Wayne Brown v The Spinoff: Auckland Art Gallery advisor reveals more from ‘hostile’ exchange

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown being interviewed by the Herald. Photo / Michael Craig

An Auckland Art Gallery advisor claims he was called “baldy” and an “a*** licker” after he stepped in to “defuse” what he called a “hostile” conversation between Mayor Wayne Brown, a The Spinoff journalist, and the writer’s acquaintance.

Brown is reported as saying, “Don’t f***ing come and talk to me,” to Spinoff writer Sam Brooks at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki on Wednesday.

“Write a submission and make it clear that you value it [arts funding],” he said.

The encounter came after Brown made a speech to those at an exhibition opening defending a proposal to cut the council’s contestable funds for cultural events.

The Spinoff has backed Brooks’ part in the conversation, saying he acted “calmly and confidently”.

But Christopher Swasbrook - a member of the Gallery Advisory Committee, which also includes the likes of former PM Helen Clark - said Brooks’ acquaintance made derogatory remarks about him when he tried to intervene.

He said, in his opinion, Brooks and his acquaintance had been extremely aggressive towards the mayor, trying to bait him - and that Brooks did not identify himself as a Spinoff journalist, an allegation denied by the publication.

“They continued to aggressively talk to the mayor, and when I mean aggressive, I really mean it,” Swasbrook claimed.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. Photo / Alex Burton

Swasbrook believed “they were not being respectful of the mayor and the position he holds.”

“And they were not listening to him of what he was trying to talk to them about.”

Swasbrook said he stepped in to try and talk calmly to Brooks and his acquaintance.

One reason was to defuse the situation as he believed the duo were making a scene, he said.

The second was to talk more to them about the mayor’s point that it was important for arts lovers to make submissions to Auckland Council to ensure their voices are heard around any potential funding cuts, he said.

But he claimed the pair remained “standoffish” and he said he suggested to them they should stop or he would ask to have them leave, Swasbrook said.

The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman backed Brooks.

“The Spinoff stands by our writer Sam Brooks and our reporting of the interaction between himself and the Auckland mayor,” she said.

“The reporting was based on a two-minute recording of a conversation between Brooks, an acquaintance of Brooks’ who is not affiliated with The Spinoff, the mayor and Swasbrook.”

She said Brooks is a known journalist, who has written extensively about arts funding in Aotearoa, including the proposed council budget cuts.

Brooks also has “a profound stutter”, Chapman said.

“On the recording, any audible tension is a result of multiple interruptions from Swasbrook as Brooks attempted to speak with him,” Chapman said.

“We dispute that any hostile or aggressive behaviour was exhibited by Brooks towards the mayor or Swasbrook.”

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown was to put all arts funding under review. Photo / Supplied

She said Brooks acted as she would expect any of her writers to act: “Calmly and confidently asking questions of those in power, even when it’s inconvenient”.

In defending the proposed cuts to those gathered at the gallery, Brown said it was not just the arts that could face cuts, The Spinoff reported.

“It’s important to note that all community sectors that receive council funding are under review, not just the arts,” Brown said, according to The Spinoff.

“Early childhood centres, Citizens Advice Bureau, and other community sectors face potential cuts under the current draft proposal.

“The arts are not exempt from this review process; they are not ‘sacred cows’ outside the annual budget consultation process,” he said.

“Like all other sectors, they must participate in the current public process.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told 1News: “A young man interrupted the mayor mid-conversation to question him about potential cuts to council arts funding.

“The young man proceeded to aggressively question the mayor about the proposed council budget, to which he was directed to make a submission.”

The spokesperson also alleged Brooks did not tell the mayor he was from The Spinoff - denied by the publication.

Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson also told RNZ that Brown’s words during the incident “wouldn’t have been my choice of language”.

“What he was trying to say was correct, and that is we definitely want people to have their say on our budget,” Simpson said.

“But his choice of language, I don’t think was appropriate and in hindsight I don’t think he does either.”