Hell Pizza offers barbed apology for 'bad taste' promotion

Hell Pizza will apologise for a competition which pokes fun at the case of Schapelle Corby - but only if the Australians first say sorry for a series of historical wrongdoings.

The pizza chain's competition offers a boogie board and trip to Bali for "the holiday that could last a lifetime". An extra $500 is available to the winners if they get a photo of themselves with Schapelle Corby, who faces 20 years in an Indonesian jail after being convicted of drug-smuggling.

The promotion has been widely condemned by the Australian media and by website "bloggers" who have called for an apology.

But Hell Pizza managing director Stuart McMullin said he would only apologise if the Australian Government did likewise.

Mr McMullin said the company wanted apologies for several issues, including claiming Neil Finn and Phar Lap, allowing British scientists to test nuclear weapons on aboriginal land in the 1950s, Pauline Hanson and the underarm delivery.

The loaded apology has been sent out to media organisations across Australia. Mr McMullin said the whole campaign "was intended to be nothing more than a bit of good fun".

Competition entrants vote online or by text message for the politicians they would like to "send to Hell".

Despite the controversy and accusations of bad taste, more than 6000 votes had been registered.

The poll pits two MPs against each other for a particular sin. The highest number of voters are in the battle between John Tamihere and Winston Peters for the sin of wrath. Mr Peters had polled 64 per cent of the votes last night.

Prime Minister Helen Clark was marginally ahead of National Leader Don Brash for envy.

Hell Pizza wants to auction original, signed "satanic portraits" of the politicians involved, who are split on whether to lend their backing.