A judge has ruled far-right extremist Blair Cottrell cannot take his appeal against his 2017 conviction for inciting contempt against Muslims in a mock beheading video to the Supreme Court.
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On Tuesday, County Court Judge Lisa Hannan said there were factual matters still to be decided - such as Cottrell's intentions in making the video - before the case went to a higher court.
Cottrell argued his conviction breached the state's Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
His lawyer, John Bolton, argued section 25 of the charter - Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 - impermissibly burdened the freedom to communicate.
Judge Hannan said her court was adequately equipped to deal with the matter, and referring it on at this stage would only "fragment" the case.
She accepted the matter was important to Cottrell and could potentially be an issue of significance to the community, but the case was neither "novel nor complex".
The County Court appeal has been set down for a 10-day hearing next month.
In September 2017, magistrate John Hardy convicted and fined Cottrell and two supporters, Neil Erikson and Christopher Neil Shortis, $2000 each over an October 2015 incident outside the City of Greater Bendigo council building.
The stunt - in which the trio filmed themselves beheading a dummy while chanting "Allahu Akbar" - was part of a protest against a mosque being built in Bendigo.
It came days before an anti-mosque rally and counter protest were held in Bendigo.
Cottrell, Erikson and Shortis were the first people convicted under Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.
An attempt to take the matter to the High Court was dismissed in February and referred back to the County Court.
Cottrell had argued he was charged under an "invalid law".
- With AAP
