Anonymous Facebook post claims responsibility for Auckland mayoral candidate egging

Auckland mayoral candidates rise from their chairs and gesture towards the crowd after one of their own, Ted Johnston, was egged. Photo / Supplied

An anonymous "ecoterrorist" claims they were the person who threw eggs at an Auckland mayoral candidate this week during a mayoral debate at the University of Auckland.

New Conservative Party co-leader Ted Johnston was egged during Tuesday's University of Auckland Debating Society debate after he accused a member of the audience of being "team Efeso".

A recent, anonymous post to the Facebook page "UoA: meaningful confessions" claimed responsibility for the incident. The post is signed off "local ecoterrorist".

A University of Auckland spokesperson said they were aware of the Facebook post while Stuff reports that the tertiary institution is set to investigate who lobbed the egg at Johnston.

The person who wrote the Facebook post said the attack was premeditated and the original target was Johnston's fellow mayoral candidate Leo Molloy. However, the post said: "when the opportunity to egg Ted Johnston presented itself, I could not resist."

The egg that hit Johnston's dark suit jacket during the debate was one of two thrown at him. The second egg flew past his shoulder.

I chaired an eventful mayoral debate for the @AucklandUni debating society, this evening. I’m sure much will be published shortly.. and some candidates might be visiting the dry cleaner tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/AmZwPNbGC6

— Jack Tame (@jacktame) July 26, 2022

Witnesses claim candidate Craig Lord was also hit during the incident.

The man responsible, who fled the debate, threw the eggs after Johnston's comments toward a separate person in the audience who has a disability.

After the moderator for the debate, Jack Tame, explained the situation to Johnston, the mayoral hopeful apologised.

Auckland mayoral candidate Ted Johnston presented at a debate at Auckland University earlier in the week. Photo / Greg Bowker

The incident came during Johnston's discussion of council spending when he said - if mayor - he would put council staff through a budgeting course to correct spending habits that he considered irresponsible.

"Before you spend on your wishlist, you spend on your necessities," he said.

He then motioned to someone in the crowd, asking them to quieten down while dubbing them "team Efeso" - a reference to Labour Party-endorsed mayoral candidate Efeso Collins.

"At least my friend Leo [Molloy] fights his own battles, so just calm down," he said to members of the crowd.

He then attempted to get back on topic amid the din of noise emanating from the crowd, seemingly in response to Johnston's goading.

During another attempt to shush onlookers, Johnston was hit by the first egg. Witnesses say a second egg aimed in his direction missed Johnston but may have hit Lord.