The incident occurred at a live Auckland Parliament Transportation Commission meeting. Mayor Brown attended the meeting while driving through a video call with Auckland transport officials.
The video call lasted about three minutes, during which time Brown tried to ask questions to the officers at the meeting while also checking the mirror and looking at the road while driving.
After the meeting, the police launched an investigation after the video was released. On April 22, authorities confirmed that Mayor Brown issued a notice of infringement for the crime.
Mayor Brown accepted his mistake in response and apologized for his “trial failure.” A spokesman for his office said that while putting cameras in standard habits during committee meetings, the mayor realized that it was inappropriate to do so while driving.
Mayor Brown also commented that the lack of formal transportation provided to him compares his situation with the situation of the assigned vehicles and drivers’ cabinet ministers. He questioned why, as mayor of Auckland, he did not receive similar regulations. Auckland Council clarified that the compensation authorities allowed the mayor to own commercial and private vehicles. Recent data suggests that driver fines increased by 25% between 2022 and 2023 with nearly 60,000 tickets issued last year, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he is willing to consider higher penalties for such crimes, with a focus on road safety.
