Today we received our first official communication from the State Government, in the form of a status letter from Ian Voigt, Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) Regional Director South West. Ian states that councils responsible for all 4 Victorian beaches have asked for either revocation or review, and that DSE “is currently preparing advice for the Minister for his consideration and a decision on the way forward.” You can read the full letter here (Click here to read)

It was nice to get official communication, after all these months of wondering if our cries were being heard. But it’s not nice to get confirmation that all the beaches are under attack!!

We’re surprised that councils and the State Government think revocation of clothing optional beaches is a step forward in our current society. Cape D’Agde in France brings in 300,000 visitors every year from all over the world, because they have invested in infrastructure and facilities for a booming nudist tourist industry. In Europe more beaches are clothing optional than not (and even some parks in some town centres). Nudists are willing to spend their hard earned dollars where quality facilities are located – does Surf Coast Shire want to lose those tourist dollars to people willing to travel to Sydney or Adelaide because Victoria is heading backwards towards where Queensland is currently??? Does Mornington realise that inappropriate activity in the carpark won’t go away if you ban the nudists from the beach 300 meters away!!

All it would take is the realisation that nudists on the beaches are in the best position to improve the situation. Ban the nudists, and there’ll be nothing stopping the inappropriate behaviour at poorly used beaches if there aren’t any crowds.

We commend the efforts of the team over at
NakedAustralians for their great article regarding the fight against the reclassification of some Victorian beaches.

The post shows Councillor Ron Humphrey’s speach trying to justify a change in the clothing optional status of Pt Impossible and Southside. Read the speach carefully – one commentor on the site pointed out this interesting throw-away line from Mr Humphrey, perhaps suggesting he has his own personal feelings about nude bathing that are not quite so aligned with other aspects of his speach:

“It’s not the aspect of nude bathing that necessitates this response; although I’m not sure how this activity fits in today’s society of political correctness particularly on public land.”

The post also lists the names and email addresses of all the Surfcoast shire representatives involved, so that we can send appropriate (and respectful!) letters and emails. It is also important to note that the minutes of the meeting indicate two councillers voted against the motion to revoke clothing optional status (Cr Beth Davidson of Anglesea and Cr Libby Mears Mayor of Airey’s Inlet) – in all cases, please be professional and respectful if you do send any communication, and please cc: either this site or the Melbourne Regional Director of the Free Beach Association (contact details for Sue are on the Contacts page).

Here’s the link to the NakedAustralians.com post with all the details -> Click here

Here’s the posting of the meeting minutes again -> Click here

Now that the repairs at the Collingwood Leisure Centre are complete, ConFab is on again on Sunday 30/7. This is a great chance to meet people from the various discussion forums (notably the Yahoo Group Melbourne_Nudist-Naturists). There is also likely to be some discussion about the plight of our beaches under threat (Pt Impossible and Campbells Cove) – if you are a Victorian beach user and are concerned about losing your access to legal clothing optional beaches, please come along and show your support.

We’re not going to ask you to parade down Burke St nude in support or anything, but it would be great to get lots of input into the discussion – these are your beaches too, people!!

Click here for more info and location of Confab

Call to ban birthday suit a bummer (from The Age)
According to an article posted on The Age (Click Here), Wyndham City Council wants to ban the clothing optional status to make way for a $2m tourist development.

The original text of the article cannot be republished without permission, but opinions are strong throughout the Victorian nudist community – the loss of any legal nude beach without a replacement on offer could be construed as an attack on the clothing optional beach status of all beaches (at the extreme end of the perspective) – at the very least it is an insult to the nudist/naturist community by presuming their concerns can be overlooked without due process.

Check the Links page and join the Melbourne_nudist-naturists for a more detailed discussion! This article will be updated as status changes.

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Update 24/07/06:

An article appeared in a local newspaper produced by the Star News Group, which you can read here. Although the beach itself may not be the most comfortable, loss of the clothing optional status of one beach without being offered a replacement (equivalent or otherwise) is really where the problem lies. Campbells Cover may not be the greatest beach, but it is a useful location on the west coast of Port Philip Bay and easily the closest legal location to the city.

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Update 25/07/06:

A petition has been started addressed to the Australian Government. If you are a clothing optional beach user, or are thinking of being one in the future, we urge you to sign the petition.

Check it out here!!