澳大利亞議員提議禁止女性海灘裸曬
Ban on topless sunbathing urged for Australian beaches
Australia's reputation as a laid-back, easy-going nation of sunworshippers is under threat from a plan by conservatives to force women to cover up on some of the country's most popular beaches.
Christian MP and veteran morals campaigner Reverend Fred Nile, who is planning to introduce a bill to parliament banning topless sunbathing, said high community standards should be observed in public places.
"The law should be clear. It must say exposure of women's breasts on beaches will be prohibited," he said.
The bill has won the support of Labour government MP Paul Gibson, who told the Sydney Daily Telegraph that families at the beach during the summer holidays did not want to see topless women.
"If you're on the beach do you want somebody with big knockers next to you when you're there with the kids?" he asked.
But some Australians, keen to protect their relaxed beachgoing lifestyle at the height of summer, have reacted angrily to the proposal.
Local councils, which are responsible for enforcing clothing standards at beaches, currently do not fine or prohibit topless bathers because they do not regard bare breasts as nudity.
NSW Assistant Health Minister Jodi McKay said banning topless sunbathing was a step too far. "We don't want to go down the slippery slope of banning activities like this. What would be next, banning breastfeeding?" she said.
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.
Topless sunbathing has been common on most beaches in Australia since the 1960s. Nude beaches are also legal in every state except Queensland.
British tourists enjoying the hot weather and cool water at Coogee beach in Sydney couldn't see what all the fuss was about. Lisa Clarke, 32, said she had sunbathed topless at several beaches on the Australian east coast but no one seemed to take any notice. "I don't see what the big deal is," she said.
澳大利亞向來以讓日光浴愛好者感到放鬆自在而聞名。然而這個美稱正面臨威脅，因爲近日該國保守派議員近日提議，禁止女性在當地一些最受歡迎的海灘浴場袒胸曬日光浴。
基督教議員、資深道德活動家弗雷德•奈爾計劃向議會提議禁止袒胸日光浴，他表示公共場所應樹立較高的社會標準。
他說：“法律必須明文禁止女性袒胸日光浴。”
該提案已獲得工黨政府議員保羅•吉布森的支持。他在接受《悉尼每日電訊報》採訪時稱，家人暑期一起去海灘時可不想見到半裸的女性。
他問道：“如果你和孩子一起在海灘上，你願意看到旁邊躺着一位坦胸露乳的女郎嗎？”
但一些熱衷於保護夏季海灘浴自由方式的澳大利亞民衆則對該提議極力反對。
負責執行海灘浴衣着標準的地方議會目前尚未限制或禁止袒胸日光浴，因爲他們認爲裸胸並不等於裸體。
新南威爾士州衛生部長助理喬迪•麥凱認爲禁止袒胸日光浴有些過分。她說：“我們不想一下子就完全禁止這種行爲。下一步呢？難道禁止母乳餵養嗎？”
來自堪培拉“首都裸體俱樂部”的琳尼•彼得斯表示，這樣一來澳大利亞會變成“過分正經女人的避難所”，而該提案不太可能在議會獲得通過。
自上世紀60年代以來，袒胸日光浴在澳大利亞多數海灘極爲普遍。除昆士蘭州外，裸體浴場也都合法。
正在悉尼古珠海灘享受驕陽和清涼海水的英國遊客不明白到底發生了什麼。32歲的利薩•克拉克稱她在澳大利亞東海岸的好多海灘都袒胸曬日光浴，但根本沒人在意。她說：“想不通這有什麼大不了的。”
