Abuse on social media increasing
THE Waitaki District Council has cried foul after an increase this month in social media abuse directed at council staff and councillors.
The council released a statement this week after several offensive comments were posted on social media regarding the council.
Chief executive Alex Parmley said while residents had the right to voice their opinions regarding the council’s decisions, actions and policies, personal attacks on staff and councillors were unacceptable.
‘‘Our elected members and staff are members of our communities who are committed to doing the best by our communities and district,’’ Mr Parmley said.
‘‘They are ratepayers; people; have families and are often active members of our community outside of council.
‘‘We welcome everyone’s feedback on council, including when you think we have got it right and when you think we might have got it wrong, but please refrain from making your feedback personal.’’
The council preferred not to be put in the position of reporting residents, but could report abuse to moderators of social media pages, Netsafe or police, Mr Parmley said.
Some social media abuse had ‘‘spilled’’ into inperson abuse, but that remained low, he said.
‘‘Social media abuse will be treated the same as inperson abuse.’’
The council’s social media policy stated it would remove abusive comments targeting staff and elected members, and commenters risked being blocked from commenting.
The increase in abuse was not confined to Waitaki, but was right across councils throughout New Zealand, he said.
‘‘Research by LGNZ [Local Government New Zealand] suggests this abuse may be putting some people off standing for election, which if true, is bad for our democracy and our communities.’’