Original Article By: News.com.au | From: ABC (NT) | November 28th, 2011 | 10:12AM

HSC students dream of it and their parents dread it in equal measure, but it was a case of schoolies gone mild this weekend.

Police were impressed with the generally good behaviour of thousands of NSW and Victorian school leavers as they opened up a week of partying in Byron Bay, on the NSW north coast.

Since Friday, just two people have been arrested for drug possession and 21 bags of cask wine confiscated, as more than 5000 schoolies celebrate the end of high school.

A police spokesman said it was not clear weather those arrested were part of the schoolies celebrations.

Across Friday and Saturday nights The Daily Telegraph witnessed just one scuffle and one other schoolie who needed assistance from a paramedic for allegedly over indulging, with the overwhelming majority of teenagers partying in good spirits.
Compared to the average weekend night in Kings Cross it was a regular tea party and hardly the stuff of parent’s nightmares.

Melbourne school leaver Olivia Moore and her friends spent time at several bars before heading down to the dance party and on to a friend’s house to jump in the pool.

“There were no dramas and everyone seemed to have a good time,” she said.

Meanwhile, homeward bound Queendland schoolies have also been praised, with police calling revellers from the class of 2011 the best behaved in more than a decade.

The annual Queensland schoolies party officially ended on Saturday and Superintendent Paul Ziebarth said arrests almost halved from 500 in 2006 to only about 300 this year.

“That’s a massive drop in disorder and also reflects in my view the drop in overall intoxication levels which we’ve seen,” he said.

More school leavers from southern states checked in to the Gold Coast over the weekend and Supt Ziebarth said the vibe so far had been more mellow with less violence on the streets.

He put that down to teens and volunteer support agencies working together and the success of education programs in schools.

Following on from our previous post about the dangers of Schoolies travelling overseas …

Original Article By: Claire Rawlinson | From: ABC (NT) | October 9:36 7, 2011 AM – www.abc.net.au

The call for awareness came after a 14-year-old was arrested this week for possession of marijuana on the tourist island.

Mr Mills says the Government must issue warnings to students in Darwin, who, unlike students in most other Australian cities, may travel to Bali for their week of post-exam celebrations instead of domestic locations.

“Sometimes kids feel they are bullet-proof at this age and they should be made fully aware that Kerobokan is a place they could end up no matter how confident they feel,” Mr Mills said.

“If on the East Coast they are planning to go to Surfers Paradise, we’re familiar with the legal system and the risks to some degree, but those same risks are on offer in Bali, and our kids going to Bali need to be fully aware they are working in a completely different system than our own.

“Whichever way you look at it there is little compassion for those who break the law.”

Mr Mills wants the Government to clarify the risks with students in Darwin schools and highlight the consequences that exist within the Indonesia legal system.

“The Minister needs to make it very plain. There needs to be clear info provided to those students planning an exercise retreat or holiday in Bali, and that must also extend to the families.”

105.7 Breakfast asked NT Education Minister Chris Burns to comment on the issue, and his office issued a statement saying they would not comment but that the Minister does advise that people should always obey the laws of the country they travel.

Some Brekky listeners said the onus remained on the parents when it comes to educating chidlren about the risks associated with drug use.

“Behaviour for children is the parents responsibility not the government. Parents and children should be accountable for personal actions not the tax payer,” Peter Wilson said.

“As usual when anything occurs it’s the schools or government that get asked the questions, we really are becoming a blame everybody else country, two parties responsible here – the parents and the kid. This question shouldn’t even be asked,” Joshua Johnson said.

More information and travel warnings for Indonesia are available at the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has told the media the 14-year-old boy’s case is a number one priority, and Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia has been sent to Bali to work on the situation.

He stressed to the public that caution was needed in proceeding with the case, as it was to be dealt with under the Indonesia legal system.

With all of the bad press that the Schoolies Week festival gets, it is important to note that the Surfers Paradise event is extremely well organised – with a number of activities/events, fantastic support network, high levels of police and excellent infrastructure.

It’s is unfortunate that the bad press the event has been getting over time has forced school leavers to look for other alternatives. having been to Bali, Fiji and the Full Moon Party in Thailand on a number of occassions, I can say one thing for sure – there’s no where safer and more regulated than the Gold Coast.

Schoolies are ditching the Gold Coast and Byron Bay to celebrate in Thailand where drugs are cheap

Original Article By: Caroline Marcus | From: The Sunday Mail (Qld) | September 18, 2011 12:00AM – www.couriermail.com.au

SCHOOL leavers are ditching the Gold Coast and Byron Bay to celebrate Schoolies in Thailand, where they can buy cheap drugs without the scrutiny of police usually called in to control them.

Bookings to Thailand’s notorious, drug-fuelled Full Moon beach parties on Koh Phangan have soared, with local celebrations now deemed too “bogan”.

But a leading drug expert has warned parents against the trend.

Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia’s Paul Dillon said families mistakenly believed Thailand was a “safe” option compared with Surfers Paradise, which has been associated with arrests, underage drinking, sexual assaults and “toolies”.

But unchaperoned overseas trips – particularly Thailand’s Full Moon parties – are dangerous alternatives, with illicit drugs readily available.

“The illicit drug stuff is just so terrifying,” said Mr Dillon, who has been giving talks to Year 12 students.

“I am so surprised that anyone would think that would be an appropriate place for school leavers.

“The vast majority of those who go would either be 17 or 18-year-olds with 17-year-old friends.

“If you say to them, ‘Why are you doing this?’, they say because it’s safer and, number two, that the people who go to the Gold Coast are ‘bogan’.”

Dominic Mapstone, a social worker behind the website schoolies.org.au, said the trend for overseas destinations was increasing, with more tour operators seizing the opportunity to promote destinations to school leavers.