The 'Choices' program, staged over the past decade to discourage teens from taking risks, has been shortlisted to receive an award at the 2009 Queensland Road Safety Awards, to be presented at Parliament House in Brisbane on October 8.

'Choices' is staged at CQUniversity Mackay each year by students of the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music.

The program is a collaboration between Queensland Health, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Ambulance Service and the Conservatorium.

Previous productions of 'Choices'

Year 12s from through the Mackay region are involved in the program each year and it has grown in popularity with all stakeholders, particularly the schools.

‘Choices' is a 45-minute presentation that incorporates drama, music and dance. The show aims to bring messages about safe partying during ‘Schoolies Week' to all Year 12s, before they head off to various resorts along the coast to ‘let off steam' at the end of their secondary school years.

‘Choices' has been recognised by Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health as being an effective way to convey messages about drug and alcohol use to young people, as well as making them aware of their legal obligations and the consequences of their actions.

Students from the Conservatorium prepare the show in collaboration with the various agencies to ensure all key messages are included, however it is all done in a fun and entertaining way.

Students who were involved in a previous production of 'Choices'