Police slap Bohemian Beatfreaks festival with $200,000 quote as court battle continues
The organiser of a three-day music festival that is scheduled to begin on Friday says a $200,000 quote for police to attend is an attempt to shut down the event.
The Bohemian Beatfreaks festival was slapped with the quote about two weeks out from the event’s start on Friday.
Police earlier withdrew their support for the festival at a pre-event meeting on October 26, citing “overwhelming safety concerns”.
That was opposed by the festival’s operators, Rabbits Eat Lettuce Pty Ltd, who took the matter to the Land and Environment Court.
The festival is scheduled to be held on a remote private property, near Casino, on the New South Wales north coast.
The matter is ongoing and will return to the court on Monday.
‘Last minute police action’
Rabbits Eat Lettuce director Erik Lamir-Pike said police had originally quoted about $16,000 to attend the event, which was in line with festivals over previous years.
“It seems as though they’ve given us a hefty $200,000 user-paid police quote to try and price us out because they feel that they might lose this court case,” Mr Lamir Pike said.
For complete story https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-17/police-bill-to-shut-down-music-festival/10505602