Auckland mayor Wayne Brown referred to an RNZ staff member of Indian descent as “a Muslim terrorist” and commented on his beard as the man escorted him into the building for an interview.
Brown said the comments were a “fumbled attempt at humour”.
RNZ said the man was greeting Brown as he arrived at RNZ’s Auckland offices for an appearance on the Afternoons programme on Monday.
The staff member apologised to Brown for the wait, mentioning security being tight in the building, an RNZ spokesperson said in a statement.
“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.
Referring to a stranger as a terrorist because of their skin colour is racist. It is disgusting. It isn’t funny. I’m not sure if it would have been better or worse if the man actually was Muslim, but it doesn’t matter. It is simply racist and wrong.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition.
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