Councillors facing security risk
Abuse and ‘weaponised misogyny' increasing
Following Thamescoromandel Mayor Len Salt’s recent outburst, other council officials from across the Waikato region have spoken out about the extent of abuse they face.
Salt made the headlines last month after using an expletive in an email to a constituent who accused the council of “extremely unlawful activity” and demanded the names and addresses of council staff members.
At the time, Salt said his outburst was a reaction to ongoing aggression directed at himself and councillors.
This week, he told the Waikato Herald councillors and council staff had a right to feel safe.
“We’ve got about 230 staff; if they come to work, they need to be able to do so knowing they’re in a safe environment.
“We’ve got councillors who’ve got their faces out there, they’re known in the community. If they’re taking their kids to school or walking the dog on the beach, they need to know they can do so safely.”
He said a large amount of abuse from the public stemmed from misconceptions.
“Some of this is driven by a combination of misinformation, or disinformation, about what happens with councils and our processes … but also a lack of understanding of constraints within which councils
work. We are constrained by legislation, by constraints with our funding streams and what we can do with our limited amounts of money.”
Meanwhile, mayors and councillors from Taupo and Hamilton also reported they faced abuse regularly.
Hamilton Deputy Mayor Angela O’leary said social media had exacerbated the type and frequency of abuse.
“At the moment, I’ve got groups going through my social media and taking old images and using them for disinformation.
“I feel unsafe - I’m starting to question whether it’s safe for me to attend public meetings.
“I no longer say where I’m going [on social media], I only say where I’ve been.”
Hamilton West councillor Louise
Hutt said the extent of abuse was overwhelming.
“Those unmoderated Facebook groups are the scariest things I’ve seen.
“There is a targeted and orchestrated campaign in some of those Facebook groups about me. They’re making things up that aren’t
true.”
Hutt recently detailed the online and face-to-face abuse against her, describing a barrage of slurs, including being called a “c***” on Twitter within days of announcing she was running for council, being heckled by a climate change-denying member of the public who called her a “silly b **** ” at a candidates’ event, and being labelled a “s **** y, ungrateful, entitled millennial” for writing about issues around housing security.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said she had noticed increasing abuse, especially since people had been hit by Covid and financial hard times.
“We have seen that rise in dissatisfaction. We have also seen a vocal minority of people getting worse.
“Often what they’re circulating through groups is not true. They incite other people to dislike that person; I find that abhorrent.
“I think people need to stop and think about that impact on other people.”
Taupo¯ Mayor David Trewavas agreed the perceived anonymity of being online allowed people to leave comments that they might not say aloud.
“People do resort to their keyboards to vent their frustration on a certain topic.
“We take notice - initially, you don’t
I feel unsafe - I’m starting to question whether it’s safe for me to attend public meetings. Hamilton Deputy Mayor Angela O’leary
think people are affected by it, but they are.”
O’leary and Hutt said they felt the abuse was disproportionately targeted at them, in part because they were women.
“It takes eight or nine [councillors] to make a decision that another elected member might be annoyed with, but the target seems to be only one or two of us, and we’re women,” O’leary said.
”I’m sure men are [targeted] too, but I haven’t personally seen it.
“It’s not fair that we’re supposed to be demure and turn the other cheek. We’re allowed to respond, but when we do that’s treated as a problem.”
The impact of online and in-person abuse was threefold, councillors said; it took a personal toll on their mental health, wasted residents’ time and money and discouraged people from putting themselves forward for council positions.
Southgate said commentary, discussion and debate on political issues were all part of a healthy democracy, but personal attacks brought nothing to the table.
“At the end of the day, there are always going to be different political views.
“The important bit is that they can disagree, and they can disagree strongly, but they cannot abuse people on social media.”