The Cronulla riots – the sequence of events

• Introduction - the daily coverage
• December 12 - first reports
• December 13
• December 14 & 15
• December 16, 17 & 18
• Aftermath
   
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December 13

47 articles and the first of many letters to the editor across the three outlets, with 13 in The Australian, 15 in the Daily Telegraph and 19 in the SMH.

By Tuesday, the reporting had increased substantially in the SMH and The Australian, as the media attempted to cover both the initial riots and the retaliatory attacks that followed. There were extensive reports of particular incidents, with attacks carried out both by the rioting “Aussies” and vengeful “Lebs”. The Daily Telegraph began headlining the incidents as “race riots”.

The three news outlets carried extensive reports of retaliatory attacks on Sunday and Monday nights by “Muslim” and “Lebanese” youths seeking revenge for Sunday’s beach riots. Residents and reporters were warned to stay off the streets as young men smashed cars, trashed businesses and bashed “outsiders”. Police attempted to control crowds that gathered at the Lakemba mosque, fearing further attacks by rampaging “Aussies”. Police failed to turn back carloads of young men who ventured into Cronulla, Maroubra and Brighton-le-Sands, destroying property and attacking people on the streets. Calls for revenge attacks went out via text messages among both the “Aussie” and “Arab” communities.

The Prime Minister’s response was widely reported, as he stated: “I do not accept there is underlying racism in this country. I have always taken a more optimistic view of the character of the Australian people … Attacking people on the basis of their race, their appearance, their ethnicity is totally unacceptable and should be repudiated by all Australians irrespective of their own backgrounds and their politics.”

The response from a variety of community leaders was also reported across the three media outlets. Various government ministers and politicians were quoted in The Australian, responding to the events. Federal Liberal MP Bruce Baird commented that tensions between Lebanese visitors to Cronulla beaches and the local community had been building since September 11 and the Bali bombings, and the highly publicised gang-rape cases. Opposition leader Kim Beazley also rejected the notion of widespread inherent racism in Australia and commented that the core values of Australia are “respect for each other and respect for the rule of law”. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said he would do whatever was necessary to ensure the riots did not spread to Victoria, and commented that the behaviour “is not what we understand Australia is all about”. The reports noted Mr Bracks “is of Lebanese descent”. Greens Senator Bob Brown asserted that the PM’s failure to take a tough stance on racism, and his mismanagement of immigration, had “mired the issue of racism in Australia”. Democrats spokesman Andrew Bartlett condemned the riots as “mindless racism cloaked as … nationalism”, and NSW MLC and One Nation member David Oldfield blamed the riots on the “failed … social policy of multiculturalism” and called for an alternative approach that highlights “the principles of unity given by a single national identity”.

Representatives from Australia’s Islamic and Arabic communities were also widely quoted in reporting by The Australian. Waleed Aly, from the Islamic Council of Victoria, commented that it was less likely Melbourne would experience a similar incident, as it lacked the segregated racial enclaves of Sydney. Randa Kattan, from the Arab Australia Council, noted that tensions between Cronulla locals and visitors had been magnified by inflammatory rhetoric in the media, and questioned why “shock jocks inciting racial hatred aren’t prosecuted”. AAC chairman Roland Jabbour commented that the incidents “typify an ugly and fringe element of Australian society” and noted that the events would increase the racism, abuse and fear that the Australian Arab community already cope with. President of the Islamic Friendship Association Keysar Trad commented that tensions had been ongoing for many years and criticised the use of “ethnic descriptors” in media reporting and discussion of social conflicts. “Lebanese youth leader” Fadi Rahman said the riots had revealed that the Lebanese community had never been truly accepted in Australia: “We’re working night and day to build bridges and what we always get is rejection …” He feared that revenge attacks would escalate as the “racial vendetta” continued. The Sydney Morning Herald headed to Lakemba to seek reactions from Lebanese Australians. Isak Amouri revealed that he and his friends had been very upset by the events, asserting that “we’re all brothers here… the beach is for everyone”. Fifty-year-old Abdul Darwich noted that he had lived in Australia longer than most of the rioters had been alive. He felt the conflict was about youth cultures: “It’s kids… young people. Not Lebanese, not Australian. I don’t like to hear that – they’re all Australian.”

The Daily Telegraph reported that “Muslim youth spokesman” and member of the Muslim Community Reference Group assembled by the Federal Government, Mustafa Kara-Ali, agreed that the riots did not mean there was “a racist underbelly in our community” and blamed white supremacist groups for promoting violence. In the same article, the coach of the Cronulla Sharks Rugby team called for calm, commenting that while the problems on the beach needed to be addressed, “an eye for an eye mentality won’t solve anything”. Cronulla locals quoted in the SMH asserted that the incident was inevitable and “everyone knew it was coming” because locals were frustrated with outsiders invading their territory, and were protesting against “crimes against ordinary Australians”. Other locals condemned the behaviour and noted that “there is an underlying culture of covert racism” in the Cronulla community where “just about everyone is a white Aussie”. The Australian and the Daily Telegraph reported on “peace talks” between the Maroubra surf gang “the Bra Boys” and Muslim and Lebanese community leaders, who were attempting to reduce tensions and demonstrate that the different communities could work together constructively.

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