Beachgoers in Australia have started to use cabanas to reserve prime spots on the beach in the morning, but the Australian Prime Minister has called out the action as ‘not on’
The Australian Prime Minister has called out beachgoers for using shady structures to reserve spaces on the beach.
Australian PM, Anthony Albanese, has said that using a shade structure to reserve a spot on the beach is “not on” as a local mayor has urged beachgoers to be kind and considerate”.
Some beachgoers are using portable cabanas to claim patches of sand, but Albanese says that this goes against the nation’s spirit of equality. The PM was asked about the practice on TV on Tuesday, where he said: “One of the great things about Australia, unlike some parts of the world, [where] you go and you’ve got to pay to go to the beach, here, everyone owns the beach.
“Everyone. And it’s a place where every Australian is equal. And that’s a breach of that principle, really, to think that you can reserve a little spot as just yours,” reports The Guardian.
Australia’s beaches are usually open to all, which means the public do not have to pay for a spot or lounger to relax and enjoy the sand. However, debate spurred online after photos emerged showing rows of cabanas being used to reserve the ‘best’ beach spots on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Visitors were reportedly arriving in the early morning and setting up their cabanas, chairs and towels to snatch a prime spot before leaving the beach and returning later in the day when they wanted beach time. Anthony Marsh, the Mornington Peninsula shire mayor, said beachgoers were entitled to use cabanas but said that “reserving space on the beach and then going off and doing other stuff” was not appropriate, according to The Guardian.
He added that while the practice was not occurring on every beach in the local area, it was becoming a problem at some including Safety beach, which was the beach featured in the images circulated online. He urged people to be kind and considerate of their neighbours, adding that if individuals wish to use the beach, to do so, but not to take up space when they are not using the beach.
Back in 2020, a proposal was made to turn part of Sydney’s famous Bondi beach into a private ‘Euro beach chic’ club, however it was rejected by the local authorities. In a statement explaining the decision, a spokesperson from Sydney’s Waverley council said: “Council officers [have] deemed it unsuitable based on Council policies and in the interest of our local community. Our beaches and parks are public open spaces, for the enjoyment of everyone.”
Christian Barry, a moral philosopher at the Australian National University, stated: “I think that what people are objecting to is the idea that people are taking more than their fair share. That is a core value – not taking more than your fair share or holding yourself up for special treatment relative to others when it comes to a commonly held resource.”
He added that there are lots of useful and good reasons to have a shade structure on a beach, but they will become increasingly unpopular if beachgoers continue to use them to block out spots on the beach. However, whilst there are no specific laws or regulations over the use of cabanas on beaches, Barry expressed that beachgoers should use their common sense and be prepared to make sacrifices to avoid causing arguments with other people looking to enjoy the beach.