The Aussie beach cabana drama

Life's a beach in Australia – unless you want some shade, that is. Sunseekers down under are up in arms over the rising numbers of beach tents, known as cabanas, popping up on their sandy shores. The serious nature of the issue has even seen the country's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, getting involved.

It began on social media, when locals at Safety Beach on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, began debating the use of cabanas to secure a good spot for the day.

Unlike beaches in many other countries, Australia’s are usually open to all, with no private or reserved sections. This means the public "do not have to fork out to reserve a spot to relax", said The Guardian, calling it a "proud Australian tradition".

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However, with temperatures hitting 40C, "early birds" have been using cabanas to "mark their territory", setting up camp in the morning before leaving and then returning "at their leisure" later in the day, said the Herald Sun.

Beaches 'belong to everyone'

Mornington beachgoers took to an online community page to discuss whether such actions were "selfish or simply smart". Some argued the cabana owners were "plain rude, entitled city people taking over", while others told objectors to "stop being a Karen".

Local mayor Anthony Marsh soon became involved. Beachgoers were entitled to use cabanas, he said, but he disagreed with them "reserving space on the beach and then going off and doing other stuff".

Eventually, the debate hit national TV and Albanese was asked about the "burning question that is today dividing the nation" on the "Today" breakfast show. He replied that Australia's beaches belonged to "everyone" and were places where everyone is equal. Reserving a spot for yourself was, therefore, a "breach" of that principle.

Standing up for 'SunSmart Australians'

Albanese's critics turned this argument round to defend cabana users, pointing out that the PM enjoyed a multimillion-dollar cliffside home overlooking the ocean. "The idea that anyone could obstruct such views with a pop up tent is a travesty, in his eyes at least," said the Daily Mail Australia.

Sharing the article online, Senator Bridget McKenzie, of the opposition National Party, accused Albanese of looking down on "SunSmart Australians" unable to afford ocean views.

Cabana defenders also pointed to Australia's blazing heat, with Australian author Anna Spargo-Ryan in The Guardian remembering how her childhood was "a series of lectures" about the need to "slip, slop, slap" to help prevent skin cancer. "In our fiery skin-cancer factory of a country", the beach was not the place to "be less sun smart".

As for claims the beach belonged to everyone, "King Charles III owns literally all of it" beyond the "tiny bits being encroached upon by billionaires". And that, she concluded, was "the most Australian thing of all".

A question of equality

The issue has now become a "full-on turf war" following "several summers of simmering tension", said the BBC. Australians like to think of themselves as egalitarian – "the land of a 'fair go'" and "Cabanagate" goes against the idea that beaches are shared spaces and places that break down social hierarchies.

The row may be new but there have long been "enormous class tensions" around the use of the beach, Chris Pepin-Neff, who studies Australian beach culture, told the BBC. A lack of infrastructure and affordable housing has prevented many from living and enjoying the coastline. Now, said Pepin-Neff, "there's a perception that it's encroaching even further" and the average family can't even find space on the beach.