Brawl erupts at Arncliffe cafe after Liberal Party members are denied access to official meeting
POLICE are investigating whether a strong religious divide inside the Liberal Party prompted a brawl at a Sydney cafe, which is owned by a local councillor.
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POLICE are investigating whether a strong religious divide inside the Liberal Party prompted a brawl at a Sydney cafe, which is owned by a local councillor.
Around 20 Liberals gathered at the back of Naji’s Cafe at Arncliffe - owned by Bayside councillor Michael Nagi - to vote on allowing a Young Liberals branch to join the Bayside section of the Liberals.
Another group of members arrived at around 6.50pm to take part in the vote but claim they were denied access and violence broke out.
A mother-of-three was allegedly pushed to the ground and a man in his 40s had to be taken to St George Hospital after the brawl, which spilled out onto busy Firth St.
Witnesses from each side have today claimed the other hurled racial slurs during the fight.
A staff member at Nagi’s Cafe claimed one woman was yelling aggressively during the altercation.
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Brawl erupts at Arncliffe cafe
“She was even being racist ... She started saying Muslim this Muslim that,” the man said.
But members of the second attending party claim the group in the cafe abused them for being Coptic Christians.
“There is some of the guys from obviously you know the Islamic father were saying F off Christians, F off Coptic dogs,” a man who identified himself as John, told 2GB radio this morning.
“Muslims attacked on Christian guy there was about 10 of them got him to the ground stomped on his head.”
There is no suggestion Mr Nagi engaged in any racist or inappropriate behaviour.
Mr Nagi denied the confrontation was on religious grounds and that any members were refused entry.
“It’s not about religion, it’s not about race, it’s about local branches and nothing else,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“I was trying to break up the fight.”
Mr Nagi said he only agreed to have the meeting at his cafe because it had appropriate toilet facilities and he was prepared to provide a meal for all members.
“If I knew it was going to turn into this, I would never have had it in my shop,” he said.
Sources confirmed police are aware of claims of religious division between the two groups.
The Telegraph has been told last night’s vote concerned a recent decision from a Young Liberals branch in Earlwood.
The Young Liberals branch had voted to join the same Liberal Party body which governs three other branches - Bexley North and Kingsgrove, Bexley Arncliffe and Brighton-Le-Sands - in the Bayside Council area.
Members from all three existing branches were permitted a vote on whether to accept the Young Liberals from Earlwood.
Factional differences between the two groups are also believed to have spurred the confrontation.
Deputy opposition leader Michael Daley described the scenes as “disgusting”.
“We know one Liberal Party faction called a branch meeting, not in a hall or a church or an RSL club … in a small chicken shop that I’m told you can’t swing a cat in,” Mr Daley said.
The party is co-operating with police, the spokesman said.
“An internal investigation will also be undertaken and disciplinary action taken against those responsible,” he said in a statement.
“The Liberal Party strongly condemns the kind of behaviour that is alleged to have occurred.”
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