Boobs on Bikes returning: Porn king

Defiant pornographer Steve Crow has vowed to bring Boobs on Bikes back to Tauranga despite council moves aimed at blocking the topless parade.

Tauranga City Council is proposing to make offensiveness one of the grounds for requiring permission to hold a street parade. But Mr Crow said he would fight the council.

"It won't make any difference to me whatsoever," he told the Bay of Plenty Times.

"I will take zero notice of any bylaw they bring in. I'm not vaguely interested in what the Tauranga City Council considers offensive. If they want to waste Tauranga ratepayers' money, let them. I have plenty of money, I'm happy to fight them."

In a review of its street use bylaws, the council yesterday took the first step towards making it more difficult for the organiser of the Auckland erotic festival to use Tauranga streets to promote his event.

Boobs on Bikes created a furore last year among residents who considered the topless parade indecent. They said it lowered the city's moral tone.

Protests, including several attempts by Christian groups to stop its progress, led to a heavy police presence as the procession wound its way along The Strand and Devonport Rd.

Yesterday's council meeting agreed unanimously to amend the bylaw in which the only circumstances requiring council permission to hold a parade were impeding pedestrian or vehicle access.

As well as making offensiveness one of the tests for requiring council permission, the meeting also added the potential for parades to cause a public nuisance or endanger public health.

The final wording would go out for public consultation.

Despite the backlash from some councillors against Boobs on Bikes last year, there was a complete absence of debate yesterday when the proposed bylaw change options were listed. There was a confidential legal opinion on the proposed changes.