‘Not a joke’: Backlash after Auckland Mayor’s ‘terrorist’ remark
New Zealand's Indian community leaders say incident deepened concern about recent rise in rhetoric targeting ethnic communities
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (MNTV) — New Zealand’s Indian community has condemned comments made by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown in which he referred to a Radio New Zealand staff member of Indian descent as a “Muslim terrorist”.
Brown later described the remark as a “fumbled attempt at humor.”
RNZ said the exchange happened as the Mayor arrived at its Auckland offices for an appearance on the Afternoons program.
According to a spokesperson, the staff member had apologized for a delay, noting that security in the building was tight.
“The Mayor responded with a comment along the lines of ‘security can’t be very tight if we’re being escorted by a Muslim terrorist’,” the RNZ spokesperson said. “The Mayor also made a comment about the employee’s looks and said something like ‘gosh look at your beard’.”
Community leaders say the incident has deepened concern about a recent rise in rhetoric targeting ethnic communities.
Pancha Narayan, president of Multicultural New Zealand, called the remark “racist”, saying it highlighted gaps in how hate speech was addressed in the country.
“In the environment when there’s lack of legislation that defines what hate speech is and what racism is, people who pass comments and then apologize can continue to operate within that blurred area,” Narayan said.
He said it was “odd for the Mayor to joke about this when one in three Aucklanders are born overseas”, rejecting any suggestion the comment was humor.
“These people are second, third generation New Zealanders,” he said. “It cannot be a joke. You can’t say it and then retract it as a joke.”
Daljit Singh, president of the Supreme Sikh Society, described the comment as “unbelievable”, noting that recent events had unsettled the community. “The New Zealand I know is a place where people from different parts of the world and culture live together and I can’t believe what is happening now,” Singh said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said such comments were unhelpful but stopped short of calling them racist.
Jaspreet Kandhari, general secretary of the NZ Indian Business Association, said he was “shocked” by the Mayor’s comments. “The Mayor is very popular in the community, and he often attends community events, so comments like this are unexpected and very unfortunate,” he said.
Kandhari said the Mayor represented all Aucklanders, and he should accept that responsibility.
“These are really shocking comments,” he said, adding that the recent tone of public discourse was “concerning and depressing”.
“Since it is election time, it won’t be a surprise to see more of this kind of commentary from politicians, unfortunately,” he said.
Marshal Ahluwalia, a spokesperson for Gurdwara Nanaksar in Manurewa, said calling someone a terrorist could not be dismissed as a joke. “People who hold positions of power should be respectful to all communities, and joking about this is not right, especially in a city like Auckland where we have many cultures,” he said.
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