Chris Dobney
Byron Shire Council says taking action on offensive slogans, such as the ones on Wicked camper vans that have recently drawn public ire, is the role of police.
Last week Byron shire grandfather Paul McCarthy told media he had a ‘brain snap’ when he saw the slogan ‘A blow job a day beats an apple’ on the back of a Wicked Camper vehicle recently and spray-painted over the offending word.
The exact same slogan was the subject of an advertising standards complaint in 2014 and the company was then slammed by the advertising watchdog its sexually explicit slogans.
The Advertising Standards Bureau then ruled that ‘that the inclusion of this slogan on a van had no relevance to the nature of the business which is to hire vans for travel and that in this way, the slogan is completely out of context and is sexually explicit.’
The publication Ad News said in an article in 2014 that the company was ‘a regular on the ASB complaint circuit’ adding, ‘it’s not the first time the company has turned it’s nose up at responding to case determinations.
Senate motion ignored
In 2014 the Senate passed a motion calling upon the company to paint over its misogynist, racist and homophobic slogans within six months, which management agreed to but never did.
Since painting over the slogan when it reappeared in Byron Bay last week, Mr McCarthy said he feared the owners of the rent-a-van business would take him to court.
In 2014 Wicked Campers chief executive John Webb told customers ‘if it offends you, paint it out,’ apparently giving them permission to paint over the offensive graffiti on his vans.
But in April last year, after ignoring the Advertising Standards Bureau and the Senate, he did an about face, telling the website SmartCompany, ‘Wicked Campers will no longer permit individuals or groups, to in any way manipulate the artwork or general appearance of its vehicles or property.’
Mr McCarthy has subsequently called on Byron Shire Council to ban the vans, saying he would appeal to councillors on the issue at their meeting on Thursday (April 7).
But the matter is not on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting and according to Wayne Bertram, manager of BSC’s regulatory services, it is not an issue council can act upon.
Mr Bertram said, however, that police could take action under the Summary Offences Act.
He said the council would discuss the issue with local police and write to the Brisbane-based owners of Wicked Campers outlining community concerns.
‘The council does get a little bit frustrated with some people’s attitude towards what they think is acceptable behavior,’ he told ABC radio this morning, adding that council would ‘try and work with everyone to try and resolve the matters.’
‘Some people have also taken the matter into their own hands to “tidy up” some of the vans themselves,’ he said.
New penalties for offensive slogans, images
Sexist and offensive slogans on vehicles, such as Wicked Campers, have now been outlawed after the Road Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 was adopted by parliament on October 21. Local MP Tamara Smith (Greens) said it was a ‘great win’,...
Wicked Campers forced to clean up their vans
The Queensland government has taken aim at companies that hire out campervans emblazoned with offensive slogans, which are often seen around Byron Bay and Ballina.
Camper slogans incite hatred of women: MP
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.
Council ‘powerless to act’ on offensive slogans
Byron Shire Council says taking action on offensive slogans, such as the ones on Wicked camper vans that recently have drawn public ire, is the role of police.
Thousands rail against van company’s obscene slogans
Thousands of people have joined a group calling for the boycott of Wicked Campers after a Byron Bay man was threatened with prosecution because he sprayed over an obscene slogan on the back of one of the company's vehicles.
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