Council hopeful tweet concern
A LARA woman who was scouted by a modelling agency after she was tagged in a Facebook photo has been crowned Miss International Australia.
Amber Dew emerged victorious from the national finals of the world’s fourth largest pageant this month— modelling firm on social media.
The then-teenager set off to Taiwan to represent Australia in Miss Charity Queen. “After that experience I fell in love with pageants and became a freelance model and now often judge pageants,” she said. THE head of Geelong’s multiculturalism peak body has voiced his concern over a Geelong council candidate’s online comments about Muslims.
Diversitat chief executive Michael Martinez said he was concerned and disappointed over a number of Twitter posts from Windermere Ward candidate Ken Dickens.
Mr Dickens yesterday defended his online comments, claiming he only took issue with Islamic fundamentalists, and that he was “anti-violence”.
In one post, Mr Dickens responds to a tweet claiming “Islam puts no value on life. How do you fight against that?” with his suggestion: “Baptise them. Christians can’t get the virgins. Either that or get a priest to give the last rights (sic).”
In another tweet, Mr Dickens responds to an image of an alleged carjacker’s heavily injured face with “He’s got a head like a football. No wonder they kicked it!”
Mr Martinez yesterday said Mr Dickens’s tweets were concerning.
“The concern is that there’s talk of violence there — ‘kicking heads’ — there’s other kinds of sexist tones as well, and I’m disappointed,” Mr Martinez said.
“Mr Dickens came out to the hub and he met our people and I introduced him, and he didn’t express any views like that at the time.
“I expect when I meet with people for them to be honest with us about their beliefs, so I do find it concerning.”
Mr Dickens, who describes himself as “non-PC but passionate”, yesterday rubbished any suggestions he was an Islamophobe.
“I’m anti-violence, it’s got nothing to do with anti-Islamic,” Mr Dickens said. “I’ve got Islamic friends, I’ve got Jewish friends, I’ve got every type of friend that a typical Australian would have.
“If any fundamental religious person kills somebody then we should do our best to make sure that if they believe they are going to go to Heaven and get 72 virgins we should do our best to discourage them. I’m not anti-Islam at all.
“If I see violence from fundamentalists of any religion, I’m going to call it out, and I’m not going to stop.”
Mr Dickens, a waste industry leader, said he would not change who he was just because he was now running for council.
ROWAN FORSTER