Tim Blair: Bronte Beach clean-up a small price to pay to see fun return to Sydney

Scenes of garbage left on beaches by Christmas Day revellers have spawned outrage, but Tim Blair reckons Sydneysiders could learn a thing or two from the partying backpackers.

Yes, it would be nice if Bronte Beach backpackers all cleaned up after themselves.

Yes, it would be nice if the beachfront remained as pristine following a Christmas Day of backpacker partying as it was beforehand.

But let’s not throw out the babies with the beachwater here.

If local authorities clamp down too hard on the annual Bronte Beach backpacker bash, they risk crushing a fun new tradition before it’s even had a chance to take hold.

The fun is important, and we’ll get to that in a moment.

Backpackers show Sydney how to party on Bronte Beach on Christmas Day. Pictures: Flavio Brancaleone

But first consider the huge revenue generated by backpackers in Sydney every summer, and the revenue generated specifically within the Bronte area on December 25.

Decorative antler sales alone would probably match Victoria’s entire yearly GDP. Local vendors of Christmas-themed bikinis are now on to their second Bentleys.

Clean-up crews get to work on the mountains of trash left behind after over 10,000 people celebrated Christmas Day at Bronte Beach. Picture: Tom Parrish

And if any enterprising Bronte kids are scuttling around today among the garbage, their can-return cash may cover a few terms of private school fees.

The expense to Bronte council of paying for beach rangers, lifesavers, security teams and the like would easily be covered many times over by short-term backpacker investments.

One must feel for nearby residents, of course. They shouldn’t expect their surroundings to become a full-on party zone.

Except that they do live on a Sydney beach. And it is summer. Plus there are holidays.

So anyone in and around Bronte Beach really should expect the good times to break out when the sun is up and the sand beckons.

And that is the whole point. Sydney has become a scolding and joyless city in recent times.

It is significant that the initial response to our Bronte party people was to decry their littering rather than rejoice in their exuberance.

Keep in mind, too, that those backpackers were joined by many young locals. Brits and Euros are teaching us how to have fun on our own turf.

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