The site has been an unofficial nude beach for the last 20 years. "It's been accepted at Alexandra Bay and Noosa Heads for the last 20 years and it is just now that groups can get in an official application for it, which Free Beaches has done,'' Cr Abbot said. Free Beaches Australia committee member Anita Grigg said Queenslanders had become more accepting of nude sunbathing.   "There are a lot of rednecks in Queensland, but when we put out polls we usually get 88 to 90 per cent of people approving a nude beach," Ms Grigg said.

"That approval is across the board, on the basis that the beach is a bit out of the way and there are lots of signs to show what it is used for.'' The group stages an annual Nude Olympics at Alexandra bay that draws about 600 people.

But that number could skyrocket with the approval of a legal beach, according to group vice president Mark Hayter. He said Queensland had been missing out tourism dollars due to its stance on beach nudity. "We get a lot of calls from people in New Zealand and other countries asking where our legal nude beaches are and when we say we don't have one it scares them off,'' Mr Hayter said. Queensland is the only state or territory in Australia without a legal nude beach. Premier Anna Bligh has previously signalled her willingness to change state legislation as long as the local council approved a clothes optional beach.