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Ladd then threw a beer can at the restaurateur, breaking his spectacles.

The victim was continually punched and suffered cuts and abrasions to his face.

Magistrate Ron Saines denounced the racist attack and Ladd’s attitude towards the Chinese community. “Some Chinese people have been here for 10 generations,” he said. “They are entitled to hold onto their culture without being told to go home and so on.” Ladd also pleaded guilty to spray painting the Fletcher Jones factory walls and possessing five grams of cannabis for personal use.

The 18-year-old, who moved to Warrnambool last year, will have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work as part of the nine-month CBO.

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According to AJAX president Brian Goldberg, the matter has been dealt with. He said Parkdale has confirmed it wouldn’t take any further action with the league’s governing body, the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).

Goldberg spoke with Burger and Parkdale president Darren Fenech and followed up with a letter attempting to distance the club from the sentiments expressed by the spectator. He said the club and the VAFA was satisfied.

“They were fully understanding of the fact that even if it was an AJAX supporter, it is out of our reach and hard to manage.”

The incident comes after a big preseason push by the committee to curb unacceptable behaviour by supporters of the club, after a litany of incidents in recent years.

A letter from coach Stuart Powell was circulated early in the season asking supporters to behave, and while it is yet to be confirmed whether the spectator responsible for the incident is linked with AJAX, Goldberg is convinced the club’s early season efforts are working.

“[The incident] is disappointing, but on the other side, 99 per cent of AJAX supporters this year have really responded and been outstanding — in good and bad games.”

Fenech told The AJN that while he felt AJAX had taken the appropriate steps to resolve the matter, Burger was still keen to undertake mediation with the supporter concerned.

“Brian was fantastic he handled it very well and was quite rightly dissatisfied with what occurred and we’re more than happy with the way it panned out,” he said.

“The player is happy. He said he would still like to sit across from the person who made the remarks and talk to him about it, but it doesn’t look like that will happen.”

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A rubbish bin which was thrown over the gate was also covered in paint, while several rubbish bags were also thrown over the fence and a light was smashed. Nearby residents were appalled at the graffiti.

“There’s certainly not room for that in this country,” one resident said.

“In a criminal context it’s not a serious thing, but in a social context, it is.

“We’re trying to help these people integrate and things like this don’t help. It’s offensive there’s families who walk right past there.”

The church did not wish to comment on the attack, but has since removed the graffiti.

Another resident told the Leader two young males in a white van were seen outside the church about 10.30pm last Wednesday.

“We try to watch over things and keep an eye out for each other,” she said. “If we see something a bit suspicious we come out and try and take down a number plate.”

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Hate crimes are the most pernicious expressions of prejudice. Heartless and unprovoked, they inflict enormous psychological harm, inspire vulnerability in the victim and intimidate an entire class of people.

Hate-crimes are an offence against all that Australians cherish, tearing “at the very fabric of our society, endangering deeply held beliefs in principles of individual liberty”.

They remind us that the dark forces of division still exist.

Admittedly, hate crimes occur in every country.

To combat this insidious and abhorrent behaviour, many police departments in Britain, Canada, the United States and elsewhere have taken the enlightened step of establishing dedicated hate-crime units. Victoria Police is yet to set up one, but it should.

This is how the units work overseas.

Any cases identified as hate offences are given priority, and specially trained officers are brought in to look at secondary and collateral activity related to the crime and to act as a liaison with the people suffering from the devastating effects of the assault.

It has been proven that hate-crime units investigate racial attacks that might have gone unattended and have generated a greater number of indictments.

Indeed, no one knows how many hate cases are under-reported or are buried in reports classified as simple assaults.

Police are the evidentiary gatekeepers. Prosecutors can only work with the evidence that they receive.

The Director of Public Prosecutions relies on motive and the key lies with the hate-crimes unit that can collect the evidence that the offence was motivated by hate.

The significance of a hate-crime unit is not limited to just arrests.

The concern shown by the unit will underscore the positive message that government and police are sensitive to victims.

Studies of the efficiency and success of hate-crime units reveal that such units have enhanced the credibility of police among ethnic communities.

Experience shows that hate-crime units get better results, since they break down traditional barriers and gain the trust of victims who are willing to report incidents.

Canada has introduced a 24-hour telephone hotline that allows victims to communicate such crimes, and in England there are “third party” reporting centres where people, who may not feel comfortable going to a station, can report hate-crimes that are then passed on to police.

If the Holocaust and other genocides have taught us anything, it is the grave consequences of apathy and indifference in the face of such violence.

The battle against racism never ends.

Australia is a multi-cultural and multi-racial society - it is the source of our strength as a nation. We must never allow the extremists to determine how we socialise with each other and defend those who cannot protect themselves.

The police are our greatest ally in this mission.

The establishment of a hate-crime unit is not a quick-fix solution, but rather a comprehensive, long-term strategy that will provide law enforcement with new tools to use in wiping out hate, and enable it to go head-to-head with racists in our community.

Dr Dvir Abramovich is director of Jewish studies at Melbourne University and has developed an anti-racism educational program.

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