Hamilton City Council is encouraging residents to ignore “keyboard warriors” that is putting off some people to give their views, and assuring that submission process is ‘safe’.
The Council responded today after reports that abusive online comments, personal attacks, and divisive agendas are putting some people off giving their views on the city’s Long-Term Plan.
In spite of ‘toxic comments’ against the Council, online more than 1000 formal submissions have already been received on the Long-Term Plan.
“Council recognises the damage that can be caused by ‘keyboard warriors’ and how off-putting this can be for the majority of residents who just want to have their say. We want to remind people that the formal online submission is a safe space to make their views known,” said Janet Carson, Council’s General Manager, Partnerships, Communication and Maaori.
“Our social media campaign around the Long-Term Plan has generally been a successful and cost-effective information campaign, which has driven good engagement and knowledge around the Long-Term Plan and what Council is proposing,” Carson said.
“However, some of the aggressive, demeaning, or abusive responses to other people’s opinions has been making some people wary of joining the conversation.
“We’ve also had to deal with people posting misleading or false information to push their agenda. This is not useful when we need people talking about the real issues we face as a city.”
While reminding residents that it’s vital to make a submission, Carson assured the feedback from the submissions will be what is seen and used by the Mayor and Councillors as they make final decisions on the Long-Term Plan.
“This Long-Term Plan is important, people are entitled to have a say, and abusing someone because their view differs to yours is not okay.”
According to Carson, despite the toxic trend, the campaign about what’s driving the city’s costs, and the resulting impacts on rates, has raised awareness of the cost to run a city.
Interaction with Council’s content on Facebook is up by 60%, and there’s been more than 10,000 clicks on links for further information. Hundreds of comments and questions about almost every part of Council’s business have been answered.
Residents have until 21 April to voice their opinion before the Council locks in the final 2024-34 Long Term Plan.
Click here to know more about Council’s plans for the future Hamilton and to voice your opinion.
– from NewsViews
