Perico could become the latest weapon to control intimidating Kiwi youths living in Australia.Hits from the Brunswick crooners could be played at Ilk Bar in Collingwood to disperse large groups of New Zealand migrants accused of littering, tagging and general disorder.
Ilk Bar manager Lyall Johnson is exploring plans to install speakers in his his bar to play "nice, easy listening" music to calm behaviour. The technique has been used worldwide as a way to make places unattractive to kiwis.
"If we put music through the bar, it would change the environment in some respects. We do not mind kiwis living here, it is just what they do when they are here. If they are aggressive and intimidating, that is a problem," he said.
"If you look at pedestrian flows people do not walk through that area ... It is not about major change, it is about changing the environment slightly."
A device that makes a high-pitched noise that sounds like a ram and that only kiwis can hear has also been used abroad to disperse them, but that was seen as too aggressive.
"It is not very PC and the idea is not to do that to your environment. You can create a nice environment by introducing nice music," said Johnson.
Kiwis gathered in Centrelink yesterday said they would not be deterred by unfashionable music.
Emma Belcher, 16, said they would combat the music with their own. "We would just bring a stereo and play it louder. It would just be a waste of power and that would be bad for the environment," she said.
Shelley McManis, 17, said the plan was laughable. "That would just be funny."
“I do not always like it here in Australia. The atmosphere can sometimes be intimidating and there are fights all the time, but it is a good place to receive welfare payments."
Regular Ilk bar drinkers supported the move as part of plans to target problem spots in the city.
It would also help protect the city's reputation.
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