The Muslim Association Riverina Wagga Wagga Australia is celebrating Wagga Council’s green light to build the city’s first mosque. Photo: MARWA Facebook.
Wagga Wagga will soon have its first mosque following last night’s (5 June) city council decision to approve the construction of the place of worship at 19 Jones Street, East Wagga.
The planned two-storey, $2 million project has been in limbo since the Muslim Association Riverina Wagga Wagga Australia (MARWA) lodged its application to the council in October 2022.
The council’s unanimous decision to approve the project has MARWA hoping the mosque will be ready by the end of 2024.
Despite a growing Muslim population in Wagga Wagga, the decision marks the first official place for Islamic worship in the region.
Until now, MARWA has conducted services at town halls or gyms, and the Glenfield Community Centre.
There was a higher-than-usual amount of interest in the mosque’s DA, with 45 public submissions made during the project’s public exhibition period, with 11 objecting.
The submissions against the plan were enough to bring the DA before the council; however, some of the objections were brought into question after several councillors believed they were racially discriminatory.
Cr Dan Hayes questioned whether submissions that are only used as a means to spread disdain, instead of voicing actual criticism of a development, should be considered as an objection.
“I find some of this commentary disgusting,” Cr Hayes said.
“Is this really how some people see the world that they live in?
“The mosque is a place where the Muslim community in Wagga can pray, worship, gather and celebrate, and a vast majority of people in Wagga see its importance and its value. It’s also a big deal for our growing Muslim community.
“Unfortunately, there are a small amount of people who think that the system [DA objection submissions] is an opportunity to voice their woeful and abysmal opinions.”
Cr Hayes was one of several councillors who proposed refining objections and filtering any that aren’t relevant to a development plan.
“Although they were only 11 of 45 submissions, there were enough there to trigger the DA to be brought to the council meeting,” he said.
”If those which weren’t relevant to the actual development weren’t acknowledged, there wouldn’t have been a need to vote on it last night.
“Several submissions brought up issues overseas that have no relevance in Wagga. From a DA standpoint and a building plan standpoint, the construction plans each meet the requirements comfortably.
“While there doesn’t need to be drastic change to what is considered a legitimate objection, as this is a rare case, I do believe council staff have the capacity to determine if the objection is relevant to the DA.”
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