Aussies angry over bid to ban topless sunbathing

Updated on: 02 January,2009 09:02 AM IST |
Agencies |

Australians have reacted angrily to a bid by a conservative lawmaker to ban topless sunbathing on beaches in the country's most populous state.

Australians have reacted angrily to a bid by a conservative lawmaker to ban topless sunbathing on beaches in the country's most populous state.
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Christian lawmaker and veteran morals campaigner Reverend Fred Nile won backing from key politicians in New South Wales state, counting Sydney and its famed ocean beaches, to tighten existing laws covering nude sunbathing.
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"The law should be clear. It must say exposure of women's breasts on beaches will be prohibited," Nile said.
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But scores of callers to radio stations complained about the plan and Leanne Peters from the ACT Nudist Club in the capital Canberra said Australia would look like a "haven for prudes" in the unlikely event that laws passed parliament.
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Australians love their suntans and topless sunbathing has been common on most beaches since the 1960s. Nude beaches are also legal in every state except tropical Queensland.
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NSW Assistant Health Minister Jodi McKay said banning topless sunbathing was a step too far for most lawmakers. "We don't want to go down the slippery slope of banning activities like this. What would be next, banning breastfeeding?" she said.