Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has apologised after allegedly labelling an Indian-origin Radio New Zealand employee a “Muslim terrorist” while visiting the broadcaster’s Auckland premises.The episode occurred on Monday when Brown arrived at Radio New Zealand (RNZ) to appear on its Afternoons programme. RNZ says a staffer welcomed the mayor and apologised for being late, noting the building’s security was strict.“The mayor replied with a remark to the effect of ‘security can’t be very tight if we’re being escorted by a Muslim terrorist’,” an RNZ spokesperson told Australia Today. The staffer also reported Brown made a remark about his looks, saying “gosh, look at your beard”.The unnamed employee said he felt shocked and hurt. He commented: “I agree with the Mayor that his comments were inappropriate and disrespectful.” He added that there is “the danger of racial and religious stereotyping, especially by those in positions of leadership”.RNZ chief people officer Sarah Neilson described the remarks as unacceptable: “Our immediate concern is for our colleague who was understandably hurt.” She added: “At our workplace we expect people to be treated with respect, including by our guests.”Brown later apologised by email, calling the comment a “fumbled attempt at humour” and taking responsibility. “I understand that my words were disrespectful, and I regret the hurt they caused.”The controversy deepened when he spoke about respecting the Sikh community, even though the employee was not Sikh. Brown later said staff had given him incorrect briefing.In a subsequent statement, the mayor said he frequently uses humour in public but admitted he “got this one wrong”, and said he was committed to representing all Aucklanders.The remarks have drawn strong responses from New Zealand’s Indian community. Pancha Narayan called the comment racist, saying it revealed shortcomings in how hate speech is handled. “You can’t say it and then pull it back as a joke.”Daljit Singh called the comment “unbelievable”, and Jaspreet Kandhari described it as “very unfortunate”, noting Brown’s standing in the community. Himanshu Parmar cautioned that treating such language as humour risks normalising it: “The tone matters.”
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