Police Claim Crackdown on Complaints Including Masturbation
Naturalists Protest, Saying "Police Provoked" Crackdown
Police suddenly cracked down on a nude beach in Queensland, Australia, where nudity had been implicitly tolerated, sparking controversy.
On the 3rd (local time), the British daily The Guardian reported that fines were recently imposed on people who were naked at a beach known as a 'nude beach' in Queensland, northeastern Australia, causing controversy. The beach where the issue occurred is one that has been mentioned as a nude beach in popular travel guides.
Queensland is the only state in Australia where no beach is legally designated as a 'clothing-optional nude beach.' However, some residents claim that since the 1960s, people have freely enjoyed nude swimming and sunbathing at several beaches such as Alexandria Bay on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, 'implicitly' tolerated.
The famous travel guide Lonely Planet also described Alexandria Bay as "probably the most beautiful of all Australia's 'nude beaches.'"
However, around April 16, police caught intentional exposure, issuing seven fines (totaling 287 Australian dollars, approximately 247,500 KRW) and issuing warnings in four cases. The police explained that this crackdown was implemented after several official complaints about obscene acts around Alexandria Bay were filed.
Naturists who primarily use the nude beach are protesting the police crackdown. The Queensland Naturists Association criticized the police, saying that this enforcement is equivalent to the disappearance of a space for naturists that had been unofficially but implicitly tolerated.
Scott Ryder, vice president of the Queensland Naturists Association, said, "It seems the police are doing this deliberately," adding, "We are all angry about this."
State government member Sandy Bolton conducted a survey on the legalization of the nude beach at Alexandria Bay. Of the 973 participants, 820 supported changing state law to allow legal nude beaches.
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