Sexy billboards in Queensland inquiry’s sights

The future of outdoor advertising in the Sunshine State is under scrutiny as the Queensland Government’s Inquiry into sexually explicit outdoor advertising deliberates over evidence collected in two public hearings in August.

Lobby groups want the state government to regulate the outdoor industry, however the industry itself is fighting back. Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the Outdoor Media Association (OMA), is standing up for the industry’s self-regulatory system, telling the inquiry that there have been no breaches of code for the industry so far in 2013, and only three breaches in 2012 – none of which were in the category of sex, sexuality or nudity.

Moldrich says a similar compliance extends throughout the industry. “In terms of the ASB [Australian Standards Bureau] statistics, outside the Outdoor Media Association’s membership, looking at ads in shops, on the road, all kinds of ads, in the last two years the ASB has only had three instances where they haven’t been able to get a company to comply,” she tells Australian Printer.

Moldrich adds that misconceptions about the industry are likely vestiges of billboard advertising run several years ago, and that most advertisers have long since cleaned up their act. She says, “We welcome this inquiry because we see it is a good way for us to correct some of the misconceptions out there. When they talk about all these highly sexualised billboards out there, I think that’s a misnomer. The reality is that 99.9 per cent of the stuff we run is pretty benign.”

Queensland has far more outdoor ads than any other state. Pressure for the inquiry has come from the Australian Christian Lobby, the Social Workers Association and the child protection advocacy group Braveheart.

According to the OMA, the outdoor advertising industry saves local governments $10.4m per year in capital expenditure, including upgrades and maintenance on sites such as bus shelters, benches and bicycle stations – and new regulations would see the state forking out for the cost of running the resulting legislative system. It would also cost the industry over $3.5m per year, the OMA adds.

The inquiry committee is expected to report to the Legislative Assembly by January 31 next year.

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