Bennett has said Wicked Campers slogans have made her irate.

The man Associate Tourism Minister Paula Bennett has called out for his comment on the Wicked Campers issue has responded and he is not happy.

John Lehmann has called Bennett's actions "absolutely disgusting".

He said that Bennett had quoted him out of context, so people had not understood he was joking.

FAIRFAXNZ Wicked Camper.

Bennett has been campaigning against the Australian campervan hire company that paints explicit and offensive slogans on their vehicles.

READ MORE:

* Whangarei District Council threatens Wicked Campervans with prosecution

* Activists push for Wicked Campers to remove 'violent, sexist' van slogans

* Lonely Planet to remove Wicked Campers from New Zealand guidebook

* Wicked Campers graffiti offends

Complaints arrive regularly to Bennett's office from members of the public who witness messages on the vans such as: 'A man would be interested in a woman's mind if it bounced gently as she walked.'

Bennett said she was on a mission to rid the Wicked Campers vans of those offensive slogans, in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Lehmann had commented on her post, telling the Minister: "Bit of sexual violence never hurt anyone Paula. Your should try a bit .Lol ."

Bennett shared his comment with her followers, premised with: "This post from John Lehmann deserves to be reposted. It speaks for itself".

This post from John Lehmann deserves to be reposted. It speaks for itself "Bit of sexual violence never hurt anyone Paula. Your should try a bit .Lol ." Posted by Paula Bennett on Saturday, 19 March 2016

"The whole thing's nonsense, it was taken out of context," Lehmann said.

"Effectively what happened was that she singled me out and put it on Facebook, which is absolutely disgusting."



He admitted the joke might have been in poor taste, and he hoped the furore around it would die down.

Lehmann agreed some of the Wicked Campers vans were "over the top".

"I wouldn't let them park in my driveway," he said. "But having said that, we do live in a democracy and people do have a right to speak."

"I don't agree with those vans, I think some of them are absolutely disgusting, but by the same token unfortunately that's the price we pay. Freedom of speech."

Lehmann said thought Bennett had gone too far when she linked the Wicked Campers vans with sexual violence.

"You don't drive down the road and see a van and then want to go and beat your wife up."

Lehmann's comment had sparked anger and disgust.

Some suggested Lehmann should be made to collect money for rape crisis organisations.

Others have said the repost of the comment was giving it more attention and wasn't constructive.

Bennett had called the Wicked Campervans "despicable" and "deeply offensive" a couple of weeks ago, and said they made her irate.

She was working with Whangarei National MP Shane Reti to get the Chief Censor to rule on the campervans. They have asked for the public to send in photos of the vehicles.

Whangarei District Council have threatened to prosecute Wicked Campers if its campervans with objectionable material on them are found in their area.