Talk about a boo boo. Having lost the street battle with pornographer Steve Crow, the Auckland City Council has now lost the legal battle.
For the third year running, the council has fallen into the trap of trying to stop the Boobs on Bikes parade.
In the word
of Judge Nicola Mathers, the parade may be "tasteless", but it is not offensive per se for women to be topless.
The judge acknowledged there were strong views against the parade but in a mature society the vast majority considered bare-breasted women parading down Queen St as a bit of harmless fun. That was evident from the 80,000 to 100,000 people on the route.
But the judge stressed she was acting in a court of law, not a court of morals, and it was her job to stick to the law. Her decision not to grant an injunction was based on a new bylaw aimed at stopping events deemed to be offensive by the council.
And that is where the council came unstuck; with a poorly devised bylaw specifically aimed at Mr Crow.
The judge found plenty to fault with the bylaw, not least its lawfulness and how it conflicted with the Bill of Rights. No way could she grant an injunction to stop the event.
Once again, Mr Crow has made a laughing stock of the council and gained priceless publicity for Boobs on Bikes and his Erotica Lifestyles Expo.
The parade will go ahead today, just like last year and the year before when the "morally repugnant" tag from former Mayor Dick Hubbard got swamped in a sea of voyeurism.
In an act of bravado after the court hearing, Mr Crow declared he would seek a judicial review of the bylaw.
If the council has any sense, it should be gone before lunchtime.
