The Rabbits Eat Lettuce rave saga continues

The Daily Examiner 16 January 2015:

Organisers of the Rabbits Eat Lettuce rave have accused Coffs Harbour City Council of wasting ratepayers' money to stop a pre-festival launch party that was never going to happen.

The council went to the NSW Land and Environment Court for an injunction to stop this weekend's 24-hour electronic dance music event going ahead at 500 Fridays Creek Rd in Upper Orara.

However, the festival's organisers issued a statement saying that location was never on the cards.

"The event on the weekend has never been advertised as being in Coffs Harbour Shire," it stated.

"The event on the weekend is our launch party for our festival (on the Easter long weekend).

"We notified the lawyers representing Coffs Harbour Shire that the event is not taking place at the Friday Creek venue in Coffs Harbour Shire, however they did not listen and wasted ratepayer money to file an injunction at the Land and Environment Court." 

Background

Rabbits Eat Lettuce won’t be dancing at Upper Orara this weekend

UPDATES

2:11pm 17 January

It would appear that the situation is hotting up Ebor way:

5.30 pm

Everyone trekking back home after NSW Police close the rave.

UPDATE

Echo Netdaily  21 January 2015:

A police raid that closed down a weekend dance party on private land near Coffs Harbour was an over-reaction according to organisers.

The event, at Ebor, was closed down in its early stages on Saturday afternoon when just over 150 people had arrived and were in the process of setting up camp.

It was organised by Rabbits Eat Lettuce and was intended as a launch event for a much larger Easter party in the Richmond Valley.

The Rabbits Eat Lettuce (REL) electronic dance music parties have been running for around six years and are attended by up to 1500 people. Last year’s event ran without incident near Casino.

Police said they were called to the party because, NSW Forestry, which owns land on the Styx River adjoining the event site, expressed concerns there were illegal campsites, cars and portaloos in the forest.

Coffs Harbour Shire Council had attempted to have the party stopped by the Land and Environment Court on Friday afternoon but organisers told them they had the wrong site.

Police said they attempted to speak with the event organisers at the site but were ‘denied entry and shown a handwritten note allegedly granting permission to hold the event from the land owner’.

‘As police and forestry rangers began to clear the forestry land, organisers of the party moved all persons there onto the adjacent private property, telling partygoers that police could not stop them from holding the event,’ a police media spokesperson said.

But police say they managed to persuade the landowner to revoke permission for the event and then went about disbanding it.

‘About 5.30pm, police issued demands to the organisers and patrons to shut down the party. When this did not occur, police cut open locked gates to gain entry and shut down the event without further incident,’ the spokesperson added.

‘Senior police also authorised the use of a roadblock to turn around a large number of people attempting to attend the event.’

Just one person was charged over the raid, for trespass. There were no drug arrests....