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Auckland Mayor Len Brown was attacked on March 9 by a sponge-smearing protester after a session with Auckland University students.

Mr. Brown was on campus discussing the dispute between Maritime New Zealand and the Ports of Auckland Union. At the conclusion of his speech, a protester approached Mr. Brown and smeared his weapon of choice, a delicious lamington, across Mr. Brown’s face and suit.

The kindergarten-esq scene appears to have been sparked by Brown’s failure to take a firm stand behind the Maritime New Zealand workers. The Auckland University Students’ Association has supported the workers in their prolonged quarrel with Ports of Auckland. Arena Williams, President of (AUSA), commented that, “Throwing cake isn’t protest. It is a childish act of aggression.”

Although the offender was not an Auckland University student, the University has made an apology to Mr. Brown due to the embarrassment of this occurring on campus. Ms. Williams added, “Plenty of students were able to articulate their views on the Ports of Auckland dispute rationally and respectfully.”

“Auckland University Students’ Association takes pride in the public events in the Quad and though they can become politically charged, no visiting leader should ever feel threatened or unable to engage with the students there,” continued Ms. Williams.

Tension has risen through the protests over Auckland Port’s plan to contract out current workers alongside a proposal to extend the port’s wharves by 276,000 square metres (equivalent to 16.5 Cake Tins – aka Wellington’s Westpac Stadium). This development, which has been put on hold as of March 6, was planned to take place over the next 40 years and increase container traffic by 400 per cent.

AUSA’s support for the Maritime New Zealand workers has created some controversy on campus. Ms. Williams justified the importance of showing their support, “Today’s students will be entering the workforce soon and deserve the fair working conditions that Kiwis have enjoyed for generations.”

Despite several unsuccessful attempts at mediation, over 300 workers remain on strike and are preventing colleagues from attending work. This has forced some container ships to be diverted to the Port of Tauranga and others have remained unattended in the Port of Auckland. It is believed that if the contracting-out plan were dropped, the Port would be back in action in five minutes. However, there is no way that any of the workers facing redundancy will work for the new contractors. According to Stuff.co.nz, many workers are planning on taking their redundancy cheque and retiring early.

The lamington attack is not the first on a political figure in Auckland. Former ACT Party MP John Boscawen had a lamington thrown at his face by another candidate during a presentation at Auckland’s UniTec Campus in 2009. There is certainly something spongey about those Jaffas.