WHY A SCHOOLIES BAN WON’T WORK
Bad behaviour and property damage has some apartment owners wanting to pull the plug
SOME Surfers Paradise apartment buildings want to get rid of Schoolies. The State Government is being lobbied to start an “exit strategy”.
But our legal advice suggests a ban is doomed to fail.
Only one solution presents itself to shrink Schoolies. It’s a long shot, but more about that later.
The first tiny steps will be at State Cabinet on the Coast next week where body corporate reform group leader George Friend and a fellow unit owner will try to convince the Government to reduce its role in babysitting the annual event.
Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman will receive the dirt file, obtained by your columnist this week, which includes the video showing how more than 60 teens caused $40,000 damage to an apartment.
The building, which it was agreed would not be identified, is in central Surfers Paradise and a basic unit there costs more than $500,000 to buy – you get the picture.
In the two weeks of last year’s event there were 121 noise breaches, 36 emergency services attendances – including five for potential suicides or drug overdoses – numerous fights, an alleged sexual assault and five partying Year 12s found with drugs.
A knife was thrown from a balcony and became embedded in an outdoor pool area. Young blokes were urinating in the foyers. A bong was found in a stairwell.
You would think that somewhere there exists a law which can stop this drug-fuelled violence.
Another confidential document – a 2017 Schoolies Risk Assessment for a top hotel – outlined how security for this year’s event will stand on a pool deck and face balconies because there is an “extreme risk” of a fatality from a fall.
Despite this, Frank Higginson, who heads up the community titles practice at Hyne Legal in Brisbane, believes the current State laws give apartment owners no scope to place a blanket ban.
“Even if a body corporate was to pass a bylaw to ban socalled schoolies from renting apartments in the building it would have no basis in law,” Mr Higginson says.
“There is no such thing as a ‘schoolie-free’ building. Owners can ultimately choose to rent to who they want to.”
On the Glitter Strip, most of the highrises are split evenly between owner-occupiers and absentee owners or investors who place their apartment for rent.
If the rental pool in a building decides to remove itself from the properties which accept booking through the official schoolies organisation, individual schoolies can still check out units available in other highrises.
The Office of Fair Trading has also warned letting agents that it is discriminatory to set different rules for Year 12 partygoers.
“The onus falls on the person accepting the booking. Under the law, if you are aged 18 or above you can enter into a contract to accept accommodation,” Mr Higginson says.
“When unit owners place their apartment up for rent they are putting their asset in the hands of someone they don’t know. There’s always some risk the property will be damaged. This won’t change even if the Government changes the law.”
What is the only solution? It’s simple – don’t rent your apartment during Schoolies.
Or what about, if you are an interstate investor, holidaying on the Gold Coast in early December? You will sleep well at night knowing your apartment won’t be trashed.