Diplomat’s partner in post-rugby slur at New Zealand cops

Footage has emerged of an ­Australian diplomat’s partner apparently yelling a homo­phobic slur at police during his arrest after the Bledisloe Cup rugby match in New Zealand last month.

Footage of the diplomat’s partner being arrested.

Footage has emerged of an ­Australian diplomat’s partner apparently yelling a homo­phobic slur at police during his arrest after the Bledisloe Cup rugby match in New Zealand last month.

The man, who has not yet been named by police, allegedly got into a drunken fight at 3.30am with a group of three teenagers after the Test match in Wellington.

Video taken by a 19-year-old, shared with Stuff, shows the man wearing a Wallabies shirt being pinned by officers as he shouts the slur and says: “I’ve got diplomatic immunity. You f..k.”

New Zealand authorities have since taken the unusual step of asking Australia to waive immunity due to the seriousness of the crime.

The 19-year-old said the man confronted him and two friends threateningly as they were getting food in the hours following New Zealand’s 33-13 victory over Australia. The witness said: “He screamed at us at the top of his lungs, ‘I’m ready to die, I’ll take on all three of you’ and that’s when I got a bit scared.”

After an alleged physical ­altercation, police arrived on the scene and the man started claiming he had diplomatic immunity, which is extended to diplomats’ family members on overseas postings. He was taken into custody and released without charge after it was confirmed he held immunity. The incident has been raised at the highest levels with ministers in both countries, as discussions continue about whether to waive the man’s ­immunity.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement: “Posted officials and their dependants are expected to respect the law of the countries to which they are posted.”

The international law covering diplomatic immunity, the ­Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, states it can only be waived by the sending state, in this case Australia.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it expected countries to waive immunity if “a serious crime is alleged to have been committed”.

It added in a statement: “It is the expectation of the government of New Zealand that foreign representatives and their accredited family members will comply with New Zealand laws and regulations.”