Australia’s prime minister joins intense debate over beach cabanas

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has waded into a debate over the use of portable cabanas to reserve prime spots on the nation’s beaches, saying the practice was “not on” and against the country’s egalitarian spirit.

Famous for its sunshine and sandy beaches, Australia is in the middle of summer, where temperatures in some parts of the country have already topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Portable gazebo-like beach cabanas, which usually take up more space than umbrellas and offer shade in the country with the highest skin cancer rates in the world, have become increasingly popular.

But photos of dozens of empty cabanas on beaches in Australia posted on social media in recent weeks have sparked furious online and media debate, with some calling the act “un-Australian”, while others applauded the ingenuity.

“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,” Albanese said during an appearance on Today, one of the country’s most popular breakfast television shows.