Schoolies spend up in the Whitsundays

An army of dedicated volunteers is stepping up its safety campaign ahead of the arrival of more than 3000 school leavers who are making their annual pilgrimage to the Whitsundays this weekend.

Whitsunday Regional Council’s manager of community development and projects Deborah Carrington, who has been heavily involved with Whitsunday Schoolies for a couple of years now, says you can’t hold back the tide – but you can put safety measures in place.

“Some people in the community say we are encouraging a party. But we are not. We can’t put our heads in the sand, thousands of kids are coming here to the Whitsundays so we have to prepare. Whitsundays Schoolies does not market the words event and party – we are a “safety response” and we have the support of police, emergency services, the Red Frogs, business owners, nights spots, ambulance officers, SES – everyone!” Ms Carrington said

While Whitsundays Schoolies is an alcohol and drug-free zone, Ms Carrington said unfortunately there would always be the few who engaged in risky behaviour.

“There will be a high police presence and child safety officers at the beach over the weekend. And those who choose to engage in risky behaviour, we want to arm them with enough information to keep them as safe as possible. We will be especially linking the message about how alcohol can lead to sexual assault. Basically don’t leave your drink unattended and never accept a drink from another person,” she said.

Schoolies Central will be the focal point of the five day party which officially begins on Saturday but will be gathering partygoers from as early as today.

Schoolies Central has two focus areas which are the registration marquee and the chill out zone which Ms Carrington says are still needing the help of volunteers.

“Because its only a few days until the response program kicks off we can only accept people who already have a blue card. But yes we need more volunteers.”

Ms Carrington says the nightspot owners in Airlie’s main street have been in perfect harmony with council’s response approach.

“The managers at Magnums have been to our emergency services meetings. They know all the tricks in the book about how kids try to get into night clubs.

“The message is that we want to ensure the kids who come here - get home safely again to their families,” she said.

Visit the website, www.whitsundayschoolies.qld.gov.au for more of information.