By Sahar Foladi
A Dandenong South manufacturer has fired back at City of Greater Dandenong councillor Rhonda Garad who addressed a pro-Palestine protest in front of its factory.
Yvonne Bell from AW Bell said she intends to file a complaint to the Local Government Minister against Cr Garad after the most recent protest on 2 April.
“I have no problem with people protesting but I have a problem with them causing damages and telling lies,” Ms Bell said.
“I also have a problem with a councillor from Dandenong representing the council against our business.
“I fully intend to put a report into the Minister of Local Government because there have been a lot of councillors who are stepping right outside the bounds of their roles as a local councillor.”
The manufacturing company had been targeted by pro-Palestine protesters for its role in the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint fighter program, the same war planes used by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza conflict.
Two protests were held outside the company in the past month.
“The Federal Government will not let these protesters close defence business down or any businesses that are legally running within Australia,” Ms Bell said.
“This is crazy stuff.”
Cr Garad says she was at the protest to raise awareness as any other individual could.
“I have a right as an individual to participate in a peaceful protest.
“I’m a member of the Dandenong pro-Palestinian group as is my right and I never once forged myself as anything other than just an individual.
“She can misrepresent my role, but I was there in an individual capacity, as a resident of Dandenong.”
According to Ms Bell, the company had to endure financial loss due to stopping work on the days of the protests.
“When we knew protests were on, we stopped staff coming for the day because we don’t think they should be exposed to this in their workplace.
“For the first time ever, we had security guards on the business all the time.”
AW Bell supplies parts for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, one of the most highly advanced and sophisticated fighter jets in the world.
It is the only approved casting supplier of F-35 electronic warfare countermeasure magazines in the world.
However, the company denies it sells any parts to Israel.
“I don’t agree with either of them (Israel and Hamas), I think they’re both completely full of faults but to extrapolate it to have Palestinian demonstrators in Australia, coming down trying to close down our business is disgraceful,“ Ms Bell said.
“The reason the Australian Government is in the F-35 program is because they need aircraft for Australia’s defence.
“Are these people suggesting that we have no right to defend our country and these aircrafts should not be flying?
“Are these people suggesting because of a war between two religious groups on the other side of the world that we should not be supplying parts?”
Cr Garad, who has stood her ground in support of Palestinians in Gaza, says any actions or complaints against her is “way down” in her priority of concerns.
“This is how Dandenong, which has such a high number of Middle Eastern diaspora, is providing parts that are being used to drop bombs on Palestinians,” Cr Garad said.
