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Barrister With 'Offensive' Number Plate In Legal Battle Over Free Speech

Barrister With 'Offensive' Number Plate In Legal Battle Over Free Speech

Peter Lavac successfully argued Transport NSW used outdated legislation in their order

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A high profile barrister has found himself caught in a legal battle because of his 'offensive' private number plate which reads 'LGOPNR'.

Peter Lavac, from Palm Beach in Sydney, has managed to successfully challenge the order from Transport NSW, but it still wants them to be banned.

The case was taken to local courts.
Shutterstock

If you hadn't already worked it out, the letters 'LGOPNR' mean 'leg opener' (vom) and Mr Lavac claims that he was 'taking to p***' out of himself by attaching them to his yellow Lamborghini.

He claims that 99 out of 100 people wouldn't know what the letters actually stand for, adding that it's 'tough s***'.

Transport NSW gave him 18 days to change the number plate and in a letter, they wrote: "Transport for NSW determined that these number plates could be considered offensive and must be returned."

But Mr Lavac, a defence barrister and former Hong Kong crown prosecutor, was having none of it and told The Sunday Telegraph: "I resent anyone who's trying to violate my freedom of speech and expression.

"They [the number plates] are meant to be humorous, tongue-in-cheek, funny and entertaining. That is how most people find them when it's explained to them.

"But how could you possibly construe recreational sex between two consenting adults as ever being offensive or demeaning in any way, shape or form?

"How many other little Aussie battlers who have similar bullying letters, have caved in and laid down and let [Transport NSW] walk all over them because they didn't have my resources or legal expertise to stand up to this and challenge them?"

The plates.
The plates.

The barrister claims the idea came to him during a conversation with friends who suggested he should get the plates to represent his playboy reputation.

According to the MailOnline, when he submitted the design in 2019 there was no issue, accusing the department of being 'bureaucratic bullies'.

Mr Lavac argued that Transport NSW has used an outdated section of the law and it looks as if Transport NSW may have backed down.

Transport NSW safety, environment and regulation deputy secretary Tara McCarthy explained how the department relies on members of the public to report offensive plates, as many that could be deemed controversial slip through the vetting process.

She said: "If a member of the public finds a plate offensive they can report it to Transport for NSW which will investigate and the plate may then be recalled."

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Topics: Community, Weird