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 harassment and threats they received during this year’s 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 during the election she received threatening and sexually explicit messages.

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

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

She received racist and abusive messages from fake online accounts and had sexually explicit photos of male anatomy sent to her. 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 acknowledges that although these people are a problem, they are 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.”

She 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 to cover elected members during this term – for installing and monitoring a security system at home, plus $1000 per year for maintenance.

Local Government New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said at the time 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 is newly elected Bay of Plenty Regional Council Kōhi Māori ward councillor Mawera Karetai.

“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.

She has been threatened with violence and had to call the police a couple of times during the election period to talk to people who had harassed her.

“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.”