Rejected intimidation claims spark questions about Ray Chung mayoral campaign
Friday, 19 September 2025
Ray Chung’s campaign manager has alleged she was intimidated by Wellington mayoral rival Andrew Little during The Post’s live debate ‒ but photographs and eyewitness accounts appear to contradict her claims.
During Wednesday’s live-streamed debate, Rhonda Fitzpatrick ‒ from Chung’s Independent Together ticket ‒ entered the set and twice attempted to snatch Chung’s prepared notes from Little, who had lifted them from the table.
Little was using them to highlight that the remarks were drafted by Better Wellington ‒ a group Chung claimed Independent Together was no longer aligned with after a string of controversies.
Fitzpatrick, also a member of Better Wellington, intervened as the exchange escalated. She had drafted the notes.
On Friday, Better Wellington’s Facebook account claimed Little’s media spokesperson Neale Jones stood over Fitzpatrick in a threatening manner, filming while yelling and spitting at her. The social media post urged Little to release the video to disprove the allegations.
Fitzpatrick later told digital broadcaster Sean Plunket it was Little who had reacted aggressively and the encounter left her “stunned” and “scared,” describing it as frightening.
Eyewitness accounts, however, present a different picture. Candidate Diane Calvert, who witnessed the exchange, said it was Fitzpatrick who approached Little and appeared “agitated”.
“She was berating him. No-one was shouting at her or intimidating her,” Calvert said.
“[Jones] leaned over with his phone and recorded it, as media people do.”
Calvert added Jones and Little remained calm throughout the encounter. “I've gone back to Better Wellington and said I believe their post is incorrect.”
The Post’s photographer Rob Kitchin captured a sequence of photographs of the encounter. He said he witnessed Fitzpatrick approaching Jones and that Jones appeared to move backwards.
The Post editor Tracy Watkins also witnessed the exchange and said she did not witness any shouting or aggression.
During the encounter Fitzpatrick had urged Jones not to make the video public, to which he agreed. The Post understands the clip is only five seconds long.
Fitzpatrick rejected The Post’s evidence and questioning, insisting her version of events was “truthful”. She dismissed eyewitnesses, including Calvert, and demanded to see Kitchin’s photographs.
Little said the claims “just aren’t true”.
“[Fitzpatrick] made various accusations and seemed aggrieved about how the debate had gone for her candidate.
“There is a level of aggression and toxicity involved in the Better Wellington campaign that I find disturbing and out of keeping with the spirit of our city.”
Footage of Fitzpatrick’s interruption during the debate has since been widely shared online, fuelling questions about the blurred lines between Independent Together and Better Wellington.
Despite claiming to be just an unpaid volunteer for Chung, Fitzpatrick is also part of the Upskilling for Local Government network (U4LG) linked to the “freedom” movement.
Pressed during the debate Chung admitted accepting $40,000 in campaign donations from core Better Wellington funder Vlad Barbalich ‒ a property developer who bankrolled freedom party DemocracyNZ and now supports NZ First.
Fitzpatrick and a second staffer who had accompanied Chung to The Post’s office, frantically signalled for him to stop as he continued speaking about Better Wellington.
Better Wellington claims to be a grassroots organisation concerned about rates rises. It endorsed Chung in the 2022 local elections.
But it is run by political operative Glenn Inwood, a former journalist and Labour press secretary who gained notoriety for lobbying on behalf of the whaling industry.
More recently, he became tied up with the freedom movement, played a visible role at the 2022 parliamentary protests and is behind Resistance Kiwi, a pseudo-news outlet and political organising operation.
Inwood spoke at the Unsilenced anti-trans event at Tākina in 2023 and is associated with anti-trans campaigner Rhys Williams.
The website supporting Better Wellington was registered by Paul Heffernan, whose name also appears on the group’s authorising statement.
Gary Moller, another founding supporter, was active at the 2022 parliamentary protests and is a regular guest on Reality Check Radio.
And Daniel Tither, a co-ordinator for anti-vax group Voices for Freedom, also works with Inwood for Better Wellington. Tither runs an anti-Muslim Facebook page and in 2022 social media posts reveal he was trying to organise media interviews for Chung.
After a string of controversies, Chung has attempted to distance Independent Together from Better Wellington. That included commissioning “research” on Labour-aligned candidates, labelling mask-wearers “Covidians” and painting pro-Māori views as extremist.
That distancing intensified this week after a now-deleted social media post from Better Wellington’s backers targeted Wellington councillor Rebecca Matthews, calling her a “retard” and a “grift monkey”, prompting a backlash.
During Wednesday’s debate, Chung claimed the two groups no longer share an office. He was referring to a Chaffer St property, owned by Barbalich, which is branded with IT advertising.
He did not explain why his campaign team must meet offsite while Better Wellington remains at the same location.
Heffernan’s name and the Chaffer St address still appear on all campaign material.