Editorial: Staff under threat

A lot has been said and written in the past three days about the motivations of those who would do harm or threaten Work and Income employees, writes Gillespie. Photo / Ben Fraser

It has been a terrible week for New Zealand's Work and Income staff.

Monday's horrific double slaying at the Ashburton office has been followed by incidents around the country, including verbal threats and threatening calls.

Offices in New Plymouth, Hastings, Thames and Nelson have been targeted and Work and Income have beefed up security everywhere.

Then yesterday afternoon Rotorua's Pukuatua St office had to be closed after a violent threat was made to staff over the phone.

It's bad enough that many locals were unable to keep important appointments with Work and Income staff - but it's worse that staff are under attack in this way, made to feel vulnerable and intimidated and unable to carry out their jobs.

One woman told our reporter yesterday that threats and abuse towards Work and Income staff had been going on for years.

"I have seen threats, people jumping the counter and getting frustrated," she said. "They need their money, times are hard."

A lot has been said and written in the past three days about the motivations of those who would do harm or threaten Work and Income employees.

While some thought-provoking points have been made about the plight of those who require the state's assistance, it's obscene to imply that somehow anyone deserves this treatment.

And despite the wealth of information being circulated about the Ashburton shooting accused, no one at this stage can presume to know why the incident happened.

There may be an election looming, but this is not a time for political pointscoring.