NSW man ordered to turn in plates featuring dictator's nickname

Thursday, 20 November 2025 08:19

The Sydney man told 2GB he believed the order was a violation of his free speech rights imposed by the "woke left".

A Sydney man says an order to turn over his personalised licence plates featuring the infamous nickname of a WWII dictator is a violation of his free speech rights.

Eddie sent a message to Ben Fordham Live on 2GB saying the message he received from Transport for NSW was "another damning indictment of the woke left imposing their thoughts on our society".

His personalised licence plates, for which he claims he paid just shy of $900, read ILDUCE, or "Il Duce" - Italian for "The Leader".

Duce is descended from the Latin word "dux", from which the noble title "duke" is also derived.

"Il Duce" was also the widely used nickname of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 until his overthrow and death in 1945, and who was a close ally of Adolf Hitler.

Eddie told 2GB's Ben Fordham that he chose the plates to reflect his business role.

"(The car) is under my company ownership, the words really mean 'the leader', I'm the director of the company," he said.

He acknowledged there was a "connotation" to Mussolini but maintained the words themselves were innocent.

He claimed there was a double standard in place, with other "offensive" licence plates allowed on the roads.

Transport for NSW confirmed a member of the public had reported the plates, which were subject to an assessment by the department.

"The decision to withdraw the plates is based on a wider perception they could be directly related to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini," a spokesperson said.

"The ILDUCE number plates were originally issued due to an oversight in the vetting process."

Transport for NSW will refund the balance of the annual fee owing for the plates and issue replacement plates at no cost.

Eddie will also be able to order a new set of personalised plates up to the same cost as he paid for the ILDUCE plates, free of charge.

Until then, he will be given general issue plates on the spot when he turns in the ILDUCE plates before the deadline of November 24.

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