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

At a recent council meeting of the SurfCoast Shire Council, motions were made for a sub-committee to apply to the appropriate minister to have the status of Pt Impossible revoked, and to increase monitoring of Southside with a view to possible application for revocation in future!

Victoria only has 4 clothing optional beaches – Pt Impossible and Southside are two of them, and Sunnyside and Campbells Cove are the others. Is it coincidental that suddenly 3 of Victorias clothing optional beaches suddenly come under attack? Hard to say… But it is outrageous that Victoria would be heading in a backwards direction while QLD (a state that has never had legal clothing optional beaches) is getting so close to joining the rest of us in the modern world!!

Come on Victorians, this is beyond a joke. If you use the beaches, then help us do something about it – contact the Free Beach Association in Melbourne (check the Contacts page), contact us here, or write to the Minister in charge using the following details:

The Honourable Rob Justin Hulls
Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for
Planning
Level 17, 8 Nicholson St, East Melbourne 3002
Tel: 9637 8855
Fax: 9637 8921
Email: rob.hulls [Email address: rob.hulls #AT# parliament.vic.gov.au - replace #AT# with @ ]

To read the actual minutes of the SurfCoast Shire meetings, click the link below

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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!!