Source: Radio New Zealand
Red Frogs national director Raymond Thompson. RNZ/Katie Todd
Tens of thousands of teenagers are expected to descend on Wānaka’s lakefront for one of the country’s biggest informal New Year’s Eve gatherings, with police warning parents they could face charges if they supply alcohol to minors.
Police, paramedics and volunteers are concerned about the number of unsupervised young people who arrive with alcohol in a town that is more than three hours’ drive from the nearest hospital.
According to harm-reduction organisation Red Frogs, Wānaka has become a hotspot for Year 11 and 12 students in recent years.
National director Raymond Thompson said more than 60 volunteers would work in Wānaka and Queenstown from 29 December, handing out water and food, and helping anyone in distress.
“I’m cooking pancakes, handing out water down on the lakefront and, towards the end of the night, will be helping young people, if they need more support, holding their hair back as they vomit,” he said.
Authorities ramped up their presence, after the infamous Ruby Island party in 2016, when hundreds of young people were escorted back to the mainland by emergency services.
Thompson said parents should have “frank conversations” with their children before New Year’s Eve and make a plan, in case they wanted to come home early.
“Don’t pin $200 to your young person’s jersey, give them a bottle and send them six hours down the road with no support,” he said.
“You can either engage in an awkward alcohol-and-drug-harm conversation with your young person, utilising your experience – both good and bad – and giving your advice, or you can allow your teenagers to get advice from TikTok,” he said.
DJs and bands will play on the Wānaka waterfront on 31 December, with an alcohol ban in place between 24 December-6 January.
Otago Lakes Central police area commander inspector Paula Enoka said parents should also remember the legal consequences of supplying alcohol to minors.
“If they are underage, as in under 18, please don’t send them here with alcohol, because the next person we will contact will be the parent [to find out] how they have actually provided them the alcohol,” she said. “There is provision for prosecution and that’s not where we want to go.”
Wānaka senior sergeant Darren Cranfield said an extra 25 police officers would be deployed to the district from centres including Dunedin and Invercargill.
“We have other resources that we drag from other stations, so we do have big numbers, but we have big numbers for a reason.”
Behaviour had improved in recent years, Cranfield said.
“If we go back probably 3-4 years, there used to just be alcohol everywhere, bottles everywhere.”
St John area operations manager David Baillie said alcohol and drug use was a reality every New Year’s Eve, and the consequences were often serious.
“Every year, I have to make a phone call to someone’s parents – 15, 16, 17, 18-year-old girls and boys – who have had far too much alcohol or too many drugs, who are now unconscious, unresponsive,” he said.
His message to parents was to “take a minute to think what it would feel like for me to ring you on New Year’s Eve, because this does actually happen”.
Knowing what substances were taken and how much could be crucial, when someone’s life was on the line, Baillie said.
He urged people to look up drug-testing services like Know Your Stuff.
“The other thing I ask you to do is that you respect our staff. We are there to help you, your family, your friends.
“We do need you to respect us, so that we can do our job to support you.”
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor John Glover said the region was used to welcoming visitors, but the New Year brought added challenges.
“We want everyone to come have a great time and leave having had a great time,” he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
