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Australians are pushing back against the prospect of taxpayer money being spent on Harry and Meghan's upcoming visit, with a petition demanding the couple fund their own trip already attracting tens of thousands of signatures - even as the luxury retreat Meghan is headlining battles an unfinished pool, a broken spa and a beach plagued by sewage balls.

Beyond Australia, a domestic advocacy group, mounted the campaign in advance of the couple's scheduled arrival next month, pressing ministers to draw a clear line - not a penny of public money for security details, transport arrangements or any other cost the visit might generate.

By Tuesday evening the Change.org petition - bearing the unambiguous title No Taxpayer-Funding or Official Support for Harry & Meghan's Private Visit to Australia - had gathered 32,715 names, with more being added by the hour.

The group said: "The activities are private and commercial and must be treated strictly as a private visit.

"At a time when Australians are facing significant cost-of-living pressures, including rising grocery bills, fuel prices, mortgage stress driven by interest rate hikes, and increasing energy costs, public resources must be used responsibly and applied fairly without special treatment for high-profile individuals."

The petition emerged against a backdrop of genuine uncertainty, reports the Daily Mail. For weeks, both federal and state governments in Australia declined to confirm who would be responsible for the couple's protection during the visit - fuelling speculation that Australian taxpayers might end up footing the bill. It has since been established that the trip is being privately funded.

The last time the couple touched down in Australia was seven years ago, arriving as fully credentialled members of the working Royal Family. A protection detail shadowed them at every engagement, and Kirribilli House - the Governor-General's official Sydney residence with its celebrated harbour views - served as their base throughout.

The petition is far from the only headache surrounding the visit. Meghan is billed as the star guest at what has been described as an Australian "ultimate girls' weekend" - a three-day luxury retreat dubbed "Meg-stock" - and the event has run into a string of embarrassing problems.

Her Best Life Retreat runs across three days from April 17, drawing a sellout crowd of around 300 to a hotel above Coogee beach. Those who splashed out on VIP packages will find themselves in the front row and will get a group shot with Meghan at the InterContinental Hotel gala.

The property marketing itself as "a new era of beachside elegance" is scrambling to look the part in time, states the report. Its headline attraction - a new infinity pool with uninterrupted views across the Tasman Sea - remains a building site it is understood. The spa, bar and outdoor leisure deck are also expected to be ready only in the weeks immediately before the event.

A visitor who spent time at the property last week was less than impressed, telling the Daily Mail the poolside work looked like "a work in progress" and amounted to "a blot on the view."

Directly below the hotel, the beach has its own long-running problem. An unpleasant phenomenon has been afflicting the shoreline since 2024 - compacted spheres of soap residue, cooking grease, hair, chemical waste and human excrement that bob in on the tide and have been doing so for more than two years.

A Sussex spokesman confirmed the week before last that the Duchess had no intention of pulling out of the event despite the mounting complications.

The Duke and Duchess's representative dismissed the petition with undisguised contempt, the Express understands.

"It's a moot point. The trip is being funded privately, so I'm not sure what this petition hopes to achieve," the spokesman said.

"Of course, if you wanted to dive into the ridiculousness of this petition as an agenda for spreading misinformation, then one could equally hypothesise that there are approximately 26.5 million Australians (99.98% of the population) who haven't signed it, who must therefore agree with the tax-payer picking up the tab for their visit.

"Of course, that is another equally stupid assertion to make but hey, why let common sense get in the way of a good story..."