After being sworn at in public and receiving late-night messages ‘‘telling me I should die’’, Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker hopes a law change will stem the tide of abuse.
Ms Barker said she had experienced ‘‘an uplift in abuse’’ since winning the mayoralty in this year’s local government elections.
The abuse local politicians received, both online and in person, appeared to be a lot worse than in the past and was also especially prevalent on the campaign trail, she said.
‘‘I was abused and sworn at in public this campaign, which I hadn’t experienced before.’’
The Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill passed its final reading in Parliament last week and will make stalking a criminal offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
This was praised by Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), which said it would give elected members another tool to combat abusive behaviour.
Ms Barker said she was happy to see the Bill passed.
She hoped tougher legislation would mean people ‘‘consider the consequences of their behaviour more carefully’’.
‘‘It’s challenging to get good people to stand for public roles, especially in local government, so I hope this provides more safety and protection.’’
Having been on the council for six years already, she had noticed a ‘‘huge change’’ in the amount of abuse elected members were subjected to, Ms Barker said.
‘‘I have had messages in the middle of the night telling me I should die for some decision we have made, and some nasty online trolling.
‘‘Abuse of me pops up in my daughter’s social media feeds and that’s horrible for her to read.’’
LGNZ’s mayoral induction event, referred to colloquially as ‘‘Mayor School’’, had provided helpful advice on how to deal with the escalating abuse and harassment experienced by elected members, Ms Barker said.
Social media comments forwarded by Ms Barker to the Otago Daily Times from during the election campaign described her as among ‘‘ideological, commercially illiterate’’ councillors.
‘‘Princess Barker is everything that is wrong about council,’’ one comment said.
Another ranked her and other councillors ‘‘in order of repulsiveness’’.
Ms Barker said she considered herself ‘‘pretty thickskinned’’, but that did not mean personal abuse was acceptable.
‘‘It’s just another form of bullying.
‘‘There’s also a huge growth in fake profiles which we’ve seen this year, and they are worse trolls.
‘‘It puts good people off standing up as representatives of their communities, which is a huge pity as we need talented people around council tables.’’