. Inspectors enter properties to investigate alleged breaches of animal welfare laws. They interview owners, issue warnings and education notices, and, when necessary, prosecute.
Swearing is a daily occurrence, she says. The job demands months of training — four in the learning phase, followed by further fieldwork — but only those with a strong mental resilience survive the job, she says.
“It’s a very thankless job. Nobody wants SPCA turning up at their properties to investigate potential cruelty issues. So quite often people are not happy that we’re there.”
While she says it is disheartening, she persists because she wants to see better outcomes for animals and educate owners. Although the long hours and weekend work at the start meant her three children missed out on spending time with her, she says it was for a meaningful reason.
“We do get some good stories, where we change someone’s behaviour, whether we educate them so that they know what to do better, and see them become good owners and see animals in happy homes and being treated the way that they should be treated.”
But the dangers aren’t limited to people. Inspectors face aggressive animals and contend with floods and slips that delay access to rural properties. Even in uniform at the shops, Davis says, she draws barbs — once being called an “SPCA scammer”. She attributes the rising tension to social media misinformation, population growth, financial strain, mental health challenges and addiction.
Public complaints are welcome, she says, but privacy laws restrict what the SPCA can disclose about investigations. “Trust the process, trust that we address every single complaint that comes through appropriately.
“Just because we’re not actively updating people about what we’re doing because we can’t, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s happening.”
Her message to owners is simple: open the door, listen and engage. Inspectors have powers akin to police when it comes to animals – they’re there to ensure their welfare.
Auckland Transport parking warden officer Meari Putairi.
Supplied / Auckland Transport
No one welcomes the sight of a ticket fluttering under a wiper blade. But Meari Putairi carries out her task with a kind of patience and understanding that earned her Auckland Transport’s inaugural Parking Officer of the Year.
How her day unfolds often depends on the mood of the street. In six years on the job, she has fielded racial slurs and a stream of abuse and being yelled at. A nut bolt once flew from a passing car, bouncing off a bonnet and narrowly missing her. Colleagues have reported bottles thrown and punches swung. She switches on her security body camera as soon as a confrontation begins to ensure her safety.
“These are all the challenges that we face every single day, not even one single day in our life that we can say we had a good day. There’s always going to be something happening to us on the street.”
One man told her to “go back to the islands”. Putairi, who is Pasifika and a New Zealand citizen, kept her voice level, explaining why she was issuing the infringement. When the tirade continued, she ended the exchange.
“You can only say so much to the public… You cannot go beyond that. So when they carry on with it, I say, ‘I’ve listened to you. I’m now going to walk away’. So I just walk away because you can’t stand there and take it in.”
Her role spans far more than writing tickets: supporting roadworks and events, keeping bus lanes clear, talking to school children about road safety and navigating language barriers on the street in central Auckland. She also volunteers for extra shifts when needed — partly to back her team, partly to make ends meet. Like many of the motorists who protest they can’t afford a fine, she too has bills to pay.
“A lot of people come up to me and say, ‘you don’t know what I’m going through. I can’t afford this. I don’t want this ticket’, and then they just tell me to take the ticket back.” She say she hears them out because she cares, then points them to customer service, where payment plans may be arranged.
“But then I need to also tell you, don’t do it again. Look at the signs around before you park up.”
To avoid carrying the day home, Putairi talks things through with family and friends. The job is physical, too — hours in full uniform, in all weather, waiting on tow trucks or clearing bus lanes.
Her message is straightforward: parking officers enforce the law; disputes about the rules should be taken higher up to policymakers. “We’re not the bad guys,” she says. “You need to be responsible on how you park, where you park and don’t go beyond your time limit.”
Auckland traffic management specialist Andrei Doughty.
Supplied / Andrei Doughty
For 15 years, Auckland traffic management specialist Andrei Doughty has worked among cones, closures and commuter impatience. But he says the job is often misunderstood.
A single complaint can halt a project and trigger gridlock when it has to be done at another time of day, he told RNZ in an email.
“The abuse we got was very upsetting and hurtful and we have to deal with this abuse on a daily,” he says. “We take the abuse, the name calling, the threats and often physical attacks and deal with them in our own way, but we are taught not to argue back.
“We have had things thrown at us, including eggs and rubbish and other things I can’t remember.”
In 2023, his then 18-year-old daughter joined a crew working in Piha and encountered such hostility she was traumatised and wanted to quit the next day. Doughty wrote to the local Facebook page about what she had faced. The response, he says, was swift and supportive, with many residents dismayed by the behaviour of a few.
He understands the strain communities can be under — in Piha’s case, fears of landslides and damaged homes ran high. “It was a tough time for the residents,” he says. “But they to remember it wasn’t the TCS [traffic control system’s] fault or the traffic management’s fault.”
Doughty acknowledges traffic delays can be the last straw for someone already having a bad day. But it doesn’t excuse the abuse. “We are all here just doing our job, trying to feed our families and get our staff and our clients and the public home safely every day and every night.”
For those irritated by road cones, Doughty offers a reminder: crews don’t decide to dig up roads or reseal surfaces. Their role is to create a safe corridor through the worksite for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
It can mean 12-hour shifts in unpredictable weather, standing roadside in high-vis gear, guiding traffic inch by inch. If there are issues, he advises seeking out the site supervisor and raising concerns calmly. Anger rarely clears the way to a solution.
