The developer behind the beleaguered Wallum urban subdivision on rare and sensitive land in Brunswick Heads welcomed the recent arrests of protectors who have blockaded the site over the last four months.
Yet Clarence Property’s CEO Simon Kennedy declined to say whether his company asked police to intervene.
As reported last week, former magistrate David Heilpern raised concerns that police had used their discretionary resources to pursue the activists.
Most recent court cases over the blockade have resulted in guilty verdicts but without convictions or penalties at the Byron local court.
Mr Kennedy said, ‘We are pleased to see that some of the activists who have been engaged in illegal and criminal activities at the site for months are being brought to account by police and the judiciary’.
Security threatened
‘We’ve seen residents, local contractors, our staff and our security threatened, abused and worse by these activists since February, so it’s reassuring to see that the police have been able to take action against some of those responsible.
‘Clarence Property will continue to assist the police with the ongoing illegal and criminal activity at the Wallum site and within the broader Bayside Brunswick estate, with a view to ensuring safety for residents, Clarence Property staff and contractors as they go about their lawful daily activities’.
While Kennedy says his development is ‘ecologically sensitive’, evidence to the contrary has been presented by those who insist the rare and endangered ecology is irreplaceable.
Negotiations by Mayor Michael Lyon are yet to yield any concessions.
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