Signs prohibiting beachgoers from using cling wrap to reserve picnic huts have popped up on the NSW south coast.
Wollongong City Council has erected signs in beachside picnic spots around the area which inform people using any material to enclose the shelters was banned.
It follows a surge in people trying to reserve the shaded gazebos by wrapping them in cling wrap.
Lord Mayor of Wollongong Tania Brown said the controversial tactic was used by some people to nab coveted picnic gazebos during peak summer periods.
“As they are in shared public spaces, the use of cling wrap or any other material to cordon off or ‘reserve’ spots like beach huts and barbecue picnic tables is prohibited,” Brown told 9news.com.au in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that we have had to erect signage to remind people of this, but I would hope people show common courtesy to one another when it comes to shared spaces and facilities.
“Our rangers do patrol these areas and will remove any wrapping they find, and members of the public should contact Council and report this behaviour if they encounter it.”
Brown said the vast majority of beachgoers in Wollongong respect the public spaces.
The divisive practice of wrapping picnic gazebos in kitchen cling wrap has been an issue for years, locals say.
“Happens every Australia Day in Wollongong,” one resident said on social media.
“People have been doing this for years, was down there in 2022 and a family cling wrapped one of larger double table stone picnic sheds early in the morning,” another said.
The national debate over reserving public spaces remains a hot topic after prime minister Anthony Albanese weighed in on the popular Cool Cabana trend.
During the sweltering summer heat over Christmas, the tented sun shades have been seen covering beaches everywhere around the country.
“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. Everyone,” Albanese said on Today.
“And it’s a place where every Australian is equal. And that’s a breach of that principle, really, to think that you can reserve a little spot as just yours.”
