Australia’s prime minister has said it is “not on” to use portable cabanas to reserve spots on the country’s beaches.
The country is in its summer period, with temperatures in some parts topping 40C, and portable gazebo-like cabanas have become increasingly popular.
But debate has raged after photos on social media showed empty cabanas on beaches after people set them up early in the morning to reserve spaces for later in the day.
Some called the act “un-Australian“, while others celebrated the ingenuity and argued in favour of the important shade they offer in a country with the highest skin cancer rates in the world.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the practice was a “breach” of the principle that “every Australian is equal” on the beach.
“One of the great things about Australia, unlike some parts of the world, [where] you go and you’ve got to pay to go to the beach, here, everyone owns the beach,” he said during an interview on breakfast TV show Today.
“It’s a place where every Australian is equal. And that’s a breach of that principle, really, to think that you can reserve a little spot as just yours.”
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Mr Albanese will fight to be re-elected this year in a vote that must be held by May.
