Racism, discrimination rife

Almost half of elected local government members have experienced racism, gender discrimination or other forms of harmful behaviour in the course of their work.

The new Local Government New Zealand survey also found of the 105 respondents across 56 local authorities, 43% experienced other forms of harassment, prejudice, threatening or derogatory behaviour since taking public office.

Close to a quarter of respondents said they were not sure how to report harassment or discrimination. Less than a third said they felt connected with other elected members in their workplace.

This comes amid a rise in personal attacks levelled at those in public-facing positions, with women and those from diverse communities bearing the brunt of the discrimination.

Christchurch and Wellington councillors have blown the whistle on a culture of harassment and misogyny in local politics. More recently, the young family of Auckland mayoral candidate Efeso Collins were nearly run off the road by members of the public.

Local Government NZ president Stuart Crosby said the survey results made for tough reading.

‘‘But to shift the dial we need to start with acknowledging that there is a problem and find ways to address it,’’ he said.

This type of behaviour put progress at risk, he said.

In recent years, there had been a small rise in the number of

Mᾱori, women and young elected members around the table.

Of the current mayors, councillors and other elected members 40.5% are women, compared with 50.4% of the general population; 13.5% are Ma¯ ori (17.1% of general population) and representation of multi-ethnic and Pacific communities remains low.

The average age of elected members is 56-60, with only 13.9% under the age of 40. The average age of the general population sits at 37.9 years.

At least two council candidates have cited racism and a lack of diversity as motivation for running in this year’s election.

LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene was concerned by some behaviour already on show in the early stages of campaigning for October’s elections.

The campaign trail was a powerful platform for positive change, so candidates should be using it to engage with the important issues facing communities, she said.

While the survey’s respondents

represented a small sample of all elected local government members, LGNZ was trying to gather further insights to better understand the scope of these issues.

Freeman-Greene said the membership association was also trying to ensure local government was a safe and inclusive environment for all elected members and new candidates.

The Government recently removed the requirement for candidates’ residential addresses to be published on campaign advertising, after Local Government NZ raised the issue of privacy and protection with the prime minister.

Candidates are now provided with a toolkit on how to run a safe campaign and remain safe once in office.

This includes a new code of conduct and induction programme for those successful in October’s election.

Today, Local Government NZ launches a guide to clean and inclusive campaigning, developed with the Human Rights Commission.

Nominations for this year’s elections close at noon on August 12.