Wellington mayoral candidate and former city councillor Rob Goulden is being accused of “shouting at kids” and becoming aggressive after he was refused entry to a mayoral debate last night.
Goulden denies his behaviour was aggressive and says he was invited to speak at the event.
Generation Screwed, a student-led Taxpayers’ Union affiliated group hosted a Wellington mayoral debate at Victoria University’s Old Government Buildings last night.
Five of the 12 Wellington mayoral candidates were included in the line-up for the student organised event.
The Taxpayers’ Union‘s Victoria Relf said organisers initially sent expressions of interest to all candidates, but decided to pick “the ones that were either the most high profile or the most relevant to students”.
The candidates included were Alex Baker, Ray Chung, Karl Tiefenbacher, Andrew Little, and Kelvin Hastie. Diane Calvert was also invited but was unwell and not able to attend.
Goulden told the Herald he was invited to the event over email but when he turned up was told he would not be taking part.
“So I said, well, that’s the first I’ve heard of it, which is when I spoke to the tall guy who said he was running the meeting, that was one conversation, and I said, that’s pretty disrespectful and a waste of my time,” Goulden said.
Goulden was not let in to the room where the debate was held but remained in the Old Government Buildings while it took place.
After the event, it is alleged, things escalated.
Relf said attendees cleared out while the organisers remained in the room, and Goulden tried to enter to speak to them.
She said he was “shouting and speaking very loudly, he was in our faces, he called both myself and Austin, the student coordinator, a disgrace.”
The debate was a ticketed private event, Relf said. “These guys are volunteers, and he was shouting at the students”.
Video taken by Wellington Live Facebook page owner Graham Bloxham, who was himself running for mayor before dropping out of the race last week, shows Goulden and Relf engaged in a conversation outside the room.
Goulden can be heard saying his time has been wasted, to which Relf responds saying she is “terribly sorry”. Goulden says he does not accept her apology.
He then tries to enter the room before being blocked by a security guard.
Two security guards then usher him out of the building while Goulden says in a heightened tone “you’re a disgrace as an organisation, you’re disrespecting”.
“What a joke, what an absolute joke”, he says while walking out the door.
Not long after, the Taxpayers’ Union issued a statement titled “Wellington Mayoral Candidate Rob Goulden Banned from Future Taxpayers’ Union Events After Disgraceful Behaviour”.
“The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has today banned minor Wellington mayoral candidate Rob Goulden from all future events hosted by the Union and its affiliated student group, Generation Screwed, following his behaviour at tonight’s sold out Victoria University mayoral debate”, it said.
Jordan Williams, the group’s executive director, said he had been informed of Goulden’s “aggressive and rude” behaviour, which he described as “totally unacceptable”.
“We won’t tolerate that kind of behaviour, especially toward young people who care enough to engage in politics. If he tries to attend any of our future events, I have instructed our staff to call the Police,” said Williams.
In response, Goulden said Williams was not at the event and the claims are “hearsay”.
“I wasn’t rude, I was just firm about being treated disrespectfully after being invited”, he said.
“I didn’t swear at anybody, I wasn’t aggressive or anything else, I just stuck up from my rights in terms of decency.”
Goulden maintains he was invited to the event and said he has emails to prove it. When asked to share the emails with the Herald to verify this he refused.
Goulden was a Wellington City councillor between 1998 and 2010. Stuff reported in 2009 that Mayor Kerry Prendergast said at the time his aggressive behaviour had become a problem at the council.
He is a former police officer and territorial soldier and now works as a Metlink bus driver and runs a security and protective services company.
Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.