Controversy over tits and tickets meat raffles

Naked and near-naked women are being used to hawk raffle tickets in pubs in Auckland, New Zealand, even though there are sometimes children dining with their parents in the hotels. The "tits and tickets" promotion sees strippers used to sell tickets for meat trays to raise money for local sports clubs. The woman are usually in their underwear and on occasions topless or entirely nude. The Albany pub has hosted the event for more than 10 years and owner Adrian Donald was comfortable with the arrangement and confident children in the establishment with parents and guardians would not accidentally get an eyeful. Though he would not discuss activities that went on inside the pub, Donald stressed that the two areas of the bar – the restaurant, and the adjoining sports bar where the raffle was held – were "two very different sides of the business".



However, witnesses said they had seen children walking through from the restaurant to the bar area as the bikini-clad women sold their meat raffles. And the owner of Super Liquor Albany, Warren Beachen, said he had received objections from some of his customers. Beachen's liquor store neighbours The Albany and he said in the 10 years he had worked there he had encountered "the odd woman that's been really upset about it". Concerns were mainly raised by visitors to the pub who had unwittingly walked through the sports bar entrance to get to the restaurant, he said. "Sometimes you've got mum and dad and a couple of kids in tow. If they walk in through the bar they can see that. They don't appreciate seeing topless women in the pub." Donald also owns The Brownzy Sports Bar, which runs the "Tits and tickets" promotion once a week.

It is understood the raffles are held in other Auckland pubs. It has run at The Trident in Onehunga in the past. Donald would not say whether he had received complaints over the topless women. It is understood the models that sell the raffle tickets are booked through an agency called GoWild strippers. GoWild boss Shelley Meecham was in India and declined to comment. She said: "I am at an ashram and am not participating in work related matters." According to the company website it costs $120 an hour for a two-hour minimum period to hire a "gorgeous, fun model to serve drinks, socialise topless and get the party off to a good start". Family First spokeswoman Sue Reid described the raffles as "cheap and degrading", and evidence of "the sexualisation of the family meal". "What message is this sending young women and to young men. Is this the way to treat women?"



Reid, a mother, said she was particularly concerned if children could accidentally see the show, leaving parents with some difficult explaining to do. Albany Fishing Club treasurer Peter Nicholson said his club had been involved in the "tits and tickets" meat raffle for many years and said it had been a lucrative fundraiser, yielding up to $10,000 a year. He described the raffle as good-natured fun and harmless entertainment. "It's not as if it's a set show or anything like that. There's nothing untoward. The girls just do what they do. They sell tickets." Auckland Council's alcohol licensing manager Rob Abbott said the venue was not in breach of any licensing issues by having topless models but it had to be in a restricted area where people needed to be above 18 or with a parent or guardian. "If (they) are providing entertainment of an adult nature in an area which is not a restricted area then Auckland Council would be concerned and would review the designations."