Malua Bay residents sick of schoolies after police car windscreen smashed
In short:
A police car was smashed after officers were called to a beach party on the NSW south coast.
Malua Bay residents say it shouldn't be up to locals to deal with schoolies partying.
What's next?
Eurobodalla mayor Mat Hatcher hopes to visit high schools next year and talk to students about celebrating respectfully.
Residents in the usually quiet NSW south coast hamlet of Malua Bay say something must be done about the growing problem of misbehaving school leavers.
It comes after nights of drunken revelries in which a police car's windscreen was smashed kickstarted a debate among residents, police and the local council about who should take responsibility for the teenagers.
Police said more than 300 schoolies gathered for an unofficial outdoor party on Malua Bay Beach on Thursday last week.
Illegal fireworks were set off by partying teenagers at Malua Bay. (Supplied: Julie Steedman)
Illegal fireworks and music continued until past 3am, pausing briefly when a single police car attended the scene.
A statement by NSW Police said the windscreen and windows of the vehicle were smashed.
Malua Bay resident Julie Steedman said schoolies left rubbish on beaches and caused frustration in the community every year, but the situation this year had grown out of control.
Julie Steedman says destructive parties must be prevented. (ABC South East NSW: James Tugwell)
"In past years we've swept it under the rug because it's just a week," she said.
"But this week it's been all consuming and it's really slapped us all in the face.
"There's just no respect for any of the residents who live here."
Similar parties and similar clean-ups by council staff occurred at the nearby Wimbie Beach, McKenzies Beach and Surf Beach on multiple nights throughout the week.
Ms Steedman said the number of schoolies visiting the coast had exploded in recent years.
"There's too many of them to fit in one place," she said.
"No one is getting a break. Everyone's just had enough. It's too much."
Not up to the locals
She said the problem was too big for residents to handle.
"Controlling 300 intoxicated kids is really not up to the locals,"Ms Steedman said.
"When you've got locals that don't want someone somewhere, and you've got people that want to be there, that can cause some problems."
She said she didn't want things to end in violence.
Malua Bay residents say they are fed up with schoolies causing damage. (ABC South East NSW: James Tugwell)
Ms Steedman said organised events could be run, similar to the Gold Coast, where alcohol could be served responsibly and the teenagers could party safely.
"We need to find some sort of solution so they get to have their fun but we can sleep," she said.
"If they can come a little our way, and we go a little bit their way, we can find a compromise."
Meeting with school leavers
Eurobodalla Shire Council Mayor Mat Hatcher said it wasn't the council's role to organise parties for the teenagers — many of whom, he said, were visitors to the shire from Canberra.
"Kids don't want to come to a council party," he said.
"We're not the only place that has this problem."
Mat Hatcher says it's not the role of the council to host parties for visiting teenagers. (ABC South East: Keira Proust)
He welcomed the economic boost school-leavers brought but said an organised Schoolies program was not the solution.
"The Gold Coast is a whole different can of worms to the south coast of NSW,"he said.
Cr Hatcher said he wanted to travel to Canberra before Schoolies 2025 to speak with school captains and Year 12 cohorts.
"We all just want to see a bit more respect for our natural environment," he said.
"Maybe it's just contacting the principals and trying to get information out there about respect.
"Ultimately the students have to fix this."