Matthew Ridge says the billboard is tongue-in-cheek but he wouldn't vote for Labour anyway. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Former rugby and rugby league star Matthew Ridge could face prosecution and a fine of up to $10,000 for advertising his Greenlane car wash company with a mock election advertisement.
The billboard features a picture of Ridge, an All Black who later captained the Kiwis, and uses a play on
words to promote the hand-washing car service: "Say no to Labour - We'll hand wash your car for $15".
Ridge says it's just a play on words and he isn't standing for Parliament.
But Chief Electoral Officer Robert Peden says it meets the definition of an election advertisement under the Electoral Act and must have a promoter statement. The Electoral Commission also wants to know whether the advertising campaign will run to more than $12,000 because if it does, the promoter of the ad would have to register as a third party.
"The billboards are, in the Electoral Commission's view, election advertisements as defined in the act because of the words 'Say no to Labour', and the reference to voting and tick in a box on a blue background which may reasonably be regarded as encouraging or persuading voters not to vote for the Labour Party as a political party," Mr Peden said in a letter to Car-fe company directors Robert and Siobhan Bonnici, who run the Takapuna franchise of the business.
