You're correct - Australia has a fairly good acceptance of nudity, except in good ole Queensland where I live!
I'm not born here and have a completely, lets call it 'interstate' acceptance of nudity and other absurd ideas like day light savings in the summer time...round peg in a square hole here.
The nudity laws here are so absurd and in the mean time the powers that be are reviewing and relaxing laws regarding intoxication and urinating in public.
I truly believe the obstinance here in Queensland regarding nudity law reform is that they don't want to be seen to be following the other States (NSW especially). There is no logical reason when you have the vast coastline and wonderfully remote locations that Queensland offers that nudity can't have greater legal scope...
I think that it would make no difference at first in the number of people forsaking their swimwear. But gradually, if the nudists behaved themselves, there would be more of a drift toward swimming nude. It would take a lot of time, perhaps generations.
Woodsman, this describes pretty much how we started in nudism, and I guess many more who first visited a CO beach and decided to give it a go.
I would suggest though, that all nudist know how to behave,
its the people (men) who cant or dont want to behave and use nudism as an excuse for their behaviour. thats the thing that would turn genuine people away.
I agree that proper behavior is a key element to social acceptance. That's why we're told to be satisfied with a single part of the beach, and not impose our presence on those parts of the beach where swimwear is the default. If we respect them, they might respect us.