Wanaka police say holidaymakers' children are often allowed to wander around unsupervised, or were supervised remotely by cellphone. Stock photo / 123RF
Wanaka police say holidaymakers' children are often allowed to wander around unsupervised, or were supervised remotely by cellphone. Stock photo / 123RF
An 8-year-old child was high on drugs as holiday celebrations at a southern resort town veered from underage drinking to drug use, it has been claimed.
Agencies are responding to growing concerns about drug use and underage drinking in Wanaka after incidents over the New Year break.
Social services, emergency services and the Queenstown Lakes District Council will soon meet to plan for next summer in a bid to steer young people away from dangerous activities.
Deputy Mayor Calum MacLeod said he understood volunteer support people dealt with an 8-year-old high on drugs one night over the New Year period.
"That is not acceptable in my patch. We need to look at how we are serving that group of people and how we are protecting our reputation as a safe place."
Red Frogs volunteer community support group representatives told him New Year's Eve in Wanaka was the worst for alcohol or drug intoxication of any they worked in the country, McLeod said.
Their biggest concern was the stimulant of choice was "veering from alcohol to drugs", he said.
There was a "whole body of work that needs to be done in terms of education — and where are mum and dad"?
Wanaka police area response manager Sergeant Miriam Reddington said many families holidayed in Wanaka because it had a reputation as a safe place.
Visitors' children and teenagers were often allowed to wander around unsupervised, or were supervised remotely by cellphone. Some were supplied with alcohol by their parents, she said.
Over the past two years, police dealt with groups of up to 500 young people on the lakefront on the nights before and after New Year's Eve, she said.
Idyllic Lake Wanaka has a big influx of visitors over the Christmas and New Year period. Photo / Getty Images
Red Frogs spokeswoman Shannon Thomson was one of 35 volunteers who provided water, food and support to people too young to enter the waterfront bars. She saw "a lot of young people hanging around with nowhere to go, but not all are intoxicated".
Over the past four years there had been many improvements to the way the council ran the town's New Year's Eve event — "but when you are dealing with teenagers you never know how they are going to respond".
Wanaka Community Board chairman Barry Bruce said the council had committed to organise a meeting of key stakeholders and staff in response to these growing concerns.
They would develop an action plan ahead of the next Christmas and New Year period.
