Luxury Porsche vandalised with ‘cheater' message
On Reddit forums, people shared photos of the car at various popular spots, including the trendy James Street in Burleigh Heads, a restaurant area in Broadbeach, and a car park at a well-known gym.
The sports car, valued at least $130,000, was also marked with 'DUCK YOU' and 'HAHAHA' on the rear.
After onlookers gathered and snapped photos on James Street, two people were seen getting into the vehicle and driving off, according to The Courier Mail.
'Really f***ed up'
In the r/GoldCoast subreddit, users shared their thoughts on this act of 'revenge vandalism' – which is the act of intentionally damaging property after a perceived wrongdoing.
'I'd love to see the link between owning a Porsche and being unfaithful. Cars like that don't scream reliable family man,' joked one.
'No hiding that from anyone. Guess he or she should have thought about what they were doing,' said another.
'Guy took 'cheat day' literally,' another person wrote, referencing the gym trend of taking a break from dieting, as the car was spotted outside a gym.
'My partner and I saw that exact car and we were like 'dayum that guy really f***ed up',' shared someone else.
'Glad I'm single,' quipped another.
Scepticism brews
However, many quickly pointed out it could be a publicity stunt, as it appeared to be written in temporary chalk paint and was seen in multiple high-pedestrian areas all on the same day.
'This may be a publicity stunt,' suggested one.
'Careful. Didn't some company do something like this as a free publicity stunt the other week? Everyone started rumours, and it turned out to be for a company launching a new product or something,' another added.
It's true that last month, a luxury black Range Rover was seen in the eastern suburbs of Sydney with the same message spray-painted on the side.
The head-turning SUV was parked at Bondi Beach on a weekend, causing a fair bit of fuss among passers-by who shared photos and videos on social media.
'Well deserved,' said one user on a local community page, while another called the petty revenge 'gold'.
However, it was later revealed that the defaced vehicle was part of a PR stunt for the brand Nude by Nature, promoting their new mascara range called 'Lash Affair'.
When people scanned a QR code on the dashboard, it linked to the brand's website with a promotional deal on the product.
The brand's Marketing Manager told news.com.au that she knew the word 'cheater' would turn heads – and that's exactly what they wanted.
It appeared to be a copycat stunt of a similar campaign in the UK, where a white Range Rover was seen outside a Harrods in London, painted with red words: 'It's over,' and 'Hope she was worth it'.
It turned out to be a PR stunt for an American reality TV show.
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Getting a settlement stamped by a judge means a government can avoid political accountability. Making the case for reparations to voters and taxpayers is a harder ask. Paying reparations for past alleged sins is far more politically controversial than lauding a settlement signed off by a Federal Court judge. This is not to criticise the practice of settling contested cases. Doing so in cases of genuine contest, and for a reasonable amount, is a laudable way to avoid clogging up the court system. Except that in the recent stolen wages cases, it is clear from the judgments that the plaintiffs would fail to prove in the respective cases that commonwealth or state government was legally liable for the wrongs claimed. And even in the unlikely event of success, the plaintiffs would not have recovered anything like the enormous sums agreed to. At the end of her judgment approving the commonwealth settlement for stolen wages in April, Chief Justice Mortimer said the 'enormous body of material' – meaning testimony of disadvantage suffered by Indigenous people – 'cannot fail to move the reader'. Her sentiments are, without question, sincere. But they are just that – sentiments. The legal system is concerned with who is liable for legal wrongs. While the Federal Court has powers under the Federal Court Act to approve settlements, it is disconcerting to see judges stamping their approval on settlements that look suspiciously like they are being reached for political purposes. At the end of her judgment, Mortimer made another observation. Having been critical about some of the conduct by Shine lawyers, and the litigation funder, she said: 'It seems to me a not inconsiderable number of people in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the Northern Territory would look at the figures being paid to the lawyers and to the funder … and then look at what their family members are getting at an individual level, and they would be frustrated, and likely mystified about how city-based non-Indigenous participants in this proceeding come out with so much money compared to their family and friends.' Instead of attacking lawyers and litigation funders, the Federal Court's most senior judge could have raised concerns the legal system is being co-opted for apparently unseemly political purposes. The only real winners are the lawyers and the litigation funders. And those judges who use the settlements as opportunities to express their deeply felt feelings. But those observations will have to wait for another judge. Janet Albrechtsen Columnist Janet Albrechtsen is an opinion columnist with The Australian. She has worked as a solicitor in commercial law, and attained a Doctorate of Juridical Studies from the University of Sydney. She has written for numerous other publications including the Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sunday Age, and The Wall Street Journal. Inquirer Emissions policy has become a make or break issue for Labor and the Coalition. Inquirer Almost two years after the October 7 atrocities, when the PM failed to clamp down on anti-Israeli hatred and baulked at offering proper support to Israel's defence, we are in a worse place.
