Gold Coast Beaches To Be Shut Down

The isolation screws are still being tightened all around Australia after another weekend of too many people sitting on crowded beaches breathing all over each other. 


Decent weather lead to packed beaches on the Gold Coast, and Mayor Tom Tate has decided to close The Spit, Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta beaches from midnight Tuesday the 7th of April. Other beaches will remain open however they will be off-limits to non-Gold Coast residents. 


While it’s unclear how and to what extent this will be enforced, just like the many grimy night clubs further north, you might need to carry a valid I.D with you if you want to surf. And if you’re only 15 will displaying your library card work? Hard to say. 


The Mayor is strictly blaming blow-ins for the miss-use of space. “Unfortunately, over the weekend, out-of-towners are descending on the Gold Coast in mass numbers and I fear that this number will increase over the Easter weekend,”. 

While the Mayor having enough credible evidence to solely blame blow-ins for the crowded beaches is highly unlikely, it appears to be a clever use of rhetoric to keep a community built on beach culture on-side as he navigates a difficult announcement.


The Mayor has also stated that “The beaches will remain open for our locals so that they can continue to walk and exercise.” What does that mean for surfers exactly? Hard to say. 


With a little pulse in swell scheduled for Wednesday, the first day of the beach closure, it’s only going to raise further questions for surfers. Primarily, how much are the fines? and are they worth it?