Letter: Sutherland Shire Mayor Kent Johns should butt out of protests

I'm no fan of Reclaim Australia or the United Patriots Front ("Rally group unwelcome, says mayor", Leader, July 30) but Sutherland mayor Kent Johns should pull his head in.

References to "the motherland" are unhelpful, but it's not up to politicians to say if they're "unacceptable" or to try to make windows into people's souls as they discern whether or not they are neo-Nazis.

Sutherland Shire Council has no jurisdiction over protests (the article makes clear that it is the police who issue permits) but even if it did I would be horrified to think they would issue them on the basis of the mayor's preferences.

Frankly, if there are Brownshirts in my suburb, I want them to march down Penshurst Street so I know exactly who they are.

Chris Ashton, Penshurst