Journal articles on the topic 'Swimming pools Victoria Sanitation'

Chlorine disinfection is a commonly applied disinfection products due to its effectiveness, strong disinfection ability, and low cost. The objective of this study is to investigate the occurrence of haloacetic acids (HAAs), a group of disinfection byproducts, in swimming pool and spa water, and analyze its influencing factors, so as to provide reference to understand the pollution status of haloacetic acid (HAAs) disinfection byproducts in swimming pool water in Haikou, for the formulation of hygienic standards and sanitation management of HAAs in swimming pool water. The samples were collected from 18 swimming places with sanitary licenses in Haikou. For a period from April to July 2022. High performance liquid chromatography -tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to detect the concentration of HAAs in swimming pool water, and its influencing factors were also analyzed. . Results indicated that the levels of average concentration of HAAs in indoor and outdoor swimming pools were 176.20 μg•L-1 and 241.53 μg•L-1, respectively. There were differences in the levels of HAAs in indoor and outdoor swimming places (p<0.05). The Pearson correlation analysis showed that the concentration of HAAs was positively correlated with free chlorine and urea (p<0.05). The water quality and sanitation of the swimming pools in this survey were somewhat poor. It is necessary to formulate the regulation of HAAs in the swimming pool sanitation standards, strengthen the water quality sanitation management, and take further effective measures to reduce the concentration of HAAs to protect swimmers.

Otitis is an ear inflammation characterized by an accumulation of polluted fluids in the ear, inflating the drum, causing ear pain, and draining the mucous membrane (pus) into the ear canal if the drum is perforated. Swimmer’s otitis, also known as acute external otitis, is a medical condition that frequently affects competitive swimmers. The risk factor analysis study was based on data obtained between May 2018 and May 2019 from four public swimming pools in Patras, Achaia. A checklist was created to evaluate the pools’ operational conditions, and it included information on the pools’ sanitation as well as swimming pool hygiene guidelines. In addition, a questionnaire was devised to collect data on pool swimmers’ use of the pools. Microbiological testing of the pool water was done ahead of time, and data on external otitis cases from hospitals was gathered. Based on this information, a risk factor analysis was conducted. Gender, weight, and age do not appear to have an impact on the number of otitis media cases that occur because of swimming in the pools. There is also no statistically significant link between episodes and the frequency of otitis events in locker rooms, restrooms, or swimming pools. The frequency with which swimmers utilize the pool, rather than the pool’s microbial burden, is the most significant determinant in otitis episodes. Furthermore, there is no statistically significant link between chlorine odor and otitis episodes. Additionally, several abnormalities in the ear or the child’s history do not appear to affect otitis episodes. More research is needed to determine whether infections are linked to microbial load or if other factors are responsible for the emergence of waterborne infections.

Di Jakarta, setiap hari diperkirakan 8000 orang melakukan aktifitas berenang yang membutuhkan air bersih dalam jumlah yang besar. Air bersih yang digu-nakan berasal dari air tanah dan Perusahaan Air Minum DKI Jakarta. Jumlah orang yang berenang sangat mempengaruhi kualitas air kolam renang yang harus terus dipertahankan agar terhindar dari risiko pencemaran. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui kesesuaian hasil pengukuran risiko pencemaran de-ngan inspeksi sanitasi dan pemeriksaan bakteriologik pada air kolam renang di DKI jakarta tahun 2005 Penelitian yang menggunakan disain studi cross sec-tional mengamati mengamati 30 kolam renang. Variabel yang didiamati adalah 13 variabel inspeksi sanitasi dengan menggunakan adalah univariat dan bi-variat. Hitemukan bahwa 13 (44 %) air kolam renang menunjukkan tingkat risiko pencemaran rendah dan 17 (56%) air kolam renang menunjukkan tingkatrisiko pencemaran tinggi. Sedangkan untuk kualitas bakteriologik diketahui 11 (36,7%) air kolam renang berkualitas baik dan 19 (63,3%) air kolam renangberkualitas buruk. Kesesuaian yang diperoleh adalah 0,733 yang berarti nilai kesesuaian yang baik. Variabel isi air memiliki tingkat risiko pencemaran pa-ling tinggi. Berdasarkan aspek inspeksi sanitasi didapat 8 aspek prediktif dan 5 aspek non–prediktif. Perlu dilakukan pemeriksaan air kolam renang secara berkala serta penyuluhan dan bimbingan pada pengelola kolam renang dan masyarakat tentang kualitas air kolam renang yang baik terhadap kesehatan.Kata Kunci : Kesesuaian, risiko pencemaran, Inspeksi Sanitasi, Kualitas Bakteriologik, Air Kolam Renang, DKI Jakarta.AbstractIt was estimated in Jakarta, more then 8000 people swim everyday, so it requires height volume of clean water that comes from ground water as well as DKI Jakarta Municipal Water Corporation. The quality of the swimming pool water will affect the people health. By conducting surveillance, we are able to know the quality of the water and recommending intervention when needed. The objective of this research is to obtain information about compatibility pollution risk level between measurement results of sanitary inspection and bacteriological assessment of the swimming pool water in Jakarta 2005. The research used a sectional cross design with total sample of 30 swimming pools. Variable used in this research are 13 sanitation inspection variables and analized using bivariate method of analyses. About 17 (56%) of swimming pool water shows the hight risk level of pollolutan . The study also shown that the quality of bacte-riology is bed, (19; 63, 3%) is in bad quality. The total compatibility of the swimming fool water is in a good value 73. Based on sanitation inspection aspect, there are 8 predictive aspects and 5 non predictive aspects. It is important to inspect the swimming pools water periodically, to explain and to guide the swim-ming pools organizers as well as the society about the importance of swimming pools water quality for health.Keywords: Compatibility, Pollution risk level, Sanitary Inspection, Bacteriological assessment, Swimming pool water, DKI Jakarta.

Geothermal energy is heat stored naturally within the rocks of the earth. The higher the temperature of the rock, the more thermal energy is potentially available. In general, temperature increases with depth so deeper rocks store larger amounts of geothermal energy. Water has a higher volumetric heat capacity than most solid minerals, so saturated porous rocks tend to store larger amounts of heat than non-porous rocks. Under the right circumstances, geothermal energy can be economically extracted and put to use either directly (for example, to heat buildings) or by converting it to electrical energy. There are already two geothermal power generators in Australia (a 120 kWe plant at Birdsville, Queensland, and one 1 MWe plant at Innamincka, South Australia) and a range of direct applications of geothermal energy (heated buildings, swimming pools and spas)

Abstract: Air Conditioning (AC) waste water has quite a lot of quantity, but usually AC waste water is directly discharged into the surrounding environment through AC waste water pipes. The objectives of the study were (1) to determine the discharge of AC waste water produced within 30 minutes and (2) to determine the effectiveness of the filter in reducing the pollutant content of AC waste water so that it is good for plant irrigation. The research was conducted by analyzing the quantity and quality of AC waste water in the CC Building, Muhammadiyah University of Jember. Parameters analyzed include hardness, pH and ammonia. One solution to sterilize AC wastewater is by using a sponge that is able to capture solids in the water before the water enters the container and activated charcoal which is considered to be able to reduce NH4 levels. One of the ingredients for making charcoal comes from coconut shells, which are relatively cheap. In addition to using coconut shell charcoal, exposure to UV rays is felt to reduce the bacteria contained in the AC water. UV light can function as a destroyer of bacteria and microorganisms so it is safe to use, both for living things and the environment. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research with an evaluation approach which aims to determine the amount of air conditioning waste water within 30 minutes and to determine the physical and microbiological quality of AC waste water by analyzing the data and comparing it with the Minister of Health Regulation No. 32 of 2017 concerning Health Quality Standards for Sanitation, Swimming Pools, Solus Per Aqua and Public Baths. Data was collected by measuring the discharge of air conditioning, observation, interviews and documentation. The instrumentation used is a measuring cup, TDS meter, thermometer, turbidity meter, timer, sample bottle, Bunsen, alcohol and ice box. Based on the results of the examination of the quality of the AC wastewater with specifications of AC 1 PK, the results of the examination of physical and microbiological parameters that meet the requirements in accordance with the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia No. 32 of 2017 concerning Health Quality Standards for Sanitation, Swimming Pools, Solus Per Aqua and Public Baths.

The community carries out bathing and washing activities directly in the retention basin which can cause polluted water. Water quality checks need to be carried out before treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of water in the retention basin. Determination of the sampling location by purposive sampling. Sampling was carried out once in August 2021. Parameter measurements were carried out in the field and in the laboratory. The measurement results are compared with the quality standards listed in the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 32 of 2017 concerning Environmental Health Quality standards and Water Health Requirements for Sanitary Hygiene, Swimming Pools, Solus Per Aqua and Public Baths. A parameter that passed the quality standard was E-Coli while pH, hardness, nitrate, temperature, and TDS still met the quality standards. Retention basin water in Tubuhue Village seen from the parameters of temperature, pH, TDS, hardness, and nitrate can be used for sanitation hygiene purposes, but judging from the parameter E-Coli cannot be used for sanitary hygiene purposes.

Graha Rektorat Building at the State University of Malang (UM) significantly contributes to water usage. Water usage in the building must be managed and appropriately considered, so it can highly contribute to UM's ranking of UI Green Metric for water conservation indicators. Water usage can be calculated by analysis of overhead operational water footprint. This research aims to analyse green, blue, and grey water footprint, overhead operational water footprint, and the quality of green water on the Graha Rektorat building. The methods used in this research are the quantitative method. This research showed the blue water footprint, green water footprint, and grey water footprint of Graha Rektorat building each by 5628 m3 during January – September 2021, 4361.43 m3/year 18.575 m3/day. Overhead operational water footprint on Graha Rektorat building equal with the value of blue water footprint which is 5628 m3 during January – September 2021. The quality of green water on the Graha Rektorat building does not meet the requirements of Indonesian Minister of Health No. 32 of 2017 concerning environmental health quality standards and water health requirements for hygienic and sanitation purposes. Swimming Pools, Solus Per Aqua, and Public Baths, so as another alternative, green water can be used as a substitute for flushing toilets and watering plants to reduce blue water usage.

Latar belakang : Degradasi kualitas perairan dapat terjadi akibat adanya zat pencemar yang mempengaruhi dan mengubah kondisi lingkungan perairan seperti Escherichia coli (E. coli). Tujuan dalam penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis kualitas air sungai Karang Mumus ditinjau dari parameter E. coli untuk Keperluan higiene sanitasi.Metode: Metode dalam penelitian ini adalah observasi dan pemeriksaan laboratorium. Pengambilan sampel air dilakukan di sungai utama sebanyak tujuh titik. Penentuan titik pengambilan sampel air ini berdasarkan potensi sumber pencemar mulai dari hulu sampai ke hilir dengan kriteria terdapat daerah padat penduduk, peternakan, mall, hotel dan pasar. Teknik analisis yang digunakan yaitu dengan membandingkan hasil uji laboratorium dengan Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Republik Indonesia Nomor 32 Tahun 2017 tentang Standar Baku Mutu Kesehatan Lingkungan dan Persyaratan Kesehatan Air untuk Keperluan Higiene Sanitasi, Kolam Renang, Solus Per Aqua, dan Pemandian Umum. Hasil: Hasil pengukuran Bakteri E. coli Sungai Karang Mumus, Kota Samarinda menunjukan bahwa kandungan bakteri E. coli terendah <30 CFU/100 mL dan yang tertinggi 2100 CFU/100 mLSimpulan: Semua hasil pengukuran bakteri E. coli di Sungai Karang Mumus sudah melebihi baku mutu yang ditetapkan yaitu 0 CFU/100 mL sampel. Langkah untuk meminimalkan kontaminan bakteri ke sungai perlu diambil sehingga penggunaan air Sungai Karang Mumus tidak membahayakan kesehatan masyarakat setempat. ABSTRACTTitle: Study on the Quality of the Karang Mumus River Water in terms of Escherichia coli Parameters For the Purpose of Hygiene SanitationBackground: Water quality degradation can occur due to the presence of pollutants that affect and change the condition of the aquatic environment such as Escherechia coli (E. coli). The purpose of this study was to analysis of Karang Mumus River Water quality in terms of Escherichia coli parameters for the purpose of hygiene sanitation. Method: The method in this research is observation and laboratory examination. Water sampling was taken in the main river for seven points. The determination of this water sampling point is based on potential sources of pollutants from upstream to downstream where there are densely populated areas, farms, malls, hotels, and markets. The analysis technique used is by comparing the results of laboratory tests with the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 32 the year 2017 concerning the Standards of Environmental Health Quality Standards and Water Health Requirements for Sanitary Hygiene, Swimming Pools, Solus Per Aqua, and Public Baths. Result: The measurement results of E. coli Bacteria in Karang Mumus River, Samarinda City showed that the lowest E.Coli bacteria content was <30 CFU / 100 mL and the highest was 2100 CFU / 100 mL. Conclusion: All measurement results of E. coli bacteria in the Karang Mumus River have exceeded the established quality standard of 0 CFU / 100 mL sample. Steps to minimize bacterial contaminants to the river need to be taken so that the use of Karang Mumus river water does not endanger the health of the local community.

Ida Ayu Putri Windari1, Nyoman Purna2 Abstract : Tirta Srinadi swimming pool opened on April 13th 2012, located at Banjar Minggir, Gelgel, Klungkung Regency and it has two swimming pools. Preliminary observations showed the swimming pools for toddlers and children, there are floating objects on the water, smell of chlorine scent is too stinging, the floor around the pool is slippery, poorly maintained, no urinal and hand washing in the swimming pool area. This research is conducted to find out the swimming pool sanitation condition which includes the water quality, sanitation facility, and construction of the building. The result is divided into two categories; sanitary condition does not qualify if the score is 0-30,5 and 30,6-61 is qualified. The results showed that Tirta Srinadi Swimming Pool fulfilled the requirements because from 61 items examined; 48 points "Yes" and 13 points "No". The recommendation to management is keep maintaining the cleanliness swimming pool environment and chemicals dosage need to be adjusted to the water volume of the swimming pool to avoid inconvenience on the visitors.

Abstract: Tirta Yasa Swimming Pool was opened on 2006, it is located in Mambal Village, Abiansemal District, Badung Regency, it has 3 pools. At the first observation indicate there is not box for food wash, also many garbage in the pool. We interviewed some of customer and the said that they got eye’s irritation ifter swim there. The purpose of this research are to know the pool’s sanitation condition, to know quality an alchemy of pool’s water. Variable that used for this research is pool’s sanitation such as water’s quality, and also sanitation’s facilites that available at Tirta Yasa Swimming Pool. Category of the assesment divide as 3 cathegories such as skors 0-22 is less sanitation, skors 22-44 is enough sanitation, and skors 44-66 is good sanitation. The result of observation of Tirta Yasa Swimming Pool are : from 66 items that has been checked 45 point “Yes” and 21 point “No”, it categoried as good sanitation. Recomended to Tirta Yasa Swimming Pool to provide sanitation’s facilities and use desinfectan as on rule.

Water is one of the most important elements on earth. Water is needed by all living things, both humans, plants and animals. Consuming clean and sanitary water is absolutely necessary to avoid unwanted negative impacts. This research was conducted in February 2022 and aims to determine the status of the water quality of Lake Sentani, Jayapura Regency based on the pollution index according to the hygienic and sanitary water quality standards according to the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number: 32 of 2017 concerning Environmental health quality standards and water health requirements for sanitation hygiene needs, swimming pools, solus per agua and public baths. The study used 15 (fifteen) water pollution parameters, namely: physical parameters (turbidity, color, TDS and temperature), and chemical parameters (pH, iron, fluoride, hardness, manganese, nitrate, cyanide, detergent and total pesticides) as well as biological parameters. (total coliforms). The sample in this study was taken from 5 (five) sample points (research stations) namely the mouths of the Haway, Yabawi, Hobay and Kamwalker rivers which are the inlet of Lake Sentani and the headwaters of the Jaifuri river which is the outlet. The results showed that at stations 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the pollution index (PIj) was 4.07; 3.10; 2.30; 3.75 and 3.88, all of which are based on the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number: 32 of 2017 especially environmental health quality standards and water health requirements for sanitation hygiene purposes, are in the range of values of 1 PIj 5 with lightly polluted status. Thus it can be concluded that the water quality status of Lake Sentani based on the pollution index method is in the lightly polluted category.

“There is nothing more public than privacy.” (Berlant and Warner, Sex) How did it come to this? How did it happen that a one-off, two-hour event at a public swimming pool in a suburb of outer Melbourne ignited international hate mail and generated media-fanned political anguish and debate about the proper use of public spaces? In 2010, women who attend a women’s only swim session on Sunday evenings at the Dandenong Oasis public swimming pool asked the pool management and the local council for permission to celebrate the end of Ramadan at the pool during the time of their regular swim session. The request was supported by the pool managers and the council and promoted by both as an opportunity for family and friends to get together in a spirit of multicultural learning and understanding. Responding to criticisms of the event as an unreasonable claim on public facilities by one group, the Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong, Jim Memeti, rejected claims that this event discriminates against non-Muslim residents of the suburb. But here’s the rub. The event, to be held after hours at the pool, requires all participants older than ten years of age to follow a dress code of knee-length shorts and T-shirts. This is a suburban moment that is borne of but exceeds the local. It reflects and responds to a contemporary global conundrum of great political and theoretical significance—how to negotiate and govern the relations between multiculturalism, religion, gender, sexual freedom, and democracy. Specifically this event speaks to how multicultural democracy in the public sphere negotiates the public presence and expression of different cultural and religious frameworks related to gender and sexuality. This is demanding political stuff. Situated in the messy political and theoretical terrains of the relation between public space and the public sphere, this local moment called for political judgement about how cultural differences should be allowed to manifest in and through public space, giving consideration to the potential effects of these decisions on an inclusive multicultural democracy. The local authorities in Dandenong engaged in an admirable process of democratic labour as they puzzled over how to make decisions that were responsible and equitable, in the absence of a rulebook or precedents for success. Ultimately however this mode of experimental decision-making, which will become increasingly necessary to manage such predicaments in the future, was foreclosed by unwarranted and unhelpful media outrage. "Foreclosed" here stresses the preemptive nature of the loss; a lost opportunity for trialing approaches to governing cultural diversity that may fail, but might then be modified. It was condemned in advance of either success or failure. The role of the media rather than the discomfort of the local publics has been decisive in this event.This Multicultural SuburbDandenong is approximately 30 kilometres southeast of central Melbourne. Originally home to the Bunorong People of the Kulin nation, it was settled by pastoralists by the 1800s, heavily industrialised during the twentieth century, and now combines cultural diversity with significant social disadvantage. The City of Greater Dandenong is proud of its reputation as the most culturally and linguistically diverse municipality in Australia. Its population of approximately 138,000 comprises residents from 156 different language groups. More than half (56%) of its population was born overseas, with 51% from nations where English is not the main spoken language. These include Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, China, Italy, Greece, Bosnia and Afghanistan. It is also a place of significant religious diversity with residents identifying as Buddhist (15 per cent) Muslim (8 per cent), Hindu (2 per cent) and Christian (52 per cent) [CGD]. Its city logo, “Great Place, Great People” evokes its twin pride in the placemaking power of its diverse population. It is also a brazen act of civic branding to counter its reputation as a derelict and dangerous suburb. In his recent book The Bogan Delusion, David Nichols cites a "bogan" website that names Dandenong as one of Victoria’s two most bogan areas. The other was Moe. (p72). The Sunday Age newspaper had already depicted Dandenong as one of two excessively dangerous suburbs “where locals fear to tread” (Elder and Pierik). The other suburb of peril was identified as Footscray.Central Dandenong is currently the site of Australia’s largest ever state sponsored Urban Revitalisation program with a budget of more than $290 million to upgrade infrastructure, that aims to attract $1billion in private investment to provide housing and future employment.The Cover UpIn September 2010, the Victorian and Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (VCAT) granted the YMCA an exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act to allow a dress code for the Ramadan event at the Oasis swimming pool that it manages. The "Y" sees the event as “an opportunity for the broader community to learn more about Ramadan and the Muslim faith, and encourages all members of Dandenong’s diverse community to participate” (YMCA Ramadan). While pool management and the municipal council refer to the event as an "opening up" of the closed swimming session, the media offer a different reading of the VCAT decision. The trope of the "the cover up" has framed most reports and commentaries (Murphy; Szego). The major focus of the commentaries has not been the event per se, but the call to dress "appropriately." Dress codes however are a cultural familiar. They exist for workplaces, schools, nightclubs, weddings, racing and sporting clubs and restaurants, to name but a few. While some of these codes or restrictions are normatively imposed rather than legally required, they are not alien to cultural life in Australia. Moreover, there are laws that prohibit people from being meagerly dressed or naked in public, including at beaches, swimming pools and so on. The dress code for this particular swimming pool event was, however, perceived to be unusual and, in a short space of time, "unusual" converted to "social threat."Responses to media polls about the dress code reveal concerns related to the symbolic dimensions of the code. The vast majority of those who opposed the Equal Opportunity exemption saw it as the thin edge of the multicultural wedge, a privatisation of public facilities, or a denial of the public’s right to choose how to dress. Tabloid newspapers reported on growing fears of Islamisation, while the more temperate opposition situated the decision as a crisis of human rights associated with tolerating illiberal cultural practices. Julie Szego reflects this view in an opinion piece in The Age newspaper:the Dandenong pool episode is neither trivial nor insignificant. It is but one example of human rights laws producing outcomes that restrict rights. It raises tough questions about how far public authorities ought to go in accommodating cultural practices that sit uneasily with mainstream Western values. (Szego)Without enquiring into the women’s request and in the absence of the women’s views about what meaning the event held for them, most media commentators and their electronically wired audiences treated the announcement as yet another alarming piece of evidence of multicultural failure and the potential Islamisation of Australia. The event raised specific concerns about the double intrusion of cultural difference and religion. While the Murdoch tabloid Herald Sun focused on the event as “a plan to force families to cover up to avoid offending Muslims at a public event” (Murphy) the liberal Age newspaper took a more circumspect approach, reporting on its small vox pop at the Dandenong pool. Some people here referred to the need to respect religions and seemed unfazed by the exemption and the event. Those who disagreed thought it was important not to enforce these (dress) practices on other people (Carey).It is, I believe, significant that several employees of the local council informed me that most of the opposition has come from the media, people outside of Dandenong and international groups who oppose the incursion of Islam into non-Islamic settings. Opposition to the event did not appear to derive from local concern or opposition.The overwhelming majority of Herald Sun comments expressed emphatic opposition to the dress code, citing it variously as unAustralian, segregationist, arrogant, intolerant and sexist. The Herald Sun polled readers (in a self-selecting and of course highly unrepresentative on-line poll) asking them to vote on whether or not they agreed with the VCAT exemption. While 5.52 per cent (512 voters) agreed with the ruling, 94.48 per cent (8,760) recorded disagreement. In addition, the local council has, for the first time in memory, received a stream of hate-mail from international anti-Islam groups. Muslim women’s groups, feminists, the Equal Opportunity Commissioner and academics have also weighed in. According to local reports, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne, Shahram Akbarzadeh, considered the exemption was “nonsense” and would “backfire and the people who will pay for it will be the Muslim community themselves” (Haberfield). He repudiated it as an example of inclusion and tolerance, labeling it “an effort of imposing a value system (sic)” (Haberfield). He went so far as to suggest that, “If Tony Abbott wanted to participate in his swimwear he wouldn’t be allowed in. That’s wrong.” Tasneem Chopra, chairwoman of the Islamic Women’s Welfare Council and Sherene Hassan from the Islamic Council of Victoria, both expressed sensitivity to the group’s attempt to establish an inclusive event but would have preferred the dress code to be a matter of choice rather coercion (Haberfield, "Mayor Defends Dandenong Pool Cover Up Order"). Helen Szoke, the Commissioner of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, defended the pool’s exemption from the Law that she oversees. “Matters such as this are not easy to resolve and require a balance to be achieved between competing rights and obligations. Dress codes are not uncommon: e.g., singlets, jeans, thongs etc in pubs/hotels” (in Murphy). The civil liberties organisation, Liberty Victoria, supported the ban because the event was to be held after hours (Murphy). With astonishing speed this single event not only transformed the suburban swimming pool to a theatre of extra-local disputes about who and what is entitled to make claims on public space and publically funded facilities, but also fed into charged debates about the future of multiculturalism and the vulnerability of the nation to the corrosive effects of cultural and religious difference. In this sense suburbs like Dandenong are presented as sites that not only generate fear about physical safety but whose suburban sensitivities to its culturally diverse population represent a threat to the safety of the nation. Thus the event both reflects and produces an antipathy to cultural difference and to the place where difference resides. This aversion is triggered by and mediated in this case through the figure, rather than the (corpo)reality, of the Muslim woman. In this imagining, the figure of the Muslim woman is assigned the curious symbolic role of "cultural creep." The debates around the pool event is not about the wellbeing or interests of the Muslim women themselves, nor are broader debates about the perceived, culturally-derived restrictions imposed on Muslim women living in Australia or other western countries. The figure of the Muslim woman is, I would argue, simply the ground on which the debates are held. The first debate relates to social and public space, access to which is considered fundamental to freedom and participatory democracy, and in current times is addressed in terms of promoting inclusion, preventing exclusion and finding opportunities for cross cultural encounters. The second relates not to public space per se, but to the public sphere or the “sphere of private people coming together as a public” for political deliberation (Habermas 21). The literature and discussions dealing with these two terrains have remained relatively disconnected (Low and Smith) with public space referring largely to activities and opportunities in the socio-cultural domain and the public sphere addressing issues of politics, rights and democracy. This moment in Dandenong offers some modest leeway for situating "the suburb" as an ideal site for coalescing these disparate discussions. In this regard I consider Iveson’s provocative and productive question about whether some forms of exclusions from suburban public space may actually deepen the democratic ideals of the public sphere. Exclusions may in such cases be “consistent with visions of a democratically inclusive city” (216). He makes his case in relation to a dispute about the exclusion of men exclusion from a women’s only swimming pool in the Sydney suburb of Coogee. The Dandenong case is similarly exclusive with an added sense of exclusion generated by an "inclusion with restrictions."Diversity, Difference, Public Space and the Public SphereAs a prelude to this discussion of exclusion as democracy, I return to the question that opened this article: how did it come to this? How is it that Australia has moved from its renowned celebration and pride in its multiculturalism so much in evidence at the suburban level through what Ghassan Hage calls an “unproblematic” multiculturalism (233) and what others have termed “everyday multiculturalism” (Wise and Velayutham). Local cosmopolitanisms are often evinced through the daily rituals of people enjoying the ethnic cuisines of their co-residents’ pasts, and via moments of intercultural encounter. People uneventfully rub up against and greet each other or engage in everyday acts of kindness that typify life in multicultural suburbs, generating "reservoirs of hope" for democratic and cosmopolitan cities (Thrift 147). In today’s suburbs, however, the “Imperilled Muslim women” who need protection from “dangerous Muslim men” (Razack 129) have a higher discursive profile than ethnic cuisine as the exemplar of multiculturalism. Have we moved from pleasure to hostility or was the suburban pleasure in racial difference always about a kind of “eating the other” (bell hooks 378). That is to ask whether our capacity to experience diversity positively has been based on consumption, consuming the other for our own enrichment, whereas living with difference entails a commitment not to consumption but to democracy. This democratic multicultural commitment is a form of labour rather than pleasure, and its outcome is not enrichment but transformation (although this labour can be pleasurable and transformation might be enriching). Dandenong’s prized cultural precincts, "Little India" and the "Afghan bazaar" are showcases of food, artefacts and the diversity of the suburb. They are centres of pleasurable and exotic consumption. The pool session, however, requires one to confront difference. In simple terms we can think about ethnic food, festivals and handicrafts as cultural diversity, and the Muslim woman as cultural difference.This distinction between diversity and difference is useful for thinking through the relation between multiculturalism in public space and multicultural democracy of the public sphere. According to the anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen, while a neoliberal sensibility supports cultural diversity in the public space, cultural difference is seen as a major cause of social problems associated with immigrants, and has a diminishing effect on the public sphere (14). According to Eriksen, diversity is understood as aesthetic, or politically and morally neutral expressions of culture that are enriching (Hage 118) or digestible. Difference, however, refers to morally objectionable cultural practices. In short, diversity is enriching. Difference is corrosive. Eriksen argues that differences that emerge from distinct cultural ideas and practices are deemed to create conflicts with majority cultures, weaken social solidarity and lead to unacceptable violations of human rights in minority groups. The suburban swimming pool exists here at the boundary of diversity and difference, where the "presence" of diverse bodies may enrich, but their different practices deplete and damage existing culture. The imperilled Muslim woman of the suburbs carries a heavy symbolic load. She stands for major global contests at the border of difference and diversity in three significant domains, multiculturalism, religion and feminism. These three areas are positioned simultaneously in public space and of the public sphere and she embodies a specific version of each in this suburban setting. First, there a global retreat from multiculturalism evidenced in contemporary narratives that describe multiculturalism (both as official policy and unofficial sensibility) as failed and increasingly ineffective at accommodating or otherwise dealing with religious, cultural and ethnic differences (Cantle; Goodhart; Joppke; Poynting and Mason). In the UK, Europe, the US and Australia, popular media sources and political discourses speak of "parallel lives,"immigrant enclaves, ghettoes, a lack of integration, the clash of values, and illiberal cultural practices. The covered body of the Muslim woman, and more particularly the Muslim veil, are now read as visual signs of this clash of values and of the refusal to integrate. Second, religion has re-emerged in the public domain, with religious groups and individuals making particular claims on public space both on the basis of their religious identity and in accord with secular society’s respect for religious freedom. This is most evident in controversies in France, Belgium and Netherlands associated with banning niqab in public and other religious symbols in schools, and in Australia in court. In this sense the covered Muslim woman raises concerns and indignation about the rightful place of religion in the public sphere and in social space. Third, feminism is increasingly invoked as the ground from which claims about the imperilled Muslim woman are made, particularly those about protecting women from their dangerous men. The infiltration of the Muslim presence into public space is seen as a threat to the hard won gains of women’s freedom enjoyed by the majority population. This newfound feminism of the public sphere, posited by those who might otherwise disavow feminism, requires some serious consideration. This public discourse rarely addresses the discrimination, violation and lack of freedom experienced systematically on an everyday basis by women of majority cultural backgrounds in western societies (such as Australia). However, the sexism of racially and religiously different men is readily identified and decried. This represents a significant shift to a dubious feminist register of the public sphere such that: “[w]omen of foreign origin, ...more specifically Muslim women…have replaced the traditional housewife as the symbol of female subservience” (Tissot 41–42).The three issues—multiculturalism, religion and feminism—are, in the Dandenong pool context, contests about human rights, democracy and the proper use of public space. Szego’s opinion piece sees the Dandenong pool "cover up" as an example of the conundrum of how human rights for some may curtail the human rights of others and lead us into a problematic entanglement of universal "rights," with claims of difference. In her view the combination of human rights and multiculturalism in the case of the Dandenong Pool accommodates illiberal practices that put the rights of "the general public" at risk, or as she puts it, on a “slippery slope” that results in a “watering down of our human rights.” Ideas that entail women making a claim for private time in public space are ultimately not good for "us."Such ideas run counter to the West's more than 500-year struggle for individual freedom—including both freedom of religion and freedom from religion—and for gender equality. Our public authorities ought to be pushing back hardest when these values are under threat. Yet this is precisely where they've been buckling under pressure (Szego)But a different reading of the relation between public and private space, human rights, democracy and gender freedom is readily identifiable in the Dandenong event—if one looks for it. Living with difference, I have already suggested, is a problem of democracy and the public sphere and does not so easily correspond to consuming diversity, as it demands engagement with cultural difference. In what remains, I explore how multicultural democracy in the public sphere and women’s rights in public and private realms relate, firstly, to the burgeoning promise of democracy and civility that might emerge in public space through encounter and exchange. I also point out how this moment in Dandenong might be read as a singular contribution to dealing with this global problematic of living with difference; of democracy in the public sphere. Public urban space has become a focus for speculation among geographers and sociologists in particular, about the prospects for an enhanced civic appreciation of living with difference through encountering strangers. Random and repetitious encounters with people from all cultures typify contemporary urban life. It remains an open question however as to whether these encounters open up or close down possibilities for conviviality and understanding, and whether they undo or harden peoples’ fears and prejudices. There is, however, at least in some academic and urban planning circles, some hope that the "throwntogetherness" (Massey) and the "doing" of togetherness (Laurier and Philo) found in the multicultural city may generate some lessons and opportunities for developing a civic culture and political commitment to living with difference. Alongside the optimism of those who celebrate the city, the suburb, and public spaces as forging new ways of living with difference, there are those such as Gill Valentine who wonder how this might be achieved in practice (324). Ash Amin similarly notes that city or suburban public spaces are not necessarily “the natural servants of multicultural engagement” (Ethnicity 967). Amin and Valentine point to the limited or fleeting opportunities for real engagement in these spaces. Moreover Valentine‘s research in the UK revealed that the spatial proximity found in multicultural spaces did not so much give rise to greater mutual respect and engagement, but to a frustrated “white self-segregation in the suburbs.” She suggests therefore that civility and polite exchange should not be mistaken for respect (324). Amin contends that it is the “micro-publics” of social encounters found in workplaces, schools, gardens, sports clubs [and perhaps swimming pools] rather than the fleeting encounters of the street or park, that offer better opportunities for meaningful intercultural exchange. The Ramadan celebration at the pool, with its dress code and all, might be seen more fruitfully as a purposeful event engaging a micro-public in which people are able to “break out of fixed relations and fixed notions” and “learn to become different” (Amin, Ethnicity 970) without that generating discord and resentment.Micropublics, Subaltern Publics and a Democracy of (Temporary) ExclusionsIs this as an opportunity to bring the global and local together in an experiment of forging new democratic spaces for gender, sexuality, culture and for living with difference? More provocatively, can we see exclusion and an invitation to share in this exclusion as a precursor to and measure of, actually existing democracy? Painter and Philo have argued that democratic citizenship is questionable if “people cannot be present in public spaces (streets, squares, parks, cinemas, churches, town halls) without feeling uncomfortable, victimized and basically ‘out of place’…" (Iveson 216). Feminists have long argued that distinctions between public and private space are neither straightforward nor gender neutral. For Nancy Fraser the terms are “cultural classifications and rhetorical labels” that are powerful because they are “frequently deployed to delegitimate some interests, views and topics and to valorize others” (73). In relation to women and other subordinated minorities, the "rhetoric of privacy" has been historically used to restrict the domain of legitimate public contestation. In fact the notion of what is public and particularly notions of the "public interest" and the "public good" solidify forms of subordination. Fraser suggests the concept of "subaltern counterpublics" as an alternative to notions of "the public." These are discursive spaces where groups articulate their needs, and demands are circulated formulating their own public sphere. This challenges the very meaning and foundational premises of ‘the public’ rather than simply positing strategies of inclusion or exclusion. The twinning of Amin’s notion of "micro-publics" and Fraser’s "counterpublics" is, I suggest, a fruitful approach to interpreting the Dandenong pool issue. It invites a reading of this singular suburban moment as an experiment, a trial of sorts, in newly imaginable ways of living democratically with difference. It enables us to imagine moments when a limited democratic right to exclude might create the sorts of cultural exchanges that give rise to a more authentic and workable recognition of cultural difference. I am drawn to think that this is precisely the kind of democratic experimentation that the YMCA and Dandenong Council embarked upon when they applied for the Equal Opportunity exemption. I suggest that by trialing, rather than fixing forever a "critically exclusive" access to the suburban swimming pool for two hours per year, they were in fact working on the practical problem of how to contribute in small but meaningful ways to a more profoundly free democracy and a reworked public sphere. In relation to the similar but distinct example of the McIver pool for women and children in Coogee, New South Wales, Kurt Iveson makes the point that such spaces of exclusion or withdrawal, “do not necessarily serve simply as spaces where people ‘can be themselves’, or as sites through which reified identities are recognised—in existing conditions of inequality, they can also serve as protected spaces where people can take the risk of exploring who they might become with relative safety from attack and abuse” (226). These are necessary risks to take if we are to avoid entrenching fear of difference in a world where difference is itself deeply, and permanently, entrenched.ReferencesAmin, Ash. “Ethnicity and the Multicultural City: Living with Diversity.” Environment and Planning A 34 (2002): 959–80.———. “The Good City.” Urban Studies 43 (2006): 1009–23.Berlant, Lauren, and Michael Warner. “Sex in Public.” Critical Inquiry 24 (1998): 547–66.Cantle, Ted. Community Cohesion: A Report of the Independent Review Team. 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