Wallum protester Angela Banovic arrested for trespassing, prompting spray from ex-magistrate
A woman protesting an already-approved housing estate has been charged, prompting an ex-magistrate to ask why cops acted at the bidding of developers - but a frustrated CEO has hit back.
Police & Courts
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The developer behind an ecologically sensitive housing estate on the state’s North Coast has welcomed police action against a band of eco-warriors, some of whom have ended up in court.
But not everyone is thrilled, with the fresh arrest this week of a protester in her pyjamas at home for an alleged historical offence deemed “an appalling use of police resources”.
A number of protesters from the Save Wallum group found themselves in a local criminal court recently over offences relating to a particularly heated protest on Clarence Property’s Wallum development site at Brunswick Heads.
The group entered guilty pleas and were all let off without convictions recorded.
But on Sunday, one of the seven initially arrested and released was taken into police custody and hit with fresh trespassing charges.
Suffolk Park woman Angela Banovic, 42, has been charged with entering enclosed non-agricultural lands and interfering and entering enclosed land without a lawful excuse. She has not entered any pleas.
Fellow Save Wallum protesters heavily criticised police following Sunday’s arrest.
The group stated powers were “used in a questionable manner” and Banovic’s arrest “related to alleged minor infringements that occurred weeks and in some cases months earlier”.
NSW Greens MP and former CEO of the Environmental Defenders Office Sue Higginson described the arrest as an “appalling use of police resources”.
“I was shocked to receive a call for legal assistance from (Banovic), who had been arrested at her home, in her pyjamas, on Sunday morning of a long weekend for a fine-only offence of trespass, which allegedly occurred weeks ago,” she said.
“Depriving a person of their liberty through arrest and detention in police custody is significant and punitive.”
Ms Higginson said the use of police powers in such a way was “dangerous” in a “mature democracy”.
“This unreasonable intolerance and attack on peaceful protest and nonviolent civil disobedience by police has got to stop,” she said.
But Clarence Property chief executive Simon Kennedy said the company would not stand for “ongoing illegal and criminal activity at the Wallum site”.
“We are pleased to see that some of the activists who have (allegedly) been engaged in illegal and criminal activities at the site for months are being brought to account by police and the judiciary,” he said.
“We’ve seen residents, local contractors, our staff and our security (allegedly) threatened, abused and worse by these activists since February.”`
Mr Kennedy said Clarence Property would continue to assist police.
“Wallum Brunswick is a fully approved and ecologically sensitive development that will provide much needed housing for the area when complete,” he said.
Former northern NSW magistrate David Heilpern weighed in, deeming the Wallum arrests “unnecessary” and allegedly at the “developer’s bidding”.
“The courts have consistently criticised police where they arrest unnecessarily,” he said.
“I think the community – reeling with a property crime wave and struggling with under-policing of family violence – would be deeply perturbed at arresting people for minor offences where there are lots of different options such as just serving a court notice.
“I think the community would also be curious as to why police are doing developer’s bidding for such minor misdemeanours.”
NSW Police said they were unable to comment given ongoing investigations.
Protesters have been blockading the Wallum site for more than four months.
They have called on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to step in because of the environmental and cultural significance of the site.
Development application approval for work on the development site, home to several threatened species, was given in May last year. Engineering and civil works were greenlit in February.
Banovic’s court case has been adjourned to June 24.
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