A New Zealand politician has raised eyebrows after joining a high-stakes meeting from a bathroom, her laundry clearly visible in the background.

Councillor Jo Galer logged into a meeting of the Dunedin City Council on Monday to a titter from one of her colleagues.

"You might want to move your camera," Mayor Sophie Barker implored her in a video posted on YouTube, where it has been viewed thousands of times.

"We can see your washing."

"Can you see me?" Galer replied.

"You can see my washing, you can see me."

At one point during her speech -- which focused on local government reform -- a mysterious dark figure can be seen behind a door in the background.

"Who was in the shower? Was it her man? Was she holding someone hostage?" one comment under the video asked.

AFP has reached out to Galer for comment.

It is not the first time the council in Dunedin -- a city on New Zealand's South Island -- has made headlines.

In 2020 then-councillor David Benson-Pope was caught with his pants down, appearing on a Zoom call while dusting his office in a suit jacket and bare legs.