At least two newly elected councillors in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be accessing newly available support to have security systems installed in their homes after facing harassment and threats during the local government elections.

Whakatāne District Council’s Kāpū-te-rangi Māori ward councillor Toni Boynton, who has just been elected for her second term, said she had received threatening and sexually explicit messages during the election period.

She had filed a report to the police against one member of the public for harassment, after he followed her around at a public event.

“Though they couldn’t really do anything,” she said.

Boynton said she received racist and abusive messages from fake online accounts and had sexually explicit photos of male anatomy sent to her.

Whakatāne District Council Kāpū-te-rangi Māori councillor Toni Boynton. Photo / LDR

Her billboards were vandalised and her flyers were ripped up and put in her home letterbox with a note saying, “I know where you live”.

“I’m glad these elections are over but these crazy people are still out there,” she said.

She acknowledged that while these people are a problem, they were only a minority.

“I know that I have a huge amount of support out there as well. I’m really grateful that the vast majority of people have been very positive toward me about the work that I do.”

Boynton said she would be accessing support available to her as an elected member to have security equipment installed at her home.

In June this year, the Remuneration Authority announced an allowance of up to $4500 would be available during this term to cover elected members installing and monitoring a security system at home plus $1000 per year for maintenance.

At the time, then Local Government New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said the rise of fringe groups, anonymity of online forums and polarising coverage was feeding increasing abuse of people elected to both central and local government.

Another councillor planning to take advantage of the allowance was newly elected Bay of Plenty Regional Council Kōhi Māori ward councillor Mawera Karetai.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Kōhi Māori councillor Mawera Karetai. Photo / LDR

“Already, (abusive) mail has been delivered to me at the regional council, that I hand straight to the chief executive and she sorts it out,” Dr Karetai said.

Karetai said she had been threatened with violence and had to call the police a couple of times during the election period after being harassed.

“It’s racial and extremely political and right wing. Police wouldn’t allow me to go to one of the candidate events in the Whakatāne district because they didn’t think I would be safe.

“Lots of the others, especially women, get targeted. Imagine being the sort of person who can behave like that and think it’s okay.”

The threats had at one time extended to her 15-year-old son, Jack Karetai-Barrett, when he walked to Tauranga to campaign for Māori wards.

“There were people threatening to run him over and calling him roadkill. That was awful to endure.”

She felt misinformation around the Māori wards campaign had a lot to do with the harassment.

“There’s some people who are indoctrinated into this story that’s just not real.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.