Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown made a video call to the council's transport committee while driving.
Police are investigating Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown for making a video call while driving.
Brown admitted the offence, apologised, and faces a $150 fine and 20 demerit points.
Police inquiries are ongoing, amid a broader crackdown on drivers using mobile phones.
Police are investigating Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown for making a video call on his mobile phone while driving.
This morning, Brown admitted the offence, which carries a fine of $150 plus 20 demerit points, and apologised for the error of judgment.
This is Brown’s second apology in the past week. He apologised to his deputy, Desley Simpson, after saying she was only interested in helping her constituents buy Lamborghinis.
The livestream recording of the council’s transport committee meeting last Thursday shows Brown beaming into the meeting on a video call to question officials from Auckland Transport while driving.
On the item about time-of-use charging, often called congestion charging, Brown is seen and heard talking into a mobile phone for about 40 seconds. Most of the time, the mayor concentrates on driving but also looks down at times.
Earlier this week Brown apologised to Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.
At the end of his questions, transport committee chairman Andy Baker said, “Thank you, happy driving.”
A mayoral statement to the Herald said Brown attended the meeting online, mostly from home.
“Recognising the importance of the discussion, he continued to listen on his phone while driving to his next engagement, hands-free.
“While it is standard practice to have your camera on when speaking during committee, he recognises this wasn’t appropriate and apologises for the error in judgement.
“This apology will be conveyed to his colleagues.”
The Herald asked how long the mayor was on the video call while driving but did not get a response. The meeting at the Auckland Town Hall lasted nearly eight hours, from 10am to nearly 6pm.
Transport committee chairman Andy Baker thanked the mayor for appearing online and said, "Happy driving".
Police said they were in the early stages of inquiries to establish the circumstances of the video.
“We are in the process of collating this information and making inquiries, which will determine the next appropriate steps.”
Both police and the Government have in recent months signalled a tougher crackdown on drivers using their mobile phones. In February, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was willing to consider higher penalties for motorists.
“People should not be on their phones while driving,” he told TVNZ’s Breakfast.
The fine for being caught is $150 — the same penalty as driving more than 51m in a bus lane.
The fine for being caught driving while using a phone is $150 — the same penalty as driving more than 51m in a bus lane.
The number of drivers fined by police for using their phones rose 25% between 2022 and 2023, with nearly 60,000 tickets handed out last year.
So far, the Government has not announced any changes to how distracted drivers are penalised.
In 2022, a pilot programme had NZTA roll out cameras capable of detecting when a driver was using their phone.
In the first two months of the six-month trial, more than 50,000 “potential mobile phone use offences” were detected. Police were not involved in the trial, and the findings did not lead to enforcement action or warning letters.
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