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New Zealand officials have allowed a motorist to keep her licence plate "ARYAN 1" because it was intended a gesture of affection towards her former partner, not a statement of white supremacy, it was reported Tuesday.
The NZ Transport Agency investigated the plate after a member of the public complained that the term Aryan, used by Hilter's Nazis to describe the so-called "master race", was offensive, the Dominion Post newspaper reported.
But the plate's owner, Wellington woman Lisa Marie Thompson, successfully argued in favour of keeping the plate, saying it simply comprised the initial and surname of her former boyfriend -- Andrew Ryan -- and had no racial overtones.
The NZTA found that banning the plate would impinge on Thompson's right to free speech.
"NZTA finds racism and racist speech as abhorrent as all right-thinking New Zealanders, which is why this was not an easy decision to make," it said in a statement.
"However, we consider that the original decision not to require the surrender of the plate was correct."
Thompson told the Dominion Post she had no idea about the connotations of the word Aryan when she bought the plate four years ago and still did not see why displaying it on her car could be considered offensive.
"I've had it for years and I don't see the problem with it. It would be no different to having `Maori Pride'," she said referring to New Zealand's indigenous population.
The newspaper said examples of licence plates the NZTA had banned included "DRGDLR" and "TAMPON".
