Yep, you read that right.
Sunshine Coast Council is proposing a compulsory Surfing Licence for anyone hitting the surf in the region. Three hundred and sixty-five dollars. A year. One dollar a day to paddle out at your local break.
The stated purpose is beach upkeep — maintenance of beach access paths, car parks, facilities, erosion management and the like. Council reckons the people using the waves most should be contributing directly to the infrastructure that supports it. On the surface, that argument isn't completely mad. Those car parks don't repave themselves, and the amenities blocks at most beaches are absolutely flogged by summer.
But here's where it gets interesting — and not in a good way.
Council is planning to fund enforcement of this licence by deploying rangers into the actual lineups. On SUPs. Let that sink in. Your rates — and apparently your new $365 licence fee — will be going toward paying someone to paddle around Noosa First Point or Coolum on a big foamie, checking that everyone in the water has paid their dues. We're talking about bureaucracy in boardshorts. A bloke in a high-vis rashie asking for your papers between sets.