria in this legal case. Senior Council Mr. Herman Borenstein, Attorney Mr. Luke Brown from Holding Redlich Law Firm, and attorney Mr. Craig Dowing all provided their services to the Falun Dafa Association free of charge.