A Wellington café has been criticised on social media for a message they put outside their door about the death of former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons.
"Jeanette Fitzsimons has died. Thank you" is the message on a blackboard outside Café Ngaio in Wellington.
A photo of the message was posted on social media where people expressed their disgust and outrage.
"Whatever your political persuasion, this is unacceptable," wrote the Twitter user who originally shared the photo.
"What on earth were you thinking, Café Villa in Ngaio? Cold, mean, crass."
This is not the first time the café causes outrage with their blackboard messages.
Previously, written in the same handwriting, the blackboard had a Brexit message: "Our looney left can't accept that the Brits know best."
Twitter users have expressed their disgust at the message, calling it "mean", "abhorrent", "revolting" and "shameful".
"Last time we were in there the owner gave my 8-year-old daughter a mouthful for asking why they had plastic straws. Horrible place, won't ever go back there," one Twitter user wrote.
"That is a very ugly and hurtful way to mark someone's passing from this Earth," someone else wrote.
Café owner Warren Johnson told Newshub the message was "misinterpreted" and he intended to thank Fitzsimons for her services.
Johnson said he's been getting abuse and threats since the sign went up, even though it has since been rubbed off the blackboard.
"Overnight we've had all the hate speech - 'f**k off and die' sort of thing - in emails," he said.
"People rang me - every time I talked to them, it was as good as gold. They understood where I was coming from. I was trying to say 'thank you' to a person who had done many years of hard work for us."
Former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons died on Friday, after suffering a "massive stroke" in hospital after a fall on her Coromandel farm on Thursday morning.
READ MORE:
• Former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has died
• Premium - Editorial: Jeanette Fitzsimons - a principled woman
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Fitzsimons' husband, Harry Parke, said her death was totally unexpected.
"Yesterday morning she was out on the farm doing stuff, she had a bit of a fall and finally ended up in Thames Hospital where she had a massive stroke and died at 9.45pm last night - very peacefully, I might add.
"The day before, she was using a chainsaw - that's the sort of person she is. She worked a lot harder than I ever did. I was totally in awe of her.
"Fortunately we both had very much the same convictions about what needed changing in the planet and we had a very close relationship."
He lost an arm and a leg in a crash that killed three friends.
