More than 10,000 high school graduates expected on Gold Coast

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Schoolies celebrations are underway with teenagers across the country celebrating the end of Year 12. The tradition has been a rite of passage since the 1970s with school leavers usually visiting the Gold Coast for a week of partying. However, that seems to be changing with young people drinking less and travelling abroad more.  The ABC spoke with the CEO of DrinkWise Simon Strahan.

Transcript

00:00Schoolies these days and the year 12s have obviously had a stressful year.

00:07They do want to celebrate, but what we're seeing is them wanting

00:09to actually maximise the experience.

00:12For many, this will be the last time that they're actually

00:14with their school friendship group.

00:16So they want to actually create really strong memories,

00:18and that means that we're seeing at the moment nine out of ten

00:22actually incorporate activities that don't involve alcohol.

00:2675% aren't drinking every day on their schoolies trip.

00:30So those trends are encouraging.

00:33What do we know about why they're drinking less?

00:36We do know that across the broader Australian population

00:39that people are prioritising their physical and mental health,

00:42and this age group in particular is leading the way.

00:46They're really wanting to make sure that they can wake up the next day

00:49feeling refreshed, they can make the most of those moments,

00:52and whilst for many they will be consuming alcohol,

00:55the message is really clear around the need to moderate

00:58so that they can make the most of the experience.

01:02More young people are also going overseas for their schoolies trips,

01:06and Drinkwise has teamed up with the government to offer travelling advice

01:10to those about the extra precautions that they need to be taking

01:13when travelling overseas.

01:15Yes, this is a really important issue,

01:17and we obviously saw the tragic passing of the two Australian girls last year,

01:23Bianca Jones and Holly Bells.

01:26What we do want to make sure is that parents are really aware of those risks,

01:30that school leavers are aware of the risks,

01:32and can take the necessary strategies and precautions

01:35and put those in place.

01:37Now, for many, that means to make sure that, obviously,

01:40they're having the discussion around alcohol,

01:42that they have the travel insurance,

01:44that they're making sure that they're not undertaking risky activities

01:47such as swimming after drinking,

01:50getting on a moped after drinking,

01:53but also making sure that they're looking after their friends

01:56and looking out for any warning signs.

01:58That's good advice, and there are always risks.

02:01So what's the advice if things do go wrong?

02:04The most important thing we can do at the moment,

02:07and schoolies is obviously coming up really quickly,

02:09is to have those conversations at home

02:11and set the strategies in place.

02:13We do know that 94% of parents are actually worried

02:17about the risks around alcohol for their teenagers

02:21heading off to schoolies,

02:22but less than 70% are having that conversation before they go,

02:26and only 50% are actually having designated ways

02:29to actually stay in touch whilst their teenager is away at schoolies.

02:33So they're the things we want to actually improve.

02:35We want everyone to make sure that the school leavers

02:39can feel safe calling home if there are any risks,

02:41but also just to make sure that they do know things

02:45like how to contact emergency services if needed,

02:48have all the details of their friends and their friends' parents,

02:51so that if they do need to contact them,

02:54they can do so really easily and quickly.

02:57So schoolies is kicked off.

02:58If you're one of those parents that has not had the conversation

03:00before your kids have gone away

03:02and you don't really have a strong line of communication to them,

03:05what can you do during and then after the event as well?

03:08One of the best things that certainly parents can do right now

03:13is to visit either the Drinkwise or Smart Traveller websites.

03:17There's fantastic video content on there for them,

03:20and that covers all the things they need to know about.

03:24There are great tips to how to start that conversation

03:26with their teenager before they go.

03:29On the flip side, we've also got video content for the teenagers too,

03:33things to look out for,

03:35how to make sure they're looking after their friends,

03:37minimising the risks and staying safe

03:39so they can have a fantastic experience

03:42because at the end of the day, that's what we all want.

03:44We want them to celebrate the end of their schooling

03:46but make sure they can come home safe.

03:49That's great advice, Simon Straughan, the Drinkwise CEO.

03:52Thank you so much for that.

03:54Thank you so much.

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