Ravers may need to watch their back as Victoria’s Conservation Regulator cracks down on illegal forest raves across Victoria, including shutting down one in Wombat State Forest last month.
Surveillance has been stepped up to target high-risk forest raves due to ongoing safety risks and elevated fire danger with investigations continuing into the recent planning and staging of illegal rave events in local state forests.
Strengthened surveillance measures include online monitoring for illegal event planning, increasing patrols in locations known for unauthorised rave events, and deploying aerial surveillance to detect suspicious activity in forested areas.
Without safety planning for large events in forested areas, fires can reportedly ignite from vehicles, generators, campfires or discarded cigarettes, creating increased risk of bushfire events, according to the Conservation Regulator.
In early January, the Conservation Regulator and Victoria Police shut down an illegal rave event in the Wombat State Forest which boasted an estimated 1000 attendees.
Officers managed to seize high-volume sound equipment including amplifiers, mixers and a trailer-mounted generator from the site.
A similar event was also held at the same location near Ballan in the weeks prior.
Director of regulatory operations Brian Hamer said the unauthorised rave events not only posed risks to attendees but put unneeded pressure on emergency services.
“Running an unauthorised music event in state forest without proper planning and safety measures puts not only attendees at risk, but also emergency services who may be called on to respond,” he said.
Planning for a third event in the Upper Loddon State Forest south of Castlemaine on New Year’s Eve was also cancelled after the Conservation Regulator became aware of event preparations, with officers warning organisers they could face prosecution and seizure of sound equipment if the event proceeded.
“Seizing items associated with illegal music events and prosecuting those involved in the coordination is designed to disrupt the progress of these events and reduce the likelihood of similar events in the future,” Mr Hamer said.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action requires permits for any event on Crown land involving 30 or more people, or infrastructure including stages or marquees and applications must include detailed safety, environmental, and traffic management plans and be lodged at least eight weeks before the event.
