Risky Business...

People have been asking just what should be done to teach young Corey Delaney (no relation) a lesson. Corey is the 16 year old Victorian boy who decided to have a party at his parents’ house while they were away on holiday on the Gold Coast. Rather than just phone a few friends, Corey posted an open invitation on his Myspace page and more than 500 strangers turned up. Things became ugly and the mob went on a rampage.

Police were called, rocks and bottles were thrown, cars were damaged. It is fortunate nobody was seriously injured. All of this with Mum and Dad none the wiser, enjoying their Gold Coast Holiday. Naturally, they hit the roof when they found out. Now they have returned home to sort it out and their son is avoiding them. To round it all off, the Victoria Police are now considering giving the Delaneys a $20000 bill for the damage and the drain on Police resources.

Is it fair? Are they bad parents for leaving young Corey home alone in the first place? And just what sort of punishment would be appropriate? All these questions are now getting a very public airing. In their defence, it appears that Mr. and Mrs. Delaney left Corey to stay with friends, not home alone. It seems that the teenager took it upon himself to use his parents’ house as a party venue. In fact it seems he managed to con his parents all along by pulling out of the family holiday at the last minute, claiming to have work commitments.

Despite the open invitation published on the internet, it is difficult to legally blame Corey for the violent actions of others who gate crashed the party, but most people commenting on talkback radio agree that he was a goose and should bear the responsibility. One thing is for sure, if he gets away scott free, he’ll just continue to think the whole thing was a hoot. What’s worse, party promoters are now talking about offering him a job, saying he could earn as much as $10 000 for a single party. If that’s the case it most certainly should go towards the damage bill.