Major development in idyllic beachside village of Arrawarra where tensions with berry-picker camp are sky-high after the alleged rape of a girl, 17, by a migrant berry-picker

EXCLUSIVE

Hundreds of migrant workers have been moved from an idyllic beach village following an alleged rape of a local teenage girl by a Samoan berry picker, and local anger over the sudden influx has created mountains of rubbish and noise.

About 400 seasonal pickers gathered quietly at Arrawarra Beach Holiday Park, near Coffs Harbor on the north-west coast, following outrage after the 17-year-old was allegedly attacked during a morning beach walk.

The man was arrested after what police said was a serious assault.

Locals have not been informed about what is happening in the small surfing town, but Ny Breaking Australia has confirmed that a controversial operation that housed hundreds of berry picking workers on Pacific Australia Labor Mobility visas (PALM) in the small coastal town has come to an end . .

The army-style dongas that fruit pickers were crammed into ‘like sardines’ so they could pick berries at the nearby Costa Berries farm in Corindi have started to be dismantled.

Local MP Gurmesh Singh, state member for Coffs Harbour, said the “vast majority” of the holiday park’s pickers had been relocated “back to their home countries or elsewhere in Australia”.

Residents of the small village of Arrawarra were outraged by a series of problems caused by the camp’s sudden emergence.

They complained about the noise, mountains of garbage and drunken fights during each fruit picking season by berry pickers.

Mr Singh said the holiday park would return to its pre-Covid-19 operations, catering for backpackers and surfing tourists.

At the farm, last week, iinnocent employees Fiji and Tonga told Ny Breaking Australia the alleged rape was “sad” but “we just want to do our job and then go back home.”

Despite its picturesque location, Arrawarra was known as a hidden gem with a laid-back atmosphere, kangaroos on the beach and pristine surfing conditions.

Inside, however, the pickers’ camp looked more like a slum – with a Coffs Harbor City Council report last year finding that a safety inspector in late 2022 was ‘blown away by the poor living standards’.

Since 2019, hundreds of workers have been housed at the Arrawarra Beach park, also known as Spot

According to the report, workers were packed in ‘like sardines’, there were no demountable toilet blocks, minimal kitchen facilities, no cleaning service, uncertified gas and electrical installations and crumbling walkways.

For this, the park charged each employee $185 per week, plus $85 per week for transportation to and from the berry farm.

The site was littered with rubbish bins and the ‘stench was terrible’.

A resident complaint lodged with SafeWork NSW earlier this year raised concerns about live cables on the ground, exposed to the elements and touching metal roofs.

Ny Breaking Australia does not suggest that any of the individual workers interviewed and photographed in the Arrawarra area for this story engaged in unlawful or anti-social behavior.

It alleged that dangerous and unapproved electrical installations included extension cords strung between tents, tepees, caravans, dongas, shipping containers and electrical boxes without proper wiring.

Inspectors visited the site in April and reported that changes had been made in July to bring the site into compliance.

Meanwhile, residents of Arrawarra – which has just 51 homes – complained about episodes of drunken aggression by workers and rubbish being left on the beach, sand dunes and local waterways.

This includes used toilet paper, empty alcohol bottles, trash, vermin and even maggots swimming in the creek near the beach.

When the buses returned from the pickup around 4 p.m., that was often the time when residents claimed trouble had occurred that had nothing to do with the alleged rape.

A father said his 13-year-old daughter was allegedly ‘stalked and approached’ by three men in their 30s, prompting him to leave the worker’s accommodation several months ago.

Two adult women said they had become afraid of going out after dark in recent years.

“Of course most Pacific Island guys just want to make some money here and hopefully send some back to their families,” said one of the two Arrawarra residents.

“But there are others who will stop you from walking outside your house after dusk, because they’re out there searching your trash cans or urinating on your lawn.”

The man arrested at the holiday park on November 12 over the alleged rape three days earlier has been formally refused bail and held at Clarence Correctional Center until January.

Police have charged the 34-year-old with sexual intercourse without consent and aggravated sexual assault, depriving him of his liberty.

Coffs Harbor Local Court will next week hear a request from prosecutors for forensic analysis of fingernail scrapings and photographs taken by police at the scene.

Arrawarra Beach Holiday Camp co-owner Nathan Folkes, a surfing promoter, declined to respond to Ny Breaking Australia’s questions about the removal of the camp’s seasonal workers.

Mr Folkes said local residents instead “seemed to have all the answers you are looking for”.

Comments have been sought from Sharon Smithies, fellow director of Mr Folkes at Arrawarra Beach Investments Pty Ltd, which owns the 2.6 hectare property from which seasonal workers were evacuated this week.