“Cancelled” – and Good on him

People get sick of billboards getting place on their nice clean walls.  Rightfully so.

But one manager in the Dunedin City Council came up with a way of getting back at the vandals, and you have to admit – it’s genius!

Council property manager Dave McKenzie said yesterday he put the ‘‘cancelled’’ stickers, with a barely visible note stating it was the property of the department, on all posters on hoardings in front of the Wall Street development in George St. He had done the work himself, after having a stencil made to combat ‘‘vandalism’’ to city buildings. ‘‘I did it out of sheer desperation,’’ he said. Mayor Peter Chin yesterday described the move as ‘‘wonderfully innovative’’. Ms Ellis said this week only 35 people attended the Lavender Globe awards on Saturday, compared with about 150 in previous years. She blamed the ‘‘cancelled’’ signs.

The “Lavender Globe” awards are a “Gay Pride” thing. Kudos to Mr McKenzie for not letting Political Correctness get in the way, and also to Peter Chin for standing by the law and his staff. It’s way too easy for politicians to crumble when thought crime accusations are being thrown, even by people breaking the law.

‘‘They may feel a bit aggrieved. I feel more than aggrieved I feel angry. From here on in, any poster will go to the cops, and we’ll ask them to prosecute.’’

One does have to wonder however, how any event can claim to have been sabotaged by cancelled signs going up on one set of illegal billboards…