ACT MP on the hunt for vandals

An ACT MP is reinforcing her party's "get tough on crime" message by putting a bounty on billboard bashers.

Whangarei-based ACT list MP Muriel Newman said she was adopting a zero tolerance approach to the culprits defacing her billboards at a rate of three a night.

A $500 reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of the vandals.

There are 50 ACT billboards around Whangarei, with 50 more due to go up.

Mrs Newman said the billboards were a crucial part of her party's campaign.

"That's what you have to do in a snap election -- get the message across quickly."

It was hard for a small party to maintain the billboards when they were so regularly defaced, she said.

Mrs Newman could take heart in the non-biased nature of the vandals -- a sign of Labour candidate David Shearer had also attracted the attention of the hoarding hooligans.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)

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