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No Takers for Proposal to Ban Topless Sunbathing in Australian State

by Gopalan on Dec 30 2008 1:28 PM

An initiative by a priest to introduce a bill to ban topless sunbathing makes no headway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

The Reverend Fred Nile got everyone talking about bare breasts on Tuesday, but that was about all.

The Christian Democratic Party upper house member wants to introduce a private member's bill. Two MPs, one from the Labour Party and another from the Liberal party, have come forward with their support. But no one else seems to care.

Acting NSW Premier Carmel Tebbutt does not have a problem with topless sunbathing and says the issue is a matter for local councils.

"Government can sometimes get themselves into all sorts of trouble by trying to stray into areas that are better left to individuals," she told reporters in Sydney.

Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell says the issue "doesn't even rate" with state parliament.

He is also not bothered by bare breasts at the beach, and said his wife and two sons, aged nine and 14, visited beaches where topless sunbathing was not common.

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"You work out which are family-friendly beaches, which aren't, and you simply attend those," Mr O'Farrell told reporters in Sydney.

The mayor who presides over Bondi Beach said the locals complained about most issues but going topless had never come up.

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"We've got alcohol-related violence, we've got under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour in the public domain - those are really important issues," Waverley Mayor Sally Betts told Fairfax Radio Network.

"If Reverend Nile really wants to help people he should focus on those issues."

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the issue was not on his radar or in the domain of police.

"The last time I looked we don't have the moral laws or the fun laws under our jurisdiction but certainly it's not an issue I've even given much thought to," Mr Scipione told reporters in Sydney AAP reported.

"As long as people know what the rules are and know what to expect I think it is a matter for the individuals involved."

NSW Assistant Health Minister Jodi McKay told The Daily Telegraph banning topless sunbaking was going too far.

"We don't want to go down the slippery slope of banning activities like this. What would be next, banning breastfeeding?"

Source-Medindia
GPL/SK


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