Boobs on Bikes back in Auckland

Topless porn stars on motorcycles will again be hitting the streets in Auckland next week after the controversial Boobs on Bikes Parade has been given the go-ahead.

Organisers of the parade said they had received an Auckland City Council permit for the parade, which consistently attracts more than 100,000 spectators.

The parade, which starts at 12.45pm next Wednesday and runs from upper Queen St to Quay St, is a prelude to the Erotica Expo next weekend.

Last year the council unsuccessfully tried to stop the parade after Auckland mayor Dick Hubbard called it "morally repugnant".

Parade organiser Sandy Watts said for the first time this year the council had given approval for the parade to go ahead without fuss.

Organisers had met with council staff on several occasions this year to discuss the parade and they were happy with the result, she said.

T he Erotica Expo has been running since 2000.

The expo consists of live stage shows, jelly wrestling, erotica for sale and exhibits ranging from books and photography promotion to sexual health education.

Ms Watts said an independent survey of visitors had found the expo attracted mostly couples or groups of friends, aged between 24 and 44.

More that 50 per cent of the attendees were women, she said.

Conservative family lobby group Family First NZ slammed the Auckland City Council for granting a permit for the parade.

"This is a `lame duck' council who is not willing to act in the best interests of families and children," national director Bob McCoskrie said.

"Last year, the mayor Dick Hubbard said the parade was morally repugnant, that council's hands were tied because the parade didn't need a permit, and the bylaw would be looked at.

"Yet not only is the council unwilling to change the law, but it is even granting a permit to further validate this year's parade," Mr McCoskrie said.

He said while the expo catered to a targeted audience, a lunchtime parade down a major street would cause widespread offence.

Family First was calling for an urgent resolution of the council revoking the permit.

- NZPA