Why Isn't More Of Australia's Gorgeous Coastline Deveolped?

[kanhawk]

Originally Posted by sossie

Because unlike most of the world we believe the beaches are for everyone-always annoyed me that in the USA people actually can own the beach in front of their house and will have signs saying you cant walk on the sand....

This is incorrect. Most beaches in most US states are open to public access. You can not privately own an ocean beach in most states, nor deny someone walking on or otherwise using the beach. You can restrict access to the beach through your private property, but even if you own a multimillion dollar home by the beach someone can plop down with their beach chair and umbrella right on the beach in front of your house.

Here is the law in Texas, which is similar to most states with coastal lands:

In Texas, public access to Gulf Coast beaches is not just the law, it is a constitutional right. In fact, walking along the beach in Texas has been a privilege since Texas was a Republic, and the beaches were sometimes the best road between growing trade outposts.

The Texas Land Commissioner, by law, protects this public right for all Texans by enforcing the Texas Open Beaches Act.

Open Beaches

[sossie]

Originally Posted by kanhawk

This is incorrect. Most beaches in most US states are open to public access. You can not privately own an ocean beach in most states, nor deny someone walking on or otherwise using the beach. You can restrict access to the beach through your private property, but even if you own a multimillion dollar home by the beach someone can plop down with their beach chair and umbrella right on the beach in front of your house.

Here is the law in Texas, which is similar to most states with coastal lands:

In Texas, public access to Gulf Coast beaches is not just the law, it is a constitutional right. In fact, walking along the beach in Texas has been a privilege since Texas was a Republic, and the beaches were sometimes the best road between growing trade outposts.

The Texas Land Commissioner, by law, protects this public right for all Texans by enforcing the Texas Open Beaches Act.

Open Beaches

Try doing that on some parts of Cape Cod and your in for a shock...

[Samuel,J]

Originally Posted by thrillobyte

I've been watching some Int'l Homebuyers episodes on HGTV (can't remember the actual title offhand) and some have concentrated on Sydney and Melbourne. It got me to thinking about Australia having probably more climate-friendly stupendous oceanfront real estate than any other inhabited landmass in the world. Yet something like 95% of it is undeveloped.

So forget about the interior. Why doesn't the govt cater to the huge demand for oceanfront property from wealthy foreigners and middle-class Aussies and start developing a thin strip of land around Australia similar to what is done in the Hawaiian islands? With the average oceanfront property selling into the millions these days Australia is sitting on a veritable goldmine of money potentially worth trillions of dollars. It wouldn't cost that much to put in a crude infrastructure (sewers, asphalt roads, powerlines etc. compared to the money they'd get back. So why aren't they?

I think you've touched on the answer when you mentioned the cost of infrastructure. Also, most of the expensive waterfront land these days is on the canal estates (despite the acid sulfate problems). For instance, a small waterfront block in Pelican Waters is in the region of $700,000. Waterfront with deep water access is more valuable than land without it.

Some councils work very hard to keep development to a minimum and preserve the character of their seaside areas. Byron Bay and Noosa are two I can think of and I'm sure there are many more.