Meredith's Zero-Tolerance Policy Sees 11 More People Charged

Eleven people have been summoned to the Geelong & Melbourne Magistrates Court after being charged with trespass as a result of entering Meredith Music Festival and Golden Plains Festival illegitimately.

After eighteen people were charged in 2013 for wrongfully being on festival grounds, Aunty Meredith has continued its commitment to a zero-tolerance approach towards punters attempting to gain access without a ticket, regardless of means. The reaffirming of the policy was, according to a statement released by the festivals, a direct response to "serious issues" arising from visitors attempting to gain entry to the festival in an invalid manner, including heightened risk of personal injury and bushfires.

"Attempting to get into the festival without a valid ticket is not a harmless bit of fun — it has serious consequences," the festival said in the statement. "Festival-goers and those who missed out on tickets have expressed their disappointment at people who tried to scam or cheat their way in."

Importantly, trespassing onto festival grounds — or assisting people in doing so —  is in diametric opposition to the behaviour expected of punters adhering to the festival's over-arching 'No Dickheads' policy, and those caught shouldn't expect leniency. The max penalty for straight-up trespass hits about the $2750 mark, or six months' imprisonment, while if you get clever about it and actually forge a wristband, the charges will be heightened to falsification of a document and obtaining financial advantage by deception in addition to the original trespass claim, which ups the potential stint behind bars to a decade.

According to the festival's statement, the current crop of alleged offenders "have unsuccessfully pleaded not to be charged on discovering that a criminal conviction wipes out employment prospects and in many cases can have them removed from current employment".

Don't say we didn't warn you. If you want to get across the festivals' full policy regarding trespassing, head to their explanatory page.

Meredith Music Festival goes down in the event's namesake region from December 12-14 this year, featuring the likes of The Skatalites, De La Soul, The War On Drugs, Mark Lanegan and many more. See our festival page for more information.