Far North cafe owner's plea to Government after death threats

Death threats from an unvaccinated customer drove a Kawakawa cafe owner and her wife to flee their home in fear.

39 Gillies St cafe owner Cathryn Baragwanath (Ngāti Hine) made a tearful plea on social media for the Government to come to the aid of small businesses abused for enforcing vaccine restrictions.

"We have been threatened – our business, our lives, and the livelihoods of our team. Jacinda, what do you do to support us when we're being bullied?

"Willow [Jean Prime], you're our local MP, these are your rules, what are you doing to support our businesses?"

The 46-year-old said "99 per cent" of people had supported them but small pockets of daily abuse had escalated when an unvaccinated customer was turned away from the Far North cafe on Sunday.

"Every day somebody has to say something ... swearing at us, yelling at us, calling us fascists, calling us out, saying we're on the wrong side of the law, the wrong side of history – this is a daily attack.

"We didn't ask for this and we're doing our best ... then Sunday happened and we thought our lives were over."

An emotional Baragwanath explained how she and her wife, Olive Brown, were bombarded with hate-filled messages and phone calls from the customer and his family and friends.

"I've had homophobic slurs thrown at me privately from this person and his family ... today, it's just been horrible. We left our home because we felt threatened," she said.

"We escaped because our lives were threatened and so was our business. Jacinda, I called 111 for our safety, we're been attacked all the time ... to the Government, what are you doing to support small business?"

She said the customer and his contacts had left derogatory Google reviews about the cafe which were reported by people based in Australia, who saw what was unfolding.

"In those moments, I felt like I was being yanked out of my closet, I felt so ashamed to be me," she told the Advocate.

Cathryn Baragwanath, the owner of 39 Gillies St Cafe in Kawakawa. Photo / Jenny Ling

The couple had opted to use vaccine passes at the cafe to keep their staff employed – among whom are four mothers; to protect the "hauora" [health] of the Kawakawa community, and to ensure their financial survival.

"I respect everyone's decision to get vaccinated or not to ... but to have my life threatened, my children threatened, my home, all over a cup of coffee – it just makes me so sad," Baragwanath said.

A huge outpouring of community support helped the couple regain their strength in the past few days but they continued to follow up the incident with Northland police.

"We've just had so many positive messages since I put the video up, that it's slowly given us our armour back," Baragwanath said.

"But I want to set an example that you don't get to do this, you don't get to bully us."

The hurt and frustration behind Baragwanath's initial tears linger as police remain the only avenue for businesses to turn to when their safety is compromised.

"What guidance is there for us? Nothing. What support is there for us? Nothing ... hospo [hospitality] are dealing with this and we need to know where support is and what does that look like for us."

She wanted to know what safety measures for threatened businesses looked like especially as "things are becoming more violent".

Kaitaia Business Association chairwoman Andrea Panther previously told the Advocate, customer backlash over the traffic light system risked sending Far North businesses towards breaking point.

She said many business owners were "finding it too hard" as checkpoints, vaccine mandates, and the red traffic light setting disrupted usual operations.

Panther described how they were having to turn away family and friends in communities where everyone knew one another.

She said some businesses, especially those who were close contact, had been unfairly characterised as discriminatory when they were simply trying to keep their doors open.

"A lot of people aren't being very nice to staff and businesses who are only trying to do what the Government have asked and what they need to in order to survive."

The Advocate reached out to Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime for comment but had not heard back at publication time.

However, the media raised the issue with Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins at the Government's press conference on Tuesday.

He responded with a reminder for all New Zealanders.

"They're not doing this because they want to; they're doing this because they're required to, and so just, to everybody else, cut our hospo workers a bit of slack.

"They're doing their jobs. It's a tough job. It's been a really tough couple of years for them. And so embrace the festive season and show some kindness," he said.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment encouraged businesses with immediate concerns for the safety of their staff to contact police.

Otherwise, they could seek specific advice by phoning the free Covid-19 Business Helpline on 0800 500 362 (North Island).

An MBIE spokesperson said anyone could flag an inappropriate Google review for the company's trust and safety team to assess by visiting www.support.google.com.