Qld: Schoolies went better than expected, says Beattie

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2003
Qld: Schoolies went better than expected, says Beattie

By Chris Herde and Rosemary Desmond

BRISBANE, Dec 1 AAP - This year's controversial schoolies festival reaped a $60 million
windfall for the Gold Coast, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie boasted today.

"I think it went better than expected," he said, despite 451 people being arrested
on 505 charges.

Mr Beattie said 70 per cent of the people arrested were "toolies", hangers-on who were
not school leavers.

"This is certainly better than last year and certainly better than the previous year,"

Mr Beattie told reporters.

"Bearing in mind, we ended up with the 'double bunger', if you like, with students
from NSW and Victoria all in the first week."

"So we ended up with a bigger problem than we ever had before but it was handled better
than it was before."

Of the 134 genuine school leavers arrested, 129 were male and five female.

An estimated 50,000 school leavers flooded into the Gold Coast last week, many congregating
in Cavill Mall in Surfers Paradise and on the nearby beach.

Although most had now gone home, another 10,000 school leavers from southern states
had this weekend arrived on the Gold Coast for the continuing "unofficial" schoolies celebrations.

But Mr Beattie said most of them had turned 18 and could legally go into licensed premises,
unlike many of their 17-year-old school leaver counterparts from Queensland.

Figures released today showed most of the arrests last week were alcohol related.

But five Brazilians on student visas were arrested and their handy-cam and several
tapes seized after they allegedly groped teenage girls and filmed up their skirts.

Three police officers of the Public Safety Response Team face disciplinary action and
one officer has been transferred to desk duties while an investigation continues into
whether he invited a schoolie to his bedroom and stroked her leg with a gun.

A 17-year-old youth also fell to his death from the 23rd floor of an apartment building
on the weekend.

AAP rad/sc/cjh/de

KEYWORD: SCHOOLIES 2ND NIGHTLEAD

2003 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.