Schoolies !

The people who live permanently on the Gold Coast must have mixed feelings that their strip of coastline has become the venue for " Schoolies ".      First comes an absolute invasion of  " end of termers " from New South Wales and the southern states, celebrating the end of the HSC and their termination of the high school year.   Then when they go home, the mob from Queensland arrives.

This event is a celebration by those in a " difficult " age group.   Many are just under the law in New South Wales to legally drink alcohol, and yet booze and drugs will feature heavily in the celebrations that follow - and many now think that having sex is an essential part of the Schoolies experience.

Sadly, there will be regrets for some young people.   Many venues have closed off or locked the access doors to high rise verandas to stop fatal falls by drunken young revellers and the local police will have a torrid time keeping the crowds in the streets under control.   There will be arrests - and each year Schoolies  is marred by older men flocking to the event to take advantage of those whose wits have been dulled by alcohol.

Lurid tales of excesses are driving a wedge between school leavers and their parents.  Many school leavers see the event as a " right " - and bitterly resent parental refusal.   Other parents accept it as inevitable - and some knowingly pay and load the bags of their children with alcohol to fuel the party.

Inevitably, Gold Coast accommodation is booked out for Schoolies well in advance and most venues demand a healthy bond to guard against damage.   The kids are packed solidly into rooms to keep the cost down and the business community has a bonanza that equals the profits from both Christmas and Easter.

The Gold Coast civic authorities walk a fine line between cracking down on dangerous behaviour and "  Looking the other way " and ignoring most of the excess.    Schoolies is governed by the " herd instinct " - and that can change with bewildering speed.   Tastes in music or dress fashion can change in the blink of an eye and while the Gold Coast is the flavour of the month in recent years - that is not guaranteed indefinitely !

Many ordinary residents would probably welcome such a change, but Schoolies has become an integral part of the Gold Coast economy and most of the business community is geared to serving that need.   As a result, the " Blind eye " approach will continue.