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New bizarre Schoolies idea impractical to COVID laws and guidelines
A suggestion that the Gold Coast’s 2020 Schoolies celebrations be replaced with a bizarre new way has been dismissed as naïve and impractical against COVID-19 guidelines and has generated a renewed call to cancel the event.
Tony Zhang
With Schoolies only 108 days away there are renewed fears the city may still be vulnerable to the threat of coronavirus from interstate visitors.
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However, Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has floated the novel suggestion that instead of partying in Surfers Paradise hotel rooms and on the beaches, he suggests school leavers log into Zoom and other online apps and party together on the internet.
Gold Coast lawyer Bruce Simmonds of Broadbeach law firm Parker Simmonds Solicitors & Lawyers, who has made numerous calls for the event to be scrapped says the mayor’s idea is naïve and impractical and he’s alarmed Schoolies organisers are showing no community concern for safety by pushing on with the annual school leaver event here.
Queensland’s strict border controls mean the state has escaped the worst of the second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria and worrying rise in cases in NSW.
“[Everyday] we hear horror stories from Victoria of COVID-19 cases there, and there’s a worrying return of the virus in Sydney hotspots. We all agree 2020 is a [write-off] so Schoolies should be cancelled and replaced by the knowledge that we are living through a pandemic,” Mr Simmonds said.
“The message to the school leavers is simple – either we stop this virus or your mum and dad, grandparents or your brother or sister could be the next to die. This is not just a flu. This kills people, horribly.”
There are fears this year’s Schoolies on the Gold Coast could be off the cards due to the country’s evolving coronavirus crisis.
The much-anticipated celebrations usually take place on the glitter strip in late November every year, however there are concerns that the COVID-19 outbreak may not be under control by then.
However, the city’s mayor has come to the rescue with an innovative and rather unusual proposal.
“You’re the technology people. Maybe you use Zoom or whatever it is, social media, to do Schoolies like that from home,” Mr Tate told reporters.
Mr Simmonds who has previously called for Schoolies to be shortened and rebranded as a learning bridge for school leavers between high school and the real world of jobs and university, says the COVID-19 realities mean we need to rethink the whole Schoolies concept.
“Organisers face an enormous challenge in handling thousands of partying school leavers in town, who are frankly not likely to respect social distancing requirements,” Mr Simmonds said.
“How will organisers handle the number of teenagers allowed in [high-rise] lifts at a time?
“We have the World Health Organisation saying the virus is far from over, and health experts saying the worst is yet to come so it’s pretty obvious the coronavirus pandemic will not be under control by late November.
“Queensland has led the way in Australia in controlling the spread of the virus but there’s a real fear an event like Schoolies could wreck all the good work that’s been done.”
Mr Simmonds says with international travel ruled out this year, it’s expected this year’s Schoolies event would attract a record number of teenagers from all over Australia.
“Everyone fears a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the news coming out of Victoria shows how quickly things can get out of control,” he says.
“We can’t afford to take the risk. Schoolies needs to hit the cancel button this year.”
