Australians are split over use of portable cabanas to reserve prime spots on the beach – a debate that taps into long-standing class tensions in the country regarding access to the coastline.

For years, a controversial invader has been gradually taking over Australia's beloved beaches. Swallowing up the sand, blocking ocean views and turning the shore into an irksome maze is a sea of large beach tents, called cabanas in Australia. "It's chokkas. They're all over the place," Sydneysider Claire, 30, told the BBC.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday waded in to a debate over the use of portable cabanas to reserve prime spots on the nation's beaches, saying the practice was "not on" and against the country's egalitarian spirit.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has entered the fray over portable cabanas used to reserve beach spots, criticizing it as contradictory to Australia's egalitarian spirit. With temperatures soaring,

Life's a beach in Australia – unless you want some shade, that is. Sunseekers down under are up in arms over the rising numbers of beach tents, known as cabanas, popping up on their sandy shores. The serious nature of the issue has even seen the country's prime minister,

Debate erupted this week over the growing number of beach tents, or “cabanas”, proliferating on Australian beaches. The controversy, which began on social media, was fuelled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who declared it was “not on” for beachgoers to reserve a spot on the sand by erecting a cabana then leaving it vacant for hours.