Latest media activity
Over the last few months there has been numerous articles in the press concerning the beaches, and inappropriate behaviour, and it became tiring to see the same regular theme repeating - something happens on or near a nude beach, and it therefore must be the nudists. No point bothering to research the real facts, if there’s some sensationalisation to be had!!
(as a side note, click here to read this article by Hamish Heard in the Geelong Independent in December, where it turns out there are lots of “gay beats” in Geelong but no nude beaches were mentioned. We wonder if Cr Humphrey has seen that article?)
Anyway, the last few days has seen a couple of articles emerge in the papers that are worth mentioning, click the headings to read the full article:
Nudists Look out on Beach - Geelong Independent, 15 Jan 2007
Calls from the national Free Beach Association for local nudists on the beaches to report any inappropriate activity they see. We’ve always said this was a good idea - nudists also don’t like inappropriate behaviour on the beaches, not only is it unacceptable on any beach at any time, it’s worse for nudists because it gets unfairly associated with the community and makes genuine nudists look bad.
Pt Addis Problems Exposed - Geelong Advertiser, 19 Jan 2007
Article noting that Pt Addis signage is inadequate and/or missing, and that there have been cases of inappropriate behaviour. We agree, walking up the access trail nude is outside the clothing optional area and is not acceptable. Deliberately walking amongst other beach users, nude or not, is antagonistic and unacceptable on any beach.
The articles seem quite balanced, they cover off the facts and they talk about practical issues that concern the beaches - issues that are similar to those faced on any beach. All beaches suffer from inappropriate behaviour - from bullying and fighting through to anti-social activity, drugs and related activity, and that’s before you even examine the car parks and toilets of many beaches along the coast.
Beach issues are not about attributing blame to a single group - it’s about defining and implementing practical measures to monitor and control inappropriate behaviour so that genuine beach users can enjoy what the coast has to offer. And that statement applies to any beach!!
