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A controversial group whose leader has a "generalised hostility to the Muslim religion" has lost another attempt stop the construction of a mosque in Canberra's north. In throwing out their attempt to appeal on Friday morning, ACT Supreme Court Justice Richard Refshauge said the group's interest in opposing the mosque, purportedly on planning grounds, was no greater than that of an "intermeddler or busybody". The plans to build the mosque in Gungahlin have been plagued by significant delays as the small group, named Concerned Citizens of Canberra, fought the development approval through the courts. Lawyers challenged two decisions by the government's planning body, the ACT Land and Planning and Authority, firstly to deny Concerned Citizens' request for an extension of the public consultation period, and secondly to approve the development application for the mosque. The group, through lawyer Robert Balzola - a prominent Christian who has opposed a mosque in Bendigo for a similarly named group, the Concerned Citizens of Bendigo - launched court action in August 2012. The challenge against the 500-capacity Gungahlin mosque was based on planning grounds, and raised issues of social impact, public interest, concerns about traffic, parking, noise, and the mosque's use as a "funeral parlour". They also argued both of the planning authority's decisions were defective. But the then ACT Supreme Court Master David Mossop threw out the challenge in July last year, finding, among other things, that the group did not have sufficient standing, or were not directly enough affected, to challenge the approval of the mosque. When it was formed, the group had just five members, but boosted its membership to 18 by the time it reached the ACT Supreme Court, and to 23 by the time Master Mossop made his decision. Many of the members did not live in Gungahlin. The president, Irwin Ross, a fundamentalist Christian, lived 10km away from the mosque site, and told the group in March last year, well after the court action began, that it "urgently need[s] more members, especially in the Gungahlin region". Mr Ross was described as having a "generalised hostility to the Muslim religion and concern about what he saw as its spread". After losing the initial case in the ACT Supreme Court, Mr Ross controversially used the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram and the Boston Marathon bombing to explain why he opposed the mosque. The group then sought to appeal to a judge of the ACT Supreme Court, despite lodging the appeal too late. Justice Refshauge declined to give them leave to appeal on Friday morning. He agreed the group had no standing to challenge the decision, that their appeal lacked reasonable prospects of success, and that there was no reasonable explanation for the delay in lodging the challenge. "I consider that the application for leave to appeal, notwithstanding the expiry of the period within which an appeal may be commenced, should be declined," he wrote.

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