9 people arrested and charged at anti-5G protest and lock on in Byron Bay

A 26 year-old man from Mullumbimby was freed from a lock-on device after more than six hours in a dumped vehicle that was blocking access to a water tower in Suffolk Park.

Nine people were arrested and charged by police after anti-5G protesters blocked access to a water tank in Suffolk Park, near Byron Bay on Monday.

Six men, two women and a 16 year-old girl were arrested during the protest, held at a piece of council-managed land that has a water tower and telecommunications infrastructure attached to it.

NSW Police arrived to Pecan Court just after 7.30am and found close to 50 people there, plus a man locked in a car, blocking access to the site.

The group Northern Rivers for Safe Technology organised the protest and called for people to attend the site via social media.

Police vehicles in Pecan Court, off Bottlebrush Crescent, in Suffolk Park. Officers have attended an anti-5G protest in the area on Monday, July 12, 2021. Picture: Javier Encalada

Tweed Byron Police District Inspector Matt Kehoe confirmed Telstra subcontractors were trying to enter the site regarding “some critical infrastructure work”.

“The subcontractors were prevented from accessing the site, due to a vehicle that had been dumped in the roadway and had a 26-year-old man from Mullumbimby who had locked himself on to that vehicle,” Insp Kehoe said.

Five men were charged with trespass and were conditionally bailed, to appear before Byron Bay Local Court on August 9.

Police Rescue Squad from Richmond Police District at Pecan Ct, near Bottlebrush Crescent, on Monday, July 12, 2021. Picture: Javier Encalada

The 26-year-old man who was inside the vehicle was charged with trespass and public mischief, and was bailed to Byron Bay Local Court on the same date.

Two females were issued field court attendance notices for trespass and were bailed also to appear at Byron Bay Local Court on August 9.

The young person was dealt with accordingly with the Young Person’s Offenders Act and was given a warning, Inp Kehoe said.

“Police from Tweed Byron District were supported by specialist Police Rescue Squad from Richmond Police District, and we left the scene at 3pm,” he said.

After police removed the dumped car, a security company working for the Telstra subcontractors parked a car on the access to the tower to avoid protesters repeating the same menouvre in the future.

Insp Kehoe said nobody was hurt during the protest.

“It was good to see that there were no police injured and none of the protesters were injured, although the 26-year-old man was taken to Byron Bay Hospital as a precautionary measure after being locked on in that vehicle for many hours,” he said.

“We are hoping we don’t have to go back tomorrow, we have a lot of other stuff that could be involved in during this period, but if we get the call I guess we’ll go there.”

A sign outside a home at Bottlebrush Crescent in Suffolk Park, Byron Bay, protesting the upgrade of Telstra equipment to 5G technology.

Telstra’s Regional General Manager Mike Marom said the company has tried to engage with the protesters to discuss their opinion regarding the safety of the new technology.

“We have tried to engage with the protesters and convince them that they don’t have anything to be worried about but, ultimately, these sites need to be upgraded and we cannot let a vocal minority prevent work that is required to keep thousands of people across Byron connected,” he said.

“We’re continuing important upgrade work to bring desperately needed extra capacity to our mobile sites in Byron Shire and relieve crippling network congestion thousands of people are experiencing every day.

“Our mobile sites in Byron Shire are so congested they’re verging on unusable with call dropouts and slow data speeds and, without these upgrades, there is a very real possibility that thousands of people in Byron Shire will be left without a proper mobile service.

“We’ve already upgraded several of our mobile sites in the Northern Rivers region and we’ve been open about the need for further 4G and 5G upgrades, which we’re getting on with now.”

The protesters vowed to go back on Tuesday to block the upgrade.

A sign posted at Bottlebrush Crescent in Suffolk Park, Byron Bay, protesting the upgrade of Telstra equipment to 5G technology.