【2012 Archives】

Thinking of hiring a van with an offensive slogan012 Archivesit, when travelling around Australia? Better keep out of Queensland.

Their state government's pushing for legislation to stop vehicles with inappropriate advertising on them. It follows the long controversy over crude slogans painted on the vans of hire company Wicked Campers.

These slogans include absolute doozies like: "In every little Princess there is a sl*t who wants to try it just once," or "A wife: An attachment you screw on the bed to get the housework done."

Just lovely.

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Now commercial operators will risk having their vehicle's registrations cancelled, if they refuse to remove offensive slogans.

"With this legislation, vehicles registered in Queensland that display sexist, obscene or otherwise offensive advertising will face the prospect of having their registration cancelled," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.

Operators will have time to remove the offensive slogans, but they can't ignore determinations by the country's chief advertising ombudsman.

"If the Advertising Standards Board determines that an ad on a Queensland-registered vehicle needs to be removed or modified, the registration holder will have a chance to make those changes," Minister for Main Roads and Road Safety Mark Bailey said.

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"If those changes aren’t made, the registration of the offending vehicle will be cancelled, simple as that.

"Rather than ignore Board determinations, as has sometimes been the case in the past, registered operators now have a good reason to make the required changes and fall in line with community expectations."

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Byron Shire Council were looking into a ban of the vehicles at council-owned caravan parks in April this year, while also erecting signs at the entry points of popular tourist town Byron Bay, telling drivers of Wicked Campers that they aren't welcome.

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While the odd politician has said Wicked Camper vans are "funny," it's clear authorities, like many people, aren't laughing.

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