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Police suspect hoax race riot texts

14dec05

TEXT messages and emails that fuelled Sydney's race riots have surfaced in three other states, but authorities believe at least some are hoaxes.

Mobile phone text messages were used to incite mob violence against people of Middle Eastern appearance at Sydney's Cronulla beach on Sunday in retaliation for an earlier attack on surf lifesavers.

Further text messages and emails have been circulating in Sydney this week, calling for groups to gather at Cronulla and other beaches this weekend.

Meanwhile, Queensland police said text messages calling for people to start "cracking skulls" had surfaced on the Gold Coast.

Similar messages were reported today in Victoria and Western Australia.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said he believed there would not be any support for racial unrest on the Gold Coast.

"As far as I'm concerned, I think you've got a couple of idiots taking advantage of what happened in Sydney to try and create mischief," Mr Beattie said.

"There is no room for this stupidity and I don't want to see Cronulla in Queensland."

A Gold Coast police spokeswoman said police had contingency plans in case people acted on the message.

"We believe it is one of mischief ... and isn't real but it then becomes serious if people take it seriously," the spokeswoman said.

"(Police) have made contingency plans."

Police have warned the author or people caught forwarding the text faced massive fines and jail under Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Act.

Victorian Police had already tracked some text messages to a youth, Chief Police Commissioner Christine Nixon said.

"Certainly we've been able to track down one source and had a talk to that young person so far," Mrs Nixon said.

"That person had no capacity (to organise violence).

WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan confirmed two text messages had turned up in that state.

"They are not linked to any activities in WA at this stage," Mr O'Callaghan told reporters.

"I do make the point that the violence that we have seen occur in New South Wales is the result of pressure building up over time as a result of a specific social issue that is not evident in WA."

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