Food fight: Albert Park locals call for Hare Krishna kitchen to move out
'The ends are laudable. They're to be congratulated. But the means don't make sense in a residential zone,' Mercurio said. 'It's a large industrial-scale production kitchen.'
Planning approval for the kitchen was granted in 2010 with the condition that staffing levels were limited, but this was later found to be unenforceable by the council.
The residents' petition also complains about increased traffic, waste in a rear lane and 'pungent smells from the large-scale food production pervading the environment'. It also said that 'very loud chanting and drumming' can be heard from the temple, which opens at 4.30am.
Dasa argued the group was doing its best to manage the 'Hare Krishna explosion' and had moved major events away from Albert Park. It now has chapters in Casey, Wyndham and Craigieburn.
'We've been here for 50 years. It's hard to remove the spiritual significance of the location. We're taking steps to manage a transition. It takes time, and it's expensive,' Dasa said.
'But this notion that there's all hell breaking loose in Albert Park is – I would suggest – a little overdone.'
In response to the petition, council officers said two tests done at recent temple events found 'noise emissions were within legally acceptable limits'.
No food or public health law breaches have been reported after 30 council inspections, although a 'significant waste management breach and liquid spill' occurred in August 2022.
A council spokesperson said ISKCON claims its kitchen has prepared food for at least 15 years, but complaints increased around 2020.
'If the kitchen is found to not have existing use rights, ISKCON would need to apply for a planning permit for it to continue operating there,' the spokesperson said.
'We are very sympathetic to residents' amenity concerns and are doing everything we can within our powers to investigate or address amenity issues. We also value what the temple brings to our community.'
Dasa, however, said the kitchen could not be separated from the temple.
'The kitchen is a fundamental part of Hindu devotional culture. The deity is worshipped with offerings,' he said. 'To move the kitchen would kill the temple.'
ISKCON Australia's most recent public financial report said the national charity's revenue was $24.4 million, including $11 million in food sales, contributing to a $3.5 million surplus in 2023.
Dr Angela Burt, an expert on the Hare Krishna movement, said religious leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded ISKCON to spread his strand of Hinduism throughout the West. The Beatles' George Harrison was an early convert.
Burt said ISKCON had since evolved from Western followers living in ashrams to a congregational religion.
The migration of Hindu Indians looking for familiar temple communities spurred its recent growth in the West, she said.
Hare Krishna Melbourne's annual Sri Krishna birthday events attract thousands of people, but Dasa said the celebrations would now be held across four locations.
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