Chloroform threat leaves NSW mayor afraid to leave her home

Kempsey Mayor Kinne Ring and Coffs Harbour Mayor Nikki Williams say more needs to be done to protect councillors before sexual and violent abuse online spills over into the real world.

Cr Ring spoke with NSW Police about a safety plan after an online threat involving chloroform and her jogging routes.

Local Government Association president Darcy Byrne is calling for more urgent action in the wake of the alleged attack on Helen Haines.

After being subjected to a tirade of sexually explicit and violent online threats, Kempsey Mayor Kinne Ring sat down with local police to make a plan for her safety.

The tipping point came about three months ago, when the 31-year-old realised she no longer felt comfortable in her daily life.

"I've had people [disclose online] where I usually run, joking that they would get chloroform out, and really making me feel unsafe as a woman," she said.

"It was really shocking to read and really scary, and I think it was even more horrible that people were piling onto that.

Office of Local Government data shows less than half of the nearly 1,300 councillors across New South Wales are female. Of the women elected, 41 out of 128 mayors were women.

Now, a groundswell of support is mounting to introduce better protections for elected officials after federal MP Helen Haines was struck by a vehicle outside her electorate office.

The Victorian MP has had two of her legs amputated and remains in a serious but stable condition at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

Cr Ring said she had to make changes to her lifestyle to ensure she did not put herself at risk.

"Which is a really sad thing, but it's a reality for women currently in this climate," she said.

"It was the police that kind of gave me the reality check of what I needed to do.

"It was a really uncomfortable experience, but unfortunately my safety is a priority."

For Cr Ring, the fear is that the threats of violence and abuse will move from online to the real world.

In her small regional community, there are about 30,000 people, and many of them know where she lives.

"I am scared of some of those threats I've gotten, particularly with the chloroform, that I can't actually leave my house because something might happen to me if I'm alone," Cr Ring said.

A NSW Police spokesperson said in a statement that any incidents involving threats of violence were investigated by police and dealt with accordingly.

"Where these incidents involve a government official, the Security Investigation Unit, part of Counter Terrorism Command's Terrorism Investigation Squad, can assist local police in their investigation, especially if a heightened threat is detected," the spokesperson said.

"The Security Investigation Unit conducts investigations into fixated persons, lone actor grievance fuelled violence, proactive security investigations and high public interest investigations."

Further north, Coffs Harbour Mayor Nikki Williams and a family member were granted an apprehended violence order against a community member who was found guilty of a trespass charge in relation to the mayor.

"These are the challenges that we face," Cr Williams said.

"There has to be a line between politics and decency."

Cr Williams said some of the worst abuse she had been subjected to stemmed from her political alliances.

Although a member of the Nationals, she led an independent group ticket comprised of only party members.

Cr Williams said on one occasion, a cartoon was circulated online that depicted a sexually explicit act being performed on her by a federal Nationals MP.

"I'm told that I'm nothing more than a puppet for political parties or for other men, particularly.

"It's this dehumanisation that we can't potentially have our own independent thought that I think is starting to really create that really scary narrative."

In the wake of the alleged attack on Ms Haines, Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett told ABC Insiders political rhetoric was fuelling threats and abuse.

Commissioner Barrett said it was not the AFP's job to police free speech or intervene in political discourse, but she would "challenge" any Australian to read some of the threats and abuse reported to them from federal parliamentarians and label them free speech.

She said the abuse targeted at female parliamentarians was "very often sexual violence threats" and more "personalised".

Local Government NSW president Darcy Byrne has written to Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig asking for support to prevent and respond to threats, intimidation and safety risks for councillors.

He said even before Ms Haines was allegedly attacked, there were "growing concerns" in the sector about the "dangerous and unsafe environment" that elected officials operated in.

Cr Byrne, who is the mayor of a Sydney council, has called for multiple changes, including more protections at polling booths, more powers for police to respond to threats, and protections in the council chamber.

"Local government representatives are the closest to the people. They can't avoid their communities. They don't want to," he said.

"But because the environment is becoming so febrile and dangerous, that is leaving an ever larger number of our local councillors feeling unsafe in their work environment and in public.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mr Hoenig said "aggressive or abusive behaviour toward any councillor is completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated".

"A healthy democracy depends on elected representatives being able to serve their communities without fear of harassment, intimidation or retribution," the spokesperson said.

"Differences of opinion and political debate are central to democratic decision-making. However, elected councillors deserve to be treated with respect as they generously give their time to serve their local communities.

"Any threat against elected officials should be reported to the NSW Police and their councils."