Byron and Ballina shire councils are set to tell the federal and state governments they’ve had enough of the vile slogans spray-painted on Wicked Campers.
They want the controversial slogans, which have outraged the community with their vilifying and mysoginist language, banned.
An a Greens MP is calling it as it is: incitement of hatred towards women and condoning of violence.
Both councils today deal with motions calling on the governments to legislate against offensive slogans.
A Byron councillor wants the vehicles banned from council-controlled land such as camping grounds or caravan parks.
Byron Greens’ Cr Duncan Dey in his notice of motion has called for support for council to erect signs at Byron Bay’s entry points telling users of the notorious campervans they were not welcome.
Cr Dey says council as a landowner has the right to prohibit such vans trying to enter onto its property
Ballina’s deputy mayor Robyn Hordern will table a motion calling on the NSW government to take action through its state road laws against vehicles with offensive slogans.
Byron Shire Council staff have recommended local delegates take a motion on the issue to June’s national conference of the Australian Local Government Association.
Meanwhile, Ballina MP Tamara Smith says community outrage sparked by the slogans deserved an all-of-government response.
Ms Smith launched a scathing attack on the campervan business, saying the slogans used by Wickers were strongly mysoginist and sexist.
The MP told the ABC that the issue was ‘about vilification, and not freedom of speech’.
‘This is inciting hatred towards women… and condoning violence, that’s what we’re taking about here,’ she said.
But who will decide what is offensive and what isn’t? Not Council surely. Meantime this is the cheapest publicity Wicked could find.
I agree fully. They are offensive,peurile rubbish. (Story is deserving of correct spelling of misogynist hereforth).
Have we got no intelligent people in the Northern Rivers?
Must all of us be ignorant, backward and incompetent.
Are we all swayed to a certain thinking by what someone says?
Don’t let me sway you, you strong people of the Northern Rivers.
Now I,m seriously worried, I agreed with the greens!. For the first time in living memory (no, lets go for broke, the greens have made a rational comment within any memory, dead or alive ) the greens have made a rational comment. What restores my blind faith though is their not noticing wind, solar and hydro alternative energy supplies have inevitably failed in Tasmania and they do a Nelson and turn a blind eye to the hydrocarbon based energy sources saving the sorry backside of Tasmania.
I wasn’t aware only, females lost their virginity, it appears I was wrong.
This is unbelievably stupid and another reason why the Greens are becoming less relevant rather than more so in such a politically vacant society.
Do we also ban people wearing Tshirts with offensive slogans in Council areas?
Do we ban people wearing Tshirts made by slaves in Bangladesh in Council areas?
Do we ban thugs from coming down from the Goldcoast to perv on cute bikini clad girls in Council areas?
I would have expected this from Rose, not the Greens.
You won’t address domestic dysfunction and violence by legislation/regulation.