A Whale of a win

Cameron "WhaleOil" Slater may have been unsuccessful in his bid for a seat in the Auckland supercity council. His primary motivation for standing was to ensure that former North Shore mayor Andrew Williams was not elected. That of course came to pass, so the Whale can claim a victory on that score.

He's had another victory today. There was a complaint laid against him with the Advertising Standards Authority over his campaign slogan; "Keeping the buggers honest". The complaint, by one Rachel Grimwood alleged that "the use of a sexual term in a public place was gratutitous and inapproriate.".

The ASA disagreed with Ms Grimwood. In its decision, the ASA chairman notes:

"It was the Board's view that the context of this advertisement was both distinctly New Zealand and relevant to rural humour"

It was also noted that the tem "bugger" was a colloquial term which is "used by New Zealand society as a typically Kiwi expression for surprise, disbelief and disapproval" and that it did not necessarily have sexual overtones.

So now we wonder this; is Rachel Grimwood, outraged of Albany, one and the same person as Rachel Grimwood who was on the Green Party's list in the 2008 election? If indeed Andrew Williams had a Green Party activist making complaints on his behalf, it would explain why he is such a fan of organic gardening, as evidenced by his novel method of fertilising trees on the North Shore!