Election hits festival numbers while…Drunks spoil the party

Jessica Benton
Drunks and brawls marred this year’s Queenscliff Music Festival, according to police, organisers and residents.
Queenscliff police arrested two people for drunkenness and unruly behaviour and issued warnings for under-aged drinking and consuming alcohol in public places.
Queenscliff police Senior Constable said the festival had “similar problems each year”.
“Young people and non-ticket-holders come down and cause problems,” Snr Const Rodgers said.
“We manage the situation with extra staff from other areas, who patrol the streets, pubs and festival.”
Resident Richard Poyser said antisocial behaviour and vandalism were an ongoing problem during the festival.
“The Borough of Queenscliffe supposedly has a zero-tolerance approach but there are always young people misbehaving and getting away with it,” he said.
“Can anyone can tell me why a music festival needs to supply and sell alcohol. The whole system stinks and the sooner we get the festival out of town the better.”
Mr Poyser said the organisers were not listening to the community’s concerns.
“People wonder why some of us residents get stroppy – it’s because we don’t have enough input,” he said.
“I put my hand up for the (consultation) committee and was knocked back. They only selected two residents compared to four festival representatives, which seems very set up and unbalanced.”
Borough of Queenscliff Mayor Pat Semmens said council had arranged a meeting with organisers on December 5 to discuss the concerns about the festival.
Music festival director Barb Moss said this year’s event was “containable” compared to previous years when antisocial behaviour was “out of control”.
“On Saturday night there were a small number of kids arriving in town drunk and they were dealt with by police,” she said.
“An ongoing concern is that the weekend coincides with schoolies celebrations but we’ve adopted strict security measures inside the festival confines and increased police presence around the festival.”
Ms Moss said brawls in the main street “affected some residents” but police had broken up the fights quickly.
Most residents supported the event, she said.
“Most people recognise it’s a positive for Queenscliff and neighbouring towns and many locals get involved and attend but then there’s a very small minority opposed to the festival.”
Ms Moss said attendance was down this year, probably because the festival coincided with the federal election.