Anti-terror costs forces cancellation of Murwillumbah Banana Festival

A festival at Murwillumbah in northern NSW has been cancelled with organisers of the annual event blaming the cost of implementing new anti-terror 'hostile vehicle' measures.

Organisers of the Tweed Valley Banana Festival say it will cost them $10,000 to meet the requirements of anti-terror requirements which include the installation of safety barriers, a traffic control plan and the deployment of security officers.

Festival co-coordinator Carol Mudge said the cost of meeting the new requirements “has decimated us”.

She told the ABC “as a small festival in a small town, we cannot financially get a traffic control plan, then get cement bollards and then have security officers patrolling the streets, so this year we’ll have the floats at the showground, it might be our last year.

“Do we really think that ISIS is going to come to Murwillumbah because they don’t like bananas and try to run our 6-foot banana Jim off the street? I don’t think so.”

In response, NSW Police have defended the regulations, which were developed by the Australian-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee, saying organisers, council and police have a duty of care to ensure the safety of attendees

In a statement they advised “Police, council, and event organisers have a duty of care to take all steps to ensure the safety of attendees.”

A spokesperson for Tweed Shire Council - which signs off on the Festival -said the hostile vehicle guidelines were developed in 2017 but only started being rolled out in regional areas this year.

The Tweed Valley Banana Festival has been held for 64 years, with the parade of floats through the town considered by many locals a Festival highlight.