Well myself I like to see it be banned, sorry kids !!

We know that newly ex-Year 12 students finished 14 years of education (from Pre-school to Year 12), but Schoolies Week I heard have gone too far of having a good time by alcohol-related trouble at the Gold Coast !!

What should be banned is the feral element of non school leavers that stir things up!

NO

We need to stop spending money to "ban" things that you can't possibly ban.  You can't stop teenagers being teenagers just like you can't stop people smoking or drinking or taking drugs or all the other things that we try to ban.  All we do is spend obscene amounts of our money (it's not the government's money you know - we earned it and they took it without asking) trying in vain to police the bans.  None of these "bans" are ever going to be successful.

You can't ban something like Schoolies, its not possible. These graduates are still going to get together and have wild parties, no matter what the law says. It is a pity that so many feel the need to get drunk and violent. And thats the only coverage we ever get on Schoolies. Based ONLY on what I have seen and heard through the media, its just a drunken fest where girls are raped and guys are bashed. Does anyone have anything positive to say about Schoolies? I would like to have a balanced view.

Well, when I went 25 years ago, there was lots of easy sex to be had, and a few good fights, so I had fun. Dont think it has changed all that much.

It is not an organised event so it cant be banned. What they should do is prosecute parents who supply grog to their underage kids, and lock em up if found intoxicated. 95% of them will be under 18.

YES on behalf of ever young buck out there.
NO on behalf of every father out there.

NO

My daughter is going down to the Gold Coast when her half sister comes up from NSW with her BF to celebrate, she will stay with them the entire time. They will fly up. My daughter, 28 wants to keep an eye on her 17 yr old sister to keep her safe. My daughter goes down to the Gold Coast frequently with a girlfriend to go out, socialise and dance. Every weekend there are assaults, attacks, stabbings, rapes, other sexual assaults... you name it. Schoolies or no schoolies this happens all the time regardless. The problem with schoolies is the 'toolies' that think at their age (19-40) they can join in with the celebrations and they can't. The areas for schoolies are cordoned off and separated from the general public. They stray out of those areas in their alcohol (at the very least) induced haze and they end up fair game to these tools of society. Schoolies is deemed a 'rite of passage' and although I dread it every year at this time it is not our right to take this away from them. They have spent the majority of their lives, the last 13-14 years, in formal education, they do deserve to cut loose and let off steam. It is up to us to give them the tools and knowledge to get through the next few years, including schoolies, relatively unscathed.

Quoted from SuziH

NO
17 yr old

My daughter goes down to the Gold Coast frequently with a girlfriend to go out, socialise and dance.

Every weekend there are assaults, attacks, stabbings, rapes, other sexual assaults... you name it.

Er.... and you still let your 17 year old daughter go there?

No... the 17 year old is NOT my daughter she is my first husbands daughter from his 2nd marriage. My daughter is 28 and I had no problem with her wanting to go to Schoolies at the end of 1994. She was working and didn't want to go. My daughter is going to go to Surfer's Paradise (but not go to schoolies events), keeping an eye out for her half sister and her half sister's boyfriend. I was frankly very relieved when my very sensible, responsible daughter didn't want to attend schoolies 11 years ago BUT Schoolies is a far more organised and safer event than it was then, thank goodness.

When you think about it schoolies 'week' is a misnomer because it is longer than a week. Schoolies lasts up to three weeks with each influx of school leavers lasting around a week. NSW are now arriving on the Gold Coast with other's departing at the same time. Queenslanders are the first group to arrive at Schoolies.
This report is in today's National Nine News Online.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=71376

14 arrested at schoolies
Friday Nov 25 18:29 AEDT

Police made 33 arrests during schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast as they braced for an influx of NSW school leavers.

Fourteen of the 33 people arrested on 39 charges were schoolies.

Gold Coast district Superintendent Brett Pointing said police faced the biggest festival challenge this weekend when an expected 20,000 NSW school leavers descend on Surfers Paradise.

The strategies for police will change because NSW school leavers are mainly aged 18 and able to access licensed premises.

Police worry the combination of NSW and Queensland school leavers could create havoc on Surfer's Paradise streets.

Compared with this time last year, police had arrested 254 people, including 75 schoolies and 179 toolies (older people who gatecrash the festival).

This year at the same stage they have made 260 arrests - 65 schoolies and 195 toolies - indicating school leavers have generally been well behaved.

On Thursday night police confiscated a knife from a 17-year-old and arrested a schoolie for cannabis possession.

"Overall we thought the crowds were up and police had a very busy night," Supt Pointing said.

"One thing we did observe was a lot more minor scuffles.

"I think that's consistent with last year when towards the end of the first week people become tired and partied out.

"Last night we arrested a high percentage of people for disorderly conduct."

Quoted from Gizmo

Banning would never work

Prohibition just makes people more creative.

It always beats me WHY responsible parents let their underage kids go away on these trips when they KNOW full well it is a time of booze, sex and drugs.

Quoted from Lawnbowler

It always beats me WHY responsible parents let their underage kids go away on these trips when they KNOW full well it is a time of booze, sex and drugs.

Don't forget Lawnbowler that after letting their kids do this and something bad happens to their child they blame the government or the police or anyone but themselves.  

Quoted from cactus

Prohibition just makes people more creative.

I'm gonna make that a bumper sticker Cactus.  Have never heard it said better