Just when we all thought it was going to be a quiet summer, the Geelong Advertiser decided to come out and show us all that not much has changed. An article appeared today with a reader-grabbing headline that was immediately shown to be completely inaccurate IN THE ARTICLE ITSELF!!!

Now, we’d like to give Rebecca Tucker the benefit of the doubt and assume she is not also responsible for creating the headlines that the Addy runs, but it does go to show that whoever is writing these catchy phrases isn’t actually reading the articles when they come up with these gems!!

So, just to clarify in case anyone can’t see it for themselves in this article (or the plain text of the article below if the link does not work) – there was no sex on the nude beach, the incident happened on the clothed area about 1km away from where the clothing optional area starts!! Clearly we can now expect a summer of reports of activity all along the Surf Coast that will be blamed on the nude beaches – don’t worry about facts, if there was sand involved then the nudists must be to blame!!

On a positive note, it was great that Mrs Simpson reported the incident to police – that is exactly what any beach-goer should do on ANY beach, since incidents like this are not legal and should not be tolerated. It was also great to see Mrs Simpson calling for better signage, since this is exactly what the nudist community also wants, and was agreed as one of the outcomes from the council workshops held so many months ago.

We’ll wait to hear if there are any calls to have the clothed beaches closed, since they are clearly attracting inappropriate behaviour… OK, we’re being facetious, but we hope the point is pretty obvious!!

Nude beach sex shock
Rebecca Tucker

25Nov07

A NAKED couple having sex at Pt Addis beach shocked a mother walking with her teenage daughter on Saturday afternoon.

Katrina Simpson said she was on the beach about 12.30pm with her husband and their teenage daughter when they came across the indecent act.

She said the couple was in full view, about 30m to the right of the beach access stairs, in the area designated for full clothing.

The Surf Coast beach is famous for its optional dress code, but that does not begin for about 1km to the left of the steps.

Mrs Simpson said the couple was to the right of the steps in the general access area.

But she said regardless of which section they were in, their sexual activity should not have been on public display.

“I’m not a wowser but I have great respect for our community and this is a community beach,” Mrs Simpson, a nearby resident for the past 25 years, said.

She telephoned the police after witnessing the incident.

Mrs Simpson earlier this year campaigned for better signage at the beach, raising concerns sunbathers did not know where the optional dress area began.

She said at the time that some male nudists used that as an excuse to parade naked in the general access area.

At the weekend she renewed calls to improve signage, beginning with postings on Pt Addis Rd so people were aware of the different zones before they got to the beach.

Mrs Simpson said apart from the couple having sex at the general access area, her family also came across a naked man reading his newspaper.

“He was still in the wrong area but he covered up with the paper, so at least he was being discreet,” she said.

“We’re coming to the start of the summer season and we’re going to have the same issues as last year unless something is done about it.

“It’s a national park so we have every right to be there and people may have a right to choose not to wear clothing but they don’t have to do it in our face, that’s what the other area is for.”

But Mrs Simpson said no area was suitable for public sex.

This article was posted in the Geelong Advertiser today – credit to Lauren for writing a purely factual (albeit short) article on the outcome of the long process. It seems like the articles we’re seeing lately are a reflection of the general perception of the whole issue – ho hum, process is done, let’s all move on!! We couldn’t agree more!!

Here’s the link if you want to see the real article (Nudity prevails at Torquay Beach), but we’ve posted the text below due to the Addy removing online articles really quickly after they are published. We believe it’s ok to post text like this as long as due credit is given to the source (Thanks Geelong Advertiser!!). If that understanding is incorrect, please let us know (who has any idea about Copyright laws these days? It’s all so confusing…)

Nudity prevails at Torquay beach

Lauren Pike

30Apr07

NUDISTS can keep their clothes off at Torquay’s Point Impossible beach for at least another year.

The Surf Coast Shire has signed off on a 12-month trial of new measures it hopes will keep both the nude sunbathers and those who oppose them happy.

Surf Coast Mayor Rose Hodge said the council made the final decision after public consultation on the shire’s earlier support for nude sunbathing.

Cr Hodge said the shire had consulted widely with the community, police, nudist federation and government agencies before reaching its decision.

She said a January workshop to address the issue produced recommendations including:

IMPROVED signs at beach entrance roads, the car park and bridge access points alerting the public to the beach’s “optional dress” area and restricting access to the sand dunes;

SURVEILLANCE of the beach and sand dunes;

STAKEHOLDER groups to encourage their members to report antisocial or obscene incidents or behaviour, and;

GREAT Ocean Road Coast Committee to develop a weed and rabbit control program and litter control campaign to protect and preserve the coastal environment.

“Council will now test the success of new measures over the next 12 months, reviewing its decision next April,” Cr Hodge said.

We delayed posting this information while we waited for comments/outcry’s from the various councils, but since none has been forthcoming, we assume this information is now safe to release. This letter was received by one our our representatives on 22 March, from DSE South West Region in Ballarat – this is an official response given by DSE on behalf of the Minister for Planning, and therefore is about as official a response as we’ll ever see!!

Thank you for your letter dated 5th March 2007 to the Minister for Planning in respect of the Point Impossible clothing optional beach. I have been asked to reply to you on the Minister’s behalf.

The department (DSE) appreciates your interest and participation in the January 2007 workshop held by Surf Coast Shire. The contribution of stakeholders in such processes is very important, and brings many benefits including informed and balanced decision making.

I am pleased to note your endorsement of the outcomes of the workshop. I understand that the Shire in conjunction with the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) have commenced to implement the workshop’s recommendations for improved management. I am advised that works include widening of access paths, revegetation of disturbed dunes, installation of pedestrian barrier fencing to protect dune vegetation and installation of upgraded signs including interpretative signs encouraging dune conservation, are proposed or underway. I am also pleased to hear that your Association has been working with and supporting GORCC with its land management responsibilities at Point Impossible.

I am advised that the other councils who have raised similar concerns in respect to the locations and management of clothing optional beaches in their municipalities are being encouraged to run similar workshops to review their concerns and identify the management options. Any changes to the status of any of the currently designated clothing optional beaches will be based on a thorough understanding of the issues and options and through consultation with stakeholders.

At this stage, I understand that no change to the status of any of these beaches is proposed.

Thank you for your interest in this matter.

HURRAH!!!! Well done to everyone involved, but in particular to Rob, who relentlessly wrote letters, made phone calls, and generally hassled anyone who would listen – perhaps the State Government simply gave in to stop the flood of letters and calls?!?

It’s also important to note that last sentence before the sign-off – no change to the status of any beach is proposed!!! Now that the heat is slightly reduced, we can use the coming winter months to work on our strategy for next summer, when we hope to show we can keep our part of the bargain and get real interest from beach users in looking after their facilities.

We’re proud of our efforts, and we’re pleased that so many people were able to support us along the way. Thanks to everyone who got involved and did their bit to help save our beaches.

We’re also pleased to note that Cr Humphrey, the one person who started this whole roller-coaster ride, has now moved on to something new – opposition to parking meters being installed in beach carparks… and so it goes….

There’s a poll showing currently on the front page of the online Geelong Advertiser, posing the question “Should nude beaches be banned?”. We’re going to ignore the obvious generalisation of the topic on the grounds that there must have been a limited number of words the Addy could fit in that little box!!

Please get along to the poll and show your support for keeping nude beaches open for the enjoyment of thousands of users from all over Victoria, nationally and even around the world

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/

Update: 27/1/07 1.45pm – 68 voters say no to banning CO beaches, from 76 respondents that’s 89% for keeping them open!!

Update: 28/1/07 10.00am – 187 votes are in, with 91% in favour of not banning nude beaches!!

Update: 30/1/07 11.40pm – 602 votes are in, with 92% saying nude beaches should not be banned!! Support for keeping the beaches open is clearly there

Update: 31/1/07 11.50pm – 662 votes are in, with 92% still saying nude beaches should not be banned!! After 4 days of running, it looks like slightly more than 9 in 10 people want to keep nude beaches open. That’s a very interesting result indeed!!

According to this article in the Gellong Advertiser (Click here to read), support for the poll has gone international!! Just think, lots of potential international nudist tourists now know Torquay and Pt Impossible exist!! Nudism is good for tourism, we say!!

In the Meeting Agenda released by the Surf Coast Shire for the council meeting to be held Tuesday 17/10, item 4.3 on Page 48 introduces the next step in the process being folowed by Council to clean up the mess initiated by Cr Humphrey. You can donwload the entire agenda from the Surf Coast Shire website, just scroll to Page 48 to read the detail (Click here to see the agenda)

There’s a couple of things that are interesting in the agenda that are worth pointing out, as follows:

• The council acknowledges that the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC) did not support the council motion in the early stages of the process
• Although we have not seen the actual letter sent by the Planning Minister to the council, the agenda does quote the Minister as saying “It would be imprudent to proceed further without appropriate local consultation being undertaken.”
• The council acknowledges that “there has not been a broad ranging and structure [sic] consultation process undertaken. For example, the people who legitimately and legally use Pt Impossible as an option dress beach and the broader community were not consulted prior to the Council considering the above action.” This is the first time (as far as we are aware) that the council acknolwedges the community was not consulted, contrary to what Cr Humphrey would have you believe
• Council has requested the Shire CEO (Peter Bollen) to prepare a community consultation framework
• Council suggests there will be “considerable political risk to Council if it maintains its current position in relation to
  its request to Minister Hulls to revoke the optional dress provisions at Pt Impossible without undertaking a
  structured and open consultation process.” – That’s a bit more than a public meeting, Cr Humphrey…
• Finally, council acknowledges that “consultation may inform Council that its current position in this matter is justified or alternatively it may return that further thought needs to be given to this issue”. The nudist community is of the belief that much further thought is required, preferably based on facts rather than the emotive rhetoric and specious assertions that put council in this position in the first place

The Victorian nudist community supports the notion of open and reasonable discussion of the issues within a consultative framework that allows for the contributions of all interested parties to be considered. The community also welcomes any opportunity to be involved in the process that defines the consultative framework, in consideration of the unique ways the community communicates internally throughout the state and nationally.

It is our view the Cr Humphrey’s suggestion to hold an open forum to resolve the issues “once and for all” (as quoted in the Geelong Advertiser 16/10 and referred to in a previous post on this site) is a naive and short-sighted view of how appropriate and comprehensive community consultation should be undertaken. Cr Humphrey’s poorly researched original motion and subsequent behaviour (particularly in the media) has only served to highlight his unwillingness (or inability) to present verifiable facts and remain impartial on these issues, and has not served the interests of the community or the council as a result.

We’ll keep you informed of the outcome of the meeting, and urge everyone to be ready with the letters and comments for submission