Eight of the 999 people with NGR number plates request to have it changed

James Crow welcomes debate about offensive number plates. Photo / File

Eight of the 999 people with the controversial "NGR" number plate have requested to have it changed, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency says.

Napier's James Crow highlighted the issue earlier this week after finding his new plate for his recently purchased car started with NGR.

Backlash from the public followed, but Crow, a Green Party candidate at the last election, took it all in stride.

"I was highlighting a point of racism that people are willing to ignore. I wanted to highlight the level of institutional racism as to what was considered by the entity as okay," Crow said.

Waka Kotahi says it is not planning on removing the offence-causing number plate from circulation, but has offered free replacement plates to vehicle owners who do not wish to retain them.

A spokesman said the standard-issue, three-letter number plate series was manufactured earlier this year.

A total of 999 plates were included in the series, as was the case for all three-letter standard-issue plate series.

"To date we have had eight enquiries requesting replacement plates. The fee for a replacement plate, which is being waived for these plates, is $19.41."

Since talking to the media about his concern, Crow said he has had more than a handful of people taking a dig at him.

"About 20 people have approached me, I value their voice," he said.

"What I have done is that every individual who has sought me out, I have had conversations with these individuals. They understand I am a person and can have my own point of view.

"I have really enjoyed the public conversation, and I am not ashamed of having a view."

The Waka Kotahi spokesman said the agency recognised the offence the letter combination has caused.

"We have reviewed our processes to ensure that all future number plate combinations are more thoroughly assessed before being manufactured and released," he said.

"General issue plates can be prevented from being manufactured due to the potential for letter combinations to cause offence.

"The number of general issue plate series not issued because the three-letter combos are deemed offensive is relatively small."

He said there were "several thousand combos" which will not be issued because they contained letters which could be confused with other letters or numbers, causing issues for police and other enforcement authorities.

It includes any plates with an "I", an "O" or a "V", as these can be confused with the numbers 1 and 0, and the letter U.

When deciding which plates will be released into production, and which won't, letter combinations are generally excluded if they are deemed to be offensive, derogatory, obscene, profane, promoting violence, discrimination; or biased against race, age, religious or ethical belief, ancestry, place of origin, citizenship, sexual origin, family or marital status, or disability/handicap.

Owners of vehicles with NGR plates wanting to arrange a free replacement can contact Waka Kotahi either via email at info@nzta.govt.nz or by ringing 0800 108 809.