Auckland construction company apologises to woman after wolf-whistling complaint

Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Cassie Newton said workers would often park diggers in her driveway blocking the entrance. (File photo)

An Auckland construction company has apologised to a young woman following a complaint of inappropriate conduct.

Cassie Newton, 22, said a group working on an empty lot next to her flat had been behaving inappropriately for the past three months.

She said it began with diggers blocking the driveway, but things escalated over summer after she installed a pool in her backyard.

“Many times if my friends and I were in the pool, I would have the contractors stop on their diggers and spy over the fence.

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“This resulted in my dad coming over to put up a board to keep the fence more shut and reduce sight inside, but it kept happening. They weren't even subtle about it, they would stop their diggers and stare over. It was gross.”

Newton said her last straw and what led to her complaint was when she was wolf-whistled and yelled at.

“A group of them were having beers on their work-site and as I went out on my back deck, they started to wolf-whistle and yell at me.”

She felt “sad and uncomfortable”, she said.

“I'm in my own home that was purchased not too long ago, and I can't even feel comfortable in my own back deck or in my backyard with them around.”

There was a lot of construction happening around Newton’s suburb, Mt Albert, and she said she wanted to raise awareness of the issue for other households with girls or young women.

In a signed apology sent by email to Newton and shared with Stuff, the perpetrators, contracted under Aardvark Excavators Limited, said they sincerely apologised for any misbehaviour.

“[Our] actions were inappropriate and unacceptable, and we failed to show maturity and respect. We are embarrassed by this behaviour.”

The email said the incident would not happen again and asked Newton for forgiveness.

In a statement sent to Stuff, Phil Hellebrekers, the owner of Aardvark Excavators Ltd, said he was extremely concerned after receiving the complaint.

“When it was brought to my attention, I immediately raised it with the staff members concerned, and underlined that the behaviour is not acceptable and not reflective of our business.

“The result is that the staff members wrote a personal apology to Cassie. We hope this has been accepted, and that this draws a line under the incident.”

Hellebrekers said the workers were young people who had exercised bad judgment, and had learned “a lot” from the incident.

“As far as I’m aware, there have not been any incidents at the site since, but I want to reiterate my staff members’ apology and assure Cassie that her complaint was taken seriously.”