Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has labelled the woman who attacked a 16-year-old boy on a bus as a “thug” and has acknowledged an issue with safety on public transport in the city.
The victim of the racially motivated attack on an Auckland bus says he is now scared to catch public transport and “faces danger every single day”.
“Violent attacks such as the one last Friday will not be tolerated. There is no place for racism and hate,” Brown said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Brown said he has been contacted by representatives of the Auckland Chinese community who are “deeply worried about safety in our city”.
“They can be assured that the police are doing everything they can to find the thug who did this.
“When it comes to safety on public transport, I acknowledge there is more work to be done here and my office will keep working with Auckland Transport, police and other stakeholders to address this.”
The injured teen and his parents said they wanted to see better safety on public transport.
The boy, Jason, and his parents met with Transport Minister Simeon Brown and National list MP Nancy Lu on Wednesday morning.
“I feel very fearful when I step on the bus, but I have to bus every day.
”This time it is me as a 6′2, 16-year-old male who had some ability to protect myself,” he said, explaining that next time the victim might not be able to.
”It just means we face danger every single day from now on,“ Jason said.
National MPs Simeon Brown and Nancy Lu meet with the 16-year-old schoolboy, Jason, who was attacked on an Auckland bus on Friday. Photo / Michael Craig
Jason praised the elderly man who stood up to the pole-wielding attacker.
”This bus driver did not do anything to help.
“We need to show everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand that when you face danger there will be someone standing up.”
Brown said as the local MP and Transport Minister, he was seeking advice on whether proper procedures were followed by AT staff during the attack.
“Ultimately, this is unacceptable, it’s not about laying blame.
“It seems to me listening to Jason, the bus driver’s priority was continuing his route …”
“We don’t want this happening again.”
An Auckland Transport spokesperson said they were unable to comment on the matter because it was an “ongoing police investigation”.
First Union general secretary Dennis Maga said Brown’s comments amounted to “cast[ing] aspersions on the bus driver” and said the minister lacked understanding of the incident and the wider problem of violence on public transport.
Maga said drivers are not trained like police officers to intervene in violent incidents involving weapons that could escalate and put themselves at risk of harm.
The schoolboy had three teeth knocked out and two teeth damaged after he was attacked on the bus in Auckland.
‘Horrific’ attack, community rallies around boy
National list MP Nancy Lu described the attack as “horrific”, but said the Chinese community had rallied around the boy.
Lu said the physical and mental harm the attack had caused Jason could not be understated.
Lu said as an MP she had been helping the family, who have lived in New Zealand for more than seven years, get in touch with various agencies.
“Across New Zealand … it’s not just about a Chinese boy … it’s everyone in New Zealand,” she said.
Brown said the electorate office would work with the family to ensure they received all the support they were entitled to.
Lu said local community service providers had also reached out to offer the family help.
Racial slurs hurled at schoolboy before attack
The Chinese-New Zealand schoolboy was randomly attacked by a woman on an Auckland bus last Friday about 9am.
The woman started yelling racial slurs at the boy before attacking him with a metal rod, unprovoked.
He lost three teeth and had two more damaged in the attack.
The boy has lived in New Zealand for seven years, almost half his life, and said this was the first time he had experienced a racially motivated attack.
“I was taking the bus to Panmure, and just past Pakuranga Plaza, a woman started verbally abusing me and then immediately started to physically abuse me,” the schoolboy told the Herald.
“I was just listening to music, scrolling my phone, and then it happened. She just stood up and hit me.”
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant James Mapp said an unknown woman boarded the bus before assaulting the victim with an object.
“This was an unprovoked assault, which left the victim with serious facial injuries.
“We understand the fear and concern events like this inflict on the community and we will continue to pursue every lead to hold this person to account.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident can contact police on 105 and quote file number 240628/8342, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
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