One public servant we could survive without

Stuff reports:

A Government ministry has taken the time to threaten legal action against Stuff, all over a photo of a 45-year-old magazine used in a Stuff Quiz.

On June 26, question five of the Stuff morning trivia quiz asked who appeared on the debut cover of Playboy magazine. To accompany the question, the quiz featured an archive image of a person reading Playboy.

That has offended a civil servant, who wrote to Stuff four days after the quiz was published threatening legal action on behalf of the Ministry of Health.

If Stuff refuses to comply with the ministry’s demands, it could face $2000 infringement fines followed by a $200,000 fine, the letter warned. …

It wasn’t the Playboy cover which caused offence. That was just promising to give readers “an irresistible survey of saucy sisters”.

No, it was the back page which led to the threat. That page, from an archive copy of Playboy, featured an advert for a cigarette brand.

Tell me again now how we can’t possibly survive with fewer public servants!

The quiz featured a historical magazine. It was not an advertisement. Does the Ministry of Health want us to burn all back copies of magazines that had a cigarette ad in them 50 years ago?

So so stupid.