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Parading breasts not indecent say police
Monday August 21, 2006
By Bernard Orsman
The topless porn parade in Queen St on Wednesday fits the standards of decency in this day and age and is not indecent, say the police. The Boobs on Bikes parade featuring up to 30 topless porn stars in cars or on the back of motorcycles has drawn the condemnation of a majority of Auckland councillors and a mixed reaction in the wider community. Auckland City chief executive David Rankin is expected to announce today that there are no grounds for revoking a permit for the lunchtime parade. The police said there were no legal grounds for stopping the parade. That was the view of police Inspector Rob Abbott, in response to a question from a member of the public, Dave Crampton, who wanted to know if the police would arrest any of the women who paraded topless. In a letter to the acting Auckland police commander, Superintendent Gavin Jones, Mr Crampton said there was a strong feeling in the community that the police and the council needed to act against a parade promoting pornography and the porn industry. "Section 125 of the Crimes Act clearly states that it is a crime to 'wilfully (do) any indecent act in any place to which the public have or are permitted to have access, or within view of any such place'," Mr Crampton said. In reply, Inspector Abbott said the Court of Appeal had said the question of indecency must consider the time, place and circumstances of the conduct and must be more than trifling and sufficient to warrant the sanction of the law. "In the opinion of the police, given the standards of decency observed in this day and age, a female being topless in a parade on a weekday in Queen St will not in itself constitute an indecent act. However, what actions the female performs while topless may bring the behaviour to a point which is sufficient to warrant the intervention and sanction of the law," Mr Abbott said. Last night, Mayor Dick Hubbard did not want to comment on the likelihood of the council revoking the permit until Mr Rankin reported back today. Nor would he be drawn on the police view. Mr Hubbard last week said the parade was "totally inappropriate because it's shamelessly promoting a pornography trade show", and 13 councillors signed a petition asking the bureaucracy to withdraw the council permit, which was granted without asking the politicians. The anti-parade lobby has the backing of Bill Smith, who has been running strip clubs and massage parlours in Auckland since the 1970s. Mr Smith said the Erotica show was great but "semi-naked girls going down Queen St where there are people there who don't want to see that sort of thing being foisted on them is not on". Erotica Lifestyles Expo organiser Steve Crow has said the parade would go ahead with or without a council permit.
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