National Wellington Bays candidate Karuna Muthu walks out of debate

National Party Wellington Bays candidate Karuna Muthu walked out of a candidates’ debate in Brooklyn after accusing organisers of asking politically biased questions, sparking a confrontation with an audience member, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The incident occurred at the Brooklyn Community Centre during a public meeting hosted by the Greater Brooklyn Residents Association. Muthu later defended his departure as a matter of principle, saying the event lacked the neutrality required for a democratic debate.

According to the Herald report , the confrontation began during a series of yes-or-no questions put to candidates, including one about banking reform and whether Kiwibank should be expanded to handle government banking so that profits remain in New Zealand.

Muthu, wearing a National Party jacket, stood up, gathered his papers and a party beanie, and moved towards the exit.

“I would like to leave with respect,” he told the audience.

As he began leaving, an audience member called out: “You won’t get my vote”.

Muthu turned back to address the room, saying: “thank you for coming,” amid boos from some attendees.

“You can boo me, but so far, all the questions, about 10 of them, all loaded and towards [the] left ... it’s not balanced, and I am not ready to accept this," Herald quoted.

When the moderator asked him to leave politely, Muthu replied: “I am polite,” before saying he was exercising his democratic right as a candidate.

Another audience member told him, “Thank you, bye-bye,” prompting Muthu to respond: “That is rude.”

“I know exactly what you’re doing and that is exactly why I’m leaving, thank you, bye-bye, this is undemocratic and I would like to express that,” he said before leaving the venue with his campaign team.

Muthu did not respond to the Herald’s requests for comment on Thursday evening. He later explained his position in a Facebook post, saying he had attended the meeting in good faith to discuss issues affecting voters in Wellington Bays.

“The event transitioned into a “True or False” and “Yes/No” segment led by the moderator. I challenged the fairness of the questions.

“I told the moderator that the questions were “loaded towards one particular side”.”

He said the event “lacked the neutrality essential for a functional democratic debate”.

“Leadership requires the resolve to identify when a process has lost its provenance.

“I will not lend legitimacy to a staged event that precludes genuine, multiparty analysis.

“Integrity is the cornerstone of representation. Hence, I walked out of the meeting respectfully, amid boos and heckles from a handful of people.”

Muthu described his decision to leave as “a matter of principle”, adding: “I will not participate in a forum where the moderation is as imbalanced as the rhetoric.”

In a statement issued by the National Party the following afternoon, Muthu said he had attended the meeting but was disappointed that the questions did not focus on issues important to Wellington Bays voters.

“I have attended more than 20 community meetings so far this election and those who know me know I do not shy away from hard debates. I am looking forward to attending more debates and community meetings between now and November 7.”

Labour candidate Craig Renney criticised Muthu’s decision to leave, saying local MPs must be prepared to answer difficult questions from constituents.

“The very minimum that you’ve got to do is turn up and answer those questions, it doesn’t matter how hard they are, it doesn’t matter how difficult they are, that’s your job.

“The questions that were being asked were clearly questions affecting residents in Brooklyn,” Renney said.

“They weren’t slanted, they were just problems that a good local MP would face probably every day.”

Green Party incumbent Julie Anne Genter said it was “a shame” Muthu had walked out, describing the meeting as positive overall.

“It was a really good meeting and for the most part the Wellington Bays campaign has actually been really positive and respectful,” she said.

Brooklyn is considered more left-leaning than the wider population. At the 2023 general election, the Green Party received 30.3% of party votes cast at the Brooklyn Community Centre, followed by Labour with 29.5% and National with 24.8%.

Muthu previously contested the same electorate, then known as Rongotai, for National in 2023. He also stood for United Future in 2008 and ran for Wellington mayor in 2013.

He is a lawyer and business strategist and is ranked 64th on National’s party list.