Kicking off tomorrow morning at the Melbourne Magistrates Court is the contested hearing for the self styled Bendigo 3, former members of United Patriots Front (UPF), Neil Erikson, Chris Shortis, and UPF chairman Blair Cottrell.

The trio are arguing against charges related to religious vilification and behaving in an offensive manner in public, among other things.

The charges relate to a mock beheading stunt which took place on October 4, 2015, performed as a protest relating to the construction of a mosque in Bendigo, a city where none of three charged actually lives.

The contested hearing has been set down for 3 days, from September 4-6, 2017.

In April 2016, the High Court of Australia rejected an appeal in opposition to Bendigo council’s approval of the mosque construction.