By Kathleen Calderwood ABC News
Posted
Dashcam vision of Dr
Mustapha Kara-Ali (right) and another man during a visit to the property by
council officers in July.
Council workers visiting a rural
property in Sydney's north-west used by a religious group were told police
needed the riot squad and a Polair helicopter when accompanying them due to
safety concerns, a court has heard.
Hawkesbury
City Council has launched civil action against Dr Mustapha Kara-Ali and Diaa
Kara-Ali in the Land and Environment Court, alleging the men carried out
illegal land clearing, earthworks and built gates, fences and driveways without
seeking any of the relevant development approvals at a property in Colo, in
Sydney's north west.
Mustapha
Kara-Ali, a former member of then-prime minister John Howard's Muslim Community
Reference Group and past postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, is the Imam
of religious guild Diwan Al Dawla, which he founded.
In
a letter by Dr Kara-Ali to council staff, tendered in the court documents, he
said the members of his guild live "separated from secular lifestyles to
pursue a religious mode of worship and an ascetic lifestyle under an oath of
self-sacrifice and dedication to the purposes of Diwan Al Dawla".
The
letter said the Colo property was used "for the carrying out of religious
activities of devotion, self-discipline, ritual baptism, inter-community
prayers, contemplation and religious study".
The matter was set down for a two-day hearing starting today,
but neither of the men attended court and there was no lawyer there to
represent them.
The
hearing has continued without them and it is alleged development on the site
has continued despite the court proceedings and repeated requests from council
for them to stop.
Lawyer
for the council, Mark Cottom, told the court a council officer had requested
police accompany them on a site inspection of the property, because they might
have required forced entry.
"The
police appear to have significant concerns in relation to safety … wishing to
have the riot squad and Polair available," Mr Cottom said.
Mr Cottom tendered evidence that council officers had seen
construction of a barn and shed had begun on the property.
He
also tendered photos of two manufactured homes that have allegedly been moved
onto the site.
The
court heard earlier this month a council worker, Gary Collins, went to the
property where he saw a number of flag poles had been installed and were flying
flags that appeared to be for Diwan Al Dawla and Southern Chariot Stud.
Mr
Collins approached two men who were moving earth and building a shed at the
site and was told by one of them that he was building the shed, as instructed
by Mustapha and Diaa Kara-Ali.
According
to Mr Collins's affidavit, when told about the issues with the site, the
builder replied, "Now I know why they were hassling me and in such a rush
to get the shed up".
In
evidence to the court, Mr Collins said he had visited the property in the past
week and saw people measuring a concrete slab and some metal framework on top
of the slab.
Dr Mustapha Kara-Ali
In
correspondence with the council, tendered to court, Dr Kara-Ali claimed his
organisation was exempt from Australian law because it was classed as a basic
religious charity.
However,
this claim is not supported by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits
Commission.
Hawkesbury City
Council has successfully prosecuted Mustapha Kara-Ali, Diaa Kara Ali and
Southern Chariot Stud Pty Ltd at the Land and Environment Court with the Orders
of the Court handed down on Monday, 27 August 2018. The full Orders of the
Court are attached.
The Orders of the
Court will be served upon the respondents by the Land and Environment Court due
to their lack of attendance at the Court on Monday, 27 August 2018.
Council officers
attended the Colo site on many occasions with the initial visit being in
October 2017. Officers issued several Notices and Orders under the
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act for development carried out without
consent. However, the owners continued to carry out earthworks, land clearing
and building on the property.
Due to the lack of
regard for planning legislation and the scale and high environmental impact of
the illegal works undertaken at the property, Council sought to prosecute the
property owners at the Land and Environment Court.
At the Land and
Environment Court on Monday, 27 August 2018, the Orders of the Court were that:
- All
further works earthworks, building works, fencing, and other works cease
- All
works that have been carried out are to be either removed/demolished or
restored; this includes all buildings, flag poles, fencing, gates, sheds,
boat ramp and works by the river, septic tanks and demountable buildings
- Engineering,
landscape and revegetation plans from qualified experts, for the
restoration and rehabilitation of the site, to be provided to Council
- The
Respondents are to pay Hawkesbury City Council the cost of legal
proceedings.
The Court Order has requested that these works are complied with, within
certain timeframes, and Council Compliance officers will monitor these actions
to ensure that they are complied with. If the orders are not complied with,
Council will seek additional legal advice to have the matter brought back
before the Land and Environment Court for further determination.
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