Legislation to ban offensive, sexist and demeaning slogans from vehicles on WA roads is to be introduced into Parliament.
Minister for Transport, Rita Saffioti said proposed changes to the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012 will allow vehicle licences to be cancelled or refused if they displayed offensive material.
Ms Saffioti said similar legislation had been introduced in other jurisdictions, including Queensland, Tasmania, NSW and the ACT.
“Since 2008, more than 70 complaints against Wicked Campers have been upheld by Ad Standards Australia,” Ms Saffioti said.
“It’s the end of the road for these tired, outdated, sexist and demeaning slogans on our vehicles.”
She said she had driven behind these sorts of vehicles with her young children and had no words to describe to them what the horrible slogans meant.
“While we haven’t seen many of these vehicles on the road lately, we are drafting legislation that will allow us to cancel or refuse licences for vehicles with these sorts of slogans and images,” the Minister said.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe on our roads and I hope this new legislation will provide people with peace of mind.”
Minister for Women’s Interests, Simone McGurk said the slogans promoted sexism, violence against women and discrimination.
“This legislation will force vehicle owners who display offensive slogans to clean up their act, and steer the conversation in a direction that is more in line with current community standards,” Ms McGurk said.
